Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-01-15
CHAPTER VIII.
MRS. MILLER TAXES A HOLIDAY.


Mrs. Miller, tho respectable, middle-aged
widow who had, in spite of her lack of
properly authenticated service-testimonials,
been installed i'll the place vacated by the
nurse girl whose amorous tendencies sent such
n thrill through Lakewood House, continued
to give the greatest satisfaction. She was a
living proof that a broom which swept clean
when new, may continue to do so after the
newness has departed. Moreover, Mrs.
Miller was broom which raised very little
dust as it swept.
She was pale-faced woman with strongly
marked features The nose was aquiline, the
cheeks thin, almost hollow; the mouth and
chin told of certain force OF character, the
eyes We're dark, and at times shone with pc
culiar brightness. In spite of the calm,
methodical way in which she Went about the
place i'll discharge of her duties, one skilled in
the study of the face would have said that
this woman possessed a highly nervous tenn
peramcnt-that her quiet wa, but the result
of years of self-control, that had she lacked
that strong mouth and chin, Mrs. Miller's
| true nature would have shown itself at every
! hour of the day.
She was thin, and in the dark gowns which
she invariably wore looked almost ascetic
| To men she presented few attractions. The
under gardener who had been reprimanded,
/ DuU not dismissed, IOuuC ule CndnBe OF nurses
a sorry ore for him. Had he wished to do So I
doubt if the most forward man servant would
have dared to put his arm round Mrs Millers
sombre waist
But her masters liked her, Miss Clauson
liked her, the boy liked her, and above all,
Whitaker liked her. This last was an i'm
portant matter, as in the servants hall Whit
taker, by virtue of long service and ire
proachable character, reigned supreme.
The new nurse was in many ways n SER
want after his own heart. She treated him
with the respect which was his due, and
neither by word nor action ridiculed his
masters-the crime common to nearly all the
retainers of Lakewood House. The only
fault which Whitaker could find with Mrs
Miller was on account of her religious senti
ments.
For Whitaker was an intelligent man,
who in his hours of leisure improved his
mind For theology he read good old-fash-
toned, one-sided works which proved beyond
doubt that through the porch of the parish
church lay the only road to Heaven. Every
one knows that it is delightful to give a
newcomer the benefit of ones own religious
tenets-to point out where one is right and
the other wrong 1t was but natural that in
kindly. paternal way Whitaker should take
an early opportunity of ascertaining Mrs.
Miller's orthodoxy.
He did this in the buffers pantry, whittier
she had one day come on some Grand 1t
was on a Monday, and Whitaker began by
commenting ON Mr.. Mordle's sermon of the
preceding night He little guessed what a
storm his words would raise-how by sheer
accident he had stumbled on a way of turn
ing this calm-ooking woman into a wild en-
thusast. But he had in fact struck the fire
from the flint.
She forgot all about her errand, and entered
into religious discussion in way that took
the male disputants breath from him. She
talked about selection and predestination-
the utter inefficacy of works or faith to save
she pounded him with terrible texts which
cut OFF the hope of mercy from all save the
elect, until poor old Whitaker fairly gasped
His one-sided studies furnished no weapons
with which to meet her vehement attack. AL
he could do was to shake his head pityingly
and sigh for the state of her mind In thi.
he was little different from many reputeG
), teachers Of men.
u Snddenly, as if remembering where She
was, Mrs. Miller grew calm, but evidently
by a great effort Of self-control. She ever
apologized for her excitement, which sh,
u hoped Mr.. Whitaker would forget. Ther
y she left him.
In his responsible position his first thought
7. was that his masters ought to be informed q
! the hsterodox viows held by the nurse. Blu
+, this seemed scarcely fair to the woman, who
In spite of all, went to church as regularly q
V the other servants So he did not mention
r. the matter to the Talberts, but, overtakinl
q Mr. Nordle as the latter was one day walk
ing into the town, he, with all respect, tOlt
=. him what strange ideas Mrs. Miller held Oh
b religious subjects. This may seem presunp
N ton on Whittaker's part. but the truth Is
ID that the dream of his life was, that had no
,e fate made him a butler lie might have beel