The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1892-04-30
BARBARA'S CHANGES.
Her Decision in the Face Of q Great
Temptation.

what a selfish, heartless world this
isP' murmured Barbara Blake to her.
self, as she sat by the window, mend.
ing with deft, delicate stitches the
holes in old Mrs. Dickinson's silk hose.
Here am, girl of eighteen to whom
gayety, amusement and sunshine would
seem as natural as the fall of the dew;
yet am cooped up in a gloomy, brown.
stone house, the mere shadow of a
cross, exacting old woman, whose
wants are never satisfied COMPANION,
indeed!' as she broke off the needleful
OF silk floss with snap. II am any
thing but that. Drudge, menial-ma-
chine, if you please-but nothing like
q companion. And all to earn a paltry
living! oh. dear, why cannot people
live on flowers and fresh air, as the
humming birds do? Why is it neces-
sary to toll SO for bread to eat and
clothes to cover us? 1t does seem to
me as If life were all failure!'
Ever since she had risen from her bed
that morning she had been at Mrs
Dickinson's beck and call.
Mrs. Dickinson was not always in an
amiable mood. There was hot water
to bring up for her bath--it must be
steaming from the kitchen, and the old
lady would trust no one but Barbara
to carry it, because, as she said, the
servants were SO careless and spilled it
on the stair carpets.
just then the door softly swung
open, and in tripped bright, pre-
damsel of two or three and twenty, in
a coquettish fall hat trimmed with
scarlet poppies and bows Of cherry
velvet, and beautiful jstted mantle.
"Clara!' cried Barbara, nearly upset
ting the work basket in her surprise
and delight "How came you here!'
I'm spite of the edict: No followers
allowed?'." laughingly retorted Clara
Belden. my dear, ran the blockade.
l orlbed the housemaid, and crept up
the stairs as softly as mouse. Don't
be alarmed-the ogress is snoring with
forty woman power"
Glow beautifully you are dressed,
Clar!" said Barbara, with admiring sur
vey. "You have got situation at
last?'
Clara nodded, and adjusted glitter
ing new silver bangle on her wrist.
"A good one" said she, e emphatically..
I'm in the company of the Cecelian
theater," explained Clara "We are
supposed to be singers, but our voices
don't signify pin. The Cecelian takes
pride in its chorus bel ng the
handsomest girls in town. And You
are pretty, Barbara, you know very
well -prettier than am, if you would
only give yourself chance. / could
make first-class beauty of you! And
it's only the evenings, you see, with
an hour or SO at morning rehearsal,
and n matinee once week-and It's
such fun. There's one young man in
the audience who has thrown bou-
quetto me every night for eight nights
ruoning. And there are suppers and
breakfasts, and all that sort of thing. ~
1nvoluntarily Barbara drew back.
But, Clara-is it right to"
Right! Oh, you silly little goose,
why not? There's Mrs. Dowdin, the
bandmaster's wife, to chaperon us,
isn't there? And she's an old Won an
OF fifty. Oh, | assure you, it's very
select company indeed. Sixty dollars
month, and your salary raised if you
do we'll Aud when heard that there
was vacancy, thought of you the
very first thing. knew you had a
nice mezzo-soprano voice, but, as I said
before, that don't matter SO much. as
long as you are SO pretty. A brunette,
too-we have an overplus of blondes
already. And knew, also, that YOU
were only getting fourteen dollars here
with an old martinez for command
ing officer. Come, am l not a good
friend to you?"
Still Barbara looked with question.
ing eyes at the handsome, voluble girl.
Could it be possible that this self-pos.
sessed, beautifully dressed woman was
Clara Helden, her classmate at school,
and only m onth older than herse!fs
sixty dollars' Yes, II was kind Of