St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-03-01
BY ADA
CAMBRIDGE.

was no sign Of dying that I could see
about him.
Then she said. Harry" Impertinent
little mink! To my very face! AS IL
she had a right to call my son by his
Christian name. I was greatly exas-
perated; any mother would have been
especially after what had happened.
1 answered.: "Mr. Harry is going to
die-thanks to you. Miss Blount."
I truly believed that he was, and I
honestly thought that 1t was her doing.
because If she had not misconducted
herself, and tempted him to do so,
should not have had to scold him,
and he would not have. gone out in a
rage to ride young horse recklessly.
Still. it has occurred to me since that
perhaps I was not quite just to her.
poor thing!
oh. what a night that was! Tenn
perature 103 and a short, agonizing
cough catching the hurt side, which
he was obliged to lie on, because the
other lung had to do the work Of both.
We padded him with the softest pill
lows in the house, and tried Ice and
sedatives, everything we could think
of: but we could not soothe the strug-
Cling chest, which was the only way to
.;stop the inward bleeding. And he kept
up a sort of grinding moan, like long
gu" in French-worse than shrieks 1t
was too. too cruel! I wonder my hair
did not turn white.
Next day we got the surgeon from
town; the day after, the nurse. But
I came to an understanding with her
~. To- a
babe her remember that he was my
son, and that mother could not con-
sent to be superseded. She asked if
she were to be allowed to carry out
the doctors orders, and when I said
Eyes, of course" she seemed satisfied.
She was a good creature. After ALL
I don't know what we should have
done without her. There Is a limit to
ones strength, and though Phyllis was
a great help outside the sick room, we
did not think it right-Dr. luke did
not think it right-to let her be much
in 1t.
She came home, in spite of him, as
soon as she heard what had happened
She and her brother were devoted to
each other Nevertheless, when I told
her of his conduct with Miss Blount,
she was quite indignant. She said
she would never have believed it of
him. At the same time she was firmly
convinced, as 1 was, that Miss Blount
had done the love7mal<ing and led
him on What comfort 1t was to
have my dear girl to talk to and con-
fide in! She was not only lovely
young creature-though I say it-but
no no IF lxy
was quite different. But then Lily
was child-barely seventeen-and she
had an absurd infatuation for her gov
erness, such as you often see in a raw
school girl. 1t was, a stupid mistake
on my part to engage a person Of
twenty-five to teach her7I saw it now;
and I think it still greater mistake
to confer university degrees on such
young women. You seem to expect
them to be above the imbecilities of
ordinary girls, and, they are not
bit
Well, we shut them up, together in a
separate part of the house, giving
them their meals in the school room.
We did not want Lily to- be Losing the
education we were paying so much
for, and Tom and 1 just, took our food
as we could get it. We had no heart
to sit down to table. Sometimes he
slept for little, and sometimes l. but
one or the other of'us were always on
guard; while Phyllis prepared the iced
milk and soda and waited on the nurse
and doctor. Certainly the doctor was
most devoted; he could not have done
more for his patient if he had been
his own brother
L am sure it was the opinion Of his
medical colleague that Harry would
never pull through. He said, in so
many words, that the case was as
grave as possible, owing chiefly, as I
understood, to the accumulation of
fluid in the chest, which could not be
mechanically dealt with. Nevertheless,
the dear boy rallied little, and then
little more-the fever keeping down
in the day time and not running quite
SO high at night-untiI it really seemed
that we might begin to hope He was
such a splendid young fellow, and
had such a magnificent constitution
But for that, 1 am convinced he could
not have survived an hour. One after
noon he was sleeping so comfortably
that they all insisted on my going out
for some fresh air. Tom took me for
walk round the garden, and we
planned what we would do for our be-
loved one when he got well-how we
would go for little travel to amuse
and cheer him, to recruit his strength
and distract his mind from nonsense.
When 1 returned 1 found that he had
awakened from his sleep, calm and re-
freshed; that he had asked to see his
sister Lily, and-that8 that fool of a
nurse had allowed it!S oh, could have
shaken her! AS it was, 1 gave her a
talking to that she sulked over for a
week. Lily, she said, had only re-
manned with him ten minutes-as if one
minute wouldn't have been enough to
undo all our work! Idiot! And to call
herself trained nurse, too!
AS soon as I approached his bed I
saw the difference. Not only had he
been doing so well, he had been so nice
to me, so loving and gentle, as If feel
ing that all was right between us. Now
he was flushed knew his temperature
had gone up again-and he looked at
me as if I were his enemy, instead Of
his mother.
rs it true" he said, "that you have
given Miss Blout notice?"
L did not know what to say. Seeing
the absolute necessity for keeping him
quiet, tried to put the question aside.
But he would have an answer.
Darling" 1 sobbed, II am doing for
the best. And you will be the first 70
acknowledge it when you are yourself
again. 1t is for her sake,x added,
oh