Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-01-03
EVENING STAR.
ONLY A SEAMSTREss.
By g. CANNING HILL,


Green. The time was evening, and the
month November:
The weather was cold and very braeing,
and the chill from the handle of the door
bell instantly struck through the delicate
kid glove in which his hand was encased.
A servant ushered hinl into the room,
where chanced at this moment to be sitting
Mrs. Green, her daughter Mary, and Miss
Emeline May The matron received him
with grace that was strongly winning for
a lady of her age and apparent dignity Of
manner, and with afectionateness of man
ner that she could scarcely have exercised
toward son of her own.
Mary, her daughter, rose to receive him
likewise with presumptiveness of attach
ment that she had evidently been drilled
into by the assiduous teachings of her
mother
Only Emeline May, the orphan girl, ap-
peared to be for the first time noticed
She looked up with a timid and sad
daned air, as Mr.. Mowbray entered the
room, and dropped her blue eyes over her
work.
Mr.. Mowbray glanced with a look of ex-
pressive inquiry at the young girl, and the
glance was unnotioed by Mrs. Green, for it
| could not have been many minutes before
she made some frivolous pretext for dismis-
sing her from the room altogether. All the
time the visitor was in the room, she had
received no introduction to him at the in
stance Of Mrs. Green.
| "She is really splendid looking girl, !"
Immediately exclaimed the young gentleman,
| when she had gathered up her work and
passed out before him. "some relative ?"
added he, inquiringly.
"No-yes - that is" answered Mrs.
Green, hesitatingly, "she is sort of second
cousin to Mary, and we suffer her to be here
merely out Of charity. She is only seam
stress, you know 20
"Ah!" answered Mr.. Mowbray, glancing
hurriedly at Mary, to observe the effect of
this very cold remark upon her.
Greatly to his establishment, he saw that
she received this discontinue of Emeline at
the hand of her mother. with the most as
sured satisfaction. a
"she is certainly beautiful" added he,
to see the effect Of his remark, more than
from any single desire to compliment the
poor girl. 81 wish you had introduced me,
Mrs. Green"
Indeed should have done 50, Mr.. Now
Bray" replied she, with a simpering laugh,
"had I thought her worthy of your atten-
ton. But she is only seamstress, you see,
and she is so poor and Independent, too, in
fact. do not know what she would do
were it not fer our charity. She has no
home in the wide world to 60 to-"
sit certainly argues very much for your
goodness, Mrs. Green" said he, "that you
voluntarily befriended poor girl in her
situation. I must be allowed to say, mad
am, that hold you much higher in my es-
TEEN since you have told me this
80, as for that, Mr.. Mowbray, I do no
more than what I have considered duty;
Jet I never should consent to carry my
kindness so far as to spoil her. never
think Of making her acquainted with Mary's
visitors She would soon be spoiled if I did
that"
Mr.. Mowbray sat lost in bis reflections
for moment. What those reflections were
Mrs. Green certainly had no method Of
knowing. Yet she was not by any means
deficient in that quickness that the female
mind generally possesses, which enables it
to seize by intuition, as it were, upon
thoughts almost as quick as upon words.
She did not mean, therefore, to suffer
him TO remain long lost in thoughts Of EN-
cline, but instantly changed the subject,
and ran on with her conversation as gaily
as if every heart beneath her roof were as
happy as hers, ard as if she was just as
she seemed
Fer some timd she succeeded in appa-