The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-03-15

pleasure.
sYou seem to imply that I am Cos
sipy person, Ruth, and the Lord knows
if there's anything hate it's gossip.
II don't imply anything," returned
Mrs. Harkaway sturdily. II always go
On facls.n
The two friends often had little tiffs
owing to the douches of free speech the
widow would insist on pouring out on
Miss Carver's head for her SOUPS good.
Now she went out with little red spot
burning high up on either cheek.
Anne Bissell was in the little parlor,
which. though cheaply and plainly fur
nished, had that harmony of color and
artistic touch Anne impaired to every
thing with which she had to do. Her
girlish brightness and bloom seemed to
pervade the place and transform it into
low toned background for her beauty.
She was busy sewing on pale blue gown
of some thin wooden stuff, putting the
big sleeves, and putting in white lace at
the throat. Miss Carver in her scant
autumnal russell slipped into tie rocking
chair and wiped the perspiration from
her thin face Anne's abundant lowell
ness wounded her as usual, and gave her
the feeling that she would Like to stick
pin into that pink and white complacency
and call forth a little cry Of pain.
81 s'pose you know Mary French,
don't you, Amer she began, making the
rockers of her chair creak.
mo, can't say do. Weused to play
together when we went to school, but
she doesn't remember me now. She
wouldn't call on people in our position"
Il hate to hear folks talk as if they
were getting soured by being poor. Poor
folks can go among the best people in
Littledeld if they are of the right stamp.
lam poor, and am not ashamed to own
it; but never door is shut on me"
.sOh, we could not pretend to your SUI
perior qualifications for Littlefeld socie-
ty," and Anne gave her pretty head a
slight toss.
The hussyl Miss Carver wanted to
shake her. She hardened her heart.
"Well, Anne, understand that Mary
French knows something rather startling
about your DOCTOR" laying malignant
emphasis on the ''your." HE is engaged
to one of her schoolmates at Smith col
lege, and has been for year."
She waited to see the bomb explode,
but Anne lifted her face from the sleeve
she was putting serene as summer day.
'sOh, that's an old story" said she, snil
ing sweetly on Miss Carver. 1.-THE en-
gagement was broken more than six
months ago. The young lady insisted
on the doctors joining her church. AS
he declined she broke with him"
sit looks very bad to be making and
breaking engagements" remarked Miss
Carver with asperity. "Of with the
old love and on with the new"
Eyes, it does look bad, remarked the
placid Anne, ''to those who have never
been engaged, and are never likely to be,
and do not know the difficulties of the
situation"
Miss Carver sat back in her chair,
breathing hard, and just then Mrs. Bis
sell came into the room, sat down and
s1noothed her apron. There was what
Anne called the sblack rust" in her
! little mothers forehead, and she heaved
sigh.
"Gran'ther is sick, Anne; something
like a chill, and I've put him to bed and
tucked him in warm, and now I'm wait
ing for the doctor. The roof leaks close
to gran'ther's bed. and it has begun to
rain and is SO damp. / don't know but
| shall move gran'ther down into my
room. / had Fraser's assistant here day
before yesterday to mend the roof. He
said he was a stranger in town, and he
has made a miserable job Of it. be-
heve it leaks worse than ever, and
wonder Fraser would employ such a
hand. / do wish the doctor would
come"
Miss Carver had passed rather try
ing day, and she went to bed early and
slept lightly, waking every now and then
from bad dream. Late in the evening
she heard DR.. Tibbct's light step going
up to his patient in the attic and his
pleasant, reassuring voice saying to Mrs.
Bissell in the hall: Now, don't you
worry The old man has got little
j cold and touch of fever, but we shall
bring him round in q day or two"
i It was astonishing to Miss Carver that
Mrs. Bissell, with all the load she had to
carry, should worry abolt that old man
for whom she cooked tand washed and
mended when his own well to do dangh-
tiers had practically cast him off. In the
middle of the night she heard the front
door bell ring out in the silent house
with startling reverberation. She was
hesitating about getting up to call Mrs.
Bissell when Anne came tripping out of
her room i'll her striped flannel dressing
gown, her hair a mass of fluffy curls.
Miss Carver heard her tap at the doctors
door. 1.-The night patients have begun
to pour in" she whispered through the
panel, "and I'm SO glad"
The doctor got up aud dressed hur-
riedly, and then drove away in a wagon
that was waiting for him at the door
over the soft, wet road. Miss Carver
did not hear him come in, but she found
him fresh and bright in the morning al
the breakfast table discussing Mrs. Bis
sells rolls and coffee Mrs. Bissell was
herself seated behind the tray.
Doctor" she asked, s'was your pa
tent very i'll last nightY'
mo, nothing serious; only a light