The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1900-01-09

"matn IRE was
word to apply to Miss Mary. She
seemed always immature. From her
teens she had been docile, plant, and
easily led, and now at sixty she still
seemed hardly grown-up. She was
still pretty, even dainty, to look at.
Her snow white hair was arranged as
deftly as it had been at sixteen, and
she blushed as readily now as then
Miss Mary Jones lived in a dowdy
London suburb with only one servant,
older than her herself-Betsy Mills.
Miss Mary was, so report said, the
daughter of a sea captain, and had
been brought up for a lady" but
nobody knew much more of her than
this. Betsy Mills was close, and Miss
Mary was not given to gossip, but, as
the local parlance went, ''kept herself
to herself"
The two women lived in one of those
ugly little four-roomed, semi detached
villa residences" which abound in
questionable suburbs, with an unin-
viting-looking strip of lawn and oyster
shells in front, and an equally I'M
pleasant slug ridden plot behind. But
Miss Mary, who was fond of garden
ing, had trained pretty yellow jessa-
mine over the rickety porch, and she
liked the Oyster-shells because ''they
reminded her of the sea" BNtsy
Mills, hard-featured tall old woman,
as lean as a scarecrow, though she was
hard as adamant to every one else,
rarely spoke otherwise than softly to
ha mi CT Sbn E..
respected her weaknesses, and never
scolded her except when necessary.
Miss Mary" she always called her.
with almost tender infection in her
voice, and hence the neighbors also
never spoke of her as anything else
than miss Mary"
Miss Mary was charitable to n fault.
Her house was n very refuge to the
destitute. TO it hocked all the beg
gars and impOstors in the neighbor-
hood, sure OF relief No tale was too
feeble, no story too disjointed, to i'm
pose upon this tender hearted old
lady. Betsy, who saw through every
b ing, and who was made of material
a stern as Miss Mary's was soft, re-
g rded herself as shield interposed
b Heaven to protect her mistress,
" 40 would otherwise long ago have
fl Ing her whole substance to a crowd
tf greedy beggars. But even she
ctNld not prevent Miss Mary's con
til val raids on the scanty larder.
''Ye'd leave nothing at all for yer
SELF" she grumbled, "if L didn't look
after yer like a mother, and be forever
at yer back"
Miss Mary paid no attention to
these gibes. As long as she had any
thing in her larder she would share
it, let Betsy say what she would; and
Betsy loved her too well to remon-
strate seriously. So the crowd of beg
gars kept on coming, till hardly day
passed without seeing some recipient
0f Miss MaIy's bounty.
Sometimes it was a man-Betsy per-
fectly hated men!-an "out-of-work, ."
tracking in dirty feet all over the place ;
sometimes an aged female in rusty
black, describing herself as "a rela-
tive and scion of the late Duke of
Wellington" smelling horribly of gin,
who would persist in staying through
two meals, and giving Miss Mary more
than enough OF her company, scion
though she were Or, as if this were
not enough, Miss Mary would occa-
sionally pick mp lost children whom
she found crying in the streets and
bring them home, to Betsys indigna-
ton and her own confusion; for they
would generally sit crying after the
manner of lost children, and refuse to
eat, until called for by their parents.
Through this Tsame charitable Off
ciousness Miss Mary once found herself
in the position of nearly having n Dar-
ish baby saddled upon her altogether.
but this Betsy refused TO allow, put.
ting her foot down firmly for once
She amt nothing but baby her
self, bless ye, sir, she informed the
police sergeant ON that memorable oc.
casiOn But the fact was Miss Mary
had n softer heart even than usual
where children were concerned All
the children ran after her gladly-her
very name suggested Co them tofTee
and other sticky Joys Tramps used
systematically 20 invent large families
as clam ON her compassion. for Miss
Mary was alargc- hcarted charity that
did not criticisc.
"Oh, Betsy sho said, hurrying up
~ iAti NltuLII WIFI years no her
eyes, ''here's a poor woman come ia
the door with matches She's got n
drunken husband and sixteen children
ono Of them triplot-all of tender
age"
"Sixpon, has sho2 An, That's one
thing they cau all ave- grumblcd
Betsy, unmoved, rs she wendell her
way upstairs with her broom
There' was % diplomacy in Bclsy's
departure n Mics Mary would give
away tho poor contents of the lardcr
again, let nor not Doc there 20 see. a
set Of greedy, uaspiug wratchcs,
Mntinous, she seized Che broom with
vigor and began 90 sweep her mis-.
tress's bedroom. ~ was plain. I'M
pretending little room enough. every.
thing neat but very old. the paint
worn of everything. but scrupulously
tidy and old-mailish, with r. sort of
character Of its own that bore mo- no..
lation 20 Mrs.. Panton The bed.
covered with scanty blue cotton
quilt, had hung over it an Anticipated