The Opelousas courier., 1893-09-30

dressed ladies and gentlemen who
looked c~uriously at the o~dd.looking
little old woman in the queerly-made
and o~ld-fas1ioned black silk, she heart
lily wished that she had not come.
Mr.. and Mrs. Holbrook were as at
tentive to her as they could be with q
house full Of guests; but Aunt Susan
soon found it convenient to slip of
into q corner, where she hid like the
little country mouse she was.
But she was glad, after all, that she
had come when James, looking so tall
and happy and handsome, came into
the great parlors with his bride on his
arm in her trailing, white satin dress
and long veil. Aunt Susan was 80 com
pletely overawed by this magnifcence
that. instead of going forward with the
others to offer her congratulations, she
slipped off upstairs to the room II
which she had taken off her bonnet and
shawl. In it was her wedding gift to
Jimmv-the quilt that had but yester,
day seemed to her as beautiful and ap'
propriate a gift as she could bestoN
upon him.
Across the hall was the open door o.
q almost filed with shining silver
and glittering glass, with pictures, anc
J rare ornaments, and beautiful books.
gifts to James and his bride.
Aunt Susan felt that her own offer.
ing, although it wac the gift of her OWL
labor and love. would be out of place.
It might offend her nephew and his
bride to see it there. Some one might
laugh and leer at it, and she could not
beer to think of that. 1t seemed SO
poor and trifing, now; she could not
bear to think of allowing Jimmy and
his wife to know that she had brought
them such a gift.
She turned back a corner of the
quilt, and looked at q piece ofthe pink
and white muslin of which mi OF
Jimmy's first garments have been
made. A flood of tender memories
filed her heart, and she buried her
face in her gift and cried as she had
not cried for years.
There she sat for a long time, pay
ing no heed to the noise and merrl-
ment downstairs. Presently she heard
a rustic of silk and satin in the hall,
and q low murmur of voices. In 8
moment q pair of soft arms were
around her neck, and q girlish voice
was saying:
"I am so glad that We have found
you at last! We have been looking
everywhere for you!"
When Aunt Susan looked up she
found the bride kneeling by her side,
while James was bending low over
her.
"You haven't been up here all this
time, have you?" he said. 1--WE have
wondered where you we're. Helen waf
SO anxious to see you
"Of course I was" said the bride.
"'There is no one here I am so glad to
see. James has told me all about you,
and it was SO good of you to come 80
far to see us married. You must kiss
us both and wish us Joy. won't you?'
eff you'll let me-" said Aunt Susan.
with the tears still in her eyes.
"Let you'll" said James. "We should
think it very strange if you didn't
What have you here? 1t looks like one
of the quilts you used to make. It ii
a quilt, isn't itY"
Aunt Susan tried to ~concealthe quilt,
but James took it from her and IN
folded it. Suddenly he said:
"Why Aunt Susan, didn't you bring
this for a wedding present?"
"Well Ibid think I'd give it tt
your wife, James," said Aunt Susan
soberly. IT thought that-well-well
you see, I made it ev'ry stitch mysel
and-and-there's lots of pieces in i
from the first clothes you eve had
and-I thought maybe she'd like it be
cause did it ev'ry stitch myself, and
"Like it?" cried Helen. II shall
value it above any gift I have had! 1
is beautiful never saw such exquis
tie ~needleworki What weeks of Labor
it must have cost you. I am SO proud
of it"
"she said them very words" sale
Aunt Susan to half a dozen of her de
lighted friends who came to see he.
the day she reached home. "She wa
SO tickled over the quilt. She fairl,
cried when I showed her the block
made out of pieces of Jimmy's things
"She said she'd think the world anc
all of it. She and Jimmy had to g.
off their weddin' tower in about al
hour, and I expected TO come on HON
that night; but Mr.. and Mrs. Hol
brook wouldn't hear to it.
"They made me stay there a whole
week, and they treated me as if I wa
one of the greatest ladies in the land
They took me to ride ev'ry day, ant
they never seemed to mind a bi
about my old-fashioned ways an
clothes.
81 had q beautiful time; and tn
| best part of it is that Jimmy and hi
wife are coming to make me a visit o.
their way home from their tower mex
week. You never see such a splendi
young woman as she isl'