The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1890-07-12
LISPETH.


She was the daughter Of SonoO, = Hin
man, and Jadeh his wife. One year their
maize failed, and two bears spent the
night in their only poppy field just abOYe
the Sutlei valley on the KOtgarh sido;No,
next season. they turned Christian, shd
brought their baby to the mission 10 be
baptized. The Kotgarh chaplain chris-
tened her Elizabeth and "Lispeth' is the
Hill or pahari pronunciation.
Later, cholera came into the KOtgarh
valley and carried off Sonoo and Jadeh.
and Lispeth became half servant, half
companion, to the wife of the then chap
lain of Kotgarh This was after ths
reign of the Moravian missionaries, but
before Kotgarh had quite forgotten her
title of Mistress of the Northern Hills. &"
Whether Christianity improved Lis
peth, or whether the gods Of her own
people would have done as much for her
under any circumstances, do not know:
but she grew very lovely. When q HiIl
girl grows lovely she is worth travelling
fifty miles over bad ground TO look upon.
Lispeth had Greek fRce-one Of those
faces people paint so often and see no
seldom. She was of pale, ivory color
and, for her race, extremely tall Also,
she possessed eyes that were wonderful;
and, had she not been dressed in the
abominable print cloths affected by Mis-
sions, you would, meeting her on the
hillside unexpectedly, have thought her
the original Diana of the Romans going
ont TO slay
Lispeth took TO Christianity readily,
and did not abandon it when she reached
womanhood, as do some Hill girls. Hor
own people hated her, because she had,
they said, become a msmsRhib and
washed herself daily; and the chaplain's
wife did not know what to do with her.
Somehow, one cannot ask stately god
dess, five foot ten in her Shoes, to clean
plates and dishes. SO she played with
the chaplain's children, and took cIsnsoa
in the Sunday school, and read tll the
books in the house, and grew more and
more beautiful like the princesseG IN
fairy tales. The chaplain's Wits Uaid
that the girl ought to take service iS
Simla as nurse or something ''Renteel. Z"
But Lispeth did not want to saks ssE-
vice. She was very happy whore she ives.
When Travellers were not many
in those years-came Into KotgaRh, Iiu-
peth used to lock herself into her oWR
room for fear they might take her away
to Simla, or somewhere out into the I'M
known world.
One day, a few months after she waa
II years old, Lispeth went out for
walk. She did not walk in the manner
of English ladies-a mile and half cut
and "a ride back again. She covered b.
tween twenty and thirty miles In her
little constitutionals, all about and
about, between Kotgarh and Narkunda.
This time she came back at full dusk,
stepping down the break neck descent
into Kotgarh with something heavy In
her arms The chaplain's wife ives dos
ing in the drawing room when LAspeth
came in breathing hard and very en-
hausted with her burden. Lispeth put
it down on the sofa, and said simply
"This is my husband found him ON
the Bagi road. He has hurt himself We
will nurse him, and when he is well
your husband shall marry him to me-"
This was the first mention Lispeth had
ever made of her matrimonial views,
and the chaplain's wife shrieked with
horror However, the man ON the sOfa
needed attention first. He was young
Englishman, and his head had been odt
to the bone by something Jagged. Lispsth
said she had found him down the hhud
80 she had brought him in. He was
breathing queerly and was unconscious.
He was put to bed and tended by the
chaplain, who knew something Of medi-
cine and Lispeth waited outside the
door in case she could be useful She OK
planned to the chaplain that this Wal
the man she meant 10 marry; And tha
chaplain and his wife lectured her ~
verely on the impropriety Of her conduct.
Lispeth listened quietly, and repeated
her first proposition. II takes = great
deal of Christianity to wipe out uRelVil-
lied eastern Instincts, such a. falling In
love at first sight Lispeth,. having
found the man she worahiped, did not
see why she should keep silent ~ 10 her
choice. She had no intention Of boihG
sent away, either. She was going 10
nurse that Englishman until he wAa
well enough to marry her. This Wsa
her little programme.
After fortnight OF slight fever and
Inflammation the EnglishnAn recovered
conference and thanked the ohsplain Aad
his wife, and Lispeth especially Lisleth
for their kindness. BE was . traVols4
In the east, he said-they never tslhGd
about "globe trotters" Ia those days,
when the p. & o. fleet was youAG aud
small-and had come from Dehra Dan
TO hunt for plants and butterhies aBaoae
the Siiala hills. No one at simla, there
fore, knew anything about hm Ne
fancied he must have fallen over ths eliH
while stalking fern on a rottOa tree
trunk, and that his coolies must have
stolen his baggage and hed. Hs theught
be would go back to SimlA when he Was
q little stronger. He desired no more
mountaineering.
He made small haste 10 60 away, aRd
recovered his strength slowly. BsRsth
objected 10 being advised either ~ TIE
chaplain or his wife, so the latter s,ohp t.
the Englishman aud told him how aAtsa(a
stood IN Lispeth's heart He laughed .
good deal and said Il wAs very Pgetty
and romantic, a perfect idyl Of the Hil,-
alayasi but, as he was engaged 10 . gigi
1t home. he fancied that nOthinG Wauid
happen Certainly he would h,hAFo
with discretion. He did Ihat 5l ~.