St. Landry democrat., 1884-08-23
JOCASTA-A MISTAKE.

.JUEASIA-A MASIAkES
Jocasta went on peeling potatoes with
calmness born of long and inveterate
practice, and perhaps little despair as
well; for, when Jocasta saw stretching
away to the left an acre or more of the
same thrifty vegetable, and reflected that
she would most likely have to peel them
all, what, pray, was more natural than
despair? It was curious, as well as
distressing, the amount of potatoes the
growing young Lockridges absorbed
into their composition; but Jocasta was
too weary and dispirited just now to re-
fleet much upon the scientific aspect of
the phenomenon. At present she could
get no farther than the inconvenience
arising from it.
Mrs. Lockridge had scolded vigorously
all the morning, and had just delivered
one of her most emphatic perorations
on useless Injuries in general and step
daughters in particular; and Jocasta's
spirits, if she could be said to have any,
were quite as low as the door-sill upon
which she was seated Once more she
had been frankly assured that she was a
needless expense to her hard-working
step-mother, who was gradually shaving
herself to death for other peoples
children, and that her appellation was
exceedingly appropriate, she being "a
mistake in every. sense of the word.
All of which was delivered with an
amount of energy that carried convic-
tion with it; but the potato-peeling went
on bravely, just the same, Jocasta being
too miserable to cry.
It all began about picnic to which
Jocasta had asked permission to go,
with the daring audacity inspired by
youth and a dammed-up craving for the
pleasure and merry-making of which
her young life was sadly bare. Sally,
the Youngest daughter of Mrs. Lock
ridge No. 2, and nameSake and piece of
Mrs. Lockridge No. 3, the present in
cumbent, was not only going, but was,
at that very moment, engara9 in max
ing up new dress in which she was to
shine upon the festive occasion, and with
her natural charms thus REINFORCED
calculated upon being able to fix the
unanchored affections of Henry Banks,
who was looking for wife and had
been observed to cast a speculative and
sSu6SpiSu S9O upOh cOOoSUG' O1 O4St VI
two occasions. To be sure, Mrs. Lock
ridge was anxious to get rid of Jocasta
in almost any legitimate way; but
Henry was ''well fixed, and the pru-
dent lady was much too economical to
allow him to throw himself away upon
Jocasta while her favorite, Sally, with
cred unplucked upon the parent stem.
Perhaps, before going any further, it
would be well to explain how Jocasta
came by her wet-blsnket of a name.
Briefly, the facts were as follows:
The first Mrs. Lockridge had possessed
among other family relics an afHuent,
childless aunt, with most unnatural
and implacable aversion to girls. 1t is
possible that she might have been a
petticoated Herod had she been sur
rounded by circumstances more favor
able to the abnormal development OF
individual prejudices; but as it was she
was obliged to content herself with the
sternest kind of a warning to her
nephew-in-law, Samuel, that she would
never, no never, bestoW her well-fed,
,carefully-groomed fortune upon mem
Der Of the female sex! She did not APP
prove of them. The less encourage
ment they received the better. There
fore, if Nephew Samuel was ever to re-
aceive her fortune into the bosom Of his
family it would only be when son and
heir had been added to the alarming
array of girls already clustering around
the paternaI knee. Now Samuel did
feel very strong inclination to chaper-
on Aunt j ck's money, so when Jocasta
made her appearance upon the stage OF
existence, out of the exceeding bitterness
of his spirit he had the babe christened
Jocasta, that her inadequacy might be
s standing reproach to her through all
the days of her life. Andto make bad
matter much worse, Mrs. Loekridge,
being appalled, at this last awful calam-
ity, gave only one little sigh and fled
straightway through the gates ajar,
where it is safe to suppose she was ac-