Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-03-04
Gales aud Sketehes.
Nurse PARKETs Sr0RY-

: LADY that | once lived with first. when
she was young lady. as her maid, and
afterward. when she was married and a
mother. as her baby's nurse. She was al
WAYS very fond of me. and OF her. She
lived iu a large town before she married,
and her father and mother being company
I keepin' people, and she being so very
pretty. there was a great many gentle
men admired her, and she might have
married well. as they call it, at least a
dozen times. I'm an old maid. but think
there is only one way OF marryin we'll
and that is when a woman or lady
marries a man really suited 10 her, and
when there is real true love on both sides.
told you the other night. that had seen
mistakes in marriage. made in my time.
and the marriage this young lady made
was no doubt one of them.
Well: never could tel how my young
lady came to marry the gentleman she dld
choose after all. He was older GOOD
deal than she. She was gay and sprIghtly
/ like--he was still and grave. She liked
lite. and stir, and change-he liked moth
in bat readin' and sittln' still. She was
as fond OF music as a bird--he couldn't
tell one tune from another. Often ana
often I have seen her sittin', singin' and
plavin' song after song and piece after piece
at the piano in the drawing room, and him
I sittin' over a book by the lamp. never
/ listening TO single note. She had been
/ used to praise and company. and every
one To love and listen to her, and she must
have felt it great change.
/ She did feel it a great change-as you
shall presently hear-though she tried not
to show it, or even to think about it, for
length of time.
When they first married. her
husband used mostly to sit in
the same room with her, though he never
hardly noticed what she was doin' but,
after while, he took to keepin' in anoth
err, by himself and only comm in to meals
with her; and. at night, he sat up hours.
porting over his learning and his books.
Well, then was the first of my lady's
showin' of herself east down and melan-
choly. One day as | passed my masters
/ study door, which was half open, | saw
her. ali in tears. kneeln' down by his
chair, and sayin' somethin' to him which
/ could not hear But | heard him an
sweI, in his grave, even voice. well,
my dear, if your feel dull. send for your
mother and sister, and any one else you
/ like. to make the place gayer to you
| was nearer guessin' what they had
been talkin' about. thought, than he was
what was grievln' her aching heart. He
was "A good sort of a man. but he couidn' t
understand it.
In a week or two's time after that, how
ever. the house was full of company. My
lady's mother, her sister, her brother.
! some OF their cousins, and others besides.
The house seemed turned almost upside
down after the still life we'd led but
Iookin' at my lady's pale face-which was
like a June rose once, but, at this time.
only flushed with excitement now and
them didn't believe she was much hap
pier for all the company
However, among them there was a great
friend of my ladv's brother. who was
thought to be thinkin' of her sister. and who
was one of the cleverest, handsomest, and
most accomplished gentleman | ever saw.
| There didn't seem to be anything that
he couldn't do. or didn't know. He was
as much favorite with all the servants in
the house as he was with all the ladies and
gentlemen. and appeared as amiable as he
was clever and handsome. Even my mas
ter would sometimes leave his books and
talk to bin. but not very often.
He was a beautiful rider on horseback
and broke in a horse for my lady which
nobody else could manage. Mv lady was
very fond of ridin' and had gone out in a
, dull way with the groom, because my
master didn't use himself TO horses very
often for the mere pleasure she had in
: the exercise. This handsome gentleman
and her brother. however. rode with her
now. and the handsome gentleman always
, helped her to her saddle. OF an evenn'
he sung duets with her. or read aloud for
: the benefit of the whole company. except
; my master. who would slip away to his
study and his books. When he left the
house seemed very dull, and nv mistress
too. but especially her sister, though that
was for another reason which | didn t
, think of then. but she found cut something
long before any one else would have done
: 1t was only natural. for she loved him
very much. and had hoped he loved her.
She died. poor thing, in deep decline,
two or three years afterwards.
Well. the handsome gentleman knew
some of the families in the neghborhood
and from our house he went to stay with
one of them. and so. occasionally. we saw
him still : but al last he went away alto
gether, and so did all our company, and
we Were very quiet again for some months
: One day. some time after this some
thing came to my mistress which hoped
would make her happy after all dear
little baby. and was its nurse but it did
D., not. Something else had come to her.
suppose. We are all weak creatures. and
, the best of us cannot stand in our own
strength. and if we let wrong wishes and
thoughts come into our minds without
strivin' against them with more than our
: poor might. they mostly will come. and
make sure prey of us. Something of this
= sort had warped nv poor lady's mind.
fear. She was very young-had beer
: praised, petted, and almost spoiled from
her childhood-and her husband. though
h not unSind. neglected her.
o Not but what she loved her baby She
loved it dearly-but with a poisoned mind
f | saw how it all was. when the handsome
\ gentleman | had once liked so much. com
ing to stay again with that family in the
neighborhood. rode over so often to cal
! upon my master. but stayed so long with
my lady in the drawin'-roe
r 1t might have been only fancy. but
thought him not nearly so handsome a;