The record-union., 1897-06-20

SHOppluS, u ll1lu one Oh Tie SiiA0 pa
aiding the pavement arrayed in my
dressing gown, and with my lavendar-
salts in her hand, repeating in an ap-
surd mincing voice: Il ham monty
poor match-girl among match girls.
Mind yer don't call me lydy whatever
| yer do"
! / hope it was not a mere silly class
| feeling that made me shudder at the
| sight of this unkempt creature in my
| gown. But l thought it better TO say
nothing, and passed on. Then Dig,
/ strong girl shouted out: For shyme,
Lizer. You just tyke off that gound
this minute or I'll myke yer!" And
there was a struggle and a good deal
of shrin screaming, and then the tall
girl-it was Mary Jane-came tramp
| ing up stairs after me with the dress
| ing gown, or what was left of it, hang
| ing over her arm-the salts-b bottle had
| been Smashed-and she bounced into
my room, saying:
I'm for fair ply all round. And
though yer my be bit of a fool, Gea-
rginer' q note down the poor, ignorant
| girls exact WOrdS), yer don't never
show fight, nor let 'em ave it in pinch
in or schatchin, so they'll just ave, ter
let yer alone if they don't want ter ave
| ter stand up ter me-
| l thanked her, but was going on to
give her my views upon the inconclu-
| siveness of physical force in argument,
when she interrupted me rather rude
| ly) with:
Look 'ere!'-sitting on my table and
swinging her feet. Dyer know that
next Mondays Bank 'Oliday?'
L said no, for indeed it had not occur
red to me. Mary Jane looked at me
with an expression that almost seemed
to betoken absurd as it seems) good
natured contempt. Then she said:
Il thought yer didn't. And it amt
the honly thing by a long chalk as yer
don't know, 1 bet. Yer precious green,
you are. About as green as they myke
| EN-. Well, Mondays Bank 'Oliday, and
yer amt got no one to walk with, I'll be
| bound. Ave yer noW?'
Here was my opportunity at last. I
| perceived at once that this poor un-
couth girl felt that in my society there
was something that she could benefit
! by-an intangible, subtle something
which probably she could not herself
explain or account for, but which new
ertheless made itself irresistibly felt,
raising and refining her whole nature
L was following this train of thought in
my mind when Mary Jane interrupted
me by humping the table Cher manners
| certainly are susceptible of improve
menD, and calling out:
| Now then! Look alivei And give me
civil answer. Ave yer or 'aven't yer,
got hany one ter walk with?"
1 respected her eagerness to secure
me, and replied at once:
No, Mary Jane; I am glad to say
that have no engagement for Monday,
and therefore L shall be most happy to
walk with YOU
| Mary Jane stared hard at me for
some seconds, and then exclaimed
| Walk with me! Oh, law! don't want
nobody to ply gooseberry along of me
and Hallbert. And I ynt so mean as
ter ask yet to do that neither. No. look
| ere, Gearginer, I'm willin' ter do yer
good turn, and, if yer ynt got any
| one, there's my brother a very respec-
| table young man at the gas works as
| ave broke off with is sweet cart. a
| young lydy in the silk weaving tryde
over in Spitalfields. And so L said a
word for you, and 'e's very willin'. So
| there." and she thumped the table
again and looked at me with a good
natured smile
| L must confess that for a moment nv
brain was reeling with horror and dis
may. What did the girl mean? Surely
not-No! ImpoSsiblei Incrediblei Pre-
posterous! No, it could not be that
She must intend to propose a kind of
1tlnerant class; one of those improving
excursions when themaSSes-I mean the
| people-are taken over notable build
| lngs, the colleges at Oxford, and so on
She wants me to humanize her brother
before herself. Unselfish creature. I
| must not be churliSh. Yeti should be
glad to be quite sure 1 did try to get
Mary Jane to be little more explicit,
! but she jumped down from the table
and went off in her abrupt way, calling
| out:
morning-10 O'Clock sharp. And yer
might myke yerself a bit smarter.
There's plenty of stylish hostrich feath-
ers to be 'ired for the d'y, and gounds
| too, at Isaac's, round the corner"
| I wish l did not feel so disturbed and
put out. 1t is my aim always to main
1 lctlil d plllIOSOpI1lC CHILL, anu DIS d RUE
1 despise those who are easily irritated
/ by trif1es. / must make an effort to re-
call the feelings that glowed within me
when [ first entered upon the career of
my choice. This incident is of course
simply the legitimate outcome of my
| hitherto seemingly Intellectual efforts to
impress my personality upon my sur
roundingS. Should l not rejoice that
one fellow human has felt my refining
influence and wishes to extend it to
those dear to her! 1 will not waste a
thought upon the odious and outrage
Gus suggestion that somehow flashed
! into my mind just now. 1t would be
| too ridiculous to be uneasy on such a
point. / will finish my volume of Her
| bert Spencer and then go to bed. AS
tomorrow is Sunday 1 shall have plen-
ty of time for noting down few heads
| for discussion with my pupil on Mon
| day. / think / shall take him to the
British Museum. / have often wished
| to utilize those lectures 1 composed on
the "Inauthenticity of the Assyrian In
scriptions," which Aunt Albinia never
! would let me deliver to a class An
| intelligent artisan will be much more
| interesting auditor than the mawkish
young ladies who were all I then dared
| to try for. Now for my reading. 1 am
| glad l sent for my chaise Tongue,
though Aunt Alginia did find it out and
write so disagreeably Little does she
know of the physical strain which the
proper assimilation of an argument
costs a thoughtful intellect, or she
would not have made those feeble and
shallow remarks about forty winks.
May 20th-St. Faiths Mission House.