The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-02

"9ASi Aao OhiS JUST N3Ipclie1--dto we loSt
TO opportunity OF showing our sympathy.
think Aunt Priscilla was not unconscious
Of our feelings. Tor her Voice often trem-
b!ed as she thanked us for some slight
service.
oEs afternoon. about three months lar
er. while sitting in her diDing-room we
heard loud knock al the haIldoor. and
presently the maid entered with a gentle
mems card. aunt Priscilla. In a IeisureIy
way, settled hoF glasses upon her nose.
looked ct the name on the card. and sud
denly turned white. | thought she was
going to faint But she was a hardy OLD
lady, with great strength OF Will, and she
recovered a little.
1T must be come other she said In
dazed way. And then her voice became
almost shrill as she added: Where rs
standing in the hall, Show him into the
drawing rnom at once.
Fer some time she lay back In her chair
with her eyes closed. Only the twtching
OF her lips showed that she was rot asleep
At length she rose. and. walking very fee
bly,. followed the visitor into the draw
ing-roem.
Tom" whispered Meta, with fnger
laid on the tip of her little snub nose. do
you know what ! think? That it's Aunt
Priseilla's handsome young lover come
back. Just like in a fairy-tale. He wasn't
drowned after ALL"
Shut up 1 said with contempt.
For Meta. being a girl. was always
jumping at conclusions. often provolkingsy
enough. al the very ones which after
ward reached by long and careful reasou-
ing. In my heart believed she was right
now. and was annoyed at being anticipae-
ed
As we listened, We heard a loud. coarse
voice. and occasionally a perfect below OF
laughter, which somehow Jared upon our
feelings. 1t certainly was not what we had
expected, yet these were the only sounds
that reached US. After an hour Or more,
Mr.. Bonuor went away. and We crept to
the window &c see him pass. To our
amazement, We beheId a great fat man
with red face. a shaggy grey beard. and
an extremely unpleasant expression There
was something about the man which made
US instinctivsly dislike him. He did not
appear 20 be even gentleman
Here was a new mystery. To add to
our bewilderment, when Aunt Priscilla
returned to the dining-room, she was
crying
Aunt" said Meta, was that the
gentleman you were once so fond OFF,
No. no. child" replied Aunt Priscilla.
sharply When will you learn to hold
your tongue?"
That was certainly an astonishing state
ment for Aunt Priscilla TO make. For she
could never tolerate anything approaching
a lie, and yet. as we learned very SOON, it
really was the Mr. Bonner whom she had
known in the past and wnoH for forty
years she had supposed to have been
drowned He had escaped in boat, with
a few others; they had landed at some spot
which was not then in touch with the civil
lied world; many months elapsed before
they could get away, and many months
more before he YVES able to write home;
even then none OF his letters ever reached
Aunt Priscilla. probably because in her dis
tress she had cut herself adrift from all
her former friends. and after travelling
abroad for some years, had settled down in
the out-Of-the- way village, Cronkeary. L
that Mr.. Bonnor had taken soma
trouble to find her. and now that he had
come back to her from the dead, she
should surely have been happy.
Yet. greatly to our perplexity. she wore
an expression Of intense suffering. She
seemed to have aged wonderfully in a few
lays; she had lost her erectness Of bearing
and her brightness of eye; she went about
like one who mourns a husband. In Mr..
Bonnor's presence she always looked thor
1ughly miserable, and at some Of his jests.
which brought a frown into my fathers
face. she WINGED as though a knife had
gone through her
We were all glad when he left, for none
Of us liked him. My father in particular
spoke OF him as a most Objectionable bid
man Still. We could not understand Aunt
Priscilla. IL she had really been as fond OF
lim as she had pretended to be. She never
asked him to come and see her again, and
when he had gone she looked a little
stronger than she had done for some time.
But do not think she ever smiled again.
Something seemed to have been torn out
VI her life-something which had given her
he power to endure and the courage to go
.-ward shadow, gradually deepening.
settled upon her as it does upon the wan
.hurch that the change in the old lady was
most apparent During the service her
ace used often to glow as IL it were illumi-
lated by some ighrs to which she was
irawing near, and at such times her eyes
we're filed with dreamy delight. All this
vas gone now. Aunt Priscilla prayed as
earnestly as befors, but with a sombre ex-
PRESTON which seldom varied. I can i'm
Igine that the old Calvinists prayed so. In
ent only on escaping the wrath of God,
md not daring to hope for any real happi-
less hereafter.
About that tine, . remember, baby SIS
er arrived at the Vicarage, but stayed
'nly few weeks. Mother cried over her
Ieath more than I had ever seen her cry :
'efore. Upon the morning after the funeral
he was sitting by the freside weeping
ilently, when Aunt Priscilla entered the
Dom.
Crying again, Mary" said the old lady
'.over the best thing that
ould have happened to you'll I have no
atienee with you'll You hope to meet some
hildren in Heaven, don't your How can
ou do that II they don't die young?"
But my poor wee mite.' sobbed mother.
Yes; and now she will be your wee mite
ways. How would you like her to be-
hanged into great hulking, sinful
Toman?"
When she left, mother looked after her
nd said softly: Poor Aunt Priseillai"-
Iugh Coleman Davidson, in the New Illus
-ated Magazine.