The Republican journal., 1885-09-17

| IL would Ill DehO0Ve me 10 put by. In
my native town is offered me position
of trust and contidence-no less, may
say to YOU dear madam, than profess
or's chair"
| hadn't the least idea what he meant
knew that one chair differed very much
from another, and whereas one was com
Portable, easy, and enjoyable, another
might be for the time being seat of
torture, but wherein professors chair
eXcelled could not at that time imagine
| sat quite still, and the rutfie fell from
my hand my foot rested upon the treadle
of the machine, and sat and stared at
Mr.. Slade like one demented.
"And it has occurred to me-" he went
on, "that the position | have held here,
which is an exceedingly easy and pleas
ant one, might protitably and suitably be
filed by one of the other sex the duties
are not at all arduous, and could be per
formed more readily, it appears to me,
than those pertaining to the needle.
have spoken to the committee in your
behalf, and with little attention upon
your part to the simple mechanical re-
quirements necessary, and little help
upon mine, you will be ready to fill the
position at once"
"Who |, Mr. Slade Why you must
be crazy! Y
Then feeling that this was not re-
kindness for me had led him to overrate
my capabilities.
"Why, Mr.. Slade," said !, II never got
beyond the four first rules in arithmetic"
'And upon these depend everything"
he replied. Come, put by your work,
and let us see what we can do in first
attempt
1t was of no use to refuse. His was
one Of those masterful natures that al
ways conquers. Half an hour after, |
was sitting close by his side at the table,
with Charley's slate under my blurred
eyes and Charley's pencil in my trembling
! fingers. The rosy evening light stream
| ed in upon us, the soft south wind bring
ing resinous odors through the window
| from the woods where Charley vet lin
gered.
"Now, my dear Mrs. Sweet" said Mr.
Slade-and the very gentleness of his
tone, the tender rendering of my name,
made me shiver and shake ; for | could
not get the thought from my head that
when he was gone there was nobody left
to deal tenderly with me or mine-''now
| pray try and give your thoughts to the
subject in hand. 1t is the simplest thing
| in the world and these rudiments once
conquered, the rest will follow. Now,
man sold his farm for s., 40, and four
teen tifteenths of this is seven -ninths of
| the cost Of bis house, and the house cost
seven times as much as the store ; now
what was the cost of the house and the
store =
| HIS voice was so persuasive, 50 distinct,
it must have been d pleasant voice to
listen to at school, even if the poor little
| b!ockhedds could make neither head nor
tail Of his meaning. | looked at Mr.
| Slade, and then out OF the window, where
| the mellow light of the sunset shone, and
| away over at the wooded hills beyond,
and | thought how, such q little while
| ago, it was a spring landscape all
bathed in tenderest green, and now it
was autumn, the grass was sere and
| brown, the leaves falling, the branches
like skeletons against the evening sky.
| "Madam-my dear Mrs. Sweet" said
the voice OF the schooImaster, II beg
| your attention to these first few rules.
| 1t is distastetul to me to leave you prey
to the coarse habits of these village
women, who tlaunt their linery in an
| easy and unbecoming manner, and grudge
YOU the poor reward for your labor
| "She said the seams we're crooked, and
| perhaps they Were," said; for knew
he meant Mrs. Chapel. 81 am not very
good at sewing, or-anything.n Then
TWO big tears rolled out of my eyes upon
Charley's slate, and blurred the school
masters figures, which so distressed him
| that he got up and took a turn about the
room. Then he came back to the table
| again.
Dear Mrs. Sweet he said, quite i'm
pIoringly, 'lf you would only make up
| your mind to master these first rules.
| A man sold his farm for SS,730'-
"And I'm sure he got good price for
| it, broke in; "and whatever he got for
| his house, it must have been all it was
worth, As for his store, don't want to
know anything about it; can't see that
it is any of my business, Mr.. >lade. and
| | can't bother with it Just now. Ii it
was house alone, or a store alone, or a
tarm-but to cut them all up and put
them together again like patchwork
| quilt is impossible for'me to think Of, Mr..
Slade. | can't DO it, never could, and
| it's ridiculous to ask me such thing,
Mr.. Slade. All | can do after you go
| away is to go on working for Mrs. Chap
pei till | drop dead and if it wasn't for
Charley, | wouldn't care how soon that
would be-"
Then put my head down on the table
and cried, ready TO break my heart |
couldn't help it. Twas the most wretched
creature in the world, and my heart was
| full. | couldn't help the cry, and I'm
| glad now that did.
For suddenly | felt his strong arm
| tremble on the back of my chair
at is so sad and terrible" said, ''to
have the seams always crooked, and
Mrs. Chapel =
"Contusion to Mrs. Chapel and her
crooked seams Tell me, madam-Mrs.
Sweet tell me, dear little heart, would
it not even be better to give over your
future to grim old pedagogue like me
| 1t shall at least be free from crooked
seams and puzzlmg problems"
heaved sigh of relief and his strong
arm fell shelteringly about me.
"lf heaven will vouchsafe to me-" he
said, getting back to his dear old wordy
way, 'your sweet cOmpanionship for all
the days to come, | can even find it in
my heart to be grateful to Mrs. Chappel
and wish her we'll"
| | don't know what | said, but every
| body knows that | never could see any
fault in Mr.. Slade, and | don't to this
day He fills his professors chair, and |
have ever 50 many comfortable ones at
home. Charley is splendid mathema-
! tician, but there is a little fellow Just
creeping into fractions, and he came to
me the other day, his dear little brains
sore and puzzling over that selfsame
sum.
"And please, mamma" he begged, "a
man sold his farm for $3.50 dollars, and
fourteen -titteenths of this is"
$50 to papa, darling,' | said Che
found out the cost of it long ago but as
for me, dear, I'm glad to say that | never
could make it out-never."
Woman Suffrage Convention.
The Suffragists of Maine have called a meet