Year: 1875

Wouldn't live with him when they
got to San Francisco. She IS house,
keeper now at the hotel, l wonder
the committee allowed her to be in
vited."


Poor Hetty's triumph ended at
that instant. She almost tainted,
and AS soon as possible complained
Of feeling too unwell to remain, and
desiring 10 be taken nome.


"DisgracefuI," said the sympa'
tbet,c old gentleman when he heard
the whole story. "Why will women
never let each other alone?"


Hetty did not care to ask why.
She only knew they would not, and
she felt as if she had committed
some gross outrage upon propriety,
in having gone to the ball at all.


Mr., Parton was in the city no
doubt; perhaps she ought to try to
find him, live with him, and be a
laundress If it were necessary to keep
the peace. She would be as little
respected one way as the other, and
It did not much matter. The world
was against every thing right and
proper every way, as far as women
were concerned, what difference did
it make what she was.


The social injustice of the affair
so greatly worked upon her feelings,
that by the time The hotel was reach
ed, she was quite indignant; she felt
her escort were to have been to
blame, in allowing her to place her
self so open to criticism, and she
bade him good night with an indig-
nant feeling, which all his politeness
could not gainsay. lie is an old
man and should have known better,
fl did not, thought she.


1--WE must look INTO matters in the
morning and see N.tat is to be done,"
said the gallant attendant, ~ could
call the woman's husband ont and
shoot him, 1t would lie Il good thing
to give lesson somewhere" But
shooting was not So desirable to
Hetty AS souething else. She wish
ed now only To place herself above
the criticism of the spitelul world,
but how to do il.


Mr.. Parton vas II deceiver, mean
unprincipled man; she could never
respect him, II she only could, 1t
would be easy now to live above
social conditions, and become II
laundress. The idea CT having
her reputation called into a question
for discussion by people she did not
care for but still by those who
thought they had a right To decide
whether she was fit for their society,
was something so terrible to the
New England woman, fresh from
uncultivated society perhaps, but
still from the highest respectability
possible in any community, was
something awful, and Hetty's tears
and regrets wound up the day to
which she had looked forward with
so much pleasure. There was no
sense in this, SO nature said, and she
finally fell asleep; but dream fol-
lowed dream, with Parton as a GEN.
tire piece and the critic OF the pre-
vious evening as an adjunct, till en-.
tirely discouraged with the whole
nights effort towards entire forget
fulness, she hailed the morning
light With as good heart as possi-
bic, and commenced her days duties
with entire desire to make the most
of them in banishing the hnmilia-
ting sensation of inferiority to those
around her.


Among the boarders was an old
lady and two daughters. The old
lady had crossed the plains the pre-
vious summer and was fond of mar
rating her terrible experiences. In
.dians, snow and all kinds of terror
,banished every idea of pleasure in
the six months camping experience,
but Hetty had never tired Of listen
Ing to her. Now she thought to en-
joy an hour as usual with only fam
'ly the hotel contained, but the old
lady was distant in her manners,
ana the young ladies ignored her
altogether.


II was terrible, Hetty had not
realized that In accepting the
attentions of a married man, in her
single state of married desertion,
that she had sinned against the social
morals of this new community; but,
strange as it may seem, the social
system had commenced to work at
this time in manner peculiarly
trying to the nerves of any who had
the least fear of Mrs. Grundy's criti-
cism. The place itself was filled
with gamblers, courtezans, and men
who followed their own promptings,
without the least regard to claims
now left behind; but the women