Middletown transcript., 1895-02-02

u reer. There was many a poor sol
t that felt unbefrended now, and unat
: companied, with no one to look to fc
help, spiritual or material. And a
3 for DR.. Ashurst'S own household, the SO
! row of poverty was added to sorro'
! itself. The mother and her two chlldre
we're left really poor. John Ashurs
! always hoped to leave his family
, good sum of money to buy comf0rta
BILE life insurance before he should b.
taken away, but the necessities of tn
moment always hid the fear of th
future. He had lost what money b,
j had by the failure of bank, and hi
had never been prOvident. 1t was th'
rainy day of the moment anC
not of the future with which hi
concerned himself. Now that The
small bills that could be collected Were
all paid, many accounts having never
been kept at all and still more forgiven
it was but a poor dependence, and the
girls were wondering what they could
possibly do. One had inherited heI
fathers gift of teaching and had gath
cred little school, but it was more
thing of love than of business, and
of late she had taken the district
school near at hand, and her poor pay
was the mainstay that was left. They
had always felt so rich all their lives,
and they did not know how to feel
poor, exactly. In the late years when
| DR.. Ashurst had been sent for far and
wide, and now and then a large fee
came in his way, they bad begun to feel
like people of fol tune. And only the
last Thanksgiving Day, the fortnight
before his three days illness began,
what joy they had in making happiness
for many poor households! The chaise
had gone its rounds with a high heaped
mound of benefactors under the buff
falo robe, and this old woman must
have this thing to make her hap y,
and the other something else, for
Thanksgiving was still kept in all its
glory of neighborliness and good cheer
III Alton, and Christmas Itself seemed
TO be the happier for young people, be-
cause their elders and betters made
The most of the earlier festival.
The DOCTORS study, where light was
apt to burn So late on winter nights,
was plain room full Of books, with
great desk and sone three curnered
chairs which had been old Dr..
Ashurst before they belonged to oul
friend, whom The elder peo lie still Gail
the young doctor.
1t was the day before Thanksgiving
and one of tine DOCTORS daugh ers, who
had been his companion, was sitting
there alone. She had been looking al
the books and making a list Of some of
them, about which one of her fathers
friends had written her. He had made
a good offer, out of frendliness, but
both DR.. Ashursts had known what
good books were, and had left behind |
them some volumes of very great |
value. OF course, they must sell them |
and ii was good chance, but Nelly |
Ashnrsl loved these particular books.
and treasured them all the more be-
cause her father and grandfather had
treasured them, too. She took down
the old copy of the Religio Medici, and
held it for mOment-then she kissed
it and put it back again, and went over
to the old desk to lay her head on hei
folded aims ard cry. The night be-
fore proposal had come from her
mothers sister in one of the seaboard
towns that they two should come to
her to spend the Winter, leaving the
elder sister, who was the teacher, to
board somewhere and 60 on with her
school. In the Summer they could per-
haps let their house, for Alton was
near one Of the hill towns were many
people came to pass the Summer. "Al
any rate" the aunt had said kindly,
''when you are fairly here we can talk
over plans and do what seems best.n
She was not rich woman, and Nelly
Ashurst was grateful for such thought
fuhess, but her mother, who had had
many illnesses, was only we'll among
those high, dry, hills, and she sobbed
to herself over the desk: "This is an
end of our home, an of end our homel"
There seemed to be nowhere else to look
for the winter at least.
NELLY, where are your" said heI
mother, suddenly, just outside the
door, and Nelly dried her eyes in a
hurry and crossed the room to stano
before the bookcase in the shadow.
Nelly, dear,' said Mrs. Ashurst,
coming in, "here are some letters, and
tae poor old Dent sisters are COM
ing up the yard TO see us-think of it,
his cold day 1 wish We had something.l
Il really don't know how to be poor
1t Thanksgiving time," and her voice
faltered. "They shall have a pie, at
1t any rate, and they shall come and
sit in here in the dear study-th they will
ike that best"
"Mother, mother, ,quick!" said Nelly.
Don't mind them, let them wait a
minute. Oh, see herep and she held
! large letter sheet before her mothers
ey $. She had turned quite gray and
pale. 81 thought it was only some
circular, or something like that-it was
directed to father. Somebody who
lived in Cuba-who died last month,
has left father and his heir" SHE
could not hold her voice steady-"has
left father in kind remembrance of
most helpful services in time Of need,
SoO, 900, to be paid at once according to