San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1890-07-10
LISPETH.

She was the daughter Of Sonoo, a Hill
Inln, and Jadeh his wife. One year their
maize failed, and two bears spent the
night in their only poppy field just above
the Sutlej valley on the Kotgarh side; SO,
next season, they turned Christian, and
brought their baby to the mission to 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 the
reign of the Moravian missionaries, but
before Kotgarh had quito 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 rs much for her
under any circumstances, l do not know;
but she grew very lovely. When Hill
girl grows lovely she is worth travelling
fifty miles over bad ground to look upon:
Lispeth had Greek face-one Of those
faces people paint SO often and sec so
seldom. She was Of a 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
out to STAY.
Lispeth took to Christianity readily,
and did not abandon it when she reached
wolnanhood, as do some Hill girls. Her
own people hated her, because she had,
they said, become a memsahib 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 il her shoes, to clean
plates and dishes. So she played with
the chaplain's children, and took classes
in the Sunday school, and read all the
books in the house, and grew more and
more beautiful, like the princssse5 III
fairy tales. The chaplain's wife said
that the girl ought to take service in
Simla rs a nurse or something ''genteel. P"
But Lispeth did not want to take ser
vice. She was very happy where she was.
When travelers-there we're not many
in those years-came into Kotgarh, Lis
meth used to lock herself into her own
room for fear they might take her away
to Sirnla, or somewhere out into the un-
known world.
One day, a few months after she was
II years old, Lispeth went out for a
walk. She did not walk in the manner
of English ladies-a mile and half out
and a ride back again. She covered be-
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 cbaplain's wife was doz-
ing in the drawing room when Lispeth
came in breathing hard and very ex-
haus.ed with her burden Lispeth put
II down on the sofa, and said simply
This Is my husband / found him on
the BaCi road. He has hurt himself. We
VIII nurse him, and when he il well
your husband ehall marry him TO me"
Tll.s was the FIRST mention Lispeth had
ever made Of LeE matrimonial views,
a7d tie chaplaia's wife Ehrieked with
horror. However. the man on the sofa
nesssd attention frst- Re was q young
EngEs,-rnza, and his head had been cut
70 the bone BY so11cthing jagged Lispeth
said she had foUnd him down the khud,
40 sse had bTyuglt him in Re was
b-ezthiny quez-iy and was unconscious.
Ee vas PIT % bsa and tended By TIE
ei,s-.,s.u. -ho knew s51nethirg q ned
esugy AID Lispsth vzi.ei Outsids tie
a. n csss she cCuld - usefzl Sle e1-
Flzi-sl 10 TIE chsllz-a that t-ls was
Tie u.al s.s meant % nary ana ths
cA.s-latn an5 his vie lectzre1 her -