Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-03-21

week. So great was the demand for
a really capable seamstress that Dora,
could have made engagements for,
every day in the week at a dollar aud
a half a day; but some of her other
work was even more profitable, and
she preferred variety.
| One lady with five children, all boys
but one, said to Dora one day: "You
do the neatest patching and darning
4, I ever saw. It is something I never
could do well and that 1 have always
+, dislilled exceedingly. Il is such re-
| lief to me to get rid of it and to have
/, it done so much better than I could
! do that hereafter 1 am going to pay
you IS cents an hour for it. You do
! this homely, embarrassing work as if
you really enjoyed it, s
II enjoy being useful and I believe
| in doing even homely and uninterest-
| ing work thoroughly" replied Dora.
May and Rose and Margaret had
pride enough to be unwilling to al
low Dora to support them in idleness,
even if her income had been large
enough for her to have done so. They
expressed themselves as willing to ''do
something" if they could find some
! thing they could do. May gracious
| ly indicated her willingness to travel
as companion with some lady, and
Rose was willing to do embroidery at
home, while Margaret tried to get
position as singer in some church,
and she even talked of studying to
become an opera singer. 1t surprised
| and offended her to have a teacher of
voice culture tell her frankly that her
voice was of too slight volume and
too ordinary in quality for her to hope
it to make a source of income even
| with the best of training.
May finally secured few pupils in
china painting, and Rose formed
little class in embroidery; but MILFORD
was a small town and as there were
already several teachers of painting
and embroidery in it, May and Rose
found it difficult to secure pupils. A
relative of Mr.. Filters offered Mar
garet home with her in large city
in return for some such service as
Dora was rendering to others in VIII
ford, but at the end of two months
Margaret was at home again, her
| mothers cousin writing with unnec-
essary b1untness that ''the girl was of
no account" Finally, Margaret mar
| ried clerk in a store in MILFORD who
was fascinated by her dashing man
ners and pretty face, and they began
a life of almost certain unhappiness
in boarding house.
One day Dora came home from one
of her afternoons with Mrs Raymond,
the wealthy woman for whom she
wrote letters and notes and to whom
IT, 1,
ways. Dora's brown eyes were shin
ing and her step was quick and clas-
tic. May was in an, ill-humor because
of what she called the cutter stu
pidity'' of one of her pupils, and Rose
had just said that she fairly loathed
the sight Of embroidery of any kind
80 girls and o mother, what do
you think dear Mrs. Raymond wants
me to do? You never could guessi"
'Then why do you ask me to try?"
asked Rose petulantly.
cit is foolish of me, isn't it?" re-
piled Dora, with her unfailing good
humor. swell, Mrs. Raymond is go
ing abroad next month to be gene a
whole year and she has asked me to
go with her. Think of it!''
''Dora Estelle Fifer!'' exclaimed
Rose in much the same tone in which
she had used when eXclaiming over
Dora's intention to go out as a gen
eral utility girl.
"You don't mean it?" cried May,
while Mrs. Fifer said with shining eyes:
81 am so glad for you, dear. Tell
us all about it,
"I never shall tell all of the nice
things Mrs. Raymond said to me
when she asked me to CO." said Dora.
SIT would sound too vain. But she
said that I had become so useful to
her and so necessary to her comfort
that she could not go without me. She
is going to pay me as much as have
been earning in my other places, and
of course, she will pay all of my ex-
penses. We are going to Paris, to
Rome, to Geneva, to Germany-oh, all
over Europe and to other countries!
Can you spare me for SO long, moth
ere"
''Spare you, dear? I would not for
anything have you miss the oppor-
tunity. You know that my health is
better now that it has been for years,
and I am perfectly able to take full
charge of the house"
Mrs. Raymond is going to pay me
half of my years salary in advance
SO that I can give it to you before I
co. said Dora. "Oh, doesn't It sound
too good to be true? I am the hap
piest, happiest girl in the world, even
thorgh I am only general utility
girl
A few days later Mrs. Raymond
called on Mrs. Fifer when Dora was
out and said: SCI came partly to ask