New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-07-12

with her hard, unlOved, unlpvlng lot. ono
| found old yearnings she had thought sub
dued coming back to her, conquered paine,
long-struggled against memories, ana u may
| be that her secret suffering sOftened her.
Before the child had been with Phlilis
| long, Janet Ayres was missing. She was ab-
sent from her loom one morning, and wo-
man who was her neighbOr said that she
| had shut up her house and gone away.
| That was all that was kno wn by outsiders,
but Phillis knew q little more. The nigne
before the woman disappearance there had
come light tap at her window, ana, gong
| outside to see what the summons mean!,
| she had found Janet Ayres standing as II
waiting for her.
"Aw'm goin' away" she had said alb
| ruptly.
Phillis' heart beat somewhat m ore quick.
| ly. Had she repented of her decision, and
| come to claim the child!
| Why" she asked.
The woman twisted corner OF hec shawl
| around her finger and hesitated.
| 81 ha' reason" she answered, half dog
gedly. can it wunn0t work no ill-it may
| work good; but that's neither heer nor
theer. I come to speak to thee about-th'
child
sThee are not''-faltered Phillis-"thee
does not mean"
Janet Ayres stopped her
| J
said, $50 Gamma mean that. l am ma goin'
to hurt it. towd thee I'd glen it up fur.
liver. only want to know-to hear word
about i'll hanna heerd word sin that
meet. want to know how its doln.'"
at is WE'LL" said Phillis, ''and happy"
| There was moments silence, In which
/ the nervous hand dragged at a shawl. Then
| the wretched creature lifted, in half
ashamed fashion, her eyes to those of Phil
lis.
| HAS she-forgotten :" she faltered. And
that moment the shawl was dropped, her
hand went up to her face, and she burst into
wild, yet almost silent, weeping.
"Dunnot, tell me-" che whispered, in the
midst OF her sObs. 'DunnOt tell me; know
| wi'out askin'. 1 dunnot see why asked
at a.. She were only baby. Let me be
| minnet.'
| So Phillis waited curious contest going
| on in her mind, as she watched the shaking,
shrinking form She had not forgiven this
| woman yet; but she was beginning vaguely
| to recognize the stained, bruised humanity,
and thus to doubt her own stern, just self.
! What if she were wrong. after all! What if
| she had refused what it was her duty to
have given?
When the woman looked up again she
If thee would like to see the child,'
Phillis began.
| The old doggedness returned to the face.
| Il did ma coms for that" was the answer.
| ~ dare ma enter; | dare no tempt mysen'.
Happen tn time I'll come-thOugh dunnot
know" She stopped and took from the
| bundle slung upon her arm q little package,
handing it to Phillis with that touch of
| awkward shamefacedness in her air.
''It's sumetin' as l made mysen'" she
| said, "a dress and few ornaments. She
she'll niyer know who made EN-, 80 they
Gamma harm her if you'll let her wear EN-
| ending in choked voice. There" she
said, suddenly, that's $50 l may as we'll
be goin'. Good neet-if tha'll TAX good
! meet fro such as me- And she turned
| away.
Six months before Phillis Denham had
| spurned this lost woman; and now How
| was it that this child had given them some
| thing in common-made them in some sense
| akin! A sudden impulse made her move
forward and touch Janet Ayres with her
hand lightly.
Il do not know what I owt to say to
| thee she said. II do not know why !
have something to say, but if have been
wrong and-and hard, l ask thee to forgive
me. ! have needed pity; need pity now.
will deal tenderly by thy child Good-by.
God help thee; God help us both"
And SO they had gone their separate ways.
Who at Grantley has forgotten the fire
at .rantley Mills! Who will ever forget it
who lived in the generation in which it oc-
cured "The fire" they call it to this day,
though there were fires before and have
been since. ut was the oil that did it," the
old mill hands say. "You see, when the
wenches oiled tn looms tn cans dripped.
| an there it were. The floors soaked
| through an through enow to set tn place
aiire-an' tn first spark did fur it an left
no help. A. tn engines in Lanca's shire
could ma ha' saved it. An SO it went"
AS for Phillis Denham, to the last hour of
to her-the fearful day would be her most
vivid memory. She had come down to her
work in the morning in heavy mood. She
had been disturbed the night before strange
ly, and she had not been able to overcome
her excitement. Sitting before the fire
with the child in her arms. she had been
startled by sound at the window, and,
turning suddenly, she had caught sight of a
vanishing face-a face that had plainly
been looking in upon her and her tire-lit
room. The sight made her heart leap and
then almost stand still. She could not
force herself to believe it fancy, and yet
when she had opened the door there had
been no one in sight up or down the moon
lit street. This was not all. So strangely
nervous and excitable was she, that in pass
in the Office she had been startled again
by the mere sight of tall man standing at
the desk, with his back towards her, be-
cause his figure had seemed familier.
did tina see tn new overseer T., she heard
woman say, as she took her place; and her
companion answered: "Aye, to be sure, an
good lookin' chap he is, too"
1t was not more than two hours after,
that girl at the loom next PhiIlis' looked
up suddenly.
What's that!' she said. THE bell
ringin'" And almost the next instant,
with paling face. 9TH engines stoppin',"
she cried; SUBMITS up, wenches"
They were at the top story of the huge
building, and SO the alarm did not reach
them until the stopping of the looms, but
minute later puff of smoke and sound
Of hurrying feet and w0men's shrieks be-
low told all the truth.
"Ts's irew shrieked the girl. 'It's fire."
shrieked another and another, until voice
upon voice took up the cry.
Fire! fire! fre"' And every desperate
creature in the-great room rushed toward
the narrow stairway, with no thought but
the hope of being first.
But the stairway was crowded already,
and the heat and smoke were rolling up
ward, and beating back those who were at
the front, while the rest were fighting on
behind. If the fire had been above they
would have been safer; but it roared below
and cracked, and poured out thick smoke
from the oilsoaked flooring and SO choked
and blinded the mass of struggling crea-
lures that they were panic stricken. They
fought, and strove, and shrleked, and
prayed, until some fell under foot, and
were tranpled down, and some hung
wedged in the midst, neither able to move
ono way or the other.
M L L
The first instinct of selfpreservatiou had
made her follow the rest To the door and