St. Mary's gazette., 1864-08-25

w hatever success sue Oad achieved mao
cost her hard and persevering lsboe. But
as she began to feel desponjent in calcu-
lasiug the chances of success. this passage
came into her mind; Tho race is NOT "a
the swift, nor the battle to the strong
B, sides. il she did not win the prize she
would ut least have the benefit OF trying
So she resolved to'eBter the list-ae do n
we'll as she possibly could. and then quiet.
ly leave the result TO time.
Are you going to write for the prize
Jane ?" asked one of her school-feilows.
The questioner vas Marian Trevor. al
r.ady mentioned as asycophantic adu,ircr o!
Mir am II milton.
She ian straight to her idol, to tell her
Of Jane Ashton's intention.
Let the beegar write ~ said Miriam.
in accents Of stroog contempt "It'll
amu.e her. and Aatter myself it will not
interfere particularly with me. Do you
think there's any chance Of gaining the
prize over my head, Marian ~
"Gain the prize over! She might as
well undertake to climb up to the moon
with a ten foot ladder
Miriam smiled smile Of se'f-sa,isied
approval Of this adolation. and dismissed
the subject from her mind.
Meanwhile, Jane Ashton lost no time
in selecting a subject for her essay She
:elt that in order to stand any chance OF
success, it would be necessary to do her
best After considerable ref eli m. she
decided to make choice of Self-Reliauce,
and its important bearing upon the indlvid-
cal character and upen success in life.
Her desig was to weave in as many
prominent Instances of this trait as he
reading should supply. and euforce her
view by appealing to their examples. l,
was not long before she became very
much interested in her self.chosen task
and when at length she completed it, i,
vas not without degree of pardonable
pride, that she surveyed her work.
Meanwhile, Miriam Hsmilton did not
hasten to undertake her task. She wa.
not dispose to exert herself. When the
question was asked Why she delayed 81
long. she answered with confidence, On,
day will be enough to write mine.
dou't pretend to dig like some folks
Thank goodness, am rapid worker ,
Fiaaaiy, she selected as her subject the
not uncommon onc--.A parallel between
Washington and Napoleon She vas in-
duenced in the selection chiefly by thu
thought that it would be less trouble to
write upon this subject than any other
Certainly her heart vas net iu it, nor was
she in auy way fitted to comprehend and
appreciate the character of Washington.
However to do her justice. it must be
acknowledged that her essay was very
good one, considering the amount Of tim,
aud labor she had expended upon it. She
bad the faculty of easy and smooth express
sion. aul to the superficial reader Ler es,
say would seem very good.
Only the day before the ESSAYS were to
be handed in, rumors reached Miriam that
Jane Ashton had writtca . very superior
essay. Some of the girls had seen it, aud
were confident that she would gain tn,
prize. Uutil this time Miriam had not felt
a d 'utt Of her own success. Even now
she thought that the merit of her rivaps
essay must be very mnch exaggerated, still
the possibility of James success Wa.
enough to ill her with uneasiness, and sL,
determined to 6ud out through her flatter-
er, Marian Trevor, how good it really
vas. Accordingly, Marian borrowed tbe
essay, and serec.ly showed it to Miriam
She read it with i'll concealed dismay. II
was much better than her own In spite
of her self-love, che could not help seeing
that. nor did Marian's deprccating re-
marks at all blind her to the fact. With
u however. betrayinr her disquiet size
requested Marian 10 return il, and ther
formed her plans.
She remembered that Madame Dr.
Lancy had waIned her that blot would
exclude an essay from competition. The
thought inspi,el her with design Of uu-
u,terable n,eanness.
That evening she stole into the school.
ron, and creeping to James desk, took
out the essay which Jane had written will,
such great care and ueatness. and daubed
one of the inside pages with ink. Thi.
done. she hastily left the schovl-room, and
without one thought Of her meanness
thinking only with exulia.ion that the
prize was now hers beyond doubt she re.
tired to bed.
The next morning the essays were
handed in. Jane dill not again open hers
and therefore was not aware Of the fa.a
mark which dis6gured one Of the fail
pages-She was in excellent spirits. foI
she knew that she had done we'll Miriam
might indeed have doue better. but a,
all events she had dome her best, and
! that consciousness xould remain, even il
she failed to obtain the prize which sht
SO artleltly desired.
+, Day succeeded day. and at length tn,
morning arrived when the prize ~as TO b.
announced. III eyes were 6xel OF
Madame De Laney, when she arose, ant
, said:
+ Young ladies you are aware that thret
weeks since. I cfcr.l Friz+ OF a. ele AL