Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-01-13

luC AOIutT NluuON NuuJ
overlooked the broad, busy street,
Il think you viii find it real snug
quarters here, Mrs. Brown" said Dan
Lewis as he sat down the party's trunk. !
(He had been a friend of her husband |
and was always ready to do her q good |
turn.) "You won't see the old lady as
long as she is lame, and guess that may
be for years, or it may be forever, as
the song says; and the daughter, though
haven't spoken to her more'u half a
dozen times, strikes me as q nice sort of
woman. Pretty, too, if she wasn't so
awful thin"
And, as time went on, Mrs. Brown
found her nice sort of woman-in fact,
a very nice sort of woman. True, she
only saw her for about an hour every
afternoon, when old Tabitha Shape was
taking her after-dinner nap, but given
an hour every afternoon for few weeks
and two women can become very
well acquainted. And soon-Ursula tell
ing it in chapters, as it were-the little
widow knew the whole history of her
landlady and her landlady's daughter.
Of which history it is only necessary that
l should repeat that portion relating to
Ursula's only brothers wife aud child.
And l will repeat it in Ursula's own
words.
"My mother fairly idolized my
brother" she said, "and hoped and
prayed that he would never marry.
But, shortly after my fathers death,
when he was bat twenty-three years old,
he died. And in two years his wife
deserted him and her baby-boy. He
lived only year after she left him.
Then my mother gave all her love
to his child, who looked as much like
an angel as your Walter does. Well,
when the boy was years of age his
wicked mother stole him from us and
in spite of all our efforts we never saw
him again until one evening we found
him at our door dying from privation
and ill-usage. And when he passed to
tho summer land, Never cried my
mother, never shall woman or child
enter my house again Then we left our
home, which is miles and miles away, and
came here, where my life has been lonely
enough | can tell you, for my nRother's
whole nature seemed to change on the
day of my little nephew's death, and
from being kind and loving woman
she became very-a very arbitrary one
Your coming has made it oh! 50 much
brighter, but l live in constant dread
that she will find out"
cob no she WON'T" interrupted the
little widow. "No one but Dan knows
Pm here and there's no fear of his telling
He's good fellow, Dan is" and Ursula
fancied there was blush on her cheek
as she said 50.
eyes, he seems to be a good felloww
said the landlady's daughter, with
sigh.
Well, the widow had been installed in
the front attic room for month and a
half, when she awoke morning to say to
herself: "Dear me! This is the day be-
fore Walters holiday, and I'll have to
leave him home while go out to buy
him some toys. must try and go while
the old lady is taking her nap, so that
Ursula can stay with him"
But she couldn't get the work-on the
payment for which depended the buying
of the toys-done in time to carry out
this plan, so she was obliged to start Just
after the old lady had taken her nap.
And, fearing to leave the child in the
room with the fire, she carried him to the
room below heated by the cellar furnace,
the occupant of which being really "a
single gentleman" was away at business,
and after enjoining him to touch moth
ing, but sit and look out of the window
I until she came back, she kissed him
goodbye and departed
/ Walter sat still for long quarter of
an hour. Then he slid from the chair
and walked about the room, looking at
the pictures, and pipes, and canes, etc.
Then down the long stairs he toiled,
to be confronted by the closed parlor
doors. Guess there isn't any chimney
in there" he said, after trying in vain to
| turn the door-knobs, and away he went
down the next flight of stairs, till the
lowest hall was reached. And here,
pausing at an open door, he looked in at
grim old woman sitting in big, old
fashioned rocking with her knit
/ ting in her hands And there stood the
child, tightly grasping the little red
stocking, one tiny foot bare, his blue
eyes wide open, and bright smile on his
rosy lips, when this grim old woman
CuiuCcu W Sidu( tudI way.
4 Who are you, and what do you
want 2" she asked in so gruff voice
that nine hundred and ninety nine
children out of thousand would have
been so affrighted by it that they would
have turned and ran or stood and
screamed. But Walter was the thousandth.
lie did neither. into the room he walked,
the smile still on his rosy lips, and in his
bird-like tones replied:
Why, grandmamma, I'm little
Walter"
Tabtha Shape dropped her knitting
in her lap. Pm not your grand
mamma" she said, a shade less gruffly
than she had spoken before.
"But won't you be-" asked the child,
coming up close to her and looking up
earnestly into her face. "Wont you
be? My other one has gone to Heaven,
and my papa's gone there too. You
look just like very nice grand -"
But, before he could finish the SEN
tence, Tabitha Shape caught him to her
bosom, the ice around her heart melted
and ran dissolved in warm tears from her
eyes. Her daughter, coming in a few
moments after, stood for an instant as
though turned to stone, and then flew to
stop the little widow in her search for
her boy, and tell the wonderful, wonder
| full news.
Walters lap that night couldn't hold
half, no, nor quarter, the sweets brought
him. And as for the kitchen table, that
was nearly covered by the presents
bought for the golden-haired darling by
Aunt Ursula, Grandmamma Shape and
Dan Lewis. Yes, Dan Lewis, for the
old lady had actually allowed him to call
and leave his presents for the widows
! how with her