The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-04-29

rings under her soft. brown eyes, and
her thinning cheeks were followed and
wrinkled. Her customary cheerfulness
had given way 10 a wistful. scared
habit Of silence. and she seemed anx-
tous to avoid her boarders.
This remarkable and uncanny change
IN q bright woman who had been as
frank, as bustling and as companion
abae a. any woman might be dated
from the time when the little land
lady's mothe. had come to live In the
back parlor. Mrs. Van vlissingen, the
milliner. who occupied the third floor
front. had been quite a confd3ntt Of
miss Broadhurst, and it was she who
nrst circulated the story about old Mrs.
3 being q "bit queer" As q matter Of
fact, the old woman. who had lived In
y sanitarium for nearly six years. was
The victim Of many physical infirmities
(which preyed upon her mind In such a
pmanner az to develop q number OF
wholly reasonless hallucinations.
For instance. for a year before her
danghter took her from the sanitarium.
ehe was convinced that the internes,
nurses and Attendants were conspiring
20 poison .her. The terror grew upon
her TN evenSher lucid moments were
made hcrribla with hateful suspicious.
Little Miss Bseadhurst was a GOOD and
LOVING daughtefS but SO jealous was
Hhe q the peaceful decorum and IRE
proachable reputation Of her house that
che hesitated for months between her
Hlial love and her caution. But at last
her tender heart prevailed and she
brought her mother 10 live in the back
bSfi0r. At first the boarders, espe-
cially the women. made much Of her.
Hhe was q comely, motherly old person
Of much native Intelligence and wide
cultivation, and for q time Miss Broad.
hurst was delighted to see that the old
1edy's >psculiarities were unsuspected
: 81 the boarders.
y II was soon after Christmas. that
trouble developed In q new and unex-
pected manner. First came Miss Van
vllsslngen with an irritating inquiry
about some trinkets that had disap-
peared from her room during her alb
senc& Then DR.. Porteus, the most
amiable and accomplishing Of men,
quietly reported the loss Of small case
az new surgical instruments that he
had received az a Christmas present.
Before February nearly every guest
had lost something. Poor Miss Broad
hurst was at her Wits ends, and she
cried fcr hours when she began to fnd
the lost articles tucked away in every
ccnces7able corner Of her mothers
room. Il was inexpressibly distressing.
but she saw the necessity Of telling
each Of her boarders about her moth.
es's eecentricit!es. and she did 90. at
the same time restoring the lost articles
as rapidly as she could and them with.
cut exciting her mothers suspicious.
She struggled long and hard to be
absolutely tender Of the invalid's feel.
.irgs, but she knew that the reputation
Of her house was endangered. 1t had
borne such an enviable name. Never a
disagreeahle roomer. rever hint Of
scandal. never Q fire nor a robbery.
never q death to annoy or prejudice the
hundreds of guests who had lived in
her model apartments during the ten
years Of her Industrious career as q
landlady. In her heart she knew that
her only wise course lay In Kidding her
self once more Of her poor mother. but
she could not bear the. ordeal Of It
didAit know how to approach the hate:
ful dilemma. and. weak with worry
temperate with the inevitable. Mean
while she could only beg her guests to
keep her secret promising them vague
" that II matters did not mend she
would do something" But Mrs
Bfoadhust did not change her mad
methods. She had the freedom Of the
house during the day. and in spite OF
the watchfulness Of her daughter
would slip away through the rooms
stealing back the very knicknacks tina,
were as promptly restored. The board
err, Q good natured company. were pa
dent enough. though there was a grea,
deal OF whispering among the women
and q general avoidance Of the old
woman. But at Inst Mrs. Van vlissin.
gen missed some borrowed samples OF
rare old lace. and though she searched
for q week little Miss Broadhurs,
couldn't and them. Then the millinel
Aew into rage. limited at plot be
tween mother and daughter. and finally
went boldly to the mother and demand
ed her lace. threatening the police
prosecution and a scandal that spelled
ruin for the demure and almost dis
tracted housewife.
This outbreak threw the old invalit
into q hysteria. She laughed. wept and
shrieked BY turns, and DR.. Porteus wa,
obliged to quiet her with opiates. Mis-.
Broadhurst. careworD. nervous ant
frightened. sat up oil night by the bed
: side summoning her courage and strus
Cling with her heart for the final ne
cessity Of removing her mother from
the house. She pleaded with Mrs. Val
vlissingen to be patient, fitted frou
room to room assuring her guests tina
her mother would be removed ut th'
hrst opportunity. hoping against hop
that no breath Of scandal would pas
her doors. When the patient had re
covered her ratified faculties a new
complication arose. She thought tha
DIR. Porteus and Mrs. Van Vlissingel
were In league to poison her. and a
sight of the physician she screame,