Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1903-10-07

the straw i'm stall and the conha gra-
ton cnsucd.
The handful Of soldiers who had
been left upon the premises went
about gathering zap the camp equip
age, which had been badly scattered
in the melee, and caring for the
wounded comrades who had been left
behind in the general pursuit of the
Americans. Jane ordered these
carried into the house. and made cots
for them in the wide hall, turning
the rcsidcpcc into temporary hos
pital.
She had just finished breakfast
when an orderly arrived with note
from Bcsscmer. filled with grateful
appreciation Of her hospitality to
him and his men. and with regret that
il should have caused her to he the
victim of an unmanncrly invasion by
horde of ruthless dcspcradoes. upon
whose trail he and his soldiers were
then hot.
Jane thought ii a most mannerly
note, and If some of the sentences
we're SO fulsomc as to almost draw
from her smile, She was vet
accustomed to such gullantrics. hay
ing spent two winters i'm Charleston
with her mothers iIugcnot relatives.
mingling in that polite society whose
daily conversation was "a shower OF
bouquets; though. indeed, sometimes
the bouquets were made of flowers
which prickcd.
She could not but contrast Brssr-
mcr's polished Difference with Worth
Ington's more abrupt ways. What
had her stcpmothcr so often termed
Godfrcy-a rude boor? And She.
Jane, had ever come to his defense;
yet what thanks did she get? He
would have roasted her alive in her
fathers house without "A qualrn in
order that he and his lawlcss band
might slaughter those who were her
guests.
The next few day~. after Bcsscmer
had sent to take AVA his wounded
and she had no longer Their care to
occupy her, were lonely ones for
Jane. She was tempted to follow the
advice her stcpmother had given her
before leaving home and send for
some of her girl friends to keep her
company, but the mail brought her
such unfavorablc news of her fathers
condition that she had little heart
for the entertainment of guests, and.
moreover, the war had either
estrangcd OF separated from her
those whom she liked best.
Even her own Aunt Susannah, to
whom her heart turned more warmly
than to any of her other relatives
and whose affection for herself She
could not doubt. had vowed never to
step her foot within her brothcr-in-
iaws's door as long as his Tory wife
was its mistress. This rupture was
brought about by one of those caustic
speeches for which James stcpmother
had no little reputation in the neigh
borhood
Jane knew her aunt too well not
TO realize that she would keep her
WORD; but If She would not come 10
Jane, at least Jane might go to her.
so one morning She ordered the car
riagc and set ont for her Uncle
EiiJah's in no little state. for. though
her stepmothcr had taken the gilded
coach with its painted panels and its
SIX black horses to Charleston that
she. might impress her rovalist
friends there and ovcrawc her hus-
bands first wifc's relatives, vet the
equipage in which Jane set forth
with It's maroon cushions and its two
negroes on the box scat in their
white-and-maroon livery made an at
tractivc appearance.
The sunlight flashed on its polished
lamps and turned into gold such of
the hair of its fair occupant as could
be seen under her bcribboned bon
net. On the front seat facing her
sat Aunt Rachel ard Nanny Anne.
Jane, always kind and considcrate
mistress, had not tho heart to make
visit to their old home without
taking with her as many of her Uncle
EHjah's former rctsincrs as she
could. Neither Of the men upon the
box seat was a,rcgular Elery coach
man. One was Gabriel and the other
was AbsalOU, who had been her
Uncle Elijah's footman until the re-
verses came
The faces OF the darkics bcamcd
with satisfaction. except that Of
James black nanny. who resented
having her drive with her mistres,
shared by Aunt Rachel. In truth. no
little jealousy existed between the
two old women. and their mistress
affection was the bone of contention,
The day was ~ brilliant as bril-
liant could be filled. indeed. with
that sparkling briIliancc never seen
save after hard storm for the
night before there had been another
OF those South Carolina tcmOcsts
which, having It's birth i'm the sea.
augmented its force as il swept
across the marshes and thrcshed it.
self out among the woods.
The two stout gray horses had all
thcy could 40 10 draw the pOnderous
vehicle. aud they had not tra.crscd
more than third Of the distance to
her aunts before Jane began to
realize that she had made a mistake