New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-12-13

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soothing Mn aud keeping him ~
ss!'Ss ;R ss SsIsa ~ saG Si:x and and
then the second girl wanted to 60 out TO .
photosrapher's In order to send = reflection
Of her,elf to ireland; and Mrs. Tribe called
to AK about tbst girl we discharged last
month for slapping Tommy, and the
Whitewater came in the thick Of it, and
the new Swede dropped the pudding she
was carrying to the oven, and wes Obliged
to make another-for she doesn't know .
cup from . milk pan in English; and 80
when l got back to the sewing room Re-
becca had picked up my work and finished
| it, and the gown just looked a. If it was
woven out Of suubeams, and tho bill never
crossed nv mind till she'd put on her
bonnet. Oh SAID 1 then, wait minute.
l want to settle with you for the work
you've done the last three months You
zee, l had reckOned it up, aud the fifty
dollars would just cover it, for Rebecca's
cot q conscience-at least used to think
90; and put my hand into my pocket, and
| it all came over me in fash. Dear, dear,
said I. L must have dropped it when
ran out to Tommy. How l hate to hunt
for anything on a carpet, and mistake
every figure and shadow
"'What is it,: said she, az innocent as my
".it's the tfsy dollar bill was going to
nav you,' nswered. 1t was 10 my lap
when heard Tommy fall. You didn't see
anything of it when you picked up the
sleeves"
s'No,' said she; but of course it isn't far
Off And then We went down on our
hands and knees, aud burrOwed into every
hole and corner. don't think there is q
square inch of that floor l haven't been
over; and must say it it's as disagreeable
| it ia to me, it it makes her back ache and
her head swim az it does mine, think she
earned it"
strath, her brother.
II mean that We didn't find the till-at
least didn't" returned his sister. signif'
"Wellr'
I'm not 80 easy as you. Martin; I didn't
like the look of it,
well, as far as can understand, you're
not obliged to look at it,"
"YOn won't take my meaning. In fact, l
don't like to cay it myself. but to the best OF
my belief. the bill is in Rebecca Gerrish's
pocket"
Mr.. Langstra:h started and frowned an
II MINK you Will uuU yourself tuletdAcu'
II hope 50, for have been really fond OF
Rebecca; raised her wages myself; I've
brought her customers"
'And the servants!"
mot one has entered the dressth groom.
and locked the door after Rebecca LETT"
mo doubt it will turn up. It has fallen
down q crack, or you've mixed it up with
your fallals. 1 can believe in anythin 8
sooner than that which you suggest"
"Well. time will show" ....
her brother, Mr.. Langstrath, single gem
tleman, who kept his own establishment.
and supported his sister and her children in
NO niggardly fashion. Rebecca Gerrish
was the only surviving member of a family
that had ''seen better days. as her Gus.
toners put it, partly because it seemed
more genteel to have their dresses made by
Q gentlewOman to whom the romance of
misfortune clung. Reoeecas grandtath 3s
had ridden in their carriage. mad supplied
their table with the fat of the land. had
stocked their cellar with rare old wines.
Her grandmothers had shohs in stiff
brOcades and farthingales, had had their
waiting maids and their jewels and laces,
had slept beneath rider. down and silk
canopies; but they had LETT to Door little
Rebecca only "a sweet attractive sort OF
grace" a native refinement and intelligence
that seem the birthright of those people
whose ancestors have been gentlemen and
ladies for generations, no matter what their
circumstances may be. Rebecca was pos
seeseG of an education that would have
served her we'll enough if it had been her
fortune to sit in drawing-rOOm and handy
air nOthings, but which counted for little il
the great struggle for existence.
In those famous old days the L,angstraths
and Gerrishes had been intimate friends. on
an equal footing of wealth and cultivation;
but the grandeur Of the one had fallen into
fair show of prosperity. So, when Rebecca
Gerrish had decided to learn dressmaker's
trade, and go out by the day to earn a live
lihOod, remembering the legends Of the
family greatness, and not above certain
respect for good blood, Mrs. Random had
been among the first to give Rebecca patron
age.
No donbt it gave Mrs. Random pang to
regard Rebecca with ever SO little distrust;
it is always a disappointment to find our
friends falling short Of our ideal; and then,
too, it showed Mrs. Random what she was
slow to believe, that even good blood may
have its backslidings; and. furthermore,
Rebecca made the best fits in town. at the
lowest prices, had q unique fancy for trim
ming, which che was pleased to call the
poetry of dress-making, and thus it would
require great sacrifice in her employer to
give her up.
But Mrs. Random was not one to take the
blame Of any accident upon herself if there
was any proxy at hand; besides, she was
by nature suspicious, and when her mind
had once received an idea it closed firmly
upon it, like q bivalve upon an intruding
substance; aud it would have required an
angel from heaven to disabuse her mind OF
. prejudice. Moreover, who knows if she
had observed the growing interest of Mr..
Langstrath in the little dressmaker who
spent so many hours beneath his roof, I'M
der whose hands dry goods blossomed into
such perfect tOllettes. which he could not
choose but admire? There was no earthly
objection to Rebecca herself-every inch .
lady, and as sweet az q new rose. Hne
what would Mrs. Grundy say shouldA
Langstrath ally himself TO a working girl
There were new people in Elmford society
who knew not Joseph. but whose opinion
was of value to Mrs. Random. And then
there is q class of women who dislike to
see themselves supplanted even in the aztec
tiOns of brother, OF in the management Of
a pleasant home. Mrs. Random knew bv
instinct that the part of second fiddle at
Elm Place would prove utterly discOrdant
to her feelings. Yet not for the world nor
for all tho kingdoms thereof, would she
have charged euch a thing as this to Re-
becca's account If circumstances had not
put it out of the question for mind like
hers to repel the suspicion. If the facts had
not seemed to prove it Mrs. Random would
have been the last person to willfully imag.
inc such scandal. She did not discharge
Rebecca at once from her employment, but
she watched her, and watched her too, with
q sort of miserable, heart-aching anxiety.
Bnt the bill did not put in an appearance,
though they left no stone unturned. Lang
strath ordered the carpet in the eewing