Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1874-04-14

academy, as Mr. Squimps observed, and
no one asked twice for the same DISH
An army of hungry giIls, he remarked
privately to Mrs. Squimps, would devoW
all before them unless properly restrained
Under this aspect sour bread aud chill
pancakes were judicious.
Amandy Liza the gil abou, whom they
were all just now in furor, had assisted
Mrs. Squimps aud the maids in .hc Kitchen
OF a morning, likewise of an evening;
between these she generally sandwiched
the thin hour of study. which WAS demon
mated her education She was slim,
dropping eyed little thing, who never
spoke up Tor herself; and il jake hadn't
spoken up for her once in while. | think
she wou,d scarcely have he'd her own
even under MIS- Squimp's mothcrly sway.
Old Jake as we called him, was a
black eyed. ragged lad OF eighteen. the
iactolum of the school. general lag. boot
black, and boy OF all work to the estab'
lishmeut. with an occasional elevation TO
coachman. Jako was subject TO q state
of chronic outbreak, reslivc, iorgetlul of
rules, and dreadful sassy the maids
declared. But Jake had his ideal, and
aud that ideal was Miss Mandy Liza
Her pale, patient lace, her soft, quiet
voice. were potent with him. The ghl
was really poorer lhan Jake, lower ia the
scale, and with no apparent chance OF
rs'uL from her bondage; but she rccitcd
with the young ladies, and it was Jake's
high ambition 10 help her through with
hex chores and get her into class. Jakc's
guardianship OF The girl was an accepted
TACT in 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 you~ WAS Jake's admoni:ion,
accompanied with 4 clinchins OF his sturdy
list ,hat ably seconded the argument
The girl took it all very quietly in her
gentle way, and seemed to have kindly
regard Tor Jlke-mending his coat
occasionally, or daruiug his siockinss-a
thing Jake ga.lauliy declared "sho
shouldn't 90 never ~ u ; he wouldn't have
no ladies wailin' on him"
Ladies' The girls used to nudge each |
other and smile Lut for all that lhcy were
very good 10 Amanda Liza, whose faded |
Lrcss and meek ways set her apart from
lac noisy youlLiulncss Of The les; Of Us
We never bcgrudscd the extra polish
which Jake in his capacity OF b0oi-Jlack |
bestowed upon hcr shoes. aud We did no! !
laugh when those samc shoes made their /
appearance one day adorned with u /
rcsp.cndeut pair of steel bucSlcs. which .
were aiterward d.scyyciod TO have been |
ab>rAcied llom the coachman's zig in
which Jake occasionally did duty. aud to
which am sorry to add, no was isno
obliged to tcs,oIe them.
Occasionally, on some rare holiday, we
gin, had the privilege ol drive out into
The co,uuy, when the Sqnimps'S super
suua,od soIrci, covered with IN elaborate
rc.iug 10 conceal Us deficiencies, and
!licAing up its ;lSse.cd ears with quite =
show oi spirit, wouid set oil on u brisk
uo., animated, no doubt, 10y the prospect
ot a grassy nibJle along The road. Gay
times were those. Jake WAS AZ his jo,lieSt,
ard we all old Dobbins inciuded-lorgot
our short commons and long lectures,
aud grew hilarious together. Even poor
Amanda Liza, quietly slowed away in the
back seat, brishtcnci up in the sunlight,
aud was meokly merry. Once IrememUer
old DobJin canieicl alons SO fiiSkily that
he upset tho whole patty on mosSy bit
OF rising ground and, whisking his long
tail iacclious!y, quietly betook himself to
pasture, while We picked ourselves up rs
best We could.
1--WE might have had worse luck. said
Jake, as he p,ucked Amanda Liza out ol
The heap. shock her out, and wiped the
the dust from her black apron, leaving
the rest Of the party TO look after them.
selves. Which we did, scolding and
laughing by turns, and giving, quite b.
accident, the front scat beside Jake to
Amanda Liza the rest of the way. Ali!
the twilight that summer evening was
warm and mellow, the fields were giIded,
The meadows fragrant, and we heard II
refrain Of the grand eternal poem on the
io',ing seat of the old wagon, though
Jake was silent the rest Of the way
looking now aud then at the girl beside
him, ana being very attentive 10 old
Dob5in. Poor Jake Amanda Liza had
shot up clean out of his reach since then,
and what we wanted to know was whether
the girl would remember him now in the
days of her elevation.
A wealthy uncle. a splendid home, and
money on her own account-ah no Won
der we had not seen Amanda since.
They touched her of like a SKY rock
ct, and she vanished said Jake, rue
fully.
Had she vanished for good? Thea
poelical justice was myth, and Amar-
da's patched shoes and faded dresses
were not moro worthless than she. We
waited We prickcd mp our ears at every
ring of the door bell, but weeks passed,
,nI ,ba o,,IIon cOacb-anI-siy in which |