Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-06-25

thing, and dressed youIseh' Aus ou
that new white drcBs for once ~
way, Just to please Master Peepiess
1My white drcssl' Why, aunty,
you'ro getting extravagant. want
10 save that white DRESS"
"Tut, tut, child, you ought TO be
moro grateful"
"tiatefuil Aunt Margct, why |
should [ be grateful to that old snuf.
taking professor Like him n0t J
| will be to him no more pupil In
her excitement the girls words
gathered certain faint foreigh ac-
cent, and she waved her with ges-
ture significant of utter contempt.
"Why7" she repeated, her nostriis
dilating.
Aunt Marget, nothing shaken by
the wrath she had excited, said, quiz
city, ale gave you that dress"
Tho flushed face grew white as the
sea-sand. A gray shadow fell upon II,
changing its fresh young beauty as
night-fali changes the sea-shore.
She turned away silently, aud Aunt
Marget pursued her errand along the
beach.
That dress, with its pretty ruffies,
its dainty folds and ribbons, i'll which
Babettc had for once felt young and
fresh and lightsome as other girls,
and which she had somehow ascribed
to Tom-she must give up that pretty
dream now. Instead of that she had
been humiliated, a recipient OF hate.
ful fayors. Her aunt was tired OF
her-her aunt, whose goodness she
had never doubted, tired of her, felt
her burden, and had accepted the
assistance of strangers.
81 must go away" said poor
Babcttc, writhing in her stricken
pride ssbut whitherW
Sinking down OIL the old skeleton
boat. she buried her face i'll her hands.
| Aunt Marget, rs she was called by
all her ncighbors, was a well known
character in these parts. Her tall
Isparc figure, and clean scant calico,
were familiar to every one who dwelt
alongshore and rude sort Of respect
was accorded her, notwithstanding
that she ranked among the poorest OF
the poor.
A thorough-goingw woman was Aunt
Murgct, after the New England type;
angular, thrifty. uncompromisinS.
having no thought tofadapting herself
to modern times and ways having
no misgiving Of her fitness for any
thing in this world or the next ;
neither humiliatcd by her position
nor harboring thought of rising
, above it.
She cultivated her little garden.
, patch with her own horny hands, and
= in the season eked out her scanty
living by selling fish, or CLAIMS, or tn.
!, like to the big hotels farther down
,, the shore.
1t had never occurred to her thai
, any kith or kin of hers was entitled
to be on the charity list because hei
y hands were hard with labor and he
= back overburdened-bless you, no
Il | There was Tom, now, the wild young
: fellow she had had her hands full
with Tom; but, after all, the bo.
d !had. turned out not SO bad-not 81
,1kbad. thank Providence, after all
= Yrt,xhy her poor silly sister shoul'
al aaye married a foreigner, and
y !Frenchman at tMt<a ne'er-do-weeI
ri who never did anything IN the worl
-Eworth doing but going cut OF It
# WHY Providence should have pei
r. mittcd such thing, was atpr0alef
" she could not clearly make ont. Bu
d I.when the sister died also, leaving he
"a little ten-ycar-old Babette to Marget
N keeping, the burden was cheerful
n. accepted, without reference to tt
ID problem involved. ..-..--
to Not knowing exactly what to d
:" with her little ponsioner, Aui
,e Maroot sent her to the village acad
I'd nv. that at least would get Il
nroblem out of her way fora lit
d time. and the child would be losii
t. that heatlIcnish accent. =,
le Very scant were the scrapings TIL
went to support the orphan at schoe
at and Babette had had some bitter G.
o. perience of her own i'll the way
rs half pupil, half teacher. and Who'll
ry drudge in the great seminary WHO
lie was the pride of the place: -.
Ily Very lew friends she had, few
still since Tom had gone for sa'lo
"a She longed for friend, and fate,
us is its wont, had sent sinister answ
zee to her prayers III the shape OF Ir
ed fessor PEBBLES, the teacher OF matli
in matics. This man made hInse
he odious to the girl by his oihcio'
attentions, which her humble positlt
is rendered moro annoying because 81
, was SO much in his power.
he Politely, and with as little expire
of sion as possible, she hated the pr
ell fcssor and his mathematics. a D
I'm cmptv-headcd man. with soul {
OF size Of cipher, smart figure. WI
II and a gold-headed cane an eiacf
ny man, who had never attained
ev beauty and dignity of age, and nev
ID would : oh, the learned pro1esst
she with ali his arithmetics at his bac
NIL, could not render any solution OF u
7as one humble maiden's shyncss a
g a coldness. Neither Euclid nor CO.
ler mom-scnse shed any light, and
her pursued his stupid fancy until I
ess young girl learned to shun his pr
ence with unspeakable antipathy.
ere And here lie was seeking her
ent again. And she had accepted
I'D. from him, and shonc and blusiled a
lad been happy in the rag that her ans
for should have burned to ashes. l.
ing whole nature felt demoralized
the beggared by tho thought. But o'
eX- ali the ruin aud desolation the
on membrance of Tom fingered lik'
nad glimmcr of sunlight. To go out II
cts a world which held Tom III it mis-
lerc not be SO utterly desOlate, after all
It's And so thinking, she stretched II
ude self out wearily OIL the old boat .
ND fell asleep.
rile The twilight faded over the'sea,
ean long stretches of sand lost their
nee, low lustre, all ominous shadow. l
ellis an east wind made visible, broo'
/. in the sky-and still Babettc slept
rom Slept while the tide came creepi
tho creeping, with snake-like silence
'uid rapiuity, farther up the shore,
ping in the drifts OF sca-weed to "
oicc them ocean-ward again, aud max
Dab. an island of the sand-bank where
mia old hut stood.
I've At last it touched the top of
mp upturned shallop, it kissed the ba
feet of the sleeper, and she aw'
uu Scared and amazed, she rubbed
's.sJ .I ewes and looked about. On e,
a.em ,. side a very ocean seemed to sire
e'ei rising, rising, swayed by a fl
i, NM. wind, gathering wrath against
aau. a..i, dav of wrath, the blackening,
Win rushing tcinpestl Only ut the
of the hnt slim, thread-likc pc
suu sula still strcached o little way
TO TO toward the rocks beyond.
ming oa 'n's ha.sn'mom w;ry ,
,.,., brushed man, angular as. on
! sa, Euclid's problems. Babette To-
x the sa upon him with wide, startled ey'
IL