St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-05-06
A Daughter Worth Having.
BY MRS. ANNIE A. PRESTON.

MlllS HIS Sitlu NIT
Smithson, one chilly spring evening,
as she ran in to see her next-door
neighbor and intimate friend. Mrs.
James. ''My husband Just came home,
and he says that what we supposed to
he a rumOr only, is sad fact the as
signment was made yesterday. |
threw on Il shawl and ran right over to
tell yOu. They are to keep the house
under some sort of an arrangement,
but they have discharged all their
servants, and what in the world the
Miles will do, Mrs. James, with Mrs.
Mills invalid habits. and Miss Helena
with her dainty ways and refined bring
ing up, is more than | know" and
pretty shallow Mrs. Smithson looked
at her nerve-loving friend and neigh
bor with the air of an epicure regard
ing some favOrite dish.
Il heard about it late last evening"
said Mrs. James, adjusting the pink
ribbons mt the throat of her black silk
dinner dress, land this morning | pre-
sumed upon our cousinship so far as to
drive over and see how they were get
ting along. And really, Mrs. Smith
son, you will be surprised when | tell
you that, although | expected to find
the family i'll great confusion and dis
tress, | never saw them in such com
Portable way and in such good spirits.
The worst was over, of course, and
they had all settled into the new order
of things as naturally as could he. My
cousin, Mrs. Mills, was sitting, as calm
as you please, up there in her sunny
morning room, looking so fresh and
dainty rs she ate her crisp toast and
slipped her coffee.
"'Our comfortable and cosy appear
ance is all due to Helena said she.
That dear child has taken the helm.
| never dreamed she had so much eX-
ccutive ability. We were quite broken
down mt first, but she made her father
go over all the details of his business
with her, and they found that by dis
posing of Hclena'S grand piano, the
paintings, and slabs, and costly bric-a-
brac her father had always indulged
her in buying, we could pay dollar for
dollar, and so keep the house. My
husbands old friend, Mr.. Bartlett, who
keeps the art store, yOu know, and
who has taken great interest i'll He
lena, bought back the paintings, stat
uary, vases, etc, at small discount,
and Barker who sold us the piano Il
year ago or so, and who is another old
friend, and knew of course, just how
we were situated, took it back, deduct
ing only twenty-five dollars.
"'IIelena has Just gone into the
kitchen. What she will do there
don't know, but she says she needs the
exercise; that she has not attended
Al, -
nothing, and so long as the meals are
served regularly and properly, and the
house kept i'll good order, her father
and | are not to worry After she
told me that, | drew my call to IA close,
and ran down into my cousins kitchen
to see her dainty daughter there. And
what do you think | found that girl
at the sink, with her sleeves rolled up,
an immense waterproof apron ON,
washing IL kettle -
"Washing Il kettle p repeated Mrs.
Smithson, holding up both her soft,
white hands in unmeasured astOnish-
mCnt.
eyes, Mrs. Smithson, washing Il
great, black, greasy, iron kettle that
meat had been boiled in, and that had
been left unwashed and gummy when
the cook left. And do you know she
was laughing over it all, and saying to
her youngest brother, who stood near
by. that she really liked it for she now
felt she was making herself useful
"Thc idea Liking to wash kettles -
and the two fine ladies looked ut each
other i'll Open-eyed wonder.
at seems to me us if Helena Mills
was trying to make the best of her
fathers altered fortunes, and was sim
ply doing her duty in the premises =
spoke Miss Carlton, Ida James new
drawing teacher, who was that eve
ming engaged in giving her pupil IL
lesson on the opposite side of the cen
tire e-table. She spoke earnestly and yet
in modest way, and it being the
vogue in New City just then to patron
izc Miss Carlton, the pretty and accom-
plished graduate from Vassar, the
two ladies looked mt her amiably, and
she went on:
'.Somebody must wash the kettles,
and it is always best when one has II
disagreeable duty to perform, to do it
not only at once but checrfully."
'.Ycs, perhaps replied Mrs. Smith
son, ''but how could IL young girl of
real native refinement (both sides of
the SmithSOn family were of the "old
stock'O '"take so kindly to washing
pots and kettles ? The fact of it is,
people have been mistaken in Helena
Mills. She never possessed that innate
gcmtility she has had credit for. But
every one finds his level sooner OF
later he, he :"
These two women having thus sum
marily disposed of Helena Mills social
ly, they repeated their belief that the
lovely, dutiful young girl had now
found her proper level over and over
in their set until it was the common
talk in New City. Miss Carlton, III
her round of professional calls among
the so-called elite, was entertained in
nearly every household with the infor-
nation that Helena Mills had given up
her studies even, and gone into the
kitchen to work and, if you'll be-
lieve it, she likes it," Then would
follow reflection upon the natural abil-
ity and bias of mind of Il young woman
who was '.fond of washing Dishes
This sensible, accomplished little
drawing teacher was the only one t.
he found, who mingled in the "uppcl
circles of New City, who said a woro
either in praise or defense of Helena
Mills new vocation. Miss Carlton
always and everywhere protested that
the young girls course was not only
praiseworthy, but beautiful. Sh,
maintained that every woman, youn4
or old, high or low, who took upOl
herself the labor of elevating the mucl
abused as well as deSDiSed vocation q
hOusewOrk-upOn which the comfort q
every home depends-tO a fine art wa.
a public benefactOr.