Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-04-18

possessions consisted Of a small house
and about an acre of ground in Sheldon,
but the long period of ill health of our
parents, together with the funeral cx-
penses, had put three hundred dollar
mortgage on the property, SO we could
hardly say the roof that covered US was
our own.
Mollie was but sixteen; I was four
years her senior. Being well educated,
I succeeded in getting the public school
in our town, and though the pay was
small we managed to live on it. Mollie
1 was determined should keep at her
studies for year or two more. Some
how we couldn't save a cent to pay on
that mortgage, and it kept growing
larger all the while. One day John
Easton, the man who held it, came over.
had just returned from school. He
said:
''Miss Anicc, 1 thought I'd call and
| tell you I can't carry that mortgage
any longer. Ineed the money. 1t was
due last fall, but thought I'd let it run
as long as could, but must have the
| money the 1st Of October or l shall
have to forcclose, which should might
| lily hate TO do. Times have been SO hard
with me the last year or two that 1
must have it. The interest added to
| the mortgage will swell the amount to
$500 October II
Now. couldn't see for the life of me
| how we We're ever going to pay that
| money. 1t seemed that we must lose
! our home, and that night told Mollie
! all about it.
"Wen, Anice," said she, 'sl'll have to
quit school and go to work.
YES" said I, ''but what work could
you get by which we could save money
enough to pay that mortgage by Oc-
tober L? can't see any object in your
stopping your studies. Well have to
let the old home go, if go it must. Per-
haps we can rent it of the party who
buys it,
OF course we had a crying spell over
the prospect before us We had been
born under that root. and it seemed
sad indeed to have it pass into other
| hands. The next evening when came
home from school ! found a letter there
that Mollie had brought from the office.
| 1t was from Aunt Clara in Nashville.
She was the only relative we had on
on earth, to my knowledge. She was
my fathers old maid sister, and had
lived in Nashville all her life. Now she
was an old, old woman. She had visit
| ed lis once or twice while father was
| alive. The letter read:
! DEAR NIECE: am dying. Come at once
| and bring Molle. CLARA EvANS.:
l managed to scrape money enough
together to pay our way to Nashville.
We found Aunt Clara in Il humble cot
tage near the depot. She was evidently
| near deaths door. Poor old soul. She
had been for years an invalid, it seemed,
and all the money she had laid by in
her youth her later years had found use
| for. She lived alone in the cottage
with Aunt Dolly, an old rheumatic ne
grcss whom she had bought twenty,
| five years before. When Aunt Clara
was "a younger woman Dolly had be-
| longcd to Il Mrs. Bacon, with whom
| Aunt Clara boarded. Mrs. Bacon died
suddenly and everything she had was
sold at auction. Dolly had become at.
tachcd to my aunt, and begged SO hard
that she buy her that my aunt actually
| paid the last dollar she had in the world
for her. Then she rented the cottage.
and there my aunt and Dolly had lived
| for twenty-five years, and grown old to-