Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville
"The day is lovely," she said, "and I always find my garden more
cheerful than the house. Grandfather's illness makes the house
unpleasant for strangers, too."
Louise was surprised at this frank reference, and Uncle John coughed to
hide his embarrassment.
"I--I hope the invalid is--is improving," he said, doubtful whether he
should say anything on the delicate subject or not.
"He is always the same, sir," was the quiet response. "I suppose they
have told you that grandfather is a madman? Our great trouble is well
known in this neighborhood."
"He is not dangerous. I suppose?" hazarded Uncle John, remembering the
brutal bellowing.
"Oh, not at all. He is fully paralyzed from his waist down, poor
grandfather, and can do no harm to anyone. But often his outbreaks are
unpleasant to listen to," continued the girl, deprecatingly, as if
suddenly conscious that they had overheard the recent uproar.
"Has he been--this way--for long?" inquired Louise.
"His mind has been erratic and unbalanced since I can remember,"
answered Ethel, calmly, "but he first became violent at the time Captain
Wegg died, some three years ago. Grandfather was very fond of the
Captain, and happened to be with him at the time of his sudden death.
The shock drove him mad."
"Was he paralyzed before that time?" asked Louise, earnestly.
"No; but the paralysis followed almost immediately. The doctor says that
a blood vessel which burst in the brain is responsible for both
afflictions."
The pause that followed was growing awkward when Uncle John said, with
an evident effort to change the subject:
"This is a fine old homestead."
"It is, indeed," responded Ethel, brightly, "and it enjoys the
distinction of being one of the first houses built in the foothills. My
great-grandfather was really the first settler in these parts and
originally located his cabin where the mill now stands. 'Little Bill
Thompson,' he was called, for he was a small, wiry man--very different
from grandfather, who in his prime was a powerful man of over six feet.
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There was once a king who was very powerful. He had great influence over the wild beasts and animals. Now the tortoise was looked upon as the wisest of all beasts and men. This king had a son named Ekpenyon, to whom he gave fifty young girls as wives, but the prince did not like any of them. The king was very angry at this, and made a law that if any man had a daughter who was finer than the prince's wives, and who found favour in his son's eyes, the girl herself and her father and mother should be killed.
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