Year: 1866

CHAP. L


Well, really wonder what you viii do
next, Emma / shall make an application
to the most respectful private asylum l can
] discover, and have you admitted as pa
/ tent This war has turned your brain,
/ believe. Here, according to your own state
ments, you did nothing but knit and sew for
4 the soldiers and now that summer has
/ come and that hospital been erected down
! in the village, you must bake your face and
! hands as red as beets over the hot stove,
/ cooking dainties for those sick soldiers. I'll
! warrant they have not been accustomed to
such delicacies at home as you prepare for
them here, l don't put any faith in their ill-
ness, any how They are lazy, worthless
! fellows, and feign sickness to be allowed to
| indulge in their Incidence, and to impose on
/ the ereduity of such tendeF-hearted, unso-
phisticated women as my cousin Emma"
The red lips curled scOrnfully
You would not say so, Florence, If you
could see the poor fellows burning up with
feRers, and hear them almost praying for the
sight of one familiar home face"


" Bah All put on for effect Now, I'll
warrant you she'd regular little torrents. of
tears over their pretty acting, or sit down
like the good ANGELS we hear Of and read the
Bible to them 1 have half a. notion to fol
low you down some day, just to see some of
your WOuuueu heroes ana IOF6ES. " nat q
goose you, are, Emma Blouse


{" [ wish could return the compliment by
calling you something equally as innocent
wish, at any rate, you would 60 with me to
the hospital some day, Florence, for if there
Is anything, noble, or gentle, or good in your
Disposition the sight of suffering men
there would surely arouse it. "


The plain face looked almost beautiful
then.


Emma Blouse, your eyes are flashing
fire, and your cheeks are red with anger.
Are you trying to pin me to the wall with
your sharp, penetrating looks What pity
some enthusiastic young gentleman IS not
present to admire your spirited stylel Who
can tell what the result would be ;? Emma
Blouse might become Mrs. z---=-si instead
of Emma Blouse, the plain old maid, all her
life"


The speaker toyed indiFerently with a
spray of wild roses that had crept in at the
window, smiling all the while Gondescend-
ing smile, more aggraTating than words could
have been.


4" am homely, Florence. I have known
that from the time when we two were little
children and you used to point to me every
day how much lOvelier and more iovable you
were than l., But am not aRrold maid.


AO ," provokingly and tantalizingly.


Nol How can you pretend ignorance,
Florence, when you know you are at least
year the Oldest ?"


t'Ahl So I am, to be sure. But then you
look so much the oldest, that almost forget
Do you know, the other evening, at the par
ty, was introduced to a gentleman, and he
1t was so amusing had to laugh"


The air of frankness she had assumed al
most deserted her here, for Emma fastened
her steady, honest eyes upon her in a man
neI- that seemed to ferret out- the falsehood
instantly.


- i" D'O you remember the gentleman's
name now


I.I--really, have forgotten it"


Sol supposed - ~


And this time Emma smiled little scorn-
fully, not pausing, however in the pleasant
task of arranging some choice flowers into
an exquisite boqu ct. A low moan of pain
from the next room caused both girls to
pause a moment in tn cir conversation; then
Florence, who felt that she had somehow,
lost ground IN the recent contest went on ::


That fellow in there Is dreadful nu-
isance He doesn't seem to care how much
he startles one with his horrid muttering
and groaning l can't think what ever pos
sessed you to have him brought up from the
hospital What if he had died He is
only private ! ~


Emma laid down the fragrant flowers she
had been holding, folded her hands, and
looked steadily into the beautiful face op-.
posite her -,.-.--- ~


&c Onlya private Florence Hunt ] never
felt so much ashamed of you in all my life,
and have had cause enough before this.
Only private And is not the life and
soul Of a private as precious as that of
general


" Well I'm sure I don't think so" Flor
Il !
be some glory and honor about nursing a
wounded colonel, or even a captain He
might be worth ones attention ; but the idea
of watching over a coarse, bloody, delirious
private, as you have been doing the one in
the next room, is simply ridiculous


suppose then, that because this man
is not adorned with stars or bars, he should
have been left to die In the blood he bravely
shed, with no one to lend helping hand 2


oh, no can't exactly say he ought to
have been allowed to lie In the sun and dust
to die but then the hospital was good
enough for him, and l don't see why you
couldn't have confined your amazing good
ness to that place.


Because the surgeon said that unless he
had perfect quiet, and the -best of nursing,
he could not recover"


+" Precious little difference it would have
made ] suppose you are arranging this
bouquet 70 aGOrn MS room


She said this dcrisively.f


" Yes l am. l want everything to seem
pleasant and hOmelike to him when consci-
business returns


She arose as she spoke, carrying the
flowers with her into the room, and arrang-
ing them IN a vase on small table bv the
bedside. She gave start of surprise as
she looked round and met the gaze of
pair Of large black eyes fixed upon her with
an earnest, grateful expression realizing IN
an instant that reason had returned TO the
invalid again. She stopped down to catch
the words he whispered to her


You are so gOod-E shall always like
you-I shall always thank YOU"


Her face flushed up hotly, and she won
dered if he had heard the conversation that
had passed, but she spoke to him gently and
calmly.


." Do not try to talk now. I have only
done what was both a pleasure and duty.
l am so glad that you are better at last


So the conversation ended, and was not