The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-08-20
MISS PICKETT.

had been for years strangely inter-
ested and fascinated with Miss Pickett.
1t was wholly unaccountable. Hardly
an hour in the day but she required to
my thoughts, and at night she was pres
ent in my dreams. / sought in vain to
find reason for this fascination. The
very mystery of it gave me anxiety.
Dickens writes: elf there be tiuids-as
we know there are-which, conscious of
a coming wind, or rain, or frost, will
shrink and strive to hide themselves in
their glass arteries, may not that subtle
liquor of the blood perceive, by proper
ties within itself, that hands are raised
to waste and spill it, and in
the veins of man run cold and
dul?' Would any such theory,
l used to ask myself, explain the mys-
terry of the fascination Miss Pickett al
ways exerted upon me? VAST possible
that in the future her destiny might
become involved in mine? But how,
and why? ....
Let me explain our relative positions.
I was young clergyman in charge of
large parish in thriving New England
city, and Miss Pickett was simply one
humble individual in large congrega-
ton. She was much older than l. The
young people, especially the young la
dies, called her an old maid, and it must
be admitted that her very appearance
suggested the epithet. She small in
stature, very thin, and very plain. Her
dress must have been an heirloom from
previous generations. The old-fash-
toned bonnet, which never was changed
to meet the demands of fashion, with
high crown and flaring brim-the bon
net vulgarly called "poke made her
thin face look smaller than it really was:
the young people described it as 90 a pin
in Westinghouse. An old fashioned
shawl seemed to have some of the quail
tiles of the modern "Indian or scam
el's-hair," in that it was suited to all
weathers; it kept out the winters cold,
and it kept out the summers heat. She
never appeared in public without it.
Miss Pickett was very demure, and was
modest to a painful degree of bashful-
ness. She seldom spoke above whis-
per. She never engaged in CONVERSE
ton. She humbly answered the ques-
tons as to her health, and occasionally
asked similar question in return. Miss
Pickett was constant worshiper at
church: never missed her. Inyolun-
tarily, as / began service, my eyes
would glance toward her accustomed
seat, and she was always there, quiet,
reverent, attentive. She would glide
into her pew noiselessly, and as noise
lessly she would slip out, speaking to no
one, apparently noticing no one. If the
day was stormy, and only few were
present, whenever l used the familiar
words of the Prayer book, "where two
or three are gathered together" al
ways thought of Miss Pickett, and felt
as if the prayer had been provided espe-
cially to invoke a blessing on her con-
stancy.
Miss Pickett's circumstances in life
were very humble. She lived in cham
bers, and the family was composed SIM
ply of her mother and herself. l never
knew just how the expenses were met.
She did a little sewing and little fancy
work, and sometimes l sent her anony-
mously a little gift that might help to
pay the rent. l called upon her only
some two or three times in the course of
year. Our acquaintance never pro-
crossed beyond certain point. She
always met me very politely, and then
came the usual order of remarks, some
thingabout the weather, inquiries about
her own and her mothers health. some
little information as to her own rheuma-
tism or an occasional headache-and
this was all. Then would come painful
pauses, growing longer and more fire.
quent, till at last would rise and bid
her good-day. There Ass never any
change in this monotony. Miss Pickett
never trusted herself to speak about
religion: her piety was not on the sur
face. Once in while she would speak
q word of commentator of some SER
mon l had recently preached, and in
stantly her face would crimson with
bushes as if ashamed or frightened at
her boldness and presumption.
Those chambers were wonderfully
neat. The old antique furniture shone
with no artificial polish. How bright
the brass candlesticks always looked on
the high shelf! and how the brass andi-
rons and the handles to the bureau
drawers cleaned and lit up the lonely
room! Miss Pickett seemed to have no
circle Of acquaintance never knew of
any one calling on her: and so her hum
BILE life moved evenly on, alternating
regularly between her chambers and her
church. What was it, then, in Miss
Pickett that so fascinated me? Why
was she so constantly in my thoughts?
l never went out on my daily round of
calls but considered the possibility of
meeting Miss Pickett. never went to
church without the thought whether