Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-08-16
A LADY HELP.

against the dictates of her own taste
which would have led her to give som,
more appropriate name to the olive
skinned, dark-eyed stranger, Mrs. Pom
pinger acceded to her husbands re-
quest. and had the baby baptized
Iris" Time went on according to II,
well-established custom, and little Iri,
was succeeded by many other little
fopplngers, whose names are not oil
the slightest consequence to this story
She grew from babyhood to childhood.
and on to young girlhood in a semi
respectable street in seaport town
that was not even semi-respectable.
when its sins of cruel immortality.
dirt, drunkenness and depravity are
remembered against it. Nevertheless.
in this town Iris grew up in flower
like purity and prettiness, though the
latter was of the order of tropical
bloom rather than that of the delicate.
religious-tinted gray-blue iris, whose
name she bore. Grew up to be a very
refined, agreeable and accomplished adj
dition to Badsmouth society, where her
father, who had retired on the munlfi-
cent sum allowed by paternal govern
ment to the sons who can neither work
nor fight for it, was living in shabby
gentIlity. He was an officer and a
gentleman, and all his life he had asso-
ciated with officers and gentlemen; and
poor old man, it was a fact that he
took much pride in his position, and
took what he and his wife thought n
certain stand upon it.
Poor olive-skinned, dark-eyed Irisi
Her mothers relations spoke of her as
'deplorably dark, for they were all Of
the whitey-brown order themrelyes.
and despised poor Iris for her pro-
nounced tints. What was to be done
with herP This was the hard problem
that arose for them to solve as all the
little Poppingers, her brothers and sis
tiers, grew up. She was ahead of all
the others in years, so it was supposed
that she was ahead of them all in under
standing also. Therefore all the family
adyisers-and they were many--de-
creed that Iris should 90 out and do
something to maintain herself" They
made their suggestions freely, but their
suggestions were indefinite. In lower
stratum of society the well-to-do ad-
visers are willing to ''name'' the voca-
tons they think their impecunious rela.
tions should follow. Cook, housemaid.
scullery-maid, or general they sug-
gest. But in the case of Capt Dun
donald Poppinger's pet, no one liked
TO be the first to hint that Iris had need
TO be thankful if she could get the
place of nursery governess. So they
only said airily that 1T would be we'll
for her to think of doing something,
however humble, for herself, before her
fathers death-an event which they
alphabetically suggested might come
off at any time-obliged her to put
her shoulder to the wheel"
The wheel never revolved within her
reach, and while she was making SIRE
nuous efforts to get near it her father
died. and her mother was left to glory
in his memory, and-a pension of go
year. Things that were very appal-
ling to the girl were said to and for her
then by rich relatives, who assumed the |
right to criticise and direct her life, but |
who never gave her shilling to help |
to make that life a respectable one.
Under the guise of affectionate counsel, |
the most bitter things were said by |
those who claimed the right to utter
them on the plea of 'blood-relation- |
ship" She was scolded and sneered at |
for not having cultivated some special |
and expensive branch of education, |
which would have enabled her to teach |
At as a specialist extensively to others. |
She was called to account sharply for |
not having been sufficiently attractive
TO have won some well-off man to mar |
ry her. She was made to feel that she |
numbered the face of the earth, and |
that it was entirely her own fault that
she did so. And a despairing cry went |
out from her young soul to God that he
would take her away, and not suffer her |
TO cumber the earth any longer. 1t was |
only the unreasoning cry of an unreal
soning young creature, who had not |
learned yet that to be refined, sensitive, |
helpless and poor is an objectionable
combination in the eyes of weR-to-do |
relatives. Some of these latter would |
really have generously doled out 'suit-
able' food aud raiment to IRIS for the |
rest of her life, if only she had begged |
humbiy, and abased herself in syco-
phantic way. But, as she did not |
think of doing these things, the well-to-
do relatives found it easier and cheaper |
to say all manner of unkind and I'M
charitable things about her, and then |
to "wash their hands of her''-a cleans |
ing process which is both cheap and |
convenient.
Poor Iris! Bright, clever and anus
ing, there was nothing she could do |
sufficiently well when it came to the |
point to entitle her to teach it TO others. |
Moreover, she had not the gift of i'm |
parting knowledge, even if She had re-
ceived it from Others. in the first place;
nor had she the gift of acting false
part, and pretending to be capable of
doing that of which she was incapable. |
Things soon went from bad to worse
in the Poppinger household, which had
now to be managed on f70 year.
Mrs. Poppinger ''broke down. in health |
and spirits, as it is the presumptuous
habit of delicately- nurtured women to
break down when they grow old and
are overweighted and underfed. She
became so seriously ill that rich cou-
sin-a city manufacturing that she
might die, and the children be sent to
the union, and so disgrace him, offered
TO have the little ones cheaply and
practically educated, and to give Iris
home on certain conditions The
conditions were hard, and Iris would
have revolted, only-she couldn't.
They were that Mrs. Dundonald Pop
pinger should take the situation of ma
iron in the cheap and practical school
TO which her younger children were to
be sent, and that Iris should take up
her abode with her benefactor as '.lady-
help"
The conditions were accepted. Of
course they were! Don't the convicts
accept their ''skilly," and don't the
hare accept his fate at the paws of grey
hounds fleeter and stronger than him
self? Mrs. Poppinger went as matron
to the school, where an illiberal educa-
ton was given illiberally to her little
ones; and Iris went as unpaid drudge to
her mothers rich cousins wife. Every
one who knew all about her, and heard
her speak of herself. said this lady was
most estimable woman, quite model
British matron, with well pronounced
adherence of other peoples shortcom-
ings, and comfortable conviction that
she herself did her whole duty in way
that couldn't help being rewarded. In
deed, as contentment is virtue, Mrs.
Witheiington's profound self-content-
ment placed her on her pedestal in the
estimation of herself and many of her
adoring friends whom she rewarded
munificently for paying her homage.
ssHhiS IL ,,ooraix- 30