The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-01-17

families OF her father and her grand
father before her. Its square, low
ceiled rooms were peopled for her
with precious memories and tender
associations. She would not shut
the sunlight quite out ofany of them,
so that they ali retained some pleas
ant look us of occupancy. And the
rooms she really livedin were bright,
restful, sunshiny, with enough of the
old-time quaintness to give them
peculiar charm, and sufficient sub
serviency to newer fashions and fam
cies of adorment to assure you that
the owner lived in today rather than
yesterday. ...
Miss Hoitt was much esteemed in
the little community of Milton as a
woman of means, of sense, of charac-
ter, of generous purposes and prac-
tees. The farm had dwindled from it's
once broad area of tillage
and meadow and pasture and
woodland, to less than sixty acres.
Yet it was large enough for her to
manage, tor she carried it on herself,
with as careful and capable on over
sight as was exercised by any of her
neighbors on their domains. 1t was
the standing wonder of the neighbour
hood and of the little town, "how
Miss Hannah could manage SO
well. Every spring the boldness
| and magnitude Of her ventures as
tonished them. Every fall the guam
tity and quality of the crops shepro-
duced therefrom amazed them still
| more. Her beans and corn, her cab
| bages and cucumbers and onions,
her beets and her asparagus, nodded
| to one another from their NEEDLESS
rows in triumphant luxuriance. Her
berries blushed in exultation. Her
little orchard dropped its rosy and
golden fruit gleefully. In truth, it
was the garnering of her haryests
that perplexed her. She revealed in
the long days when hecould dig and
tend and water, and esee the things
grow.n But when the days grew
short, and the first frosts came, and
the pumpkin vines grew black, and
the potato tops died, and she began
to fear for her tenderer fruit, then
despair and dismay began to fill her
soul. For then her housekeeping
tasks were more onerous, her neigh
bors could seldom be hired to help,
and ''help," proper, was "scarce."
And, though Miss Hoitt was no
scold, and didn't know how to
whine, her voice was apt to grow
plaintive as she sometimes related
her anxieties.
Hers was a bright and busy life, in
all itsloneliness; and many q weaker
or less hopeful heart shared it's
sunshine. She had not always ex-
pected to live thus alone Once
she looked forward to a far different
life. Perhaps it had been all the hard
er that her own hand had put aside
her Joys But she couldn't have done
otherwise, she would remind herself.
There was only she to take care of
the aging father, the querulous grand
mother, the invalid sister-all gone
from her long ago. And he, Allen
Maynard, had his own brave life to
live. She would not let him waste
any of it waiting. She had sent him
away, and perhaps she had not told
I him the reason why. But she had
never ceased to think efhim andpray
for him, When she read thatpathet-
ic story of Miss Jewitt's, ga Lost
Lover" it came to hersnddenly that
her love might have been lost" TIC
her, and the world, to goodness and
God, as that man. was. But she al
ways said to herself that that never
could have been. Wherever Allen
Maynard was, she was very sure
that he was still good and tr1te- up
brave an1 genuine.
. IzzO Over hau0 yfffeshold above which |
Gov Ines grew and morning glories
flung from dawn till noon their dewy |
chalices Of purple and crimson and |
white, came one late September after
noon her nearest neighbor, and one
of her dearest friends, Mrs. Sterne.
She was younger by few years than |
Miss Hoitt, but loved, trusted, petted, |
even sometimes confided in, by the
older woman.
"Come in, LUCY What's the mat
ter, child? Something worries YOU
and you're tired out, too. Now just
90 into the sitting-rooni and take
the easy chair, and I'll be in In @
minute, just as soon as slip on my
other dress"
"tYou see," she resumed, q little
later, coming back freshly attired,
GIVE been trying to get inmy grapes
and pears, and some ofmy apples. 81
had to begin in season, and keep at
it, little to o time, and I'm wotully
behind-hand now; and help | can't
seem to get, for everybody else is
busy, too. Nov Lucy, what troubles
YOU, and what can / do27 & asaassl
George Eliot remarks on the widely
different meanings thai maybe CIV
en- to those last four words by the
tone and infection with. which they
are uttered-expressing now heartiest
sympathy and helpfllness, now the,
coolest ofildif fereIit courtesy. But
the words as Miss Hannah said them
were full of the wish tohelp and know
how TO help. A A
Il don'tiike to tell you, Hannah;
you have cares enough, without our
rolling any of ours on you. But,
JotilaIiAs eister Emily she shat mar
ried asswift, b aick with typhoid ie-
yer, the real, raging typbQid. They
live over to Easton, you know and
there's nobody, hardly, to so, but
Ue; and it seems as if mustgo right
On a4d stay till she's better. And
there's only Mary Nelson, and she SO
young and needless, fes al PSeabad
her a year and done my best with
her to learn her TO keep house She,
could do well eaengl for JotlIam end
John, but j othhfnss got men 't.cofn-
ing right the 4hresters and