Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1892-01-30

stood up In q class ana the words were
given out to them. When one missed
he went lower, the ore who spelled
it correctly going above him. The best
one, of course, soon got to the head.
and then went to the foot to work up
again.
81 couldn't tell you how annoyed l
felt when found that I was no longer
looked upon as tie speller of the class.
1t made me angry when Miss Parsons,
our teacher, looked at Susan, as she
had always before looked only at me,
when hard word was going down the
class.
you have often heard me speak,
dears. of the danger of cherishing evil
feelings in the heart 1t is fearful to
think how little fostering they need
to make them grow and increase until
they seem to cast out everything else.
speak from my own knowledge, you
sec -"
Dear me- interrupted Nett. ITO
think of grandma ever being a naughty
girl"
IL am sorry to say" grandma laid
gentle hand on Netts head as she went
on. that my jealousy of Susan grew
until it seemed to come like great
black wall between me and everything
which l used to enjoy. l would not
play with her ut our playhouse-made
with acorn cup dishes and hollyhocks
and elder dolls. If she came to where
we swung in the vine swing l went
away. Even at home my hateful feel
| ing towards Susan pursued me. l was
always afraid of some one saying some
thing about my spelling SO that
should have to tell that was no longer
the best one in the class.
The day before the end of the term
I happened to be in the schoolroom
alone and desire seized me to find ont
| which of us really stood first.
Miss Parsons desk, with her report
| book in it. was always unlocked. |
knew that it was forbidden to look into
it. but took it out aud turned to the
spelling page. Some one, You know.
left off head every day. and as the class
was small Susan and l would, of
course, have a good many head marks
! had kept count of my own, but not
! Susnn'S.
There they We're. the rows of neat
pencil marks to each name. My heart
beat as | counted them. Yes-scven-
teen for Susan. sixteen for me.
! .IIow my face burned with anger and
disappoint ment In a day or two all the
neighbors would know that Polly Car
ter was no longer head speller. How
could bear it? What right had this
other girl to come in and take my place.
II made up NV mind l would not
bear it. Miss Parsons pencil lay there
in the desk. l took it up and added
two marks to my own row.
but there was something else to bc
done. Miss Parsons always gave us 4
l-EA
have enough to match the marks. foI
we always took them home at the end
of the term and every body in the dis
trict was sure to hear how many had
Il hunted in Miss Parsons desk I'M
til found her tickets and took two.
Then l rushed out of the school
house OF course some one was al
WAYS there first. and had often beer
the re alone before but my guilty con
science now made me afraid to stay.
ran through the woods to u little spring
which we were all fond of, and stayet
there until | was sure it was Schoo
time.
There had been long hot spell
and the woods were as dry as finder
To this day l never can walk owe
cracking twigs and rustling dea'
leaves without picture of red ticket
before my eyes. ! did not dare to fee
, in my pocket until night, and then tn
tickets We're gone.
81 had never gone to bed before will
such a weight of wrong doing on m,
heart / had never before lain awake
long, but now those pencil marks an'
those tickets danced before my eye
until / thought should go wild. II
the darkness and in the hush all arount
of the lonely woods I saw exactly VIVA
had done. / had stolen those tickets
and the marks were a lie. And it ha'
been done to rob a companion of thu
credit which was justly hers. Al
growing out of my wicked jealous,
{ and self-conceit.
l How could undo it? Oh, if the mi
f would only gnaw Miss Parsons bool
before morning. 1--WE We're Away
t troubled with mice in the old school
I house after the corn had been gathered.
e If only tornado would blow it ava,
! or if it would burn up!-anything I
D hide what | had done. My onI
Y straight way out of it would be to g
S and tell Miss Parsons, but that l coul
t never. never do.
< "All day long Miss Parsons once i
n awhile went to the door and gaze
s about with an anxious face. We a
knew why, for in our homes we ha
/ heard plenty of talk about the grea
forest fires which it was feared Nigh
come too near us. The sky was smoky
v and the wind seemed like blast froI
e a furnace.
e THE last thing in the afternoon wa
e the counting of the headmarks.
n "'One ahead for Polly" said Mis-
Is Parsons. smiling at me. Our ittl
& girl keeps her place, and we are fla
e