Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1888-10-13
PURE IN HEART AND UNSELFISH
IN PURPOSE.
Y"OLIVE HARPER"

Out by the edge of the meadow, under
an apple tree that was sending showers
of delicate pink and white petals down
to the grass with every breeze, lay
pretty Nora Greedy, fast asleep. The
soft and sweet-scented leaves lay scat
tered all over her brown dress, and
some nestled in her thick, dark hair,
and one had fallen on one of her eyelids
and rcposed there as if pleased with
the position.
Nora's arms were bare to the elbows
and were undeniably red and showed
signs of toll, and her face was tanned
and brown. save where her healthy
young blood showed through the
brown. Her lips We're parted and be-
tween them were glimpses of white
teeth that were the envy of all who
saw them, and all who knew her saw
them often, for she was always laughing
and blithe, and somehow the rich color,
dark hair and pretty teeth all seemed
to belong to those beautiful blue eyes
that looked so honestly out from under
the heavy, black lashes, true Irish
eyes than which none are more lovely.
Nora was only a servant, but she was
an honest, conscientious and capable
one, and her rich Irish voice used to
troll forth those creening old ballads
| that keep you vibrating between II
smile and tear. The children idol
lied their good Nora, the mistress
| leaned upon her in sorrow and Joy. the
master spoke of her as one of the treas
ures of earth, and the dumb animals
followed her with worlds of love for
Ia, N, thair 1nux,
Nora was happy because it was the
| gift of her sunny nature to be so, and
she never seemed sad or out of spirits
and so she was regarded as a sort of
| perpetual sunshine in the house.
:. Only one popularity had Nora, and
that often surprised her gentle mis-
| tress. Nora was avaricious. She was q
miser if there ever was one. She re-
ceived good wages and she never spent
penny that she could possibly save.
She made her own poor clothes at
night when she should be resting, and
| she went barefoot whenever the
weather rendered it possible, and,
i'll short, she was evidently n born
miscr. Still Mrs. Satterlee decided
that that was Morals own business, and
| that the money was hers to spend or
save as suited her.
So Nora had lived with Mrs. Satter-
lee for seven years. She came rs
child of Is, Just landed, bewildered
stranger in strange land, and because
of the CHEEKY smile and honest eyes
she had been chosen from among many
others, and she went with the gentle
lady to live in a country home where
che al nnntant hon,,x aud
efficient. As the little children were
born to the lady, 80 were they born to
the love of good, kind Nora, whose
heart was q yelling spring of warm
affection.
Nora was now 90, and there
were indeed few girls anywhere who
We're prettier, neater or better taught
for one in her station than Nora and
there were two young men who thought
her perfection entirely. One of them
was blacksmith and the other horti-
culturist but though Nora was kind
TO them neither received the slightest
encouragement. Sometimes Mrs. Sat
terlce wondered why Nora did not
seem to care to marry and have home
of her own, but she said nothing.
Nora wrote to her parents and friends
in the "Old Country" and received let
tiers from them i'll return with a regu-
larity that was lesson to many other
families, and save that Nora always
sang and laughed more for few days
after the receipt of these letters none
would have noticed. But the songs
seemed more plaintive, and the laugh
ter not quite 50 rich and mellow; still
,1,n en;1 ,,nthinp and y,I !,
but "the baby" as they called her, q
child of 3, and she would always trot
at Nora's heels at these times like lit
tie dog till Nora would take her up and
rock her to sleep.
This day she had received three let
tiers from home, but she seemed trihe
out of sorts as she looked them over
and missed one that she seemed to
think ought to have been there, and
after dinner was over and all her work
done, and the baby asleep on the wide
lounge, Nora went to the meadow
through which ran q little brook. and
where the clover was SO sweet and lux
uriant that one almost wished to be q
COW, to reyel in its juicy sweetness.
Nora sat down by the side of the tiny
brook, and took her letters from her
pocket and read them. One was from
her father, one from a cousin, and ono
from her sister, who was n widow.
Nora's eyes filled as she read the
same old story of wrong, oppression
and abuse, and she read with flashing
eyes of the coarse brutality of the
agents who had turned out of doors
friends, relatives and playmates, always
the same, and no redress. And now
Nora's father wrote that Dermot Kelly's
father and family were all to be evicted
from the land where they had lived so
many generations, and poor Dermot
had lust finished his studies and was