The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1896-12-10
OF SKILL.
By BEATRICE WHITLEY.

| written since | congratulated and con
dClcd with you and yours on the Il
death n extraordinary generosity of
your late curate. 1t is one Of hose
events over which tears and gratitude.
ningle. | do not wonder at his ar
taChmont to m niece, for during her
visit to my cottage l learned to love
her dearly. BetScy has been ill-this
must be my excuse for an unusually
lengthy silence, for my time was much
occupied both with attending to her re-
quircmcnts II fulfilling her neccs-
sarily relinquiShcd duties. She suffer
ed from influenza, and was in Il
critical condition; she is now hap
PLY cunvaleScent Irritability-a nat
ural consequence of weakness, it seems
has attacked her; but Of that. per-
| hapS. it is unkind to speak Helen
will crievc with me Over the sad ruin
of our kind friends. the Joneses. The
news of the catastrophe fell like a
thundcrbolt upon us here, though | IN
| dCrStand from Mrs. MajoribankS that
something of the sort was anticipated
by the bctter-infOrmed in London. 1t
has hceu discovered that poor Sir Adj
olphus. whose sudden death from apo
plcXy heralded the publicity of the dis
aStcr. was Il Spectator of colossal and
reckless enterprise. His business had
| declined somewhat, and his eXpendi-
turc was i'll excess of his receipts. He
sought to recoup himself by a venture
of great risk and magnitude; its fail
urc FASTENED. if it did not wholly Occa-
sion. the impending calamity. | under
stand that the fortunes of Lady shutter
and Mrs. Mason are secure; also, that Il
considerable sum was settled upon the
widow and son, but this they have de-
cidCd to T%Clinquish in favor of the
creditors. whose claims in consequence,
will be fully discharged. Mach admi-
ration for their conduct is expressed
by the kindly-diSpOsed, though it is
grievOuS to find how many will discov-
er something at which To cavil i'll an
action however noble The nights are
very cold, and | have to superintcnd
the warming of the conservatory.
John Overheated the tiucS one day last
week, and had | not detected his blum
der in time to avert danger | tremble
to think of what the consequences
might have been. Convey my warmest
love to lear HOnora, and
Believe me, your fOndly-attachcd.
-"EliZabeth Milford"
Tpon Monday morning the news of
Miss Elizabeth Milford illness reached
the rectory; this time it was Betsey
who wrote. Her style was not discur-
sive; i'm three bold lines she announced
that her mistress was very bad with
the influenza, and nat the doctor came
twice n day, but said nothing"
MI. Milford received the letter at the
breakfast table and read it aloud TO
his companions. Both he and his wife,
between the discussion of ham, eggs
and coffee. were full Of sympathy with
the invalid. Helen did not join her
condolences with theirs. but when the
topic was at length dismissed she sud
denly and Unexpectedly recalled it by
suggesting that she, herself. should go
to Carnation Cottage and nurse poor
Aunt Elizabeth. she loved sick nurs-
ing. she loved Aunt Elizabeth; she
should love to be with her; might she
Coz
The mild opposition of her mother
gave her resolution strength; she de-
scribed the miSerics, the sufferin%S. the
Vag Of the Russian pest with such
tragic vphemence as to wiring the list
eners' tender hearts, till they swallowed
all remembrance of the void the loss of
the girls presence would entail. and
told her, eagerly, that she should go,
should 90 at once, that very day.
You have inherited your fathers
cood heart, Helen" said her mother,
fondly.
You nave learned unselfishness from
your dear mother. Helen added her
father. patting her head caressingly.
These terms of appreciation affected
their daughter strangely; she col0red
I'D to the eyes. tried to speak. but her
Quivering lips would moi obey her, and
then, with a murmur, of which the
words too good TO me-" alone were in
telligible, she got up and left the
Dol
The next evening saw Helen once
more an inmate of Carnation Cottage;
the warmth of her welcome was over
towering. She found that Betsey had
not exaggerated the severity of Miss
MitfOrd's illness. and Betsey herself
was still too weak 10 attend to her
mistress, so that Helen's presence was
most oppOrtunc. For several days she
hardly left the sick ROOM: she was a de-
voted. gentle and skillful nurse. Tn
der her deXterous care Miss Milford
| steadily gained ground, and before a
week had passed was down stairs on
the sofa.
THOUGH CarnatiOn COtta@e WAS at its
best in spring and summer, It's winter
comforts were not to be despised
heavy portieres excluded draughts:
the conservatory supplied an abundant
1, stock of flowers: log fires blazed in the
low CRATES. Helen loved every nook
and corner. every chair and table in
| the little drawing room; she sat on a
tiny chair which she had dra wn to the
sofa-side on which her aunt, propped
-, opft YiIIiyuS anI cpVaFa1 with "a con-
yrepicd, was reclining. and locked
around her with a new, far-away eX-
preston in her eyes which made them
,o,,- cod and I,.aa my Presently thoSa