The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-04-04

nave YOU SOb. Iutlll 6 luduks. wen,
you haven't been long, livery conscendingly);
once. found some nails in Mrs. Bosley's
cupboard. Oh, fancy her keeping her butter
in backing pot land here's fiat iron for
a hammer. l think you had better get up on
the chair, aud do the top part"
The ease with which the young lady deliv-
cred her commands was superb. demurred
feebly, s .a ........
81 am afraid it will hardly hold my weight,
Miss-Miss--. Perhaps the boy"
But the boy had put his burden down and
disappeared.
''Try," said the girl, with monosyllabic Sc
verify mi
Aud tried. What else could do? The
crazy article creaked terribly, and then gave
portentous snap.
Mrs. Bosely groaned.
.sYou had better get down again." observ-
ed nv tyrant calmly. 81 did not know you
were SO heavy. Never mind. I'll do it, and
YOU can hold the chair, and give me the
nails
She sprang up as she spoke. There was
only a gentle creak this time. thought OF
st. Anthony; but how shut my eyes now
when l had to hand her the nails? Such
| pretty little plump hand, too, as took them
| 1t went to my heart TO see how often the Hat
| stead of the refractory nail. Mrs. Bosely
| groaned at intervals. She was evidently in
| the depths of depression. Three uncoILbed
| male neads blocked up the sooty window
| without. Audible comments on "whatever
parson wor up to with that 'ere swell gal'
| floated on the air. l felt hot, red in the face
mot happy by any means; and yet vas al
most sorry when the task was done, and step
Ping down from her perch as lightly as spar
IL ~.
triumphant
Doesn't your door look beautiful, Mrs.
Bosely? Now don't ever complain OF a
draught again."
mo, miss, that never WON'T" said Mrs.
Bosely with prompt fervor.
"And il your rheumatism keeps bad tell
me, and Wen try the Turkish baths"
Don't zee talk ont miss. faint uothink
to speak on, il amt"
''All right. Good by, then, or shall be
too late for our AT home. Good afternoon,
Mr.. Chausable. Much obliged for your help y
| And so with a shake OF the crOne's hand
and a smiling nod to me she was gone. How
| dark the room looked.
''Ladies never think as they're keepin' us
waitn' for our teas" grumbled Mrs. Bosely,
ungratefuly; and seeing her rise aud begin
to tumble with a big black kettle, l took the
hint and departed likewise.
| Il also wanted my tea, or rather my dinner
and yet was not so hungry now as l had
been awhile ago. Out of the puddles OF
| Jinks' alley through the dingy smuttaess OF
Silver Street, past the sunlit hustle of Not
| ting hill, down a modest row OF shops ter
minating in some equally modest lodging
houses, giving las The French say on a
large dairy, cab stand, dissenting chapel,
and music sho ,; and SO into my own abode,
the first OF the row of furnished apartments.
1t had never occurred to me before: but
how lonely they looked.
Jaue, the lodging-house slavery-a young
damsel of plump form and smut-embellished
face, clad in dirty cotton frock, fastened
! with huge brass pins at the back, which pins
had trick of giving way and bursting out at
the smallest provocation, and in manner
which was positively alarming when one re-
garded the amplitude of her proportions
with a huge chignon, composed OF dusty
black wool over which occasional streaks OF
greasy light hair meandered capriciousy, and
ornamented by Tipping oval of ragged Gro
Chef always on one side-brought me my din
ner-i. e., large fat chop black without and
crimson within, and swimming in pond OF
oil and cnders, three humid potatoes, decor
ated with many black spots, and a segment OF
cold rice pudding with mark of her thumb
in one side-and spread it on little square
table before the fire. Anglican cergymen
are rot given to pampering the flesh; but it
did not look inviting. Somehow I caught
, myself fancylng the dainsel eff the white
feather and sealskin jacket seated opposite to
/ me, and shuddered at the idea of offering her
ahalf of the CORY chop. How would those
rose tipped little fingers like to use these dull.
blacksh-handled knives? Were they smart
ing from the fiat-iron now? wondered.
Thus was too much. Did st. Anthony sit
and dream OF his temptress after she was
gone? With violent effort rose, rang the
bell, and resolving to Danish mine with the
dinner things, took up tine Stiffness aud tried
very unsuccessiully-to bury myself in the re-
port of a recent church congress-
1 went to see Mrs. Bosely again in a few
days-a very few days; but it is the duty of a
curate to look after bis dock; and why neg
lect this venerable sheep? She was alone
this time, and though / stayed tn rec quarters
of an hour no one else entered; and as Mrs.
Bosely appeared in low spirits, tried to
cheer her by abiding to that cheerful young
person, Miss Juliet.
my young lady," groaned Mrs. Bosely.
s'Ah she be terrible lively one, bent she,
STRIP
Very lively, and amiable," I replied eau
tiously. s'You have no draught from your
door now?" IS e & K : ssa
''Ne'er bit, sir. Wasn't that like her
now? 1t be most too stived a. present, an /
might ha' friz here all these years, and ne'er a
one o. my visitin' gentrv-savin' your pres
ence, sir, as of course l don't mean you
would ha' thought o. doin' nothink to keep
the cold out. Not theyp'
This was ungenerous; also. considering the
extreme ill-wl with which Mrs. Bosely had
submitted to her visitors alterations, it was
inconsistent. l smothered my feeliags, how
ever, and merely observed. with mild severi-
ty.
- -.''Wel, trust you feel properly grateful for
the kindness of Miss Juliet-a-what is her
name?' =
(Which indeed don't know, sir as it's
thing never can remember, is names: not as
/ could ever say bern, though she teled it to
me twice, and knows as it had dewitt
YOU excuse it, sir-at the end ont"
"a devilp' 1 repeated, staring.
"Aye, sir, as is just what said, and with
the self same look as you has on you now"
l felt fattered. Miss Julit," says 1, that
bent your name, surely?"
''Yes, granlie, it is" says she; sand if you
want to remember it. just you think of the
old gentleman
"But no, IN m, says 1.-the Lord preserve me
from thinking on any SIGH person as is goin'
about here roarin' lion seekin' whom he
might devour. An';' says I, If you'll excuse
me-, miss, TIL call you by your christnin
VI liz
God bless her."
3 1, too, made up my mind to call her Juliet;
for how could I-even taking st. Anthony in
to question-assocate those laughing lips
and rosy cheeks with the Prince of Darkness
1t was not long before saw her again. In
fact, our visiting routes appeared to coincide,
for we were continually meeting, now in one
house and now in another, and cannot say
was always edited by the words which tell
from my fair acquaintance's lips on these &C.
casions. She had way of riding roughshod
over anything which had the slightest ap-
proach to what she called "cant," and which
was generally the pious sentences of resigpa-
ton which many of my parishioners were at
the trouble to bring forth for my approval.
She once spoke of Job as ''person Of most
unfortunately dirty habits y and hoped that
an old crossing-sweeper, with whom we were
both acquainted, and who had Mrs. Bosely's
objection to baths, both Turkish and other
wise, would not end by getting into the pa
triareh's condition. She read the Bible in as
lively tone as if it were anovel, land spoke of
St. Johns epistles as '.jollyv'
Once felt obliged to demonstrate with her,
took the book into my own hands, and put it
away, She stared at me with lovely rising
blush, and as we went down stairs said:
Mr.. Chasuble. did offend you to-day ?"
''Ofend me? No.. -,
"Then why-'