Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-05-15

At last she took to her bed with a slow
fever. That's what they always caA
these broken heart troubles. But she had
a atrong physique, and did not die, as
seemed likely, but after weeks Of illness
took up the burden of her life again.
Well for her, perhaps, that her father
was growing too old to look after the
farm, and, as he died soon with stroke
of apoplexy, she assumed entire control
of the business. Then her mother grew
feeble, and they cared for her like an
infazt. She could only help herself
little by rolling her chair about. On
warm days she enjoyed sitting on the
veranda, but that was the only change
she knew till she took the last long
dreadful journey. Aunt Kitty's success
as farmer is wonderful. The men
obey her, or else they go. Her cabbages
are the finest, and her chickens the tat
test In the neighborhood. She wages
relentless persecution upon worms and
insects, and it seems as if the things
didn't dare to try to eat her cucumber
plants. If the curculio attacks one of
her plum trees, she cuts the tree down
before the others suffer. "Better one
dead tree than a lot of slckly ones" she
says. With an eye, perhaps, to Aunt
Kitty's swelling bank account, a very
nice man asked her to marry him. She
replied that her life was, indeed, for any
who needed her, but for no husband.
Her heart, she said, lay at the bottom of
the ocean.
In the table is small drawer which 1
ought to open and dust. Ahl the
only thing here is painted ambro-
type of Arnold In blue velvet case.
1 take it reverently from its folds
Of tissue paper and open it. On
the inside cover is pinne1 curl OF rud-
dy brown hair. 1t Is boyish face,
laughing, pure and sweet. Till the last
he must have bounded over the crests of
life's ways-happy, fearless. II only
they could have been married, and had
their pretty children about theml
But. Grace Brown, thought you
were sweeping! push back the drawer,
move the table, and ply my broom with
vigor.
Here are some dry leaves aud flowers,
dropped in the shadow of the door.
They are botanical specimens which the
doctor and 1 were studying last night.
We found purple Gerardia, yellow
Trefoil and Polygala along the roadside
on our drive. We examined them
through the doctors big microscope.
That Polygala was hard studying, aud
there he sat, enjoying my poklng with
his needles, trying to count stamens and
cells too small almost to be seen with
the microscope. He would not help
one bit, and l felt more and more
stupid. He says l will make fair
botanist if perSevere. The doc
tor knows everything about plants,
but then he had to learn, so as to dis
pense sarsaparilla, and all his other vege-
table stuffs. Botanical names do SO
dignity medicines! Nov l should hate
to get well of fever on Monkshood or
one of the Deadly Magistrates. Bat
call them Aconitum and Belladonua and
l shouldn't mind in the least. Out here,
where have few companions, the doc
tor is very agreeable. He began practic-
ing in New York, but it was uphill
work. So when the old physician of
this place wanted to retire, and invited
this young doctor to take his practice,
he was glad to come. Some of his pa
tients live off quite distance, aud he
says l may as well enjoy the ride with
him on fine days. He calls, quite IN
professionally, of course, o1 Aunt Kitty
very often. Bat come my little dried
up Gsrardia, you and the rest must
share a common fate aad 30 to the dust
heap.
A few white hairI arc eau yht on
the broom. take one gently off and
draw it through my fingers. Aunt
Kitty's hair turne1 waite in tn,
! fever. l love white hairs. The mixed
stage suggests tae stru ,sle between
youth and age; bat the hair softened
and whitenei at last means the triumph
of wisdom, purity and peace over irrita-
bility, passion, vanity, ambition and
those other tempestuous attributes OF
youth and middle age. cannot associ-
ate white hair with any but good people
like Aunt Reoekah and Aunt Kitty. The
bad ought to use dyes and keep their
locks, like their hearts, a dirty yellow
black.
have come to the what-not, and ]
regard it with dismay. What not, in
deed Heaps of kniclS- S-knack, shells,
vases, daguerrotypes. picture cirds,
boxes, small china figures, all waiting to
be busted. On the top shelf peacock
feathers and dried grass wave from au
antique vase. Here is my mothers pic
ture in small frame made of pine cones
There are hair flowers under glass. D.
let US look at these ancient daguerro
types. This is Uncle Amos, more sol.
emn even than his portrait. That is
fathers cousin Sebastian who lives in
Australia, and sends me something
rare and pretty every Christmas.
[, have never seen him, but
he thought great deal Of mother, who
died when was four years old. 1t is
for her sake, l suppose, that he sends me
things. Here is a group of my own
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