Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-05-09
HER SPHERE.
Miss Susan's Fortune and the
 Trouble It Caused Her,

''Mother, Miss Susan has had little fort une left here"
 IA fortunes Miss Susana Nonsense, Herbert, why do you say such childish things9'
 IA child is supposed to speak simple, unvarnished tale, isn't ita Well, my ad- miring mother, that is just what I am doing. Miss Susan, tell you, has had fortune left her"
 ''By whom?"
 "Ah, now your curiosity comes t,sA4cs- cue Of your unbelef; you grant D ft1sn, that Miss Susan has had fortune le!tGer!" II would grant you q box on the ear, if my hands were not so busy just now, for teasing me about a matter that you must know am sincerely interested in."
 Mir. Herbert Johns' handsome mother threw enough reproach into her tone to bring the young man to more sober speech. He landed his chair safely on it's four legs, after pirouetting 1t around on one, and left of bantering his mother. "Yes, madame, in good earnest, her California uncle has left her $10 ,0OO,"
 "1s it possible! I wonder what the good soul will do with its I really am afraid Herbert, that the change at her time of life will make her unhappy"
 ''Then hope, mother, that you will sug- gest to her to give it to me. It would not make mo unhappy, I assure you"
 But Mrs. Johns was not far wrong. Miss Susan Park had learned the dress-making trade while she was girl in her teens. She was an old maid of forty now, doing an ex- cellent business, getting dollar and a-half @ day, and laying by a little something g every year. She was entirely content with her lot The California lawyers letter had up- set her whole plan of life. Instead of be- coming the beneficiary of the Old Ladies' Home for the consideration of three hum dred dollar entrance fee, which had hereto fore been her earthly am bitlon, Miss Susan now felt both the pleasure and the respon- sibility of a possible benefactress. And what, indeed, as Mrs. Johns had said, should she do with its
 "1m thinking of setting up an orphan asylum, ma'am," Miss Susan said ln an- swer to the kind lady, the next time she went to her for day's sewing.
 "An orphan asylumv' exclaimed Mrs. Johns, in natural surprise. The old maids cheek was still fresh enough to color deep ly.
 "Yes'm. I love childer, an think I'd hardly want to go to Heaven, if l could have dozen of them, with blue eyes, and curls, and white dresses, in my house all the time''
 This was the old maids first dream of what to do with her money. Mrs. Johns had not the heart to break in upon it with cruel facts, of dirty, wlllful, unruly, dis eased, ungrateful little creatures, such as she well knew fell to the lot of most orphan asylums. She only said: Don't be nasty, Susan, take some time to look around you before you make up your mind"
 "Well, Miss Johns," said the heiress, plaintively, some weeks later, ''Tm glad ,rI, r <No1r o1V ohnv,f around a bit before set out for an orphan asylum. 1 went to the Home of the Help less, told lem what I was thinkin' about, and ask ked them to let me stay few days and look 'round. But lands sake! could hardly stick it out for two days. l didn't have an idee that childer was so noisy and so pesterin'. If I was younger may be could get used to lem. but it wouldn't suit me now, no way"
 There was something in Miss Susan's de- cided tone which suggested to her patrons sharp ears that some other object had risen above the old maids horizon, and she promptly turned her glass upon it.
 "Well, yes'm," reluctantly admitted Miss Susan. 'I did get hold of plan that 1t seems likely would just suit; the doctor at the house says they're awful short of nurses; he says, says he, you'd make a good lady superior, Sister Susan.' It does sound a little popish, but we would't wear crosses nor black vails, nor nothin' like that" She looked anxiously at Mrs. Johns i; her approval had been Miss Susan's law for so many years that she could not be com fortable without it. But that lady shook her head sagaciously. Don't you get your self pledged to nurses life till you've tried it," she said, warnlngly; remember the | orphans" Miss Susan was evidently dis | appointed at her friends lack of enthusiasm, | but agreed to take nurses position at once and put herself to the proof "Mother," sad Mir. Herbert Johns, com | ing into her dressing-room one day, ''did you set Miss Susan Park up for nurse?" s.No my dear,n answered the lady, trying z 1 vaguely to recall what she had done in the 1 matter; "but why3 She hasn't poisoned any. | body, hope"
 MT. Herbert picked out his favorite chair
 and then sat down to enjoy good laugh "l l ran across the good soul to-day at MT. Ian. | casters, who, by the way,'is very sick, and 1 of all the sights she was the most absurd 1 gotten up in some fanciful costume of caI
 and cape, and so on"
 "How did she seem to be getting on?' | asked his mother.
 l "Well, l was there about eleven o'clock, , l he answered, taking out his watch and re-
 garding it attentively; Git is now two, anc
 Ill eat my hat if one or the other of that
 duet isn't stark crazy by this time, but rG
 make safer bet on Miss Susan herself" 1 stOh, Herbert, what sort of speech is that
 Do tell me what you meana"
 II mean," said he, with an effort to lool
 reasonable, ''that Miss Susan has about a! good an idea of nursing as a blacksmith
 and felt obliged to go and tell Dr. Carr so. l It was some time before Miss Susan coult
 be coaxed back to Mrs. Johns house, bu
 the tide of confession set in at last: "Yes
 like to went crazy at the job; the docto
 told me SO many things to do and not to do