The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-08-22
AN UNIQUE CHARACTER.

We had taken cottage for the
summer in a small village on the
south Jersey coast. The rusticity
and sPclusiOn Of the place delighted
US. John, whose pen has to earn our
daily bread, was in state of ppipet.
ual self cOngratulatiOn Bot our par-
adise had one draWhack-thpre was
no church, services, when there was
any one to ofiiciate tielng held in TIE
ho0I house and in less than Il fort.
night after we took Possession of the
cottage cur COOK packed her trunk
and departed, declaring that the
place was too haythenish for any
respectable person TO live in."
In this emergency Ann D0rner was
recommended to us. Her father, a
"iOngShOreman-hOnest as the day
and powerful religious" the neigh
borS told us-had brought up his
family IN a small cabin on the out
skirts of the village, and Ann had
never been ten miles from home.
She had clean-looking sensible face.
with somewhat intrOspective eyes :;
her hair, which was pale brown, was
brushed smoothly back faOm her low
straight forehead and huag in IA loose
mass down her shoulders, while her
g0wn-it was literally gown, a sort
of pre-MOther Hubbard atfair-WaS IA
dark blue calico. hanging unbeIted
from the yoke, and neither shoe nor
stocking gtaced her substantial feet.
In every way she Was so unlike the
type of servant Cir! to which we had
been accustomed that | hesitated to
engage her. But her honest, sensible
fee decided me. In time, no doubt,
she could be persuaded to adopt a
more civilized toilet.
But An3. who had been brought MP
a Methodist of the Meth0diSts of the
'Old school" had the courage of he:
convictions, and her ideas on dress
were as fixed as the laws of the Medes
and Persians. Like the Goddess of
Liberty. she had but one style of cos
tune and she wore it Oh all Occas,
ions; even on Sunday she refused to
put on shoes and stockings. In vain
we argued with her on the impr0-
prety OF going bareloottd to church.
AIMS firmness remained unshaken.
AT first l thought it was downright
Obstinacy, but that was before | knew
Ann. In time | found that her rigid
views concerning dress were rooted
in a religious conscicntiOusnesS as
sensible and as narrow as that Of
John Ward.
"I've got shoes an stockin'S,
ma'am," she said. in answer TO my
offer TO advance the money for the
purchase of these articles "but may
be some other folks haven't, an l
don't think I'ye got a right 10 dress
any better than the nOorest person
in the place can afford to. cause if l
did, ma'am-don't you see? they
might be discouraged, an say they
wouldn't 90 to meetin' unless they
could dress as good as Ann D0rner."
But haying learned on careful in
quiry that there was no one in the
village so poor as to be obliged to go
bdrefOote0, we at last persuaded her
to put on shoes. After a time she
cOnsentsd, too. to gather her flowing
name into braid, and encouraged
by these concessions. ! ventured to
suggest change in her head gear.
Ann took off her calico sun bonnet
and surveyed it critically.
ut amt handsome. that's fact"
she admitted, "but if l amt too
proud to wear it ma'am, don't think
you'd ought to mind. It's clean .an'
whole. an it's as good as anything
ole Miss Carson can afford TO wear"
AT last, however, she promised
that if would make her a perfectly
plain black bonnet she would wear it
on Sundays.
Ruching was being worn for face
trimming at the time, and having