The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1897-10-12

pocldI care, SO L won see nor put upon
in any way"
(Which means that she intends to
get that scarlet ribbon she is lingering
for herself" grumbled one of the Sc
lect; 'it's just like Carmen Flowers
to pounce upon every good thing that
comes into the school"
''Greedyr' said Miss Candy.
"Vainr' sneered Miss Prime.
stuck up!'' chimed in Miss Waters.
BY which it may be seen that Carmen
Flower-Spanish by her mothers side,
and English by her father although
she was strongly suspected of turning
out beauty, was not much of favor
lite at Pomona Villa.
Whether on account of Ruthven's lib
crafty, however, or because some Sc
cret attraction drew the two girls to-
gether, Carmen Flower and Margaret
O'Reilly were fast friends from the first
day of meeting. On Pegs side vast
deal of admiration mingled with the
affection she conceived for her new
companion.
Carmen was only one year older than
herself; yet she appeared almost wom-
an by comparison with her, and Peg
thought she had never seen anything
more beautiful than her flashing black
eyes, and long, straight limbs, and the
abundant dark tresses with which her
head was crowned. Carmen was an
orphan, too, who could not remember
either father or mother, and lived with
her uncle and guardian, Sir Frederic
Flower, in an old house in the country
called Abbotsville. 1t was rumored in
the school that Miss Flower was an
heiress, and would inherit all her I'M
cle's money, and Carmen was fond of
boasting to the same effect; but that
circumstance made no difference to
Peg. Her heart had known too little
of affection not to respond eagerly to
that semblance of it which school girls
exhibit toward each other, and which
has it's outlet in kisses, secrets and
terms of endearment. She mistook all
this gilt for gold, and before a month
was over her head she adored Carmen
Flower as being of superior order to
herself, and was never SO happy as when
she was running her errands, doing her
commissions, or waiting on her pleas
ure.
Carmen liked this adulation; it was as
balm to her conceited spirit, and if she
had ever felt an attachment to anyone
it was to Margaret O'Reilly. Inheriting
from her Spanish mother haughtiness
and thirst for admiration which had
rendered her obnoxious to her compan-
ions, her beauty and wealth had not
met hitherto with the consideration she
thought they deserved. The British
girl is almost as ready as her brother
to put down anything like self-assur-
ance and conceit, and the butchers and
bakers daughters had been irritated
rather than awed, by the assumption
of Importance maintained by Miss
Flower.
But poor Peg had no dignity of her
own to keep up. She could not assert
loudly like the Misses Prime and Candy,
that she was as good as others; she was
only anxious to conceal the past, and let
it die in silence. Even to her friend,
Carmen Flower, she said nothing on the
subject. Her feminine instinct had al
ready taught her that the confession
would do her harm, added to which
Mrs. Garrett had especially cautioned
her, on her masters behalf, not to re-
veal anything of her past life.
So all that the young ladies discov-
cred was that she was an orphan and
lived with her guardian, the same as
Carmen Flower did. They thought
her dreadfully vulgar at first, but nat
ural timidity made her expose her de-
ficiencies as little as possible, and nat
ural intelligence quickly taught her to
remedy them. 1t was Easter when she
was sent to Pomona Villa, and by mid
summer no one would have recognized
her as the same girl. Her face and
figure had filled out, her cheeks bloomed
with health, and her language. was at
least as correct as it is with most of her
age. In fact, Margaret O'ReilIy had be-
come the prettiest girl in the school,
and, though their attachment contin-
ued unabated, Carmen Flower was
more than disposed to be jealous Of the
attention she attracted. When Mrs.
Garrett arrived on one of her monthly
visits to see how the girl was progress
ing, she held up her hands in amaze
ment
'Lor' bless me, Miss Margaret, new
er did see such change! Well, Black
heath must agree with you, and these
ladies must be doing their duty for you