The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-11-05
Miss Treadwell's Guest.
IHarper,a Young Peop1e.l
BY MARY DENsELL.


knitting and stay to tea"
So no wonder that all the village was ex-
cited when one morning ia August there
was evidently stir in the Tread we'll man.
sion. Not only were the parlor blinds
thrown open, but Mehiiable, The rheumatic
servant was seen wrestling with the parlor
windows, which refused to move an inch
until they were pried omen with a screw
driver. Then Miss Hannah herself appeared.
walking down to the gate, and shading her
eyes as she gaZed up the street in the difec-
ton from which the Otisville stage would
come, bringing its passengers from the rail-
way five miles distant.
And, sure enough, here was the stage,
and. perched on the top, girl about fifteen
years old
/, Rumblel rumble! rumblel The coach
drew up at Miss fIeadwelPs gate. The
girl climbed nimbly down.
"Here am, Cousin Hannah. Mamma
says l may stay three whole months. She
aud papa have started for the West. You
were so good to offer TO take me imp
Miss Treadwell bent down 10 kiss her Wis
itor. 81 am sure it was kind in you to come
to an old woman Ike me, my DEAR" she
said.
kind! Why, was crazy to get here.
shall have perfectly beautiful time. Who
lives in the next house, Cousin Hannah? A
girl, hope; for mamma said / might go to
school, AID the girl in the next house will
introduce me to everybody. Pun sure.''
Chatteriug and laughing, the newcomer
went up the walk, followed by the stage
yer, who was carrying her trunk.
''Come from New York, she did, ex-
planned the same stage-driver, as he flung
down the mailbag at the postoffice door,
''She came from New York." repeated
Rose Moore; "and they say she's going to
school at the Classical Institute"
Of, eI-. 7
ows, TO whom Rose spoke.
with the rest OF usF' answered Rose,
and there was sharp ring to her voice.
Lily noticed it at once. Lily always no.
ticed Roses tones, and brought her own in
to harmony. So, ut Won't be very pleas
ant having a stranger at school," said she.
"Of course it won't. We've all been so
intimate. And think of the airs this New
Yorker will give herself! Why, the driver
said her trunk almost broke his back. Twice
as big as small cottage"
"What heaps of clothes she must havep'
exclaimed Lily, quite awe-stricken.
i've no idea her clothes are any better
than ours cried RISE, giving a witch to
her orange-plumed hat.
The truth is, that hat was at the bottom
of it al. 1t was new, and Rose had been
counting on the sensation it would cause at
the classical Institute" Moreover, Rose
had always been chief among the Otsvie
girls. And now here was this small person
from the great metropolis, with unknown
glories in the way OF clothes, and probably
multitude of charms TO match Was Rose
to be put one side by foreign dresses and
manners? Perish the thought!
So 1t came to pass that when Alice Dill,
all ready to clasp hands with new friends,
presented herself at the Classical Institute''
Rose scanned her with i,ical eye.
SILL put on my very best dress, Cousin
Hannah" Alice had said that morning. II
do so want the girls to like me, and perhaps
if look pretty they'll be more apt to-
Il do so want the girls to like mer'
So it was that she made her own unhappi-
ness
Was it not pity that the little gray gown
was so very stylish? Far better had the
fashionable New York milliner given her
the planest hat rather than that iaunty gray
turban with its lovely crilnson-tipped wing.
81 do so want the girls to like me!'
There the little stranger stood, casting
wis full glances, almost on tip-toe in her ca
&c ness 10 make friends. And Rose saw
her. oh, yes, Rose took in the whole situa-
ton, together with the graceful gown aud
the coqnettish hat.
''She's from New York. It's not likely
she'll have much in commoa with u.s. she
whispered here and there.
Lily took her cue.
From New York." she echoed. ssOf
course she'll look down on us country
girls.'
Such tiny fame of envy and spite, but
how it spread through the classical Insti-
tutep'
1t reached Miss Treadwelrs next door
neighbor, the girl on whom Alice Dill mad
especially set her Representatives, Stearns.
Katin "a had on new dress, green with
yellow polka dots, aud how very queer it did
Look when compared with that gray gown
from New York. So Katinka joined Bose
and Lily.
Alice walked home alone at noon, and it
was very downeast fa,e that looked over
to Miss TreadwelPs at the dinner table.
Nobody spoke to me-" said voice, half
choked with tears.
MAYBE they were hashful, and waited
for you TO speak first" suggested Cousin
Hannah.
Alice frightened. "why, perhaps they
did"
Sc off she started afresh, full of cheer
Rose was at the school room door.
''How do you 0o?" said Alice.
How do you do?' answered Rose, and
then she turned away.
The group of girls standing by began 20
giggle. The blood surged up into Alice IS
face; she crept away to her seat
At recess she followed the rest into the
yard, and stood in corner, heavy at heart
quick smile welcomed any eye which might
glance that way, but it faded again when no
one responded. So Alice tried 10 content
herself by watching game of Hop-Scotch.'
She gazed in oped-eyed wonder, for she had
never seen anything SO droll in her life as
the performance of one very lean and lank
young woman, who went hopping hithe
and thither like distracted stock. When
at last she gave sudden plunge, and fell
fiat with crash, Alice forgot herself aud
laughed outright Rose heard her.
"You see. Katinka," said she, 81 told
you she would make fun of our games"
S)Alice was left even more severely alone,
excepting for or three of the very youngest
children, who smiled back at her when she
offered to teach them ''jack-stones."
Don't you want to learn too?" she shyly
asked Kalinka.
But Katinka caught Roses eye, and an
swered, mo, thank YOU"
81 know how to do gymnastics too,
pleaded Alice. "They're great fun. W.
had some bars and trapeze at home. M,
brother Will said | was a regular monkey al
swinging. He used to make me jump and
catch the trapeze when it was in full mo
ton.
eve don't do such things here,'' said
Rose, codly. Not knowing what on earth 4
trapeze night be, Rose was the more con
viuced that the CITY girl was ''putting OF
airs"
So Alice was thrown on the mercy of the
younger scholars, and, little by little, it was
taken for granted that she preferred the so
ciety of "the infants.'
She was lonely at school, lonely also in the
big, gloomy house, where Miss Hannah, in
spite of her good will, did not at all under
stand the needs of young girl. Too sh,
to court the friendships which had been re
fused her, the sunshiBy face grew sad
And this was the life which Alice haC
thought would be go delightful.
BY degrees any real hostility died out
Who could be actively unkind to so Harmless
an enemy? She was merely left alone.
For though don't object to her." sal
Rose, 81 see no reason that we should both
er ourselves over her. She doesn't belon
to us. She likes the 'babes;'' let her sta
with tbem.''
So it came to pass that Alice was not in
vited to join select picnic to ''The Pines
one warm Saturday in September. Sittin
solitary on MISS Hannah's door steps sh
saw Rose, Lily and Katinka go by with thei
baskets. Sne guessed only 700 well what
merry time they would have, but she did NJ
xpFt hot fin etnN t,ol L.