The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-08-01
.oes them SO beautifully and SO will

ingly."
"Mother does everything willing
ly," said Lucy, quietly.
"And beautifully" added Janet.
There was another silence of ten
minutes, while Belle carefully looked
over the completed dress to make
sure that not a stitch was missing.
Wearisome as her work was, she did
it faithfully.
A sudden breeze, cool and grateful,
came in at one of the open windows,
and Lucy sat up on the lounge and
turned her flushed face toward the
window. Her face wore an unusually
thoughtful look. She sighed once
and then again SO audibly that Janet
| looked toward her and said:
"Dear me, Lucy! How extremely
lugubrious you are. Are you afraid
that you won't be reelected to your
delightful position as teacher in the
Hillsborough Grammar School when
the board meets again?"
eff you heard what the principal
said today about my past years work,
you'd think that I was likely to be
reelected with an increase of salary.
was thinking of-mother."
"Of mother?"
eyes, and of her-vacation."
Both Janet and Bell looked up in
surprise, and Janet said:
"Mother's vacation7 What do you
mean, Belief"
"It does sound rather strange to
hear or to think of mother having a
vacation, doesn't it? Let me see,
when did she have her last outing?
You're older than the rest of us Belle;
can you remember anything about
mother ever having had vacation?"
Belle looked little confused and
said little bluntly:
mo, can't. l never even heard
her say that she wanted one"
"You never will hear her say it, dear,
patient, accomplishing mother" said
Lucy, with tender fervor "But she's
going to have one this summer"
"Has she said sos" asked Janet.
"No, but l say SO" replied Lucy.
at has dawned upon my conscious
ness in some occult way that mother
has never had a vacation within my
remembrance. / don't know why l
have never thought of it before. l
don't why 1 have thought of it now,
but | have thought of it with shame
and sorrow"
Janet clasped her hands around
her knee and leaned forward, listen
ing eagerly, while Lucy continued:
eve girls have been away from
four to six weeks every summer, and
mother has stayed here at home alone
taking advantage of our absence to
clean house and engaging in such
exhilarating recreation as canning
| fruit.
Probably the idea of a vacation
for herself has never occurred to her.
She would be sure to offer the house
cleaning and the fruit canning as an
insurmountable objection, if we pro-
posed the vacation to her."
Glow are you going to manage
about it thens"
"I'm going to buy round trip
ticket for her before l say word to
her about it. She'll have to use the
ticket once it is bought and paid
for"
"Where do you intend having her
go9"
Back to her old home in New
Hampshire"
"Why, LUCY" exclaimed both of
her sisters in the same breath. The
three girls knew that visit to the
home of her childhood had been the
cherished dream and hope of their
mothers life.
She had spoken of it often and
hopefully before her husbands death,
but since that sorrowful time she had
spoken of it no more. She had given
it up as sweetly and uncomplainingly
as she had given up many of the
other hopes of her life.
There had been little time to spend
in vain regrets after Mr. Dayne's
death, for he had left his family al
most penniless, and Belle, the eldest,
was but fourteen years old at the
time of her fathers death.
The three girls could remember
years of toll and privation and self
sacrifice, borne cheerfully for their
sakes, before they were old enough
to add anything to the family in
come.
'But it will take all your vacation
money to send mother away back to