Evening star., 1895-03-16
"Don't You Cry,v She Whispered.

Emily she said. Suppose Comfort
shouldn't be able to get that ring on her
finger after she's eight years old what a
pity 'twould be, when it's real gold, too
But when Comfort was eight years old
she was very small for her age, and she
could actually crowd two of her fingers,
She begged her mother to let her wear it
SO, but she would not. NO" said she, Il
shan't let you make yourself laughing
stock by wearing a ring any such way as
that, besides you couldn't use your fingers.
You've got to wait till your hand grows TO
it."
So poor little Comfort waited. but she
had discouraged feeling sometimes that
her hand never would grow to it. Sup
pose 1 shouldn't be any bigger than you,
mother" she said, Couldn't 1 ever wear
the ring?"
Hush. you will be bigger than I am; all
your fathers folks are, and you look just
like them" said her mother conclusively,
and Comfort tried to have faith. The gold
delight of possession, for it was not to be
spent. Il am going to give her gold dol
lar to keep beside the ring" Aunt Comfort
had said.
What is it for?" Comfort asked some
times, when she gazed at it shining in its
pink cotton bed in the top of the workbox.
Its to keep" answered her mother. Com
fCrt grew to have a feeling which she
never expressed to anybody that her gold
dollar was somehow like Esau's birthright
and something dreadful would happen to
her If she parted with 1t. She felt safer
because mess of pottage' did not sound
attractive to her, and she did not think
she would ever be tempted to spend her
gold dollar for that.
Comfort went to school when she was
ten years old; she had not begun as early
as most of the others girls, because she
lived three-quarters of mile from the
schoolhouse and had many sore throats
The doctor had advised her mother to teach
her at home. and she could do that be-
cause she had been a teacher herself when
she was a girl.
Comfort had not been to school one day
before everybody in 1T knew about her gold
ring and her dollar, and it happened in
this way: She sat on the bench between
Rosy and Matilda Stebbins, and Rosy had
q ring on the middle finger of her left hand.
Rosy was fair. pretty little girl, with
long. light curls, which all the other girls
admired. and begged for the privilege of
twisting. Rosy at recess usually had one
or two of her friends standing at her back
twisting her soft curls over their fingers
Rosy wore pretty gowns and aprons, too
and she was always glancing down to see
II her skirt was spread out nicely when she
sat on the bench. Her sister. Matilda, had
just as pretty gowns, but she was not
pretty herself. However, she was better
scholar. although she was year younger
at her sister and her black eyes twinkled
Qngrfly. Rosy sometimes sat with her left
hand pressed affectedly against her pink
cheek. with the ring finger bent slightly
book before her with her left hand and the
same ostentatious finger.
Finally Matilda lost her patience, and
she whispered across Comfort Pease: You
act like a nnny." said she to Rosy, with
fierce pucker of her red lips and a black
twinkle of eyes,
Rosy looked at her and the pink spread
softly ali over her face and neck, but she
still held her spelling book high, and the
middle finger with the ring wiggled at the
back of 1t.
'It amt anything but brass neither"
whispered Matilda.
IT amt" Rosy whispered back.
Rosy crooked her arm around her face
and began to cry. However she cried
quite easily, and everybody was accustom-
ed to seeing her fair head bent over the
hollow of her arm several times a day. so
she created no excitement at all Even
the school teacher simply glanced at her
and said nothing. The school teacher was
an elderly woman who had taught school
over since she was sixteen She was called
very strict, and the little girls We're all
afraid of her. She could ferrule boy Just
as well as man could. Her name was
Miss Tabitha Hanks. She did not like
Rosy Stebblns very well, although she
tried to be impartial. Once, at recess, she
pushed Charlotte Hutchns and Sarah AL
len. who were twisting Rosy's curls away
and gathered them all up herself in one
hard hand. I'D cut them all off if / was
your mother" said she with a sharp little
tug, but when Rosy rolled her scared blue
eyes up at her she only laughed grimly,
and let go.
Now Miss Hanks Just looked absently at
Rosy, weeping in the hollow of her blue
gingham arm. then went over to the black
board and began writing in fair large char
acters: "A rolling stone gathers no moss
Tor the scholars to copy in the writing
were too much for Comfort Pease She
nudged Matilda Stebbins and whispered in