Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1872-03-21

monty called, was Madam Garlan'
chambermaid-an orderly, quick-han.
ded girl, who went quietly from room
TO room, performing her numerous
tasks in way that gave general salts
faction. But faithful little Chris haG
conceived an ambition to be not only s
first-class chambermaid, but a scholar
as well, and though her hunger fol
books never made her neglect her work
it led her TO devote every spare mo-
ment to study. 1t had been from the
first "pursuit of knowledge under
difficulties" but Chris persevered, pick
ing up every fragment that came in her
way, and considering herself happy
when by any chance she could over
hear the young ladies' recitations.
One day, soon after her arrival at High
land Hall, she discovered a box of dis
carded school-books in the attic where
she slept, and these for the time had
fully supplied her need. Being of an
elementary nature, however, they We're
easily mastered, and just as she was be-
ginning to crave ''new worlds to con-
quer," another discovery was made.
One morning, while sweeping the libra
ry, she had occasion to move tall, old
fashioned bookcase standing in one
corner, and found behind it narrow
door, set like panel in the wall. To
see whittier it led was a temptation no
common mortal could have resisted,
certainly not one who had the right of
entrance to every room in the house;
and the next moment Chris had swung
it back on its rusty hinges.
If, with her little head full of Ger
man fairy lore, she had half expected
to find it the entrance to some enchant-
ell chamber, she was possibly disap-
pointed, for she saw before her only a
dingy stairway so long disused that its
very existence had been forgotten, ex-
cept by old Zoe, the black cook, who
had turned it to account by making it
the receptacle of all her supernumer-
ary kitchen ware. But there was en-
chantment in it nevertheless. Chris
fairly held her breath. All the hitherto
unattainable good which the discovery
seemed to bring within her reach came
over her in flash, Transforming those
steep back-stairs, which had SO long
served only as shelves for useless pots
and kettles, into golden ladder, by
whose help her hands were to pluck the
apples of knowledge. That there could
be anything wrong in taking advantage
of it did not at first occur to her. As
for that, the library had been open to
her ever since she came to the Hall. |
But the girl was as shy of having her
love of learning known as if it had
been an affair of the heart, and would
sooner have been found playing with
rag dolls than with book in her hand.
Perhaps this was partly owing to hav-
ing once overheard Madam Garland say |
that learning was never intended for
the lower classes, that it was well
enough for them TO know how to read
and write, but that any higher culture
untitled them for their callings; and
Miss Olivia Ringly, whose father had
grown suddenly rich by speculating in
oil lands, and whose diamonds out
shone her intellect, had remarked that
that was just her pas opinion. To be
sure, years ago in the "Faderland," the
gray-haired grandfather, for whose sup
port the larger part of Christine's earn
ings went, had been tutor in the royal
but reverses had come TO the
good old man, and the studious little
granddaughter had a secret conviction
that every one of those daughters of
the first families" would feel personal
ly aggrieved if it were known that she
was trying to -overtake them in the
path of knowledge. Looking at it in
this light there seemed to be no other
way than to keep her hunger hidden,
and eat in secret the morsels that came
to her, as the boarding-school girls ate
their plum-cake and pickles; and night
after night, as soon as recreation hour
was over, knowing that the scholars al
ways went at once to their own rooms,
she would steal up the cob-webbed stair
way, lamp in hand, to the deserted Ii
brary, and, Selling the desired book,
hasten back to her place of refuge,
where, seated on the steps, she could
pore over her treasure to her hearts
content, with no fear of interruption.
"Dar mus be rats in dat dare kittle
den," said sable Zoe, who, sleeping in a
room adjoining the kitchen, occasional
ly heard the wary step on the stairs, but
never once guessed to what new use the
"den" had been appropriated. And so
the nights went by, and Chris studied
and grew wise. Now and then, it must
be confessed, the young student had a
twinge of conscience, knowing well that |
Madam Garlan would not be likely to |
approve her course, and yet she could |
not convince herself that she was really |
doing wrong. Not for a moment would |
she have thought of carrying book to |
her own room, nor even to the kitchen,
but to use it here, handling it with the
daintiest care, and returning it always
to it's place, could harm neither the
book nor its owner, and the temptation
was too strong to be withstood. She
had continued the readings for more
than two months, when little Lou,
CHANGING to enter the library just as
she was escaping with her prize, mis-
took her for ghost.
Chris had heard the door open and
close, but, reaching her hiding-place in
safety and finding that she was not fol-
lowed, took it for granted that she had
escaped unseen. Yet she was frighten-
ed nevertheless, and for more than a
week after did not venture to take a
light into the room, going on tiptoe in
the dark to secure the treasure, and re-
turning it in the same way. On the
night of the second ghost-seeing, how
ever, she had half forgotten her fear in
her eagerness to find a word in "Web-
ster's Unabridged" and with the lamp
In her hand was bending over the book,
when Miss Olivia Ringly espied the tiny
CLEAN under the door. Now naughty