The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-07-24
SOMERYILLE AND son.

" Going to that dreadful factory
again ?" said Mrs. Somerville, looking
up az her daughter entered the sitting
room, dressed for walking 81 declare,
Nellie, you might as well be boy as
girl, for any pleasure l have in your So
ciety. Every day you are off to the fac
tory, leaving me alone
=" | will come back soon if you want
me, mother but l promised father to
come down and give him my opinion of
some ,patterns for molding that are to
be sent in to-day"
As ii the opinion of a girl of your
age was OF any value. You need not
hurry back on my account. | can bear
the sorrow of having masculine tom
boy of girl, instead of q gentle, refined
companion. Gro.
Nellie Somerville pressed kiss upon
the fretful face pettishly turned away to
evade the caress, and then went out
very gravely. Her step, strong and
elastic. was unusually slow, as she
walked toward the factory, where her
father waited for her, and for the
hundredth time her face was clouded as
she debated IN her own mind the vezed
question of her duty. Not her inclina-
tion-that pointed steadily one way
but her duty.
From the time when, grasping her
fathers strong finger, the little girl
toddied by his side, Nellie Somerville
had been her fathers pride. and the
cross of her mother. Child after child
had been taken from the home of John
Somervi'ie to fill little grave in the
chdrchyard-th victims of an over
anxiety to guard them from every
breath OF air to fortify their constitu-
tions by incessant dosing to force
health by combating imaginary weak
ness.
When Nellie was born, the father as
serted his authority, and the babe was
brought up almost N the open air, and
found perfect health and strength in
constant exercise, good food and a total
deprivation Of all cordials and narcotics.
If she cried, she was not d0sed on sup
position of pain, but comforted by
ride on papa's shoulder, or a race in the
garden.
When c9ildhood was passed, school
days over, the girl came home from a
seminary ia a distant city, and shocked
her mother anew. A good scholar, a
&ne planet and promising linguist, she
was averse TO embroidery and worsted-
work, fond of riding and walking, and
while essentially refined in thought and
action, had no Alterations or fine lady
isms, such as Mrs. Somerville consid-
cred the browning charms of woman
hood. She entered into the details of
housekeeping with hearty zest,
though her mother declared she beat
eggs like ploughboy, and stirred cake
like milkmaid.
" You see, papa" Nclli? said, conf
dentially, TO her sympathizing parent,
+" can half do anything, and mamma
thinks / am awfully unfeminine. If
eggs are TO be beaten, I beat them, not
dab at them as if / was in n decline. /
do try TO please mamma, and | sat all
yesterday morning working upon hor-
rible combination OF zephyr and canvas
for a foot-stool But mamma says /
stab the work and between you and
me, papa, did wish the foot-stool was
in a sufficiently advanced state to war
rant me in kicking it. / wish | was
boy; then I could be at the factory all
the time ~
John Somerville could scarcely look
at the handsome, healthy face raised to
his own, aud wish it different in any
way yet the hidden grief of his life was
that there was no son to inherit the
name upon the factory-sign for three
generations. Somerville & Son
were known for miles around the village
where the great factory was located,
and their names were good in many of
the Leading cities Of the country. John
mao inherited the business, from father
and grandfather, but his own sone
three dark-eyed boys, Law in the cbnrcb'
yard, and Nellie alone remained of f. s siv
children. ''A
More than once the Thought had
crossed his mind, elf she was only w =
boy" as Nellie followed him over fbo
great building with the keenest Interest
in every department there.