The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-19
NOT ALWAYS TO THE STRONG.
BY ETHEL TURNER.
Copyrighted, 1895, by Ethel Turner.

upon the ceiling.
A few feet away was another white bed
and another small girl occupant, who,
however, saw only dream moonbeams. as
behtted the tender age Of eight, at eleven
o'clock. Further away still was a wide
cot, where among the tossed clothes in
lovely sleep lay two chubby cherub boys
of two and three-Jimmie and Jack.
A door at the end of the room led into
another bed chamber, where a night light
flung a tmid brightness on the gloom. And
up and down, w and down on the China
mating went the soft. regular tread OF
bare feet And on and on, on and on went
the low grooming song that seemed to have
no beginning ana never reached an end;
a song with an odd. mournful. soothing
cadence running through it all the time
though the words were almost merry at
times, and the melody changed frequently
Often there was little wailing accom-
paniment TO it, but the persistence Of the
gentle singing, and the soft tread, tread Of
feet. made it die away till only sleepy sob
or Iong-drawn sigh made other sound in
the room.
lie open-eyed q little time in the warm
darkness of the night and feel glad and
conlforted at the sound of the low tender
voice and soft moving feet over there
where there was just light enough to see
shadows And Jimmie woke too sometimes,
but he had queer little, complex SOUL
for all his rosy checks and surprising ap-
petite. The sound used often to fill his
heart with melancholy. and make him cry
under the clothes, though why, he had not
the slightest idea.
only Dora carped at it. She was a
strange, sharp little being of twelve; even
the aunts VINO worsnpped the chubby
boys and merry Meta, and the twin babies,
could not bring themselves to love her
warmly, though they tired conscientiously.
She had been precoclous all her life, but
what was pretty and surprising in her
when she was four or FIVE had become at
twelve quite an inhrmity. The friends of
the family called her an Objectionable
child" and were quite afraid TO say any
thing either to her or before her When
they came TO the house they petted and
played with the other children and avoid
Ell her as much as they could. making few
remarks to her. Sometimes the little girl
noticed it. and used to make herself mis-
erably unhappy about it.
Does Mrs. Mayhem only like boys, NAM
MAJ" she asked when her sharpness had
observed once the rebuffs she had met
with al this visitors hands.
"Oh, no." the mother said unguardedly;
'she Is far fonder Of girls. She says she
~rtar. h. IL H.
very own
Dora looked over to little sunny-faced
Meta
why doesn't she like me?" she said
anxiously.
Then the mother was confronted again
with the problem that was beginning TO
worry her.
"How do you know she doesn't my
daughter?" she said.
Dora flung back her brown, straight hair
in her peculiarly expressive way
"Oh, 1 know" she said
The mother looked anxiously at the sharp
little face.
Perhaps you didn't make yourself as
agreeable to her as Meta did" she said.
Meta didn't do anything" Dora con-
tended, anything at all; she just sat on
her knee and showed her that old Mary
Ann doll of hers, and kept bothering her TO
tie its bonnet and look at ITS pocket"
And what did Dora do?" said the moth
er. Think carefully, dear. and tell me
everything exactly"
Dora wrinkled her brow to bring it all
back. She had the merit of exceeding con
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Il asked her to spell phthisis' and EN-
barrassment' and she wouldn't" she said
land j told her a lot of funny things
used TO say when l was young, and she
didn't laugh bit: and ! told her that
story father told you yesterday about Mr.
Barton going about like a raVening lion
trying 10 find a wealthy widow to devour. -
Mother groaned. Mrs. Mayhon herself
was a wealthy widow. and had shown
signs of Willingness to be devoured by thai
particular lion.
Anything else?" she asked
Dora wrinkled her brow again.
l did tell her / thought she was Just q
little bit too old to wear pink roses in hel
bonnet" she answered. perhaps sh,
didn't like that mamma. StiI she is toe
Old; I've often heard father say so, anc
someone ought TO tell her"
That was 1.-THE keynote to her falling
Dora burned to reform the world and was
surprised when it objected and showed q
preference for going on in its old bad way
OF course her mother talked to her a
length, and tried to show her the error OF
her ways; and, of course, Dora saw the
error. and was deeply sorry, and promised
amendment. But equally, Of course sh,
forgot everything about it, and was as en-
tircly Objectionable to the very next Wis
iIor.
Her father and mother seemed to spent
half their time i'm snubbng her but, as IN,
former used to say, hopeless in his tone
she was absolutely "unsnubbable" Up sh,
used TO bounce. like a cork after a min
ute's depression; all they could do was Il
trust that with the wisdom of comins
years she might grow out OF il.
At present she was engrossed with tn,
Hercuiean task of trying TO teach he
mother the proper management OF infants
A spinster sister of her fathers had left Z
book on this art al the house and begged
that 1t should be read and followed. Blu
mother only smiled and put it away; sh,
seemed to fancy that having managed {,
set SIX of them healthy and straight-limb
ed thus far on the road of life she coul,
continue to do so without book wisdom
But Dora found the volume and studied
1t assiduously.
Never take child up from his cradle.
II said, "and walk him about. 1t is a mos
foolish and injurious system. 1t will d,
him no harm to cry, and he will very sool
learn it is no use, and that he NAV a,
Wen go to sleep. a child is never TO youn.
10 be taught this"
Looking up at the moonbean-ladde,
Dora ranoatq1 This IN Iorea1f .,