Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-05-19

| child had been sent TO her parents, and
knew nothing of what had happened.
After awhile her parents told her that
| Aunt Teresa had gone to heaven
The married sons and daughters were
attentive to their father, but their homes
were elsewhere.
Chloe, grave and unsmiling, showing
her white teeth no more and wearing a
Handkerchief, instead of her favorite red
and-yellow bandanas, waited on the
Judge and TODD behind his chair at meal
| times
The old clock licked away in the hall,
! its voice louder than of yore, in the sad
silence of the house.
Roderick Clifford could not forget how
he had found her standing before it, with
the blue-satin train gathered over her
arm. He could see the smile with which
she turned to him yet. That last evening
came back vividly whenever he stood in
the hall. He half expected, sometimes,
that Teresa would come tripping down
the dark, old staircase, and tell him all
this misery was only bad dream.
One day he left the place, "for little
while" he said. Then they knew he had
been urged to join an expedition of mo-
ment, and had consented. He wrote
long and loving letter to the Judge, in
which he told him more OF what he felt
than he had ever uttered before, and after
that his name was read in the papers by
his fellow-townsmen now and then, and
they were proud of him, and liked to tell
strangers he was born there. But for fif-
teen years none of them ever saw his face.
| And many changes took place besides
those that time must make
| War fell upon the land. Men who had
been rich became poor. There was no
longer luxury anywhere, and often biting
poverty entered the once happy home
steads.
Tessy had returned to her grandfather's
home an orphan. She was Miss Teresa
now.
The Judge was an old man, with hair
like snow, who waited on the margin of
the dark river.
| Chloe had as many wrinkles as a walnut
in her face, but was otherwise unchanged.
She was the only one left of all the many
servants of the house, and it was not easy,
sometimes to serve the Judge and Miss
Tessy with pone, and broiled chicken and
coffee.
Crops were poor, and they were robbed
of their fruit by swarms of every-hungry
little darkies. Neither the old gentleman
nor the young lady guessed at all their
faithful Chloe's device to procure the
wherewithal to keep the pot and frying
pan in use.
Just sixteen years from that autumn in
which her Aunt Teresa died, Tessy, older
than she was then, and her living image,
sat at Chloe's feet on the old porch.
The house had become shabby, and the
mating in the hall was worn. 1t could not
be helped. But Tessy was used to that
that was not what troubled her
The Denvieghs were about to give
party, and they had asked her, of course.
'And l can't go, Chloe" she said half
crying. ~ haven't solitary thing to
wear"
Chloe shook her head.
Times is changed" she laid. Times is
changed, sartinly."
Her mind went back to years Of plenty
and elegance, and suddenly an idea seized
her.
Dere scenes to be Providence in it."
she said, aloud. "Ef your grandpa
warf't abed with rheumatic, l wouldn't
dare to do it, but sence it's the will Of the
Lord, | reTice that it should hev happened
jest now"
what are you talking about? ?"
The Jedges rheumatic in his knee. Miss
Tessy," replied Chloe, eff he wus about,
dino, Miss Tessy, as dust, but dere am dress
one of de ladies wore jes' once, up garnet. eff
de rats amt got at it. guess you could
wear dat. Pow'ful harnsome it used to be,
l remember"
Tessy had never been told how her aunt
died, nor did she remember her clearly.
Many ladies had married and gone away
from that old mansion. She did not think
at all of the former wearer. A vision of
silk, that might be remodelled flashed
across her mind.
"Oh, come and see if it is possible" she
cried. Come, show me where it is" and
she flew up the stairs, followed more slowly
by Chloe. AT the entrance to the garnet
she paused. "But what had that to do with
grandpa" she asked.
Chloe was always ready with flo, when
one seemed needful.
''Aliss Tessie, don you know the Jedge
is powerful proud ?" she asked. He'd be
sort o Tended fur to hev Miss Tessie make
over old clothes, like she couldn't afford to
buy new ones"
Jessie laughed. at is not likely grand
pa would remember girls gown" she
said. But Chloe knew more than her
young mistress.
The garnet was long and broad The
discarded furniture and garments of gen
erations hung there. Old boxes and bum
dies, punches of herbs, half-used bottles
of medicine, rusty sword or two, cracked
mirrors, broken china, filed it to over
flowing.
Old Chloe crossed its length in her loose,
tapping slippers and stopped before
high clothes-press.
''AIiss Tessy," she said, 81 is mighty
heavy. Have to ask Miss Tessy fur to
climb onto dat old table and git down dat
old box, up top dere"
A moment more, and Tessy had the box
in her arms, and had jumped lightly to
the floor She pulled off the cover. The
blue satin dress, of which we know, lay
before her.
"Ohl Chloep she cried, ecstatically.
"How lovely. how utterly lovelyw She
looked closer. "There's a stain on the
waist, though" she said.
claw, yes" said Chole. "Why, now |
remember, Miss Tessy, dat ar dress must
hev done got some wine split on it, OATS
why dey sent it up garnet. Pow'ful proud,
all my young ladies was; wouldn't wear
nothin' mended. But Pll jess cut off bit
of dat sash and patch it, soft Miss Tessy
wouldn't know. No use bein' too top
lofty desc times"
And so it came about that Tessy, quite
unaware of what she did, decided to go to
the Denyiegh party, in the dress her aunt
had donned, sixteen years before, for the
same purpose. 1t was certainly old-fash
Toned, but pretty girl in beautiful dress
only looks quaint, if it be cut in the by
gone style, and things did not move as
rapidly in that Southern place as they do
in New York or Paris.
She had dressed and gone down into the
parlor, to look at herself in the long mir
ror. She wore the same roses in her belt
that her aunt had worn. The old rose bush,
or the new one from its roots, still bore
bountifully The whole costume was the
same, except the pearls. They had gone,
with other things of value, in tire of hard
ship.
One ancient horse was being harnessed
in an old gig, to take the girl upon her
way, and she had stepped into the hall to
look at the tall clock, impatient of times
lingering footsteps. as man came up the