Year: 1873




Toronto, where he. was employed by
the firm of Lee & Brothers. His
salary was small, and we were OBJ
liged to live as economically as pos
sible; so Harry rented small house
on Yonge street, furnished it with as
little. expense as was consistent with
comfort, and took me there to COM
mence housekeeping on very small
scale indeed, keeping no servant ex-
cept a woman who came once a week
to wash, and a man who came occa-
sionally to saw wood, bring in coal,
etc.


LAS this house is closely connect
ed with my story, / will describe it
to you. It was a low bricked cot
tage. standing quite alone in the
centre of a large garden, with vacant
lots behind. on each side, and in
front, too, on the other side of the
street; so that we were quite as
much removed from neighborly com
panionship as if we were living in
the country. A small covered porch
was in front, with a door opening
into our parlor. sitting and dining
room; in one, fronting this door,
another opened into the kitchen. and
another to the right into my bed
room; a door to the right of the
kitchen opened into small store
room; and back of the kitchen was
small latticed porch, with the wood
and coal house at one side. Here l
lived as mistress and maid of all
work, for Harry's limited salary
would not permit US to keep ser
want; but. hard as 1 worked, some
of my happiest hours were+passed in
that little house. l often thought of
my dear old home i'll San Francisco,
and smiled as l imagined the aston
ishment of your father, if he could
but see his gay and thoughtless
niece, brilliant butterfly as he used
to call me, transformed into a busy.
working bee


zone day, when little Alec was
about five weeks old. I dismissed the
woman whom we had employed for
short time, and resumed my house
hold labers. Bridget had been q
very good servant, but things in
general had been allowed to lose the
neat and orderly arrangement in
which | had left them, and [ spent a
busy day in cleaning and arranging
the appurtenances belonging to my
household. l succeeded at last in
bringing order out of confusion, and,
before the return of my husband
from the store, my home looked as
bright and cheerful as it had done
before my illness.


Il think [ never felt more content
ed and happy than l did that even
ing. One great sense Of anxiety
had Just been removed. The situa-
tion of soprano, which 1 had been
obliged to resign, had been offered to
me again that day, with an increase
OF salary, more than sufficient to de-
fray the expenses of my illness; and
Miss Janet Gordon, Harry's aunt.
had made it possible for me to accept
by offering to take charge of baby
during my absence. My past i'll
ness gave new feeling of employ
ment to the health and vigor now
coursing through my veins.


i was expecting Aunt Janet to
come with my husband to take din
ner with us that evening, and had
taken great pains in the preparation
of her favorite dish, 'Cock-a-leckie,'
which she said I could prepare al
most as we'll as a Scotch woman;
and had dressed myself, as Harry
liked to see me, in blue merino with
plain linen cuffs and collar, fastened
with a simple bow Of blue ribbon
my best dress, Anna, of which was
obliged to be careful, so / protected
it from contact with the cook stove
by large housewives apron of blue
check. 1


Il thought, as I stood looking
into my little parlor, that / never be-
fore had seen it look so pleasant and
The mellow light of an
autumn sunset streaming through
the clear glass of the window, giving
a roseate tinge to the fresh muslin
curtains; bright coal fire glowed
in the polished CRATE. and before it
stood the table, ready prepared for
dinner. with its -spotless damask COW
ering. fanltless. clean napkins, clear
shining glass, pure white china, and
plated ware+we could not afford sill
ver-polished to the extreme of
Our one handsome piece
of furniture, a magnificent piano
given me by your father, stood open.
with Harry's favorite music in the
rack. and his flute lay ready on the I
music stand but the loveliest object
to. my eyes was the inmate of the
little cradle, lying with wide open /
eyes, and uttering that soft cooino