The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-10-18
From tho tueeriv Maguzine.
THE QUAKERESS.
A STORY OF NEW ENGLAND.
BY MRS. NJ. E. ROBINSON.
CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER III.
"Brother Fred. stop minute!' Thus
admouished, our hero paused and waited
for the owner of the yoice;to make her
pleasure known. Very soon his sister
Jessie stepped from an adjoining room.
She was dressed in her fathers morning
gown, which came down to her feet,
straight and limp, and was confined to
her waist by cord. A small, round
cape, that she had abstracted from the
housekeeper's store, was pinned closely
about her neck, and on her head was
Rachel Burns drab satin bonnet. She
crossed her hands so demurely before her,
and looked so comical in the depth of the
"four-scoop," and said, "How does thee
like me, friend 2" in voice 80 very like
the Quakeress, that Frederick, though he
had got his mouth made up to scold her,
could only langh.
"What is thee doing with my bonnet,
Jessie9 ?" said another voice, close at
hand. Frederick started, and so did
Jessie, who thought it prudent to retreat
behind her brother.
"I am afraid my fighty sister has been
in mischief, Miss Burns" he replied, as
soon as he could find the use of his
tongue. "But pardon her this time,
please; and will answer for it she shall
not repeat the offense."
"My name is Rachel; 1 like not the
prefix Miss" said the governess, tram
quilly. "But how can thee fatter thy
self that the child will do better, when
thy laughter but encourages her folly ?"
she added, fixing her eloquent eyes re-
provingly upon the young man.
Frederick felt rebuked and lowered in
his own esteem. He colored before the
keen gaze of the Quakeress.
"I was wrong; l acknowledge it," he
replied, ingenously.
s'Then the fault is half atoned for" re-
Joined the fair Rachel, with smile that
|smore than balanced our, hero's momen-
|Ftary modification .".and am. sure that
in Jessie's brother l shall, in future, find
an adviser and an assistant in my, not
easy task of trying to make his young
sisters what he would wish them to be-"
"Not only an assistant, but also a
friend! I" exclaimed Frederick, warmly.
"You can depend upon me, Miss Bur
Rachel" Then, turning to the silent
Jessie, he added, tapping her blushing
cheek. "This is the last time, puss, that
shall laugh at your pranks, be they ever
so ridiculous. Miss-Rachel won't scold
you this time, at my particular request;
but mind, Miss Mischief, don't limit
her forbearance in future"
When the first stone of the wall of
prejudice is rolled off, it is wonderful how
soon the barrier disappears. Frederick
Lambert daily saw something to respect
and admire in the character of Rachel
Burns. She was so different from his
other female acquaintance, that she was
perpetual study to him. She never
professed to be anything she was not.
Her straightforward honesty, her natu-
ralness, her unyielding sense of right,
her manners, so simple and unstudied,
yet SO refined and agreeable, and lastly,
her singular beauty, unadorned, but still
far above the influence of the unbecom-
ing surroundings, were, combined, fast
becoming a magnet powerful enough to
draw the Quaker costume and the Quaker
idiom within its charmed circle.
Jessie and Fanny improved rapidly,
both in mind and manners. Kind, but
firm; gentle, but resolute; familiar, but
dignifed, the Quakeress soon obtained
an ascendancy over the giddy girls, whose
chief faults consisted of too great love
for play and dislike to wholesome re-
straint. Rachel Burns did not treat her
pupils as children, but as miniature
women. She appealed to their self
respect; she reasoned with them; she
showed them the deformed picture of 1g-
norance and the beautiful picture of Wis
dom; she made study pleasure, not
labor. And che had her reward; Jessie
and Fannie soon learned to love her bet
ter than any one else in the world, ex-
cept their father and their brother Fred,
who, as he had promised, proved val
liable auxiliary to the young governess.
"Why don't you sometimes wear a
prettier dress, Rachel?" asked Fanny,
one day, as the three were sitting to-
gether, sewing. "Sister Belle says you
have fine figure, and it is pity you
hide it in that gray gown"
"Fine feathers make fine birds, my
Jessie. Thee would not have me look
like bird, would thee" said Rachel,
patting the lady's rosy cheek with her
thimbled finger.
"And Eta says she knows your hair
would curl beautifully, if you would take
pains with it, and not put it back so
straight and smooth" continued Jessie.
"Curls are for dolls; thee would not
make me look like doll, would thee ~
answered Rachel, with an arch smile.
"And brother Fred. says" added Fan
ny, encouraged by Jessie's success, "that
you have very handsome neck, which
he earnestly wishes you wouldn't take so
much pains to cover up. Why do you,
Rachel? Sisters Belle and Eta wear
low. necked dresses"
"Does q pretty dress make thee any
better?" asked Rachel, amused at her
earncstness.
"No, but it makes me feel BETTER" re-
piled Fanny Daively.
81 expect" she added, after short
pause, turning abruptly to Miss Burns,
"tbat you are Quakeress ?"
"Yea, child, the women of my sect are
thus designated. But why does thee
ask ?" inquired Rachel, quietly continu-
ing her sewing.
"Because I was thinking of Brother
Fred.," pursed Fanny. 20 dear | can't
thread my needle! everybody threads
needles quick but me-"
Another pause, in which the young
seamstress had a struggle with the shin
ing point of steel.
afhee was speaking of thy brother
JESSIE" suggested the governess, with
more interest than she had manifested.
$50 wasl Well, brother Fred. is tc
marry Quakeress. expect he isn't
much pleased, for he never likes us tc
speak of it. You see her father and our
father are very old friends, and seem to
be gladder about it than he is."
"How does she look, Jessie--as | do?
asked Rachel. without raising her eyes