Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-05-15
anybody that could do it acceptably I'll

: Boston She was well off and every SprinZ
and fdil she used 10 send the girls a box o
: right nice things, only partly worn, fer slt
kept up with the fashion, and was too lazy
to bother with having her things made
over. She always came out in summer and
stayed a week, and brought nice things
| along with her; and, to do her justice, she
never put on a single air, but acted as il
everything was just as she was used TO hav-
ing it-as it had been before she married SO
WELL but with some folks that would have
worked the other way This letter was to
say that dear old friend of hers had Just
lost her only daughter-not by death, but
by marriage-and wanted a companion,
g not young, Eighty girl, but a settled,
steady person, who could oversee the
housekeeping a little, and read aloud
agreeably, and do particular errands and
mending. Mrs. Hanson is almost blind,
and it must be somebody thoroughly trust
worthy, and | thought right away of Nan
cy. She's getting on now, and it's hard for
her to have to sew day in and day out, the
way she does and if she stayed only two
or three years she could lay by most of her
salary-for | will see to her clothes-and it
would be nice little provision for her.
You would miss her, OF course; but, with
Sarah Jane 10 do for you, you could man
age TO do without Nancy, when it was so
much for her good"
Sarah Jane didn't dare to say what she
thought-that il was queer her aunt hadn't
chosen her instead of Nancy; for she knew
Nancy would have it to say that Sarah
Jane didn't admit she was settled. 1t was
too good a chance to lose, for the letter
said, further along, that the salary, to a
satisfactory person, would be $500 year !;
so Nancy wrote to her aunt at once to say
nf1lt RI cd 10 4
be ready at a weeks notice, and to please
let her know right away if Mrs. Hanson
decided to take her.
They all agreed not to say a word about
ii TO anybody till it was sure and certain.
and the time fixed for Nancy TO go They
had the name of being the closest-mouthed
family in the village, especially about their
own affairs and they lad a right to their
name too. But they began 10 get Nancy
ready right away, and Sarah Jane turned
in and helped, and kept her thoughts 10
herself. There was pretty gray silk dress
that had come in the last box from Boston :;
but they would not take the trouble TO
make it up, for they all said there would
be no chance 10 wear il. But now Mrs.
Whelan said Nancy must make it for her
best dress, to wear in Boston and as
Sarah Jane chimed in, and said it
would be the very thing, and really did
not seem 10 want it herself, Nancy
consented, though she insisted upon it it
was great deal too young for her So she
ripped it all apart, and sponged il both
sides, and iroued il on what had been the
right side, and took out some spots that
were on side breadth and when she had
it ready to make up, it looked just as good
as new. She and Sarah Jane were in the
thick of making il up again, one after
noon, when in walked old Miss Springer.
the way she usually does, without knock
ing. She finds out more in week that
way than she could in q year any other
for she's all the time catching people, and
they've no chance to hide what they're
doing. There are some that actually keep
their outside doors locked on account of
her; but if they could hear what she says
abou. that, they would probably leave
them open, as the least of two evils
My y she said, when she saw the gray
silk, and Nancy standing up to be fitted for
IT, how fine somebody's going TO be
That's just as like as two pins to the silk
Maria Clark's having made up for her we'd
ding. What's in the wind, Nancy?n
Now, Sarah Jane had no business to say
what she did; she owned atterward that
she had not, but she said the temptation
was too much for her.
stronger, Miss Springer, and you'll hear
she said, before Nancy could speak but
don't say anything. please, as long as
you've caught us We don't want to run
any risk of another Hyman affair"
Miss Springer knew well enough what
that meant-or thought she did. Anna
Lyman had been engaged to smart-look-
ing Boston fellow who came to the village
canvassing for something; nobody knew
anything about him. but she would have 1t
he had told her all about himself, and she
was satisfied. So she had her things made
up, and was to be married in her travelling
dress, and go right off with him; but the
day came and the young man did not So
when Sarah Jane said that it was quite
enough for Miss Springer. She was fond
of saying she could put two and two to-
gether, and so she could but sometimes
she'd have them make five, and sometimes
seven, and sometimes as much as nine
She made an excuse to go in a few minutes,
and before night it was all over
town that Nancy Whelan was en-
gagged to the sewing machine agent
that came through every. two or
three months. He was a good-looking
fellow, if he did part his hair down the
middle, and very pleasant spoken-a good
many had bought the machine Just through
being talked into it. And it always hap
pened, when he spent an afternoon in the
town, that he managed to go 10 Mrs.
Whelan's about tea-time, and they would
ask him to stop and take a sociable cup of
tea, and he would. But, with all Miss
Springer's catching, there were two things
about 1t she hadn't caught yet One was,
that Mr.. Ames-that was his name-was
married and the other, that lust because
he had married a school friend of Sarah
James, with whom she used to exchange
long visits he was always welcome at Mrs.
Whelan's.
BY next day the town was humming
with the news, and Sarah Jane had forgot
ter her foolish speech to Miss Springer.
And it so happened. that of all the neigh
bors that dropped in at Mrs Whelan's, and
sort of distantly alluded to it, out of respect
for their wishes, not one let the cat out of
the bag. Just for this reason the Whelans
were thinking ofnothing but Nancv's going
to Boston, and so they took for granted
that the washwoman must have overheard
them talking. and spread the news-for
she was one of those deaf people who have
to be shouted at before thev will under
stand you if you're talking to them. and
hear all you say If you presume on their
beng deaf TO talk secrets before them 1t
was as pretty game of cross questions and
crooked answers as ever was PLAYED.
Somebody would say to Mrs Whelan
what a loss Nancy would be. and
how they'd miss her. and Mrs. Whelan
would answer yes, they would indeed,
but she hoped she wasn't so selfish as to
want her children to stay with her to their
own disadvantage, and, of course nobody
was impolite enough to say what most of
them thought, that it was no such wonder
ftfl Il fnrra far
Whelan to marry sewing machine agent
at least ten years younger than she was.
Everybody in the village thought a great
deal of Nancy-there were few houses
where she hadn't sat up with the sick. or
helped TO lay out the dead, and she had
everybody's good word. But, so far, most
of them had taken it out in thinking
while there was many thing that rich
woman like Mrs. Renshaw would never
have missed that would have helped to
make the Whelans' little home pretty and
comfortable. It's a surprising thing how
much there is that people don't think of,
compared with what they do.
1t just happened that Nancy's birthday
came in the midst of the talk, and, of
course, Miss Springer knew just how old
she was. But Miss Springer was like every
body else-she had good spot in her, if it
wasn't very large one. and she took a
notion TO go round and sort of take up a
collection of wedding presents for Nancy.
She was smart enough to 60 first to Squire
II Il L s. Il