The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-06-21

The abruptness of his question start
led me. | felt my cheeks tingling as
answered most truthfully, No"
still. YOU are a dear and valued
friend of his, he tells mep'
felt glad. so glad that forgot to
make the due answer about Mr. Suth-
erlands being very kind.
Ny host had probably gained the in
formation he wanted, and became COM
municative on his part II ought, my
| dear young lady, TO explain few things
! concerning your pupils, which have
been thus aCcidenuy omitted by my
! friend. Mr., sutherland, who could not
| better have acCeded to my request
| than by sending n lady like yourself TO
/ instruct my family" Here he bowed,
and bowed We did "A great deal in
/ tina, way OF dumb ciyility, as 1t saved
/ him trouble and me words. MY
! daughters YOU have seen. They are, |
believe tolcrably we'll informed for
| ,ach mere children | wondered If !
| had rightly Judged them at thirteen and
/ fourteen. My only trouble, Miss Pry-
or. is concerning my niece" Here |
| looked surprised, not Suspecting Zillah
! to DE So near a relative. Il call her
/ niece through habit, and for the sake
| of her father, my poor deceased broth
err" continued Mr.. lie Poer, with a
heightened and martyr-like visage;
but In truth she has no legal claim 10
belong to my family. My brother-sad
fellow always-lndian life not over
| scrupulouS-tieS between natives and
Europeans: in fact, my dear Miss Fry
or. Xillahs mother on under
Standt'
Ignorant as | was, did dimly un-
derstand, Colored deeply, and was 81
lent. In the unpleasant pause which
ensued, | noticed that Mrs. lie P0er
had let her knitting fall, and sat gazing
on her husband with blank, Mortified
look, until he called her to order by an
impressive "A little more wine, my
dear Her head sank with an alarmed
gesture, and her lord and master con-
tinued addressing me: ''Of course this
explanation is III strict confidence
Regard for my brothers memory in
duces me to Keep the secret, and to
bring up this girl exactly as my own
except" he added, recollecting himself,
with a Slight, indeed necessary dit
ference. Therefore you will educate
them all alike; at least so far as Zillah's
small capacity allows. | believe, and
he smiled sarcaStcally, her modlcum
of intellect is not greater than general
" belongs to her mothers race. She
would make an excellent dyah and that
is all" >.
Poor thing" | thought, not inclined
to despise her even after this painful
information; how could |, when-now
that fairly nonplusSed me. What made
the girl an object of interest to Mr..
sutherland? and why did he mention
her as Miss Zillah LIE Poer when she
could legally have no right to the name!
| should, Ill my straightforward way,
have asked the question, but Mr.. Le-
Peers manner showed that he wished
no more conversation. lie limited
something about my fatigue, and the
ACCESSIBILITY of retiring; nay, even light
ed nv candle for me, and dismissed his
wife and myself with an air so pleasant
and gracious, that | thought | had
scarcely ever seen such perfect gen
tleman.
Mrs. lie POer preceded me upstairs
to nv room, babe me goodnight, asked,
timidly, but kindly, if all was to my
liking, and if | would take anything
mOre-seemed half-inCllned to say
something else, and then, hearing her
husbands voice, iustantaneOusly dis
appeared.
/ was at last alone. | sat thinking
over this strange eyenlng-so strange
that it kept my thoughts from immedl-
ateIy flying where had supposed they
we've sure to fly. During my coglta-
tiOns there came knock at the door,
and on my answering 1t, voice spoke
without, in dull. sullen tone, and an
accent slightly foreign and broken
please do YOU want to be called to-
morrow. and will you have any hot
water
Iopened the door at once to Zillah.
as it YOU dear? Come III and say
goodnight to me-
The girl entered with the air and
manner of servant except for GER
tain desperate sullenness. | took her
hand. and thanked her for coming to
see after my comforts. She looked
thoroughly astOnished; but as | went
on talking, began to watch me with
more interest. once she even smiled,
which threw a soft expression over her
mouth. | cannot tell what reason |
had-whether from mere impulse OF
kindness, with which my own state of
desOlatiOn had something 70 do, or
whether | compelled myself from a
sense of duty to take all means OF max
ing a good ilrSt impression on tne girl
feelings-but when | babe Zillah good
night | leaned forward and just
touched her brown cheek with mine
French fashion; for could not really
kiss anybody except for love.
never saw a creature SO utterly
amazed. She might never have re-
ceived that token of affection since her
birth. She muttered few unintelllgi-
BILE words-l fancy they were III Hin
dostanee - flung herself before me,
Eastern fashion, and my poor hand was
kissed passionately, weepingly, as the
beloved ladies hands are in novels and
romances. All my hand was never
kissed save by this poor child.
All passed in a moment, and L had
hardly recovered my first surprise when
Zillah was gone. sat little while,
feeling as strange as if l had suddenly
become the heroine Of fairy tale; then
caught Il vision of my own known self.
with my pale, tired face, and sad -colored
gown. 1t soon brought me back to the
realities of life, and to the fact that l
was now two hundred miles away from
my mother and from-London.
had not been three weeks resident
in the lie Poer family, before l discOv-