Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-02-19

evening. Tnere han been time Wne0
he had Invited her TO concerts and lectures,
had given her little kcepsakes, and con-
suited her taste with regard TO the hang
| ing ofpictures, or any Improvements in
| the house, as one whom such things con-
cerned. Now Mrs. Random saw, with
some pity and more pleasure, that all this
was at an end. Caesars wife should be
above suspicion. Yet he treated Rebccca
with courtesy that tried to be cordial;
and one day Mrs. Random found II more
TO her purpose to have her gowns made
| In the ethyl
DO tell me why you no longer en-
pioy Miss Gerrish ~ asked Mrs. Sharply.
weren't you satisfied with her fitssn
| "Oh, perfectly; but can't bear to do
her an injury, you see. Well, to tell the
truth, | lost confidence in her. Now
pray don't speak Of it outside. / wouldn't
| have il get abroad for the world; but /
feel confident that can rely on your dis
cretion You see, there was fffy.dollar
| billr-and so the whole story came out.
"But you have no evidence" said Mrs.
Sharply.
"Oniy circumstantial evidence. But,
you know, there's constraint in having
suspicious people about one. She was
making my gold .colored silk at the time,
and must say I've never enjoyed the
dress since"
Mrs. Sharply discreetly mentioned the
facts 10 her sister.in-law, a harmless little
woman who resembled bonny-clabber,
and who always jumped up in chair If a
mouse ran across the floor. Mrs. Sharp
| ly's sister-iL.law spoke Of 1t 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 10 her crony, who was making
call, and whose husband did the chores
for rival dressmaker who had always
coveted Becky's aristocratic customers.
II was not long before the story got TO be
pretty widely circulated, and Becky's
work began to drop off accordingly.
Such additions had been ingrafted upon
the original stock that 1t is possible Mrs
Random herself would have been puzzled
to find The fact with which IL had started
in the perfected report. People did not
so much care 10 believe evil Of such
pleasant girl as Becky, but they cared TO
have something TO talk and speculate
about, 10 vary the monotony of their
lives Thus when Mrs. Pry said, ''if the
girl took that bill, you may rest assured IL
wasn't the first offense," her remark was
added, by way of interest, to the original
amount; and when Mrs. Minis was heard
TO declare that for her part "she didn't
care sou-markee how many dead gentle
men-folks persons had to back 'em, she
didn't think il made wickedness genteel,"
Of course Becky's case was lost.
III some insinuations of the reason for
this loss of patronage reached Becky,
they were too indefinite and contradictory
TO enable her to trace the scandal to Its
source; and even II she could have done
so it was too iate-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 that2 So Becky lost
caste; only TIE poorer portion of the COM
munity brought their dry goods for her to
fashion, and presently even they came TO
be afraid of losing their pieces, complain
ed of the quantity Of stuffs it took for
gown, without taking into account the
extra tIouncing and ruching which the
new styles demanded.
One morning Becky found herself In
debt to her landlady, and, throwing her
patterns and fashion.platcs into the fire,she
went TO the overseer Of the Warp and
Wool Mills and begged employment. Of
course she got 1t. Honesty wasn't nee.
essary qualification for weaving cotton.
Mr.. Derris thought he knew more than
one Of the hands who helped herself of
the company's web few yards at time.
But then he believed that If You wish 10
make people good, you must keep them
busy and out Of want. He used to say
that taking away girls employment be
uhapo stY Ia I'm inr
sending her to perdition by lightning
express. He had heard the reports about
Becky--as who had not ?--but the moment
he saw her he said to himself:
They're pack of lies; nobody could
look and speak like that and break the
commandments too"
And so he did not give himself the
trouble OF watching her; he paid her
the compliment of believing in her at
once.
The fashions underwent transforms
ton the next autumn. This might seem
to bear no relation TO the fortunes of such
an insignificant being as Becky, If we were
not often admonished that help comes to
us from unexpected sources. A few peo-
pie in Paris undertook TO dictate paniers
and basques, and total change Of design
in the general toilette, without sus-
picion that they were effecting revolu-
ton In the affairs of little mill girl in
America.
Mrs. Random took down the gold-c
ored silk and looked at 1t with profound
sigh. 1t was utterly out of fashion, and
IL had cost so muchl But, in virtue Of its
being very long and full, there was
pleasing possibility that 1t might be
worked over into over-skirt and basque,
with open sleeves. She had always de-
tested those close sleeves, they were so
angular, and made her feel all arms and
elbows; and then she began TO wish that
Rebeeca Gerrish was at hand to effect the
change; for Miss Stitcherly was forty
miles away up four flights OF stairs, with
the varioloid next door. Therefore Mrs.
Random was fain to take her own scis-
sors and the gold-colored silk, and sit
down to IL, in imminent peril Of Tommy's
bread and butter fingers. Rip, rip, rip;
how many miserable little stitches Becky
had put into IL! OF what had she been
thinking during the processy Had she been
making up her mind to keep the bill If
the stitches could be interpreted like the
Geographic symbols, would they tell the
story Of her sfruggey