The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1905-09-02

sOur verdict at first was that sh
was one of the most uninterestine
colorless sort of nonentities we ha
ever had the misfortune to com
across. She was very quiet-almos
subdued in her manner-with slight
" perceptible touch of shyness, an
slow way Of speaking, which an
noyed us both exceedingly.
We agreed, however, that the aun
was a sweet old lady, exactly lik'
an Old World picture or bygone 70
mance-just the type one instlnctively
associates with an atmosphere OF Ia
vender and faded rose petals.
Her one idea in life-indeed, nearly
all her intercst-seemed centered or
the only human being she had left tc
loye-her grandniece, Lillian.
1t was really too pathetic to hear
her talk; l mean when one saw the
girl, for she spoke as if she possessed
all the graces and charms Of beauty
and the attributes of a genius In EN-.
bryO: whereas, in reality, she was, as
I mentioned before, most ordinary
looking, commonplace little person.
with nothing to redeem her rather
plain features but a pleasant, though
rare. smile, which lit up her face for
q moment, and quite changed its ex-
preston.
The pathos, however, lay In the fact
that little, old Miss Lavender as
we had, with common consent, chris
tened the old lady, could never see the
smile, or, indeed, anything in the
world around her, for she was totally
blind.
!. Not for her did the sun turn the
glistening dewdrops on their tiny lawn
into diamonds or the sweetscented,
0id-fashioned flowers in the little bor-
der spring forth into glowing colors as
she passed, sad-looking, old figure,
though with a certain dignity Of her
own, down the tiny, gravel path be-
tween the lilies and roses, which
stretched In row to The little, green,
wooden gate.
y Yet one wonders IL, after all, there
were not compensations. loving her
niece as she did, it would have been
agony to her sensitive heart to see
how the girl was sometimes passed
over among her more favored CON-
panions; or, when other girls ap-
peared, arrayed In all the pristine
freshness Of crisp, new muslins, or
soft silks, Lillian still came out In her
well worn-white cashmere. We used
to call it Mrs. Noah" then, and laugh |
secretly at Its regular temperance
each highday and holiday. How little
We. knew! 1t was only the other day |
found my sister Molly kneeling be-
fore funny little box sofa in Miss |
Lavender's best bedroom, shedding a
quiet tear over something inside, and
when l stole over to see what the
contents were which caused my usual
y light-heartca sister to weep, found
ner holding fold of the historic cash
mere In her hands.
1t made lump rise in my throat,
100, and | turned quickly away, and
crept softly downstairs, to where the
pathetic, old figure, in its dainty, lace
zap and fichu, sat in the sunshine
N the little lawn.
Sne looked up as approached, with
smile Of welcome, and made room
or me to sit on the seat beside her.
/ heard your footsteps, my dear,
nd knew you would spare the old
roman little time for chat. You
now, have had another letter from
dear child is so happy,
nd ! want to have a little talk about
er with some one who knew her.
The sightless eyes were turned
agerly toward me, while the fragile
ands fumbled for the letter in the
tile, satin work-bag she always car
ed.
How could one have the heart to un-
eceive her-to dash the hope from
le brave. old face and the brightness
ON her life? 1t would need a braver
,e than l. and we had long ago de-
ded to help Lillian in her deception,
I'd never to betray her secret to the
val. trustful heart which beat for
n alone. AS she said, It could not
Tor long now, and, after the end,
nat would it all matter to anyone
cept herself?
1t was curious how we all, even
'wn to Molly, who was always SO
wn on anything not quite above
ard, combined to aid Lillian in her
ception toward Miss Lavender; but
t, what else could we do?
She had confided in us one day
lille we were all three sitting out on
e lawn. and Miss Lavender and my
other we're indoors, having q quiet
q together. u