Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-03-26
A ROMANTIC MAID.


in a sort of theater folks fashion, II
1 could only be an object of interest
| I'm sure there is foundation enough
Wasn't ] borr in the almshouse
where half the heroines Of novels
we're borng Then when / was four
teen didn't Mrs Green take me and
keep me till she died2 Oh, Alice,
3uch a beautiful life as led there
she used to rise about noon, like Lady
Arabella Seraphina in the Widowed
Heart, and assoon as she was dressed
,he sent for me to read to her, and
we read the most enhancing novels
until bedtime. Sometimes, when we
had one that was very interesting,
we sat up till or o'clock She told
me she was sure had a history. oh,
if could only find out what it Is
don't get much time to read here"
$50 much the better, said L; your
head has enough trash in it now,
imagine"
"Oh, Alice, if you only had a soul
above your stationl"
was mad. To have this little
brat of an almshouse chit telling me
that my station was low. l, who
only took the place of child's nucse
because my chest was too weak for
me to keep at dressmaking. So
answered her rather sharply, III you
fill your station properly you won't
have time to be making remarks
about other peoples"
She didn't notice my dignity, but
went on sorting the childron's
clothes for the wash and talking
away. my stationl Oh, Alice, |
am convinced that was not born to
be a nursery maid; / feel a moving
spirit within me that says, jennie.
you will yet be a great lady. But /
don't care for that; if can only be
interesting Oh, Alice, if l was only
the maid in THE Maid and the Mag
pier Think of being incarcerated in
dungeon on false charge, and
finally having your innocence proved,
and everybody looking at you, shak
ing hands with youand offering their
congratulations. Oh, AliceI" And
down went the baby's apron for the
hand clasping performance.
IF you think dungeon SO lovely,
you had better steal some spoons, l
said
'Steal But then l would only be
a common thief Besides, Alice what
would become of the conscious limo
cence that supported the maid2 l
don't mind being poor bit; heroines
always have to be poor some time in
their lives; but should have liked
to play the piano or do something
like that. You see, in the nursery /
have no chance. If was a govern
ess, now. with deep mourning dresses
fitting my exquisite figure to perfec
ton, or an authoress who goes to the
publisher, and lifting a veil discloses
features of bewildering loveliness, or
a teacher, whose graceful figure fits
lightly down the street to her days
toil-there might be a chance; but
who ever comes after a heroine into
the nursery2 ! do my best when /
take Miss Nettie out for q walk, but
nobody seems to notice my fair curls
or pale complexion; it's bandoline
and chalk thrown away"
You are throwing the muslins
into the pile of colored clothes" !
cried.
I'm sure I've mental abstraction
enough for a whole library of hero
ines, said Jennie, gathering up the
pile of clothes and marching off TO
the kitchen.
And this was only one specimen of
that girls ruling passion. She was
pretty, had little, graceful figure,
with big, blue eyes and lots of light
hair, with pale complexion which
would have been pretty If she hadn't
sent all the color out of it by eating
slate pencils and chalk and drinking
vinegar, Mrs. Green, silly old wo-
man, who had taken her for maid,
had filed the child's head with nov
els, till she had pretty well driven
out all the sense there ever had been
in it. She was nearly eighteen when
the old lady died, and my mistress,
Mrs Green's niece, Mrs. Wood took
Jennie for a nursery maid
Such life as she led me. First of
all, she insisted upon wearing all her
mass of towcolored hair in long curls
flying all around her, because Mrs,
Green had said il reminded her Of
Sophonisba Araminta Monticello, in
the Love Lorn Shepherd" After
the baby had hauled out some fist
fuls of it, and she had caught it in
each lock and handle in the nursery
closets and drawers, caught il ON fire
once in the gaslight, hung suspended
by it when jumping down from a
chair; after getting bale from the
top of the wardrobe and catching her
hair there in it's place. having mo
shut it once in a closet door, while
she was sitting down, and leave the
room for two hours while she had &c
sit still or drag all her curls out by
the roots; upsetting a bucket Of
water all over her by catching a curl
in il as il stood ON the table, and en-
countering various other mishaps of
a like kind, she finally consented 10
turn il up with a comb and wear il
smooth like Christian.