The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1874-12-17
Youths Department.
MABEI'S TROUBLES.
BY BENJAMIN T.. woOLF.

(
vexed that she could not get !: into he
head If she had not cared for it, then i
would have been quite another affair
| but she did care, and that is where he
| troubles began. She knew she mus
| earn to spell, aad therefore tried he
/ best to please her goyerness. But Mis-
Prim was SO very thin; she had such
| funnt row of tight little curls on eacl
side of her head; wore such big Silve
! SpectaCles on the tip of her nose; ant
had such very stitl way of sitting M
right in her chair, with her lips sticking
out, as If she was only waiting for q gooC
chance to say Pooh, poohr' that Mabe
felt herself obliged to study her cover
ness all the time instead of her book.
Mabel tried To study her spelling les
sons very hard; but she grew to he :,
tired of saying the same thing over anC
over again; and there was no sense in i
either. B-a, ba; Be, be; B-i, hi; BIO DO
Blu, bu-and SO on all through the
alphahet-was So slow and so avfpllf
stupid, Now, thought Mabel, if il was
B-a, ba, Be, be, Baby, there would be
something gained; but vino ever says
Babebibobu? If this were spelling, she
would rather go out and play awhile
There dnds some sense in that.
Why, learning To spell was not half as
jolly rs learning the alphabet. There
were pictures TO that, and poetry too
There was "A was an Archer, who
Aimed high and low" and "B was a
Booby who couldn't say Boz" There
was :" G was Chicken vino Cluckcd after
Corn" and ed was Dog that the
Draughtsman had Drawn" And lots
more beside
Mabel knew she would fall asleep in a
few minutes if the lesson did not come
to an cnd-she WIS so drowsy. The
letters danced up and down the page in
such droll way that she could not see
one of them plainly. Pa, pa, was some
how or another mixed up with No, no
and Me, me, was trying to play at leap
frog with Y-u, yu
Miss Prim," said Mabel, covering the
page with her hand, and shaking her
head so earnestly that her yellow curls
tumbled all over her face, II can't say
any more, please. I'm very stupid, /
know, and l suppose I'm bad little
girl; but | can't help it,
Mabel was sitting on stool at Miss
Prin's feet, and her book was resting on
Miss PRINTS knees She saw that her
governess' lips stuck out more than
ever, and felt sure that Pooh, poohr
must come at last; but it didn't Miss
Prim only said: "Why, Mabclm and
stare! through her spectacles till her
blue eyes looked as large as willow
pattern sauCcrS.
I" Do you like all of this?" asked Mabel,
pointing to her book.
"Of course | do, Mabel" answered
Miss Prim, severely. why do you
ask?"
Because don't" said Mabel, posi-
lively; and what is more, | never
shall"
"But, Mabel said Miss Prim, frown-
ing, "you will have to learn it if you
ever hope to be able to read"
" But suppose | don't hope to he able
to read?" asked Mabel Suppose i
don't care anything about it?"
" But you must care something about
it," insisted Miss Prim. "What will you
to be woman:"
Get some one to read for me-" said
Mabel, and wondering how Miss Prim
would get over that.
Miss Prim did not try to get over it,
but looked at Mabel in astonishment.
You can read foi me, you know y
continued Mabel, land | can pay you
for it, can save up my pocket money
that papa gives me every week, and that
will be enough. Don't you seer"
But that will ReUer do" said Miss
Prim, shaking her head very angrily.
docs Dora have to learn this, too?"
asked Mabel, after a pause.
Certainly, miss! Everybody has to
learn it," answered Miss Prim; SO go
on with YOUR lesson at once"
Did ma ami pa?" persisted Mabel,
with tears i'll her eyes, and looking anX-
iously up to the face of her governess.
Il have said that everybody has to
learn it, Mabel" said Miss Prim, sol
emnly
"Well," returned Mabel, disappointed,
Il think they might have found some
thing better to do at their age"
Come, come" said Miss Prim, impa-
tiently. Let us have no Iiore of this.
Go on with your lesson"
| can't, Miss Prim. I'm tired, please !;
and I'm 50 puzzled that | can't think any
more. And if you will let me, will go
into the garden to get my face cool, and
come back as soon as | feel rested. If
mamma says anything, tell her I'm to
blame, please And Pm sorry, Miss
Prim, Pm sure; but my head will not
hold it all"
Mabel rose from her seat and went
through the balcony window into the gar
den. 1t was IL cool afternoon in summer,
and hundreds of flowers were in bloom
The cypress vine, with its bright red
flowers, twincd and clambercd up the
pole to the little pigeon house on its top !;
and the big punches of green grapes
that hung against the wall and peeped
out from underneath the broad leaves
were just beginning to blush purple. The
four-oclocks, pansies, carnations and
verbenas seemed so fresh and happy to
Mabel, as they fluttered to and fro in
the soft breeze-swaying first one way
and then the other-that she almost
wished she were flower too. Roses
red white and pink-swarmed along the
wall; and there were some that stood
out on branches all alone, which bowed
and nodded to her as she walked along
the gravel-path toward the shady arbor
at the foot of the garden where she had
left her doll and her hoop.
Good-day" she said to them in re-
turn for their politeness. Pm quite
well, thank you. How are you;"
They do not have to learn how to
SPELL" She thought, as she passed on.
They would not look any prettier or
smell any sweeter if they knew how to
read all the books il the world. don't
believe they would be half SO agreeable.
! think Miss Prim would be handsomer
il she did not know so much and all the
governesses | know are exactly like Miss
Prim."
Mabel went on her way thinking of her
troubles and wishing that she could
learn something, because Miss Prim took
so much pains to teach her; and she Sup
posed that il must he all right for her to
study, or else her mother would not have
asked Miss Prim to give her lessons.
She reached the arbor at last and went
in. 1t was large, shady place covered
all over with vines, and the leaves were
so thick that the sunbeams only made
their way through in little spots tina,
speckled the ground, and as the breeze
tiuttered the leaves kept on changing
their places like the bits of glass in q
Kaleidoscope. a bench ran all around
the arbor, and lying on this in corner
Mabel saw her doll 1t had bright gold
en- hair, large blue eyes and plump little
cheeks, just like Mabel's; and its mouth
was not bit prettier than was hers anC
II was not much smaller either.
Did you think | was never coming
you poor, neglected Dolly2" she said
taking it up and smoothing its hair from
its eyes. ITS all Miss Prim's fault, snC
if you have any complaints to make yor
must make them to her You needn't
pout at me in that naughty manner, miss
1t isn't good for little girls to pout; ant
you'll grow so if you do not stop it a
once. Sit there, please, till | get up OF