Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-03

by mamma herself-and 1t was all frankly
magnificent
Behind the house was a perfect child .
gardsn-a long garden between high
walls with good climbable. treasure-bear-
Ing trees in 1t. such as the mulberry. the
| walnut, the apple and the pear: grass
| lawn. grass-grown paths: empty potting
sheds, neglected, broken-down green
house-all most useful In childish games;
fruit bushes turning to jungle, flower
borders gone to wild seed and profuse
| weed in fact, a garden unspoilt by too
much gardener. And at the bottom OF It,.
the summer house. from which one looked
out at the roofs. chimneys and walls OF
Medford town.
Above all else Lizzie loved their old.
INTENDED garden when Dick was there
to play with her.
AS years passed Mr.. Crunden grew
more stern rather than less stern. and yet
he found always kind words for Lizzie.
Between her twelfth and thirteenth birth
days she had as all agreed, shot up sur
prisingly. and was now tall child for
her years. Mamma gave scrupulous care
to her costume dressing her wisely and
we'll in brown frocks during the winter.
and nice blue frocks with big white spots
on them during the summer. Black stock
ings went with the blue frocks. made of
cotton for weekdays and silk for Sundays.
Mamma took pride in these neat. at
traetive clothes. and papa was proud OF
y,
she has" said Miss Blackburn. the
morning governess. quite the ar!sto-
cratic air. Hers Is a refined type OF
beauty-unusually so-really and truly
Mis-; Blackburn was nothing If net gen.
teel She had taught in several of the
best houses in Medford-the Beaumonts
the Grenviles. etc, of Hill Risa--and she
offered this confidentialiy fiattering opin-
ion with a tone of authority. Mr.. Crun-
den showed something of a wry face at
bo n yno6a allowance for
what he termed Miss B!ackburn's butter
ing way. But. in sober truth, his Gaush-
ter was a pretty. winning child Her
brown hair was soft and wavy, making a
full, wide name under the large ribbon
bow behind; her complexion was delicate,
and the color came and went quickly be-
meath the smooth skin; her nosa was
long and thin and straight; she had fairly
marked eyebrows, and good gray eyes,
with lots of childish fun always ready to
shine in trem. Her manner to visitors
was shyly caressinS. and to her family
affectionately eXacting.
Never mind about her looks" said
papa rather gruff1y. Does she mind her
task Miss Blackburn? That's what
think about" And as he glanced at
Lizzie sitting out % earshot. it was plain
that he did think of the other things aiso,
though he might not confess much.
Fond of play Mr.. Crunden: very fond
of a game of play" said Miss Black
stick to it. Lizzie" said papa i'm
presstvely Stick to it, my dear
Lizzie at this period was already deep
In the Mysteries of the French language
an acquisition held in reverence by papa.
When Lizzie recited morselS Of French
after supper Mrs. Price lifted her hands
admiringly. and mamma nodded and
smiled and continued to do so until the
conversation flowed on again in English.
Mamma seemed a little shy Of French
| ,l,<l ri fo01 atptO
But Mr.. Crunden, one night, possessing
himself OF the lesson book, silently and
resolutely tackled the matter. and did not
rest before he had committed some
French to memory.
Henceforth, when he passed through
the room where sat pupil and teacher, he
would accost them facetiously:
Well Lizzie. my dear! OO-ay lar
quizzineer? Oo-ay Ter Shah? Oo-ay
mong Shah-nore?"
| understood both by Miss Blackburn and
by Lizzie to be asking for news of the
cook and the cat
| stick to it." and he would laugh
heartily Stick to it. my little fairy.
Among us we mean to make a lady of
you-same as all the young misses in Hill
Rise"
He laughed thus with Lizzie about
French, but it seemed that he had no
laughter nowadays for other people and
other things: Why was papa turning
moody and gloomy. and yet more stern?
1t troubled her to think that father
was troubled. 1t irked her. who was SO
happy, to feel by instinct unhappy
thought in those she loved.
One day there came to her a sudden
most dreadful fear, that papa must be
about to become what they called bank
rupt. This as already she had gathered,
was an enigmaticai but CalamitouS state
into which builders were apt to fall. The
bankrupt condition was it appeared, to
the best of builders what measles are to
the best OF children-a thing not to be
avoided by personal effort; a thing for
which you could not properly be blamed
No such annoyance, however, threatened