Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-05-19
is SHE A HERoINEe

name was NINA Blake, and shl
lived among the hills. No matter wha
hills. There are q great many in thi
country unknown 10 fame, and she live
among some of them. She lived in
frame house, and there were plenty NOR,
like It among these hills. The situation
was bleak, and the soil SO poor that The
old men and small boys done all the farm
work, while the rest of the people worked
in the mines under the hills, or in the fac,
tories of the dingy smoky town hat lay
near them. These last were the aristoc.
racy, and they looked down upon the
miners, who were "foreign'" and slow"
The people "never carried their
lives about them like clogs" hard labor
was not a "dull pain" to them, unless
they were rheumatic); they did not look
at strangers with apitiful, dumb animal
eyes = they did not stalk about with
hands upon their brows and hearts, press
ing down their miseries TO keep them
.9ent." Nothing OF the kind. For relief
TO their physical miseries they resorted to
brakes Plantation Bitters, and as Il sooth-
er of mental miseries opinions were pretty
equally divided, between the Bible and
the tavern. They did not Strive to work
out the problem of their lives" for they
had extremely vague ideas in regard to
problems, and life to them was a simple
thing enough.
They got pretty fair wages, and ate, and
drank, and slept, and talked politics, and
some said their prayers, and some did not,
and they all expected to 60 to Heaven
when they died. They shuIled along
through life, half-educated, and happy,
and sooty, and conceited, got married and
died, and that was the end of them. Let
them go; for it is clear that such unnat-
nral specimens of the lsboring class can
be no name of use in a story.
Nina Blake worked IN a fauturya She
was not in the habit of standing by the
looms, and thinking how they were crush
ing the beauty and sweetness out Of her
life (she did not know that they were, she
was so stupid nor did she wonder if they
were "weaving the web of her destiny p.
nor did she walk among the whirling
wheels with great thoughts whirling
through her dizzy brain. If she had done
these things her wages would have been
locked, and she knew it.
Neither did she live on fruit and cream
in summer, and in the winter on tcorn
cakes tinted with delicate brown, and
spread with golden butter" The fruit
that grew on the hills was scraggy and
sour, and the grass thin and poor, and
half the year Nina saw no butter. Mush
and molasses, bacon, and brown bread
constituted her ordinary food.
When the war broke out, she did not
urge her only brother to go and pack his
knapsack with smiling lips and fearful
eyes. Not she. For when at last he was
drafted she hid him under the hay in a
neighbor's barn, and when he was dragged
out and marched off she nearly cried her
eyes out. And, afterh his first battle, when
We was reported "missing,n she did not
go into s state of melancholy and fancy
him lying in a lonely spot in q far-of for
est, with his musket rnsting at his side,
and the waters of a brook ripping gently
over his still feet. The picture that filed
her mental vision was a in a Canada
tavern, with the missing n seated at
8 table, with other choice spirits, playing
the instructive game of poker, and with
still other choice spirits in junk bottles on
the table. And so she dried her eys and
was content.
1t is plain enough, so far, that Nina
was no heroine, and she was so far differ
emit from any other factory girl who ever
lived and breathed-in books-that if ]
had not seen her last week, l should be
disposed TO believe that she never did ak
ist at all, but that l dreamed all that !
am going to tell you.
One pleasant Sunday morning, some
Il k4.. - Fh-ao ~ Nina Huant -
church arrayed in her best. She wore q
blue dress; not because it was "the color
| of truth and not because it was "the
outward symbol of the deep, liquid purity
of her soul" nor for any other reason Of
this kind, which factory girls always have
for wearing blue; but simply because il
cost ten cents less on the yard than any
other of the nice goods at Poole's store.
She also wore a straw bonnet trimmed
with green rosettes, a black silk shawl
and pink kid gloves. This was Nina;
idea of elegance. 1 know that working
girls who have any claim to be heroines,
have an intuitive perception of what i;
refined and harmonious, and it grieves me
much TO be compelled to admit that Mini
had not.
Ihave been particular in describing he
dress, not that it has anything whatevel
to do with the incident I am about to re
late, which would have happened all thu
same whether she had worn blaze, O.
broadcloth, but because a heroine's dresl
is always described when anything is go
ing to happen to her.
Nina had a bright attractive face, ant
looked pretty in spite of the conjunction
of pink, green, black and blue upon he
small person.
When she arrived at church, she found
nearly all the congregation assembled, bu
the service had not begun so, after set
ting her dress, and opening her fan, sh
| looked demurely round to see what was t
be seen. And the first sight that met he
eyes so arrested her attention that she say
nothing more. Tom Hartie was looing s
Kitty Smith! A young man gazing at
young girl is not d wonder upon the eartt
but this particular young nan was MIMI
property. They had been engaged 70
some time, and, until the Smiths came int
the neighborhood, he had been a very al
tentive lover. Kitty wasthe prettiest gil
in all that country. She had red lips an,
pink cheeks, and great innocent brow
eyes and the lovellest golden brown ha
that was always kept short and eurle
itself into shining rings all over ht
head.
Mins knew that Tom had anssunbount
j ed admiration for Kitty Smith. 1t cut Il
poor girl to the very heart but she d
not neglect her work, and 60 wanderir
about the woods in an insane manner, n
was she consumed by q "dumb, tearle
SORROW No. She gave Tom two
three good round seedlings about the ms
ter which he always answered by AsseI
!, ing that he cared nothing whatever f
Kitty, but that he wasn't going to be SUI
a slave that he couldn't look at a pref
girl and then Nina would take a or
and then they would q kiss and make up
Bat Tom had not been to see her nc
for two weeks, and in that time Nina h
Thought over the matter 9 gress deal 81
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