The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1886-12-02
CYRILLA AIMS ROMANCE;
Dem orest's Monthly.
.:''Cyrilla Ann.
eyes. ma'am."


part. by her own poor little hands,
which still bore the marks OF
many cuts, burns, scratches and
bruises in testimony thereof. The
carpets had been taken up, shaken
and laid again; the dining room and
parlor stoves taken down carried to
the garrett, walls Washed, furniture
polls ned, clothes closets rid of every-
thing pertaining to cold weather and
niled with things pertaining to warm;
and With all the rest the regular work
OF the house had gone on much the
SAME as usual-cooking, washing,
ironing sweeping, busting; scruhbing,
&C., &C.; &c.
Why, Cyrilla Ann had not laid her
head on her pillow single night Of the
six before IL or ~ O'Clock although
that same head had to be of the pill
low at half past . sharp every morn
ing.
The parlor windows could have
been squeezed into last weeks doines,
no matter what Mrs. Feeze choose to
think and say about it. And now the
weather had turned so very cold. An
acy wave, maliciously left behind by
grutf old winter to vex his successor,
and which had been prophesied for
several days, had come atlast in ear
nest, and Cyrilla Ann dreaded those
windows. They were long and wide,
and She would be obliged to stand on
the old-fashioned balcony-the house
was q corner one and fully exposed to
he extremely windy spring winds-to
20 the outside OF them.
! Poor girl! l can't imagine how she
got through oil the work of the Feeze
household-which was one OF those
exacting ones which demand more la
Por than many twice their size-for
she was q small body, and did not
9oOk very strong. But it was easy to
tell by the expression of her mouth
when she closed it firmly, as she often
dld, that what Cyrilla Ann lacked in
strength she madeup in grit, and when
she had determined TODD thing she'd
DO it or die in the attempt. Besides
this tirm mouth, Cyrilla Ann had q
pair OF soft, gray eyes, with long,
dark. arched eyebrows, q nose
wei, somewhat PIGGY, but not
at all upattractively so, and dimple
in her round chin for which many q
millionairess would have parted with
untold gold. This dimple was the
source OF the greatest vexation to her
mistress, Mrs. Feeze. That estimable
woman had no dimples, nor soft, gray
eyes, nor long, silken lashes, nor arch
ed eyebrows, nor funny little pugnose
Her eyes were cold, light blue. Her
lashes were short and scanty, and sue
didn't have q sign Of an eyebrow when
she forgot to make them with q cray
on. Her nose was long and thin. So
was her chin. And her mouth was
one OF those straight lipless ones
that seldom, if ever, open, to
say anything pleasant. Cyrilla AIMS
dlmplc was the last straw that broke
the camels back with Mrs. Feeze.
She could by trying hard, endure in
silence whatever other claims the girl
had to prettiness, but the dimple was
too much: "1f was a gal and had
stitch q ridiculous hole as that in my
chin, I'd tillltup with putty i'll couldn't
get rid OF it no other way" she'd say,
when she couldn't find anything to
scold about. And then Cyrilla Ann
for the life OF her couldn't help smil-
ing, and the dimple would grow deep
or than ever, and Mrs. Feeze would
turn away with q toss of the head
and q contemptuous sniff.
Cyrilla Ann was an orphan. Mrs.
Feeze had taken her from the asylum
when she was only ten years old. Her
own daughter having married and left
her-and they 90 say she was very
glad to co-she took Cyrilla Ann ITO
fill the place left vacant in her heart
and home" But heaven save the
mark! If all orphan girls taken to fill
hearts and homes have to work as
hard and get as little for it as CyrilIa
Ann, they'd much prefer, am certain,
to be hired as servants at regular
wages.
; "Well, to go back to the parlor win
lows. Have 'em done by the time l
got home from markit. You've moth
ing else to do but scour the knives,
lind bring up coal, and sift the ashes,
and scrub the Kitchen, and bake pan
OF biscuit" said Mrs. Feeze. And hav-
ing already donned cloak and bonnet,
she drew on her WOODEN mittens and
departed.
"Pll go at them right away, and
then they'll be off my mind" declared
Cyrilla Ann, as she heard the street
door close. And in moment more
upstairs she went, carrying a pail of
water, some soft, white cloths and an
old newspaper, and going into the
gloomy parlor, began briskly at the
window nearest the stoop.
Now it happened that the young
man who had set up for himself in the
shoe business across the way about a
month before, was at this very mo-
nent polishing the outside of his shop
window, and, CHANGING to look in the
direction of the opposite corner, he
Immediately spied Cyrilla Ann. 1t
seems he could see through Mrs. Feeze's
parlor window if Mrs. Feeze couldn't.
And what does the young man do
but turn the key in the shop door,
pli!! IL out OF the lock, drop it into
his pocket, rush across the street and
up on that balcony, carrying with
him big, wet sponge and a big,
dry chamois. "lt's too cold for
you to come out here" he called
through the glass, putting his face so
close to it that it there had been no
pane there you would have sworn he
was kissing the gray eyed maid. "Tll
do the outside. I won't be minute"
Cyrilla Ann blushed. She blushed
beautifully. ooh, no." she began, pa
tiently-she had never spoken to him
before-they had only looked at each
other
"Oh, yes" he interrupted, rubbing
away vigorously with thesponge, 1'm
going to be your neighbor for q year,
parhaps more-that is, If Pm success
ful, and you stay here; and neighbors
ought to be neighborly, you know"
polishing with All his might and main
with the cbamois
"You are very kind, very kind, in
deed; but If Mrs. Feeze," again began
Cyrilla Ann, to be again interrupted
by the impetuous young man. "She
won't, she's only been gone ten min
utes, and she always stays an hour or
two"-sponge actively employed. "Tm
from Congreve's a large establishment
on Sixth avenue; was with that firm
$ov> no. 1ok h. 7