Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-10-19

abroad"
Augusta was too moved to answer; she
only shook her head. The child buried
her face in the pillow and gave sob or
two. Presently she was quiet, and lifted
it again ''Gussie, love-" she said, don't
be angry, but 1 want to speak to you.
Listen, my sweet Gussie, my angel Oh,
Gussie, you don't know how 1 love you'll
1t is all no good, it is useless struggling
against it, I must die sooner or later;
though am only twelve, and you think
me such child, I am old enough to I'M
derstand that. I Think she added, after
pausing to cough, ''that pain makes one
old; feel as though / were fifty. Well,
so you see l may as well give up fighting
against it and die at once. am only a
burden and anxiety to you'll may as well
die at once and go to sleep"
Don't, JEANNE, don't!' said her sister,
in a sort Of cry; you are killing meF'
JEANNE laid her hot hand upon Angus
ta's arm. TRY and listen to me, dear"
she said, "even if it hurts, because do SO
want to say something. Why should you
be so frightened about me? Can any place
that l can go 10 be worse than this place?
Can I suffer more pain anywhere, or be
more hurt when l see you crying? Think
only been one beautiful thing in our lives
for years and years, and that was your
book. Even when l am feeling worse
when my chest aches, you know-I grow
quite happy when l think of what the pa
pers wrote about you; the Times. and the
Saturday ReUieJr, and the Spectator, and
the rest of them. They said that you had
genius-true genius, you remember, and
that they expected one day to see you at
the head of the literature of the time, or
near it. The Printer-deviI can't take away
that, Gussie. He can take the money, put
he can't say he wrote the book; though"
she added, with touch of childish spite
and vivacity, 81 have no doubt that he
would if he could. And then there were
those letters from the great authors up in
London; yes, l often think of them, too.
Well, dearest old girl, the best of it is that
know it is all true. l knOlC, l can't tell
you how, that you will be great woman
in spite of all the Nelson's in creation; for
somehow you will 81 out of his power,
| and if yon don't, five years is not all ones
life-at least, not if people have a life. At
the worst, he can only take all the money.
And then, when you are great and rich and
| famous, and more beautiful than ever, and
| w utIl IIlt DtOpIC lILI lLlSli iCRbo % yOu
come into the room, like we used to at
| school when the missionary came to- lee
| ture l know that you will think of me,
| because you won't forget me as some sis
| tiers do,) and of how, years and years be-
| fore, SO long ago that the time looks quite
| small when you think of it, ! told you that
it would be so just before l died"
Here the girl, who had been speaking
with curious air of certainty and with a
| gravity and deliberation extraordinary for
| one so young, suddenly broke off to cough.
| Her sister threw herself on her knees be-
side her, and clasping her in her arms i'm
| plored her in broken accents not to talk OF
| dying. JEANNE drew Augustus golden
head down on to her breast and stroked it.
Every well, Gussie, won't say any more
about it g." she said: but it is no good hid
| ing the truth, dear / am tired of fighting
| against it, it is no gOOd-nOne at all. Any
| how, we have loved each other very much,
/ dear; and perhaps somewhere else-we
| may again" And the brave little heart
| broke down, and overcome by the preset
ence of approaching separation they both
| sObbed bitterly there upon the sofa. Pres
| entity came a knock at the door, and Au-
| gusta sprang up and turned to hide her
| tears. 1t was the maid of-all work bring
| ing the tea; and, as she came laundering
in, a sense of the irony of things forced
| itself into Augustas soul Here they were
| plunged into the most terrible sorrow,
weeping at the inevitable approach of
| that chill end, and still appearances must
| be kept up, even before a Inaid-of-all-work.
| Society, even when represented by maid
of-all-work, cannot away with the intru-
| sion of domestic grefs, or any other griefs,
| and in our hearts we know it and act up
| TO it. Far gone indeed mustwe be in men
| tai or physical agony before we abandon
the attempt to keep up appearances.
Augusta drank o little tea and ate u
! very small bit of bread and butter. AS in
| the case of Mr.. Meeson, the events of the
day had not tended to increase her appe-
! tite. JEANNE drank little milk, but ate
nothing When this form had been gone
| through, and the maid-Of-all-w had
once more made her appearance and cleared
| the table, JEANNE spoke again.
Gus, she said, Il want you to put me
| TO bed and then come and read to me out
| of Terminals Now'-where poor Jemima
| dies, you know. 1t is the most beautiful
thing in the book, and want to hear it
| again"
Her sister did as she wished, and, taking
| down Terminals Vow" Jeannies OlUn
| copy as it was called, being the very first
| that had come into the house, she opened
| it ut the part JEANNE had asked for and
read aloud, keeping her voice as steady as
! she could. AS matter of fact however
| the scene itself was as powerful as it was
! pathetic, and quite sufficient to account
! for any unseemly exhibition of feeling on
10 nr+ Of hn IL.
| struggled through it till the last sentence
was reached. 1t ran thus: and so Jemi-
ma stretched out her hand to him and said
Goodbye And presently, knowing that
she had now kept her promise, and being
happy because she had done SO, she went
to sleep"
ABR murmured the blue-eyed child
who listened. 81 wish that was as good
rs Jemima. But though l have no vow
to keep can say goodbye and 1 can go
to sleep"
Augusta made no answer, and presently
JEANNE dozed off Her sister looked at
her with eager affection. "She is giving
up she said to herself, land, if she gives
up, she will die l know it; it is because
we are not going away. How can 1 get
the money, now that that horrible man
buried her head in her hand and thought.
Presently an idea struck her; she might go
back to MeesOn and eat her words and sell
him the copyright of her new book for one
hundred pounds, as the agreement pro-
vided. That would not be enough. how
ever, for travelling with an invalid is ex-
pensive. But she might offer to bind her
self over to him for a term of years as a
tame author, like those who worked in the
HutChes. She was sure that he would be
glad to get her, if only he could do so at
his own price. 1t would be slavery worse
than any penal servitude, and even now
she shuddered at the prospect Of prosti-
tuting her great abilities to the necessities
of such work as Nelson's made their
thousands out of-work out OF which
every spark of originality was stamped
into nOthinguess, as though it were the
mark of the Beast. Yes, it would be
dreadful-it would break her heart; but
she was prepared to have her heart broken
and her genius wrung out of her by inches
if only she could get two hundred pounds
wherewith to take JEANNE away to the
South of France. Mr.. Meeson would no
doubt, make hard bargain-the hardest
he could; but still, if she would consent to
bind herself for sufficient number of
years at n sufficiently low salary, he would
probably advance her a hundred pounds
besides the hundred for the copyright of
the new book