Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-02-16
A RECEIPT In FULL.

A RECEIPT In FULL.
The tins mad all been secured until
abe could see her face, on gro1esque
car;cat,,res of her face, i'll each ano
every one of them; the window panes
nolished until they sparkled ike orlghi
lime sunshine; the silver FURNISHED un
iii neither spot nor speck marreo l's
mild luster: the loaves of bread bakeo
until each crispy crust took on the lg1'
shade Of tempting brown; and Molly
was ecrubbing the only unscruooeu ~,
ner of the kitchen, when MISS Cameron hl .
deep, harsh, precise voise came W ne,
from the dining room mo w aEo SoN
not through yetY u.uu
almost, ma'am," shouted Molly.
al think it IL high time you were
unite" declared the voice. You mus'
make haste. We are going to the lee
ture This evening, Miss Georgette ana
7. and. as Mr.. Malcolm also wishes to
&c ont, we will be Obliged to lock up
the house. Therefore, it Is necessary
that you should leave as soon AZ posi-
BILE"
Eyes. mann" said Molly, meekly
and finished her scrubhng, with hef
tears falling fast and thick. POOR ilt'ie
pirl she had tried 30 hard to please
Ter mistress-for Miss Georgette was
hut mr.. faction of her elder sister-and
her eff lrts had been met with grim
silence that betokened begruded
satisfaction until the last few weeks;
that is, in fact, until Mr.. George Nal
colin came there. Mr.. Malcolm WAS
sort of step-brother to the Misses Cam
eron ibis father, widower with two
bows, had married their mother, a
widow with two girls), and they inherit
ing nothing in the way of property
from their own father, he generously
made them an allowance from the
mod crate for une left him by his. Gen.
erously and f3rgivingly-for they had
not rendered 1.-THE Of the respect, to
say morning of affection, which was his
due, to their indugent and kind-hearted
step-father, choosing to look upon their
mothers second marriage rs an insult
to the memory of the parent whose
not-at- all-amiable characteristics had
been his only legacy to them.
The cottage in which they lived, stu
ated in the prettiest part of Meadow
WIG kbtlC pGlbR ltl
own, the bequest Of IL maternal grand
mother), belonged to Mr.. George; and
here he had come in search of soil
tude and quiet, for the first time in
twelve years or more, to spend n month
or two in thinking out and arranging
plans for starting large business in u
neigboring city. And, as | have al
ready intimated, things had changed
much for the worse with Molly, the
servant maid since his arrival. The
grim silence had given place to most
open faul: inding when Mr.. Malcolm
was not within hearing. The coffee
was too strong, the tea too weak, the
chickens underdone, the steak burned,
the eggs boiled too hard, the rooms
badly swept, the shirts poorly ironed;
and Ell these complaints, with many
more, the elder spinister, co. lirmed by
the younger, have her to understand,
originated with the guest.
"That II hard man to please he
must be I" Molly sand to herself many
times. "And yet he has one of the
handsomest, kindest faces l ever saw;
and he spoke right pleasantly to ME
the first day he came, and even offered
me his hand (how MISS Cameron
blushed); but pretended not to see it,
for knew it was my place t. shake
hands with him. 1t is strange he
should have become sof actiou3. He
WAS go good, aud merry, and kind
when was little girl; I'd often heard
father say he'd rather shoe a horse
for him than for any one else in the
village"
And then she would fall to thinking
how grand he looked to her childish
eyes when he came riding up on his
bay mare TO the smithy, where she
spen. half her time Watching her flther
mt the forge And he always brought
her gay picture book. or - pretty
ribbon, or tox of candies, or a bright
new silver piece-one Christmas it was
agold one-and claimed q kiss (good
gracious, how her cheeks flushed at
the remembrance for payment when
he rode away again. How happy, how
very happy she had been then, with
that dear father and dear old aunt
Nanny $50 happy that she had scarce
~ ever felt the loss of her mot her who
died in giving her birth. But when
Molly WAS 10 the blacksmith, so strong
snd ruddy that il seemed impossible
pain or sickness could ever come
near him, fell sick, and after lingering
sorely crippled for two years, died,
leaving nothing to bis darling hut hand
work. Yes, there was one alternative
TO become Mrs. Jake Willow, and
mistress Of the forge again; but Jake
was rough, vulgar fellow, ana Molly
nhn- 40 a tn Nar md
tie ways of her mother, who had been
n shy pretty young Soverness before
she married the handsome blackmsith,
shrsnk from the loud voice and rude
lsug liter of her would-be husband.
And 50, in preference to accepting
Jake's offer, she beesme-Heaven
knows this was hard enough thing to
pe-maid-cf.all,work in the cottage of
the Misses Cameron. Poor little Mol
ly prettier than many n princess, with
lovely blscs-fripged gray eyes. and
hair of the very darkest brown-bair
that would curl in spite of her to Miss
Cameron's great displeasure. "If |
had such untidy hair" that lady would
often declare, glsnciug approvingly in
to the mirror at the fiat dyed bands
that made = triangle of her high mar
row forehead, "Pd shave my head"
and "We'd certainly 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, to tell the truth was no
room at all, but corner of the garnet
rudely partitioned off, with only sky
light to admit light and air-there were
rooms. empty, unused rooms, in the
attic, but "they were much too good
for servant" Miss Cameron said; and
every much too good for servant"
agreed her sister) to make ready for
her fitting. Molly looked around it as
che tied her straw hat over her rebel
lous tresses, and again the tears filled