The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1889-02-06
THE HALF-CASTE.
AN OLD G0vERNEsS'S TALE
FOUNDED ON FACT.
rY MISS UNLOCK.

know not what we may be,'' as my
quantity clever niece and name-child,
Cassia, a great reader and quoter of
Shakespeare, would say. And truly,
who could have thought that /, a plain
governess, should in my old age have
become writer. Yet cannot invent
a plot-I must write nothing but truth.
Here | pause, recollecting painfully
that in my first sentenced have sinned
against truth by emitting Cassia my
niece and name-child, when, strictly
speaking, she is neither the one nor the
other. She is no blood-relation at all,
and my own name happens to be Cas-
sandra. always disliked it heartily
until Mr.. Sutherland called me But
forgot that must explain little.
Mr.. Sutherland was--no, thank Heay-
enl-is, a very good man; friend of
my late father, and of the same BUSH
ness-an Indian merchant. When in
my twenty-fifth year my dear father
died. and we were ruined-a quiet way
of expressing this, but in time one
learns to speak SO quietly of every pang
Mr.. Sutherland was very kind to my
mother and to me. / remember, as
though it were yesterday, one day,
when he sat with us in our little parlor,
and hearing my mother calling me
Cassie said laughingly that / always
put him in mind of a certain Indian
spice. sin fact, - he added, looking af-
fectionately at my dear, gentle, little
mother, and approvingly-yes, it was
approvingly, at me-'sin fact, think
we three sitting thus, with myself in
the center, might be likened to myrrh,
aloes, and cassia.n One similitude was
untrue; for he was not bitter but
'ssweet as summer However, from
that time he always called me Cassia.
/ rather like the name, and latterly it
was very kind of him To- There
am forestalling my history again.
When was twenty-five, rs said, /
first went out as goyerness. This plan
was the result of many consultations
between my mother and myself. A.
hard thing was my leaving home; but
found l could thereby earn a larger and
more regular salary, part of which be-
ing put by, would sometime enable me
to live altogether with my mother.
Such were her plannings and hopes for
the future. AS for my own---Butit
is idle to dwell upon things so long
past. God knew best, and 1t all comes
to the same at the end of life.
1t was through Mr.. Sutherland that
got my first situation. He wrote my
mother hurried letter, saying he had
oerning whom he would explain before
my departure. But something him
dered his coming; it was public meet
ing, l remember; for, though still a
young man, he was held in much honor
among the city merchants, and knew
the affairs of India well, from early res
idenee there. OF course, having these
duties to fulfill, it was natural he
should not recollect my departure; so l
started without seeing him, and with
out knowing more of my future abode
than its name, and that of my employ
er. 1t was Y orkshire village, and the
gentleman whose family was going to
was q Mr.. lie Poer.
My long journey was dreary--G0d
knows how drearyl in youth one suffers
so much; and parting from my mother
was any time a sufficient grief. In
those days railways were not numer-
Gus, and | had TO journey good way
by coach. About eleven at night l
found myself at my destination. at
the door a maid-servant appeared: no
one else: it was scarcely to be expected
by ''the goYerness. y This was new
and sad coming home" to me. l was
shown to my bedroom, hearing, as
passed the landing, much rustling of
dresses and "squittlingn away of little
feet. Il ought to apologize for that odd
expression, which ! think / learned
when was quite child, and used TO
20 angling with my father and Mr..
Sutherland. 1t means scattering off
in all directions, as shoal of minnows
10 when you throw pebble among
.hem.) asked if the family were gone
to bed, and was informed mo-" so ar
ranged my dress and went downstairs,
nnconsciously treasured by the fact
that the house was neither so large nor
30 aristocratic as my very liberal salary
had inclined me to expect.
who shall / say, miss?" asked the
rather untidy servant, meeting me in
the lobby, and staring with all her eyes,
rs If stranger were some rare sight.
miss Pryor" l said, thinking re-
gretfully that / should be henceforth
that, and not "Cassia;n and seeing the
maid still stared, / added, with an
effort: II am the new goyerness.
So under that double announcement
l appeared at the parlor-door. The
room was rather dark: there were two
candles; but one had been extin-
guished, and was being hurriedly re-
lighted as / entered. At first 1 saw
tie pale lady sitting at one end of the
table, and two half-grown up girls,
dressed in going-out-to- costume,
seated primly together on the sofa.
There was third; but she vanished out
of one door as / entered the other.
miss Pryor, l believer said q timid
voice-so timid that / could hardly be-
lieve that it was lady addressing her
governess. | glanced at her: she was
little woman with pale hair and light
eyes - frightened-looking eyes = that
just rose and fell in minute. / said
II was Miss Pryor, and concluded / adj
dressed Mrs. LIE Poer.n She answered,
Yes, yes;n and held out, hesitatingly,
took rather warmly than otherwise; for
l felt really sorry for her evident ner-
vousness. 1t seemed SO strange for
anybody to be afraid of me. my
daughters, Miss Pryor. she then said,
in a louder tone. Whereupon the two
girls rose, courtesied, blushed-seem-
ingly more from awkwardness than
modesty-and sat down again. j shook
hands with both, trying TO take the in
itiative, and make myself Sociable and
at home--a difficult matter, my position
feeling much like that Of fly in an ice
house.
These are my pupils, thenpn said I,
ccheerfully: Which ID, is Miss Zlllahr'1 :,
lOt IclltluDciCQ NIL. 0uthCiidHu Adu
mentioned that name in his letter, and
its popularity naturally struck me.
The mother and daughters looked
rather blankly at each other; and the
former said: This is Miss lie Poer
and Miss Matilda-Zillah is not in the
room at present.
..Oh, a third sister?n observed.
mo" rather pertly answered Miss
LIE Poer; ''Zill is not our sister at all,
but only sort of distant relation of
pas, whom he is very kind to and
maintains at his own expense, and who
mends our stockings and brushes our
hair Of nights, and whom we are very
kind to Also
s.Oh, indeedl" was all l said in reply
to this running stream Of very provin-
cially-spoken and unprecedented Eng
lish. / was rather puzzled. too, for If
my memory was correct and ] generals
II remembered Mr.. Entherlandss letters
very clearly. probably because they
we're themselves SO clear--he had par
ticularly mentioned my future pupil,