The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1863-03-11
Bessie, the Washerwoma Daughter.

she begins to tattlc about us. it is time {,
teach her lesson. Miss Chandler Ina,
made too much OF her. !, for one, will show
Miss Rag-Bag her place"
| Just then the door opened, and fragile
delicate girl, of some fourteen summers
stepped in.
" Good morning" said she, pleasantly, to
the group Of girls.
There was no repy-all looked timidly
at llOrtonsc, for she was all-powerful there
and her flashing eyes deferred any of tho
more vcnturcsome who would have ad.
| dressed Bessie Allen.
"Good-morning, girls" repeated Bessie
Hortcusc drew herself up haughtily
Attend to your busting" said she. You
do not pay your tuition 10y entertaining us,
aud we do not care to hear any of your hvp-
ocritical remarks The society of a tattlcr
is anything but agreeable
"Hor.onse l. did not tattlc," exclaimed
poor Bessie, while tears rushed to her eyes.
"Tartlers are always liars, replied llor-
tense, soorniully. as she turned away. while
Bessie sank, sobbng, into her seat. A few
of the girls looked pityingly upon her, but
no one vcntured to approach hor.
Il don't believe sho did tell, Tensia
whispered Martha Myers,
You are at perfect liberty TO think what
you please" replied Hortensc, "Go, ifyou
choose take the part of mean informer and
spy. But | thought you had moro spirit
than to be turned around by few crocodile
tears"
Martha shrank back abashed. and the rest
of the girls were easily persuaded that Hor-
tense was right. The bell soon rang, and
all entered upon their school duties.
Hortense Carpenter was at this time
about fifteen years of age, and certainly
very beautiful. She was at once the idol
and terror of the whole school. No one
could be more agreeable than she when her
will was obcyed; no one understood better
than she how to visit any opposition to it
on the heads of the offenders. She was Il
fine scholar, and had always been treated
by her teachers with marked distinction.
Her father was wealthy, ard delighted to
deck in rich attire his child-thc pride OF
his heart He either did not sec her aris-
tocratic and naughty notions, or found an
echo to them in his heart of hcarts--for his
child resembled him much in character: at
any rate, lie never checked them, Her
mother--One Of the most gentle and hum
ble of womcn--indecd, often reasoned
with her on the folly and wickodness of her
pride, and imagined that the respectful at
tention which her daughter paid her, be-
tokened a disposition to correct her faults.
Could she have glanced into her child'J mind
she would have been astonished to see what
thoughts were passing there. Hortense
loved her mother, but she was well aware
that in intellect she herself was far her SUI
perior, and it was with a kind Of pitYing af-
lection that sne listened 10 her parents ad-
fntl cl,
acknowledged that he was her superior, and
his words of sarcastic reproval--for that
was his usual way of expressing his dis
appreciation Of her conduct-were all-pow.
erful with herr but he nepol reiterated
what her mother said to her on this subject
and she pursued her own course, becoming
Il leader in school as he was in society. Thus
it happened that when Bessie Allen first en-
tered the school, she had incurred her dis
pleasure first, because she was poOr--an
otienso which might, possibly, have been
overlooked, had she not proved herself to be
d fine scholar, and by her gentleness bid
fair to become formidable rival also in the
affections of both teacher and scholars.
For all of these reasons Hortense hated her,
and now when school-lrcak had been dis
covered by their teacher, as Bessie had
been the only one not engaged i'll it, sus-
piciOn naturally rested upon her as having
been the informcr, and llortcnse gladly
availcd herself of this to thrust down the
usurpcr into what she considered her proper
place. And trOm thig .ilno poor Bessie was
subjected 10 all the petty aunoyances which
a naughty girl could devise and a sensitive
mind could feel
The girl grew thinner and paler than
ever, for she was a loving child, and to
feel herself looked upon wit suspicion and
hatred where she had before experienced
only kindness, was indeed a sad blow to
her. At home she had never met with any
thing but inditference-for her mother was
dead, her father poor, spiritless drono,
and her step-mOther coarse woman, who
meant well, but understood nothing of the
sensitive Child's feelings, had made no
secret of tho fact that she considered Bessie
as a dead weight on her hands,
When Miss Chandler had offered to take
her into school and teach her for some slight
services, Bessie's heart leaped for Joy. Her
teacher told her that in time she, too. might
obtain her livelihood by teaching, and this
had stimulated the child to almost super
human exertions, which had soon, by max
ing her a rival, gained her an enemy in llor-
tengs. .Le kindness and affection of her
sohoolmates had made her young life full of
sunshine, and now the sudden change threw
her into tenfod deeper gloom than before.
The light of happiness faded from her blUe
eyes she dropped visibly, and one conld
hardly have recognized the gentle, smiling
Bessie Allen, in the now rale and thought
full child She brooded over her trouble
in secret, but her teacher noted nothing of
the change. 1t is needless to say ihat she
was gultlcss Of the charge, and had Miss
Chandler been aware of it, she could have
cleared her at once. But she was not an
observant woman, and saw none of tho
mental troubles of her pupil and Bessie,
who louged sometimes to speakto to her teach
er on the subject, shrunk nervously from
doing SO, from dread of deserving in re-
ality that dreadful appeation a" tattler
that seemed ever sounding in her ears of
deserving that character so abhorred by
school-chi!dren. She would haze Leen ut
terly wretched lad il not been for the lit
tie Lilly,a fairy-like child and sister of
Hortehse, who now come TO school, and
who had at once taken a great fancy to
Bessie, and on whom, in return, Bessie law
ished all the repressed affection of her low
ing heart.
uortenae looked on this with the deep
est annoyance. Lilly was her darling, and
she could not bear to have any rival in the
child's heart-least of all was it to be borne
when that rival was washerwoman's
daughter, and Bessie Allen.
Hortense had gained her point in making
Bessie Stunned by her sohOolmates, but all
this was nothing SO long as her darling sis
ter loved her; and too proud to appear to
notice that she had rival, she could not
deprive Bessie of this. 1t was agony to
her to have the child spring from her side
as she did, in the morning, to meet Bessie
to see her white arms twined round the