Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-10-21


summer was half through, Miss Huldah
was at her wits end. She declined to
give up the cherished scheme of half
dozen summers for this up-start Why
should he not fancy Katherine as well
as Miss Drexel? It is true, nothing had
been withheld from Katherine which
she had any right to expect The gift
of concert tickets continued; she still
had an occasional-indeed, a more fire.
quent-seat behind Mr. Jeffreys's nag;
when he brought in basket of early
fruit, Katherine's hands received it.
But fruit and flowers found their way
almost daily into Miss Drexeps room;
she had seat in his carriage whenever
he could leave business for pleasure;
and Huldah did not know that Rather
ines drives and pleasures had been in
creased at her rivals suggestion, nor
would she have thanked her for her
trouble. All this, however, was not at
all to Huldah's mind She saw that OPP
lover of Miss Drexel unless something
should happen to interrupt their too
easy intercourse. Mr.. Jeffreys was in
dolent enough in his social nature; she
had never known him to go out OF his
way to cultivate the acquaintance of the
young ladies, and she had argued that
once in the house and under his eye a
young girl could make easy prey of him
indeed, she had built her hopes for Kath-
crime on this peculiarly of his, and she
arrived at the conclusion that she had
been a fool to admit Miss DrexeJ to this
opportunity. She ought to have known
that plain woman was more dangerous
than pretty one, inasmuch as man is
not on guard against her, while the
pretty woman is so well pleased with
herself that she takes little or no pains
to please another. Huldah straightway
decided to get Miss Drexel out of the
house as soon as possible. Of course
this could not be accomplished in di-
rect way; she could not tell Miss Drexel
up and down that her room was better
than her company, and the only other
alternative was to resort to little filings
of temper and pin-pricks of discomfort,
which, if Miss Drexel was anything Of
an epicurean, would render her board
ing-place highly distasteful.
Now Miss Drexel had counted upon
making home for herself and Ally out
OF these sunshlny rooms; and though
she was no eplcurean, and not much of
stole, yet it was essential to her hap
piness to live on good terms with those
about her. A quarrel was as disagree
able as the neighborhood of infection;
and Miss Huldah undertook to quarrel
with her, lectrlred her, advised about
! &bo of info
with her, and made the girl dread to go
down stairs to her meals. In truth, Miss
Huldah did not care farthing how OBJ
noxious she made herself, provided she
could put opportunity beyond Miss
Drexel's reach, and keep Mr.. Jefreys
for Katherine. So, when Ally was con-
valescing after juvenile illness, she
refused to have the cook prepare her
dinner at an earlier hour than that at
which the household dined, and Miss
Drexel was forced to go out to a res
| taurant and procure light dinner al
ready cooked for her little sister. Miss
Drexel's means not being bountiful, and
laundry work high, she proposed to
herself the care Of her own and Ally
muslins, and requested to be allowed
the use of an ironing board in the back
kitchen where she would have been in
no ones way; but this favor was de-
| clined; Miss Huldah couldn't have
ladies pottering round in the kitchen,
and spying out the poverty of the land;
and the greatest concession that Miss
Drexel could wiring from her was the
privilege of toiling up and down two
long flights of stairs with hot iron, to
do the work in her own room. If Miss
Drexel was invited to a picnic, Miss
Huldah's cake was just out, and her
bread in the oven, and the chickens I'M
plucked. When Miss Drexel aired her
rooms, Huldah complained that she was
warming the square outside. Miss
Drexel endured everything patiently
for SIX months OF more, thinking Miss
Huldah was overworked, and made fret
full and fault finding by the friction of
unhappy circumstances; but at last she
| fell into Miss Huldah's trap, and went
out to hunt up new boarding place
one day, but without confding in her
landlady. Mr.. Jeffreys had been a
month on business, and the house was
less like home than prison. She di-
rected her steps to the Soberlys' first,
who kept boarders under protest, having
| had baronet among their ancestors,
who considerably interfered with the
arrangement. Mrs. soberly had
quartette of daughters to marry, how
ever, land took only gentlemen boarders,
she said. ''Besides,' she added. cit
would be SO unneighborly in me to take
away the Sparsleys' boarders; we are
good friends, and they are needy
women. If you weren't the Sparsleys'
boarder, now-but you see how it is
1t would be taking the bread out of
neighbours mouth, now wouldn't it?'
Disheartened, Miss Drexel pursued
her quest to the Slicers' door; but Mrs.
Slicer, having brace of gay sons, en-
tertained only "middle-aged, respe eta
BILE women.
s. And am [ not respectable, and twen-
| ty-six ?" cried Miss Drexel.
of you are, l could never reconcile
1t to my conscience to steal away tho
Sparsley's boarders,' averred Mrs.
Shcer, with holy horror. ct should
feel like thief and robber.'