The Jennings daily record., 1902-07-21


sible. No particular credit to me.
either, if l do: for she's out of our
radius now. forever. Still l mus, say
people DO seem bit hard on the aver
age stepnother. who surely had as
much chance of being good sort of
woman rs bad sort.
That Mabel would say aud
wouldn', her eyes fash at me!-'is be-
cause she was handsome.
She :ancieS. the little silly. that a fell
low can't judge Il woman on the square
if shes good looking
III admit, though, that | felt a bit
bowlcd over at the outset. 1t was not
a nice idea-this invasion of our nest
by Il stranger who was to be all at
once invested With supreme authority
in the establishment. And matters
We're made worse by the fact that the
governor had picked her up abroad
Every one knows. of course. that the
travelled woman is so much more risky
a parsonage than the woman who has
never. since she cut short frockS. been
out of the influence of parochial goS-
sip and restraints.
However. TO get to the story.
One fine day. when ! was cleaning
my gun for a turn at the rabbits, in
dashed Mabel. with her hair all about
her face.
."Wha, do you think, Rupert:' she
screaned-fairly screamed.
THAT you've knocked the oil can
over. you headStrong crea ture!' l re-
piled.
Oil can she exclaimed. with such
Scorn as Il Seventeen-year-old damse1
when reused can put into her voice
Its q Shame--a cruel Shame"' she
continued. and then she began TO sob.
1t wasn't such an unsual story. after
all The governor had got the two
girls into his study and had broken it
TO them that they We're about TO have
"a new mother-that was all. They
had objected each in her own way
and been duly sent off. l was to get
ny information through them. It was
quite comprehensive that the governor
did not care to tell me the news with
his own lips.
Well. in due time she came to us.
this new mother. and l for one was
plea sanity disllusoned about her. She
was dark small with extremely good
manners and quaint. almost deferen-
tial adlress--at least with me-that
soon overrode most of my prejudices.
The governor had shown good taste in
my opinion. 1T was nothing at all in
objection that Agnes and Mabel hated
her from the very first. That was just
what they We're bound to do.
"All the same, girls l said to them
when Mrs. Winstanley rhe second had
been in the house a week. 'you'n get
over your childish fancies and soon
like her we'll enough
They retorted as l expected they
would They vowed they would never
DO more than tolerate her
In the meantime it was certainly in
structive to mark what an effect his
second marriage had upon the gov
ernor. / never saw Il man so changed
Before-ever since my mothers death
three years back-he had looked like
settling into regular bookworm. He
was in his study pretty nigh all day
and half the night But Mrs. Winstan-
ley second made all the difference AS
soon as breakfast was over he would
light cigar and take my arm. Just
like Il college clum. tor Il stroll on the
lawn. And TO hear him talk you would
never have thought he conld be the
same man who n little before. would
spend Il whole day with his own chill
dren without nttering more than
score or two words. He took up with
society again. Of course. ostensibly for
her sake. but really he seemed to en-
Joy driving her about and Introducing
her to folks who. I warrant. didn't
spare him behind his back
Rupert" 'hC siopmother said TO me
one morning. with just the proper
amount of color in her face-for she
was only four years my senior-"if l
only could win Mabel and Agnes TO
love me l should be the happiest wom-
an in the world"
1 assured her she couldn't fail to
succeed in this in time. and when she
sighed-most picturesquely-I repeated
my assurances.
'You,' I said to her ARE woman
of the world They are only school
room chits They must go down be-
fore you if you persevere''
l don't think she altogether liked me
to talk to her in this way. She would
have preferred all reference to her for
eign life--ahout which none of us. ex-
cept the governor. knew anything-to
have been left out. But have ever