The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1893-05-04

more voyage-he had just been pro-
m otcd to be second mate-be would
settle down to farming. She could not
bear that he should go, but
he was jubilant. New lands
to see-rare aud pretty things
to bring back to the prettiest bride in
town--it was but right that ne should
have one more taste of the wild, free
life; and sadly she let him 90. For
several weeks letters came regularly.
The last was from Calcutta. No one ever
heard of that ship again. As months
passed, Aunt Kitty grew pale and silent,
with wistful look on her face. People
stopped talking when she went by, and
said under their breath, "Poor thingsl"
At last she took to her bed with q slow
fever. That's what they always call
these broken heart troubles. But she had
strong 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, aud, 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
infant. She could only help herself a
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 lot of slckly ones," she
says. With an eye, perhaps, to Aunt
Kitty's swelling bank account, very
nice man asked her to marry him. She
replied that her life was, indeed, for any
who needed her, but for mo husband.
Her heart, she said, lay at the bottom of
the ocean.
In the table is a small drawer which l
ought to open and dust. AhI the
only thing here is painted ambro-
type of Arnold in blue velvet case.
I take it revereutly from its folds
of tissue paper and open it. On
the inside cover is pinned curl of rud-
dy brown hair 1t 1s boyish face,
laughing, pure and sweet. Till the last
he mus. have bounded over the crests of
life's ways-happy, fearless: If only
they could have been -1Aarried, and had
their pretty children about them
But, Grace Brown, l thought you
were sweeping! 1 push back the drawer,
move the table, and ply my broom with
vigor.
Here are some dry leaves and flowers,
dropped in the shadow of the door.
They are botanical specimens which the
doctor and 1 were studying last night.
We found a 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, and
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 1 felt more and more
stupid. He says 1 will make a fair
botanist if l 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 stufs. Botanical names do so
dignity medicinesl Now should hate
to get we'll of fever on Monkshood or
one of the Deadly Magistrates. But
call them Aconitum and Beladonna and
I shouldn't mind in the least. Out here,
where have few companions, the doc
tor is very agreeable. He began practic.
ing iu 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 pracsice,
he was GLAD to come. Some of his pa
tients live off quite a distance, and ne
says I may as we'll enjoy the ride with
him on fine days. He calls, quite un-
professionally, VI SOui'S; SN
very often. But come my little ofleo-
up Gerardia, you and the rest must
share common fate and go to the dust
heap.
A few white hairs are caught on
the broom. l take one gently OH ana
draw it through my fingers Aunt
Kitty's hair turned white In the
fever. / love white hairs. The mlxeo
stage suggests the struggle between
youth and age; but the hair sottened
and whitened at last means the triumph
of wisdom, purity and peace over irrita.
bility, passion, vanity, ambition ana
those other tempestuous attributes Oh
youth and middle age. l cannot associ-
ate white hair with any but good people
like Aunt Reoekah and Aunt Kitty. Inc
bad ought to use dyes and keep tnelf
locks, like their hearts, dirty yei'o"'
black.
have come to the what-not, ana
regard it with dismay. What not' m
deedl Heaps of knick- knack' shel,s'