The Republican journal., 1877-02-08
TRIAY.
! inishe,t at la st 7

the most delicate and careful work, and tt
which he had given several days of eontin
, uous labor As he looked at it, completed
the expression OF pride involuntary upon
the tace OF a man who has finished a piece
OF work satisfactorily, became clouled
That poor chila" he muttered and liz
tened to u sound Of suppressed sobbin9
coming from above his halt-openel door
" nth the cloud still upon his face. he went
to the landing and looked up the narrow
staircase leading to the attic As he ex
pected, he saw a little figure crouched OF
the upper stair. the head bent low oyei
folded arms the bare teet tucked up under
ragged skirts. The sobbing, though dis
tnctly audible, was carefully chOled down
"Irlxy ~ Martin said, iii low tone
In a moment the child was beside him
with quick, darting motion that suited
wei! the slender figure, thin to painful an
gularlty the face that was almost impisl
in its look OF want and precocity
Martin Bruce, tall and strong, with a
handsome tace, bent low, and met the
gaze OF large intensely black eyes swollen
and ntlamed by tears. Silently he lifted
the child and taking her into his own room
closed the door
II dropped the biggest pitcher tull OF
milk
"Whewn
II couldn't help itr sobbed the child ;
lit was SO heavy that my fingers got all
stiff with ache, and before | knew it my
wrists Just gave Il twist, and down it all
went y
"Whipped ?"
I,,>+ cho
And ragged frock was slipped down
to show the sickening welts upon the thin
shoulders. Martin Bruce gave shudder
as he looked, and going to washstand
brought some arnica, which he mixed in
cool water and tenderly bathed the wounds
with an old handkerchief
docs it hurt much ?' he asked, as the
poor child WINGED under his touch.
son. my II mean, YES sir. But don't
mind; know you'll make it better. Oh, .
and again the tears broke out 81 wish
was dead -
on are too young to wish that, TriXy."
I'm fourteen if | am litten
Fourteen! How time flies - 1t seems
only yesterday since | first found you cry
ing on the stairs, and it is three wears
ago
TriNy nestled close to the hand EXTEND
ed to caress her gently, as these words
EEsad Eoadng House That eva Was hsa ever il tl wG
kindness for her She was one of the New
\ Iork waits from an almshouse, bound out
to a cross Sk-miStress, who had been
Systematically tyrannical from the first
hour she had the child under her rule
OvertaNed, halt starved and whipped,
TriXy was stunted, thin and miserable in
appearance, while her ignorance in all
useful knowledge was balanced by a pre-
cocity truly wonderful in dodging her tasks
and evading her punishments.
"a nasty. deceittul little baggage !"
Mrs Hayes declared her to be, and it was
mourntully true.
| But Martin Bruce who occupied one OF
the back rooms Mrs Hayes provided for
| boarders, had been moved with tender
| compassion for the child from the first
time he found her sobbing out her misery
on the attic stairs Many an orange or
packet of cake had 1rixy munched in Mr.
Bruce's room, when she was supposed to
| be doing penance in her wretched closet,
only by courtesy room. Many cooling
lotion had been put upon smarting cuts
and welts by Mr.. Bruce's tender hands
Many tender caress and kind word had
passed the bearded lips to comfort Trixy.
Others had come and gone, and been
Kind one day and cross next as the mood
seized them; but Mr. Bruce never varied
in kind words and acts, though he often
graVeiy reproached Trixy for her very
conspicuous faults, and tried to correct
her yulgarilies OF word and thought
1t would be impossible to give any ade
quate idea of the worshipping affection the
child gave in return for this kindly inter
est. All goodness. all manly perfection,
was to her embodied in the tall, blonde
man who came between her and her ty-
rant. or romtorted her grief
'Fourteen," he said again ''1fiXy. it
is time you were at school. ii you are ever
to gom
Away from Tou I"
II am going to Paris
Utter blank misery fell over the child's
/ face
"ro Paris ?" she whispered, With white,
shaking lips.
Yes, 1rixy, for three years You will
be quite woman when come back
"les," faint and shuddering
"And | must get you away from here
No easy task, as Martin Bruce soon dis
covered He was not q rich man, though
his salary as an engraver was a very good
one. and it required some personal sacri-
fee to carry out his plans for Trixy. Mrs
Hayes would not part with her slave, ex-
cept for a consideration, and after this
was accomplished, q difficulty was found
in selecting q school in which to place her
But at last one was found, in small
country town, and TriXy most sincerely
promised to study diligently, and prove
herself worthy OF the kindness bestowed
upon her
The parting was a sore wrench but
Martin Bruce was happy in the conscious
ness that he had done all for the child that
lay in his power
For four years his letters from Trixy
proved her rapid progress in every study
she undertook, her unchanging gratitude
to her benetactor. Then she wrote that
she had been offered a situation to travel
with an invalid lady. and would probably
be in Paris before the letter had been
there many days. Every line Of this com
munlcation was full of gratitude for the
opportunities given the little waif for cul
ture and happiness, and the sense of pleas
ure 1T gave her to be no longer an idle
, burden to her benefactor.
$50 ends that chapter" the young man
said, half sadly, as he folded the closely
. written sheet. My wild bird has left hel
, nest, and must try her wings alone. Well
, it's best so rs things threaten"
, And the strong right hand was passec
weariy over the large blue eyes, with
deep sigh.
, Two years later, in 4 hotel at Nice, :
! beautifnl oirl dressed in deem mournino
and an elderly woman, who seemed a sor
of confidential servant, were seated upor
the wide piazza, watching the groups who
passed and repassed in a large public
square opposite to where they were placed
r Suddenly the girl who had been care
lessly scanning themany unfamiliar faces
grasped her companions arm saying
''Do you know who that is ?" pointing az