Year: 1873

L w lSn ne u ask faLuV TO rlGe!'


Il hope he may"


II trust he won't understand soAy you
decline, in the most honeyed accents.


''Well, | haUent declined vet"


Only because you haven't been ask
ed"


And the result was that Peggy accept
ed, and Matthew came and found her
gone, and accepted Aunt Brierly's version
OF the fact, which didn't vouchsafe drop
OF oil on the troubled waters, since she
did every thing in her power to irritate
him, while preserving the mask of peace
maker AS a matter of course an un-
pleasantness ensued, which owed more
than half its animus to Aunt Brierly's
arts. The lovers did not speak or look
at each other, except by stealth, for over
week, each one waiting for the other to
say the words which both were dying to
speak and hear. But just as Peggy had
about make up her mind that she couldn't
endure such silence much longer, she
heard, apparently by chance, that Mat
thew Royston had been to see Patty
Pratt, and had invited her to a merry
making.


That's shabby enough, if Patty is nv
NIECE said Aunt Briefly. Il wouldn't
blame you noao if you should give him as
hard nut to crack. There's nothing like
obllging young fellow to come the
whole way in making up, without hold
ing out little finger to him, specially
when he's in the wrong. I suppose he
expects you'll get frightened at this and
speak first, and I've noticed that those
who speak first in quarrel always have
to take the blame" Aunt Briefly was
getting ready the brick oven while she
spoke for the weeks baking She had a
flushed face and a nervous manner, not
usual with her, as she threw into the oven
handful of paper which she had caught
up Just as Peggy entered, and she was
about to lay on the kindlings and apply
the match, when she stumbled and fell
against pine knot that Uncle John had
brought IN to heat the oven, and there
was no more baking nor any thing else
done that day but running for doctors,
while soul hOvered between life and
death. Well, Aunt Briefly was sick five
months, If she was a day; and when she
had recovered from her shock as much as
she ever would, though she could not
move hand nor frame an intelligible
sentence, she signifed her desire to be
dressed and allowed to sit, propped up,
in the big arm chair, to look out at the





about, to see the NAPLES, that had lust
hung out their green banners when she
took to her bed, reddening in the October
sun, and the Rev. Moses Precept and his
wife in light kids leaving brother Pratts
door in a coach. How the earth had
turned round while she had been lying
idly on her back, and the baking not
donei The grass that had only begun to
look green and feathery when she was
stricken down had been mOwn and har-
vested, leaving brown, barren fields; and
the grape-vines that had only put out
few tender feelers were now purple and
dusty with fruit: and the trees that had
dropped their blossoms in pink and fra
grant showers were now dropping great
golden pippins and rosy gillyflowers. No,
the earth never stood stiil, whatever other
folks might do. But what under the sun
were Mr.. Precept and his wife doing at
brother Pratt's with a coach all to them
selves? She tried to put the question to
Uncle John, but the words got all shaken
up together upon her tongue, so that it
was more Of a conundrum than ever. 1t
was like one of those games where you
are given the letters Of a word, and left to
spell it out for yourself. But as Uncle
John could not guess, she did her best to
intimate by rude but energetic signs that
Mr.. Precept was the object of her curl
osity.


ooh" said Uncle John, reluctantly,
''its-a-a weddingl It's Patty and Matt
Royston; they couldn't wait for you to
get out. because Matt's going into busi
ness out West"


Peggy was beating a pillow as he
spoke, and iustinctively Aunt Brierly's
eyes were turned upon her; and such wild,
aStonished, frightened eyes that Peggy
will never forget them TO her dying day;
eyes, too, with something like a tear in
them, in their startled depth. Then she
was on her feet in an instant
reaching out vainly toward the door,
and uttering flood of incoherent words,
as if she would assure them she had i'm
portant business on hand that must not
be neglected.; then she sank back ex-
hausted among her pillows, and the yell
low sunlight fell across her face, and
dead leaf tloated past the window, and
Aunt Brierly's soul floated out into the un-
known.


Peggy was thinking of some of these
things AS she went about her humble task
of making the pandowdy-of such part
of these things as had fallen within the
scope of her experience. There was good
reason why gold ring had no longer any
meaning to her, or any charm to hold her.
Why should she care to ornament herself,
when nobody needed whether she looked
well or i'll No; she was making the
pandowdy to please Uncle Johu, who had
always stood her friend, hoping its flavor
might bring back his youth for a little.
Let other women who had husbands or
lovers to please deck themselves in tinery,
but it was too late for her. Once she
might have coveted these things, but that
was a by-gone. Nothing could restore to
her the supreme confidence of youth !;
nothing could bring back those warm
June nights when she and Royston had
watched the stars slide across the heavens,
had noted the heavy fragrance of dew
drenched flowers as they walked the fields,
or had sat on some rocky ledge by the
river, and had seen the belated fishermen
come in with masses of quivering sill
yer tangled in their nets, and had listened
to the echo of voices on the other side,
or, taking boat, had moved, silently as
the stars themselves, across the half-lum-
inous expanse of water, where the planets
seemed broken into star dust, and now
and then fish had leaped to the surface,
a cock had crowed from some distant
farm house, an oar had played IN its row.
lock and made the chord complete. Peggy
never stepped out now on sultry summer
nights to carry comfort to some ailing
neighbor but the inspiration of that sacred
e.: Il ctr IL, Of tpn Har