Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-11-29

And no evil force can stay us,
We shall mount from star to star:
We shall break away each fetter
That has bound us heretofore.
And the world to-day is better
Than it ever was before.
LITTLE WILLIE.
How do wish we could have
ripple Of incident in our daily life!"
said Millicent More, closing her book
with sigh.
Nothing ever happens to u.s." said
her cousin Catherine, with smile, as
abe bent forward to pick up n dead
leaf off her pet geranium.
Millicent and Catherine More were
girls Of % and 25-"old maids" the
17-year-olders called them-who taught
school and supported themselves COM
fortably by their own unaided efforts.
Millicent was pretty, with red lips, a
clear, bright complexion and hair
touched with the warm auburn gold
that artists copy and poets rave of,
and Millicent had not quite given up
her little dream of love and matrimo-
~, but Catherine never spoke of such
things. Catherine was not absolutely
fright, but Catherine was small and
plain, with ordinary gray eyes, hair
IKE everybody else's, and not the
elightest pretensions to beauty.
But the two cousins We're very hap
~ together after their own unpreten-
dous fashion, NIillicent supplying the
sentimental and poetical element and
Catherine contentedly devoting her.
self out of school hours to the house.
keeping.
And upon this particular December
afternoon, just as the girls We're de-
ploring the monotony of their daily
life, the postnan tapped at the door
with n letter.
IA letter.! cried AIillcent.
For me" echoed Catherine.
And the cousins read it, with their
arms twined about one another and
their heads very close together.
..Uncle George is dead in Australia"
gasped Millicent.
"Oh, AIilly-and he has left an or
phan boy!" added Catherine, the tears
brimming into her eyes. 1--WE must
adopt him, Niilly-we must bring him
up"
Millicent drew back a little.
81 don't see why" she said, some
what colby. "Uncle George never did
anything for u.s.
1--WE never asked him to, Milly."
.But he knew we were forced to
support ourselves"
perhaps, dear, he was even poorer
than we. AT all events, he is dead
now-and this child is left alone in
the world. I'll sit down and write to
the lawyer this minute"
"Stop!' said Nlillicent, COMPRISING
her lips. do you mean that you real
~ intend taking great, rough, half
civilized boy into this house?'
Certainly do said Catherine,
= earnestly. "Oh, Milly-a motherless
child!'
''In that case" said NIillicent, 81 shall
not remain here. If you choose to
open gratis orphan asylum 1t is no
reason that my slender income should
be squandered to feed your fanciesw
But, Milly, your salary is larger
3 than mine!"
'.And do not mean to scatter 1t for
D mere chimera. This child has no
fort Of claim upon either of US. Let
the Australian authorities provide for
him"
suaded to take any other view of the
question than this. The next day she
told her cousin that she had made ar
rangements to secure n home with
Miss Keturah Bayley, who took "a few
1elect boarders," in the next street.
And then Catherine sat down to con-
slider ways and means. She had taken
the house for year--there was no re-
ceding from the rent question.
"I'll let the lower tory tos Mrs. Hop
per, the milliner," said she to herself.
I never used to like the idea of living
In half a house, but all pride must be
laid aside now. will take the back
bedroom myself and little Willie shall
have the front room that looks out on
the street. shall have to do without
my new silk dress and to countermand
my subscription to the illustrated En-
cyclopedia, but shall not mind that;
I'll discharge Hannah and engage little
Dorcas Brown, who is SO fond of chill
dren and has such a winning way
with her. And / know we shall get
along splendidly- though, to be sure, l
shall have to ask Lawyer Goodale for
copying to do at home in the evenings,
for must be laying up little some
thing against Willie's future educa-
ton"
For 1t never occurred to Catherine
More that she was doing brave and
heroic thing in denying herself for the
benefit of one whom she deemed yet
poorer and more helpless than herself
e-por to Aillicent that she was acting
the part of n recreant.
The little room In the front of the
cottage second story was fitted up
prettily for the orphaned Australian
boy-C Catherine had sold her cabinet
organ to buy the furniture-and Dor
9as In clean white apron and rib
jSons was bustling around. while Mrs.
Hopper had already arranged her
stock of bonnet frames. ribbons and
artificial flowers In the lower win
dows
It was lovely June day, with the
sky blue ane ear as baby's eyes and
a " III
Ing buckwh Yields, Catherine More,
having. not Yut difficulty, obtain.
~ Q tempo substitute n her