The Florida agriculturist., 1906-04-25
THE OCCUPANT OF THE HALL
BED ROOM.
BY Iull Martin.

gray clIrlS VINO occupied lne nan Dtt-
room. She tried so hard to conceal
wound somewhere in her life with her
futter of ways and all-the-time cheer
fulnesS, that she always reminded me
of il little bird with Il frOstbitten toe.
You knew there WAS pain somewhere.
but it was more felt than seen.
At the opening of the school we were
rather inclined to Snub her. both teach
prS and girls. She seemed to he al
ways in our way. In passing in and
out of the rooms and through the
halls. we were continually running
against her. but she invariably claimed
to be the aggreSSOr. and was so prOfuSe
i'm her apologies that one could only
smile and grant absOlutiOn on the
spot.
She was far-off cousin of the presi-
dents wife. and for the few months
she was TO remain in the city she was
invited to remain in the school as Il
guest
The hall bedroom was Il mere cage.
another link which connected her with
Il bird in my mind. 1t was simply Il
niche at one end of the hall. PARTITION
ed off and Just large enough for a
single bed. tiny little table with a
bowl and pitcher on it. and Il looking
glass hung above that. Pass when
you would. the little head with gray
curls was fluttering in and out.
At the close of January the school
was visited by perfect deluge of con
tagiOuS diseases measles. mumpS.
scarlet fever. and one or two cases
of dphtheria. There was a tremend-
Gus strain on the entire faculty in
nursing and caring for the sick; and
it was then we learned the true value
of our guest. The little nervous. fiut-
terry ways were laid aside, and Il deep.
tender mOtherliness took its place
Night after night she would sit by a
sick child until her own face was as
white and drawn as the patients.
She and | were frequently assigned
the care of the same patient. and dur
ing the long midnight hours as we were
sitting up together she would grow
reminiscent and reveal more of her
past life than | ever heard her allude
to before. One night l was struck by
the yearning look in her eyes as she
bent over little dark-haired girl
stricken with scarlet fever.
did you ever have any children of
your own. Mrs. LOwry?" | asked in
Il whisper
Yes, dear; | was just thinking of
my own two babies. who died thirty
years ago of this same disease, as |
was looking into this little girls face.
There is some expression in her eyes
that brings back my own little ones to
me-
She took the hot little hand in her
own, caressing it, as a mother might
do.
1T has been great many years
ago now. although their little lives are
still in my heart, my sorrow has gone,
for | know they are waiting for me,
and in Il few more years | shall be
with them again; but there is an in
cident connected with their death
which L can never Outlive.
My husband was a widOwer when |
l married him, with one little boy !
just two years old, and | loved the |
little fellow as dearly as if he were
my own; in fact, we moved to a |
new place after our marriage, no one |
knew but what he was my own child. |
He was lad of eight or nine years ]
of age before my own two babies |
came. There were only two years |
difference in my children's ages, so
when they grew to be six and eight
gears, they looked almost like twins.
Il was away from home one day,
when Bernard, their half-brOther, took
them ont with him into the town. |