The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-02-28
Our Little Servant-Maid.

l never thought so little OF Barbara
Darling as did that July afternoon
when she stood by the window with q
pout on her lips and frown on her
brow, looking out on the road with eyes
that saw nothing, and utterly obvious to
the fact that her dear, rosy-cheeked,
bright-eyed little sister was tugging at
her skirt with one small hand and hold
ing up her doll with the other, while
she piteoasly complained, "There's
sumfn berry awful wrong er matter wifi
my baby, Baba; hers broke in her inside,
an can't cry any more to sabe her
life." until the speaker, as though to
make up for this deficiency on the part
of her baby" burst into loud, long
and fearless cry herself, and even then
Barbara only pulled her dress out of the
dimpled little hand, and said, in q
decidedly unamiable manner, ooh,
bother !"
Barbara Darling was not pretty, that
is, not very pretty-at least there was n
diversity of opinion about her. The
young men, alluding to her eyes and
hair, spoke of violets and buttercups,
the Young women, on the contrary
young women are 80 unpoetical when by
themselves !-sneered, "Blue china and
molasses candy" the young women said
it was lawfully babylsh;" the young
men called her ga fairy" the young
women ga dwarf"
She was the eldest of eight children;
had no accomplishment, unless singing
ballad or two passably we'll could be
called one; was eighteen years old, poor
and d-and-,-well, to tell the honest truth,
rather b-tempered. And yet she had
for q lover handsome, talented, proud,
all the girls in her circle had been msk-
ing eyes at for year before he, with
heart still untouched, had met "wee
Bah, as he called her.
How he came to notice her at all
goodness knows, unless the comicality
of the introduction struck through the
dignity which enveloped him as a mantle,
and softening his heart. let her steal
into it, and then being a bury sort of 6
little body, he couldn't get rid of hel
afterward.
"Miss Barbara Darling" said the
provoking Ned Parker, Mr.. Anthony
Ditto y and we Eyes, VEIN Bah
Darling) burst out laughing, the names
were SO odd following each other in that
manner, you know and from that mo-
ment we were excellent friends until the
day we ceased to be friends and became
overs.
Papa and mamma were delighted with
the engagement, and so was l, for OF
course loved him dearly /; and yet for
the life of me 1 couldn't stop what he
called flirting" though I'm sure !
didn't mean it for that. You see every
body is so very kind to little woman
that 1T is almost impossible for me to be
dignifed. She gets used to being
treated like a child, and accepts pet
names and bouquets and bonbons and
gloves and the best of every thing, and
talks and laughs and sings with pleasant
people of the opposite sex just as child
would.
Now Anthony didn't like it-absurd
fellow wasn't going to marry him
and he used to look, oh so very grim
and ogreish, and lecture me on the i'm
propriety of my conduct, until felt my
self the most miserable of sinners but
I don't know how to account for it-1
always forgot the lecture as soon as il
was over, and was in disgrace again
Immediately.
"Well, the other evening-Fourth Of
July evening it was-a party of us young
folks went to the village green to see
the pyrotechnic Il had to consult the
dictionary before I ventured on that
word) display, and arriving there rather
late, found ourselves the last corners,
and consequently on the outside of the
crowd. Ned Parker and 1 tried to push
our way to the front, but we couldn't
and I didn't see a thing, excepting
few rockets and blue-lights, until til
very last, when Ned lifted me in his
arms so that 1 might at last catch a
glimpse of Washington blessing his
countrymen and women with one fiery
hand, while he pointed to Roman
candle that had just gone up with the
other.
Anthony was few feet away, talking
to Meta Brooke; and when 1 Joined him.
expecting to meet with terrible frown'
he greeted me with charming smile
And all the rest of the evening he was
as amiable as possible, and though he
had several five-minute chances to scold
me, never said a reproving word-neyer
even referred to the George w. episode.
but he did worse-he fiirted himself.
That had never dreamed of, and ]
must say that thought-at the time