The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1888-03-15

with complaoent sati6faction.
"There il . manishneas about Mary
Jane which il singulariy unlike the gem
tility OF the women Of our family,H 70.
marked Marguerite.
Clementine, who had been married for
several years, and who had les toleration
than formerly for the Carteret deficiency
in the exchequer, threw cold water on
the general disfavor by Saying, in . mat
ter of fact way:
"Ohl we'll, girls, and mamma, you
know very well that nobody will ever
choose Mary Jane for her beauty, and il
she can help papa, for goodness sake let
her do it. Jerome says that paps must
have managed dresdfuliy to let Affairs
drlft as they have, and l agree with
him."
The housekeeping had fallen o. sood
deal into the hands ef Nary Janess 1be
had perfect genius for oontriving rag.
outs and fricasees out of the leftovers
and fragments; she would buy q soup
piece for q few cents and make q deli.
cious pot-au-feu, and as for Watching the
weekly bills and cutting off . cent here
and sixpence there her talent was mar
velous. Plebian if you choose, but new
ertheless a convenient and comfortable
talent for the child of an impecunious pa
rent.
But the day came when not all Mary
James magic could evolve dinners out Of
nothing. Invention she had, but creation
was beyond her powers, and not all her
willing service, diligent and faithful as it
was, could bring business enough to poor
Mr.. Carteret to more than pay his office
rent. Mrs. Carteret, poor lady, cried till
her eyes were red, but what good did
that do? Lillian went to live with Glenn
entine. Marguerite thought she would
try writing tor the press under the i'm
preston that here was an easy road to
fame and fortune-so respectable, too,
and needing so little outlay-for couldn't
she throw off poems and stories at q sit
ting if she could only find an editor to
pay for themr Two of the boys went of
on ranch in the train of an English no.
bleman and the others were At work,
they were able to do little more than sup
port themselves.
Mary Jane determined to improve the
situation, but the question was how
What could she do which would bring
in money? Day after day, night after
night she thought, but could fix upon
nothing definite. Meanwhile she mended
and darned, turned curtains and furniture
covering, kept the house bright and shin
ing, and found herself repaid by seeing
her father lose the discouraged express
sion which had overlaid his natural cheer
fulness.
"You have inherited the Jenkins fac
ulty," he said one day. "We Carterets
and your mothers people, the Truemans,
are lacking in resource, but my mothers
mother was Mary Jane jenkins, and she
was a woman among . thousand"
jenkins faculty, or Carteret elegance
Mary Jane pondered which was to come
to the front and prove helpful.
She was mounted on q step ladder re-
hanging . portiere, which she had spent
hours in repairing and freshening, when
q visitor was announced. It was q GER
tain Mrs. Despard, An old and fashionable
friend, and Maria, now maid-of-allwork,
hurried from her tubs to open the door,
and ushered her, without ceremony, into
the room where the young mistress was
busy with her amateur upholstery.
"For PHYS sakel" calculated Margue-
rite, in the chamber above. Mary Jane
is in the middle of the work and she'll
never apologize. l will not 60 down."
Mary Jane mortifes me every day of
my life," foamed Mrs. Carteret, brushing
her thin hair and taking her best lace
handkerchief from the bureau drawer.
81 wish," she continued, sorrowfully,
"that dear Mrs. Despard had called
when the drawing room was somewhat in
shadow. Mary Jane has no doubt ad-
mitted floods of light and every thread
bare line in the carpet and all the make
shifts will show, and oh it is hard to let
the world know how poor We are!
Thus tragically the mother and daugh-
ter above stairs regarded each other,
while below Mary Jane having tripped
from the step-ladder, shaken out the por-
there and established the caller in great
easy chair with hassock at her feet and
her back to the light, q screen between
her and the bit Of fire in the crate was
finding herself all at once face to face
with her opportunity.
els it possible, my dear, that You can
fix such things yourself p exclaimed
Mrs. Despard. "Do pardon me, but
neither for love nor money do l know
where to find any one who can take
stitches when they are needed, arrange my
pretty things daintily, drape . lambre-
quin and generally see to what my daugh-
ter would have done if she had lived.
You know lost Mignon when abe was
only two. You and she was born in the
same month with the April violets, Mary
Jane"
How it came about Mary Jane could
not have told, but before Mrs. Carte
ret entered the parlor compact was
make and the Despard portieres and fur
niture were all to pass in review before
the girls bright eyes the next day after
noon.
"You will let me pay you, my dear
child p said the lady, in . soft aside, a.
she went away.
But plain Mary Jane was not sensitive
on this point. She said, in her usual
voice:
"Certainly, Mrs. Despard, if l am able
to serve you l will charge you fair
price. but you must not count upon ne
until you find ont whether or not I can
really be Of use"
Nrs Cartsret exclaimed % the door
closed
1Thst I should have lived to see this
a. T..af Mayv lanai What