The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1903-04-24
Her Beau
From
Hartford
By Zoe Anderson Norris
Copyright, 1902. bp Zoe Anderson Norris


ont to me q house in the middle Of the
second block away.
att is there that have engaged you
a room," she told me. 81 engaged II
particularly for tonight
1 had not taken Off my things. /
started out.
You will be back for dinner, won't
your" she asked, with wistful You
won't be back for dinner. will your
air. And l had replied: mo. ! may
as well stay to dinner there. They
will charge me for it all the same"
The room was not so bad as 1t might
have been, and the house was hand
some one, but the general atmosphere
of it rather struck me with amazement
The little woman who kept it had just
moved in from a fiat The carpets
consequently fitted like postage stamps
the furniture appeared to have shrunk
and the curtains when they hung at
all hung three feet from the floor.
I said to myself at first, 81 cannot
stay here"
Then began to grow interested.
In spite of the fact that several large
trunks whose contents should have had
to certain degree the effect of estab-
fishing my responsibility followed in
my wake, was politely but firmly re-
quested to pay in advance.
I did so.
s The money went to buy necessary
furniture for my room.
Having struggled some myself-and,
alas, the struggling isn't quite over yet
Il looked upon the convulsive efforts
of that little woman to furnish her
house and her table at the same time
with such increased interest that ult-
mately l paid her two weeks In adj
vance instead Of one.
Thus the stairs were carpeted and a
rug was eventually placed at the en-
trance In the hall.
In the intervals Of cooking. washing,
ironing and scrubbing the little woman
came to me and told me her tale Of
woe.
1t was In vain that sat before an
expectant typewriter, glancing signif1-
cantly down now and again at waiting
keys
She talked to me.
1T is all for Muriei," she said 81
want to make that girls life worth liv-
ing. Mine never was. l want her to
have things she should have-things
girls love-pretty clothes, hats. shoes,
gloves, ribbons / want to make her a
happy girl Why, after all my work
yesterday what do you think didr
1 couldn't imagine. but I knew well
enough what | must do IL I wanted
any butter on my daily bread, and
what l couldn't do If she kept on talk
ing.
Il sat up till 8 o'clock making a
party dress to send her at Hartford"
she informed me. "She's going to a
ball there tonight. I had to have it
ready for the express this morning. I
sat up nearly all night long finishing
It"
It was In this way that she repeated
herself, taking up the time.
leaned my elbows on the table and,
looking hard at her. tried to mesmcr1ze
her into going away.
'.She Is coming home in three days OK
four" she went on. aLi talked blue
streak for half an hour before she
finally took herself OF.
In due time she came, that wondered
Nnriel.
Going down to dinner one evening I
found her ut table.
was filed with astonishment at the
night Of her. Her mother. with all her
talk. had not prepared me for her ex-
QuiGite beauty. >.
She was not only beautiful. but abs
possessed certain style incomprehen-
sible In girl Of her position. / discov-
cred later that her mother made her
clothes. This served to increase my
surprise. for her mother had next to no
style at al. The reason for this, how
ever, was forgivable. She spent moth
Ing on herself and every cent that she
could spare from the furniture on The
girl
confess that It gave me q sort q
shock 10 80 this exquisite creature
take up the bell and ring for her moth
er % bring In her dinner, a. Il that
mother were q servant. but the mother
lllayed the shock by explaining. She
wouldn't allow Muriel In the Kitchen.
TheEe were various and sundry rea-
sons, Il seemed. for this. First, tho
giri didn't know enough to pound sand
when II. came to cooking: second. she
wouldn't be bothered with teaching
her, and the thlrddss. fourthlies and
6fthlies have forgotten.
The shock was entirely dispeIle6
when I found her on the following
morning prone upon her knees on the
han door washing up its marble. r
changed to respect ~ she swept down
IL 1tllEs. cleaned the parior, dustsd
the banlstars. tables and chairs. and
Mhen. with uptuc2ed skirts and dube.
eap. nke Z maid In comic open, ~
tmocksd q my dook % e3san - ~
1pom kvl&bhed en1Iksly, ana sepppla
" voEk ~ May q inward I talhul
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