National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1872-11-08

| fuuhcN uHlonp tuc poorest oil the poor.
A thorough'going woman was Aunt Mar
get, after the New England type; angular
thrifty, uncompromising: having no though
Of adapting herself TO modern times an,
ways; having no misgiving Of her fitness 70
anything In this world or the next; neithe
Inundated by her position nor harboring
thought OF rising above It,
She cultivated her little garden patch will
her own horney hands, and in the seasol
cked out her scan.y living by selling fsh, o
CLANS or the like to big hotels farther dow
| the shore.
II had never occurred to her that any xiii
or kin Of hers was entitled to be on the Chart
list because her hands were hard with labo
and her back overburdened- bless you, no
There was Tom, now, the Wild young fellow
she had had her hands full with Tom; but
after all, the boy had turned out not so baS
not so bad, thank Providence, after all!
Yet why her poor silly sister should have
married a foreigner, md Frenchman at that
"a ne er do-weel, who never did anything
why Providence should have permitted
such thing, was a problem she could not
clearly make out. But when the sister died
also, leaving her little ten-year old Babettt
To Margets keeping the burden was cheer.
fully accepted, without reference to the prob
lem inN olved
Not knowing exactly what to 40 with her
little pensioncr, Aunt Marget sc her to the
village academy at least aid get the
problem out Of her way for lii time, and
the child would be losing that thenish ac-
cent.
Very scant were the scraping, lat went to
support the orphan at scboo and Babette
had some bitter experience OF her own in the
way Of half pupil, half teacher and wholly
drudge in the great seminary which was the
pride of the place.
Very few friends she had, fewer still since
Tom had gone for a sailor She longed for q
friend and fate, rs is its wont, had sent
sinister answer to her prayers in the shape OF
Professor PEBBLES, the teacher Of mathematics,
This man made himself odious to the girl by
otiicious attentions, which her humble posi-
tion rendered more annoying because she was
so much in his power.
Politely and with as little expression as
possible she hated the professor and his
mathematics. A big empty headed man. with
eoul the size Of cipher, a smart figure, q
wig, and n gold-headed cane; an elderly man,
who had never attained the beauty and dignity
of age, and never would-oh, the learned
professor, with all his arithmetcs at hi. back,
could not render any solution of this one
humble maiden's shyness and codncss.
Neither Euclid nor common sense shed any
light, and he pursued his stupid fancy until
the young girl learned to shun his presence
With unspeakable antipathy.
And here he was seeking her out again,
And she had accepted gift from him, and
shone and blushed and been happy in the rag
that her anger should have burned to ashes.
Her whole nature felt demoralized and beg
CARED by the thought But over all the ruin
and desolation the remeln brance of Tom lin
gered like q glimmer Of sunlight. To go out
into a world which held Tom in it might not
be SO utterly desolate, after all
And SO thinking, she stretched herself out
wearily on the old boat and fell asleep
The twilight faded over the sea, the long
stretches of sand lost their yellow lustre, an
ominous shadow, like an east wind made Yisi-
Bile, brooded in the sky-and still Babette
slept.
Slept while the tide came creeping creep
ing, with snnke-likc silence and rapidity,
farther up the shore, tapping in the drifts of
sea-weed to wash them ocean-ward again, and
making an island Of the sand.bank where the
old hut stood.
At last it touched the top OF the upturned
shallop, it kissed the barred feet of the sleeper,
and she awoke Scared and amazed, she
rubbed her eyes and looked about. On every
side a very ocean seemed to stretch, rising,
rising swayed by a fierce wind, gathering
wrath against the day Of wrath, the blacken
my, on-rushing tempest Only at the back
,f the hut a slim, thread-like peninsula still
stretched little way out toward the rocks
beyond.
On this peninsula at this moment stood q
lorseman-a wiry, well-brushed man, angu- |
ar as one of Euclids problems. Babette |
ooked upon him with wide, startled eyes, as
f she saw an embodied nightmare.
"Qnick T. he cried. There's not q mo-
nent to lose. You will have to ride for your
ife or swim. Come, my pretty one, I've
,een waiting for You all the afternoon. Give
ne one kiss. and mount here by my sidc.'
Babette shuddered "You do we'll to in
ult me when no one is near, Master PEBBLES.
am in no need of assistance will wait till |
he tide falls"
Falls! - he repeated, with an unpleasant
augh, ''the tide tonight will be many foot
ver that old hovel. Come
There was no answer.
:" You are little fool" said the school
master, violently. al can compel you to
ome with me. | have you all in my power
ow." He stretched out his hand, but Babette
luded the grasp.
You will not stay here and die p he
ueried
- If God sends no one else to my rescue"
Come, come, that is childish nonsense
nd stubbornness. God has sent me- You
re risking my life as we'll; shall have some
do now to reach shore with this old nag,
hough he can swim pretty well TlD tide is
sing every minute there is a great storm
oming. Nobody will see you. Only one
Al -, tSp |
v"
al will not give it--not to buy heaven"
&" But YOU shall!' he cried, his face gather
,g passion and insolence at the unaccustomed ,
,warting of his will at is my duty TO
I'VE your life, my girl, and must do it in
" own way
A cry of fear and despair broke from the
ps of Babette as she looked at the face con- s
onting her-a face whose hard and cruel {
mes a life long submission to rules and de- {
,ncy had only deepened. Those lines, dis :
,rted now, losing the sanctimonions smirk
nat was their wont, revealed as on map a d.
cry villain. !
- God help me !" she said, and turned to !
To fling herself into the I
ayes and be carried out to the great hungry c
apths beyond' Death was not pleasant e
ing for young girl to ocontemplate-a young G
rl full of rosy life, just lifting her blossom =
ke head to look at the world. There was y
,od deal to love- after all, in the world, with {
| its shadows; and there was Tom. Tom |;
as no shadow. But Babctte did not hesitate .
r one instant She had some of the old
uritan blood in her ems, or, perhaps, some .
the old Huguenot "a stubbornness that had
ade good martyrs when need was. She t
ould have died than submit to be saved by B
lis man. 4
Al that moment, as she turned away ,glanc- d
,g with despairing and fearful eyes over the a
1croaching waste, vision seemed to pass
fore them their blue orbs dilated, gather
.l.. ,xloa,, and light A little boat