Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-05-17
MISCHIEF MAKING.
BY LILY LEE.

Now Ellen, this is really TOO bad
How should we, either of US, were we
to receive such sarcastic letter? Be-
sides
Not another word, Carolinel Kate
won't care after little; and it will
teach her to be more prudent. too.
think she is rather coquettish, it will
give her a good lesson. | wish
could see her when she reads it,.
But, Ellen, we ought not to be so
cruel; | should be heartily ashamed
to have her know | had anything TO
do with it.
well, wsIl no one will ever know
who did it; so now, write away.
will get cousin Edmund to copy it, so
it will 60 in gentleman's handwrit.
ing
1t will be Just to crafty you then,
Ellen; but | am fearful
Now give that sell-conceited fop a
hit-good Now for the puissant,
mighty MIR. Alien, stroking his nous.
tache as he smiles upon the fair Kate.
Let me see; here is the most OBJ
soquious Mr.. Browne paying his hum
bic devoir at the feet Of Miss lester;
it is delightful
ellen, If the gentlemen should ever
see this, what would they think? How
would they feel to know they were SO
rdicuIed ?
i do not care straw; it will teach
them better than to bcstow all their
attentions and admiration on Kate
Lester. | hope they will see it.
Here goes the last one in the list.
Now read it and then we viii commit
it to the flames; it will be safe from
harm them
NO, Caroline, not for the world; it
is too precious for such a fate. But
look, here comes Mr.. EdsaIl, whose
likeness we first drew
'Caricatured you would say; but
quick. put it out of sight, for he is
coming here
Ellen placed the sheet in her
satchel, and was taking her leave Just
as Mr.. Edsall entered the drawing
room of Mr.. Bowen, whose only
daughter, Miss Caroline, we have al
ready introduced. She was a beauti.
full girl of eighteen, who never mten-
tionally wronged any one, by word or
deed, but was too easily influenced by
her gay, unthinking friend Miss Ellen
j Jackson.
In a few days the mischief began
to work. Kate lester came to I'M
bosom her troubles to Caroline, know
ing that she would find sympathy in
her warm heart. She read the letter;
it was the same she and Ellen had
jointly composed, and still not the
same, there was more malignity and
sarcasm expressed.
and now, Caroline, can you i'm
agine where the letter originated
There can be no doubt, from the
writing, that it was a gentleman; and
how wounding and notifying to be
the unsuspecting object of such IL
bellous remarks :
Dear Kate, son take it too serious
ly; there was, dare say, no mischief
intended. No one would wish to in
jure you, there is nothing against
YOU but her heart sank within her as
she remembered that she assisted in
composing it.
But there must have been malice
in it; no heart could have dictated
these cutting sarcasms that was not
impregnated with evil thoughts And
then the paragraph concerning Mr.
Allen, to have it appear as if | made
improper advances; it is too bad 7
and the injured girl wept in very
bitterness of heart, and Caroline felt
deeply the injustice she had done,
and repented deeply, but it was of no
avail now. Oh! how she wished she
had not yielded to Ellen's influence.
kate, dearest, do not ever show
the letter
Il wish / had moi; but | mentioned
it to one friend when | first received
it, and she told another, and now
cannot stop it; the contents have
been borne upon the wings Of the
wind; and not one individual that was
ridiculed and criticized but has heard
of it long before this. | wish, indeed
| do, that ! had kept it to myself,
then no one else would have been
wounded
Surmises were afoat as to the au-
thenticity of the writer's of the an
onymous epistle, and as Caroline and
Ellen were distinguished for superior
abilities, as well as wit and talent, Il
was not unfrequently limited that they
might be the original eminators, but
they always repealed the insinuation,
and those who knew the kindness oil
Caroline's disposition could never for
a moment hatb Dor the belief that she
had dipped her pen so deeply in the
gall OF bitterness as to wound the
feelings of her friend.
4 wish, Ellen, that they would
drop the subject of that abominable
letter; l am heartily wearied with
parryiug off the jokes levelled. ]
really dread to see or meet any one,
for some of those hideous lines are
continually sounding in my ears. How
can You be so happy? / am miserable,
and in constant fear of being found
out. Have you no dread of ll?'
Indeed, | care not one iota, Caro-
line; l like the sport of parrying of
the attacks, it is capital fun | would
like to write another
Only think of those satirical lines
upon Mr.. Edsaii. how severe they
were, and SO perfectly undeserving
and unprovoked.'
ooh, by the way, hear he is max
ing his bow to my friend Miss Bowen;
surely you are not serious in encoar.
aging his attentions ? | have always
refuted the report; it would be too
ridiculous, after what You wrote