Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1880-12-25

YOUR SuuSECIN 10 q uCitNlpuo iFttNoV
for bachelor like me, without kith
or kin beside hang my gown and
cap in the closet until next time and
bless you for your goodness To u
lonely old wording"
"Am / not in luck, mamma, cried
Mignonne, bursting into her moth
er'S room late in the winter evening,
her cheeks above the velvet brown of
her ''poor old seals, glowing as her
own Gloire de Dion rose would glow
later when, one by one, its splendid
petals would unfold, and she would
awaken one morning to fiud the room
glorifed by Its beauteous presence.
"Am | not in luck ~ cried little
Mignonne, her soft black eyes scin-
| tillating with pleasure, her red lips
breaking into rich curves of laugh
ter, her snugly booted little feet dan
cling dance of sheer delight on the
| hearth-rug.
"You are accepted, Mignonne ?"
questioned her mother, gentle pride
| in her eyes and voice, for this bright
little daughter with her arch, glow
| ing face was her all of earthly pos
sessions, and in ratio as we possess
do we attach value to our possessions.
Do you think those who are served
daily on costly Dresden and Limo
ges ware have the same pleasure in
| it as have those who carefully treas
| ure their one or two pieces of enam-
elled faience beneath glass vases and
dust them themselves lest careless
maid should destroy that which it
would be well-nigh impossible for
them to restore.
"Yes'm, accepted Behold Rose,
a regular fairy-rose, mamma, shake
| it and bank notes fall to the ground
Seriously, mamma, l had expected
all sorts of difficulties, but it was a
case of conquest at sight. l was
ushered into a room on the ground
floor of No. 1876, where sat gentle
man writing. A very nice man,
| mamma, with blue eyes and a digni-
ed, kind manner. We were en- rap
pert directly. l shall not be the least
afraid of him, although he is so dig
nified and grave. Well, handed
him my references and told him my
name, then he demanded specimen
of my elocution, and recited Moth
or and Poet / do believe l got
quite too ridiculously in earnest, for
| | was half blind when finished, and
there was the most stupid lump in
my throat. Then he asked for Com
edy, and / recited Crackers Solilo-
guy from the fourth act of The Good
Natured Man. Death and destruc-
ton it begins, you remember? Well
| I had the satisfaction of hearing my
dignified gentleman indulge in very
broad ha -! ha! After that he engag-
ed me formally to act the part OF the
| Rose in the pantomime-'A Flower
| Carnival He will notify me of the
rehearsals, meanwhile, / have lot
| of stuff to study"
After tea Mignonne set about
studying her part, but 1T was not
long until she went over to her
mother with a most undisguised ex-
preston of dismay.
"Why mamma, it is the most in
tolerable rubbish, whatever am | to
make of it 7"
Mrs. Haviland looked over the
written pages.
"It does look unprOmising, but you
will have to make the most OF 1t. DO
as Fanny Kemble did in The Greci-
an Daughter make the situation.
Mignonne shook her head despond-
ingly, but she fell to studying the
doggerel.
The first rehearsal was very dole
full. Mr.. Manager Dufferin Ham,
bleton sat down in the orchestra Cir
Gle with Mrs. Meroyn, who had chap
eroned Mignonne thither; the girls
went through with their different
parts, the most of them reading me-
chemically from the Ms. in hand, all
of them subject to the sonOrous COR
rections Of the manager the empty
hall yawned dimly in front of them.
1t was hard to imagine that anything
| ever could come of such unpromlS-
ing material.
They rehearsed very often in the
six weeks that followed. More than
once on their way home was Mrs.
Meroyn called upon to sound the
praise of that most kind and courte-
Gus manager, Mr.. Dufferin Handle
ion. He knows nothing Of me,
Mrs. Meroyn, nothing, and yet how
courteous he is-he is true gentle
man."
Mrs. Meroyn smiled, but was wise
enough to keep her own counsel, for
she knew that little Mignonne's
amor propre would be sadly hurt if
she could dream that her acceptance
was owing, not to luck, nor to the
"muffied tread of fate" nor her
charming rendition of tragedy and
comedy, nor to any other concatena-
tion of merits, except those that re-
suited in the promise extorted from
the blue eyed duff that "poor
little Miss Haviland should be en-
gagged because she needed the mon
u The lnck xIronlr hid