Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-08-17
PATIENCE.
CHAPTER I.

She was the piainsst- one almost might say
the ugliest-of the entire cargo, and there we're
seventeen of them. Poor Patience Owen, The
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 rejoin 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 first come
first served" and lest some ill-favored maiden
should be palmed of upon them through the
careiessness OF proxy good number of these
missionaries had managed to get away from the
scene OF their labors 80 as to personally select
upon their arrival at Khansal the future part
ners OF their joys and sorrows. II once a young
woman had been told off to an absentee and a
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' CONVEX
sation on the voyage out: needless to say whittier
they tended. We're not the seventeen coming
out 70 be married? What harm then to give the
lei,s 70 mag nation and tongue on the subject
III, II.
OF course, on SO sketchy an acquaintance the
charms OF the outer woman would principally
attract the suitors, and the most engaging in ap-
pearance would be the first chosen though. in
ueea, the passing triumph thus obtained might
wen be neutrazed by the possible undesira-
biiity of the 'firs. come" II a hard-featured
ana elderly person be ever 80 capable a house
VIE, ana noted teacher of Sunday schools be
amlcted with cast in her eve and bad COM
pi9Hion, men and missionaries are all mem will
nrnnarlv -. A..
tie' weakly preferring some better-fayored
sister, ignorant. perchance of the best recipe
Ior strawberry jam-not, after all. of over
"nelmine Importance in the castor the names
ot the Kings OF Israel and Judah. But Patience!
Sne was small, and little bit lame. Her poor
little face had pinched and half-staryed look.
her iittle gray linen dress was skimpily made;
her hair was turning gray. although she was
only twenty-five, and, from having always been
Tue putt and fetch OF her own family she had
sno"L 81 shsupldiy awkward, apt to blush and to
KNOCK thlngs over in her nervousness afraid to
say what came into her head lest she should be
itugned at, and therefore remaining silent,
shy' and apparently dull. She was far
700 much afraid of the children to be
an ehcient Sunday school teacher. and
who had tolerated not so much. as an offer of
heip from clumsy Patience But she could sew
neatly. and would no doubt darn her husbands
SOCKS to perfection; her voice had a pleasant
'one whenever she dared to use il; and she
was the most unselfsh creature upon earth.
WIN WI neart ike an artichoke and the courage
OF mouse. She had been shipped of to the
east because she was no longer welcome at
nome. Her mother was dead and her brother.
now the head of the family, and his young
Wlle desplsed her, and looked upon her as an
lncumbrance. She was not yery strong
minded; and when the minister under whom
they sat suggested a means of providing for
poor little Patience, her relations showed such
eaeerness to seize the opportunity that it was
Impossible TO withstand them, even had she
nad any reasonable objection to Offer which
she had not So here she was standing. one of
seventeen, on the deck of the Trincomalee.
oheer up, my dear" said her neighbor a
Duxom damsel, unaffected with nerves and no.
tions "one good thing, there'll be no mothers
ln-law, at least none to speak of. For INV own
part would not object to marrying foundlino
1 don hold with taking on pack of your hus-
bands relations for your own"
An, sighed Patience, perhaps you're right.
IL ASH always too easy to live at peace with
one own family, let alone some one else's''
true, my dear, for such as you who couldn't
hoid your own with daddylonglegs. But we
aren't all made alike, thank God"
win which pharisaical observation she
turhea away, leaving poor Patience to reflect
upon her shortcomings. These reflections had
not materially improved her case before the
ship came to an anchor and her thoughts were
diverted, not too agreeably. from their channel
Dy the sight OF swarms of scantily-clad natives
Jabbering AID scufiing in the shoreboats
alongside. None of the candidates had come
out TO the steamer, but awaited the arrival ~
its fair freight at the shipping Office. Tb;ther
the gallant seventeen were duly convened nm
DER Mrs. Abbotts maternal eye and indeed No
better guardian could have been chosen than
tins shrewd but kind-hearted woman. whose
TASK mad been no sinecure since she left Liver
pool month before. Each gentleman in
the order of his arrival at the Office had
Deen presented with a numbered ticket
No. 1 having been secured by a small. male
patent missionary. whose first wife had been
similarly purveyed. and who knew exactly how
10 proceed on this, the second ..auspicious
occasion" He sat quietly on a packing case
with his ticket tightly clasped in his hand. ap-
parently unconscious of the enyious dances
cast upon him by Nos. 2 to IL. Seven ,of the
number were ministers and the remaining
proxies, who were distinguishable from their
clerical brethren by the informality of their
attire, whereas the missionaries we're de-
Gently and unsuitably habited in black and
wore chimneypot hats Mrs. Abbott was
the first to ascend the steps, and advanced
with becoming soiemnity along the quay
toward the shipping office, where she shook
hands with one or two of the brotherhood.
the great majority Of whom. it must be adj
mitted, wore a sheepish air, as though the
sanction which custom kindly extended to their
present business were not quite sufficient to
$500 49, W AhsShohSc. 1 ne young women.
while endeavorlng to appear unconcerned.
shot many curious glance at their future
lords-ln the mass. all chaotic and unclassified
and more than one, even in the brief space
which preceded the ceremony of choosing
breathed a hope that the one really handsome
man OF the party might be inspired to choose
her for his bride. But he was a proxy. and
sad to say, the proxies were a better looking
set than the missionaries. Let us hope that no
embryo Lancelots lurked in their midst. With
them at any rate We have nothing to do.
Drawn up in two long rows. with Mrs. Abbott
and the shipping agent between them. and with
all the appearance of being arranged for some
country dance or rustic game. the thirty-four
contracting parties stood, and, at a word from
Mrs. Abbott, the process of selection began
Five minutes were allowed to each gentleman
in which to suit himself" as the servants saw
No. rejecting, perhaps through bitter expe-
rience, the comelier OF his vis-a-vis announced.
after only three minutes deliberation. that his
choice had fallen upon the third young lady
from the top. They were accordingly pre-
sented to one another and fell out to make ac-
quaintance, while the game proceeded as before.
Sixteen selections had been made, and now
there remained only the two who had no
choice-Patience and the seventeenth mis-
sionary. We cannot here enter upon the dis
cussion of difficult ana painful question-tbat
OF the suitability OF certain persons to hold the
Office of spiritual pioneer to the heather, but
if ever there was a bad specimen Of a mission
airy it was No. II. That he was No IL was due
to partially for cooling drinks at irregular
int and no had H. l..