The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1885-05-02

WV DN'i y 1874 Y l. NS
it might perhaps do good in som,
other infested place.
There came to our villagej 'OnC
summer a widow lady named Joy
a quiet, extremely elegant woman
about thirty-fve years'of age, dress
ed in mourning. She rented a
small cottage about two squares
from ours, but SO situated as to be
in full view of those who chose to
be on the watch. Now, Mrs. Smith
had II way of patronizing, taking
under her motherly wing every
newcomer to l.. And this
continued until the unfortunate
being CHANGED to tread on one of her
many mental corns, when, pressed
to, they were dropped, never to be
raised again without potent sacrifice
to her wounded self-complacency.
Mrs. Joy was no exception to this
rule. For two weeks Mrs. Smith's
vocabulary lacked words to express
her admiration. During this time
she called on the newcomer twice,
and invited herself once to tea. In
return for calls, ,rshe received a card
left at the door, and for the invita-
ton to tea, the answer that Mr.. Joy
could not receive her that evening,
as she was not at all well. Then,
Mrs. Smith suddenly discovered
she had known from the first that
Mrs. Joy was a stuck-up nobody,
but did not wish to be too hard on
her.
As Charley says that woman's
penetration is equalled by nothing
under heaven but her self-denying
charity.
My house being the nearest, Mrs.
Smith ran over frequently at this
stage of affairs, to unburden her
self of the various comments ap-
propriate to the occasion. Poor
woman does any one doubt she
had. just cause for indignation ?
Mrs. Joy pursued her own quiet
way, seldom went out, and, when
she did, dressed in the latest styles,
kept two servants to do the work
for herself and little boy, and wore
diamonds. Mrs. Smith never own
ed a diamond, knew nothing of the
latest styles, except through Mrs.
JOY, and kept but one dowdy, half
grown girl to do the work of six.
Of course, Mrs. Joy was an upstart,
to thus take advantage of Mrs. Smith
who was "as good as anybody"
So | was treated to II rehash of ali
her former complaints of people
being so lazy and extravagant, and
putting on so much style.
| was a little inclined to be cow
ardly in those days, and never dar-
ed tell her what l thought, more
than to protest constantly in Mrs.
joys favor, but I've grown drawer
and cannot resist stopping here to
say three little things for the ben
eft of all Mrs. Smiths troubled as
this one was.
Firstly. There are some people
in this world who fill the drudge's
place simply because they are inca
pable of filling any higher. Peo-
pie who can do something more ex-
alted than drudgery, sooner or later
have something more exalted given
them.
Secondly. 1t is really none of
your business, to use vulgar, but
most expressive phrase, how extrav-
agant other beople are, so long as
you and yours do not foot the bills,
Thirdly. All this cry about others
putting on too much style, and pre-
tending to be so much better than
other folks, is but proof of your own
inferiority for people who are real
ly superior have too much good
sense and good breeding to care for
any assumption of superiority on
the part of others, however unwar-
ranted.
l do not know what Mrs. Joy did
with her leisure time, but | can
readily guess that any increase of
that community would have been
employed by Mrs. S. in talking.
The world must judge whether it
was not the gamer by her inability
to change her position.
Mrs. Smith ran over to my house
one day in great excitement, holding
in her hand crumpled piece of
newspaper. "There," she cried,
''it seems like a providence that l
found this, for l was just going to
start my fire with it. Just see what
you think of it, "'and she proceeded
to read a long account of a system.
attic shop-lifting scheme that had
been going on for some months past
in b, a large city about
twenty miles from us. Goods to
an incredible amount had been