Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-02-25

~"o whiie there she was cou-
1n1 nut all too soon would come tha
sound OF the horn blown from boIo. 'ao
acaii from the house, "Brie. Erta ~.
men are coming to supper; make bas,ar,
ana she would be forced to hurry haar
TO the work-a-day world. 'AoA
Harder times followed w,
was Just twenty her father fell from rio
.oaded nay wagon and fractured h,s
1Mgh. There was no cure for the bnrt
.na aiter SIX months Of hopeless attend
snuc ne aied. Bric and her mother w.r.
.si' .ogetner on the lonely farm. WITH
the added burden OF large bill for S aoa
toring and medicines, which pressed I,,sa
hcaVy weight on their bonorahlo
| hearts. orapie
Inc hired man, Reuben Hall. was we,,
disposed and honest, but before Mr.
Dorsets death he had begun to tall q,
gong west, and Brie foreboded that IN
might not be willing to stay with thero
MRS. Dorset, broken down bv nnra;n.
ana sorrow, had become an invalid ny
apie 70 assist, save In the lightest wav
Inc burden was sore for one n.ir -,
young shoulders to bear. Brie ken, ~
brave face by day, but at night bor,
rors OF helplessness and apprehension
seized her. The heavens seemed 40
orass against which her feeble PRAYER.
beat In vain; the future was barred 40
IL were' with an impossible gate.
What could she do? Sell the farmo
That would take time, for no one In ma, .
ticular wanted to buy IL. II Repho,
would only stay by them they might he
able to hight 1t out for another wear. and
what with butter and eggs and the corn
crop make enough for his wages and
pare living But would Reuben stay?
Our virtues sometimes treat us AZ in .
vestments do, and return a dividend
when we least expect 1t. 1t was at this
hard crisis that certain good deeds of
Brles in the past stood her friend She
na1 always been good to Reuben, and
her sweet ways and consideration for
MS comfort had gradually won a pass
age into his rather stolid affections
NOW seeing the emergency she was in
and the courage with which she met IL
ne could not quite find the heart to
leave the little gal to make out by her.
self" Fully purposing to 90, he STAYED
putting off the idea of departure from
month to month, and though true to his
idea OF proper caution, he kept his good
Intentions to himself, so that the relief
OF having him there was constantly
tempered by the dread lest he might 20
at any time; still it was a relief.
SO April passed, and May and June.
The crops were planted, the vegetables
in. Brie strained every nerve. She
petted her hens and coaxed every posi-
BILE egg out OF them, she studied the
tastes OF the two cows, she maintained
brave show of cheer for her ailing
mother, but all the time she was sick at
heart. Every thing seemed closing in
How long could she keep it up?
The balsam frs of the hill grove
could have told tales in those DAYS
They were Brie's sole confidants. The
consolation they gave, the counsel they
communicated, were mute indeed. but
none the less real to the anxious girl
who sat beneath them, or laid her cheek
on their rough stems. June passed, and
with early July came the answer to
Brie's many prayers. 1t came, as an
swers to prayers often do, in shape of
which she had never dreamed.
Miss Mary Morgan, teacher in Gram
mar School No. 8. Ward Nineteen, of
the good city of Boston, came, tired out
from her winters work to spend few
days with Farmer Aliens wife, her sec
ond cousin, stopped one day at the Dor
sets door, while driving, to ask for
drink OF water, took fancy to the old
home and Brie, and the next day came
over to pr pose herself as boarder for
three months.
81 can only afford to pay seven dollars
a week." she said, ''but on the other
hand | will try not to make much
trouble, if you will take me-"
"Seven dollars week; only Think
cried Brie, gleefully, to her mother, after
the bargain was completed and Miss
Morgan gone. Doesn't it seem like
fortune? It'll pay Reuben's wages, and
leave ever so much over. And she
doesn't eat much meat, she says, and
she likes baked potatoes and cream and
sweet baked apples better than any
thing. And there's the keeping-room
chamber all cleaned and ready. Doesn't
it seem as ifshe was sent to us, mother"
"Your poor father never felt like
keepin boarders," said Mrs. Dorset. Il
used to kind of like the idea of it, but
he wasn't willin'. | thought it would
be company to have one in the house, If
they was nice folks. 1t does seem as if
this was the Lords will for us; her com
ing is so unexpected, and all
Two DAYS later Miss Morgan, with
hammock and folding canvas chair and
a trunk full of light reading arrived,
and took possession of her new quarters.
For the first week or two she did little
but rest, sleeping for hours at a time in
the hammock swung beneath the shad-
owing elms Then, as the color came
back to her thin face and the light to
her eyes, she began to walk little, to
sit with Brie in the fir grove, a. read
aloud to her on the doorstep willis she
mended. shelled peas or picked over
berries and all life seemed to grow
easier and pleasanter for the jewellers
in the solitary farmhouse. The guest
gave lii sle trouble. she paid her weekly
due punctually, and the steady income
small as it was. made all the difference
in the world to Brie.
As the summer went by, and she grew
at home with her new friend, she founo
much relief in confding to her the per
plexities of her position.
81 see" Miss Morgan said, ut Is tine