Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-01-08

and what makes it perfectly certain
is that my mother would never have
gone to it unless it had been. Miss
Lepington used to limit the number of
scholars to forty; and there were many
stories current as to the early applica-
tions made for place in that school
1t was no uncommon thing for a happy
father to send in an application rs soon
as a daughter was born; and il was
said that when Tom Smelling and
Eunice Dunbar were engaged, they
wrote to Miss Lexington that in case
they were married and had daughter
they wanted place reserved for her.
| don't exactly know whether to be-
lieve that or not. do know that my
mother applied only six years before
hand but then her mother knew Miss
Lepington very well, and 80 Miss Lep-
ington was probably willing to strain
point.
But things cannot always stay in
fashion. Hoop skirts went out of style
after time, and ever so many crino-
line makers were ruined. Even these
beautiful great sleeves must go out of
fashion. Igreatly fear that they may
have disappeared before this story
comes out. And Miss Lepington's S
school went out of fashion, too. You
see, Miss Lepington would not have
German taught at her school; and
there was Miss Cartwright's school
that had a second corsin of Goethe's
as n German teacher; and nowadays,
of course, every girl ought to know
German. That was only one reason
out of dozen for the falling off in
pupils.
Miss Lepington must have noticed
the dlmlnution In applications;
but she did not seem to. She
was sterner than ever in her re-
quirements. She had never taken
any one whose grandfather was not
somebody" she said, and she never
would. SO at last the time came
when there were only thirty five
pupils; and then the remaining ones
dropped off, one by one, in way that
pains me to tell of.
But Miss Lepington never thought
of giving up teaching. She was Just
as erect as in the old days, and n little
stricter and she taught just as well as
ever-much better, l don't doubt,
than Miss Cartwright, whose ancestors
were / don't know what when the
Lepingtons were lolling at their ease
in Lepington Manor, or fighting for
their king at Agincourt.
suppose one reason the pupils
stopped coming was because Hanover
street deteriornted so. Every one
lives on Enderby square now, or else
ON Collingwood avenue, and you cant
really expect girl of fifteen to walk
past all those queer shops on Hanover
street. 1t Is strange old place, and
one wonders how it could ever have
been so fashionable.
Miss Lexington had nephew,
Densil Smith, OF Smith, Allen & Com
pany. They lived together in an old
house on Puritan square. He was
rich, and she must have been quite
well off herself. He was so wrapped
up Ill his business that he never knew
much about her school. He may have
had some little suspicion OF what was
going on but one of his business rules
was to get everything at first hand.
His news about Miss Lepington's S
school was always derived from Miss
Lepington herself, and thushe thought
he was sure to know the truth. He
was the only friend of Miss Leping'
toms who did not know it.
The school grew smaller and smaller,
till there were only twenty pupils.
Then ten of these left in a body to &c
to Miss Cortwrights. Then the rest
/ deserted, one by one, until don
L, like to say it--until Constance Alfort
was the only pupil in Miss Lepington'
school. And now the worst is said
II ior II any one were to have schoo
n with one scholar, Constance would b
Just the scholar to have.
shS always seemed TO nae more hk