Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-11-04

stitfold knees by the little trundle bed, and
placed her left arm under Nelly's head
| while she patted Grace's shoulder with hel
right hand till she was stiff and sore, and
the white turban bobbed suspicious!y ur
and down; but there was no break in the
chain OF events that took place between
MIR. Rabbit and Mr.. Wolf, and Nanny
did not steal her arm away till the curly
heads were motionless and the little lips
had ceased to ask why mamma slept sc
long.
Days dragged slowly by, and crystallized
into weeks, and at length the governess
had come, and Mr.. Larrantrec's sister fell
compelled to return to the charge of hel
own family. Before she did so, however
she requested tina; Miss Ennerby would be
very tender with the children, as they
were of a nervous temperament, and had
been accustomed to much indulgence
shall not deny them any reasonable
indulgence" said Miss Ennerby stitily
bat children have no rightto be nervous
| shall make it my business to conquer the
tendency"
II do not mean to say that they arenerv
ous," replied Mrs. Alerton, who was
very unfavorablv impressed by her new
acquaintance. 81 meant merely to call
your attention to the fact that they are of a
nervous temperament, and should be IA
vored with greater indulgence of certain
nature than -"
Permit me to differ with you," said
Miss Ennerby. My decided opinion is
that they should be hardened before this
tendency becomes radical evil"
As Mrs. Allerton regarded the light,
cold eyes, the short lashes, the thin lips
and square jaw of the woman before her,
her heart misgave her, and she trembled
for the happiness of her little nieces but
it was now too late to do aught but wait,
and hope, and pray. Miss Ennerby had
been recommended by neighbsr, and
Mr. Larrantree had met her once or twice
at this ncighber's house, but that was all.
He had not observed her sufficiently to
form any clear impression Of her charac-
ter, and his mind was now in a state of
such depression that he accepted ut once
the aid first offered, and had employed
Miss Ennerby in the confidence based
upon his neighbours judgment.
Unfortunately, as she feared, for the
matrimonial designs with which Miss En-
nerby entered on her duties, Mr.. Larran-
tree was called away on business the day
after her arrival, and she had only time to
ascertain that he agreed with her fully on
one point: children should be taught to
be seli-reliant and induced to develop
their moral muscle. She had, therefore,
no doubt of his appreciation when she
commenced the hardening process by
commanding Nanny, after the children
were undressed, to put out the light and
Loo thn,n 10 rn o1an,, NV hon co11y
To a great many good-hearted and in
telligent people-people who honestly de-
sire to be kind and reasonable--it were
vain to portray the agony of some chill
dren on being left alone in the dark, the
unreasoning, uncomfortable terror OF that
something which, by its very lack of
form, its vagueness and indetiniteness, be
comes so awful, SO dreadful, so indefinite
ly horrible, that the anguish of substan
tial torture cannot be compared with it,
The child's whole soul is pervaded by a
terror which cannot be shaken off by any
effort of the chiid's own will. It's entire
being is the subject of terror which it
has no power to subdue, and its whole
nervous system lies at the mercy of this
shapeless, shadowy foe; il is reeling and
staggering and fainting and suffering a
shock which will tell in aiter-lite rs sure
ly as a shot in the eye or Il cut on the
brow. Oh, why is there no Mr. Bergh
who can prevent cruelty to children?
A great many excellent persons without
nerves fail to appreciate this state of feel
ing, and Miss Ennerby was not only with
out nerves, but by no means an excellent
person She was cold and hard and
cruel, and full of vindictve feeling toward
those above her, which she could crafty
only by grinding those whom Providence
placed temporarily under her heel. Nam
my, with unerring instinct, at once discov-
cred that Miss Ennerby was poor white
that is, that she had not had crowd of
negroes ut her command, and ridden
about in her own carriage--and, with the
aristocratc tendency of her class, despised
her accordingly. The old woman knew
her place too well to make any intentional
display of contempt, but she conducted
herself with dignitied formaity, more of
tensivcly suggestive than the most elabo-
rate impertinence, and Miss Ennerby felt
il with a keenness she could not disguise
from herself.
The qualification OF the latter could be
measured only by Mammys dismay at
the order to leave the children alone; and
indeed so great was the panic created in
the nursery that even Miss Ennerby would
have made a temporary compromise had
it not involved a triumph for Nanny.
AS it was, she persisted in the enforcement
of her order, and it was with grim salts
faction that after the first two nights she
observed the light having been eXtin-
guished and Nanny gone down stairs,
that the children seemed to resign them
selYes to their fate and quietly 60 to sleep.
She did not know that Nanny stole inn
mediately back and was at her post, with
her arm around her paintings, nor how
as Miss Ennerby's step was heard, Nanny
would throw herself on the floor behind