The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-10-25

rooms with growing ferns. plrds nests.
leaves, iiowers, fs.oneS, would have
Johns horrid books piled in her own
bedroom on shelves, tables or even the
floor; would not learn to stir pudd ings
or hem towels. AID darted about like an
| elf, regardless OF furniture or decorum.
Now she was singing in a glorious con-
| tralto the widest OF .lces, now sobbng
convulsivcly over some scrap of paper
folded away by her fathers hand, and
newly discovered by the girl in her de-
Sultory reading. She would sit on the
best sofas with her feet tucked under her,
and wear the ample handsome wardrobe
| Miss Anstruther ordered out of her lib
cral allowance, with utter disregard of
tic propcictis--wrappers in the evening
and evening dresses at breakfast, just
as ii happened"
In the first two years Of her life at
| Doncester. it would have been hard to
| say which was more miserable in the little
cottage, the priin mai,len lady or the
| wayWard niece.
She was seated under the shade of a
willow, one June afternoon, looking
mOodNy into the water of little brook
AZ her feet, while the Reverend Albert
Mayhew finished little lecture Miss
AA,truther rad asked him to deliver.
lie waN tai, rear->i@hted. bashlul
man Of over thirty. appearing still older
from habitual stoop and puiet reserve
of manner. 1t had not been a pleasant
tack to him to obey Miss Ans;ru:her's
request; but, Sting Matte in an after
noon stroll, he had conscientiously done
his duty.
But. she answered him. 81 can't. l
can't stay in the house day after day.
stitching and cooking. Aunt Lefty has
a servant. and works harder than Jane
does. But it kills me; it sutrocates me.
she can't talk of anything but scrap
bags and tides. oh, you do not under
standw
Understand what. my child?"
The difference between this life and
my real life. We We're alone, papa and |.
though there were servants indoors and
ont. but no other house for fourteen
miles. Sometimes Mr.. Parker. nv
guardian. came over from Brownsville. !
but not often. Only papa and |. year in. |
year out. In the morning we rode over
the country 10 see about the stock, visit /
cd the cabins where the graziers lived. !
and were out till6t grew hot. and then
we went .iome - rest till it grew cool. .
And we read and studied and talked. or I
we played upon the organ papa had built .
in I'll" house. We wanted no one else.
we read Greek or Latin;
sometimes we recited whole plays. We
did not care what we ate or what we
wore, so we were fed and comfortable.
Oh, papa. papa" and sobs shook the
slender frame a Matte rocked to aai fro,
with grief
But now, Matte" said Mr.. Mathew,
very gently. ''you are woman with Il
woman's duties before you! Can you
not try to understand that the wild, free
life is unsuited to your present position."
She listened, that was one gain, while
ne talked grayely but tcnderly, pointing
out to her the pain it would have caused
ler father to know her discontinued.
'ebelliOus and hayward. Something in
he quiet voice seemed TO soothe the
girls heart, and after the sunset clouds
we're tinged with the last rays of the dy-
ne day, she rose up. saying very slowly:
Il will try to be more womanly, l will
ry!"
Miss Letitia was grimly astonished, !
tut not very hopeful, when Matte ap-
'eared at breakfast with her hair shining
Ike satin in glossy braids, her collar
lnned evenly, her feet neatly dressed in
id slippers, and sat erect but silent. act ,
ally eating like a lady, not dashing ,
hrorgh her breakfast rs a necessary evil. .
Fer wonder increased when after the ..
heal was over, Matte demurely followed !
er from room to room, awkwardly, but !
'illingly assisting in the busting and .
boxing, with nervous little apology ,
Or faults, to the effect that she would q
y and improve if her aunt would in :
.ruct her. !
1t was like claiming a channels goat to !,
pillow, and Mattie's cheeks grew thin, :
er eyes dull, as she plodded on, day .
ter day, conscientiously doing her duty !
directed. +
Only one pleasure remained. Every =
'ternoon she went across the rye fields =.
} the little country church, and spent \
vo or three hours at the organ reveling a
music, working of some of the crushed .
tally of heart and brain in the finger y
ork that carried out her improvisation. .
1t became the substitute for home, ia :,
Ter, friends and-no, not for love: for :,
ten into the church would steal the fig :;
'e Of Albert Mayhem, and Matte would :,
Ear the few words of commentator >,
at were her rewards for this suppressed, :,
amped life that was killing her. :,
She loved him after blind, unreason- y
g fashion she comprehended as little as y y
, did. He talked of her books as her (
Their had often talked; he loved music Il =