The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-12-20

two with her. Miss Mary was IS, as
pretty as a peach, and as full of fun as
an egg D of meat. She was brunette
with blue eyes, and although they were
laughing eyes, they could look very
sad and tender when occasion called for
it,
She made herself very useful TO Aunt
Sally. She read to her the letters that
little Billy sent back from the camp TO
instruction at Loudersville, and
answered them at Aunt Sally's dicta-
ton. In this way she came 10 feel that
she knew little Billy better than any
one else except his mother. She was
surprised to find that, although little
Billy had had few advantages in the
way of schooling, he could write a
beautiful letter. She took the fact
home to her innocent bosom and won
dered how il could be that this country
lad had the knack of putting himself
into his letters along with so many
other things that were interesting She
was touched, too, by the love for his
mother that shone through every line
he wrote. Over and over again, he
called her his dear nanny and tried
10 comfort her; and sometimes he
spoke of Miss Mary, and he was so
deft in expressing his gratitude to her
that the young lady blushed and
trembled lest some one else was writ
ing little Billy's letters, as she was
writing his mothers.
And then, somehow, she never knew
how, his face came back to her memory
and planted itself in her mind and re-
mained there. Little Billy was no
longer the green, awkward and un'
gainly country boy, peddling the scanty
fruits OF his poverty about the village,
but hero, who had no thought for any
body or anything except his dear old
nanny.
AS the cold weather came on, little
Billy wrote that he would feel great
deal more comfortable in the wind IL hc
knew where he could get thick suit OF
clothes and a heavy pair Of shoes. But
he begged his dear nanny not TO
worry about that, for he had no doubt
the clothes and shoes would be forth
coming when he needed them most.
Miss Mary skipped this part of the let
ter when she was reading it aloud To
Aunt Sally, but il wasn't long before
the clothes were made, with the aid and
under the direction of little Billy's
mother; and the shoes were bought,
costing Maj. Goolsby pretty round
sum in confederate currency. More
over, Miss Mary baked fruit cake with
her own hands, and this was to be put
in the box with the clothes and shoes.
The next thing was to find out if any
body from Hillsborough or from the
countryside was going to the camp of
instruction, where little Billy's head.
quarters were. But right in the midst
of expectation and preparation Aunt
Sally fell i'll. She had never recon-
ciled herself to her separation from lit
tie Billy. Until the conscript law tore
him away from her side she had never
been parted from him day since the
Lord sent him to her arms.
The strain was too much for the
motherly heart to bear. Aunt Sally
gradually pined away. though she tried
hard to be cheerful, and, at last, just
before little Billy's Christmas box was
to be sent, she took TO her bed and lay
there as helpless as child. The doc
tor came and prescribed, but little Billy
was the only medicine that would do
Aunt Sally any good. So she kept to
her bed, growing weaker and weaker.
in spite of everything that the doctor
and the neighbors could do!
At last when an opportunity came
to forward the box, Miss Mary wrote n
note and pinned it where it could be
seen the first thing. She began il with