St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-03-31

moist eyes and Quivering chin "Ohl &c was
too bad, too thoughtlessW she cried Iae
sun climbs higher and higher, yet manages
to cling with one slender finger to Llly's
locks The sparroWs that had rowd1ly scuHla "a
and scolded between intervals OF domestic
gossip, f1uttered from the window ledge up
to the spout above, their chirring lifting
accompaniment to the benedlctory hymn
of this Observation-Disclosures subl1meiy
simple words:
"Let US with gladstone mind,
Praise the Lord, for He is kind;
For His mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful. ever sure"
Now, Lily dear. l am going down to con-
suit cook about dinner" says Bessie, as she
placed her sister on the bed. Lily smiles at
the well-w worn fiction which clothes tho
kindly privilege accorded by Mrs. Milligan
of the floor below, to suse the cooking
stove, honey, whenever the fires goin', for
it costs no -ccre for the two of US than the
one of US, We see"
Left alone, Lily lies and looks toward the
light, wondering where the sun has gone;
wondering whether mamma knows which
window to look in at, or can see her (1f sne
knows) from so very far away. She is still
wondering and more wildly when: tap!
tap! MAY I come INF" and there stands
Mrs Marsden. The sight Of that sweet
startled, child face puts Mrs. Marsden at
her best, which is saying every thing, for
it makes her irresistible.
slam Mrs Marsden, dear. Your DOCTORS
assistant The doctor gave me no medi-
cine, SO 7 brought some flowers Yes,
violets; I sent and robbed the church this
morning You needn't look serious, the
flowers were my own. You love flowers l
can see it by your eyes-and it was for your
eyes brought them No, am not going to
take the chair, but sit right here on the
bed, so"
Who could Withstand Mrs. Marsden in such
mood? Not little Lily who capitulated at
once and let her hand lie willingly in the
warm, soft clasp of it's captor.
Now, TED me, aren't you very much sur
prised?"
Liy's wondering had taken such celestial
sweeps that an angel would hardly have
been surprise; so she answered:
@Yes. ma'an1, that is, not so very much
did think mamma would tell God, and am
80 glad 1t is better to be little girl than
a sparrow, isn't it? Sister says God cares
for the sparrows only sometimes when she
is SO long away, it seems as if God might
forget little girl that couldn't go out of
doors, where He could see her real plain"
Certainly the pain OF yesterday has gone
to Mrs Marsden's heart And oh! the fam
tastic ghost of that murdered bonnetl Why
would it pursue her? She pats the little
cheek, and smooths the bright hair
Where is your sister, child? Why is she
not with you?"
The child fancied an implied rebuke in
the question, and fastened to the defence.
"Sister never leaves me except when
she's at work, and even then, if she is near
enough, she always runs home to see me at
lunch 1t was much nicer when she
used to paint and do Kensington and that,
because I could watch her, but people
would not buy her things, though they
were so nice; and sometimes we had such
little to eat that sister could not put any
crumbs out ON the ledge for the sparrows
She always puts some now before she goes,
and sometimes beautiful pigeon comes
and eats the crumbs I wish could have
it for my own"
Kiss the child, Mrs Marsden and try to
smother an uncomfortable suspicion that
DR.. Lucy deliberately stopped short of tell.
ing her story last night
SISTER will be SO glad you brought the
flowers" says the child, because she
meant to bring me some last night, only
she couldn't because" = and just here
Bessie enters flushed from her work at the
stove, and stands looking in bewilderment
at the scene. The situation would have
been much more embarrassing for Mrs
Marsden had she not been good woman.
Like many another good woman, her vision
was usually focused for long range benev.
olence. You can't see Breeds court when
y on are looking at Benares But there was
no hesitation when Mrs Marsden did see.
Impulsively, she moyad to wh.te Bessie