Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-09-27
An ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PERSON.
CHAPTER I.

Mr.. Sowerbutts, a stout, middle-agec
farmer, grunted his dissatisfaction. Tht
other members of the Little Puddingtor
School Board offered no opinion.
eyes; l think we must give the old lady
quarters notice, and get rid of her" con-
tinued Mr.. Dowthwaite "She is terribly
behind the age, there's no doubt of that
The school has earned hardly any grant for
the last two years"
Mr.. Sowerbutts gave another grunt,
meaning to express thereby his contempt
alike for Mrs. Piggin's grant-earning pow
ers, the grant, and the Education Depart
ment.
81 expect in another year the Inspector
will bring down the wrath of the Depart
ment upon us in earnest. Perhaps they
will dissolve the Board and order the cleo
ton of new one"
"That won't do, nohow," said Mr.. Sower-
butts decisively.
"Then Mr.. Sowerbutts moves that the
present holder of the office of schoolmistress
be invited to resign, and that the Chair
man be requested to insert advertisements
Tor q new i6dGItI III lIlS OitWI tt L tHtso anu
other newspapers" said Mr.. DowthWaite,
making jotting of the motion as he
spoke "Mr. White seconds the motion"
he added, with glace in the direction of
that gentleman. Mr.. White, whose eyes
had been fixed the whole time on the
rector's face, gravely nodded, and the rec
tor rose from his chair to intimate that
the meeting was at an end.
Mr.. Dowthwaite spent the whole of the
afternoon in drafting an advertisement and
sending copies of it to various clerical and
scholastic newspapers. 'Must be a sound
churchwoman One able to play the har-
monium preferred" he added to the list of
requirements. There was standing diff
Guilty about getting a not utterly incom-
petent performer on the harmonium at
Little Puddington; and the good rector
thought he might as well make the obnox-
ious Education Act useful for once.
The interview with Mrs Piggin he de-
ferred till the following morning, as being
The most unpleasant part Of the business.
1t went off however, better than he had
feared. BY degrees he got the old lady TO
understand that if she sent in her resigna-
tion it would be gratefully accepted, and
she would be considered as having put the
parish and the country generally under an
obligation.
'You see, Mrs. Piggin, we are obliged to
follow the time" said good-natured Mr..
Dowthwaite, in an apologize tone. eve
can't afford to lose the grant another year,
we really can't"
ooh, 1 suppose not, sir" said Mrs. Pig
gin, fixing her eyes on the rector's face.
''Pve been schoolmistress in this parish for
two an twenty years, an we've done very
well without any grant. Pve brought up
my children to learn their catechism and
do their duty, like their fathers before
them. / can't teach French an drorin', an
such like; and much good it would do them
if l could. However, [ saved enough,
thank Heaven, to be independent of every
one; and-Betsey Jane Pugh, stop talkin'
and 90 on with your sum, or it'll be the
worst for ye."
The rector listened in silence, and finally
made his escaped, thankful that the most
disagreeable part of his duty as a reformer
was over.
but his difficulties were by no means at
an end. The day after his advertisement
appeared he received 127 applications for
the NdtduI DOSl lIC ICAI hdl DlOu8nL
him 2l3; the third day produced 90. All
the applicants were able to teach every
necessary subject, as well as several which
were Got necessary, and everyone was able
to produce testimonials of the highest pos
sible character.
In his despair the rector turned to his
sister-in-law, Miss Jordan, who had kept
his house since the death Of his wife, and
humbly sued for her advice and assistance
But Miss Jordan was an elderly lady,
with strong, old-fashioned prejudices, and
she objected to the new scheme altogether.
She sarcastically advised the reinstate-
ment of Mrs. Piggin-a course which was
plainly out of the question. Mr.. Dow
thwaite then turned for help to his CITRATE,
the Rev. Augustine Cope, meek and gen
tlemanly young man, who acted as unpaid
Secretary to the rector when there was
anything troublesome to be done. Mr..
Cope took the mass of papers home to MS
lodgings and made an attempt TO select a
few of the most promising applications
from the others. At the end of four
hours work, however, he found that his
list contained no fewer than forty-nine
names-an obviously impracticable num-
Der.
At the next monthly meeting of the
Beard matters were no further advanced.
The table of the morning room at the rec
tory-which served as Board room-was
covered with letters of application and
copies of testimonials, and the members of
the Board sat gaping at the piles of docu-
ments in helpless dismay.
swell, gentlemen" began Mr.. Dow
thwaite with a very vague notion of what
the rest of his sentence was to be, when a
knock at the door interrupted him.
"Come in" he cried.
"Please, sir" said Thomas there's a
lady wishes to see you"
"But am engaged, Thomas"
"But this lady has called about the
School Board"
"An applicant? 1t is rather irregular,
certainly | particularly mentioned in the
advertisements that no personal applica-
tions were to be allowed" said the Chair
man to his fellow-laborers. However
since the young person is here, We may as
well see her. Show her in, Thomas"
4 moment afterward slim, upright
figure, in a dainty summer costume, APP
peared in the doorway, and the farmers
rose instinctively to their feet. Only the
rector retained his presence OF mind.
Thomas, set a chair" said he.
The young lady bowed with the utmost
self-possession, and took the seat offered
her. She was decidedly pretty. There
was no doubt of that, in spite of her pale
ness and thin lips. Her fair hair was
brought down smoothly over a brow as
white as any woman could desire; her
features were all delicately formed, her
eyes being especially attractive. Her age
ii might have been difficult to guess; q
man would have admitted that she might
be over twenty; woman would have SAID
she did not look thirty.
''Your name is-Miss-ah? Miss Gray,
ling" asked the rector, referring to tht
card which Thomas had handed TO him.
The Young lady bowed As She liftet