Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-07-03
jeans Declaration Of independence

4
voice, and an old lady came down the
walk as quickly as she could. Would
it be too much trouble for you 10
match this yarn? l can't find it here
at ALL
Not a bit of trouble, Mrs. Clayton"
said Jean heartily. III bring it this
evening"
| The idea of that old lady bothering
you with bit of yarn" laughed Edna
Fillmore as soon as they We're our of
hearing. why didn't she send it by
mail to some reliable house in the
city,"
Mrs. Clayton doesn't know about
| mail-order business" explained Jean
l have done errands for ever since l
started to school in town. There
| comes Miss Ross to meet me, and l
| suppose she has some errand too l
am sort of shopping agency for the
village
| Jean, DEAR" said the dressmaker, a
little out of breath from her brisk
| walk, could you bring me a spool CT
silk to match this sample? Miss
Belle Edens is very anxious to have
her dress tomorrow and 1 couldn't get
| 1t by mail in time. 1 am sorry to
trouble you, but you always say it
| doesn't matter. l wish l could repay
you for all your kindness, but that is
out of the question:
| OF course l can get it, Miss Ross
| said Jean. Il pass Taylor & Trent
twice day and it will only take a
| minute of my time. Tell Bell she may
| depend on me-
Jean Burton! If you aren't a little
goose to let people impose upon you
like that! You'll have to remembe.
the yarn and thread all day and then
take your time to buy them this even
| ing. I've heard of people who needed
guardians, but l never suspected you
We're one Of that class till now"
This isn't anything" said Jean,
| stoutly. Il must go to town to school
every day and have nearly an hour in
the evening to wait for the train, 50
| the errands help me to avoid lone
| illness. The waiting room is too dark
and noisy to study, so l rather enjoy
seeing the pretty things in the stores .
| Come in and have some hot choco-
| late after our hard days work." said
Florence Knight, laughingly, as she
walked down street from school a
week later with Jean and Edna
Honestly, girls, l do thing Mr.. Reed
gives difficult problems. My brain is
| tired when night comes"
The three girls We're slipping choco-
late by this time, and Florence
| fastened to say, We'll, l think it's a
shame they impose upon you" Most
of the girls in the class took Edna's
| opinions readily, and Florence was no
exception. IF you don't take a firm
stand one of these days, you will have
to take trunk with you every day"
That's exactly what Il sad,'
laughed Edna, but Jean disregards
my friendly warning. This chocolate
is delicious. Waiter bring us some of
| those new waters and ice-cream for
three
Not for me- said Jean, rising. Il
have several errands to do, and it is
only half an hour till train time"
You see!" said Edna, triumphantly.
she cannot even enjoy a wafer and q
| dish of ice-cream because e the tire
some old ladies and their five-cent
errands. She is Joined to her idols so
we will have to let her alone'
Mrs. Alden might have bought this
braid herself said Jean with frOwn
as she emptied the contents of her
bag that evening at home and sorted
them on the sittingroOm table Il had
to leave the girls in the ice-cream
parlor to hurry out and buy twenty
five cents worth of stuff Don't you
think they impose upon me, mamma ."
why, l don't know said Mrs.
Burton, slowly. "They are all old
neighbors, and you have told them
time and again that you like to do
errands."
Well / do, but that is no reason
why they SHOULD try to find them for
me. l do like to accommodate them
when they are in a hurry, but this
thing of saving up shopping till they
see me pass is getting to be very tire
some. Yesterday l bought two spools
of sixty thread for Miss Ross when
she might have gone to the store as
well as not"
"She had a very bad headache
yesterday, Jean, and could not dress
to go out. l am sorry you feel this
way after encouraging them, for I am
afraid the habit has become fixed
with some of them. You used to say
you enjoyed going into the large city
stores
Just as sure as one of the girls
comes out to stay all night, some one
runs after me with a sample of this or
that burst out Jean, now thoroughly
plying herself. THE other day when
Edna was here, old Mrs. Clayton, with
a shawl wrapped around her head ami
her oldest wrapper on, called me-
Edna's friends are so stylish, and sha
thinks from the way the neghbors
talk to me that they are bosom COM
panions of ours. I'm getting tired of
it,"
"All the neighbors are good friends
of ours argued Mrs. Burton. Mrs
Clayton is very kind-hearted, and all
the rest would do anything in their
power If we We're sick or in trouble |
don't like the idea of your being
ashamed of the people who have been
KIND to us all their lives"
IF we were sick we could afford to
hire trained nurses, and if we were in
trouble they are all to poor to help us
out said Jean, positively. I'm GO
ing 70 think ONT some r;an to rid N.Y.
self of the burden of shopping"