Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-09-07
PATIENCE.
CHAPTER I.

uence owen Ihe cargo consisted OF real
live English women, sent out to become
the wives of the bachelor missionaries of
Shikarore. The Trincomalee had brought
them out from Liverpool, and they were
now coming into harbor at Khansal, cha
peroned by the wife of leading minister
who was coming out to join her husband,
and all agog to spy the first aspirants to
their hands. The principle upon which
the brotherhood acted on these occasions
was that of "frst come first served" and
lest some ill-favored maiden should be
palmed off upon them through the care
lessness of proxy, good number of these
missionaries had managed to get away
from the scene of their labors so as to per-
sonally select upon their arrival at Khan
sal the future partners of their Joys and
sorrows. If once a young woman had
been told off to an absentee, and suitable
escort found for her to the gentleman's
neighborhoOd, objections were useless, and
the very next day she would be married
to him from her escorts house.
Speculations, conjectures, even dreams
had formed the staple Of the young ladies'
conversation on the voyage out; needless
to say whittier they tended. Were not the
seventeen coming out to be married? What
harm, then, to give the reins to imagina-
ton and tongue on the subject of their
tIturSe The prettiest aimed high, for, of
course, on so sketchy an acquaintance the
charm ofthe outer woman would principally
attract the suitors and the most engaging
IN appearance would be the first chosen,
though, indeed, the passing triumph thus
obtained might well be neutralized by the
possible undesirability of the ''irst come"
If manufactured and elderly person be
ever SO capable a housewife, and noted
teacher OF Sunday schools be afflicted with
cast in her eye and a bad complexion.
men (and missionaries are also mem will
falI IN properly appreciatine their good
qualities, weakly preferring some better-fa
Vored sister Ignorant, perchance, of the best
recipe for strawberry iam-not, after all, of
overwhelming Importance in the East-or
the nameS of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
But Patience! She was small, and a little
bit lame. Her poor little face had a pinched
and half-starved look; her little gray linen
dress was skimpily made: her hair was
turning gay, although she was only twen-
ty-hVe, and, from having always been the
butt and fetch of her own family, she had
grown stupidity awkward, apt to blush and
to knock things over in her nervousness.
afraid to say what came into her head lest |
she should be laughed at, and therefore |
remained silent, shy and apparently dull. |
She was far too much afraid of the chill |
dren to be an efficient Sunday-school |
teacher, and her mother was notable |
housekeeper, who had tolerated not so |
much as an offer of help from clumsy Pa
tience. But she could sew neatly. and |
would no doubt darn her husbands socks |
to perfection. Her voice had pleasant |
tone whenever she dared to use il. and |
she was the most unselfsh creature upon
earth, with heart like an artichoke and |
the courage of mouse. She had been
shipped off to the East because she was no
longer welcome at home Her mother
was dead, and her brother, now the head
of the family, and his young wife despised
her, and looked upon her as an incum-
brance. She was not very strong minded.
and when the minister under whom they
sat suggested a means of providing ior
poor little Patience, her relations showed
such eagerness to seize the opportunity
that it was impossible to withstand them.
even had she had any reasonable objection
to offer, which she had not So here she
was, standing one of seventeen, on the
deck Of the Trincomalee.
S'Cheer up, my dear" said her neighbor,
a buxom damsel unaffected with nerves
and notions. "One good thing there'lI be
no mothers-in-law, at least none to speak
of. For my part | would not object to
marrying a founding. don't hold with
taking on pack of your husbands rela-
tions for your own"
"Ah, sighed Patience, perhaps you're
right. 1t isn't always too easy to live at
peace with ones own family, let alone some
one else's"
"True, my dear, for such as you who
couldn't mold your own with daddy-long-
legs. But we aren't all made alike thank
God"
With which pharisaical observation she
turned away, leaving poor Patience to re-
fleet upon her shortcomings. These rehec-
tions had not materially improved her case
before the ship came to an anchor, and her
thoughts were diverted not too agreeably, !
f ON their channel by the sight of swarms |
of scantily-clad natives jabbering and scuf-
fling in the shore-boats along side. None |
of the candidates had come out to the
steamer, but awaited the arrival of its fair
freight at the shipping Office. Thither
the gallant seventeen were duly conveyed !
under Mrs Abbott's maternal eye, and |
indeed no better guardian could have |
been chosen than this shrewd but kind |
hearted woman, whose task had been |
nc sinecure since she left Liverpool |
month before. Each gentleman in the !
order of his arrival at the office had |
been presented with a numbered ticket, !
No. having been secured by a small, pale, |
patient missionary, whose first wife had |
been similarly purveyed, and who knew |
exactly how to proceed on this, the second |
"auSpiCious occasion" He sat quietly on |
a packing case, with his ticket tightly |
clasped In his hand, apparently uncon-
scious of the envious glanceS cast upon him /
by Nos. > TO II. Seven of the number |
were ministers and the remainder proxies |
who were distinguishable from their cler- |
ical brethren by the informaiity of their
attire, whereas the missionaries were de-
Gently and unsuitably habited in black and
wore chimneypot hats Mrs. Abbott was
the first to ascend the steps, and advanced
with becoming solemnity along the quay
toward the shipping Office, where she
shook hands with one or two of the broth
erhood, the great majority of whom, it
must be admitted, wore a sheepish air, as
though the sanction which custom kindly
extended to their present business were
not quite sufficient to keep them in ooun-
tenance. The young women, while en-
deavoring to appear unconcemed, shot
many q curious glance at their future
lords-ln the mass all chaotic and unclas-
sihed-and more than one, even in the
brief space which preceded the ceremony
OF choosing, breathed hope that the one
really handsome man of the party might
be inspired to chose her for hisbride. But
he was a proxy and sad To say the nrn,