The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-15

was necessary for its perfection. as Dora
herself, with no experience, and not even
| a good glass TO see herself in could
scarcely do To hide a secret of any
thing, but when that secret Is frOck. a
dress "a robe, indeed, she felt it ought
to be called, it was so exquisite, so poeti-
| cal in its hnencSS and whiteneSs
/ Dora had no one TO cOntide in, and if
/ she had possessed a thousand cOnfdants,
would not have said a word them which
would seem TO involve her father in any
! censure, She put her pretty dress away,
] however, with a great sense of dlScom-
future and downfall Perhaps he would
/ dislike to see her wear it, even if she ever
/ had any need for beautiful dress like
that. But she never had any need. She
/ never went anywhere, or saw anybody
| A whole host Of little grievances came up
! in the train of that greater one. She
| wondered if she were TO spend all her life
/ like this, without ever tasting those de-
| lights of society which she had read of.
/ without ever knowing any one of her own
/ age, without ever seeing people dance, or
hearing them sing. As for performing in
/ these ways herself, that had not come
! into Dora's mind. She would like, she
! thought, to look on and see how they did
1t for once, at least, in her life.
When she had come to this point, Dora,
who was a girl full of natural sense, be-
gan TO feel indistinctively that she was
not in good way, and that it would be
better to do something active to clear
away the cobwebs. 1t was evening, how
ever, and She did not know exactly what
TO do. To go back to the sitting-rOOm
where her father was reading, and to sit
down also to read at his side, seemed
an ordeal too much Tor her after the ex-
cIJement of the previous talk; but it was
hot ba1
PEELED to do, had she not heard a heavy
step mounting the stairs, the sound of a
knock at the door, and her fathers voice
binding some one to enter.
She satisfied herself presently that it
was the voice Of one of Mr.. Mannering's
chief friends, a colleague from the muse
um, and that he was safe for a time not
to remark her absence or to have urgent
need for her What now should Dora do?
The openings of amusements were small
Mrs Hesketh had been exhausted for the
moment. 1t must be said that Dora was
free of the whole house, and that she
used her ''petiteS entrees" in the most
liberal and democratic fashion, thinking
no sCOrn of going downstairs sometimes
to the funny little room next to the
kitchen, which Mrs. Simcox called the
breakfast-room, and used as her own
sanctum, the family center where her
grandchildren and herself found refuge
out of the tolls of the kitchen. The
kitchen itself remained in the possession
of Jane, and Jane, like her mistress, occa-
siOnally shared the patronage of Miss
Dora.
Tonight perhaps she wanted a solace
of another kind from any which could be
given her on the basement story. 1t is
not often that a young person in search of
entertainment or sympathy has all the
gradations Of the social system to choose
from
The first floor represented the arts
toCracy in the establishment at BrOOms-
bury 1t was occupied by a Scotch lady,
a certain Miss Bethune, a somewhat
harsh-featured and angular person, hid
ing gentle heart under a grim exterior;
but little intolerant in her moods, and
not always sure to respond to oYertures
OF friendship; with a maid not much less
unlike the usual deniZens of Bloomsbury
than herself, but beaming with redness
and good humor, and one of DOra's chief
worshipers in the house. When the girl
felt that her needs required the sympathy
of person of the highest, i. G., her own
class, she went either boldly
or with strategy to the
drawing room floor. She had thus the
powerof drawing upon the fellowship of
her kind in whatever way the temper of
the time adapted it best for her
Mrs. SimcoX and the girls downstairs,
and Mrs. Hesketh above, would have
been lost in raptures over Dora's new
dress They would have stared, they
would perhaps have touched with a timid
finger, they would have opened their eyes
and their mouths, and cried "Oh!" or
Lap or 'We1, l never!n But they
would not have understood. Ones own
kind. Dora felt, was necessary for that.
But as it was evening, and Miss Bethune
was not always gracious, she did not
boldly walk up to her door, but fingered
about on the stairs, coming and going,
until, as was pretty sure to occur, Gilch-
rist, the maid. with her glowing moon
face and her sandy locks, came out of the
room. Gllchrist frightened Immediately
at the sight of the favorite of the house
"Oh, is that you, Miss Dora? Come in
and see my lady and cheer her up. She's
not in the best of spirits tonight"
Neither am lin the best of spirits"
said Dora.
"You!" cried Gilchrist, with what she
herself would have called 'skreigh" of
laughter. She added, Symbathetically
You'll maybe have been getting a scold
from your papaw"
My father never scolds," said Dora,
with dignity.
"Blessme! but that's the way when
there's but wan child, " said Miss Beth
added, with a deep sigh that waved aloft
her own cap-strings, ana caught Dora's
hair like a breeze. The next moment she
opened the door and said, putting her
head in, Here's Miss Dora, mem, to
cheer you up bit, but no. in the best of
spirits herself
BLESS met said Miss Bethune from
within; land what is wrong with her
spirits? Come away, Dora, come in"
Both mistress and maid had as all the
house was aware, curious modes of eX-
pressing themselves. which were Scotch,
though nobody was aware in Bloomsbury
how that quality affected the speech-in
Miss Bethune' case at least. The lady
was tall and thin, q large framework of a
woman which had never filled out She
sat in a large chair near the fire, between
which and her however, a screen was
| placed. She held up a fan before her
| face to screen OF the lamp, and couse-
quently her counteuance was in full
shadow. She beckoned to the girl with
/ her hand, and pointed to a seat beside
her. so you are in low spirits, Dora?
/ Wei, I'm not very bright myself Come
and let US miugle our tears"
You are laughing at me, Miss Bethune.
/ You think l have no right to feel any
/ thing"
ION the contrary, my dear | think at
.