The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1873-08-15


Mrs. Squimps and the maids In the kitchen
Of a morning. likewise Of an evening; tie
tween these she generally sandwiched the
thin hour of study, which was denomi-
mated her 9 education" She was slim,
drooping-eyed little thing, who never
spoke up for herself; and II Jake hadn't
spoken up for her once In while,
think she would scarcely have held her
own even under Mrs. Squimps' motherly
sway.
"0ld Jake" as we called him, was q
black-eyed, ragged lad Of eighteen, the
factotum Of the school, general flag, boot
black, and boy-of-all-work to the estab-
lishment, with an occasional elevation To
coachman. Jake was subject TO state OF
chronic outbreak, FESTIVE, forgetful OF
rules, and "dreadful sassy" the maids
declared. But Jake had his ideal, and
that ideal was Miss Mandy Liza. Her
pale, patient face, her soft, quiet voice,
were potent with him. The girl was
really poorer than Jake, lower In the scale,
and with no apparent chance of rising
| from her bondage but she recited with
the young ladies, and 1t was Jake's high
ambition to hely her through with her
chores and get her into class. Jake's
guardianship Of the girl was an accepted
fact i'm the school and the village round
about. No boy dared play any tricks on
Amanda Liza.
jest you wait till get my luck. an
I'll teach your was Jake's admonition,
accompanied with clinching of his
sturdy fist that ably seconded the argu-
ment.
The girl took 1t all very quietly in her
gentle way, and seemed to have a kindly
regard for Jake-mending his coat occa-
sionally. or darning his stockings-a
thing Jake calamity declared "she
shouldn'tdo never agin; he wouldn't have
no ladies waitin' on him."
Ladies! The girls used TO nudge each
other and smile; but for all that they were
very good to Amanda Liza, whose faded
dress and meek ways set her apart from
the noisy youthfulness of the rest of us.
We never begrudged the extra polish
which Jake in his capacity of boot-black
bestowed upon her shoes; and we did not
laugh when those same shoes made their
appearance one day adorned with re-
splendent pair Of steel buckles, which
were afserward discovered to have been
distracted from the coachman's rig, in
which Jake occasionally did duty, and TO
which, l am sorry to add, he was igno.
miniously Obliged to restore them.
Occasionally, on some rare holiday. we
girls had the privilege of a drive out into
the country, when the Squimpses' SUPER
animated sorrel, covered with an elabor-
ate netting to conceal Its deficiencies, and
pricking up its tasseled ears with quite a
show of spirit, would set of on a brisk
trot, animated, no doubt, by the prospect
Of a grassy nibble along the road. Gay
times were those. Jake was at his jolliest,
and we all-old DobbiR included-forgot
our ''short commons" and long lectures,
and grew hilarious together. Even poor
Amanda Liza, quietly slowed away in the
back seat, Frightened up In the sunlight,
and was meekly merry. Once / remember
old Dobbln cantered along so friskly that
he upset the whole party on q messy bit
Of rising ground, and, whisking his long
tail facctiously, quietly betook himself to
pasture, while we picked ourselves up as
best we could.
I'VE might have had worse luck" said
Jake, as he plucked Amanda Liza out of
the heap, shook her out. and wiped the
dust from her black apron. leaving the
rest Of the party to look after themselves.
Which we did, scolding and laughing by
turns, and giving, quite by accident, the
front seat beside Jake to Amanda Liza
the rest Of the way. All! the twilight
that summer evening was W arm and mel
low, the fields were gilded, the meadows
fragrant, and we heard a refrain of the
grand eternal poem on the jolting seat of
the old wagon, though Jake was silent
the rest Of the way, looking furtively now
and then at the girl beside him. and being
very attentive to old Dobbin. Poor jake
Amanda Liza had shot up clean cut of his
reach since then, and what we wanted to
know was whether the girl would re-
member him now In the days of her ele-
Walton.
A wealthy uncle, splendid home, and
money on her own accOunt-ah no won
der we had not seen Amanda since.
They touched her of like q sky
rocket, and she has vanished" said Jake.
ruefullv.
Had she vanished for good? Then DO
etical justice was myth, and Amanda's
patched shoes and faded dresses were not
more worthless than she. We waited.
We watched the windows f,irtively. We
pricked up our ears at every ring of the
door-bell, but weeks passed, and the
derella was to arrive did not rattle up the
drive to the Squimps academy.
think we had almost given il up, and
Amanda Liza's base forgetfulness and in
gratitude were becoming an old story,
when one day at noon Jake came rushing
In among us, hot and shining, and hold
ing between his thumb and forefnger a
dainty billet. He looked like an embod-
led 'hurrah- at the moment.
But to tell the truth. Jake could not
quite make out the writing, for with all
his Opportunities" as our worthy prin-
cipal designated his vicinage to wisdom
and learning in the capacity of shoe-black,
the lad was unable to decipher manu-
script-"hadn't the patience" he de-
clared.
Jenny Smith read the letter for him
amidst general applause. Justice and
righteousness had triumphed, II appeared,
regular BRICK as Jenny, with brim-