Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-09-19

81 shall repeat this conversation to
Paul. tell you that you may be pre-
pared TO meet the consequences.
II am prepared for anything but rags
and iags. Julia her sister replied; land
beg you to believe that ] should not have
remade our cast-of garments so long if it
had not been for keeping the peace. Let
me tell YOU what else am willing 10 do.
You say that some Of the costumes / have
made from the dresses you have finished
wearing have been very pretty and stylish.
will hold myself ready to make over the
best of them for you to wear again, and
will do it in my best manner.
And be paid for it
Certainly, like any other dressmaker.
"lf you were not perfect simpleton you
would marry Luke Hardness Mrs Gren-
nan burst out anew Then you would
have an establishment equal to your SIS
ters, and there wouldn't be such a horrible
inequality in your station as now
Il marry Luke Harkness?' said Miss
Annabe with the first touch of haughti-
ness she had shown. "A man old enough
TO be my grandfather, as deaf as a post and
as bald as an ancient American eagle? |
would 90 out az cook OF hOuse-maId first.
y !
marrying that man or digging my own
grave, with the understanding that J was
to Jump into it when it was completed,
would choose the latter alternative with
gratitude.
"And you wish me to understand that
you will not play for one of my parties
again unless you are paid for ltr
Mrs Grennan' hand was on the knob of
the door as she asked this question.
81 wish you 10 understand that ! do not
regard your old velvet and silk gowns as
fair equivalent for my services as chief
musician, said Miss Annable. And,
also, that not only believe with the
Bible that the laborer is worthy Of his
hire but that labor is eminently respec-
table.
The departing guest twist Of the door
knob was nothing less than vicious. Flor
ence, who knew her sister perfectly, under
stood that the breach between them now
would be hard one to bridge. Work was
a degradation, in the opinion Of her own
near relatives. But it was not so for her.
There were two ways in which she knew
she could earn a generous support One
was by her musical talent and the other
by her taste and ability in designing cos
tunes
1T is wicked to keep you at the piano,
Miss Annable, when we all know you are
so fond Of dancing, but no one plays rs
you do, her friends were constantly say
ing,
Now, why she asked herself, with this
available talent in her possession, should
she not earn some money and in "a BUSH
ness-ike and "open and aboyehoard man
ner as men earned it? Miss Anahle was
unable to see why she should be idle and
wear her sisters cast-off clothes, any more
than the man who had "A room across the
corridor should be idle and wear his rich
brothers rags and jags This question
of the utilization of talent had been lOgi-
cally met and settled, a good while before,
but the hindrances in the way of putting
her theories into practice had been hard to
overcome Her sisters had aimed high and
more than fair that she should do the
same, her relatives had frequently told her,
instead of occupying the fourth story back
in q crowded boarding house and making
them a world of trouble In eXcusing and
explaining her anomalous position. Their
frequent assertions that sister Florence was
exceedingly peculiar, and could not Toe In
duced 10 make home with either Of her
relatives, were in the main true. Miss An
nable could have made herself useful in
either of these establishments, but her lib
erty was far too precious TO JeopardIze by
any such arrangement Here in the sky
parlor, certain hours Of each day We're her
own her very own.
A few hours later, Miss Annabe was
driving in the park with some friends.
She passed both of her sisters, and their
recognition, though calculated to deceive
her companions. was well understood by
her. Julia had communicated with
Blanche and they had both shown their
dispIeasure in as marked a measure as the
would permit. This recalci-
trmt member of their aristOcrauc family
was to be brought to terms. Florence An
nahle smiled as she thought Of IT,
Clark nuriyage rode along 10y the side
of the landau and chat'o d with the young
ladies' For the first time since Florence
had decided not to wear any more east
oils her courage failed her She feltit to
be a Illuminating truth, that she cared more
for this mans good opinion than for any
thing else in the world; to think that she
WIS quite independent of remark or crltl-
1ism from any other quarter hut not from
him. filled her with confusion and alarm.
Mr.. uuriyage had been the only man she
had met in society who talked 70 her rs if
She were possessed ct an equal Intelligence.
Miss Auuabe cauvas>ed the subject very
in these few minutes. Her
scou of her own weakness, rs shown 10y
tine presence of this man. acted like a spur
90, J..