Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-09-26
ISABEIA:
From Shop to Mansion.
The Romantic Story Of a Dress
Makers Rise in Life
BY MRS. ?. M. Howard.
BY Mrs. F. NJ. Howard.
Copyrighted, 1Ss9.l
CHAPTER YI.-CoSTIsUED.

DO you WISH Ulc 70 20 Will gOus y
would you prefer going alonel'' he said, a
he smOOthed her hair with a sympatheti
hand.
Il think ! had better go alone" she said
slowly, after a moments thought; ri
might distress auntie TO have a strange
see her in her sorrOwful, straitened circum
stances"
''True, your Intuitions are finer than mine
but dread to have you take the iourne!
alone"
"Do not fear for me- she replied, quietly
/ am accustomed 10 travelling alone, anC
shall do nicely"
you VIII stop in New York and bring
Miss Ford home with your he said, inter
negatively.
yes, think So she replied, looking VI
at him with a pleased smile; 'how readily
you plan for me-"
IF you find her badly of, l had better
meet you in New York, in order to assist
her" he suggested.
THANK you; viii telegraph to you il
time should need your assistance"
There was barely time to pack the trunE
before the carriage would be at the door
to carry her to the station, and she had lit
lie time to think Of any thing but the details
Of the unexpected journey. Mr.. FalcOner
took roll of bills from his bill-boOk
"Isabel." he said. Il wish you to go amply
provided to do whatever is needed for your
aunt, YOU can help her non to advantage
Please feel no restrictions whatever, and if
there is not enough ask for more, and leave
her comfortable"
'Mr. Falconerp' she said, IN a trembling
voice.
81 do not wish any one who has loved and
befriended you to suffer need, when we have
such abundance. should he ashamed of
myself could l allow It." He spoke kindly
and firmly.
"a can not tell you how gratifying 1t Will
be TO me to be able to relieve the distress ]
expect to find" she said, as she put the bills
away.
As the train whizzed along her mind took
retrospective turn. Only three short
months ago, and she had passed oyer this
road a bride, in such a maze of strangenesS
that she hardly realized that It was herself.
Her book of experiences had been unfold
ing ever since, and what delightful one it
was, so widely different from any thing she
had ever dreamed of, and she thought Of
her husband with a warm thrill at her
heart. The lKindest and most unselfSh of
men," she murmured, land Oracle, sweet
darling! could a mother ask for a lovelier
childf'
She was thoroughly rested now. Mind
and body had been treated to such an en-
tire change that she was once more buOyant
with life and energy, and the peevishness
produced by the long routine of work and
mental aggravation, which had so worn
upon her nervous system, had passed
away, and she was going to her aunt in her
need with every faculty on the alert, and
with her tenderness aroused toward the
friend who had been all the mother she had
ever known.
A lady sat before her. holding a little girl
in her arms; the child was peevish. go
to sleep, dear" said the lady, kindly. "Lay
your head on my shoulder and take nap"
"Oh, auntie, can'tl' The child was al
most sobbing with excitement and weari-
ness, for they had come long Journey.
"Auntie!" The word, so familiar, struck
a vibrating chord in Isabers heart, and re-
minded her of the loving care her aunt had
gwen her in the old days, before poverty
and sorrow had come to wiring her heart and
chill her affections.
One time of sickness she remembered in
particular, when Mrs. Harmon had nursed
her night and day for weary weeks, and
tears of JOY rose to her eyes as she remem-
bered that she had it in her power to re
pay, in some measure, her debt of graft
tude.
Meanwhile Mrs. Harmon was sitting in
her poor home in a maze of sOrrowful
trouble; John Harmon had been unusually
dIssipated for the last six months, and her
poor heart had sank away down, out of
sight of hope or courage, and she had
prayed wildly that sOmsthiny might come to
change the miserable routine.
Something had come; he was carpen-
ter, and IN ascending ladder in a state of
intOXIcatiOn his foot slipped, and falling, his
neck was broken, causing instantdeath, and
when he was carried to his miserable home.
which he had left that morning with curses
and threats, the poor wife felt as if in some
way she was responsible for the awful oc-
currence.
She longed for, yet dreaded, Isabers ad-
vent in the shabby little cottage. She had
written so little since her marriage that her
aunt had little idea of what her manner of
life was now, but she was sure of one thing,
that it would be painful to her to come into
the home, which had so long sheltered her,
and see the ravages drink had made, for
she had been obliged to par with every
thing of value in the house, an old secreta-
ry and shabby old bureau and a battered
sewing-machIne the only pieces of furni-
ture left which were not actually indispen-
sable.
She remembered only too well the girls
last stay at home; how her very soul rose
up in rebellion against John Harmon's
course, and the bitter words and scornful
looks which made 1t a relief when she went
away, for he was not a man to bear inter
ference, and lsabel's fierce disapproval only
drove him into more logged persistence in
wrong dong
She almost repented sending for her, as
she thought 1t all over, and then a longing
desire to see her, to lean upon her strong
young arm for support would possess her,
and she could hardly await patiently the
hour of her arrival.
She was not prepared then for the scene
when Isabel, in blooming health aud ele-
gant!y attired In a rich travelling suit, came
an at the humble door, and taking the poor,
tried and prematurely aged little woman in
her arms, petting and kissing her as she
cried, Iearfully: Dear auutie; my Door,
sad-hearted auntie"
CHAPTER VII.
John Harmon was laid in a drunkard's
grave, and the tears which were shed were
more for the Knight have been and for
the wasted life so suddenly brought to a
close than for sorrow that ne had gone
Indeed, brighter atmosphere was even
now pervading the house, as the fact be-
Nov,r