The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-05-23
CHAPTER x.
Continued.

"Ynu are happier than I, dear, be-
tcause you are not nearly so strong.
l;Why, there is a thin stick of an arm
flor you; and look at mine, big and
iStrong still, in spite of our privatiols.
II am a %dreadfully strong girl. When L
Twas born, Katharine-I have V
told you this-all the wicked fairies
;came about my cradle. One of them
;said, She shall have no MOTHER n
another, She shall have no relations
Ito help her. and a third. She shall
Ihaye no friends and a fourth, She
!shall have no ~lovers;;' and another, She
!shalf have no money and yet another,
i"She shall have no work. and another,
%-She shall have no food and then there
y twas one. the Queen Of the Wicked
IFairies-an old woman with only two
front teeth left and those sticking
Tout over her lower lip-and a most
malignant eye, who carried a CATO
Inine-tails instead Of a Scepter. She
stood over me and said, This child
,shall be splendidly strong, so that she
shall yearn and long horribly after all
lshe can not have, and she shall suffer
twice as long and twice as much as
any other woman"
Lilly! Something may happen yet"
y ooh! yes, something may. People
ihave been known to pick up shillings
lin the streets. We may beg in the
streets. We will borrow a hymn book
and sing along the road, In the Sweet
by and By I've got a good strong
voice. But we shan't like it. There
will be such terrible discomfort about
1T that we shall go back to our starv-
ing, and begin to get through the
terrible job at once and have done
with it. Katharine, my head is full of
horrible things. Suppose" she
whispered-"suppose we resolve to
die at once and have done with it,?
mo, Lily, no. Let US wait and re-
ceive what is sent"
at is truly wonderful, Katharine, to
hear you talk. Will nothing make you
rebel? Why, if there is no place for US
in the world, should we stay in it?
Some women are born consumptive
and have to die. Others, like our
selves, are born redundant. 1t is a
new disease. There is now q great
deal of redundancy among women; we
suffer from redundancy. 1t is incur
able. No drops have been found for
at and no pills. We shall have to die
of that disease. Died, in the street on
IA doorstep, after long suffering, Of re-
t'dundancy, Lily and Katharine That
would read very sweetly, wouldn't it,
on a tombstone? But there will be no
tombstone for US two, dear-we shall
Fbe buried by the parish in the pauper's
corner, where the graves stand side by
side as thick as they can be placed,
and the dead bodies Of the men and
hwomen molder away forgotten. 1t will
;be like the sea that has closed over a
sinking ship without so much as a
single fragment left. In a few days
I'VE shall be as much forgotten as if we
had never live&."
l. Lily's bitter words fell upon Kath-
sarine like blows Of a scourge.> She
could endure, but she would not re-
bel.
Leave us some hope" she said. IF
you take away that, We are indeed the
most wretched women in the, world"
Just then they heard q loft step COM
ing up the stairs. Through the open
drawing room below they could hear
miss Augusta playing the piano sweet.
ly and softly. The step was that Of
miss Beatrice the CONSIDER, who came
ito talk to them.
"My dears," she said, taking a hand
ef each, II am afraid you are in terrible
trouble"
ayes" said Katharine, 1--WE are in
very sad trouble"
"Have you found nothing to do, chill
dren?"
Nothing"
"Have you no friends to help you"
: "Not one"
J ooh! my poor children. But there is
one Friend. Think of Him."
/ Lily shook her head impatiently.
"Have you any money left?"
: "No-none," said Katharine. "And
to-morrow we must pay the week in
advance, or 60"
Miss Beatrice was silent, because it
is difficult to find consolation for the
lack of money; most of the poets and
writers despise money; and yet here
were two girls who, because they had
no money
my dear" she said, twill the Ma
iron not give you leave to stay a week
or two on credit?"
"No; it is against the rules"
Then Miss Beatrice exhorted them tS
patience. and told them in her sweet
religious way how the Lord, who is the
Father, is wont to open unexpected
doors and make things possible which
had seemed impossible, until even the
!. hard heart Of Lily melted, and they all
three wept together.
Then Miss Beatrice blessed them,
and went away with another eNhorta-
tion to patience and a hint, which she
meant for a promise-but they were
stupid and did not Understandable
something good and unexpected would
happen next day. Why-why did she
not tell them what had been done?
For in the drawing room there had
been a collection made for them. and
out Of their poverty and straightness
these poor ladies had got together the
sum of fifteen shillings and tenpence.
which was to be given to the girls in
the morning, so that they might pay
4bo Matron and have another week