Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1874-03-06

him to be obliged to perceive an
other proof OF her unworthiness
without bearing evidence to it.
"Strange she has never bought
herself silk before. She once told
me that she never should while she
had to work for her living"
swim gold and you may wear it,"
he returned, putting bold face on
| it.
"Oh, certainly; but that blue silk
must have cost three dollars yard,
if it cost a cent?
"Then fifty dollars couldn't have
bought it," he replied; but he was
far from easy. What a differences
! it would have made to him could he
have known that the silk dress was
present from friend in distant
county who had just gone into
mourning!
"Well, time will show" said Mrs.
Random. But time seemed in no
hurry to show. Wien Miss Ger
rish came to the house Mrs. Ran
dom observed that I.angstrath did
not find it SO convenient as it had
once seemed to drop. in to lunch,
to make an errand into the sewing
room, to walk home with her to her
lodgings at twilight, and spend the
evening. There had been a time
when he had invited her to concerts
and lectures, had given her little
keepsakes, and consulted her taste
with regard to the hanging of pic
lures, or any improvements in the
house, as one whom such things
concerned. Now Mrs. Random
saw, with some pity and more pleas
urc, that all this was at an end.
Caesars wife should be above sus-
piclon. Yet he treated Rebccca
with courtesy that tried to be COR
dial; and one day Mrs. Random
found it more to her purpose to have
her gowns made in the city.
'Do tell me why you no longer
employ Miss Gerrish?" asked Mrs.
Sharply. "Weren't you satisfied
with her fits?"
ooh, perfectly; but l can't bear to
do her an injury, you see. Well, to
tell the truth, ] lost confidence in
her. Now, pray don: speak Of it
outside. l wouldn't have it get
abroad for the world; but feel con
fident that can rely on your dis
cretion. You see, there was fifty
dollar bill''-and so the whole story
came out.
''But yon have no evidence" said
Mrs. Sharply.
"Only circumstantial evidence.
But, you know, there's a constrain:
in having suspicious people about
one. She was making my gold-col-
ored silk at the time, and I must
say Ive never enjoyed the dress
since"
Mrs. Sharply dlscreetly mention,
ed the facts to her sister-ln-law, a
harmless little woman who resem-
bled bonny-clabber, and who always
jumped up in chair if mouse ran
across the floor. Mrs. SltarpIy's
tcrin-law spoke of it incidentally
at her Cousins, and was overheard
by Mary Moriarty, who was taking
some dishes through the slide in the
china closet. Mary Immediately
communicated the tidbit to her GRO
ny, who was making call, and
whose husband did the chores for
4 rival dressmaker who had always
coveted Becky's aristocratic custom
ers. 1t was not long before the sto-
ry got to be pretty widely circulated
and Becky's work began to drop off
accordingly. Such additions had
been migrated upon the original
stock that it is possible Mrs Ran
dom herself would have been puz-
zled to find the fact with which it
had started in the perfected report.
People did not SO much care to be-
lieve evil Of such pleasant girl as
Becky, but they cared to have some
thing to talk and speculate about, to
vary the monotony Of their lives.
Thus when Mrs. Pry said, eff the
girl took that bill, you may rest IS
surcd it wasn't the first offence"
her remark was added, by way of
interest, to the original amount;
and when Mrs. Minns was heard to
declare that for her part "she didn't
care q Sou-markec how MANY dead
gentlemen-folks persons had to back
'em, she didn't think it made wick
ness gentccl," of course Becky's
case was lost.
Ii some insinuations of the rea-
son tor this loss ofpatronagc reach
ed Becky, they were too indefinite
and contradictory to enable her to
trace the scandal to its source; and
even if she could have done so it
was too late-the injury was com
plete. She had only her word with
which to substantiate her innocence
and if Mrs. Grundy had not placed
dependence upon her character,
what value would she be likely to
attach to that? So Becky lost caste;
only the poorer portion Of the com
munity brought their dry good for
her to fashion, and presently even
they came to be afraid of losing
their pieces, complained Of the guam
tity OF s,uffs it took for a gown, with
out taking into account the extra
flouncing and ruching which the new
styles demanded.
One morning Becky found her
self in debt to her landlady, and
throwing her patterns and fashion
plates into the fire, she went to the
overseer of the Warp and Woof
mills and begged employment. OF
course she got it. Honesty wasn't
necessary qualification for weav.
ing cotton. Mr.. Derris thought he
knew more than one of the hands
who helped herself off the compa-
ny's web few yards at q time. But
then he believed that if you wish to
make people good you must keep
them busy and out of want. He
used to say that taking away a girls
employment because she's sinner,
is the same thing as sending her to
perdition by lightning express. He
had heard the reports about Becky