Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-03-23

tiles would come over her, and she
Rugged to her heart the thought that
she could help him in his work by wait
ing for the overdue rent.
He was poor and his income would
have barely covered the modest neces-
stiles of his simple life if he had devot-
ed it to them, but "he spends all OF his
money on them messes and inventing
things as aren't no use to no one"
as Arabella remarked when he over
loked her tip one Christmas day Il
amt got no use fer the like Of his sort"
Clothes be never bought, and Hanna,
| with a beautiful regard for the feelings
of the man she loved, stitched and
mended and patched, and bit by bit re-
placed his worn and shabby wardrobe.
She was careful never to put IN his
room any new garment she had made
until the ruthless laundress had rob-
bed it of its newness. Then she would
substitute it for one which was beyond
even her clever needlecraft to mend,
and the elderly party would put on
the new shirt or wear the new SOCKS
without the slightest suspicion that the
familiar patches and darns were MISS
ing. He acted as intellectual food and
PUNISHMENT to her starved brain, and
she became the practical part OF his I'M
evenly balanced character, which ma
ture had left wanting. She often ar
gued with herself that their existence
together in that house was proof that
purely platonic friendship can exist
between a man and woman if they are
| int r.
| gument and she knew 1t, for her love
for him (of which he never for mo-
ment suspected) was eating her strength
away day by day and undermining her
constitution. She had his undivided at
tention and he was fond of her, but the
fact that she was woman and not
much over thirty, had never really
forced itself on his feelings. a man,
if he could have made himself as use
| full and as companionable, could have
taoken her place,
One day the peace of Hannah's life
was broken by the coming of a cousin,
an orphan like herself, who had writ
ten and asked Hannah TO give her a
home while she looked for work. Han
nah wrote and welcomed her with Bit
! ter misgivings at heart. She had TO
| toll night and day to make money TO
pay for food for herself and her ledger.
Madeline came, and, like a hot Wind
passing over a sensitive plant, she
withered up Hannah's courage. She
was young, and the beauty of her ami
NAL health was startling. She stood in
Hannahs humble parlor in the noon
| day sunlight, straight as young palm
| tree and beautiful in symmetry, a pulls
! ing, tingling. piece of flesh and blood,
! colored like a pale ping peony. Han
nah felt herself grow older as she
| looked at her. Madeline's eyes were
so blue that if you came into into the
garden and she was there it was her
two commanders fringed with black
that caught your notice, and her child
ishly perfect teeth closed tight when
she laughed, and her passionate lips
| quivered into smiles. Blue eyes such
as Madeline'S and white young teeth
alone can make face provoking TO the
dullest sensibilties; when she intro
duced herself (blushing for her own
prettiness) to the elderly party he
cursed the white teeth in his heart and
blamed the beauty of her eyes for he
knew not what And poor Hannah,
whose eyes had had color in them
once. with a growing numbness al her
heart for her own plainness in contrast,
followed the pink flower that moved
so glibly about the house, giving her
the best that lay in her power, marvel
! ing at her cousins beauty, which was
! after all principally the result or per-
feet health and selfish disposition.
Weeks passe dinto months, and Mad
cline had planted herself firmly in the
house. Hannah could not turn her out,
and she never suggested oging, and
never made any serious attempt to get
work Her orphan and penniless con-
dition srved her as a useful means OF
appealing TO the sympathy of the "el-
derlv party" As time went on, Han
nah saw less and less of her lodger
| her cousin appropriated as her charge
his study and laboratory, and it was
bitterness and gall to Hannah to sec
her administer to him all the little at
tentions which she had been wont 10
perform, and the last straw was that
Madeline talked as if she gave enough
help TO fully repay Hannah for her
room and keep.
Hannah, with her heart smarting at
the bitter injustice of things, could
not tell her that she was day by day
robbing her of all that made life bear
able Madeline had taken TO using the
elderly party's" studio as her sitting
room: it was more attractive than TIE
nrim parlor downstairs, and when
Hannah was hard at work during the
hot August days-days that made her
look paler and palmer than ever-her
cousin would sit reading a novel in her
favorite basket chair, with her feet
upon the rungs of another-a pretty
nicture of ease and comfort. She never
forgot 10 look up at intervals, with
cat-lika something in her blue eyes
and in her soft, purring voice, say TO
her companion, Don't you wish that
Hannah would stop fussing and come
and sit down."
And as when a woman is partlcu-
,arlv busv. a man generally does think
she is "fussing' and choosing TO DO
something totally unnecessary the
elderly party" came to look upon 1t
&c ouite natural that Madeline should
no his hourly companion, and that she
sbould sit in an easy chair while Han
nob hot and weary in mind and body,
should toll and strive for them both.
,.t.,. Madeline had been with them three
months Hannah's ledger came into a ior-
time If was not large one, but II would
o,,i,io him TO live in ease and comfort
60. tho reet Of his life. When Hannah
ia the good news what she dreaded
81, no, bonDfn. He did not suggest