The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1881-11-19

rose and sweet brian covered every field
and roadside.
But the poor Norwegian was wretched-
ly unhappy. Her unsmiling face and
wide sad eyes seemed to carry misery
into the barnyard and dairy, and leaven-
ed the very bread we ate. When she was
safely In her own room heard her stifed
sobs until late in the night.
9 One is almost tempted to remember
your convict theory" said mother,
anxiously, one day.
+" 1t doesn't matter. Wen keep her if
she were Lucretia Borgia herself" |
SAID. luxuriously leaning back in the
rocking chair on the porch. "The idea
OF beng free frompots, pans and brooms
at last p
We tasted our comfort at leisure;
brought out some fancy work and books
which we had never hoped to find time
| to read.
| Then came letter from Julia Webb.
Ii was thunder clap In our clear sky.
julia was cousin only by the sheerest
courtesy; beauty; spoiled heiress; a
| belle with dozen lovers. She was COM
ing en- route to Newport, to spend week
with u.s.
every likely some of these trouble
some men will follow to find how your
hermitage suits poor little butterfly me, :"
she wrote. But you will make them
welcome, darling auntie There is a
| Count Pasco who is my chief nuisance
just now. Such charming, ridiculous
creature Ishall be Delighted to give
him peep into an American middle
class interior. And it will be a good OPP
portunity for you and Martha to have a
! glimpse of foreign nobleman. Your
gloomy life needs little cheering."
/ tore the letter up, little viclously /
confess, and mother laughed.
"Never mind, Matte" shesaid. at
is true; we are middle-class people"
Z" 1t isn't that. But you know, mother,
even If potatoes turn out well, we shall
not have dollar when the year is ont.
How are we going to meet this high tide
of company and fashion and foreign no.
bllty? Julia is quite capable of staying
mouth if the whim for hermitage life
seizes her."
"Wo can do without our winter dress
es," said mother, thoughtfully. "But
even with that the table must be very
plain"
| wondered secretly if the blessed
woman had put this calamity in the care
of the angels. Afterward, L believed
that she had.
Julia came; so did the lovers; 50 did
Count Pas co.
There was a regiment of them at the
| village inn, but they took our house by
storm all day.
| There were charade-parties, picnics,
! I'll.
cent silks or gauzy lawns up and down
the wet meadows; she called the old
! homestead ga charming old rookery;"
pointed out the magnificent sweep of
| hill and valley to the east, with the great
! glittering plane of the bay beyond, as
''nice little effect and told Count Pasco
that mother aud [ were "queer bits of
/ human bric-a-brac."
But she was SO pretty, and brilliant,
and willful that nobody could be angry
with her.
One day / found her in the kitchen
with blue silk wrapper perched on a
-four barrel, while Christina, standing
| before her, poured out a flood of words,
sobbing and wringing her hands. Tears,
too, had wet Julia's rose-leaf cheeks.
"What is the matter? Can you I'M
derstand her ?" L asked
" Pretty well. You know I passed a
| summer in Norway and picked up good
deal of the language. Poor thing She
was brought here by mistake"
"By mistaken"
Yes. 1t seems they were frightfully
poor-her mother and brother and her
self-and she went as nurse to some
bridesmaids wife to Bremen. When her
time of service was out she was sent
home, but by some mistake, at night,
was put aboard the steamer for Phila-
delphia instead of for Christiana.
"Why We ought to send her back
again y cried, feeling as if | had been
concerned in case of kidnapping.
''No. Better bring her family out
here. She says it is SO beautiful; so
plenty to eat; it is like the garden of
Eden. Ii her mother and Jan could
come, she would have nothing more 70
ask"
"She might save her money and send
for them"
''It was good deal 1t would take
her years to earn so much. Besides,
Jan is under bonds to pay debt of his
fathers. / don't know how much. One
have to carry her burden like the rest of
us. Where's the count?" and she
skipped out of the kitchen humming a
song, while Christina turned hopelessIy
to her work.
The few stammered words in her own
tongue, however, had made the poor
girl slave to Julia. She followed her
around from that day, waited on her;
%1ll H., l., l. L l. J
81 am horribly bored by this unend-
ing talk of 'mutter, mutter,' and Jan
Jan, said Julia, stretching her tiny
mouth IN a yawn.
&C 1t is the only thing she knows" said
mother, gently.
"Do keep her away from me to-day,
then, lmpatlently.
"To-day was to be signalized by an
oyster bake on the shore of the bay. The
count and four other worshipers were
supposed to act as cooks and servitors,
but Christina did all the work
She built the fire of driftwood; cut the
bread; made the coffee and baked the
oysters, running necessarily to Julia with
the biggest, her round face as red as a
peOny.
1t was a gray, gusty day, too gusty
for us to use the little sail-boat which
was drawn up on the beach. This dis
appointment offered Julia a chance for
petty willful pettishness.
"Too provoking had set my heart
on sail % she cried, pouting. 81 will
wager a rose against a pair of gloves
that L have it yet, countr' her eyes sud
denly sparkling.
The bet was taken. Half an hour
afterwards we missed Julia, and the next
moment saw her in the cockleshell of
boat drifting out of the little cove, the
soil half raised flaming In Tho mini