The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1915-03-23

ing like Abraham Lincoln, for you
have been turned into a miserable old
| woman
Picking up the hair-brush, he held
| 1t out at arms length to Angy. Wont
| yew slick up my hair leetle bit,
mother?" he asked, somewhat shame
| facedly. II can't see extry well this
mornin'."
why, Abel It's slicked ez slick ez
It kin be naow" However, the old
wife reached up as he bent his tall.
again his thin, wet locks. He laughed
a little, self-mockingly, and she
| laughed back, then urged him into the
hall, and, slipping ahead. led the way
! downstairs. At the first landing, which
! brought them into full view Of the
lower hall, he paused, possessed with
the mad desire to run away and hide,
for at the foot of the stairway stood
the entire flock of old ladies. Twenty
nine pairs of eyes were lifted to him
| and Angy, Twenty-Five pairs of lips
were smiling at them. To the end of
his days Abraham remembered those
smiles. Measuring, unselfish and
tender, they made the old mans heart
swell, his emotions go warning to-
gether.
He wondered, was grateful, yet he
grew more confused and afraid He
stared amazed at Angelina, who
seemed the embodiment Of self-posses-
sion, lifting her dainty, proud little
gray head higher and higher. She
turned to Abraham with a protecting,
| motherly little gesture of command
| for him to follow, and marched gall
lantly on down the stairs. Humbly,
| trembling at the knees, he came with
gingerly steps after the little old wife.
How unworthy he was of her nowi
How unworthy he had always been,
yet never realized to the full until this
| moment. He knew what those smiles
meant, he told himself, watching the
| uplifted faces; they were to soothe
| bis sense of shame and humiliation,
to touch with rose this dull gray color
| Of the elimination of his failures. He
passed his hand over his eyes, fiercely
praying that the tears might not come
| to add to his disgrace.
And all the while brave little Angy
kept smiling, until with a truly glad
leap Of the heart she caught sight Of
blue ribbon painted in gold shining
on the breast of each one of the
Twenty-Five women. A pale blue rib
| bon painted in gold with-yes, peertng
her eyes she discovered that it was
| the word WELCOMED" The forced
| smile vanished from Angeline's face.
| Her eyes grew wet, her cheek white.
Her proud figure shrank. She turned
| and looked back at her husband. Not
| for one instant did she appropriate
the compliment to herself. "This Ia
| for you!" her spirit called out to him,
| while a new pride dawned in her
working face.
Forty years had she spent apologize
| ing for Abraham, and now she under
stood how these twenty-nine generous
| old hearts had raised him to the pedes-
| tai Of a hero, while she stood heroine
| beside him. Angy it was who trembled
now, and Abe, gaining manly cour-
| age from that, took hold of her arm
| to steady her-they had paused on a
| step near the foot Of the stairs-and,
| looking around with his whimsical
smile, he demanded of the bedecked
company in general, Ladies, be yew
| 'spectin' the PRESIDENT"
| Cackle went the cracked old voices
| of the Twenty-Five in a chorus of ap-
preciative laughter, while the old
heads bobbed at one another as if to
say, won't he be an acquisition ?"
And then, from among the group there
came forward Blossy-Blossy, who had
sacrificed most that this should come
to pass; Blossy, who had sat till mid
night painting the gold-and-blue rib
.bons; Blossy, the pride and beauty
of the home, in delicate, old, yellow,
real lace gown. She held her two
hands gracefully and mysteriously be-
hind her back as she advanced to the
foot Of the stairs. Looking steadily
tn Abraham's eyes, she kept a-smiling
until he felt as IL the warmth of a
belated spring had beamed upon him.
THE PRESIDENT" Her mellow, we'll
modulated voice shook, and she
laughed with a mingling of generous
| Joy and tender pity. Are we expect
! ing the president? You dear, modest
man! We are welcoming-you!"
| Abe looked to Angy as if to say,
How shall take it?" and behold! the
miracle of his wife's bosom swelling
and swelling with pride in him. He
turned back, for Blossy was making q
speech. His hand to his head, he
bent his good ear to listen. In terms
poetical and touching she described
| the loneliness of the life at the home
as it had been with no man under
| the roof of the house and only deaf
and-dumb gardener who hated her sex,
! in the barn. Then in contrast she
| painted life as 1t must be for the sis
ters now that the thirty tender vines
had found a stanch old oak for their
clinging. "Me?" queried Abraham of
himself and, with another silent
glance, Of Angy.
CTO BE CONTINUED}