The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-12-24
A CHARITY GIRL.
Mary Martin, the "Incorrigible, II
and Her Christmas Eve.

'She must be good girl; she must be
neat, and quick, and tidy; she must not use
bad language; and 1 like to have them
pretty, or reasonably pretty"
Such was the request made by the ex-
Celent Mrs. Shepard, As she sat, weary
from walking, in the reception room at the
Orphans Home.
Il have heard you say that before" said
Mrs. Metculf, the gOod-natured natron,
land l have heard ten thousand other
people say it. So dare say yon have
heard my joke, that you had better go to
some institution where they keep young
angels"
Mrs. Shepard laughed as Sse had laughed
at The same joke before, and, when she was
u little rested, the nine girls at that mo-
ment under the roof were brought in.
But, 70 say the truth. they were not an
attractive lot" as Mrs Metcalf, alas,
would have classed them. She had done
her best. The frocks were clean and the
hair was prettily arranged. Mrs Metcalf
had changed all their names There was
no; n Cynthia Ann nor Bridget nor Polly
among them all Every child was named
Maud or Alice or Constance, or by some
other name that might please a stated fancy.
jaunty little boots. Their hands were
clean, and a good many of them had little
CoquCttlsn air which Intimated that neat
clothes were doing them good, and that
they were waking to the knowledge that it
f. the business of at least one sex to try and
please, whatever may be said of the other.
But, on the other hand, smallpox had done
its worst with some. Bad beer and whisky,
alas, had had their way, with others. With
Others there was certain hang-dog air,
which showed only too well how they had
been kicked about by such relatives as thoy
had, before they appeared in this Home"
which was so far happy that here nobody
pretended TO be relation.
One by one the girls came into the parlor
and talked with Mrs. Shepard, and ono by
one they went out, and talked about her.
When the last child had gone, Mrs. Shepard
said, rather wistfully, to the patient official,
who had been displaying these goods as best
she could:
They look nicely, poor little things, but
somehow, / do not fancy any of them.
Where is the girl | saw on tho fence, as l
came in -
This was Mrs. Metcalf's exclamation, and
Mrs. Shepard knew that she had made q
mistake-that to climb the fence was q
crime.
"Well, do not take me up" sho said 81
should not have said on the fence-by the
fence, in the garden"
Mrs. Metcalfs br-w cleared. THAT was
Mary Martin. She has only been with us
two days"
"Will you call her in? liked her face"
Mrs. Metcalf coughed. She even blushed.
'Wby-really-dea Mrs. Shepard-she-
she-has not been well brought up. She
came back from Ashby yesterday, and she
had come back from BenardSton the week
before. She is healthy, and good-natured.
and willing, and strong; but-but-they
tell me she lies, and steals, and Swears
sometimes, and-and-that she uses bad
language.
The truth Is, she never remembers her
father and mother. She never had any.
she was brought up in a pOOr-houSe in
Rhode Island. and they were so good to her
that she wants To go back there. But of
course She can't 20 back, because she IS old
enough to earn her living"
Does she swear very badlyl" asked poor
Mrs shepard, who was afraid Of compro-
missing hey church membership.
To tell you the truth, never heard her
say anything worse than depjI, but Mrs
Goss-She Is the BernaTdStOn lady-Says she
swcars all the time"
But. as the reader knows, the woman who
heoitatcS Is lost. Mrs. Shepard had liked
the pleasant smile Of the girl, who was
astrldr on the wall of the Home as she went
III. She asked To have her Scnt for, and the
result. which Is all that the reader need
Nt-it Ail- " IL tutL III Jue UuTee ID. IN. Craln
for bedlnEton Crossing Mrs. Shepard and
Mary Martin went together.
"Iho trustees are very particular about
Their going TO school, said Mrs. Metcalf, as
she Ird the girls scarf round her neck and
Iadc hcT EOOdbv.
Never fear" said Mrs Shopard "Shc
snail 90 TO school OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES it's
convenient she added as a SalvO to her
conscience. as she went down the steps.
Mrs. Nat"af heard the FIRST part, and il
she heard the second she never reported IL
l. the trustees.
a nice time had Mrs. Shepard with Mary
MortJn through the next week. 1t was not
convenient to send her to school; for the
school was two miles away. and the snow
III the road was scarcely broken, and the
mcu-folkS were hauling wood. The girl
was accustOming herself to chop mince-
meat, 10 feed hens, TO skim milk to work q,
rotary chuTn, ~ sprinkle and iron clothes,
and 10 do ten thousand other things in thar
wonan'S work which is never done
from which duties she did not shrink
she Is awful Spry.' said Mrs. Shepard to
her husband when he asked for a verdict
But as 10 the trick of language the candid
EeaTer had 10 acknowledge that her refer
CnceS TO the enemy of souls were too fire.
qUent. ~ to vcracity, there were occa-
SionS when 1t seemed rs if she he'd been
trained IN some school of 4 very low sophis-
try, il indeed. she had not been left with
out training in that poor house from which
she graduated. Honesty in deed, however,
was what Mrs. Shepherd chung to as the
confer Of her life. When one day at din
ner She cut through what was meant to be
a mInce pie, when the crust Instantly fat
tened beneath the edge of the knife, when
J. appeared that there was no ''mince'
There. then i was revealed 70 Mrs Shepard
what was meant by Mrs. Metcalf and the
lazy from BeInardStOn, who had said that
Mary Martin stole.
fortunately for Mary Martin, she did not
lie when charged with this theft" She
Eriuned and hardly said even under press
UTe. that She would try not do it again.
As Cor Mr.. Shepard. he only LAUGHED.
W Len consulted Is to whether good whip
ping would do Mary any good, he advised
against Jne whipping. Mary was shut up
III her own little room for three hours
until indeed, the hens made such row
about her captivity, that. to quiet them.
her release was found necessary. Mrs
shepard then gave her what, if she had
Kept journal. she would have called q
serious talk If Mary had kept journal,
12Ulng.' In fact, neither of them kept
any journal Mary relieved her feelings
by giving the hens twice their allowance.
after tea she was sent to bed at seven
O'Clock, by way of further punishment.
Poor Mrs. Shepard watched with tears
nay, with prayers, all the next day for
tokens OF contrition. But such tokens
We're veTy'few. If any. The girl did bring
IL Lucy's thimble, which Lucy had dropped
IN the wagon. She could. lust as Wen as
not" have kept It, Mrs. Shepard said. and
sold It to the stpeddler. But she didn't
she brought It IN, jast as pleased as any