Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-08-01

,hr. Oh VI nau zeal
phrases and courtly bear ng, his stories
VI adventure bv sea and land, and the
eyeI:present souvenirs of foreign travel,
captlvated tie i'm: g nation of his
daughters, to whom life became a sort
OF enchanted voyage.
sea phrases favored the daily speech
OF me family. The piazza was 1.-The
deck the little square staircase "the
companion way" passing friends were
invited to come aboard" and the
merry girls turned in" each night
without a fear of storm or shipwr> OK.
never We're happ er voyagers on snug
ger + or smoother cas-.
but one day a tinanc al hurricane
burst upon them. The brave old Cap
tain at the helm held fast with trumpet
voice Of cheer, while crash TO. lowed
crash. But he WIS old now, this Cap
TAIN OF a hundred storms, suddenly the
voice broke, the strong hand loosened;
he was gone.
When the storm was past :'the deck''
was empty. The ship had lost its mas
tar. n wife and daughters were drift
ing in the narrow straits of poverty.
Miss Tibbs, the dressmaker, was an
authority in Stirling.
"Ihey' We got the Capt'n's w grit"
she reported of the daughters, a few
months later. ''They don't set down
an whine, but Jest pitch in, an work
like mad. Miss huth's sold some OF
her paintin's already, an Miss Alice
amt ashamed to git SEWN from me, to
pay for her lessons. She's goin' to make
Pictur's for books, an they amt goin'
to do halfway work ncither-ie>t like
the Capt'n list class Or nothin'."
This was three years ago. Persist
ent study was bringing them through
the slough OF amateurism on to
the high ground of professional skill.
The winter lessons in New York
drained their small hoardlngs, and
ca h spring witnessed progress and
bankruptcy.
But incorrigible cheerfulness and in
genious devices ameliorated even this
barren period.
"Nhy is not every girl taught a
trad ?" said Alice on one occasion.
"M hat a breathless scramble we should
have been saved if we had mastered
our art before we needed to live by
it, =
"My daughters" announced Ruth,
''shall be trained to do n thing thor
oughly, if it is only to scrub ~iloors."
A winter studio in New York was
their goal, and plans for a golden fu.
turc, when fame and fortune should
hobnob with them there, filled thei1
sanguine brains.
The fine old parlor, with the Oriental
coloring and flavor, had become thci1
home studio.
"lLet us be csthetic if we a,e daugh-
tiers OF TOLL" Rutk had said. "We must
spend the greater part of our time in
the studio, so the studio should be ou1
very ~pleasantest room If we have Wis
itors, we can to S II painting aprons
behind the screen, rub the paint from
our noses, and smile a bland welcome
in Just two minutes"
1t was the theory of the girls that a
policy OF stern repression alone saved
their fragile mother from overwork
Hence that gentle %reprobate was KEEP
under constant surveillance; even Their
her encroachments upon the self-ap-
pointed household tasks of the girls
were scandalous, and family discipline
was maintained with difficulty.
The episode Of the hat had just oc.
Cured, when a ciandestine sound Of
tinkling glass came from the next room,
"Listen!" said huth. "Aiother is il
mischief again"
Instantly two imperious girls de
scended upon the culprit.
.sIhis is our work"
s.Surrcnder those goblets!!"
''Now, go aft and rest"
And the lit e mother was whirlee
into the studio and tucked up on the
so a, with a parting kiss, before she
could protest.
"Such o rebellious parent" sait
Ruth. .l.ook at this table nearly sc
and the things all brought up from tn
cellar. | wonder she doesn't sit uE
nights to take in surreptit. Gus wash
ing."
III advocate eating on clam-shell:
with chop-sticks, to be burned will
n%eatness anddispatch after each meal
said Alice. /.
"Dish-washiny is a waste of time,'
assented Ruth.
"Let us dignity it hereafter by repeat
ing poetry. We mi int learn
:Oh, don't" cried kuth," CIV
tried that. One day | marched sol
EMMY around the table four mes, will
the cup tureen. and empt.ed the mill
into the lower pots besides. All in per
feet time, and to the code to the Duk
of Wellington"
1--WE talk" said Alice meditativcly
''as if poetry were a useful art an
dish-washing protitless, yet we coul'
live serenely a thousand years withou
a poem, and would be discouraged il
less than five hundred without a disl
cloth"
"lhat is one of the rasping thing
about life," scolded Ruth. "All grea
things are accomplished by means Q
so many a~ggravating small things
II found that out long ago. sal
Alice. 1.-The only way to be reall
comfortable is to do cheertully lots q
uncomfortable things"
81 would much rather do somethin!
heroic one a week and omit bed-mak
ing every day." wa RUINS comment
A few weeks later two stalwart youn!
men were tramping through Contra
MI, A.1l;nu jonathan EARNESTLY