Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1872-03-21

displease her, and Diana's mother being q
tenth cousin, Mrs. Gordon recollected thai
the claims of blood should not be ignored
She recalled the assurance that whoever
piveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord
and the fact that Diana's taste was ad
mirable. She remembered that ii is 8
duty to let light so shine before men thai
they may see our good works and glorify
our Father which is in Heaven. And
then. besides, there were breakfast caps
and aprons, and twenty other thing.
which Diana could make. And the poor
girl would, no doubt, be very grateful.
And so Diana became Mrs. Gordon's com
panion.
She was grateful She was saved from
much misery, and she knew it; but it il
impossible to say that she was contented
or happy. She made the caps and aprons
for Mrs. Gordon, and read to her and
sung TO her, and sketched her in number
less attitudes-and they tiattered her a
good deal these sketches)-and worked
chair covers and table-covers, and mats
and afghans. She had never a headache,
nor a heartache, nor wish, nor { regret
for these belong not to companions.
She smiled and sympathized, and con-
doled and congratulated. And if COM
plant escaped her lips, it was 10 the
dumb Heaven that keeps its own and
our secrets with such dread faithful
ness.
Ash said before, Mrs. Gordon had been
very trying to-day. She had had head.
ache. Diana knelt and bathed her head
with cologne, and famed her for perhaps
half an hour, during which time she
nrIa
opening her eyes Unexpectedly, &c should
think you might know that such monoto-
nous persistence in one thing is anything
but soothing. For mercy's sake take that
cologne away from me! 1t excites my
nerves unbearably. Have you finished
roy last cap? Well, get that"
Mrs. Gordon dozcd again and awoke
with the conviction that she had been
suffering horribly.
81 positively must forget myself, or /
shall be crazy" she moaned. "Diana, my
dear, put down that cap and finish the
newell you began reading to me-"
Diana read aloud.
"Your voice is singularly harsh to-day,
DIANA" said Mrs. Gordon, applying her
vinaigrette. ut quite upsets my nerves.
Pray, don't pronounce S and ID SO dis
tinctly. / quite detcst those letters"
81 will endeavor to shun them when it
is possible" said Diana, smiling.
A few minutes passed.
"Diana," cried Mrs. Gordon at last
quite overcome by her various woes, 81
hope you will forgive me, but / really
must remind you that have the nerves of
a lady and not of rhinOceros. If you
insist upon reading as if l were deaf, ]
must beg you to give me the book, and
let me continue the story alone. You
may finish the Prize Due cover you began
last week" A pause; then-"You ought
to understand, Diana, without being told,
that to a person in my state Of health, a
face so pale as yours cannot be agreeable;
pray, don't sit Immediately opposite me.
The light under the farther window is
good-take the frame over there"
1t was kind of work requiring ex-
IRENE care and precision, and Diana
worked with exact and rapid fingers. She
bent her graceful head above the frame,
and there was not the faintest cOntrac-
ton on her white and beautiful forehead.
What was il then about her that suggest
cd some "grand, wild creature Of the
woods" chained and tortured!
Mrs. Gordon's doZe gradually deepened
into profound slumber; her book fell from
her hands and woke the lap-dog, who
looked up and whimpered, and dropped
his head and slept again. Diana's soft
white fingers flew ceaselessly, and gradu-
ally she pushed the frame nearer the win
dow as the light faded away In the west.
There was silence in the room, except
now and then for the cracking of the
newspaper in the hands of Mr.. Louis
Brande; he was looking over the top of
it steadfastly at Diana, but recovered him.
self now and then enough to remark that
one doesn't read the same column more
than twenty times--unless it happens to
contain our own lucubration-and to turn
the paper. He pitied her profoundly.
"What life, my God" he thought 'is
the life of such a woman! That face
yonder-that wide forehead, that deep,
full eye, the heroic endurance and pa
thence of both. Is there nothing for her
but to work chair-covers all her life, and
feed lap-dogs, and make caps9 Better
than this, let us have womenlawyers,
doctors, preachers-anything!"
His paper dropped from his hands, and
Diana lifted her head at the sound. Turn
ing, she discovered that the light had
gone. The saints head would not be adj
vantaged by any further work just now.
She rose, assorted her worsteds, carefully
placed them in their carvcn receptacle,
pushed the frame into its usual place, and
with one glance at the sleeper, left the
room rs noiselessly as a spirit.
She went to the western gallery that
looked down upon the bay. A very dreary
twilight settled down from the sky-gray,
chill and hopeless. The waters reflected
an inky sky, and the pale rain-mist made
the darkness CHASTITY. A sullen, Novem-
Der drizzlc blew in intermittent gusts
across the gallery; the fading vines hung
ther brown stalks low about the balus-
trade, and scattered everywhere sodden
discolored leaves. Diana seemed not
aware of the rain nor of the wretched
weather. She drew back from her head
the shawl she had wrapped about her,
and leaned against the wet pillar, looking
down upon the water with face as dark
and hopeless as itself She had been
standing there much longer than she
knew, when Mr. Brande's voice broke the
silence.
81 have been watching you for some
time, Miss Leclerc," he said, "hoping that
you would 60 in. You will catch your
death of cold. PRAY 90 in at once"