Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-05-17
1T AN ORDINARY GIRL,
RY OLIVE HARPER.

YES. it's her, barefoot as usual"
sand the ground all frosty like it is.
;s q shame of that father of hers to
eat her so.
Down the roadway walked the young
! i whose forlorn condition had called
r.h these remarks, aher bare feet pur-
. With cold, but she seemed to have
ITcotten their existence, for though
he kept her COWS before her in the
md & was mechanically, as she was
bsorbed in book that she held open
her hand.
Her name was Mercy Lord, but
bmehow people in that little village
nd gotten into the habit Of calling her
ords Mercy, partly from the fact that
he was the only child left to her
roken- hearted mother out of seven,
nd also in grim sense of humor as
bowing the kind of mercy some peo-
he receive in this world. Her father,
homas Lord, was what the farmers
round called driver" and he was
ne, indeed, and whosoever lived I'M
er his rule was driven and driven to
ork until nature gave way. But he
as as tough as O. pine knot himself,
hid could work from before daybreak
dark and still not feel tired, so he
ould never allow any one else to COM
lain of fatigue. His poor wife, broken
health and spirit, sank into an in
Aids chair, and would probably have
led had it not been for Mercy, who
bved her mother with an affection as
ere as beautiful.
But little chance had the poor child
show her love, save by the kisses as
be few in and out, up and down at
Ter work, which seemed to be enough
pr five young girls Of her age. How
be ever completed her tasks her poor
mother did not know. A large farm,
ll the hands to cook for, the house to
eep in order, the cows and sheep and
ther animals to attend to, the dairy
ind the hens to look after, and all the
pinning, knitting, making and mend
be- to do, and this burden on the
loulders of girl of eighteen. But
he did it, and without complaint.
The hardest thing Mercy had to bear
ss that her father was niser and
Id not believe in a girls dressing her
jeff up" as he said, and he allowed
Der but one calico dress and one pair
y shoes year, and no money to get
Inything else with, and so she was
pever more than half-clad, and could
30 nowhere nor enjoy any of the inno-
ent pleasures of other girls.
Another girl would have grown hard
md sullen, and SO, perhaps would
lave done Mercy had it not been that
he did not think of her deprivations
j all. For Mercy lived in another
world, that Of books and study. Up
the garnet was whole chest full Of
books that had been left there by q
oang man who had for q time boarded
Elth her parents, and these books were
iercy's solace and help. From her
mother she had learned to read, and
he rest was easy to this fresh young
ram, and every one Of its energies
gas devoted to the mastery Of the
tudies, and wherever Mercy was she
|ad IN her pocket a grammar or some
ther school book until she had learned
IL OF these, and then she entered into
pc wonderful realm of the past ages,
shown in geology; she knew every
liant, tree and flower by its scientific
anne, and the stars and elements held
% longer any secret from her that the
'est Of books could teach. The mo-
nents when she could study were
Matched one by one, when she churned
knitted, or spun or drove the cows,
ma on Sundays and sometimes little
the evenings, so that few, indeed,
'ere the girls Of her age who could
cast OF so excellent or thorough an
ducation. She studied because she
pved to study, and no parties, visits or
nltors diverted her mind, and she
pund her only comfort and pleasure
them except that which came from
yer intercourse with her fading mother
All the girls from the village and
hose from the farms around pitied
Leroy because of her round of cease
Pss toll and her despicable old father,
ut she knew nothing of their pity nor
'anted it. She was, if not happy, at
Fast content, and though her poo,
ahds We're bare and rough there was
ot one among them all who could
rte as beautifully as she.
One day her mother felt that she
Pnst make her peace with God, fol
le knew that her time was nearly
'ent, and the minister was sent fol
ld he came out to the farm to spend
lie afternoon and talk and pray with
lie invalid. Mercy lowered near her
other as much as she could i'll the
ptervals of her labor and heard the
mister talking, and her mother say
s that her only regret was that poo,
te.l,cy should be obliged to keep along
'he same old rut and die at last Of
ara work before her time, and he
led to console her as best he could
a,h.e1ng carelessly at Mercy the while
Alter he went, Mercy began to think
herself. She suddenly became
phsclous of the hardships Of her life.
~ she also became suddenly con-
ious that her dress was mean and
Dor and old and faded, and that she
as barefoot. The red blood mounted
hef hair and tears of shame to hel
IS, Her father was "well-to-do,
~ here was she, his only child, bare