The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1884-09-11
''PAT.''
BY NJ. G. FARLEY.

I'll own up that from the very first
she interested me, but it is a compul-
sorry admission on nay part even yet.
We were all lodging in a big uptown
clearinghouse, where boarders were
thicker than whortleberries in July,
ndwhere" help" was hardly to be had
for love or money. The landlady had
one day been taking on" at fearful
rate over the difficulties surrounding
her position, when in walked young
person in search of situation. She
was a perfect godsend. Nobody
stopped to ask her for reference. In
deed, the landlady said shortly hat she
was only too glad to find somebody
who could do something, and, for her
part, she didn't care fig where the
girl came from, nor who she was, so
long as she did the duties allotted to
her. Inasmuch as we had been taken
an short time previous by a certain
immaculate young Jezebel, who had
not only stolen the hearts of all the
gentlemen about the house, but had
also eloped with all their other valu-
ables as WELL some of us rather felt
cross-grained toward the worthy
hostess, and wished she would be
a tritle more particular in the
selection of her servants, especially the
parlor maids. But as she wasn't par
t.cular, and acted in an outrageously in
dependent manner in the bargain, we
women all determined among ourselves
that, come what would, the new girl
should be well watched, and if she was
inclined to be tricky we would catch
her in her tricks and expose her. Even
married ladies, you know, don't relish
having the graces of servant rung in
their ears by their husbands and friends.
There were thirty OF us all told, and
We were divided up into half a dozen
little cliques, as boarders will divide
up when domiciled together. We each
tried at different times to be the belle
of the house. and as such one and all of
us had met with but indifferent success;
to be left in the shade by the new girl
was unbearable. And that girl The
gentlemen to a man had declared in
favor of her at the first sight. Even
young Howe-whom report said was
smitten with a cousin he had never seen
in two days was raving over the par
Tor maid / notice that men seem to
have propensity for falling in love
with servants, any way, and this partic-
ular one hadn't been In the house two
weeks before she had earned the I'M
dying hatred of every woman in tex
cepting the landlady.
She said her name was Patty, and
Patty we called her to her face-for
there was something about her that
conquered our insolence when in her
- H..
politely, no matter how we felt toward
her. But among ourselves we invaria-
bly, cut her name down to the first syl-
liable and called her Pat. That is the
spiteful way women take to vent their
dislike on person they dare not at
tack openly. And what a way she had.
The Princess of Wales herself never
entered room with grander air than
Pat did, when, duster in hand, she
walked about the rooms busting the
things and putting the furniture to
rights. She had tall, willowy figure,
that swayed like reed in the wind as
she moved, and pair of eyes
as big and bright and black as eyes
could we'll be. It was astonishing to
hear some of the gentlemen raving over
Pats delicate figure" and her mid
night eyes," AS for me, I've always said,
and say it again, that I'd as soon embrace
lightning-rod as one of those tall slim
girls. / am not an ardent admirer of thin
people myself, but tastes differ. We
watched Pat as closely as cats would
watch mouse. We were literally dy-
ing to catch her trying to inveigle some
of the gentlemen into Irritation, but
we did not succeed in so doing-the sly
bootsl
At this juncture there was new ar.
rival lady. She was young, pretty,
not too tall, but round and plump. AL
the women were in ecstasies. Here
was rival to that awful Pat. We all
immediately called" on the stranger
and we not only called son her, but we
opened our hearts confdentially ano
told her about the parlor maid who wa:
at present reigning like an uncrownec
queen over the male element of the
boarding house.
Miss Prettyman smiled disdainfull,
over our woes.
~You ought to be ashamed" sale