Year: 1873




I am middle-aged lady, living quite
by myself in the little town of st.
Bridgets, where it happened, and I
know the whole story from beginning
to end, and the beginning was this:


was paying morning visit to dear
old Mrs. Ambrose, our wears wife,
when the vicar himself marched into
the room with his wideawake on, and
said" Botherp'


L will do him the justice to say that
he took off his wideawake as soon as he
saw me, and met the requirements of
the occasion by addressing me.


Mrs. Action, here's bother'


"What!' we exclaimed hurriedly,
for we saw there was something serious.


That-that 'prig' of an inspector
says we must have certified mistress, !"
replied the vicar and then he sat
down, and we all looked at each other
IN solemn silence for full three minutes.


A certified mistress at st Bridget'sl
That meant turning out the dear old
woman who had kept the school for the
last five-and-twenty years, and had
taught our girls to hem and stitch and
darn so beautifully that they got places
as work-women far and wide! And she
had taught both girls and boys the best
manners of any children in Southshire,
and had trained them up to be honest,
God-fearing men and women, besides
teaching them some reading and
writing, and the first four rules of
arithmetic. Nearly all the children
who had stayed long enough at the
school could read easy words in large
print, and several of the clever ones
had been known to write out the Lords
Prayer from memory, and to say the
multiplication table quite perfectly.
What could anybody want more Z? No
wonder Mr. Ambrose called the in
spector prig. I called him something
much worse, but as my thoughts were
not put into words they need not be re-
peated.


"Oh, dear! dearl' cried Mrs. AM
brose, as the full meaning of the in
spector's decision broke upon her :;
"what shall we do? Poor Mrs. Tod
kins will break her heart"


There was no little difficulty in
securing the certified mistress.


"l'll write to Dobson," said Mr.. Am
brose to his wife.


And he wrote to Mr.. Dobson the
next morning as soon as he went into
his study.


Mr.. Dobson was the principal of the
great training college at Hatley, and an
n frIan 0F +lo L 1
just as well have written to him sooner,
onl y none of us think of all the right
things to be doue just at the right time.


If you want mistress, offer seventy
pounds" said the principal by return
of post.


And the vicar did offer seventy
pounds, though where the money was
to come from l could not tell, and
don't think he could either.


Back came another letter from Mr..
Dobson, to say that he had a mistress
who had just finished Trainings
widow exactly the person to suit st.
Bridget's, and she would accept the
situation on certain conditions. | don't
know what the conditions were, except
that her evenings were to be at her own
disposal, only know that it seemed to
me very odd to hear of the schoolmis-
tress making conditions, and accepting
such an enormous salary, as if she were
comforting favor.


The vicar said it was the result of
competition, the supply not being equal
to the demand but [ thought it might
be indirectly referred to strikes and
unions, though / did not exactly see
how; but when there are SO many
dreadful things going on in the coun-
try, they work into each other in o
wonderful manner.


1t is comfort that we are to have a
widow" remarked to Mr. Ambrose :;
she will be staid and respectable, and
not such responsibility as young
girl"


ooh, don't know" sighed Mrs.
Ambrose piteously; "I think I would
rather have o young person, even if
she did wear chignons and feathers.
Widows are so -"


She stopped suddenly, remembering
that [ was widow, and went on to
fresh sentence but 1 wondered what
she was going to say.


81 know / shall be afraid of her." she
said "And she is going to play the
organ and manage the choir she will
be sure to want her own way in every
thing, and it won't be nice and comfort
able as it used to be. And then, my
dear, she is certain to be quite young
no middle-aged person would have taken
the trouble to train herself, even if she
had the cleverness, which isn't likely.
Depend upon it, she will be young and
pretty, and all the shopmen will be fall
ing in love with her, and people will
talk scandal, and there will be unpleas-
antness."


ct don't see that it follows" I said
rather sharply ; but did not like the
way she spoke of widows. 1t is very
odd but women whose husbands are
alive always give themselves airs about
us. I think it is because they are jeal-
GUS of our power of marrying again,
having, as it were, two chances to their
one at least, 1 cannot discover any