The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1900-03-01

CfOachment OF tnese waking ss'O""
upon Mrs. Winnings usual hours OF slum-
Der that she for once oversight the
next morning. At any rate. 1t was
long after nine when she finished her
solitary breakfast, crept up to the at
tic storeroom and threw back the 10
of the Noah's Ark trunk.
II hope l didn't muss it, putting 1t
away in such hurry" she said, feeling
down into one corner. Then, mo-
ment later: "Why, it cant be true
YES, it is-the gown isn't there!" BE-
yond a doubt it was gone!
Mrs. Vining tumbled the contents
of the trunk out upon the floor and
looked into it and behind it, and finally
examined every article that it had con-
tanned. from a velvet reticule to poke
bonnet: but nowhere was there square
inch of silk dotted with pink rose
buds.
"Could the girls"
Without further shaping the ques-
| ton, Mrs. Vining hurried out OF the
storeroom and downstairs into the blue
bedroom, where the two older girls sat
sewing. 80.
Aunt Tabitha's wedding gown!"
she gasped. tits gonel"
Then she stopped short. On the root
Of the bed lay what had been the gray
taffeta silk, now cut into multltudi-
nous folds and sections.
| "You cut it up! You cut up Aunt
Tabitha's gown!" she murmured; and
then she sat down upon the bed and
burst into tears
In a moment both the girls were at
her side. "Why. mother" said Ellen,
do you mean that you wanted that
old silk? Why, I never dreamed OF
such a thing! You know you never
seemed to care about clothes, and tat
feta is in again, and I thought how
pleased you'd be to see Bertha and
had got two nice waists out of the old
gown we were always laughing
about"
But for once the little mother tool
no interest in the girls ''things."
81 do care for clothes, care great
dealt" she sobbed. "Do you suppose
that because am your mother-and
40 years odd don't want to have
things nice? And I was going tt
make the silk over for the Avery re
union-so that could have something
pretty and in style!"
i With these last words there was an
other rush Of tears. The two gfr!'
looked at each other across the bowed
head with moist eyes. Then Ellen
taking the worn little hand in hers
said, gently:
"Forgive me, mother. We've beer
dreadfully selfsh-and I'm afraid it,
too late for you to use Aunt Tabitha'
wedding gown now. But just let u
have the black silk and Wen see wha
we can do with that"
What they did with It little Mrs
vining never found out. Certainly tn
gown in which she appeared at tn
Avery mansion bore not the slighteS
, resemblance to that ancient garment
But in writing to a western relativ
. who could not come to the reunion tn
, home-staying cousin said:
eyes, Grace Vining-ehe that wa
Grace Avery-read the poem, and sh
looked just as pretty as a picture
You know as a girl she was always
belle and beauty, but I don't thinl
I ever saw her look lovelier than sh
;. did that night, dressed in n pale gra,
silk, one Of those new taffetas yo7
know they are wearing now, just ik
those that our grandmothers wore, al
!. dotted over with violets.
Zone of the incest things about
!, was that the dress was present from
her two oldest daughters, who CAV
= up new evening silk gowns this win
!. ter so she could have the silk. toll
: them they were real generous girl.
but they said they thought their moth
er had been giving up for them lon
enough, and it was time to chang
around. And, besides, they said the
J, didn't need anything new this wiz
: ter, for they each had a lovely wais
made of their Aunt Tabitha's weddin
gown."-Youth's Companion.