The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-01-20

highest places the world could give
beng, as We have said, royal in them
selves. In her quiet way, she enjoyed
seeing their social triumphs.
Her daughters had smiled at her
company manners" She had done
her best-it appeared now, in the wrong
direction. As by a flash of lightning
through a riven roof, she saw that in
service for others she had forgotten
herself, and to her hurt.
"What a draughtn' Garry broke off
her work to say. II will shut the libra
ry-door."
The heavy leaves rolled together. and
the back room was silent and darker
than before.
Shut out in the coldr'
The faded lips whispered it, and the
heavy eyes responded in bitter tears.
The mother got up, clasping her fore
head to steady her thoughts, and CROPPED
silently from the room, lest " the girls
should suspect they had been over
heard. AS stealthily she crept into the
opposite apartment. The twins spoke
of it as "the drawing ROOM" "It was
English and sounded well. Mechanics
wives and small tradespeople had par
lors.'"
They had good taste-those sunny
haired sisters. Their visitors had said
SO often that the newly-furnished rooms
were the "most artistic in the city,"
that it was easy to believe this. All
that harmony of tint, richness of ma
terial, well-chosen decorations, could
do, contributed to the agreeable effect
iveness of the whole.
In the midst of the luxurious space,
the nominal mistress paused to survey
rr,Nof fhn httt1f int
the wall between the front windows.
Another tall glass in the far depths of
the carpeted vista repeated and multi
piled the forlorn figure, in scanty black
merino, linen collar and white apron.
A chambermaid would have been
" smarter
Her hair, thin and lusterless. was
strained from the hollows of temples
and cheeks, and bound into a knob at
the back of her head. She had dressed
it in this fashion when the abundance
of the brown tresses had obi yed her to
twist them snugly and pin them firmly
lest they should interfere with her care
of house and babies. She had not
abated a hairpin for twenty years, and
they made a bristly show on their own
account in the lessened knot, fastened,
for additional security, with "tuck-
comb"
Her husband, her boys, were used to
her looks and ways, and Carry and
Kate, amiable and careless, did not
trouble themselves to alter "mamma's
notions" Recalling this, the "im-
practicable woman should not have
marveled that she had never given two
thoughts to the unfashionlbleness of
her coiffure and attire. So long as she
was clean and neat, and had "real
nice" silk, and laces for show-occasions,
her mind was easy.
81 didn't s'pose they minded" she
said aloud to the unflattering reflection
in the tall mirror.
Her voice was shallow and dry, the
intonations crude; very unlike the full,
fresh tones and refined modulations of
the prattlers in the library over there.
A Partisan toilet and false hair could
not disguise her into the "ideal ma
tron." The first word and movement
would betray her. She was forty-six
years old, and might have been fifty
five, if one had judged from her ap-
pearance.
II shouldn't know where to begin"
she said, truly, seven if wasn't out of
the way of studyin'. They're in the
right of it. I'm too old to be learned"
Poor soul! UngrammaticaS .'imprac-
ticable" in her very lament!
Her next action was characteristic
and pathetic. "It hurts mer' Carry
had said, with real pain in her accent.
Since her mother could not confess and
ask forgiveness of her child for her de-
ficiencies, still less atone for the unin-
territorial injury to her child's feelings,
she went to the kitchen and cooked
sweetbread for her with her own hand,
and beat up delicious dessert for the
"girls' " luncheon. Garry had weak
ness for rsweetbreads-lard both
were fond of .. .Neapolitan pudding"
That evening Kate tripped into the
mother were sitting, exclaiming.
Papa, Mr.. and Mrs. Dalton have
called. You will come in, won't you?
There's dearr'
Mr.. Dalton was a man of malk in the
literary and political world; his call a
compliment Mr.. Barrett was too shrewd
to gainsay. But he leaned his head
back against his beautiful daughters
shoulder, and smiled teasingly into her
eyes.
You don't care to exhibit your ple-
beian father to your distinguished
friends?'
a. dor she cried, Indignantly, kiss
ing the face she thought so handsome.
II could not be more proud of you if
you were a dukei / should glory in
you if you were a beggar instead of n
merchant-prince. Mamma, dear, Ihave
told Mrs. Dalton that you have a head
ache. So YOU need not feel obliged to
see her. l did not think you would care
to go in"
When the two had gone off together,
Mrs. Barrett opened the big webster
Unabridged' that lay on the dictionary
stand. With unaccustomed eye and
tracing finger, she CROPPED her way to
the word she sought.
French, Italian, Spanish and Greek, at
which she stumbled, and skipped for
the English beyond.
"To speak or write incorrectly" More
Greek. "Impropriety in language"
Hence, any unttaess, absurdity or impropri,
ETY." 1.-The idea of having committed
the slightest solecism in poiitene s was agony
TO him:-W: Scott. Syn. Barbarism; impropri-
| ETY.; absurdity."
She shut the book.
$50 am barbarous, improper, alb
surd, in my children's eyesr" She COW
cred ner face with her hands, and the
hot tears trickled down beneath the
worn hands. In that position she sat
for long hour; then, when the pain
was somewhat duller, she murmured
to herself, "It's wicked, it's wicked,
s'pose, to say it, but it seems to me the
Lord Himself is hard upon US mothers.
We don't have no chance in life. What
with babies, and servants, and house.
keepin,' and raisin' and sewin' for
children, there's no time left for books
and trainin' of our minds. The first
thing we know we're clean out of fash
ion, and the worlds got so furahead of
us its jest impossible to ketch up with
does butterflies and moths ''Sand sob
broke from the poor grieved lips
"yes, let us die, let us die natural and