Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-04-11
D0lly's Story.
BY AMY RANDOLPH.

try the patience of Job," said Miriam
Spencer, Indignantly. "Here you've
been and sewed on this bias-fold trim
ming wrong side out, and it will take
full hour to rip it out, if it will take
minute ! don't see what on e,.rth you
were thinking about r.
Dorothea Spencer stood with folded
hands and attitude of abasement be-
fore her tall, handsome sister. II was
atype of their whole lives, this morn
ing's occurrence. Dolly was always
being arraigned, as it were, before the
bar of her elder sisters judicial per-
lection. She was always in the wrong,
and Miriam and Melissa were always
aggravatingly right! Whatever she
did was wrong side out or upside
down, and it was the family legend
that dolly couldn't be trusted, any
more than child !"
The Spencers had been O well-to. do
family once, but the blight commonly
known as the "shrinkage of real es.
tate" had ruined them. Old Mr.. Spen-
Ger, cultivated scholar, had tried all
Establishment for Youths and Young
Gentlemen" but there were no pupils
to be had. Mrs. Spencer had opened
a boarding house, but the disastrous
experiment had dissipated what little
fortune they had left, and stranded
them hopelessly on the shores of pow
erty. So Miriam had taken up the
trade of fashionable dressmaking; and
Melissa, who was considered the tai
ented member of the family, gave daily
lessons in fower-painting,. guitar mu.
sic, and the manufacture of wax
flowers.
"Dorothea ought to do something to
help along said Miriam. severely eve
ing the little, dark, Spanish-eyed crea-
ture who was so different from the rest
of the family.
''Dolly's very young" said Mrs.
Spencer, who had always regarded this
last of the flock as mere baby.
"She's eighteen, said Miriam.
And she really seems to have no
particular genius for anything" said
Mrs. Spencer, apologetically. "And
she can help me good deal with the
Homework, and run around to wait on
papa. Papa needs great many steps
taken for him since he got bad with
the infiammatory rheumatism"
And so, to her great joy, Dolly was
excused from the treadmill of daily
work.
But upon this especial occasion
Miriam Spencer was particularly hur-
ried with ball-dress of salmon col
-ored silk, and she had invoked her
young sisters aid with no very distin-
guished success.
Tim very sorry" faltered Dolly,
with downcast lashes and varying color.
happened"
Miriam compressed her lips.
"One thing is very certain" said
she: II shall never ask your help
again, Dorothea. 1t is as Melissa saws
You are good for nothing at ALL"
And poor Dolly, with an awful sense
OF guilt upon her mind, crept no to
her sioping-roofed room in the garrett
to cry until her eyes were swelled like
pair OF red crab-apples. And the
gray cat, purring against her cheek.
was the only confdant of her troubles.
And even you wouldn't come near
me, pussy. if you knew how bad was, /"
bewailed Dolly. holding the cat up by
her fore feet and looking piteously into
her green glass eyes. IT spoil every-
thing that I touch, and Miriam saws
I'm only burden to the family; and
Melissa won't even trust me to cut her
wax patterns for her. On, I do wish
was good for anything.
And poor little Dolly was very sub.
dued and silent indeed that evening as
she washed up the tea.dishes, only
breaking one saucer, and knocking the
handle off two tea-cups.
As it happened, Miss Melissa Spen-
Ger had been spending the afternoon
with literary friend, and was full of
chatter as she copied music for the
morrow mornings lessons by the light
OF the student lamp.
IFS iiye-hundred dollar prize for
the best story on temperance, said she;
"to be written in one hundred pages of