Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-05-20
SISTER MARTHA.
By AUGUSTA HARMED.
Copyright. 1892, by American Press AssOoia

Everybody in Littletield had read that announcement without it's raising a ripple on the surface, for the Little fieldians, as a rule, took the village paper solely to read the 'flocals" contain ing facts they all knew in advance; such is the witchery of seeing one's name in print.
 Sometimes sitting up there in her own room with the three slightly windows, a wild impulse seized Sister Martha to do something reckless that should make folks talk. She was not 3 passive per son, nor was her mood meditative. Vinie's room was next to her own. She kept light burning in there all night. Their windows looked the same way toward Captain Bligh's house, and in the small hours when her insomnia was at its worst, pinning her eyelids open and making her brain whirl, she would hear slight stealthy movements through the wall, and would know that Vinie was awake treading in her worsted slippers up and down the carpet.
 There was light, too, in the captains window, for he sat late reading-or the Lord only knew what he was doing long after other folks were in bed. The neighbors called Captain Bligh heath en. He never went to church, nor did he often enter any other house than his own, but he was keen and sharp enough about his own interests and had bought up much valuable real estate in the town for purposes of speculation. Sister Martha, in her own dark room, spied on these two lights as she heard Vinie's stealthy steps. The two lights had looked across intervening space at each other for ff- teen years. Sister Martha had never read the affecting ballad of the knight who turned hermit on the mountain to watch the candle in his lady's window across the valley, and had she known it it would probably have seemed to her sentimental stuff.
 Sister Martha had her own thoughts as she gazed at the lonely bachelors win dow, and at times blended with them was something like twinge of remorse. She hoped when the ketchin took her in the side it did not betoken incipient heart disease. Ann Baskett had sealed her thin lips about Captain Bligh and was not very communicative on the subject of the neighbor's affairs. Her opinion that Mis- Whitcumb was "a kerryin and fetchin woman" was no whit lessened by the gift of the insey woolsey piece for a winter petticoat. Ann received it somewhat grimly with an intimation of counte- nance that she could afford to buy such clothes as she needed. She let it lay neg lected two days on a kitchen chair before she carried it to her own room. Ann's scorn of presents was due to her con- sciousness of a good bank account. She had saved money during her long service in the Mahew family, and she thanked God she was not hard on her things.
 Her principal employment in the long winter evenings was to sit at her clean kitchen table, with a brightly burning kerosene lamp, and make over her old clothes. A new fashion hardly ever came up that she did not get some odd wrinkle of it on her garments. When the high sleeves first were in vogue she was one of the earliest to appear at meeting with a queer little puckered bunch on each shoulder. Meeting was Ann's great resource and pleasure. It was her theater and opera, her concert and lecture. She never missed a service at her church however stormy the night, and with her kitchen key in her pocket she felt her dominions were safe, no matter what might happen to the front of the house.
 One morning Ann came down stairs with the breakfast tray and message from her mistress to Sister Martha, beg ging that she would excuse her that day, as her head was unusually painful.
 "Well, it's about as lively here as a graveyard, ain't it?" said Mrs. Whitcumb pushing out her foot as she sat stoutly on kitchen chair. "I can't go thrusting myself in on folks when they haven't called on me, and know pretty well why they don't call. They've got tired of a one sided business. Vinie's beer shut up so long they know there's noth ing to look for from this house. YoT can't expect to be asked to places if yor don't do something in return" Mrs Whitcumb felt the black silk dress ant bead trimming up in the press burning to be worn.
 "What do you say Ann?'' after musine a moment; "I have an idea, Suppose was to give @ tea party?'
 Ann turned slowly around from thu table where she was doing up the break fast things, and Mrs. Whitcumb noticed that her gray pebble eyes had turneC
 green. ''Why, Marthy Marier Whit cumb," said she deliberately; "be yol crazyY ''No, Ann," snapped Mrs. Martha
 "rm clothed and in my right mind. Bu
 what's to hinder my having few peopl s to tea in my own mother-in-law's hous
 that was2 There's the parlor and dininl room all swep' and garnished, needin
 only few punches of flowers set aroun
 to brighten things and some sparrow
 grass bushes in the chimney"
 q guess I should hev something to say . leastways about the part of the hous
 that belongs to me. Them are her rooms
 don't claim no control over them" 1, "Of course you will have all to say Ann. I am aware of that. If you pu . down your foot that is the end of tn 4 ps-..