Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-10-07

Of palaces. Rose tooE lrr sister by
the hand and walked ON, trusting Ia
Fate 10 carry them to some numb e.
district, whore thew might and friends
aud economical fare. rs they had done
everywhere ON the w}y, thanks to
Roses instinct for discovering the tit.
test places, the right people.
Stars were beginning Ia flash and
tycmb,c upon the blue river as The
orphans went over the bridge beyond
the Louvre into that poorer Paris ON
the left bank Of the Seine. Here they
roamed about I'm the twilight till they
drifted somehow into the Rue Cit lie
Occur: and at the door of one of the
shabby old houses Rose saw a fat
midd Gagged mauou, with Il good
natured face, Of whom she asked for
advice rs TO a lodging
The matron heard her story. and at
onc spread her motherly wing oven
Doth girls. There was a garui, a fur
niShed third floor In the middle house
in the yard, The rooms were small;
just two little rooms and a tiny closet
for kitchen; quite big enough for two
girls. she led the way, introduced
Rose to the concierge whose husband
was "a shoemaker, occupying the base
ment Of the house-and who went
painting up The AFRO stairs, key in
hand, to show the lodging.
II was very small. very shabby; and
cheap although 1t was, the rent seemed
perience of village lodgings on the
a great deal to Rose. after her ex-
way; but her new friend told her she
might walk mites and get nothing
so cheap in all Paris; so she took heart,
and hired the apartment for a month
certain, paying the fifth Of her golden
pieces, OF which she had spent just
four upon the road, as an Instalment
Of tn, rent. And then, still directed
by her stout friend. she went to a
cremerie round the corner, and bought
some milk and rolls and a little cheese
for sup,- and the sisters sat down
In their new home so bare Of many
things essential for comfort, and
laughed and cried over their first meal
in Paris. Kathleen was almost hyster
iCal with fatigue and excitement. All
the way they had come, even in the
midst Of her gir.ish gladness, she had
been haunted by fears Of pursuit. The
Reverend Mother would send the gar
dener after her, and have her taken
back and shut up in the %sun-haked
room whore the rats lived,
"But now we are safe" she said,
with her head ON her sisters shoulder,
ana Roses arm around her, I'VE are
safe in Paris; and if Reverend Mother
sends after us, wen go to the Emperor
and ask him TO take care Of is. We
are his subjects now This was in
go, when the Empire was in It's glory,
and there was a sense of power and
splendor in the third Napoleon'S do
minion over this beautiful modern
Babylon, such as must have been felt
in Rome under the polite sway Of
Augustus. These girls felt as If they
were in a fortress, now they were
within the charmed circle of imperial
magnifcence,
Years Of struggle and poverty and
industry and self denial came after
that happy evening when the girls sat
in the twilight, dreaming Of II bright
future; but though the training was
severe, It was perhaps, the best and
noblest school in which humanity can
be educated. The sisters were never
unhappy, for they were together, and
they were free. Rose was sister,
mother, guardian, al the world Of
love and shelter for Kathleen, who
bloomed into exquisite loneliness in
that humble Partisan lodging, a fair
flower blossoming unseen, with, hap
PLY, few to note her beauty.
Rose found only too soon that edu-
cation was a drug in the Partisan mar
kets. After heroic efforts to get en-
ploymcnt as a morning goyerness In
a tradesman's family, she flel back
upon the only industry which offered
itself, and, by the help Of her first
Partisan friend, Madame Schubert, the
stout matron who had found her a
lodging, she got employment as an
artificial fower-maker, In which art
she progressed rapidly, and, in a cou-
pc OF years, attained a perfection
which insured her liberal wages-wages
which enabled her to maintain the lit
tie lodging, and feed and clothe her
self and her sister. The fare was OF
the simplest, and there was a good
deal Of pinching needed to make both
ends meet in that luxurious expensive
city OF Paris; especially in winter,
when fuel made such an lnroad upon
the slender purse; but somehow the
girls never knew actual p%rlyaton,
never went TO bed hungry, or were
haunted in their slumber by the night
mare OF debt. The little rooms on the
third story were the pink Of n%eatness.
Kathleen was h~ousekeeper, and her
busy hands swept and busted and
polished, and kept all things bright
The modest gray or brown merino
gowns were never shabby or dilapi-
dated. Collars and cuffs were always
spotless, and the little feet neatly shOd.
There were always a few half-pence