The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-02-24

| Aurores industry, then fell into a
brown study and a dissatisfied longing
hardened the lines of his face.
"Any reading, sis?" he asked, get
ting I'D and coming towards the fire.
Reading? No, indeed, no time for
reading, AL. Too busy. You suppose
I'm going to sit down at home reading
books. while you are blowing and la
boring? Not much!"
Nine. FRANCHISE, who was periodical
ly afflicted with rheumatism came in
crumblipg TO clear away the supper
THINGS, and Aurore fell into a lively
discussion while helping her, using
Acadian patois with much fluency, GER
tain intonations and infections discov-
cred with the mellow richness of her
voice.
How old are you, sis?" Allen asked
suddenly. a question evolved by his
gloomy reflections, evidently.
why, don't you know, Al? I'll be
Is next June. Do look it? I'll be
quite grown up soon, won't I?''
Allen suppressed sigh as he got up
and reached for an iron key hanging
behind the door, the key of the mule
stable. Taking the lantern from a
closet set in the wall, he lit it and,
telling Aurore the would be back soon,
he went out to stable the mules and
lock up the feedhouse, duties which
devolved upon him nightly.
The daily grind of routine and man
al oIc orS
were slipping by and Allen was
startled to realize that Aurore, with
all her sweet, fresh beauty, her en-
ergy and generous impulses, was
growing up to lack an indefinable
something he remembered his mother
had possessed, as he recalled her in
those early years of his childhood in
their far-aWay beautiful home, now in
other hands.
Allen attended mechanically to the
feeding of the stock, saw that the door
was secure and the cattle housed, and
all the while he was approaching him
self kcenly that he could do so little
for Aurore, that he could not give her
advantages she ought to have and op-
portunities of education, and contact
with other girls of her age and class
in some big city.
Allen recalled with a pang, Aurore's
French, and her absorbed interests in
the daily cares of her life and her in
difference to books and reading, and
Allen fOresaw how with all her beauty
she would narrow down into peasant
ways and peasant interests, and would
drift away from all things intellectual
What was he to do? Send her away
to some big college, before a distaste
for mental effort dulled her young
mind? Allen knew by experience how
arduOus a task it was to plod over
studies, when the mind and body were
alike jaded by hard days labor
How could he expect Aurore, sweet,
bright, little Aurore, to have the stern
energy of man. and take up study and
book learning as pastime? No, Al
len very plainly saw that, unless he
could find the means to send Aurore
away from the restricted country life
she was leading, one filled with sweet
devoid of all ambitions, she would not
be for all her beauty, what her mother
had been, woman of fastidiouS re-
finement, high education and polish.
How distinctly he remembered her.
He himself was an uncouth fellow
Allen thought. From the age of IA
he had done hard manual work. Had
driven cattle, MIXED COWS, hoed in
the garden, chopped wood, done car
penters work, plOwed and worked in
the blacksmith's shop shoeing horses
and mending broken implements AS
carpenter how many wagons had he
repaired.
And during the grinding season he
was cane weigher, or timekeeper for
the plantation.
That he had studied hard, at night
with scholarly Father Perrier's help,
and had acquired certain amount of
knowledge, a good deal of late and an
Gent literature, and had read the great
authors of modern times, was good at
mathematics, and was a French
scholar, were not sufficient reasons,
Allen said to himself. for him to have
the air and polish his father had.
No, both he and Aurore would be at
disadvantage among college-bred
men and women, and while Allen cared
for knowledge for himself only in the
hope of being able to utilize it some
day to emerge from the slough of pow
erty into which cruel circumstances
had plunged them, his heart burned
within him at the thought of Aurore's
growing up to womanhood shy, beauti-
full and unlettered, like Heloise, old
Nine. Franchises granddaughter
Allen came back, Aurore was in the
kitchen preparing the bread for the
next day. Then she and FRANCHISE dis
appeared.
Where have you been, Sis" Allen
asked putting down his book, when she
came in with her work basket and be-
gan to sew diligently.
We went to see if the turkey had
gone to roost in the oak tree she
said brightly, then ran on about corn
for the chickens and seed for the gar
den.
You incorrigable little worker. Do
take novel or poetry, or newspaper,
and put down that needle Allen said
But Aurore laughed gayly and de-