Year: 1878

superior to those of her former life, that th'
change they wrought in her appeared to raise
her out of her old self into being of anoth
er sphere. Mrs. Manuel noted this chang'
with halfexultant, half regretful feelings. L
delighted her to see her Posy, as she express
ed it, "madea lady of; yet mingled with thi
was an irrepressible jealousy of that which
seemed to put an overwhelming distance be
tween them, and rob her of the first place ir
her child's regard. Had the tie between
them been Gas Posy still believed it to be) ont
of actual relationship, it is probable thai
she would have felt only pleasure in her pro
motion but the very fact Of knowing, or al
least suspecting, that Posy's birth really en-
titled her to all the advantages which coule
be bestowed upon her, made her the more ap
prehensive that these would create gulf be
tween them which might never be bridgee
over again.


She need not have feared. In the young
girls simple nature, the tie, formed by long
habit, and nurtured by devoted care, coulo
never be superseded by new claims. And bel
affection for the one who, through all the pov
erty aud degradation of their vagrant life
had bestowed no thought upon herself, but
had cheerfully taken the morsel from her OWL
lips to save her from want, continued unshaken
in its original strength.


The same unsel6shness which had made
this poor, ignorant, debased ex-dancer pro-
vide always for her adopted childs comfort
in preference to her own, made her refrain,
now, from betraying to the latter how dreary
and solitary was the existence she led without
her, knowing that in limiting Of this, she
would mar the contentment Posy had learned
to feel beneath the roof of her kind friends,
Manager Lacombe and his wife. But in
truth, she missed her sorely, at such hours
when her presence had been wont to brighten
their humble home, and there were times,
when che felt almost tempted to recall ber,
though she knew that such course would be
most unwise, and even reprehensible, under
the circumstances.


She was sitting alone one night, after re-
turning from the theatre, feeling even more
forlorn than usual. Her thoughts had retro.
graded, somehow, to the early days of her
life, above all, the days in which James STRAIT
ton had played prominent part. A Astrange
checkered life, it was, to look back upon
She could not remember the time when hun
ger, and blows, and hardships, had not been
her familiar companions. She could not re-
member a mothers loving glance, or faith
er's kind word. She could not remember, in
deed, poor soul, of ever having a father OF
mother, at all. Her first recollection was o1
dingy attic, where she lived under the charge
of an ancient bag, who sent her into the streets
to beg, and beat her numerically when she
was unsuccessful in this occupation. From
this thradom she had escaped, at the age o1
eight years, by running away, and being found
starving, under gateway a week later, had
been lodged in the station house, and thence
transferred to an industrial school, where two
more miserable years were passed, the only
improvement being that she got fewer beating'
and almost enough to eat. The work she wa'
forced to do there, was more trying to bel
than begging in the streets, and at the end O.
the two years she ran off again, this time
making her way out of the city, and success
fully eluding capture. By the roadside sh'
fell in with some wandering showmen, wht
permitted her to join their company, anc
while with them she received her first lessons
in dancing, an accomplishment in which, by
hard labor, she gradually perfected herself
sufficiently to make it a means of livelihood
From one place Of exhibition to another, sh'
had shifted as time went on, sometimes OBJ
tanning only temporary employment, some
times an engagement of few weeks duration
until at last she succeeded in getting posi-
ton in theatre, with salary that seemed {
fortune, compared with her past scanty earn
ings. And here, for six months, she contin
ued to follow her avocation, undisturbed
Then, chance had thrown Jim Stratton in bel
way. He was scene painter, with consider
able talent, but reckless and unsteady in hi
habits, though she did not know this at first
He had bold, dasbing way about him, thai
won her uncultivated fancy. She was hand
some and lively, and soon attracted his re-
gard The result was that he coarted her
obtained her promise, and in short time
thew we're married. He was kind enough al
first, laviehed money upon her, and seemed
proud of the admiration she won from the
public but soon he began to manifest 6
fierce and jealous spirit, and she herself, moi
being deficient in temper, quarreling and
strife ensued, which waxed hotter as time
went on. By and by child was born to them
a pretty dark.eyed boy, on whom the mothers
passionate love was poured out. Stratton
too, seemed softened, and for ashort space all
went on smoothly again. But some fresh
subject of contention arose. and the Temporal
ry truce was broken up and swept away by
renewed and continuous storms. Amid all
this unhappiness the little child fell ill and
died, and the mothers cup of misery was now
full. stratton took to drinking and gambling
and in his intercourse with her, proceeded
from coarse abuse to actual cruelty. And,
after passing through period of untold
wretchedness she left him, and left her place
of employment, afraid to remain longer in his
reach Despairing, reckless, without resour-
ces, bereft of every hope and aim, which had
made life desirable, she sank, by degrees, into
such depths of degradation, as she shuddered
c.l H.