Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-10-21

eyes, pa, certainly. Sallie! Ann Eliza
dishes; they'll do very well for tonight as they
are. Squire Vose i-ah, here he L., with Esther
and Mr.. Grey. But where's Addie and Charley
Hale? and where's JIM"
ave are here Mrs. Child" said Addie vose,s
pleasant voice from a little way down the bank,
where she was sitting with her lover. "We came
a little further to see the sunset better"
But where's JimP
"He's down there on the beach with Molly.o
"Jim!" shouted his father.
"AhOy!" came the answer.
"Come up; we are going to sing"
With infinite satisfaction Aunt Mary watched
the distant bundle unrol restore itself into conn
ponent parts, and approach. Jim and Molly
came walking slowly, and carrying the shawl.
"What made you pick out such damp cor
ner to sit in?" asked that inconvenient little
Tom. ...---------.-
"WeIl, I don't know ;" answered Jim. inno-
Gently. Molly chose 1t. 1t Was dampish,
though"
At which speech his aunt Mary Rugged her
self.
Everybody sang that night-Jim in hearty
bass, his friend Charley Grey in tenor, Squire
NOse with well-intentioned tones, which re-
sembled nothing SO much as the squeaking of a
rusty hinge, the girls in silvery treble-eyery-
body but Molly Pomfret Molly was a little
put out. a." Two is company-more, trumpery, -
was emphstically her motto, and she by no
means reished the interruption of the tste-a a.
tete beneath the blanket shawl. Aunt Molly
self again.
on just 20. Give Jim a taste of the pleasant
look that will await your husband whenever
anything crosses your fancy. It's very good
lesson for him, and hope he's taking notice"
so, by way of making sure he should, she
leaned forward, and said, pleasantly, I" What's
the matter, Molly? Anything gone wrong? ''
=" Nothing much, }" was the reply, with a pout.
Jim caught the look, but, bless you I he didn't
regard it as pout. To his eyes it was merely
an accident of the moonlight, or because MOLLY
was catching cold; and he seized the offending
sns S and wrapped It round his charmer with
such devoted eagerness that his aunt could
gladly have boxed his ears. Luckily, Molly was
in the mood to take offence; so she shook the
shawl of, and said, sharply:
"Don't! / don't want It'll You're mussing
me all up" and Jim shrank back, rebuked.
Row, brothers, row." "Tranquidillo,"
" Those evening Bells, ," and other time-honored
fayorites composed of repertoire of the Child
family, and were heartily enjoyed and encored
till late hour. The concert wound up with
Coronation" the delight of all country church
the more secular music, began to sing, and her
clear, bird-like notes astonished every body who
had never happened to sit near the parsons old
pew on Sunday.
why, Grace; what beautiful voice you've
got" said Jim, leaning forward to look at her.
She blushed with pleasure. "Do you think
upon her face, and brought out, as moonlight
often does, certain subtle inward beauty not
so visible by day. She looked inexpressibly
fair, sweet, and womanly Just then. Something
Il
the first time Jim thought to himself, " What a
pretty girl Grace is growing to be-"
Aunt Mary meantime was regarding Molly.
That dreadful moonlight! In the light of its
revealing beams, half CLEAN, half shadow, the
face of Jim's charmer altered almost to plain
ness Certain hard lines became visible-the
Aunt Mary believed in moonlight. " Yes, yes,"
she said, " knew it. Pomfret all over, for all
her pretty looks. Well, when I'm a man I'll
pick my wife out in the evening"
SulEinpSS "a oh -
morning, and she woke in an ill humor. Her
bed had been hard; she hated washing her face
appear like fright; and she couldn't do her
hair. To her easy Incidence these little discom-
forts were great and real; the pleasure-party
wasn't pleasant; she was sorry She came, she
declared. Sadie laughed at her, and that made
1t worse: Carelessly and Grossly she slipped into
her clothes, and emerged, pouting and untidy,
with hair half brushed, to find Jim and his sister
deep in the preparation of breakfast, the Vose
girls fishing, and Grace, in fresh, dainty print
and white apron, setting the table. The early
dip IN the sea. with which all the girls except
sleep-lOving Molly had INDUCED themselves had
tinged Grace's usually pale cheek with delicate
pink. Her light brown hair shone in its glossy
braids, her eyes were bright with exercise and
pleasure; for to the quiet, shaded life of the old
parsonage this first " outing" of Grace's was as
Champagne after weak tea. Certainly the con-
trast between the two girls was not to her disad-
vantage More than one marked it; and Aunt
Mary said to herself, 50 Grace'n be a beauty one
cay, if the Lord ever lets the SUI into her life
and 20 much the better for Jim.''
"Come and help" shouted that young GENTLE
man, delighted at the appearance Of his
charmer.
But Molly wouldn't. She hated cooking; she
"didn't know where things were;' the dishes
were hot; the pail hurt her wrist. She shrup1ed
her mite shoulders, ana walked OF under the
trees alone. jim looked after her. amazed
What's the mstter?" he whispered 10 his sis
ter as she passed him.
Matter? oh, with Molly, you mean? Moth
ing at all, l guess. She is almost always cross
when she first wakes up" replied the plain
spoken Ann Eliza.
Disenchantment the frstl Could this pIum.
dingy vision be the radiant little witch OF last
week? IL seemed hardly possible.
Girls, take this advice: Be as pretty as YOU
can, or as ugly as you must; but, whatever else
you are, be neat. There is nothing on the visible
earth more unlovely than a slatternly woman
She does violence to nature. A tumbled, DISNEY
eled rosebud is no less an affront to the eve
while simple freshness and delicacy of appoint
ment can of themselves almost beautify a plain
person.
1t had Teen easy enough tor pretty Molly IN
run up stairs just as Jim swung the gate of at
ternoons, tumble OFF her soiled wrapper twitch
the curl-paperS from her hair, and descend after
hall an hour delay, renovated, 1uffed, smoothed
to a presentable extent, with some rose or rib
bon tucked bewitchingly into Just the effective
spot, ana a smile and a twinkle which made all
discrepancies OF toilette invisible. The little
points where ineradicable untidness made itself
While TO an experienced eve escaped Jim's no.
tIce completely, and, but tor this '.salting par
ty, might have continued to escape il until the
time when, too late for repentance, Mrs. Jim
should have seated herself-a disreputable
yision-Opposite her astonished husband at his
own breakfast table. But meeting thus, day
after day, and all day long, the habits of her life
were too much for poor Molly. "what does it
signify?-that customary eXcuse-was uttered
once and again over tumbled dress, soiled collar,
tattered stockings, till even Jim's glamoured
eyes became Observant.'
"Auntie,' he said one day, as in a moment of
confidence he leaned his handsome head on Miss
Child's knee, 81 thought the Pomfrets were
yell Off" A
.'Well?" interrogatively.
swell, they can't be, you know, for Molly
don't seem to have nice things like the other
girls Don't you think they must have pretty
hard times at home?'
JIM" said Aunt Ma ,solemnly, "I happen
to know what Molly has to spend on her dress
and if you'll keep it secret, will breathe it to
you. Will you promise?"
Yes
She spends exactly four hundred dollars a
year"
81 i that good deal?" asked ignorant Jim.
"And Grace GOodenow, Jim-Grace has ex-
a. tly hundred and fifty!''
just then the girls passed slowly, side by side,
bearing freshly gathered basket of blueberries
Grace in simple, well-ftting gown of gray a
Knot OF blue under the white collar blue rib
bon looping shady hat over the Furnished per-
fectly braided hair; the other in mussy, tumbled
White pique, half the buttons off her boots a