The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1897-06-26

such fragments as poor Jane let fall
She came home dusty, excited. and with
her heart hot within her.
The milliner's mother. the milliner
and William had r.ade 4 party to the
art museum at South K~enslngton, !
think. Anyhow Jane had calmly but
firmly accosted them somewhere III the
streets and asserted her right to what,
in spite Of the consensus of literature,
she held to be her inalienable property.
She did, | think, 90 SO far as to lay
hands on him. They dealt with her III
a crnshingly superior way. They "call
ID Il cab" There was u .stene, Viii
fam being pulled away into the four
wheeler by his future wife and mother
in-Iaw from the reluctant hands of U
discarded Jane. There were threats OF
giving her I'm charge"
My poor janet" said my wife,
mincing veal as though she was mincing
William. Its q shame Of them. !
would think no more of him. He is not
worthy Of you"
mo, ma'am,' said Jane. He is
weak. But it's that woman has done it.
She was never known to bring herself to
pronounce THAT woman's" name, or to
admit her g~irlishness, II can't think
what minis some women must have
to try and get a girls young man away
from her. But there, it only hurts to
talk about it."
Thereafter our house rested from Will
liam. But there was something in the
of Jane's scrubbing the front
door step or sweeping out the rooms. q
certain vici~ousness, that persuaded me
that the story had not yet ended.
PLEASE, ma'am, may | go and see a
wedding tomorrow" said Jane one day.
My wife knew by instinct whose
wedding. do you think it is wise,
Jane?:" she said.
''Iwould like to see the last of him."
said Jane.
MY dear" said my wife, f1uttering
into my room about 20 minutes after
Jane had started. "Jane has been to the
boothDle and taken all the left off boots
and shoes and gone off to the wedding
with them in q bag. Surely she cannot
mean
Jane" said /, lis developing char
acter. Let us hope for the best"
Jane came back with a pale, hard
face. All the boots seemed to be still in
her bag, at which my wife heaved a
premature sigh of relief.
"Quite a crowd at the wedding,
ma'am,' she said presently in a purely
conversational style, sitting i'll our little
kitchen and s%crubbing the potatoes.
1T was all extremely respectable and
nice, ma'am, but her father didn't wear
a black coat and looked quite out of
place, ma'am.4 Mr.. Piddingquirk''-
"Who?''
MI. Piddingquirk 49, William, that
was, ma'am-had white gloves and a
coat like a clergyman and a lovely
chrysanthemum. He looked SO nice,
ma'am. And some one threw a slipper,
and then / threw a boot
Threw a boot, janet
Eyes, ma'am. Aimed at her. But it
hit him. Yes, ma'am, hard. Gev him
a black eye, / should think. / only
threw that me-. I hadn't the heart to
try again. All the little boys cheered
when it hit him." After an interval.
Il am sorry the boot hit him."
Another pause; the potatoes were
being scrubbed violently. "He always
was a bit above me, you know, ma'am.
And he was led away"
The potatoes Were more than finished.
Jane rose sharply with a sigh and rap
ped the basin down on the table.
Il don't care" she said. Il don't
care a rap. He will find out his mis-
take yet. 1t serves me right. / was
stuck up about him. / ought not to
have looked 50 high. And I am glad
things are as things are.
Ny wife was in the kitchen seeing to
the higher cookery. After the confes-
sion Of the boot throwing she must have
watched poor Jane Tuning with a Ger
tain dismay in those brown eyes of hers.
ooh, ma'am," said Jane, with an
astonishing change of note, think of
all that might have been! Oh, ma'am,
| could have been s. happy! | ought to
have known, but I didn't know. You're
very kind to let me talk to you, ma'am
for it's hard on me, ma'am-it's
har-r-r-r-r'f-
And / gather that Mariana SO far for
got herself as to let Jane sob out some
Of the fullness Of her heart on a sympa-
thetic shoulder. My Mariana, thank
heaven, has never properly grasped the
Importance Of excepting up her posi-
ton" And since that ct of weeping
much of the accent of bitterness has
gone out of James scrubbing and brush
work.
Indeed something passed the other
day with the butcher boy, but that
scarcely belongs to this story. However,