Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1885-10-03
SELECT STORY.
FLORA'S MISSION.

"Oh, this dull round OF small
duties, how tired | am of them all :!
How l wish some grand mission in
life would come to me-"
Flora Orson, the pretty little
schoolmistress, leaned her chin upon
her hand as she mused in the above
manner, and gazed out over the gray
spring fields, whose dreary, plowed
furrows were thrusting their rugged
faces up through the rapidly disap-
pearing snowdrifts.
"Why, how the snow has gone to-
day!' she added, mentally, as the
changed appearance of the fields
struck her eye. 1t was the last day
of March, and all winter long the
snow had been heaped in miniature
mountain ranges by the roadsides,
and ON the fields and meadows.
During the last week warm weather
had set in, making inroads upon snow
and ice.
The children came running under
the window where Flora stood, play
ing at Ground the House." Then
they flocked off together toward the
brook that rippled by the school
house, q few rods distant. Flora
watched them absertly. Her mind
was not upon her duties that day.
Her plodding round in a country
schooi-room seemed very dull and
mean to her. She Sighed for some
great and lofty mission.
''If | could do some one great act,
heroic and NOBLE" she said to herself,
Il would be willing to die then.
What is life worth if we must plod on
forever like this? | am no more
than ali ant, or spider, or Il squir-
rel, with the life | live! How glad
ly would | give up the monotony of
years of this routine for one hour Of
sacrifice. heroism, and then welcome
death %
How she hated her lonely life as
she looked back over its nineteen un-
eventful years! She had always
lived IN this dull country place ever
since she was wee child, and her
parents had emigrated to the West.
She had received her education at the
same little school house, attended
divine service there also-as the
place boasted no church edifice-and
her only knowledge of the world be-
yond was obtained by Il yearly visit
to the city, fifty miles distant, where
the family supplies were purchased,
and from a few books and news
papers.
Now she was very tired of it all
tired of her dull past, her duIler
present, her doubtless dull future.
Even the thought of her fond, true
lover, Jack Kellogg, who was build
ing the house where she was to
reign as mistress, annoyed her to-
day. How poor and monotonous
life stretched before her! How
much better to perform some one
grand act and to die than to live on
to old age in this dreary fashion. 1t
was very romantic girl who stood
there in the little school room dream
ing her discontented dreams, you see.
Suddenly she saw by the noon
mark that 1t was time to call
her scholars. She had no bell-for
this was in the early days Of Wis
consin history before the railroads
had spread their great iron webs all
over the State, and Flora's school
was conducted on Il very primitive
plan. She took the great ruler with
which she inflicted punishment on
the palms of unruly boys, and raped
loudly on the window. Then she
sat down and waited for the pupils to
come trooping in-not with the reg
ulahon and order which govern
school-rooms in these days, but
heller -skelter, hurry-skurry, laugh
ing, pushing each other and playing
''tag" to their very benches.
go, teacher, the creek is getting
awful high" said Tommy Bolton,
as he plunged into his seat. And
Flora did not correct him for the i'm
proper use of "awful," which proved
to be more appropriate in this case
than the teacher or pupil supposed.
81 suppose the SHOWS are all melt
ing and running into it," she an
swered, absently, as she took her seat
at her desk, and by another tap of
the ruler indicated that the afternoon