The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1904-10-07

| ~ iulHcu, WHICH IL Only wanted TAXING
up little on one shoulder and letting
down an inch or SO III front; and VIII 5
right arm was almost disabled from a
heavy load Of books he carried Il long
distance the day before chow men can
have the heart to give Il mans burden to
Il child cant scc), when aunt'S letter fell
like Il bombs shell into our nearly dis
hcartcncd little camp:
| DEAR FOLKS:-A friend of minC-an
lnglishman" (aunt's language was cor
rect enough, but ut times her spelling
was somewhat peculiar) "who came here
purposng to start in business. took the
fever, fingered a few months and died.
leaving, Heaven knows why. his only
child, a daughter who will eventually be
a not-tO-be- sniifed-at heireSs, to NV care
Having been delicately reared in the
| midst of devotion and tenderness, this
place, only suited to bold. strong ma
lures, is a little too ruff for her. So she
deSireS-at least | desire for her--her
home to he with You.
My niece, Mary. who inheiits the dis.
| position OF her father To- Il great degree
and he would have gone out of his way
any day to give even dumb brute pleas
ure-will, am sure, be kind to her. Car
rol will love her for her beauty, if for
nothing else, and she is most lovablc.
Her maid will accompany her
AT present her affairs are in a tang!e.
but hope to uuravel them in the course
of few months, and then you will be
rccompcnscd for whatever extra expense
she may cause you. would inclose Il
check at present writing but all my
funds are invested in a speculation from
which | expect to reap much profit. Do
the best YOU can until YOU hear from NE
again, when l will further unfold my
plans in regard to Miss Ashbell, who, by
the way, starts tomorrow. AUNT"
No wonder CONSERVATION and dismav
| were depicted on every countenance when
| ceased reading this letter. No wonder
we looked gaspingly at each other What
i'll the world were we to do with this fine
young lady in our humble home?
What could aunt be thinking about:
True, she didn't know exactly how poor
we were, for we'd been too proud to &C
knowledge our extreme poverty in our
few and far between letters On the con-
trary. am afraid we had led her to be
lleve that we were in quite tlourishing
condition. But for all that, she ought to
have known that we were not flourish
ing enough to support a delicate and
beautiful girl, used to luxury, tenderness
and devotion, for even few months
Was ever anything so malapropos and
veXatious OF course Miss Ashbell would
look with scorn on our seven-roomcd
dwelling, with a back garden twenty-five
by twenty-five, and a courtyard ten by
ten. And suppose-as aunt, with short
sightedness very unusual to her, compla-
Gently rcmarked-Carrol should fall in
love with her: The proud English girl
would no doubt regard him as fortune
hunter, and invidiously compare his
frank, impulsive, rather brusQue manners
with the repose and lawful dignity of
the languid swells of her wn native land !
And somebody else might be attracted |
toward her-men are so susceptible of |
woman's beauty-somebody who now
thought my face the sweetest in the |
world. The very thought made my heart |
stop beating.
And the maid? Even if we could make
arrangements to accommodate her-and |
it seemed utterly impossible for us to do |
society, our faithful servant for the
last fifteen years, would look upon her as |
an interloper, and treat her as such
Betty has been used to being monarch |
of all she surveyed Even in house
cleaning times-those that try mems
souls and women's soleS- she scorncd the
idea of an assistant.
mo. mann, Ill have no stranger
p1kin roun' me. When I'm not able to
do the work of this house alone I'll 60"
And mother-dear, shrinking, grief
stricken mother-how would she bear
the advent of this dainty Miss Ashbell |
But we could do nothing to avert the
impending misfortune. Even If we had
thought of disobeying oar fathers last
command, and refusing aunt the favor
she had not asked, but, in her usual de-
cisive way. taken for granted, the Young
lady was on her way, and would BE- here
in a day or two.
And then we began to prepare for Miss
Asbell. Wills room was to be given up
to her, and Will Carrots room was
scarcely large enough for himself and his
art-traps, as he calle,l them was slowed
away in the loft-a proceeding which he
viewed with immense dissatisfaction.
"lil smother up there i'll hot weather"
he said, with a weary face. "Oh, wish
there wasn't anv Miss Ashhcl, Why
don't she go to a hotel"
"Why don't She" echoed l.
said we began to prepare FOR her, but
for the lack of the afore mentioned silver
and gold, our preparations were of the
simplest kind. Carol made and put up
two pretty brackets, and hung with 4
sigh-ior he hated to part with them
the few pictures he possessed, on the walls.
looped back the white curtains (freshv
washed and ironed, with much grumb-
ling, by Betty with new blue ribbons,
and covered the trunk ottoman with
bright chintz, and with Helens help |
made a new mat to place before the
bureau, and we turned IN old tablecluth
into napkins, and bought a new napkin
ling and two or three cut-glass goblcts
and a lovely china cup and saucer, and,
when all was done. waited with anxious
hearts for our unwelcome visitor.
Mother had shut herselfup in her room
early in the morning of the day we eX-
pected her, and had remained; and the
rest of us were all as uncomfortable as
poor, proud, shy, sensitive people could
be at the thought of perfect strangers
ingresS into the very heart of their home,
and wishing audibly and inaudiblv that
Miss Ashbcll's father had never brought
her from England, when. as the sun sank
in the west, and cool, summer breeze,
fragrant with the breath of the roses.
lifted the curtains of our cosy hay-win-
dow, carriage stopped at the door.
She's come, and I'm gone" said Viii,
ningiug down his book and then rushing