Nevada County picayune., 1890-02-12
A SCREENS SECRET.

'
 Phyllis ,'
 "Yes, auntie."
 Mrs. Van Roosevelt was here again to-day"
 The girl busying herself around the little kitchen paused at her words.
 About the screen, auntie?' she asked, wistfully.
 About the screen, my love"
 And" rather hopelessly, you
 II refused it, dear" very prompt ly and proudly.
 Phyllis pressed her red lips very tightly together.
 How she wished her auntie would sell the article in question. They were so very poor. Her salary as teacher in the village school barely paid for their necessaries, and she did long to spend few dollars fool ishly sometimes.
 She was a pretty girl-an extraor- dinary pretty girl. Her slender but well-rounded form was mostly alertly and charmingly broad graceful, and the face, with it's smooth brow, It's sun-bright hair, it's short, ,arched feat ures. its delicate coloring, and dreamy, violet eyes, deserved better gowningto emphasize it's exquisite ness than the faded and mended blue cashmere which she wore.
 But. auntie, all your other old heir-looms went long ago to buy bread and butter for us both went in the time before l was old enough to earn what little l do. Why do you prize this so much more high ly than the rest?'
 The small, withered old lady, dressed in alpaca, with net hand- kerchlef crossed over her bosom, ceased her slow rocking and looked up into the questioning young face.
 "Tm keeping it to give it to you for q wedding present.
 That Is very kind of you, aurtle, but indeed would rather have you sell it and enjoy some comfort now.
 Mrs. Merritt's little brown, bird like eyes twinkled shrewdly.
 II would if were offered enough for it.
 But" cried Phyllis, stopping in the act of filling the tea-kettle, 1875 auntie '"
 "Seventy-tive dollars cant touch it !" declared the old lady, with as perity.
 Phyllis sighed.
 It was quite useless to argue with her aunt when she got an idea in her head.
 As the girl washed up the supper dishes and tidied up the tiny room, which was both dining-room and kitchen, and which. with two other apartments, formed their whole es- tablishment, she recalled many of the odd stories she had heard about her aunt.
 A peculiar character every one seemed to consider her-demented, many minated. Certain it was that one episode related to her seemed to justify suspicion of her sanity.
 Very wealthy in her own right was she when she had married a hand some adventurer named Oswald Mer' rit. She had converted all her prop erty into money, invested her money into bonds, and then made a bonfire of the bonds Her jewels disap' peared, no one knew where, She said she wished to test the sincerity
 | of her husbands love, and believed husband should surely support his wife.
 1 But test so severe Oswald Mer- rit couldn't and didn't stand. lnturl ated at his brides deed and doc Urine he told her he only married hel for her money and took himself off
 For years, worthless, abusive, dis sipated, he hung around the neigh borhood, seeking no reconciliation with his wife, but ever to her proving T persistent and malicious menace.
 To her immense relief she learned one day that he fallen out of a thlro' | story window and broken hls neck.