Cape Breton's Magazine

And I said, "You'll have to excuse the look of me because"--I told him what I was doing. He said, "Look, if I came here and saw you all dressed up, I wouldn't think too much of you." And I said, "Well that's okay then." I said, "You sure hit the jackpot then...." So he said, "I won't take too much of your time. I just wondered if it was possible for you to come and help me." See, he kept the 3 oldest. The baby was taken by the grandmother until he would get somebody to look after this. So he told me about the 3 chil? dren. But he didn't say anything about his parents and his aunt.... He came over to get me the 1st of Sep? tember. He sent me a very nice letter after I said yes, I'd try it. I still have the letter. And I sent the letter back to him. He wanted to know if I wanted to come over to see the plkce before the 1st of September. So I wrote a letter back--no, that I wanted to do some things for my brother's wife--her housecleaning. And I wanted to take her children to Sydney and get clothes for the kids for school, and stuff for school for them. And I said, "I'll come the 1st of September...." This Is the letter that Nell James wrote to Margaret August 5,1954 Dear Miss Beaton, Just a note to say thank you and God bless you for the answer you gave me this moming. I hope that at no time will you have any reason to regret your decision. Somehow I feel that we are all going to get along together very well. Let us hope so, anyway. I am very much relieved today, for the time being, at least. I have one worry over with. I want to tell you here that when Francis was going to bed last night, he asked as usual if God was going to send us another Mommy. I told him to say a prayer to his mother to send some? one to stay with us. So when I was talking this moming, he want? ed to know who I was talking to and so on. So I told him. He beat off right away to tell Mary and his grandmother. And he is after me all the time since, "When is next month? Is it tomorrow?" So you can see, even he is looking forward to your coming. Just 5 months today since Kay died. I am sure that she, too, is pleased, that you are going to come with us. So if it is not being too bold, I'm going to ask you to say a prayer to her, asking her for her help. I am sure she will help you, as she has helped me during the past 5 months. And should you want to come over before the first of the month, let me know, and I could meet you at MacKay's Point, say, on the evening boat, and take you back again via the Washabuckt ferry. Wishing you the best of luck, and God bless you. Sincerely, Neil J. MacNeil But anyway, John Elliott MacNeil down here --may the Lord rest him--went over to Bad- deck with him, to get me. And we drove John Elliott home--he just lived down across from the schoolhouse. Neil James drove the schoolbus. And when he got down to the end of the road, he stopped the bus and he said, "I have something to tell you." And I said, "Oh,"--to myself--"Lord, I hope you've got those kids you're talking about! didn't say it to him, you know. He said, "I have my mother and father with me." He said, "You know, when I got mar? ried," he said, "I promised to look after them. And," he said, "I have to try and do my best to look after them. But," he said, "they're a really big help to me." As far as he was concerned, he didn't think they were going to be any problem. I said, "Well, that's all right." In fact, I thought that was kind of nice, you know, to have more adults in the house. And then he said, "But there's something else." I said to myself, "Good night, what else!" Here I was But I over here and I didn't know how to get out of here, no matter what. So I said, "What else?" And he said, "Aunt Lucy is with me. But," he said, "she won't stay too long. We'll likely have to put her in the Home." And I said, "Well, just don't jump the gun. We'll see how it--it can't be that bad. We'll see how we get along...." Margaret's Story Continues on Page 79 Margaret and Neil James