Middletown transcript., 1894-11-24

the shoes.
Can you see her at the shoemaker
window, looking at the shoes, and thel
at her own feet, until she felt certain
that all the street was laughing at her
| Once she went into the store and asked
the price of the shoes. she came ou
| scared. Next day Notwithstanding
she was back at the window, with the
money in her possession, and it almost
compelled her to 60 in and buy. She
had to run away. After that she left
the money home, lest it should some
day drag her into the store.
She tried to avoid that street alto.
gether, bnt still her feet took her there
against her will, for you cannot con-
ceive how anxious they were to STEP
into those little bronze sh hoes.
The little dressmaker, who was an
unselfsh women. despised herself for
her vanity. and thought to be happy
again by buying the knife without de-
lay. Then the shoes would be beyond
her reach as completely as if some great
lady had bought them.
"Here is the money for the knife,
WILL" she said bravely one day, and
Will grasped the money, which was
in many pieces and earned with much
toll.
"But the shoes?" Will said repress-
ing his desire to rush out for the
knife.
81 don't care for them,' his sister
said, turning her head away.
"It is not" Will said uncomforta-
bly,, "as if you had no shoes. Those
are nice ones you are wearing now."
They were not really nice ones. 1t
was quite a shame that such pretty
feet shoule be libelled by them. But
these were matters Will did not under
stand.
"All one wants Of Shoes" he said,
sis that they should have no holes in
them.
THAT is ALL" answered the little
dressmaker, with courageous smile,
and she spoke of the knife with such
interest that Will set off to buy it, con-
vinced that she no longer cared about
the shoes. Forgetting something,
however, he turned back for it, and be-
hold, he found the little dressmaker in
tears. You must not blame her. 1t
was quite big sacrifice she had made,
and therefore, though she was crying,
she was not very unhappy. Unselfsh-
ness is the best cure for trouble. Will
of course. did not realize this. He sud-
denly remembered that, though they
were very poor, he seemed to get every
thing he wanted very much, while she
seemed to get nothing. He was stricken
with remorse, ,and said craftily that he
wanted her to come with him to buy
the knife. Well she went with him.
and presently she discovered that it
was not the knife he meant to buy.
ooh, WILL" she whispered, trembling,
81 won't have the shoes. 1 want you
to get that knife"
"Pooh," said Will, grandly, ~ don't
care to have the knife. What use do
have for it?n
''You will make me wretched, WILL"
the little dressmaker said, ''if ycu buy
the shoes. These l have are quite nice
ones.'
"You are to have the Shoes" re-
piled Will firmly. mo one could look
SO pretty in them as you will do"
"Oh. Will, have you noticedp" fal
tered the little dressmaker, meaning
had Will noticed that her feet really
were made for lovely shoes.
'Of course l have" answered viii,
not at all understanding what she was
referring to.
'But l can't spend so much money
on myself" she said.
'It is my money now," said Will
triumphantly, land l am to give you
the shoes as present."
Feeling like man, he requested her
to take his arm, and SO they advanced
along the thoroughfare, making quite
a gallant show for such wayfarers as
could read faces. Alasl they reached
the store too late. The shoes were
gone. An hour earlier they had been
bought by an heiress, for whom they
were too small. The storekeeper had
pointed this out to her courteously, but
she, too, had fallen in love with the
pretty shoes, and her only answer to
him was, 81 buy them; undertake to
get in them." Now We must leave the
sad little dressmaker and follow the
fortunes OF Une SnOeS.
III.
l interrupted my friend at this point,
saying, 'It is the little dressmaker 1 am
interested in; not the shoes. Tell me
more of her,"
"She vanished out of my know
ledge at that point in her history" he
answered, II don't know what became
of her."
"a story. teller" 1 complained, "has
no right to close his tale so abruptly.
II is his duty to leave nothing to The
public's imagination.
"Mine," be said, "is not a story, it is
only something that happened, and 1
warned you that l did not know the
end. In real life you never get the end
Of story but you can guess it if you
will.n
'Then," said, 81 guess the little
dressmaker-''
"Had more severe disappointments