The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1874-12-15
THE GOSSIP'S MISTAKE.

of mesdames and half score of Mr.. Danes,
gratifled at somebody's version of some
thing that did not happen, rolled the tit
bit under and off their tongues with the
gusto of gourmands.
1t all happened in the quiet little town of
Carlton, where the people mean to be and
are good and kind as the world goes, but
somehow mistakes will occur, and human
nature is prone to accept the wrong version
of things, and then it is so pleasant to
"Puthorns on the heads Of our friends,
Put ntrigues in the heads Of their wives"
"To Think said Mrs. Denton, "that
Fanny Howard, the daughter of convicted
felon, should come here to teach our chill
dren, and put on such airs. never liked
the girl always thought there was some
thing wrong about her. The brand of
shame is plainly seen behind her smiling
face"
Mrs. Denton's ideas of right and wrong
hinged entirely upon what Mrs Smith,
Mrs. Tracy and Mrs. Williams might
think, and that social conclave had already
convened and decided.
GAS for me-" said Mrs. Smith, 81 shall
never speak to her again. shall take
Benny from school at once, and think we
should ignore her entirely"
Mrs. Smith was tho wife of that impor-
tant functionary-the village justice. The
counterpart of her phlegmatic husband,
she was tall and angular, sharp in feature
and sharp in tongue. Her house, in the
outskirts of the city, was the rendezvous
of that female--I had almost said feline
inquest, which seems to pertain to small
communities. God, in his goodness had
given her one child-the aforesaid Benny,
as if thereby to soften the asperities of her
nature. What she might have been with
out the gift, we can only conjecture. 1t is,
therefore, impossible to estimate just what
part Benny had played in the softening
process.
Twelve months prior to the matters re-
lated, Fanny Howard had come to the vii
lage of Carlton in answer to an advertise
ment for school-teacher, bringing letters
and concentrations which had secured for
her the place sought. For one year Fanny
had taught the school with much satisfac-
tion; her sweet voice and gentle ways had
won the hearts of the children, while her
zeal and conscientious discharge of her
duties had won the appreciation Of the
parents. AS the last quarter was drawing
to close, stranger, staying for night
at the inn, had seen the school-mistress on
the street, and upon being informed who
she was he replied-"I thought was not
mistaken have seen her before her fa-
ther is in the State Prison at N"
Upon all the invisible wires of social in
tercourse the news flew the very birds Of
the air seemed to whisper it that concen-
trated battery of pent-up country life ex-
pended its force in circulating the fact
AS Fanny passed inquisitive groups gather
ed at the street corners, the women watch.
from the windows-the children even, ST.
lent and shy, seemed TO avoid her.
"What can all this meanP' said Fanny,
her eyes filling with unshed tears, and the
spectre of pain haunting her face. "Oh,
that Mrs. Carlton was here she would moi
desert me-"
Mrs. Carlton was the widow Of the late
Col. Henry Carlton, after whom the town
had been named. The Carlton estate ex,
tended for ten miles in every direction its
broad acres stretched to the mountains,
embracing the entire valley; its fiocks and
herds fed upon an hundred hills. The
family mansion was situated two miles
from the town in the midst of charming
grounds, beautifully planted and laid out
1t was a plain, substantial, comfortable
home, wonderfully suggestive for hospital
ity.
From the first, Mrs. Carlton had taken to
Fanny Frequent invitations had been ex-
tended to pass the weekly holidays at the
Grange"--as the place was called-while
Harry, the only son and heir, stout, man
ly young fellow of twenty-five, helping
amazingly to make the hours pass pleasant
ly; there WEI walks, and drives, and din
ners, and croqnet parties under the trees,
and music and dancing in the moonlight
Now, alas! Mrs. Carlton and Harry were
absent, and our heroine depressed by the
weight of an intangible something, weari-
ly bore her new burden.
1t was the last day of the term on the fol-
lowing Monday, the first of May, was to be
held the annual picnic, and old country
fete, revived by Col. Carlton for the peo-
pie, as he was wont to call them. De-