The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-04-05
OLD MISS PETTIFER.
IAN the Year Round.l

he has done wrong, and you have saved
him from tho punishment he merited.
He might not have gone so lar as he has
il he had felt the penalty OF his earlier
sins. Now. for his sake, for the sake of
your dead sister. you must not Interfere
You can put your money to better uses.
Punishment may do for him what forgive
ness has failed to do"
"You are right" was Miss Pettiier's an
swer. after a pause; al feel you are right"
at may be hard" he said, but the
things that are right are always the hard.
est to do. And nothing ia harder, some
times, than to do nothing. Your duty in
this case is to do nothing. To-do-noth-
ing"
He had risen and taken his hat. AS he
repeated his closing words, he shook Miss
Pettifer ponder0usly by the hand. aud she
thanked him as unconcernedly as II they
had been discussing some question that
affected her no mors nearly than 1t al
fected him. She followed him into the
hall, and opened the front door and let
him out herself.
Then she went back to the dull. quiet.
neat little parlor. and sat down and went
thoughtiully over ali be had said.
One thing he had said which haunted
her ike a rsproach, and kept repeating
silenced: You never loved him. You
could not love him"
ii she had loved him, and be had
known she loved him, he might have
grown to love her, and that love would
have had a restraining and beneficent in
fluence upon him. As il was he must
have felt ell along that nobody loved him.
or had any kindly thought OF him. or
cared mucn whether he went right or
wrong, and so. having no anchorage Tor
the better feelings that were in him, how
was il likely he should DO other than reck-
less and careless OF everything?
you never loved him. You could not
love him."
But the great bitterness OF it sll was
that she had loved him she loved him
even yet, with ali the still, deep, unselfish
affection she had felt for her dead sister.
lie was the one thing left Tor her TO love,
and she loved him but hs had never
known il. She had no knowledge of
children, and from the first. believing it
10 be tho first thing needful for his good,
she had always treated him with strict Sc
verify, ordering bis life by line and rule,
exacting most prompt and absolute obedi-
ence. and visiting his natural boyish err
rors with rigid punishment. till he grew
10 tear and avoid her, and practice de-
ceits to save himself from getting into
trouble She could not remember ever to
have spoken any word or shown any sign
of her love 10 him. IL was nou in her
nature 10 do so. She had done everything
"a ii she did IL from a sense of duty. She
was naturally austere aud unconditional,
having an exaggerated shyness or sense Of
shame that kept her from revealing in any
way any gentler sentiment she might feel
[ ha in "A nj ~
matter.oi.fact, wholly undemonstrative (;
and could no more express or reveal tho
softer eide OF her nature than a warm
hearted, impulsiye woman. unfettered by
long habits OF restraint, could conceal any
sympathetic feeling that took possession
oil her.
lyon never loved him. You could not
love him"
Others thought so; and the boy thought
so himself Had she done wrong in let
ting him think SO? IL 30. even II il were
her duty not TO pay tho money, IL would
only confirm the boy in HIS desperate
+ courses; for he would think that under
similar circumstances che would DO tho
/ same again. to preserve him from disgrace
/ that. in a manner, would reflect upon her
! self. She had no right TO ask Mr. Gre lin
/ 10 forfeit the money; but her father had
! greatly befriended him, and ii he would
/ 90 it and forgive the hoy-who knows,
seeing how severer discipline had failed.
/ what effect such magnanimIty might
have?
But was it her duty 10 do this2 Mr..
| Dadley said il was not il would bs stand
/ ing between tho criminal and his Just
/ punishment. After all, though, Mr.. Dad
/ lev might be- wrong. But no; she thrust
/ the thought from her as something sinful,
and not to be entertained without peril.
Mr.. Dadley knew best; what he said was
wrong could not be right.
Her duty. She stitled all the relenting
tenderness that was striving 20 find voice
within her, and fixed all her thoughts
upon her duty; she must do her duty.
| she sank into darker, gloomier reveries
broodinR and arguing with herself The
day had gone. and twilight darkened
about her. and sti4l sho was thinking
thinking distracted and bewildered
thoughts that made her head ache and
her heart ache more and more.