The Portland daily press., 1884-12-24
SENTERED AS SECOND6
&CLASS MAIL MATTERS


When consulted as to whether good whip
ping would do Mary any good, he advised
against the whipping. Mary was shut up
| in her own little room for three hours-un-
til, indeed, the hens made such row about
her captivity that, to quote them, her re-
lease was found necessary. Mrs. Shepard
then gave her what, if she had kept a Jour
nal, she would have it ''a good jawing." la
fact, neither Of them kept journal Mary
relieved her feelings by giving the hens
twice their allowance. After tea she was
sent TO bed at seven o'clock by way of fur
tier punishment.
Poor Mrs. Shepard watched with tears,
nay. with prayers, all the next day for to-
kens of contrition. But such tokens were
very few, if any. The girl did bring in LH-
cy's thimble, which Lucy had dropped in
the wagon. She could, '.just as well as
not" have kept it, Mrs. Shepard said, and
sold it to the first peddler. ''Bnt she didn't;
she brought it in, just as pleased as any
thing" On the other hand, when Sias
Pike, the hired man, came in, when Mrs.
Shepard questioned him as to the language
which Mary used In familiar conversation in
the barn, he grinned from ear to ear. He
could not remember much-clearly he did
not wish TO ''go back' on the child. But he
implied that there was frequent reference to
| a place OF torment, as we'll as to the enemy
of souls, as Mrs. Shepard had heard before,
and so reticent was Silas that she ceased
her examination from very fear of what it
might elicit.
That evening she went to the Sacrament
lecture with her husband-or tried to. But
when they were passing Deacon Littles
house. Miranda Little ran out to tell them
that Parson Noyes had sore throat, and
that the lecture would be postponed. So
they turned back, and were at home again
in an hour from the time of starting. Mrs.
Shepard was astonished to find Mary Martin
''prinkiag before the glass;" as Mrs. Shep-
ard told her husband with her mistress's
best bonnet on, The lace scarf John Shepard
had sent her from Havana thrown lightly
round her neck, aud, to be short, as Mrs.
Shepard's eyes descended from point to
point, every scrap of elegance most dear TO
that lady was displayed on this huzzy's
| form.
MARY Martin, what are you doing?'
| So still had been Mrs. Sbepard's step, and
so eager Mary's pleasure, that she was wholly
unconscious of the fatal return from meet
/ ing.
She turned amazed, forgot all proprieties,
and cried:
'Good Lordl Is that youp' Theft and
profanity conjoined.
"MarY Martin, am ashamed of you'll
Take those things off, and go straight to
bed.'
|
thinking of punishment. The girl would
have returned to the "Home'' before light,
but that neither Silas nor Mr.. Shepard could
give the necessary three hours to take her
to the station. So far the stars in their
courses worked for the poor child, if, indeed,
it was desirable that she should stay where
all that she did was wrong
AS for her, she went to sleep without anx-
liety, slept till morning, and came down
stairs ''as if, for all the world, nothing had
happened"
For Mrs. Shepard had still devised no pun
ishment. imprisonment would be a part, if
any she could devise; aud, when poor Mary
appeared, so unconscious and sunny, it was
not in the good wOman's heart to begin a
new controversy Thus far, as in a finite
world often happens, the punishment did
not fall upon the sinner. And Mary wen: to
the chickens as before.
But when dinner-tme came the storm
cloud broke. Mrs. Bangs and George Bangs
had arrived at noon, the advance party of
the whole Bangs family, VINO were to spend
their Christmas here. Mrs. Shepard super
intending, Lucy had set the table with her
own hands. The best tablecoth was on,
and the best Napkins. the best glass and the
best china. Lucy had even cut her best
flowers for the middle of the table, and all
was complete except the serving of the actu-
al dinner. The picked walnuts, the celery,
the currant aud cranberry jelly were all in
place.
To this table, fifteen minutes after her
daughter had left it, Mrs. Shepard bore,
with her own hands, the goose hot from the
oven. One Instant was enough to show that
some one had broken the beauty of both
moulds of jelly-had indeed consumed part
OF each, and in her haste for OF the sex of
the marauder there was no doubt-had
| dropped on the white table quiVerlng mass
of the plunder.
"Mary Martin, what have you doneP
And Mrs. Shepard turned, expecting to see
at least fearful face, but there was no Ma
ry Martin. That lady had left the hot pota-
toes III the kitchen and had taken refuge in
the hay loft
Nothing is more inconvenient than the
holding court martial in the presence of
visitors, or administering even the simplest
punishment. But in this case this was nee
essary. No witnesses were heard. The
cuprit did not plead. No counsel were
present. The judge bade Silas find Mary,
take her to her bedroom and lock her in.
And Silas did so.
Mol do not think this punishment was
so severe on Mary Martin as it was on MIS-.
Shepard.
For Mrs. Shepard, am we'll aware that it
embttered all the afternoon. She had prom
ised herself the pleasure of once more hang
ing stocking from the ledge above the
kitchen fire, and OF filling it with apples and
figs and raisins and certain candies, which
for this very purpose she had ordered from
Portsmouth. All this for one girl.
No stocking nowl
She pretended she did not think of Mary.
She did not once allude to her. Nor did
her husband. Nor did Silas. Nor did either
Of her visitors, George Bangs and Mrs.
Bangs.
All the same, she did think of Mary hun
dreds of times as the afternoon and evening
passed.
They passed but slowly, leG us confess, as
is the way with afternoons and evenings
when visitors have come who have been
long invited, when visitor and visited have
put on their company manners, and when
they have not great dea to say, and, being
usually busy people, have in honor Of this
| visit, nothing to do.
Mrs. Shepard was not sorry when, as the
clock struck nine, Mrs. Bangs said that they
rose very early, and that she was tired.
There was a chance for all of them to go
to bed. And they went.
Yes; am quite sure hat Mary's punish
ment once more was more severe upon the
punisher than upon the punishee
For Mary was campaigner of far too
much experience to be much disturbed by
the confinement of few hours, more or less.
The dinner she missed she was sorry for.
But, as the reader knows in part, she had
L i q