The Evansville journal., 1868-05-08
THE sPANIsH}LACE
By HARRIET PRESCOTT sPoFFoRD.
r-r
-GCONCLUDED


Before Therese had thought again
of contagien. of her evening dress,
her fears, or her fathers permissiOns
she rwas following Mrs. MaeNamee,
whog had thrown a hood over her
head following her through an entry.
and a clean backyard, out. upon.
narrow lane and down a black alley,o
whose odors made her sick and in
whose farther end faint light gllm-
mered.
This light gllmmered from a low
window incrusted with dirt, and
through which no sunbeam had ever
fallen, which had no curtain, and
which disclosed the interior of fear
full room. 1t was a room half under
ground; you descend into it by three
| or four steps down which In the wet
weather the rain andslush might run
I in rivers from5the alley. From cell
iing to floor it was weller of unclean-
ness. There was asbed in this room
at least there had been, as Mrs. Mac
| Nance took care to tell Therese who
bent and looked in with her at the
| windoW-but new there was only a
! heap Of straw aud an old shawl the
rest had all been sold. There was
one chair, broken splinter of look
ing-glass, an old newspaper pinned
across a missing pane the table must
have been that day split up to burn,
/ and its last ashes were whitening now
/ in the cold stove on whose top q tai
! low candle set into a bottle spluttered
and guttere3 dismally. The walls of
this room sparkled with the frost, and
were covered with stains that seemed
In themselves to declare it foul with
fever. A woman sat in the single
straight chair rocking herself TO and
! fro, purple with the cold she held a
quiet little baby in her arms that was
not crying any longer. tfD sTa w3
God have mercy tonltheml = Whis-
Dered Mrs. MacNamee, hoarseiy. = /
cant stand this But before she
could have moved a door had opened,
and another person had entered the
room. It was another woman, and it
seemed to .-Therese, who felt herself
under an awful nightmare, that She
had seen her somewhere before that
face so swollen -and-,haggard and
! CHASTITY and bleared, = so stamped with
hunger and thirst. with sin and sleep
! lessnessI It flashed upon her in q
/ SeCOuu mat lI-Hoe tlS- WOAAaA "uo
had tried to speak, to-her at the car
riage- door.
! This creature came into the room
now like a fame, andcshe slammed
the door so that the window shook,
while the other woman held up a sud
den warning haHd3 Her face was all
aglow; it was sWreathed with smiles
| till it seemed to be transformed.
Look at here, Meg she cried, in a
4 loud aud ringing voice, a voice that
\ rasped through agierung. Look at
N herel Treasure troYel' She tossed
4 something up.in the air, caught it as it
fell, shook it till it seemed like one of
those dark clouds that sometimes
swim across the stars, held it so that
the dim candle light should shine
through it, aud show her a trace of
the pattern that wandered among the
meshes in a. tangle of wild wood
lilly shapes, flags. maiden hairs, and
ferns. Here was woman that had
loved splendor, to whom Spanish lace
was as beautiful as to another :.
knew the value of such thingsl' cried
she N' I wore them-once when he
cared about me. It's worth five
hundred dollars if it's worth cent"
Are ysu mad, Katy?" said her
companion, glancing up only one Sec
ond, then bending back again above
net + P'Ps, Segsea her for I charity, the
mink l frightened her-to look al
E me frightened the like other. It's
just as well for then she dropped the
shawl. She'll never -see=it again. ]
don't know9the number, and won
know the street! [ brought it home
for you to see first, that had never
laid eyes on a rag worth half a thou
sand. Think of that, Meg Now
I'll be off to the three balls-they'I
ask no questions III not get 1.-THE
. of its first cost" she went on, with
her rapid torrent of words. But
oh, Meg, it viii be fire, it viii be meal
it will be meat for you, and milk fol
/. the baby-the bird-of biessing JUS
for little breathing, moments rest
III not go to Jail to. be wintered since
she's come. I'd like to be gooC
enough to be her mother" And she
t was down on the floor, and her arm.
were round Meg, and she was laugh
ing and sobbing and swearing tOgeth
er on her shoulder.
"Oh Katy, hush hush! hush Uh
+ do but seel moaned the other wo
: man. motioning toward the i;ttle baby
T and then Katy turned, and stared. an,
i blanohed, and broke out into lous
keen wall, and cast herself upon ltht
child that had just given up its littl'
soul and alied.a 81. = l93l gaT 9Vig
i Before4Theresa saw what had be
come of MRS. MacNamee, that gooC
j. woman had found the entrance, ,sraI