Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1888-01-25


Jane, echoed Mrs. Carteret, regarding
her son with complacent satisfaction.
There Is a manishness about Mary
Jane which is singularly unlike the
gentllity OF the women of our family.' -
remarked Marguerite.
Clementina, who had been married
Tor several years, and who had less
liberation than formerly for the Carte
ret deficiency In the exchequer, threw
cold water on the general disfavor by
saying, In matter OF fact way:
oh! well, girls, and Mamma, you
know very we'll that nobody will ever
choose Mary Jane for her beauty, and
II she can help papa, for goodness sake
let her do 1t. Jerome says that papa
must have managed dreadfully to let
affairs drift as they have, and / agree
with him."
The housekeeping had fallen a good
deal into the hands of Mary Jane. She
mad a perfect genius for contriving
ragoutS and tricaseeS of left-overs and
fragments; She would buy ''soup
piece" fer few cents ard make
delicious pot-au-feu, and as for watch
/ ing the weekly bills and cutting off a
cent here and a six pence there her
talent was5marvelous. Plebeian if you
| choose, but nevertheless a convenient
and comfortable talent for the child of
/ an lmpecunious parent.
/ 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 Clementina. Mar
/ gueTite thought she would try writing
/ for the press under the impression that
here was an easy road to fame and
I fortune-sO respectable, too, and need
ing so little outlay-for couldn't she
throw off poems and stories at sitting
If she could only find an editor to pay
| for them? Two OF the boys went off
on a ranch in the train of an English
nobleman and the others were at work,
though thew were able TO do little more
than support 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 daTned, turned curtains
and furniture covering, kept the house
bright and shining, and found herself
repaid by seeing her father lose the
discouraged expression which had over
laid his natural cheerfulneSs.
''You have inherited the Jenkins
faculty." he said one day. We Carte
rets and your mothers people. the
TTuemans, are lacking in resource, but
my mothers mother was Mary Jane
jenkins, and she was woman among
a thousand"
Jenkins faculty, OF Carteret ele-
was to come to the front and prove
helpful.
She was mounted on a step-ladder,
rehangInG portiere, which she had
spent hours in repairing and fTeshening,
when a visitor was announced. 1t was
a certain Mrs. Despard, an old and
fashionable friend, and Maria, now
maid-of-all-work, 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 pltv's sakel'' calculated Mar
guerite, in the chamber above. "Mary
Jane Is in the middle of the work and
she'll never apologize. L Will not go
DOWN."
"Mary Jane mortifies me every day
of my life," foamed Mrs. Carteret,
brushing her thin hair and taking her
best lace handkerchief from the bureau
drawer.
II WISH" she continued, sorrow-
fully, that dear Mrs. Despard had
called when the drawing-room was
somewhat in shadow. Mary Jane has
no doubt admitted floods of light and
every threadbare line in the carpet and
all the make-shlfts will show, and onl
| 1t is hard to let the world know how
! poor We arel"
Thus tragically the mother and
/ daughter above stairs regarded each
1 other, while below Mary Jane having
/ tripped from the step-ladder, shaken
/ out the portiere and established the
caller in great easy chair with has
/ sock at her feet her back to the light,
a screen between her and the bit of fire
| in the CRATE was finding herself all at
| once face to face with her opportunity.
sis il possible, my dear, that you can
do such things yOurselfr" exclaimed
/ Mrs. Despard. ''Do pardon me, but
neither for love nor money do know
where to find any one who can take
stitches when they are needed, arrange
my pretty things daintily, drape
lambrequin and generally see to what
my daughter would have done If she
had lived. You know lost Mignon
when she was only two. You and she
were born In the same month with the
April violets, Mary Jane"
How 1t came about Mary Jane could
not have told, but before Mrs Carteret
entered the parlor compact was made
and the Despard portiere and furniture
were all TO pass in review before the
girls bright eyes the next day alter
noon-
sYou will let me pay you, my dear
childY" said the lady, in soft voice,
as she went away.
But plain Mary Jane was not sensi-
tive on this point. She said, in her
usual voice.
Certainly, Mrs. Despard, IL 1 am
able to serve you will charge you
fair price, but you must not count upon
me until you find out whether or not L
can really be OF use.
| Mrs. Carteret exclaimed as the door
closed:
s.That I should have lived to see
this day. Mary Janel Mary janet
What will people think of your"
ooh, my dear little mother, "nat
matters 1t what they may think IL only
they viii find my work good OF It's KIND
and pay me a living price for It.
1t was not many weeks before Aiary
Jane had all she wanted TO DO a
dozen families were IN neeu OF preclseiy
such helpful assistance as sne coulu
render- and she had her regular days
and went from one TO another, gradu-
aIly becoming TO be regarded as
bousehold oracle. For, were there
stains on the linen, Mary Jane could
remove them; was DIT of lace frayed
bar deft hands could restore 1t to its