The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-05-07
SELECT STORY.
AN ENGLISH CINDERELLA,

old story is en- .cted under different cir
cumstances, with varying details, in
many an English household. The
daughters of the land may be fair, but
there are too many Of them, perhaps,
for the anxious maneuvring mother
to pilot among the shoals and quick
sands of society. Now and then a
younger one is kept out in the cold for
little; forbidden to cross the border
Land between the school room and the
drawing room--not exactly forced TO
sit in ashes, but repressed, hidden away
in the dim background. There may
be reason, plenty of worldly wisdom
in this, and yet the girl woman is apt
to wax rebellious; her sisters triumphs
fill her with envy. All sorts of visions
of possible and impossible delights
seem to beckon to her from that un-
known world. Why must she, poor
little Cinderella, waste her sweet bloom
unseen and unheeded
One fears Mabel Templeton had
some such thoughts as these as she
washed half sadly, half enviously, the
progress of her sisters toilets one
bright June afternoon, and also the
packing of two well-filled trunks, into
each of which Rosaie was depositing
a perfectly new and dainty ball dress.
For Mr.. Templeton had consented to
take his two elder daughters to Oxford
tor the Commemoration, and though
there was no mother in this case, Aunt
Selma, who was also one of the party,
had fatty refused to act as chaperon to
more than two nieces at time.
''Disagreeable old tbing!' muttered
Cinderella, with curl of her pretty
lips. She: was trying to: brave out her
disappointment in this fashion, but
tears lay very near the surface, for the
poor girls heart was very sore. sit is
such shame, too, when Owen is my
own brother, and ! have never seen his
rooms, or his cap and gown; and papa
took you both last year.
"l es, but it was not Commemoration
time; everything was as slow and stu
pid as possible returned Violet
placidly. Don't be cross, Mab nei-
ther Pauline nor l can help Aunt Sc
linas fads. You know papa does not
like us to cross her, because she is 30
rich. 1t was not possible for me to
put in word"
She spoke in q tone of good,natured
banter, and patted her young sisters
shoulder kindly as she passed
"Don't, viz returned Nab, rather
irritably. at is all very well, your
saying that about Aunt Selma, but ysu
know that neither you nor Pauline
said one word-you never even men.
toned me. And yet Owen begged so
hard that l should 60 this year
"Ob, Nab how tiresome you are y
observed Pauline, as Nab paused in
her indignant speech. All the Tenn
pleton girls were handsome; but though
Pauline was very fair and stately, one
or two old friends of the family had
predicted that Nab would one day
bear the palm. 81 wish you would
not provoke me into saying it, but l
must own that l think Aunt is quite
right, and three would be too many.
1t is our turn this year, but next Com
memoration, who knows?' Aud here
she stopped to survey herself in the
glass,
Mabel gave little stamp with her
foot, but she had sweet nature on the
whole, and she wisely resolved not to
give vent to the feelings that oppressed
her.
Nab had her own little secret, though
she was only eighteen, and neither
Pauline nor Violet would allow that
she was quite grown up. Why it was
only this week that the governess had
been dismissed. And she was quite
right in her surmise that neither of
her sisters wished TO include her in
their panty. 1t is difficult for girl to
be perfectly honest on all occasions.
Nab was ahrdly telling the truth, that
is the whole truth, when she alleged
her fondness for Owen and her desire
to see him in his undergraduate garb,
as her reason for wishing TO 60 to Ok
ford. Owen was certainly very dear
to her, but it may be doubted if some
one were not becoming dearer still.
Last vacation Owen had brought a
friend home with him, and the two had
been great deal in the school room,
where Nab still did some pretence of
lessons with Miss Dalton. Neverthe-
less, her demure manners in the draw
ing room of an evening were as grown
up as Pauline's could be.
What would Mr.. Beauchamp sthink
when he saw only Violet and Pauline
And yet he had begged her so ear nest-
ly to come down for a week.
"You will be out, then" he had said
quite eagerly, "Miss Dalton tells me
she is to leave in June. / shall look
for you and you must give me your
first dance at the University ball. /
will dance with no one else until you
appear. Do not disappoint me. l
shall know what to think if | see you.
1t will show you care little for my
wishes, in spite of all your teasing
for you have teased me sadly. have
you not, Miss NAB I"
But to this Mabel maze no sort of
rejoinder, except by that blush.
She sat and thought about it all
when the carriage had taken them at
last to the station, and she was left
alone IN the sunny, deserted drawing
room. Miss Dalton was gone, all
the lesson books were put away, she
was grown'up young lady, as she
said. AT the present moment She was
mistress of that great house and had a
half dozen servants at her command.
And yet, in spite of all this freedom
and grandeur, no Cinderella sitting
among the ashes could have felt more
forlorn or miserable.
Owen, dear old fellow, would be bit
terly disappointed, for Nab was his
special sister, but, as he would be com
ing back with them, such disappoint-
ment would be borne. But what would
Mr.. Beauchamp thiuk when he saw
only her sisters 7 That she had not
cared TO come-that his wishes were
nothing to her-that she meant only
teasing and fun and nothing else. And
all that after all his kindness to her,
"the little Faarie Queene,' as he had
once called her at Christmas party.