The Republican journal., 1885-11-05
Pinkie's Revenge.
BY HELEN HUNT JACKSON.

you be so un1eellng toward your own
cousin"
II don't care, mamma, she is sure to
be awkward and dowdy. How can we
have her at the dinner table tonight !
shall die OF modification to have to intro
duce her to Mr.. Morris as our cousin"
"Perhaps She will be too tired to come
down to dinner after such a long ride 1t
is little awkward to add another to a
set dinner party"
"Oh mamma, bless you for the thought.
You can tell her that she is too tired. You
can arrange it, know !"
''Neil, I'll try
These were the sentences which fell on
the ears of Priscilla Bent as she sat alone,
waiting to see the aunt and cousins whom
she had come all the way from Kansas to
New York to visit, of whose welcome she
fe,t as sure as If she had hnoWn them all
her life. 1t was by a blunder of the ser
Want that she had been shown directly
up stairs into the drawing room, which
communicated by folding doors with the
room where were sitting mother and
daughters.
"Pinkie. What a name" continued
the first speaker. "Who ever heard of
such a name, except for a dog ?"
Her name is PRISCILLA replied the
mother, "but Pinkie was given to her by
her father, when she was a little girl, on
account OF her pink cheeks"
'Well, | will call her PRISCILLA
And too"
"Your father will not like it," said Mrs.
Bent. "But we must 90 down"
\ swift rush of three women down the
stair case, three loud eXclamations of dis
may at the sight of the empty reception
room, looks Of dismay and a smothered
whisper of veXation.
How stupid Of Ben . Do you suppose
she heard ?n
These We're the next scenes in the swift
little drama which here began so inau-
spiciously under Mr. Sias Bent's roof this
morning. And next to these followed
one which seemed almost a justification
Of all that the Misses Bent had said in
regard to their cousin Slowly rising to
her feet, grasping her umbrella firmly in
her left hand, rose a tail, all exceedingly
tall, young woman, who exclaimed in a
nasal voice, "Well, was jest a-comin' to
look ye up. | didn't know as that fine
black gentleman O yourn had conde-
scended to let you know | was here, I'm
most tired to death, tell you; four days
an four nights III the cars is enough to
kin an OK But II be all right soons |
get my coffee. ! reckon breakfasts all
cleared away by this time, but | don't
want much. only cup of coffee, if the
cook haint thrown it out. rm real glad
n 'cs,nSa II1lpla mot NV lot ar
didn't he " And pauSing in her breath
less speech, pretty Priscilla Bent looked
sheepishly into the faces of her equally
shame-taeed relatives. If they had not
been too guiltily disturbed in their own
minds of fears Of having been overheard
in their inhospitable comments, they
might have detected a strange look on
their Kansas cousins face, a mixture OF
twinkle and terror. But they saw, heard
nothing except what so thoroughly cor
roborated their worst fears. Even Mrs.
Bent herself, who had resolved before
hand to be thoroughly kind to the child
of her husbands favorlte brother, was
thrown of her balance, and III spite OF
herself, the welcome she gave was curt
and cool.
Rut nothing appeared to daunt the ter
ribIe Pinkie. Radiant good humor shown
i'll her face; her tongue ran like a clap
per, and when the dinner party was mem
toned, pinbie cried
"Not much amt 100 tired, I'll just
bunk down and by Is O'Clock Ill be fresh
as rooster. We don't often get a chance
to a regular dinner party out in Emporia,
and ! don't mean to miss one this winter
oay-shall ! wear my very best! I've
read about the kind Of clothes you New
Workers wear to dinners. But I've got
some \ No. | gowns, l tell you. Now,
you just show NE my room, and I'll sc
straight to bed and stay there till dinner
time. You let your black man bring NE
up tumbler Of milk, will you, along
| about / o'clock, ana q doughnut or hard
tack. I'm used to oatn' heartily in the
middle o the day
When the door was finally shut upon
Pmkie her aunt and cousins exchanged
looks.
"lIorrible !" cried the youngest daugh-
ter, Carrie. ats worse than | ever con
ccived. How could papa send for her p
He has not seen her since she was ten
years old" said Mrs. Bent dismally. "Ol
course he could not dream she would be
like this. He has always said her mother
was charming woman, and they lived
in Europe for several years when she was
little. 1t is horrible girls ~
Bunk down J" calculated the eldest
daughter, Sophia.
Fresh as a rooster" echoed Carrie
Mamma, shall 90 to bed myself and be
too i'll to appear tonight. don't believe
Mr.. Morris will ever cross our threshold
again"
"Then he is welcome to stay away
said Mrs. Bent, hotly.
While this distressed consultation was
going on between Mrs. Bent and hel
daughters, Pinkie, safe locked in hel
room, was holding one with herself
Tears sparkled in her eyes, but her face
was fall of mirth.
81 will !" she muttered. 81 will do it
1t will be good enough for them. | know
| can. 1t will teach them a good lesson
But I'll have to work like Trojan to get
the dress ready. Let me see what have
got that will do. Ha have it! That
old tableaux dress will be just the thing
GLOW lucky brought it" she chuckled
as she shook out the folds of white
muslin of the most antiquated country
fashion. "Now can 60 to sleep and rest
easy for an hour, awkward and dowdy.
That is what will be-" and in five min
utes mischievous Pnkie Bent was sound
asleep.
Anxiety and vexaton had made Carrie
i'll, and it was with most unbecoming
flush on her harrassed face that she ap-
peared in the drawing-room few mo-
ments before the dinner hour. There sat
the cousin from Kansas Was ever such
a figure seen in a New York drawing
room before?
A plain white muslin, made in the
shepherdess style, very full and very
short, scarlet stockings, broad scarlet
sash, and worst Of all, on the head tur-
ban of white muslin, with scarlet poppy
Haunting in front! This was what the
malicious Pinkie had done with herself,
whose trunk was full of exquisite French