Year: 1877

of her patrons, and split some wood,
and got dinner upon the table; then
George would come in and eat dinner
with Fifne, and tell her of all he had
been thinking about while sitting there
upon the bench under the trees.


Fifne was very happy. She knew
that George was superior to her in mind,
but he had told her time and again that
it was right he should be her superior,
and he loved her all the better for it.


But Miss Betty had her misgivings,
and one day, when she was curled up
like a lovely kitten upon the window
sill, she said to Fifne, "What does
George do, Fi6ne, toward the support
of the household? 1t seems to me that
you are always Shaving and toiling.
What does George do?"


Then Fifne shrugged her shoulders,
which had become somewhat crooked
and bulgy from the heavy burdens they
had borne all these years, and elevated
her eyebrows, which were rather scrag-
gy and gray, and said, with world of
feeling in her voice, "What does he do,
my angelo He gives to me the happi-
ness which is my all; ; he gives to me the
conversation which is beautiful; he tells
me of what is going on in the big busy
world he pities, he consoles-ah, my
little one, he lOveS mel"


Miss Betty blushed and was silent, and
thought, foolish child, that, after all,
this was every thing. She left Fitine to
iron the tuckS and furbelows with which
Mrs. Van Dyke delighted to adorn her
daughter Betty, and went out under the
grape vine, and walked to and fro, and
thought that if somebody-and here she
trembled and blushed at the thought of
his name-if he would read to her again,
would talk to her again, would tell her
of the big beautiful world once more, if
he would love her-ah, what would she
not be glad to give in return! She
would work for him-ay, she would
work her slim fingers to the bone, only,
of course, he wouldn't let her; he was
too noble and generous and thoughtful.
But if the necessity should arise, how
glad she would be to do even like poor
Fifne, if only he would love her in re-
turn.


But, alas! the superiority of mankind
was here also pre-eminent. He was the
new minister, the Rev. Reginald Roake.
The consistory had thought it best
to get young man, so that he could
board around among the pariShioners,
and thus save the rent of a parsonage.
Captain Van Dyke, Miss Betty's father,
had thought it best to economize in ev-
cry way that they could, and had even
taken the young man to board at first.
He told his wife they'd scarcely miss
what the parson ate, and the church
must be helped along as much as was
prudent and possible.


But the Captain, after few months,
suddenly changed his mind. The young
minister was very fertile in magma
ton and quick in thought; his sermons
were speedily prepared, and the long
summer days had so many sweet hours
to fill! Miss Betty's duties were also
light; her mother was still active and
robust; there were two sturdy young
women in the kitchen, besides the oc.
casional artistic work of Fifne. The
Captains sight was keen and strong;
when he was out sailing in the bay he
could see couple of figures bending to-
gether over some book in the summer
house, or wandering among the rocks
or along the sands upon the shore The
Captain would come home hot and vex-
ed, and take his wife to task for this
misdoing.


81 don't want any beggarly parsons
hanging around my daughter" said the
Captain.


The good lady would look very much
shocked, and really tremble in her heart
at the Captain S temerity, ,forshe thought
it was almost tempting Providence to
cast contemptuous word upon the
clergy; but she had that wholesome fear
of the Captain that she had never ven-
tured to demonstrate with him. She
sighed in secret with her daughter when
the Captain managed to transfer the
preacher to the care of a wealthy and
comely widow in the neighborhood.


"He can poach all he pleases in that
domain" said the Captain; and shortly
after, he was delighted to see the rever-
end gentleman riding out with the fair
widow, and gathering grasses and ferns
in the pretty woodland haunts about
Granville.


"We can't keep parson SINGLE"
chuckled the Captain at his dinner-ta-
BILE: "the women won't let him alone,
do what we may. But the widow Ben
son owns her own house, and that will
save rent for parsonage.


The morsel upon Miss Betty's fork
remained untasted, and the Captain in
this way spoiled many meal for his
daughter.


And so the summer waned, and Sep
tember was at hand-September with
I I i IL