Page:A hairdresser's experience in high life.djvu/134

136 mother was telegraphed for in a clandestine manner; she came, and of course there was a change then. It was during her stay Minnie's reception came off. I told this lady what an affair it was: Three servants elegantly dressed—one at the hall door, one on the stairway, and one at the parlor door to announce the guests. I told her the number of invitations sent out, the splendor of the tables, and what was on them. There were hundreds of dollars spent in flowers scattered hither and thither through the rooms.

She then asked me how Noble's brothers and sisters treated her. I told her they treated Minnie as if she had been an own loved sister; nothing seemed too much to do for her. She asked how Minnie treated Noble when he was sick. I told her the truth; that she scarcely ever came near him; I and his mother waited on and nursed him. One night, the doctor pronounced him in a very dangerous way; she danced into the room, and said she hoped soon to be the gay widow Noble. I would not have told all this to her, but Minnie had made a confidant of her, and told her many things herself.

Before we got through with our talk it was late, and I heard Noble call me in a hurried tone; I went in as quickly as possible, and found Minnie on her buck in bed, with towels and handkerchiefs spattered with blood all around her; I hastened forward and asked what was the matter with her. She said Noble had been scolding her a long time, and the excitement had brought on a hemorrhage of the lungs. I do not know what it was; whether from a bad tooth, or really from the lungs; but I have known