Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-08-16

unless properly restrained. Under this
aspect sour bread and chill pancakes
we're judicious.
Amanda Liza, the girl about whom
we were all just now in furor, had as
sisted Mrs. Squimps and the maids in
the kitchen of morning, likewise of an
evening; between these she generally
sandwiched the thin hour of study,
which was denominated her "educa-
tion." She was a slim, dropping eyed
little thing, who never spoke up forherr
self; and if Jake hadn't spoken up for
her once in a while, think she would
scarcely have held her own even under
Mrs. Squimps's motherly care.
"Old Jake" as we called him, was a
black-eyed, ragged lad of eighteen, the
factotum of the school, general fag,
boot-black, and boy-of-all-work to the
establishment, with an occasional ele-
vation to coachman. Jake was subject
to state of chronic outbreak, restive,
forgetf of rules, and "dreadful sas-
sy," the maids declared But Jake had
his ideal, and that ideal wass Miss Man
dy 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 appa,
rent chance of rising from her bondage;
but she recited with the young ladies,
and it was Jake's high ambition to help
her through with her chores and get her
into Class. Jake's guardianship of the
| girl was an accepted fact in the school
and the village round about. No boy
dared play any tricks on Amanda Liza.
" Jest wait till 1 get my luck, an I'll
teach you !' was Jake's admonition, ac-
companied by a clinching of his sturdy
fist that ably seconded the argument.
The girl took it all very quietly in
her gentle way, and seemed to have a
kindly regard for Jake-mending his
coat occasionally, or darning his stock
ings-a thing Jake gallantly declared
"she shouldn't do 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 hen
apart from the noisy youthfulness OF
the rest of us. We never begrudged
the extra polish which Jake, in his ca
pacity of boot-black, bestowed upon her
shoes /; and we did not laugh when those
same shoes made their appearance one
day adorned with a resplendent pair OF
steel buckles, which were afterwards
discovered to have been abstracted from
the coachman's rig, in which Jake oc-
casionally did duty, and to which, 1 am
sorry to add, he was ignominiously
obliged to restore them.
Occasionally, on some rare holiday,
we girls had the privilege of drive out
into the country, when the Squimpses
superannuated sorrel, covered with All
elaborate netting to conceal its deicien-
cies, and pricking up its tasseled ears
with quite show of spirit, would set
off on brisk trot, animated, no doubt,
by the prospect of grassy nibble along
the road. Gay times were those. Jake
was at his jolliest, and we all-old Dob.
bin included-forgot our "short com.
mons" and long lectures, and grew
hilarious together. Even poor Amanda
Liza, quietly slowed away in the back
seat, frightened upin the sunlight, and
was meekly merry. Once [ remember
old Dobbin cantered along so briskly
that he upset the whole party on 8
messy bit of rising ground, and, whisk.
ing his tail facetiously, quietly betool
himself to pasture, while we picked
ourselves up as best we could.
"We might have had worse luck,
said Jake, as he plucked Amanda Lizf
out of the heap, and shook her cut, and
wiped the dust from her black apron
leaving the rest of the party to look
after themselves, which we did, scold.
ing 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 warm and mellow, the fields
were gilded, the meadows fragrant, aud
we heard a refrain of the grand eterna
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
uery attentive to old Dobbin. Pool
Jake Amanda Liza had shot up clear
out of his reach since then, and what
we wanted to know was whether the
girl would remember him now in hel
days of her elevation.
A wealthy uncle, splendid home
and money on her own account-ah! NJ
wonder he had not seen Amanda since
"They touched her off like a sky
rocket, and she vanished" said Jake
ruefully.
Had she vanished for good =? The1
poetical justice was myth, and Aman
da's patched shoes and faded dresse,
were not more worthless than she. w,
waited. We watched the windows fur
lively. We pricked up our ears at ever,
ring of the door-bell, but weeks passed
and the golden coach-and-six in whicl
our Cinderella was to arrive did not rat
tie up the drive at the Squimps acade
my.
| think we had almost given it up
and Amanda Liza's base forgetfulnes
and ingratitude were becoming an OLE
story, when one day at noon Jake cam
rushing in among us, hot and shining
and holding between his thumb an,
forefnger dainty billet. He locke,
like an embodied "hurrah" at that mo
ment.
But, to'tell the truth, Jake could no
quite make out the writing, for with al
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 deciphe
manuscript-"hadn't the patience" +" h
declared
Jenny Smith read the letter for hin
amidst general applause. Justice an,
righteousness had triumphed, it ap
peared, and Amanda Liza had prove,
hnrnnlf Mrnccl,l ln,. l,,.i .,lr >, a