Year: 1872

There is sluggish softness in the
air. 1t is the first week in August,
and July has been damp enough to
relax everything in nature, damp
enough even TO relax the will of the
indomitable woman who is tramp,ng
along the three miles of dusty road
that intervene between her village
home and the small market town
where she can get butter at reason
able price.


Butter at a reasonable price is q
great consideration with Miss Paulett;
so are eggs, so are meat and bread
and house rent. So, indeed, IS every
thing. For she is "a maiden all for.
lorn,' trying TO live like gentle.
woman on a very limited income.


For ten years now she had pursued
her neat little inotfensive way in this
village of Bnham, which is striving
hard to debase itself into yilla-sur-
rounded town.


Her house is the end house of
picturesque. unpreten,ious little cres-
cent, which can boast OF a good-sized,
well-kept garden in front, aud in
which is shut off from the high road
aud the gaze of the passers-by by
high brick wall, that is well crowned
with ivy. The house is exactly like
every other house in the crescent, in
reality; but it looks very different TO
the Others. Its windows are brighter,
its brass door-kpob has higher polish
than those of the other houses III the
crescent.


She is rather more anxious than
usual o-day as 10 the results OF her
marketing At Balsingham. \ young
niece has come down, a ias,ldious
Young lady, who requires TO be dainti-
ly served, without at all considering
ut what cost the service is rendered.


The young niece is at home now in
the pretty b"wery-room i'll the house
in the crescent that is a parlor aud
dininC-room and boudoir, in ONE
This siuggishly soft air makes Minnie
Ward sleepy, SO she reclines while
her aunt goes in search of butter tor
the fair young beings tea.


She is very pretty, very pleasant TO
look at, albeit she bored. and hot, and
sleepy, and slightly cross on this slug
sIuggishly soft warm day. Curlcd up
like u cat on the sofa, III the sliadiest
corner OF the room. she is lazily
Watching the shadows come and go
through the half drawn drab Ncnitian
blinds. How can they have the pa
tience TO go on doing trat :" she won
ders. How can any one have the
patience 10 go on doing anything
down here She gets up as she hall
matters this wonder, and stands at
the window, balancing herself. her
weil-shaped hands planted firmly
on her well-shaped hips, III a seml-
defiant attitude that would have called
forth her grandmoiher's rcprobation.
She is tall and stately" and she has
nice eyes, aud pretty yellowish hair.
Evidently she knows how TO have her
clothes made, and how to put them
on in way that will make her at least
remarkable. Her hair is tumbled
down, Tor she has been asleep for an
hour; but when its yellow luxuriance
is toned down a little. we can easily
imagine that the jet dagger may stab
her tresses becommgly enough. AT
present the weapon looks out OF
place.


She has natural turn-up nose and
an acquired toss of the head, and these
TWO things have to do very hard work
T in Ninnie's service. For she con
ceives that in order TO do them justice
she she must be bcwitchingly saucy
| in manner.


/ To be brief, Miss Ward is spending
her holidays with her aunt for con
venience- sake, and sorely against her
own sweet will. She is governess,
satisfied with her situation because
she does not see means of bettering
it yet, but keenly on the lookout for
promotion. At times, when no one
is looking, there is good deal of
weariness in the fresh, fair young face,
and good deal OF discomfort with
the world for not recognizing her
claims better, in the young, high sprr-
it. Even now, when she turns away
from the window, with a sudden re-
membrance OF her tousled hair and
the onus that was on her of being neat
by tea-time, she calculates impatient
ly:


"Oh, dear! a week more of this
and then back TO that h0rrid teach
ing"


She goes up yawning and weary to
the little white nest of a room that
her aunt has given up to her, the aunt
retiring herself into room in the
rear of the house, barren and arid by
comparison.


1t is time to put this maiden aunt
before you. She is almost at the
threshold of her own door when Min.
ME goes up to adorn for the sacrifice,
as she considers it, of regular set
tea" at o'clock. Miss Paulett has
walked fast, and has come home
heavily laden, and the air is oppres
sive. But in spite of the weariness OF
the flesh, she brightcns up in spirit as
she comes through the crescent gar
den, and hopes heartily that Minnie
will enjoy the treats"


She has been living ten years in this
secluded village alone, and her young
niece of twenty calls her "an old
maid" But in spite of these things
she is woman with long lease Of
life before her, in human probability
For she is healthy, and only just past
her thirtielh birthday. 1t seems al.
most pity that this probably long


life should be lonely as the last ter


wears of it have been!