Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-11-05
RATHER ROMANTIC.

The select boarding-school, of which
Miss Minerva Patterson was the head,
was very ambitious establishment, in
deed.
Only first class pupils were admit
ted; frst-class teachers only were en-
ployed.
To this seminary, Mrs. Adolphus
White, wealthy widow, had, after
anxious waiting for vacancy, at last
sent her daughter Helen, young girl
of II, whose face and form were re-
markably pretty, but who was by no
means girl of great good sense.
cit is settled at last, Charles" said
Mrs. White to her bachelor brother, as
they sat at lunch together. "Helen
is with Miss Patterson, and am so re-
ieved. She will form her mind and
girl I should bring out. I shan't do
this too early. I was married myself
at her age, and I know that one loses
youth by being in society too young"
And Mrs. White, who had no wish to
settle into the elderly matron as yet,
softly slipped her chocolate.
"You don't really mean to say that
you have sent Helen away from home,
sister," said Charles. "A mother
should never let her daughter live apart
from her, if she can avoid it. Send
her to Miss Minerva all day, if you
choose, but have her at home at night"
cts quite the thing among sensible
people to patronize boarding schools"
said Mrs. White, "and Miss Minerva is
a lady of excellent family and highly
accomplished"
"Of course" said UncleCharles, "and
it's all right for girls who have no
homes or mothers; but take any set of
young things you may select and put
them together for awhile, and they'll
hatch out mischief. And girls are all
ripe for it nowadays, can tell you, in
any of our towns"
"But by such discipline as Miss Min
erva's," said Mrs. White, Miss Miner
vas pupils could not get into mischief"
And she arose from the table.
"Oh!" said Charles. "Well, if you're
sure of that, I might as well be silent"
Meanwhile, the first day of Helen's
drew to close. Supper was over. The
musical exercises came to an end.
The evening worship was over.
The whole school marcne Oft
battalions, with an inch of wax candle
ia fat candle-stick for each room.
Gas was forbidden, and indeed
turned off from the dormitories.
And at last Helen, with four young
ladies who belonged to her room, was
fairly shut into her nightly resting
place.
Then came metamorphosis which
astonished the newcomer.
The elegance of demeanor which had
characterized her companions in the
rooms below dropped off Like so many
masks.
One, the tallest and most stately,
wedged her scissors into the door IN
such manner as to form a temporary
bolt, and stopped up the keyhole with
bit of waddlng. aa
The next produced long wax candle
from her pocket, and, having lit it,
fourished it aloft, with cry of:
"Who cares for Old Ramrod's regula-
tons now?" essa srs
And a third rushed to corner of
the room, turned up the carpet, and,
with an exclamation of Here are two,
one for you and one for me-" held up
two letters.
The fourth girl, with little ecstatic
shrek, caught her prize and tore it open.
And the young lady of the wax
III
White: ~ s. fs..Iss
81 don't. suppose you'll go and tell
old Patterson. We shall have to keep
your secrets after awhile. Biddy, the
chamber-maid, is our postman. She'll
get all your love letters for you, and
bring them up on the sly"
81 haven't any Iove-letters. I have
no lover" said Helen, blushing.
"Your ma is strict, suppose" said
the other. "Well, you'll have plenty
before you've been here six months.
It's the incest school l ever went to.
Old Ramrod-that' Miss Patterson,
you know can't see an inch beyond
her nose, and we firt splendidly, Miss
Collins and all. Miss Collins is an as
sistant when we promenade. Our first
class has the name of being regular
witches, all through the town. We
know all the fellows"
Helen listened with new emotions
rising in her breast.
She began to feel delighted with the
dea of school. IS sfeg.s,ss
She had thought it dull routine of
geography and history, music and
mathematics; but firtations, love-let-
tiers, and knowledge of all the fellows
frightened the vista amazingly.
She listened to the epistles, which
her companions did not hesitate to read
aloud. at
She even helped one of the girls to
answer hers, and she retired by the
light of the long wax candle, to read
herself asleep over piece of literature
by some French author.