American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1881-01-22

being. 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 draughtr' Garry broke of
her work to say. Il will shut the libra
ry-door."
The heavy leaves rolled together, and
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 1.-the drawing ROOM" at 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
her image in the long mirror built into
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
andfcheeks, and bound iuto knob at
the back of her head. She had dressed
it in this fashion when the abundance
of the brown tresses had obliged her to
twist them snugly and pin them firmly
lest they should interfere with her care
Of house and babies. She had not
abated hairpin for twenty years, and
they made bristly show on their own
account in the 1essened knot, fastened,
for additional security, with a "tuck-
comb"
Her husband, her boys, were used to
her looks and WAYS, and Garry 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 Observation-Disclosures of
her couture and attire. So long as she
was clean and neat, and had '.real
nicen silk, and laces for show occasions,
her mind was easy.
IL didn't s'pose they minded" she
said aloud to the unfattering 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.
81 shouldn't know where to begin, :"
she said, truly, seven if 1 wasn't out of
the way of studyin'. They're in the
right of it. I'm too old to be learned. :"
Poor soul! Ungrammatical, ''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 feelings,
she went to the kitchen and cooked a
sweetbread for her with her own hand,
and beat up a delicious dessert for the
"girls' " luncheon. Garry had a weak
ness rsweetbreads-lar both
were fond of Neapolitan pudding"
That evening Kate tripped into the
'.sanctum." where her father and
mother were sitting, exclaiming.
Papa, Mr.. and Mrs. Dalton have
There's dearr'
literary and political world; his call a
compliment Mr.. Barrett was too shrewd
to gainsay. But he leaned his head
back against his beautiful daughter s
shoulder, and smiled teasingly into her
eyes.
You don't care to exhibit your pie
beian father to your distinguished
friends?"
81 dor she cried, Indignantly, kiss
ing the face she thought SO handsome.
II could not be more proud of you if
you were a duke! l should glory in
you if you were beggar. instead of a
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. 1888.
"Solecism." Then a tumble of
French, Italian, Spanish and Greek, at
which she stumbled, and skipped foz
the English beyond.
ITO speak or write incorrectly" More
Greek. "Impropriety in language"
Hence, any,unftness, absurdity or impropri,
ETY." 1.-The idea of having committed
the slightest solecism in poiitene IS WIS agony
to him-W Scott Syn. Barbarism; impropri-
She shut the book.
$50 I am barbarous, improper, a6-
surd, in my children eyes"' She COW
cred ner face with her hands, and the
hot tears trickled down beneath the
worn hands. In that position she sat
for a long hour; then, when the pain
was somewhat duller, she murmured
to herself, Its 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 SEWN for
children. there's no time left for books
and trainin' of our minds. The first