Litchfield enquirer., 1881-07-14
WIPED IN THE BUD.

| cry anxiety. The dear glri shall be watched over with parental solicitude.' ..rae9a i
 Il trust her to you, ma am, '" said the plant CT, lowing with oid-fashioned -gallantry. l Don't be etoo hard on the young people, though. Much study is ! weariness, to the l flesh. That's may experience. And Major Clayton's burly figure and good natured face
 loonled up in the dark, threadbare- looking parlor as he rose to go 'sAn old mans dar-
 ling, you see; and it isn't so easy to say good l by for three long months" -
 l 'tShe has every liberty consistent with our strict rules, Major Clayton; but, you know,
 where one has such great responsibility l Madame Dubois paused, shook her head, and l sighed.
 l ''I feel for you, maam. It must be great l feel it so with only one young thing to look after; and you have-how many ?"
 Over two hundred in our winter session. l Yes one really sinks down overwhelmed at l times" 2lG a H'.ss @
 Florida Clayton's naughty mouth curled
 with sarcastic smile, unobserved by her ab- sent minded principal, intent of lowing her yisiter out, and locking up the roll of bills he had handed her-the advance board and tui I ton for the term just commenced, which was to finish" several of her elder pupils, Florida among the rest. ..,
 | Major Clayton had never seen the long, dreary dining room in which table etiquette was taught by general scramble for the thick slices of bread and butter, the morsels of l cheese, and cups of weak tea, which formed l two of the daily meals at this celebrated es- tabllshment. He had never visited the crowd | ed dormltories where each young girls trunk was at once wardrobe, bureau, and ottoman, l and solitary washstand without a screen did | duty as g bath room. Florida complained ; but all girls hated boarding schools, and the NnIN horf 1tvy @a,s< r9 l her home with him, on each successive visit, and mitigated the rigors of her banishment as
 far as possible by keeping her with him at the l Charleston Hotel while in town, buying her every thing she imagined she wanted, and 1 leaving her, as on this occasion, plentiful | supply Of pocket money when he forced him. self to return to his plantation.
 | Good by, puss! Don't study too hard and lose these roses-fer somebody's sake, as
 we'll as your old father's-hey? Let's know 1 when you want more."
 When Mr. Clayton pinched his daughter cheek and made this friendly offer. it was not
 in allusion to the roses blooming thereon. | This old.fashioned country gentleman had not
 even heard of those ''standards" for safe "by
 all principa! druggists," but with a parting 1 squeeze which had reddened the slender white
 hands he bestowed on her the remainder of the check he had just cashed at the Planters
 Bank to meet the modest demand of Madame
 Dubois for the aforementioned board and 1 lodging. The tuition was in the same ratio of demand and supply but it needed some 1 1ud!oious management to clear five thousand | a year above expenses, and the salaries de-
 manded by irst-class teachers was consider.
 ation as we'll as the butcheya bill
 II am to go and see Mrs Thomas half-holi
 days, you know-tell her, papa" whispered
 Florida eagerly. ''Oh! if you knew how dull l it is here !'' ,i..., ......., s .. ..,.s ..... l The Major paused for second. Mrs. Thoni-
 as, Florida's new hotel acquaintance, was not 1 overwise or steady, and now her husband had suddenly been summoned North on business :;
 so that she was quite left to herself But
 and he looked at the low wainscoting and
 stiff decorations of the drawing room, at the
 hard, thin face before him-it was dull for the | poor child and 1t hurt him to leave her there
 with every alleviation. @ -.e... -...s l Nov and then, puss. Now and then, if xnn nlaaSn Mada,,,n n,.he:yL rIUry mas a friend at the Charleston, and might look
 round on her occasionally. Of course you don't loose sight of her, you know" And
 with this qualification the indulgent father en.
 deaVored to cheat the feeling of ofuaeasiness the 1 request had called up s l Under my constant supervision, Sir; of course, 1t is understood that Missl Aayton visits l only with that" The smile crossed her pu. plfs face again in the shelter of her fathers broad figure; but besides that there was strange restlessness until the permission was | finally accorded.
 Madame Dubois hurried away to secure this last installment of her rapidly increasing l gains. . t.
 Your class is exercising, I believe. You Will join them, and fall into your place at once, Miss Clayton" she said, as toe delap<- tated hack that conveyed the Major to the railroad depot clattered down the street. ] Supper at six-study hours at seven"
 And so ended the fortnights holiday. a
 It was one of those damp, murky afternoons SO peculiar to Charleston winter. The chimes of old St. Michae's sounded the pass
 Ing hour as ten of the young ladies-for they exercised in detachments-issued from the low wooden gateway of the very narrow street In which Madame's establishment was sit uated. The second English teacher was nom- inally in charge of Company B or c, but pres ently diverged toward King Street for pur- poses Of her own, charging them by no means 10 leave the battery. unfrequented at this sea. son, until she returned to marshal them. Every feminine knows how reviving and animatlng class walk usually is. the uniform march being broken only by litter or giggle from the members young enough to think of enjoying themselves, or the reprimand of the | teacher passed sharply down the line. But alter Miss Walker-who was universally dis | liked and detested, of course, by all her char ges-had left them, they broke into little groups of two and three; while Florida and her friend Juliet Semes seated themselves near the sea wall and watched the white cap- ped waves roll in with the tide and the dark crested palmettos rising from the Islands far out in the harbor. -..-. don't fh;ni> x,o,,,uo Florida must confess, said Juliet. present. ly, tired with counting the white caps, to see if they really did come Tn groups of three, as some one had told her they did. It was rath- CT trying when Juliet had been shut up with the dozen girls who did not go home for va cation, and the five teachers who had no homes to go to.
 a' You haven't told me how Mrs. Thomas had her new dresses made, or what you had for dinner every day. When I am married I intend always to order the dinner to suit n.y. Don't you ?' ''-'
 : Fl never intend to get married, Juliet. No. 1 shall never marry; I've made up my mind to that .'' zyfs , t.1I -'. -. : t'Oh, dreadful! Florida. For goodness sake don't talk so!' Juliet looked as dis. tressed as if her friend had announced de- termination to enter convent, or throw her. self to the .'cruel. crawling foam"-to be washed ashore, and be found drowned" by low, vulgar corener's jury.
 No, l repeat it solemnly, Juliet. How can marry ?''.as5a Ha9s pe Jf.gss1ts ,T14 '
 'Oh, that's easy enough. mean to, the very moment get away from this hateful place-Charlie Tombs, Or Julian Pringle, or some one, haven't decided who yet! But I don't intend to wait long, for I'm dying td 20 North; and papa. says he never will take any of us, and I'm going to stipulate that for a wedding trip."'' 'Tic a 'asa59. 571 -I al7 5,.
 You don't understand me-" said the su perb Florida, with an impatient wave of the hand.
 'Wesl, of course don't Enoao, but / gener. ally say what mean, and think it's the cas- lest 1thlng In the world to get married though to oe sure, it's great bother to have to order every eve .n,ng !, rom New York or Philadelphia,