Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-11-07
down the steps with pleasant smile

down the steps with pleasant smile
and outstretchel hand. y. 81.
You must come III and see Jerry, y
she said. He has been asking for
you, and will be 50 glad to see you. y
u thought, perhaps begun Miss
Lydia, hesitatins. II only wanted to
find out s5 @5i 75<
Yes said Mrs Howell, kindly,
he had one of his bad turns, worse
than usual; but we hope he will be
better soon. Here he is in here" and
she led the way to the bedroom.
"lknew you'd come" exclaimed the
child. sitting up in bed, and putting up
his mouth for kiss. This is the nice
lady who gives mo all the flowers -
Yes" said Mrs. Howell. II have
often wanted to thank you for your
kindness to my little boy. He has SO
much enjSyedyour garden.
Flowers don't cost any thing" re-
piled Miss Lydia. ~. @
"Oh yes, they do" Interrupted Jer-
ry. They cost lots OF time and work.
and when the big ones stick in the hole,
you can't get them out, and that's a
bother, isn't ita''
II hope from this time forth that we
shall be very good friends, and 500 a
great deal of each other" said Mrs.
| Howell, turning her smiling face upon
Miss Lydia.
II never make calls" she answered,
stittiy. "
NO., not formal CALLS" said Mrs.
Howell. "But we are neighbors, you
know, and 1 am very lonely here,
although it was my husbands birth
place. If it were not for my little Jer-
ry." she continued, II should be very
desolate My other boys arc away all
day at work. long to put them in
school; but they have to help mo. now
their father is gone. Tho evenings,
though, are our happy times, when VIC
have q little class in Latin, algebra and
history. l was q governess, before I
was married, and try to turn my ex-
| perience to account, for their sakes."
Miss Lydia's call was very brief; but
before she left, both Jerry and his
mother had extracted from her prom
ise to some again-and come she did,
to her own surprise. not once, but
often; and seldom empty-handed.
| Sometimes 1t was bunch of the cher
| lshed flowers or Il red-cheeked apple;
and then, when the little frame grew
weaker, bowl of nourishing chicken
soup, or dish of calves foot jelly.
! But one beautiful morning, when the
| woods over by the river were afame
with the tints of tho Indian summer
time the little blue eyes closed forever,
to open in the sunshine of a fairer
world, where people never have any
pains in their backs, and where there
isn't any suffering.
In the weary days that followed. it
was Miss Lydia's presence that most
comforted the sorrowing mother. Left
alone the long day through, the two
women grew to need each other,
and lean upon each other for
companionship. And then, too, when
Miss Lydia found that her possessions
remained unmOlested, and when one
day Philip Howell brought home poor,
trembling little Hector, safe from the
clutches of the pound man. she was,
SO to speak. forced tosbury the Ratchet
and smoke the pipe of peace.
The uneventful days passed by,
when one afternoon at the post-of1ice
she was handed a letter, that caused
her no little surprise. 1t seems she
owned a small farm, in an adjoining
township. left her by an aunt for whom
she was named. This she had rented
out, and thought little of, as long as
the money came in regularly. But
here was an urgent Offer to purchase
it. The railroad wanted it for the site
of their new terminus, and offered
what seemed Il perfectly fabulous sum
more than she had ever dreamed of
possessing:
! She hurried home and read it over.
There it was in black and white, and
stamped with the company's seal. No
possible mistake.
What must she do? Accept, assur-
eddy! but then what could she want
with all that money, she solitary
woman, with enough for her simple
needs. and neither chick nor child to
call her own. Should she put it in
the bank, and leave it in her
will to refuge for orphan
children or needy widows? Might
she not see the benefits of it in her
own life-time2
''Ho told us to come back to his old
home, and may be somebody would be
| kind to us for his sake" The child's
words fingered in her mind. Who
| more reason to be kind than shep
Might she rot in some way atone for
the bitterness she had once caused u
| trusting friend?
Why ot-yes, why not educate those
two bright boys, and crafty their own
ambitions and those of their proud lit
tie motherp
She knew Il noble college in the
shadow Of the foothills, a days jour-