Year: 1861

A restless, sad, longing little heart was heat
ing under worn calico DRESS In little room
on Fourth street. Tears as warm and grief
swollen as any that ever gushed from womans
eyes crept down the check a little way, paused,
crept on a little farther, waited, trembled, and
then swelling as the bosom swells with sighs,
ran down the maidens check, fell upon faded
chintz. Through and through. and through
again, slipped the needle, shining with the new
er-cnding attrition of muslin and linen and silk.
The Argus-eyed thimble-nothing better than
steel, though worn to the polish of slver-click
ed against the needle, pressing it through the
close fabric into the calioused fngers-tip, fret
ted and notched and blackened by many an
other ncedle-poipt, during many weary day
and many weary ght.


A cooking stove, one chair. two beds, a few
dishes on shelf in the corner, a broom, large
stone pitcher, a bonnet and shawl few pieces
of stove furniture, half a dozen plants. in rough
wooden boxes on the window-sill, four or five
books on the one table-thcse composed the fur
nIture.


The roo was elevated far above the noise
and dust of the dirty street-above the usual
flight of city pigeons even; in the fifth story;
and the roof in sloping had cut off corner of
the ceiling. The little low windows-a pair
of stunned ones-did the best they could with
the sunlight, but were too much crowded by
The falling roof 10 accomplish much.


Had you slipped noislcssly (which you
could not have done, in fact, for the sagging OF
the door, and its heavy scraping on the the
threshhold-you would have been struck first
by the baroness, and then by the singular neat
ness of the attic room.


A little black and white kitten would have
glanced up at you from soft bed of cotton in
its own corner, or skipped, frightened, upon the
smaller bed of the two; and stIll figure in the
window would have presented only bowed
head, but busy fingers, and worn and faded
print.


But if your tread had been heard on the stairs
and mistaken for that of an old man just before
you reached the Threshold you would have
heard a springing step upon the attic floor the
door would have scraped open with good ma
tured growl, pair of black eyes would have
shone at you from face wreathed in smiles.and
possibly, in the shadow and haste, you might
have got a pair of arms about your neck. At
| any rate you would have followed tall, little
| figure into the room, and on taking your seat
would have found yourself visa Wis with as ex-
pressive and proud face as ever shone from
voluptuous plush, airy laces. rustling silk and
sparkling diamond.


Indeed, while the tcar-drops vert falling un-
der the pressure of thoughts which the heart
could moi possibly hide under its lifting lid, a
step was heard upon the stairs, the stair case
did crcak like the stage drivers horn, with the
news of coming, the door did Spen, and a
pair of white arms were flung passionately a.
| round the neck of white-haired old man.


Jennie had been crying of thoughts aroused
by brief walk in populous street that after
noon. She avoided these better thoroughfares
when she could hurrying along where the streets
are narrow and dingy-whcre the glistening of
silks and the trembling of plumss is seldom
seen-where bright eyes and fair faces radiate
only from faded and worn surroundings. But
this afternoon her Grand to the store had taken
her through one of these comely streets. II
deed it stood OF the very corner Of Main street
around which human tides swept, cddying, cv-
cry hour She had seen poverty, comfort and
weslth-plainness comeliness and bcauty-stu-
| pidity, sense, intellect.


Sitting at her low window in the dull, un-
seemingly room, worn, tired. discouraged with
the labors and forebodings of Lille. Jennie g
thoughts could do no less than bIing tears.
She was thinking Of the happiness which float
ed about her IN the crowded streets; OF the
Laughing eyes; of the naughty tread Of faces


briming with careless merrment and conscious


beauty. She had seen hundreds in that one
street-hupdreds Of maidens to whom she was
consciously superior. And this was not ego
,ism in the weeping girl. Docs the doe imag-