Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-09-29

EalI
Mrs. Stdnadrd had found time to sec that
Mrs. Barry lacked no comfort.
woman was touched and troubled to see.
She was the one woman in the til in
those days to whom all the youngsters
confided their troubles, hopes or fears.
She was the repository of the cherished
secrets of half the garrison-of men and
women both. She was the object of the
sublime envy of other officers wives,
because of the implicit trust placed in
her silence and discretion and the IN
bounded respect felt for her opinion.
She had been arbitrator in many fam
lily difference i'll the old days. but of
late years had declined to serve-the
climate of Arizona, where the til had
spent four years before returning to the
plains, having proved far too arid and
peppery, and therefore so temper trying
that even her mediation had been occa-
sionally rejected. But envy her as they
might and deplore the partially and
bad Judgment of the young officers as
they might, the other matrons of the
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miring Mrs. Stannard, and all this Miss
Baird had heard in one form or another
time and again.
Was it fancy, then? thought Mrs.
Stannard, as she sat by the invalid S
bedside. Was she mistaken in thinking
that every little while, as Nathalie fit
ted about the room, she caught the
girls eyes seeking hers with such look
of distress and appeal in their blue
depths that it filed her with longing to
take the motherless child to her heart
and bid her pour out the torrent of her
sorrows and find at least sympathy and
comfort il not immediate relief?
And yet Nathalie fled when Mrs.
Stannard' s swimming eyes betrayed the
depths Of her interest as she rose to 90.
''We shall both be widowed for the
time being, " she said, as she bent over
Mrs Barry's pillow, "and hope you
will let me come in every day and read
to you. fear Miss Baird isn't quite as
strong as we could wish. She looks very
fragile tonight"
For answer Mrs. Barry first placed
her finger on her lips, then by an in
quiring glance seemed to say, SIS she
gomez" and then aloud, would you
mind closing the door,
Softly Mrs. Stannard stepped thither,
glanced into the adjoining room and
saw that it was empty, shut the door
and came back to the bedside. Mrs
Barry took her visitors hand. Mrs
Stannard, said she, "like everybody
else in the regiment, I come to you
when troubled, and I'm sorely troubled
about Nathalie. You know, do you not,
how I came to find her? No? Well,
haven't told it as rule. Her father had
served on the same division staff with
Major Barry during the war, and a
strong friendship grew up between
them. When Captain Baird was killed,
his brother-in law came all the way to
Virginia after his body, and Major Bar
ry was allowed to go with it as far as
Washington, and there he met this gen
tleman, Nathalies uncle by marriage.
He impressed Major Barry as being a
sturdy, warm hearted fellow who would
do all he could for the widow and
orphan, especially for this little girl
who was named, as Nathalie has only
recently told me. for his own wife.
wondered how she came by that name,
but it seems that this was Mrs. Baird S
younger and favorite sister. Already,
however, this gentleman had four chill
dren OF his own and could not we'll pro-
vide for more A desultory correspond
ence was kept up for awhile, and then
off by,t -,
Williams wrote that his niece was prac-
tically destitute, that his own business
was completely ruined, and he begged
us to do something for her, saying that
she was a good, pure minded, lovely girl
and intimating that he would have been
only too thankful had heaven blessed
him with such children.
$50 the major went there when east
on leave, and she has been with us for
a year now. and she is lovely and was
content and happy until just few days
ago. l watched her narrowly at the
time of Mr.. Maynard S mishap, half ex-
pecting her to be greatly shocked and
distressed. Shocked she was and meas
urably distressed, but not to the extent
l had expected. This change in her has
not come through him. She has sudden
ly met some serious mental strain, and
it is the more trying because she cannot
tell or will not tell what it is. She begs
me not to ask any more, but sometimes
and here Mrs. Barry looked appeal
ingly up into the gentle face of her
friend = sometimes l feel sure )
would contide in you, and you could
help her. Will you?''
Indeed l will if she will let me, :"
was the warm hearted reply. "Now 1
must get back to Major Stannard or
he'll be seeking for me and saying