The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-10-31

vines: then Mt the first stroke of the
AnpeI1s. she started off in her great
black cloak. LOOKING more distorted
than at other times with herrapid walk.
In the EVENING she returned to her
DWELLING by dark paths. lighting her
way w tb a lantern. and went TO sleep
thinking that another day had passed
which would never arain see her de-
formity.
Her ideal was "to ret STRAIGHT AGAIN"
Afterward she had another idea-to
become indeDendent. or as she called
it, .to become her own master" For
she suffered sometimes quite as much
from her seryitude as from her hump.
Although she did quite as much, and
often even more work than others, GER
tain people always acted towards her
as if thew thought they were doing
a charity by EMPLOYING an iniirm per-
son at all.
In houses where children were, she
used to pet the little ones. She had
been particularly GOOD to those of the
first master into whose service she haG
entered.
Sometimes she visited his house in
order to make dresses for the girls, OF
blouses for the bows.
She always hired herself out at the
vintage season.
And for a great many years she lived
thus-serving, sewing, digging. wash.
ing, carrying baskets of earth for the
vineyards, or pushing a wheelbarrow.
She killed time in this way-killed the
weeks, the months, the years tn the
peculiar vigOr of a little nervous some
body possessed by one strong purpose
Her particular wish was to die sud
denly in the midst of her work-to have
the pleasant surprise of hearing the
good God saying: THAT is enough
come to met She had great fear 0,
becoming old, infirm, incapable 0.
working, and of inspiring pity by heI
iniirm.ty and her misery. She had al
ways carr ed. her hump without asking
anyboGy's compasSion; and she dreadec
to excite p ty.
But 1t came to pass not as she haC
wished. One day while rolling very
heavy load, she felt a sharp pain in hel
breast. Next day she was very i'll,
trembling with fever, and unable to eat.
She went to the doctor and told him she
hal strained herself somehow and
forced her stomach out of place The
old doctor auscultated her, and made
queer motion with his lips. She had
nothing displaced internally; but she
was worn out, exhausted, by forty Years
Of ccaSeIess labor-by nervous strains,
by joyless life whose movements had
never been regulated by the least i'm
pulse of happiness. She was Ike bow
Of which the cord had been worn
throu@h-or clock that had stopped
at the beginning of another hour, be-
cause its works had been worn away by
incesSant and mOnOtonOUs revolution.
She tried to set herself to work again;
but her will could exert no force upon
the ruined mechanism of her being.
She had to take to her bed and re-
main in it-alwavs the same bed. And
therein the silence of her little room,
with her eyes staring at the same cur
tains of green serge which had been
moved long ago by the last breath of
her parentS-sRe asked herself if she
was going to remain long in that state.
She felt pretty sure that she could never
get WE'LL but it made her suffer so much
to linger in that fashion at the very gate
of the other world! She mag ned that
gate to be like the gate of church or
the doors of a tabernace-with little
gold angels and beams of sacramento
ght and colored RAYS as of stained
glass windows with the sun shining
through them. She was knocking at
the gate she thought, as Jesus
Knocked at the gates OF the temple OF
Jerusalem. 1t opened to her in her
dreams, and beyond 1t was the Other
Lie. where she found herself straight
again and her own master. III the
midst OF luminous immensely, where
the clouds were stirred with waving OF
white wings, and all was sweetness and
peace.
But she was soon reused rudely from
these dreams. The female ne ghbor,
who had been taking care of her, began
to complain Of her avarice. The truth
was that all the hunchback's savings
had been spent.
She decided to send for her first
master, whose oh ldren she had been so
kind to. He had become very old, very
avaricious almost cruel He simply
adv sed her to enter the almshouse.
stating that he himself would try to get
her adm tted-wh CHI effort, he thought,