Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-06-23

Mrs. Passmore was saying. THE
house was draughty. too, and l begar
to long for my old haunts: after all
And are you comfortably settled
mp" asked CornelEa.
Well pretty we'll; there is a grea'
deal to see to, and the days are short
my rheumatism has been troublesome
to-day, and that is hinderanee
Could you spend a few days with me
my dear, you or Bertha? l should be
so glad to have you"
Ccrnelia did not at all wish to stay
and began to hunt for excuses.
Il am so busy just now, grannie, o.
I certainly would come, and Bertha
hasa ccld, or she might have helped
you"
Mrs. Passmohe looked disappointed
Il am so sorry for that, it would havs
been such a pleasure to have you.'
Then with a smile again. Gould Amy s
little girl stay?"
''Oh, certainly" said Cornelia, with
out referring to Esperance. She shall
stay with you now. just as long as you
| like"
| And so the matter was settled, and
C0rnelia soon took leave. turning just
at the last TO Esperance with the
| words, Il will send down your things,
and the books you will want, and you
must walk in on Friday morning for
your lessons; l will be ready for you
at eleven"
Then the carriage drove off, and
Esperance was left behind with mingl-
ed feelings of relief at being away
from the deanery, anger at being so
summarily disposed of, and awe of
Mrs. Passmore and the trumpet.
She was soon happy enough, how
ever, for Mrs. Passmore was delighted
to have companion. and spared no
pains to make her comfortable and at
home. She was charmed with her
curious old-fashioned bedroom, and
with the exquisite neatness of the
whole house: there was a feeling of
calmnesS and repOse. too, which, with
all it's dizziness, the deanery never
could attain, and most Of all, the sense
of being really wanted restored Esper-
ance to much Of her old cheerful
brightness.
The only drawback to her complete
happiness was Mrs. PASSWORDS deaf
ness; this had now been of such long
duration that the old lady had fallen
into silent habits, and only twice in
the long winter evenings did she take
up her trumpet. But though silence
Or dullness of any description were
usually very uncongenial to Esper-
ance, she was now too much out of
health, and too weary Of the incessant
''nagging" of her cousins not to be
thankful for the respite.
The busy idleness of the next morn
ing, too. suited her admirably She
enjoyed helping old Mrs Passmore in
her manifold t1dyings and arrangings;
and as the old lady could not feel COM
Portable till every drawer and cupboard
in the house had been systematical
searched and sorted. she was kept fully
occupied. Her dainty little fingers
seemed to have a natural aptitude for
such work, and nothing came amss to
them, whether they dealt with stores
of old lace, artificial flowers, venerable
silk dresses, or chaotic odds and ends.
At last, while setting to rights the
contents of an old secretary, she came
across a drawer full of letters, and,
not liking to break in upon their wild
confusion, drew Mrs. PASSWORDS at
tention to them.
Letters? dear mel" exclaimed the
old lady; II thought l had sorted them
all last year. This will be an after
Moons work for us, Esperance."
Accordingly, after the two o'clock
dinner was over, and Mrs. Passmore
had taken her usual siesta. the two
set to work, destroying a few of the
less precious documents, and arrang-
ing the others carefully according to
their dates.
Esperance had just tied up and la
beled a packet of 1S47 letters when
Mrs. Passmore gave an exclamation of
surprise.
How strange to be sure! end that
I should have come across them to-
day! Two Of poor Amy's letters
your mother, my dear And she
handed them to Esperance.
They were folded together, though
one was written on thin blue paper,
the other on a little note-sized sheet,
yellow with age. Esperance opened
the latter and read eagerly.
Russell Square, 10th May, 1S4S.
my dear Mrs Passmore,-I can not
thank you enough for your great kind
ness in asking me to stay with you
during next month. Thank you, too
for your consideration in saying that
if my brother changes his mind, L
may still be free to stay in London;
but of this | now feel sure there is
no hope, for, besides his former OBJ
lection to our marriage, he has now,
I fear, a personal dislike for Monsieur
de Mabillor. ] can not tell you how
terribly all this has grieved me- Had
it not been for dear ChristabeIs kind
ness, I don't think l could have borne
it, She has, indeed, been a good sister
to me.
Under the circumstances, both AL
phonse and | think it will be best that
our wedding should be perfectly quiet;
So with many thanks, | will decline
your kind offer of accommodation for
any guests. If it will be quite con-
vellient to you, and to the clergyman
| Of the parish we should prefer some
day in the first week OF June and
should like it to be early in the morn