Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1882-11-16
AN UNRECElPTED RECEIPT.

of them; the window-panes polished I'M
til they sparkled, or had sparkled-for it
was now twilight-in the bright June
sunshine; the silver FURNISHED until
neither spot nor speck married its bright
Mstre; the loaves of bread baked until
each crispy crust took on the right shade
of tempting brown; and Molly was scrub
b;ng the only unscrubbed corner of the
kitchen, when Miss Cameron's deep,
harsh precise voice came to her from the
dining room: "Mary, are younot through
YETI
almost, ma'am," answered Molly.
81 think it is high time you were
quite" declared the voice. "You must
make haste. We are going to the lee
ture, this evening, Miss Georgette and l;
and as Mr.. Macolm also wishes to 60 out,
we will be obliged to lock up the house.
Therefore it is necessary that you should
leave as soon as possible"
Eyes, ma'am," said Molly, meekly,
and finished her scrubbing, with her
tears falling fast and thick. Poor little
girl. she had tried so hard to please her
mistresses, or rather her mistress-for,
Miss Georgette was but reflection OF
her elder sister-and her efforts had
been met with a grim silences that be-
tokened begrudged satisfaction, until
the last few weeks, that is, in fact, until
Mr.. George Malcolm came there. Mr..
Malcolm was a sort of step-brother
to the Misses Cammeron (his
father, widower with two boys, had
married their mother, widow with two
girls, and they inheriting nothing in
the way of property from their own
father, he generously made them an al
1owance from the moderate fortune left
him by his. Generously and forgivingly
for they had not rendered 1.-THE of
the respect, to say nothing of affection,
which was his due, to their kind-hearted
and indulgent step-father, choosing to
look upon their mothers second mar
riage as an Insult to the memory of the
parent whose not-atall amiable char
acteristics had been his only legacy to
them.
The cottage in which they lived situa-
ted in the prettiest part OF Meadowville
Ohe furniture being their own, the be-
queath of maternal grandmother, be-
longed to Mr.. George; and here he had
come in search Of solitude and quiet,
for the first time in twelve years or
more, to spend month or two in think.
Jug and arranging plans for starting
large business in neighboring city
And, as l have already intimated, things
had changed much for the worse with:
Mollle, the servant maid since his arriv-'
al. The grim silence had given place
to most open fault-fnding, when Mr..
Malcolm was not within hearing. The.
coffee was too strong, the tea too weak,
the chickens undOne, the steaks burned,
the eggs boiled too hard, the rooms bad
ly swept, the shirts poorly ironed; and
all these complaints, with many more,
the older spinster, confirmed by the
younger, gave her to understand origin
ated with the guest.
what hard man to please he must
be,'' Molly said to herself many times.
And yet he has one of the handsomest
and kindest faces 1 ever saw; and he
spoke right pleasantly to me the first
day he came, and even offered me his
hand chow Miss Cameron did frown?)
but | pretended not to see it, for [ knew
1t was not my place to shake hands with
him. 1t is strange he should have be-
come so fractions. He was so good, and
merry and kind when l was little girl.
I've heard father say often he'd rather
shoe horse for him than for anyone in
the village" And then she would fall
to thinking how grand he used to look to
her childish eyes when he came riding
up on his bay mare to the smithy where
she spent half her time watching her
father at the forge. And he always
brought her gay picture-book or pref
ty ribbon or box of candies, or a bright
new silver piece-one Christmas it
was gold one-and claimed a kiss,(good
gracious! how her cheeks flushed at the
0INr0r 90 fnr L,
rode away again. How happy, how very
happy she had been then with that dear
father and dear old Aunt Nancy!-so
happy that she had scarcely felt the loss
of the mother who had died in giving
her birth. But when Molly was fifteen,
the blacksmith, so strong and ruddy
that it seemed impossible pain or sick
ness could ever come near him, fell sick,
and after lingering, sorely crippled, for
nearly two, years, died, leaving nothing
to his darling but hard work. Yes, there
was one alternative; to become Mrs.
Jake Willow, and mistress of the forge
again; but Jake was rough. vulgar fell
low, and Molly, inheriting the delicate
tastes and gentle ways of her mother (who
had been a shy, pretty young governess
before she married the handsome black
smith,, shrank from the loud voice and
rude laughter of her would-be husband.
And so in preference to accepting Jakes
offer, she became-and heaven knows
this was hard enough thing to do
maid-of-all work in the cottage of the
Misses Cameron. Poor little Molly!
prettier than many a princess. with
lovely black-fringed gray eyes, and hair
of the very darkest brown-hair that
would curl in spite of her, to Miss Cam
eron's great displeasure. eff / had such
L., Io4 1ol rof do
clare, glancing approvngly into the mir,
TOR at the fiat dyed bands that made a
triangle of her high, narrow forehead
I'd shave my head;" and "We'd certain.
~ shave our heads" would echo Miss
Georgette.
The kitchen floor finished, the rugs
shaken and returned to their places, the
bread put away in the big stone jar in
the cupboard, Molly sought her own
room (which, truth to tell, was no room
at all, but corner of the garrett rudely
partitisned off, with only a small sky
light to admit light and air; there were
rooms, empty, unused rooms, in the at.
tic, but 'they were much too good
for servant" Miss Cameron said, and
every much too good for servant, u
agreed her sister, to make ready for her
fitting. Molly looked around at it as she
tied her straw hat over her rebellious
tresses, and again the tears filled her
eyes. 1t had not been happy place Of
rest for her, but it had been a place Of
rest and shelter, and she had been glad
to have it, fearing to leave it lest worse
luck lay beyond.
And she would not have been com.
PEELED to leave it had it not been for that
unfortunate mirror and the unceasine
complaints of the old bachelor. Old
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