The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-11-07

! OF something or some pne, and her voice,
stsnt shrek. She, whom she addressed as
/ Eva, was in the very bloom Of womanhood
airiiy and smiliDgly beautiful, with velvet
rosy face, aud poutipg childish smile lighting
/, it, and eyes bright, bat no. deep, sweet, but
not earnest
Shame, Aunt Susanna" rippled out her
voice; like the echo Of a merry laugh Just
feeling what-it was q bootjack. or hy-
brush, or maybe something extra nice for din
ner. I wish it had been the latter arebly,
and with . wouid-be pathetic little sigh
Lobster, for instance, or, oh how vulgar
| AN, green turtle y
| By this time the door had opened, aud Mr..
vintOn. holding bis charge by the hand, stood
before them.
"See, Susanna" be said, gently, and with q
simplicity quite refreshing to any earnest
student of nature, who might have noted the
expressions of disgust and Indignation that
| chased each other, quite regardless Of appear
Aneea. over " Saeanna's" face, this poor
child needs cars-wili you please see to the
feminine part Of it, and I'll do the rest n
| &c 1od gracious. Stephen" she cried, in q
tone without the muller on the Shrek palpa-
bic to the astonished atmosphere, what am
to Go with such IA"
| Don't say it," be mildly interposed, " the
little vaif has a heart"
aud then, aunt" cried Eva, in her merry
way, going over and standing with uphfted,
dimpled hands before the child, " let me be
Mr.. Dick on the present OCCASION. III tell
you promptly what to do with her." Shemade
a sort of trumpet ont of the dimpled hands,
and directing it towards the immovable
Susanna, Whispered through it:
UGsh her :"
"You are iusuferable, Eva.' cried the in
diguant spinster.
| "Lord but yur purity :, broke out the little
| the winders on Market street I've often cried
| fur, STAMINA 10 the rain O. nights when no fine
folks was around. Lord. but yur purtyw
/ Then she stood before her with clasped
! hands, as the worshipper stands before a
shrine. There was a certain grace in the very
simplicity of the foriorn and ragged figures
| young girl alike took in. But the suppressed
feeling Miss Susanna's face held, now sup
pressed itself no longer. 1t broke out in I'M
disguised Jealousy, as the bitter words escaped
| her lips:
| ''LoUn you've said truly, beggsr! DOLLY"
Yes; dolls is the pnrtiest things l ever
seen" unconsciously proceeded the child,
but of course that there washes of, an hers
don't. Oh! Pm so tiredw ard guiltless of
offence, she sank on the floor, and sat in I'M
calmly, cross legged attitude.
| Funny pet, uDole," said Eva, with charm
ing archnsss of manner, but for one must
say she displays remarkably good taste, and of
course q great deal can be made ont of her.
But. yon see, I'm SO bad to help yon about
or canary, that took too much care of one
time, and starved another, and the whole col
lection would have died only for your
| "BlossomW cried the old man, fondly, " no
one expects you to think yet! But you,
Susanna; you spend your whole time in So
cieties for the amelioration Of all the evils,
of that big convention for the purpose of re-
| forming the present system of education for
girls, and hear on all sides you're an able
refermer. Didn't you crusade too, till the
| bubble burst in a most effective mannerf Now
here's decidedly raw material to work on; take
it up, and immortalize yourself I'll be at all
the expense, if you give the needful exercise
"Strange," she answered tartly, "that you
can talk so glibly about expense, when You
| refused last week to get new carpet for the
was needed on account of the number of ladies
/ who call here since became connected with
| those reform movements"
"Well,"-it must here be owned that con-
fusion became visible on his hitherto open
countenance, and discontinue looked out OF
his suddenly arrested eye-"Well, there is q
fund at my, in fact, my disposal, for such a
purpose as this, that IL can't touch for other
| things"
well, sir, apply it elsewhere. Let the
education of your queer protege be conducted
according to the new system, but let her be
taken care of somewhere else than here"
Now rose up the little street Arab. Now
she came over to him, and put her hand in his
Now she looked up in his face with pathos in
describable, and said in a voice of over
whelming tragedy,
"No! no! keep me"
"Poor little child" be answered, tenderIy
" so help me God, will "
th emselves on his with q look which he never
forgot, "ef GO back they'll kill me, an Pl
never git no more larnin'. An can take care
on myself; no one need bother about that
there! Jest let me stay in yer yard all day, an
on the doorstep at night Il often slep' on door
steps, an Lord, that III do first rate You kir
come ont sometimes, an tell me them there
letters till learn Gabe's way Nv maxim words
out Nv em, an then I'll 60 away. That's ALL
He was inexpressibly touched; he said
nothing for q few minutes, and then he spoke
tenderly, but decidedly.
"My child" he said, "from this moment, you
shall be here, az my child; come 1 will bring
you to one who will at least show you how to
take care of yourself"
AS he left the room, he turned to the aston.
ished Susanna.
Sister" he said. I" in your next paper on
the reform, it would be we'll to introduce, by
way of illustration of thirst for kuowled ge in
the feminine soul, the true incident of the
little street-waif, who would have stayed in
the yard by day, and on the doorstep at night,
that 1 might come out sometmes,' to teach
her her letters. A novel, but at least practical
system of education, surely"
He vanished, taking his child" by the