Morning journal and courier., 1890-06-25
Lispeth of the Mission.

She was the daughter of Sonoo, Hillman,
and Jadeh his wife. One year their maize
failed, and later their only poppy field; 60,
next season, they turned Christian and
brought their baby to the mission to be bab-
tized. The Kotgarb chaplain christened her
Elizabeth, and "Lispeth" is the Hill pronun-
citation.
Later cholera came into the Kotgarh VAL
ley and carried off Sonoo and Jadeh, and
Lispeth became half servant, half compan-
ion, to the wife of the then chaplain of Kot
garh. She grew very lovely. When a Hill
girl grows lovely che is worth travelling fifty
miles over bad ground to look upon. Lis
peth had a Greek face--oEe of these faces
people paint 80 often and see 80 seldom.
She was pale, ivory color, and for her race
extremely tall. Also she possessed wonder
| full eyes.
Lispeth's own people hated her because
| che had, they said, become memsahib and
washed herself daily; and the chsplain's
! wife did not know what to do with her.
| Somehow one cannot ask stately goddess,
| five foot ten in her shoes, to clean plates and
dishes. So she played with the chaplain's
| children and took classes In the Sunday
school, and read oil tho books In the house,
and grew more and more beautiful.
One day, few months after she was sew
enteen years old, Lispeth went out for q
walk. She covered between twenty asd
thirty miles in her little constitationals.
This time she came back at full dusk, step
ping down the breakneok descent into Kot-
garh with something heavy in her arms.
| The chaplain's wife was doing in the draw
ing room when Lispeth came in breathing
hard and very exhausted with her burden.
Lispeth put 1t down on the sofa and said
simply: "This is my husband. I 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. How
| ever, the man on the sofa needed attention
| frst. He was young Englishman and his
head had been cut to the bone by something
| jagged.
| He was put to bed and tended by the
| chaplain, who knew something of medicine.
Lispeth explained to the chaplain that this
| was the man she meant to marry, and the
chaplain and his wife lectured her severely.
Lispeth listened quietly and repeated her
proposition. Having found the man she
worshiped che was going to nurse him until
he was we'll enough to marry her. That war
her program.
| recovered coherence and thanked the chap
lain and his wife and Lispeth-especially
Lispeth-for their kindness. He was trav'
| eler in the east, he said, and had come from
Dehra Dun to hunt for butterflies among tn,
Simla hills. He fancied he fell over the cliff
while stalking fern. He made small hast
; to 90 away and recovered his strength slow
= ". Lispsth objected to being advised eiths
by the chaplain or his wife; SO ths latte
spoke to the Epelishman and told him hov
| matter stood in Lispeth's heart. He laughed
good deal and said it was very pretty ant
romantic, perfect idyl of the Himalayas
but as he was engaged to girl at home, h
, fancied that nothing would happen. Ger
| tainly he would behave with discretion. II
did that Still he fouad it very pleasant T.
! talk to Lispeth, and walk with Lispeth, 80,
, nice things to her and call her pet names. ]
, meant nothing at all to him and every thin
4 In the world to Lispeth. Being q savage b
. birth, she took no trouble to hide her feel
i, ings, and the Englishnan was amused
| When he went away Lispeth walked wit
: him up the hill as far as Narkunda, yer
troubled and very miserable. The chaplain
wife, being good Christian, disliking an
= thing like fuss or scandal, had told the Eng
; lishman to tell Lispeth that he was comm
l back to marry her.. So all the twelve mile
up the hill the Englishman, with his arr
:. around Lispeth's waist, assured her he woul
come back and marry her. She wept on th
!, ridge till he had passed out of sight.
h Then she dried her tears and won't In t
fKotgarh again and said to the chaplain
4 | wife: sHe will come hack and marry nj
7 He has gone to his people to tell them So
= And the chsplain's wife soothed Lisreth an
. said: "He will come back" At the end {
: two months Lspeth grew impatient and WI
told that he had gone over the seas to En,
land There was an old puzzle map of ii
evenings and cried to herself, and tried
!. imagine where her Englishman was. AS 81
had no ideas of distance or steamboats,, b.
notions were somewhat erroneous. Thi
:, however, made no difference; the Englisf
man had no intention of coming back
It marry Hill girl. He forgot all about ht
by the time he was butterfly hunting In A
). sam. He wrote book on the east. Lii
;. psth's name did not appear.
At the end of three months Lispeth mad
n daily pilgrimage to Narkunda to aos if b,
It Englishman was coming along the road. :.
= | gave her comfort, and the chaplain's VII
= finding her happier, thought that she vi
getting over her ''foily" 4 little later Il
9 walks ceased to help Lispeth and her temp
.. grew very bad. The chaplain's wife thoug
!. this profitable time to let her know q
IA real state of affairs-that the Englishms
st had only promised his love to keep her qui
er that he had never meant to marry he
. Lispeth said that all this was impossible b
& cause he had said he loved her.
10 "How can what he and you eaid be q
= true2"
IN "we said it as an excuse to keep y
;: quiet, child"
Of sThen you lied to me-" said Lispsth, 'ty
L and he."
.; The chaplain's wife bowed her head q
10 said nothing. Lispeth was silent, too, fol
little time; then she went down the vail
and returned in the dress of Hill girl--i
70 famously dirty, but without the nose RIM
1g s'I am going back to my own people" 8,
IN she. "You have kill Lispeth. There is OF