What One Girl Did

Southland Times, Issue 4860, 11 February 1884, Page 3

What One Girl Did

Harper's Bazaar. Molly Pe^ry woke, the morning of Memorial day, about as cross as it is possible for a healthy, sunny-tempered girl to be, and with some reason. For to begin, her waking senses were first greeted by a strong whiff of tobacco smoke wafted into her open window from the pipe of the 1-dger below; and as she had gone to sleep with the same incense in her nostrils, you must own that it was trying, particularly to a country born nose that knew the fragance of wild grape-vines and locust trees. Whatever you may think, Molly was wrathful, and flounced ou of bed, shut the door with emphasis, and sitting down in her one rocking-chair, eyed with strong disfavor a pile of clothes on another chair. And here was another reason for her crossness. The night before she had taken account of stock in the way of clothes, and found herself on the verge of bankruptcy. 'Not a decent thing among them except that gray suit, she thought, disconsolately; and the tr .-this tbey were a shabby lot. Barring the gray suit, a navy blue serge (ragged as to the edges) and shiny as to the elbows and back), a faded cambric, an old black cashmere, hot and dusty-looking, made up the sorry display. « Why didn't she buy some new clotheß ? "Well, there was no peculiar reason except that she bad no money to buy and no time to make, being one of 40 or more clerks in the * Mart of Fashion ' on Washington street, at a salary of six dollars a week. Any one mathematically inclined can do the little sum which Molly did each week :

and out of the difference between this total and six dollar, must come boots and gloves and hairpins and pocket-handkerchiefs anu everything else, so you can see that the Queen of Sheba was quite safe from a rival so far as Molly was concerned. But this mention of. the « Mart of Fashion' brings me to the cap-sheaf of Molly's discomfort. . She had expected to have the day to herself, but Bush and Crush, scenting possible profit from country visitors, had decided to keep open. So it was a very cross face that looked at Molly from the little wavy looking-glass, and soft brown hair was hatchelled aud twisted with very few of the little pats and touches usually bestowed on it, and the blue dress was donned with some twitches. The sight of the breakfast table did not lighten her mood, rhe looked down its long length, and noted the spots and rings and splashes on the ooarae cloth, and the dishes piled np, fragments and all, by 'Squire, coming in from his strawberry bed with a pan full of ' Wilson's,' found it about But somehow his table had an unfamiliar look. The cloth was on straieht, the kni-es and forks were laid with mathematical precision, an unwonted air of trimness pervaded Foi remainder of reading matter see fourth page

9^mtmamammmmmimmmmmimamßmmmammmmtm the untidy table-girl, and felt an unutterable ' disgust for it all. . It is not necessary to go into the story of sickness and debt and death which had brought her from a quiet, refined home to b« a clerk in the Mart of Fashion and an inmate of Widow Jackson's second-rate boardinghouse, but we will start with her this Me- ; mori.il morning when, after trying her sharp little teeth on some tough steak and turning over on her plate some flabby fried potatoes, she flashed a fly out of her coffee, and took her way to the store. Half the lonj. forenoon had worn away when Molly, with a box of tumbled laces before her, stood looking after a lady who had just passed with a cluster of violets at her throat and thinking wistfully of a certain place she knew of where they grew, cool and moist in their green leaves, when the voice of the * übiquitous floor- walker brought her hack to the bresent. ' Miss Perry, if you are not more attentive, I shall havfi to reportyou.' « I will save you that trouMe,' said Miss Perry, and clap went the cover on the bos, and swish went the bos in its place, and Miss Perry, with very red cheeks and bright eye., went down the long store to the office and tendered heT resignation, ** to take effect at once, if you please.' Mr Rush was pleasedior trade was slackenin", and there were 20 girls for every vacancy, « But yon know our rule.' Ye?, she knew the rule, which was that a clerk leaving without notice should forfeit pay from the last Saturday ni"ht settlement. But Molly's ancestors did no~t fteht at Concord without leaving something of theirspirit to their descendants; so she turned to go with an air which betokened no acquaintance with 'rules,' when Mr Rush, whose heart had been a trifle softened by memories of a certain grave in Mount Auburn, wbich would he decorated that day, handed out three trade dollars,and in ten minutes Molly was in the Common, ' with all the world before her where to choose.' i The unusual leisure was so pleasant that the girl loitered and lingered, enjoying the sunshine and air, and only when the noon whistles blew did she come down to reality. After dinner, with locked door, she held a council of war. Here on one sid°, was Molly Perry, 24 yeais old, with health and hope, five dollars in her trunk, three silver dollars in her pocket, and one good suit, and on the other side tie great, pushing, scrambling, selfish world, eager to grasp aud slow to give. Molly did hard thinking. ' There _ one thin* sure,' she thought, ' I won't tend store a°-ain. and I won't sew for a living, and I won't be cooped ud in a shop.' The chances are narrowing fast. Suddenly came an idea. 1 I'll do it,' said Molly, and_ what it was tb_ Advertiser told next morning : Wanted by an American gi r l who is a good plain cook, a situation to do housework in a small family. Country preferred. Address M. P., Advertiser office, Boston. Well, the answers fairly poured in. It Beemed as though all we mankind had been waiting for"' an American girl who is a good cook,' but Molly resolved to be critical, and waited. In the meantime, seeing that the way was open, she dressed herself in her best and went shopping Saturday afternoon. She chose to patronise Rush and Crush, whether hi- T h and mighty airs gave unbounded satisfaction to the clerks, with whom sbe was a favorite. She sailed up to the priot counter with great dignity, turned goods over, pulled the corners crosswise, after the manner of women shoppers, de; reciated the patterns, etc.,but finally bought print for three dresses, gingham for aprons, etc., to the amount of three dollars, and counted oat with great majesty the three trade dollars. ' Ob, Molly, you know we can't take them,' said the clerk. Molly turned to Mr Busb, who sauntering along with his eyes on the other side of the store, was taking in the whole proceeding. « Mr Bush,' she said, 'I took these here day before yesterday, and now the clerk refuses them.' Mr Bush was grimly amused at ber audacity, but instead of answering her turned to.the grinning cash boy in waiting and snapped : ■' Cash, what are you waiting for 1 Take th» goods and mon»y this instant !' The youthful Mercury disappeared like a spirit, and Molly felt somewhat as her gnatgrandfather did at Concord. Monday morniug brought a letter which seemed promising, and which read as follows : — Wheatfield, N H , June 2 * Miss M. P. — We need a domestic, and prefer one of our own nation. The family consists of myself and wife and a hired man. My wife is feeble and the domestic would have to take charge of evfry thing. We would pay three dollars a week to the right person. If you feel capable of the place, and can bring a recommendation, we would like to bave you corneas soon as possible.' The result was tbat a few days later Molly armed with a letter fiom ber minister, <.v_s set down, the only passenger at Whe-tfield station. Squire Harlow, waiting for tbe expected ' good plain cook,' was smitten with great misgivings at the sight of tbe stylish young lady. For to his eyes, accustomed to thedrr.s of Wheatfields daughters, the simple g-ay suit, with its graceful drapery, seamed tbe height of elegance, and be was not reassured by the jquestiin of the station agent, ' Got company ;f rom the City, ain't ye V But it was too late to retreat, and soon old Dan'l was pulling them steadily toward home. The Squire said little,but glanced at the girl occasionally from under his shaggy eyebrows. It was a fair, honest face, which freshened with every mile in the sweet evening air, and the gray eyes took in everything, from the chipmunk on the wall to the locust trees with their fragrant, drooping clusters. 'Want a piece V said the squire a. they drove under one. Her face was answer enough : and stopping old Dan'l, ihe good man cut. a c'uster and dropped it in her lap. She thriftily took off jjher new I'sh; thread gloves to take it, showing hands so white that the Squire groaned internally. Tbo'*e hands wash his dis-hes and scrub his floors ? Was tbis young lady, who was prettier and better dressed than any girl in Whea' fields, his domestic ?He shook bis head sligh- Jy, chewing a bit of the locust. Molly ventured a few questions about the family, and heard the story of what wps always uppermost in the Sqni"-e's mnd — the story of the lost daughter Mary, one of the victim"; of New England's scourge, who had faded away three years before, sin^e when « Mifis Harlow had sorter pined.' It was a pathetic little story told in the laconin New Enjr'and way, but the brown knotty han 's worked unsteadily on the Mns, and the Squire's eyes had a far-away loo 1 --, as though toward the country which held h's Mary. Presently they drove up to a comfortab'e house, with an air of plenty .-*b.';ut the large barn and wide porch.over which grew a white lilac. Molly found her mistress a little woman with laded, gentle* eyes, nnd soft, slow voice, fhe looked a** tbe gil kindly, and held out her hand . After pivirg her a few riirrct'ons, and telling her where to find things, she added to her husband, ' tell John to carry her trunk to the east chamber.' Ti i apparently was something unusual, fur tie Squire opened hii mouth as though to say B'Tnething, but b'i n g a man of few word 0 , shut it agiin and went cut. Molly, following her trunk, found hftrself in a small room, with a bright mg carpat on the fto-ir, white cumin'- looped away at the v.'indow,home-mndo."i _en Cow Is with knotted fringe on t u e littl. lablf, an old fashioned chest of drawer?, and a low four-popt bed with valance and patch wni k ooun e^pane. The room ws s neat and had sn unused 1 ;ok. and Molly wondered if ihe tri'v of girls of which the Squire had made, me tior: hul marched through it : but. too lir* dto thii k i long*, Shi unpn/*ke.'l her Fratdl wardrobe, pad j . her prayer.-, and knew nothing more till morning, when a tbrill'n? of birds and a ray of tuns'' me on her face w ke h.r to her fiist day of service as a ' domestic' While m-ik-ing her simple " oilet she gave many quick glance' at tbe bill-.ws of appie blos-oms under her [window, and something b nn of tbe light and fragrance and mns'c was reflected ia her f ice as she took her way to the kitchen. The wood and kindlin? were near at hand, Ihe firestirted off briskly, with a cheerful air of encouragement.and then Mol'y considered her bill-of-fare. There was salt; j mackerel, egg', stale bread, the inevitable! salt pork, doughnuts and pie, and a pan of cream whose yellow wrinkled surface bora testimony to the Squire's Jersey. •" That mackerel won't be fried,' said Molly, for the cour.e of f ryirg at Widow Jacisoa's ' hak £been severe. The fingers that had j measured lace and ribbon so deftly ma Is. i chart work of getting breakfast, and the

his familiar crockery, and — there was no pie . on the table. But there was mackerel ; baked in cream, and mashed potatoes, and j nicely browned toast, and the doughnuts. ' ' Mrs Harlow don't feel able to come out ' to the table this morning, and I guess I'll take her a bite bafore I eat.' And so saying the Squire took a plate and comrr eaced piling things on it in a promiscuous way. , • ' Oh, said Molly, let me do it. I have had a long experience with sick people. They must be tempted, you know.' She looked up at him with her bright smile and the Squire gave in at once, and watched with wonder while a tray was brought, clean napkin spread over it, a piece of mackerel laid on a plate, with the cream ladled daintily over it (Molly had seen too much of plates wherfrthe meat seemed tohave been launched on them by an avalanche of gravy) ; then came a little plate of the potato, a slice of brown toast, a little plate of butter. Then she whisked into the pantry and out again with asaucer of strawberries, and added them to the contents of the tray. ' Wait a minute,' sbe said, as the Squire lifted his burden, and in a twinkling she was out of the door and back again with a spray of white lilac, which, iv a tall glass, was given the place of honor in the middle of the tray. ' Sho !' said the Squire, with his slow smile, * That'il just suit my wife. She's famous for having things fisy.' Mrs Harlow had missed the accustomed smell of frying, aud wondered, in a feeble way, if Molly couldn't fiud the pork. ' Why, Bethuel,' she said, as her husband set the tray do ivn beside her, ' How pretty 1 I really believe I am hungry.' And the Squire went back to bis own breakfast so happy that he entirely forgot the absence of the pie. Well, this was the beginning, and though life afterwards was not all cream and strawberries and white lilacs, and though bread would sometimes burn, and pastry flatly refuse to be flaky, and though unused muscles sometimes ached with the new work, yet the girl kept up a brave heart. The Squire and his wife were uniformly kind, and the latter, who had suffered as much from lack of cheerful society as from any physical cause, gradually grew stronger, and would sit through the long summer forenoons in the great airy kitchen, placidly knitting or paring apples, and though she sometimes looked wistfully after Molly as she tripped from pantry to cellar, an i longed for the girlish figure whk'h used to flit about in the same way, her heart took great comfort in this cheerful stranger. And the ' Squire hearing the fresh young voice singing about the house" would give a great sigh for the lost voice, but somehow the old house seemed less lonely to him, and after a while his first question would be, 'Where's Molly?' The plain country society readily took her in, aad considered her a high authority in the matter oE ' looping ' of overskirts, and ' doing up ' of hsir, and at last no merry-making was complete without Molly Perry. Those of you who have followed this story in expectation of some absent son or nephew or ycuoger brother of tbe family appearing and taking Molly for a wife may as well stop here, for nothing whatever of the kind happened, for the ".quire and his wife had no sons, and their nephews and brothers were ail married long before Moliy's day . It ia true that some of the smart young farmers of the region round about tied their horses occasionally at the Squire's gate, and it is equally true that she said ' .No ' to some of them, though they one nnd all swear by her. This story is not written to induce all clerks and shop girls to-ru h into housework, for not one in 20 would be capable as Molly wa?, and but one in a hundred would find such a home ; itiswii'ten simply to show what one giil did.

Board dols4 uu Washing and ironing... 50 One sitting at Trinity (a very hnmble one).. . 1 R Total — ••• doM 65