Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1886-10-14

seNerh curious listeners.
After some difficulty Miss Narcisss
got the excited girl To bed. where she
proceeded to have several chills. alter
mated with tits of half-delirious hyster-
les. which kept her nurse in constant
motion until the doctor gave her "A
soothing draught which sent her OF
into iitful sleep, from which she
would start up, calling upon Albert
TO save her. clutching poor Miss Mar
cissa : tired hand in nervous agony.
AT last, exhausted. she slept heavily,
and sitting silently by her Miss Mar
cissa noted the sound of passing
wheels and the excited voices of PEE
destrians, and discovered that what
she had thought TO be- the striking of
the hour was the changing Of the fire
bells. Some vague fear. such as often
assails Us ut such times. struck Miss
Narcissa's heart.
''Sclinal What if" She rushed
down stairs and into the street aud
straight for home. When half way
there she was met by MIR. Benton. a
fellow boardcr TO whose sick wife the
sisters had been very kind. 1t did not
strike her n strange that he should
meet her there, and taking her arm
hurried her through the crowd that
was gathered around their door. and
led her into a room where lay--mcrci-
ful God. could that stricken, moaning
mass be Selma,
II was not until long afterward that
she knew how IL happened; that i'm
reaching for more wool while quilting
and waiting for her. Selma had upset
the lamp. How IL exploded and she
rushing madly out calling for help had
fallen down the stairway, where she
lay unconscious of all save pain. while
her life fast ebbed itsclf away. The
fire was soon subdued. even before the
fire reached the house, but not before
In the Red Days had been swept ND
like autumn leaves before the wind.
But little of this rocked Miss Mar
cissa she only saw her dead sisters
face. and knew that her sole STAY and
comfort in life was gone from her. In
October Miss Narcissa blackboard sat
again at her desk. her meau pinched
Grape and bombazine making somber
patch in the suulit room, where flowers
biossomed in the windows, and beyond
them the fair Potomac glittercd.
Ivy Dodge sat near her. her voice a
little lower, her eyes triiic softer as
she looked ut Miss NarciS>a. whose
pale hand travelled rapidly over the
paper before her. So She sat there, day
after day, among them. yet not of
them, as one who had come back from
the other world. where all her hopes
were buried The sister of her love
lay in Beautiful Oak Hill, her book,
the one child of her brain, was Il heap
of ashes with only one word deciphera-
BILE, and that "Finis.' At the begin
ming of the next month, in the list of
promotions in her department was the
name of Miss Narcissa Blackboard. pro-
NOTED To II nine hundred dollar clerk
ship. Oddly enough. i'm the same
paper was the notice of Colonel Sa-
ville's second marriage. Miss Narcissa
read them both, and only smiled
Three months later, one dreary Febru-
airy day Miss Narcissa, sitting at her
desk. slowly read a letter po>tnarked
in Western city, and this was what it
said:
''Dcdr NorciSsa- will wonder
what in the name of goodness has
brought me here: and WHY | write 10
You after silence of several years.
Fate, my dear, is stranger than we.
and that is why YOU were Suddenly
brought To my mind;--not that I'd
really forgotten You, CisSa. bur ~ we
grow older we seem To drift away
from girlish friends SO fast. Well,
first, what am doing here? Well. !
am Keeping house for my two BOYS:
YOU know. of course. that my poor
husband is dead. The boys are both
doing we'll and ] am aS happy with
them a ii is possible for me to be-.
now that poor Lawrence is gone be-
4
day and see all for Yourself. Now.
how do you think came to hear your
name away out here? Why. from poor
Tom Savillc, who has Just died here in
great poverty. II seems that after
his second marriage (Which took place
only few months a@o) he came here
to live, after investing all his little
fortune in what proved tn he a Sioan-
tic swindle. His wife is p foolish little
pink and white beauty. not over
twenty, whose one idea seemed to be
to get back TO her Eastern home. Well.
poor Tom left ittlc girl, about ten
years old. | should think. Florence is
her name. He was i'm despair over
what To do with her at his death. |
would have taken her myself but. as
You know. my income i, small. aud
my sons are young and will marry nv
and ny. One day ! was sitting with
Tom while his wife took = little rest.
IL was very near the end and thought
he was in stupor, but he turned over
suddenly and cried out. 'Narcissa
will do 81, ASK Nurcissa Black
ford To take my child. Nv
dear. was shocked. You know
never thought he treated YOU lust
right. and now Ia want 60 burden Won
with child of his and YOU with poor
Selma and your literary work to- look
after. ! Thought 10 selfish To- ask such
80 thing Of YOU. He died that night.
aud the last thing he said to me WA.
ASK Narcis~a. promise To AK Narci..a
Ills wife went into Mysteries. and he
only seemed To think Of her after chat.
and ~ the stroke Of midnight he died.
j only write TO Won because promised
the dead His relatives will If course
take care of the little girl She is with
me at present. Goodbye. dear Mar
ci~sa write when You can. and il YOU
care 90 come so far 10 sec me. YOU will
receive q warm welcome from your old
friend. CnARI0rrr.
That night message went speeding
along The wires from Miss Narcis-a
BlackfOrd. Washington D. c.. to Mrs.
Charlotte Fauquicr. Kansas CITY. Mo.
Am coming for the child And
poor. delicate Miss NarciSsa. who i'm