Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Lexington wheatfield. (Lexington, Or.) 1905-19?? | View Entire Issue (March 7, 1907)
in THE CHARITY G! By EFFIE A. ROWLANDS CHAPTER I. "And is It really good-by, Audrey, really and truly good-by? Oh, dearest,' I am so grieved to let you go. I don't know what my life will be like now." The speaker was a thin, nervous look ing girl, with large gray "yes, and a weak mouth. She stood with her rough' ened hands clasped tightly together, and tears were rolling down her cheek, and falling unheeded on her shabby serge gown. Audrey Maxse also wore un old serge gown, but somehow the garment did not seem to be as shabby or as ugly as that which Jean Thwait had on; her small hands were roughened, too, as with much work, yet their shape was fxqiiisite, the fingers slender and straight, not swollen and disfigured with chilblains like poor Jean's ; her little head was poised proud ly on her shoulders; she carried herself with a regal air, and gave evidence at this early age of possessing that most rare of gifts, a beautiful face. What a dreary place thi Female Or phan Asyplum was, to be sure ! There was an air of gloom in tho dirty-gray-colored walls; an unspeakable sense of sidness and restraint in the unlovely, high-walled grounds, the severe matron, the young persons in their d'.ngy uniform of blue serge, with their daster aprons and thick gray stockings. It was called the Girls Home in Broadborough, and never was anything under the sun so mis named. From morning till night the day was one long round of drudgery, good hard manual labor, lightened by many prayers, and by one hour's ao-called rec reation, in which the girls found many odd tasks to perform that were not ex . actly in the category of idleuess or pleas ure. The Mayor of Broadborough had much to say in the matter of election into this asylum, and it was entirely through his influence that Jean Thwait, granddaugh ter of old Samuel Thwait, the bookseller, was provided with a home when the old man died suddenly and left her, a little child, without a penny or n known rela tive in the wde world. Everybody knew that Ralph Thwait, Jean's father, had made a bad marriage, but the shop of Samuel Thwait had been nn institution In the town, and naturally out of respect to an old inhabitant the Mavor did his best to get the orphan girl well cared for in the future. This done, l'ttle Jean Thwait troubled no one any more; so J ."in was left to the tender mercies of the matron, and grew up from babyhood to girlhood, working in the gloomy routine of the asylum as hard as though she wore of the stronger, not the feebler, sex. Most of her companions were cases like her own, all respectaoly connected, with an occasional ,aunt or cousin to pay them a visit on the day set apart for this function, and who all with one accord held up their heads and looked down on Jean's pet, Audroy Maxse. How this latter ever got into the home was a miracle to most people. A found ling, the waif and stray :hild of a vag rant woman who breathed her last in the Broadborough workhouse infirmary, she was, by general consent, considered as outside the pale and therefore ineligible for election into the institution sacred to the memory of the pious wi.low of a rich Broadborough tradesman. Audrey's pride had brought down many a weary punishment on p.r head ; her fearless, outspoken disposit'on was call ed rebellious; her innate nnse of deli cacy and neatness became Inordinate van ity, and her beauty was I he last straw to the heap of objections that the matron and her assistants piled on this girl. Ev ery means had been tried to crush Au drey's proud spirit. Every possible bar rier had been thrown In the way of her advancement in education, Rnd yet, in spite of all, the girl progr-sased ; her hot pride, her extraordinary will carried all before her, and to the chagrin of the mat ron and her other enemies, at the usual public examinations, held !q the charnel-house-like schoolroom, before the Mayor and committee, it was always Audrey Maxse who carried off the list marks for proficiency and general satisfaction. In all the years she had lived at the asylum Audrey had only one friend, one loving heart to sympathize and help her In her troubles, and this was Jean Thwait. Often and often at night, when the two young creatures -vere alone in their cold meagerly furnished bedroom, they sat and whispered in the dark of the time when they should be free from the miserable place they called their home. '.'We are alone In the world, Jean," Audrey would say; "there is nothing to stop us. We must lcae here when we are seventeen the rules of the borne won't let us remain longer and then we will go away togther, and work for each oth er, and be happy! We will leave Eng land, Jean, and go abroad I want to see foreign lands, don't you?" "But you forget, darling; we we may go out to service before we are free I" Audrey always shuddered at the word. The parting was not a thought now; it was a reality, a horrible reality. Three days before this one that saw Audrey engaged in putting her few coarse clothes Into the yellow tin box, the girls had been summoned into the chapel and cate chised by a clergyman, who came in place of the ordinary minister. He seemed to find much pleasure' in examining Audrej on certain points, and the girl's clear, fresh Voice, added to her intelligence and wonderful face, made a great impression on him. After the girls were dismissed, he hid A short chat with Miss Irons, the matron, in the course of which he told her he was anxious to find a young woman as maid for a lady who was one of his par ishioners. "My wife can find no one suitable. Your girls always give &wtt satisfaction ; and so, if there is one ready to go out to service, I might arrange this," he said as they talked. Miss Irons gave a cordial consent, but looked vexed when he suggested Audrey as the one to go. She bore many a grudge and spite against the girl and had deter mined to put her out into the hardest and least comfortable situation she could find. But fate was evidently against her, for the board accepted the Rev. Mr. Thorn gate's proposal and Audrey was given a flew black gown, bonnet and cloak, and was bid hold herself in readiness to depart on the morning of the fifth day. Jean spent the whole of the long night that came before that fifth day in com forting her beloved friend and herself, and at last had the satisfaction of seeing Au drey drop off into a deep, troubled sleep. No rest came to her ; her poor young heart was torn and bleeding, and no salve was at hand to heal it The parting between the two girls was very quiet; neither of them could speak the words of farewell, and their eyes were too hot and aching for tears to come. "Think of me always, Jean, dear. Whatever happens, whatever lies before us, I shall love you, darling, till I die!" Then they kissed each other and Au drey went swiftly down the stairs, seeing nothing, hearing nothing for the passion ate beat of her heart and the b.'ur of sor row before her sight Jean stood with her hands pressed to her breast, and as the wheels of the cab carried all that was precious to her away from her, perhaps forever, sh gave one moan and fell forward on her outstretch ed arms. When the assistant matron came in, scolding and erumbline. AH tlflllfll aha re ceived no reply from Jean Thwait and, bending over the prostrate figure, she saw that the girl had fainted. CHAPTER II. As Audrey found herself p.lone In the cab, driving out of the high, iron gates of the asylum, she felt she must be in some extraordinary dream. She had nev er driven in any sort of -snide before, and the curious sensation of being car ried over the road at a quick pace added to' the vagueness that seemed to envelop ner; Dut tne keen east wind as it rush ed in at the window awoke htr, and with a sigh, she knew it was no t'ream, but a reality full of excitement, confusion and unspeakable pain. The tears she had re pressed rolled down her dieks as she thought of Jean left alone !n that mis erable life. Then her youag spirit rose above her grief. She was free, and be fore very long Jean should be free, too, and they would go away together, as they had dreamed and whispered ro often in the night hours. Mr. Thorngate was waiting at the station and spoke kindly to the girl. "There is your ticket, Maxse," he said, "and when you reach Mounti'erry you must get out and wait on the platform till a lady speaks to you. She is my wife, and will loolt after you. I should have taken you down myself, but I cannot leave Broadborough for another week. Now, you must be a good, diligent worker, and never forget your duty to your em ployers and to heaven." Audrey thanked the kind-hearted cler gyman and accepted his advice gracefully. The train carriage was quite mpty, and they were proceeding at a quick," even pace that had the effect of soothing the girl. The rumble of the whiels buzzed a sort of lullaby In her ears. She was very 'weary and was soon lost to every thing in a deep, dreamless clumber. She was awakened by a sudden open ing of the door, by several voices shout ing, and by some person jumping into the carriage and sinking on to the seat, breathless, evidently with bnving run very fast. It was a young man. Audrey gnzed at him In startled amazement through her veil. He was splashed with mud from head to foot, but bis clothes were perfect in make and fit. He wore rough riding breeches and bcots, and had a hunting crop in his right hand. He laughed and brushed some of the mud off his sleeve with his crop. Ha pulled out his watch and consulted it. "Just twelve," Audrey he.ird him mut ter, and Bhe was bewildered to think she must have slept for something like two hours. She drew back a little ner vously into her corner, for the young man had folded his arms and was gazing intently at her slender, black-robed figure out of a pair of very handsome gray eyes. As a matter of fact, Lord John Glen durwood was not even aware of what was opposite to him. He was busy mak ing a rapid mental calculation. "Ten minutes to the stables, and then a good hour's hard ride hfu'k, and then it will be just a toss-up or no whether they will not be miles away before I even am half-way there." Well, it's worth hav ing a shot at anyhow. I must get a brush-down somewhere. Sheila will have a fit if I turn up like this. I don't know how I came Buch a cropper; making such a jolly fool of myself, too, before every body. I hope poor Hector Isn't badly lamed, poor old chap! Can't take him out again this week, that's very certain. Here we are at Glaston, another five minutes, and then Beignton, and then the stables just as fast as I know how to run." The train drew up at a little station, and the guard came running down to the carriage. He touehod his cap with great respect. " 'Ope you didn't 'urt yerself, my lord ; but you know it 1b dnugerous a jumping in like that, when she's on the move. Won't you change carriages, my lord? This ain't fit for the likes cf your lord ship What did you my, ma'am?" "Am am I near Mountberry Station, please?" faltered Audrey, oreaking In on the brief conversation. "Mountberry? Why, we've passed It a quarter of an hour ago. Right, Bill; yes," giving a shrill whistle. "Right she Is. Now, then, there!" The train moved on. Aadrey looked about her uncertainly; Bhe was fright ened and bewildered. What snould Bhe do? Lord John, usually called Jack, glanced at the figure before him with some interest. "Looks like a widow. Can't be, though, she's so small and young. Poor creature ; She's very poor, at any rate. She's evi dently upset at pasing her station." He leaned forward and addressed Au drey In his kind-hearted way. "You can get another trnla back Imme diately from Beignton. You will reach Mountberry in a very short time. I am getting out at Beignton myself, and I will put you In the care of old Staple, the station master, unless you know your way about." "No, oh, no!" she broke in nervously. "This I am a stranger. 1 have never been on a train before. I-oh! and I shall have kept Mrs. Thorngate waiting. Oh, dear !" "Never been in a train before !" repeat ed Jack Glendurwood in amazement. He knit his brows and pulled b' handsome golden-brown mustache. What manner of creature was this, with ber sweet, childish voice, her curiously black draped figure in cumbersome cloak and thick veil ; her shyness and her ijmorance? He laughed a little easily. "It must seem strange to you. But did 1 understand you to say you were going to meet Mrs. Thorngate?" "Yes; at at Mountberry. Mr. Thorn gate told me she would be waiting for me, and now " His voice was so kind that Audrey felt irresistibly drawn toward him. , "Well, she will not have to wait long," Lord John answered, cheerfully, and then he all but whistled aloud, for Au drey, with a quick gesture, had flung back her veil, and he beheld her face In all its beauty. Tears were still hang ing on her lashes, but her eyes shone through them like sapphires; ber raven black hair, brushed vigorously back fronr her brow, enhanced the cW'cate pallor of her skin. Jack Glendurwood thought he had never seen anything so perfectly lovely in his life as the straight, small nose, the red lips, the pale, ivory com plexion, and those wondrous deep-blue eyes. He forgot all about his haste, his muddy appearance, or his lamo hunter he even forgot his manners in his ad miration and surprise, till a deep blush, spreading over her throat, cheeks and brow, recalled him. "Are you going to stay with - Mrs. Thorngate, may I ask?" ho inquired al most involuntarily. Audrey felt strangely shy and child loh. He seemed to her like King Ar thur, with his tall, strong figure and courteous manner. "I wish Jean could see him," she thought to herself, and then she glanced at him like a shy, startled oiid when he asked her that question. "I beg your pardon. I I !nve no right to ask you such a question," he stam mered, hurriedly ; "it was only because Mrs. Thorngate is a friend of mine." "I have never met Mrs. Thorngate," she said in a quiet, respenful manner. "Nor am I ever likely to become her friend. You you have made a mistake, sir; I am not a lady, I am only a ser vant maid." Lord John felt an involuntary confu sion in his breast. Audrey's clear, re fined voice, her curt, proud words, roused his ire against the fates thit condemned so fair, so young a being to a menial life. "Staple will do everything for you, and there is a train directly," he said hurriedly. "I hope you will reach your destination safely, and I will say good morning now." "Good-by, and thank you. Oh, thank you !" Audrey answered, him. Now that he was going, she clung to him as to something bright and pleas ant such as she had never known be fore. In a vague sort of -vay he seemed almost like a friend and protector to her. Audrey sighed as she felt herself being whirled along to Mountberry. Now that she was alone again, all her rervousness returned, and she was quivering with ex citement and fear as they reached her destination. (To be continued.) He Relented. Restaurant Proprietor Here's your wages. I don't want such a careless waiter arc.und my place. Walter What's the matter? Restaurant Proprietor Why, the gen tleman ordered sirloin and you served him porterhouse. ' Waiter Well, we all innke mis-steaks occasionally. Then the boss relented. Toledo Blade. Why She' an An eel. Mr. Urban Commuter's wife must be an earthly angel. Mrs. Urban Why do you think so? Mr. Urban He tells me they have had the same cook for three weeks. Chicago News. Matrimonial Joy. Mrs. Feckein Here's an Invitation to my cousin's wedding. Will you go? Peckem No, I hate weddings. I sometimes wish I hadn't attended my own. Pure la certain if you take Hood's Sarsaparilla. This great medicine cures those eruptions, pimples and boils that appear at all seasons; cures scrofula sores, salt rheum or eczema; adapts itself equally well to, and also cures, dys pepsia and all stomach troubles; cures rheu matism and catarrh; cures nervous N troubles, debility and that tired feeling. Sarsatabs-For those who prefer medicine In tab- lot form, Hood's Snrsapnrilla is now put up in choco- jIrl fj jf xyier Hnrllngtnn, Vt., luted tablets called Kursntabs, as well as in the usual tnyn i " Tin cr of a lrue farm. an liquid form. Sarsatabs have identically the same niin;h to do and o llttla '''" to'i curative properties as the liquid form, besides aoou- SJurnoM racy of dose, convenience, economy, no loss by evnp- )Ue !,, Hood's Sarsaparilla khvh oration, breaknuo, or leakage. Druggists or promptly amtitn, natural ileup, porfeut liaullh, by mail. C. I. Hood Co., Lowell, Mass. strength to do all my work. Guaranteed under the Food and Drugs Act, June 30, 1900. No. 324. A Slnxer'a Lung:. The singer at the end of the practice aria panted heavily. "I sang one hun dred and nlnety-slx notes that time," he said, "without once taking breath." "Indeed! Thnt must be a record." "No. The record Is held by Cour tlce Pounds. Pounds sang three hun dred and sixteen notes without respir ation in 18(18. The record previous to that was held by Farlnelll, with three hundred notes. Norman Snhnond has sung two hundred and eighty-seven notes in this way. vThe average man could hardly sing fifty notes without breathing; to the singer two hundred would be nothing. Philadelphia Bulle tin. Refused to Wither Away. Miss Aseum Jack Hanson Isn't fat, Is be? Miss Newltt Not at all; he's quite graceful and muscular. Why? Miss Ascum I happened to mention him to Miss Jilter, and she said : "Oh ! Isn't he disgustingly stout?" Miss Newitt Ah, yes. She rejected him some weeks ago and she's mad be cause he didn't pine away. Philadel phia Press. How Colors Affect Mentality. There are good and evil effects even In color, not only in the inartistic ar rangement of them to the trained eye of an artist, but In plain every-day red and blue and green, to say nothing of others. According to Medical Talk for the Home, if a person were confined in a room with purple walls, with no color but purple around him, by the end of a month he would be a raving madman. Scarlet has even worse effects. Blue Is very depressing; hence "the blues." Green is quite soothing, and yellow also has good effects on the vision and spirits of most people. A Kins that Brought Death, Courtship In Spain is regulated by the strictest etiquette. As Is well known, a young man is never left alone with his fiancee. Near Malaga a beautiful young girl of 20 committed suicide by drinking a cup of coffee In which prosphorus had been dissolved. It appears that the girl had been driv en to the deed by the adverse com ments of neighbors who became aware that she had given her sweetheart a kiss. London Mall. iiiiniilumiiHiiiiiiitttlht'HiiiiiiiiMii iiiimiiiUnlliiiiTiTiiDiMiinilililii AVfcgetable Preparationfor As similating the Food andBegula ting the Stomachs andBoweb of Promotes DigestionXheerfur ness and Rest. Con tains neither upium.Morpiune nor Mineral. NOT XARC OTIC . Jlmpe of OUJ)r SAMUEL HTWXR PunyltM Sent' Jlx.Smit Jiffermiia - , JjiCarboncMS&u MftmSed- A perfect Remedy forConstipa Ron, Sour Stomach.Diarrhoea Worms .Convulsions .Feverish ncss and Loss OF SLEEP. Facsimile Signature of NEW YORK. EXACT COPY Of WHARF EH. Til I U i 1 1 It. Hi1 ii IjTi r Blood Poor Christina Fare, A delegation of fellow townusmen re cently called on Rufus K. Ccunbs, of Midway, Ky., to congratulate him on the receipt of a Carnegie medal. As his friends wero taking leave Mr. Combs, wished them all a merry Christmas. "And I hope," he ended, "thnt you'll have a more bountiful dinner than fell to the lot of a young friend of mine last year. "He, the poor chap, was stopping at a cheap New York boarding ho,use, and on Christmas day, after he had eaten a turkey neck, a potato and a splinter of sodden mince pie, the landlady said to him, as he rose Just as the weak coffee was brought on : " 'Oh, don't leave thme table, Mr. Smith.' " 'I must, madam,' said Smith, grim ly. 'It's hard wood, and my teeth are not what they used to be.' " III Constancy. A story is told of General Sir Alfred Ilorsford, who believed In a celibate army. A soldier once sought his per mission to marry, saying he bad two good conduct badges and $25 In the savings bank. "Well, go away," snld Sir Alfred, "and If you come back this day year In the same mind you shall marry. I'll keep the vacancy." On the anniverasry the soldier repeated his request. "But do you really, after a 'year, want to marry?" "Yes, sir, very much." "Sergeant major, take his name down. Yes, you may marry. I never believed there was so much con stancy In man or woman. Right face. Quick march!" As the man left the room, turning his head, he said: "Tank you, sir. It Isn't the same woman." An Effective Riddle. On one occasion when he was busy President Lincoln received a delega tion of men who were endeavoring to hurry the passing of some petty bill. When they entered Lincoln looked up gravely, and said: "If you call the tail of a sheep a leg, how many legs will the sheep have?" "Five," said the spokesman. "No," replied Lincoln, "it would only have four. Calling the tall a leg wouldn't make It one." The delegation departed In discom fiture. Sunday Magazine. it hjiim ii m in jmii f-"-""- For Infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always Bought Bears the Signature- of In Use For Over Thirty Years Bl thi onnwm ohmnt, mm Ton mr. (VAtf mi. m m 1 AT Ah ' i t