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Show A CIRL'S GOOD SENSE. "Minnie! Minnie! is my chocolate npur rfinHv ?" It was scrupulously nent and dainty in nil ita appointments, the little parlor par-lor where Mrs. Breighton sat, although the carpet was a tissue of darns, the furniture laded, and the hearth rug skillfully eked out by a piece of quite another fabric inserted in the spot most worn. A tew flowers, in a slender-throated vase, stood on the antique an-tique claw-legged table, the fender-irons fender-irons glittered like gold, and the muslin mus-lin curtains, artistically mended here and there, were white as snow; and Mrs. Breighton herself looked like Cinderella's god-mother, in her dress of ancient brocade, best yellow lace, and the rings glittering on her small, shrivelled hands. Eighty years old, and a lady lo the last! That was something to be proud of. What, though paralysis had robbed rob-bed her of all use uf those daintily slippered feet what though the grand house she had entered as a bride was now narrowed down to this one room ; in a second-rate building, where two other families also set up their household house-hold altars she was a lady still, and she could boast that she never had degraded herself to commonplace toil. "Our means are limited," said old Mrs. Breighton, with the lofty air of a duchess, "but the pension of my son, the colonel who, as you probably prob-ably may remember, was killed on the Florida frontier is sufficient to maintain myself and my two granddaughters grand-daughters and we art ladies." Minnie Breighton presently cam in with her little chocolataire on a napkin-covered tray, and slices of toast exquisitely browned and cut as thin as a wafer. "I hope you haven't been kept waiting, grandma ?" she said. My dear, with an air oi mud resignation "I am accustomed to wait." "Oh, I am sorry; but our fire is out, and I had to run in and borrow the use of Mrs. Tuckers' stove to boil the chocolate and" Mrs. Breighton contracted her silvery sil-very brow. "The Breightons are not a borrowing borrow-ing race, Minnie." "Shall 1 get you an egg, grand-mania grand-mania V "!Not if the fire is out, my dear." And Grandmama Breighton went on with her breakfast, wearing an injured air, while Minnie went tack to the other room, where she sat with her twin sister cogitating. Anna Breighton was as pretty as Minnie, but iu a different style. She was dark, with melting, almond-shaped almond-shaped eyes, and olive skin, and lips like a pomegranate flower, so perfectly shaped, ao richly red; while Minnie was tall and slender, and fair as a daisy. Anna laid down a Blip ol greasy paper as Minnie entered. "It's the grocer's bill again, sister. What shall we do?" Minnie sank into a chair. "And tbe gas yesterday, and the landlord not paid, and the purse is empty as Mother Hubbard's cupboard. cup-board. What shall we do ?" "That's tho question," said Anna, reflectively arching her jetty brows. "If we can only keep it from grandmama," grand-mama," "We must," retorted Minnie with a decisive nod. "It would kill hei. It we were men, now, Nanny, we culd go out and get a job of wood-sawing, or house painting, or " "And why can't we now?" "Why? Because Pat O'Neilhas get all Mrs. Barker's wood to saw, and becausR we can't climb ladders with paint pots over our shoulders." "But we can do Bometuing else, I suppose. Listen, Minnie money we must have." I "If wo go out on the highways and ask it at the point of the bayonet," interjected Minnie gravely. ! "There's no poverty like genteel poverty," her sister sighed. "But you haven't heard my plan. Mrs. Barker in our top story is sick." "What then? We havo neither wine nor jelly, nor yet crisp bank notes to bestow upon her." "And she can't keep her engagement!. engage-ment!. There aro two Swiss muslin ball dresses, fluted and pufled beautifully, beauti-fully, lying in her bosket waiting to be done up, at this present moment. Five dollars apiece she has lor them." "Well?" "I shall do them up." "Nanny I You ?" "Well, why not? Think what a golden stream of Pactolus ten' dollors would bo in our empty ooflers! Ask yourself how on earth you or I could earn ten dollars any other way. And after all, a Swiss muslin dress is a pretty poetical sort of fabric to wash and iron; and into the bargain poor Mrs. Barker keeps her customers." "Oh, Nanny! have you come to that ?" "Now, you look and talk exactly like dear old grandmama ! Don't be a goose, Minnie 1 Just you intent some Biory about my promenading in the park, or taking lessons in wax-flower wax-flower making to delude her credulous credu-lous soul, while I go up stairs and coin money." "But I may help you?" "By-and-by, perhaps, if my wriate get tired. But now, some one must stay with grandmama," "It is very strange," said Miss Georgiette Appleton'that my dresses havn't come home. Positively, I shall hare nothing to wear to-night." She was lounging before the sea-coal sea-coal fire, in a blue silk neglige, trimmed with swan-down, and a little French tangle of blue ribbons and lace pinned amour her yellow tresses with a pearl-headed javelin, while a novel lay in her lay. "What an awful caso?" observed the brother carlessly. "Where's the amethyst silk?" "Oh, I wore that to their last reception." re-ception." "And tho pink crape." "I look like an owl in pink. I was a goose ever to buy that silk." "The Nile green silk with white flounces?" "Sarah Howard has one juBt a shade lighter that she'll be sure to , wear, and I believe the spitelul thing got it on purpose to kill mine. No, I must have tbe Swiss muBlin with knots of blue corn flowers and a Roman Ro-man Bash figured with gold. And you'll go around to the laundress and hurry her up a little, won't you Georo? that's a duck of a brotherl and you know perfectly well you've been yawning your jaws off the last three-quarters of an hour." 'Where is it?" Only in Meudenhall Btreet just a pleasant walk. And give Mrs. Barker a scolding, and ask her if she don't know better than to keep her customers cus-tomers waiting although, of course, I know you'll do nothing of the sort. Men have no moral courage. There's the address on a card. It'll he such a relief to my mind!" Major George Appleton was an army officer, home on a furlough, and rather at a loss what to do with bo much extra time. Rich, which who uuumer source oi perplexity, handsome, which wasn't so puzzling. puzz-ling. So he sauntered along, his hands in his pockets and a cigar balanced between be-tween his teeth, unconsciously advancing ad-vancing to meet his fate. Rap! rap! rap! The major played a tattoo with nis knuckles on the door. "Bear me, what a noise!" said a voice inside. "Come in!" a little louder. Ihe major walked in to confront, not a wrinkled old hag of a washerwoman washer-woman iu a halo of soap and Bteam, but a beautiful young lady, dark and brilliant as an Arabian dream, with jetty curls pinned back in a silken cascade at the back of her head, and a pairot fluting Bcissors in her hand. Major Appleton started back, all his wits momentarily deserting him. It is a curious fact that the more era-barrasssd era-barrasssd one party in a tete-a-tete becomes, the greater is the composure of the other. Annie Breighton should have colored and stuttered at being caught thus, but she didn't. " What's your business, sir?" she asked, with the greatest calmness. " It's It's about my sister's gown Miss Appleton'a you know 1" "Ah!" said Anna. "I hope to have it ready very sood. If you'll wait ten minutes you may carry it home. And ahe took a second pair of fluting flut-ing scissors from the stove, teasing its heat by holding it dangerously near her velvet ceoek. Major Appleton, not being posted in etiquette and general decorum, saw no harm in carrying home a basket of newly-laundried clothes. So he sat down and waited, while honest Mrs. Baker startled from the other room, where she lay upon her bed a'captive, to rheumatic pains. " She's in a hurry, you know, said the Major, twirling his thumbs, and thinking how very pretty the girl was. "So am I," said Anna, making the fluting scissors glide in and out in a most marvellous manner among the clouds of sunny muslin. " She wants to wear it," added the Major. " But I Buy you know you're not a regular washerwoman?" i Anny straightened herself up. " My lather was a colonel in the regular army. My grandlather was Hyde Breighton, of Breighton Manor, on the Hudson. But we are reduced now, and we need money; and I am not ashamed to work," " By Jove, you're a trump ?" said Major Appleton, starting up. " Much obliged to you," retorted Anna, with sparkling eyes. "Would you mind holding the sash for me just a second while I finish this loop?" And when Minnie came up to see how her sister was getting on, she found her aided and abetted by the Major of cavalry, who was heating the alternate pairs of fluting sciaeors after a most scientific fashion. "Dear me," Baid Miss Appleton, when at last her brother made his appearance, "how long you havo been." "Yes," Baid the Major, rubbing his hands with an appearance of great satisfaction, " it took us quite a whilo to finiBb. those last thirteen flounces." "Ua! you don't mean to say that you helped the washerwoman?" "Yes, I did," said the major; "and the frocks are down stairs, and I'm going for a game of billiards," As he went he murmured to himself, "I thought that all girls were alike, but I believe I've discovered one independent inde-pendent one at last!" "Grand mania, I'm going to be married." mar-ried." "You. Nancv! Whv. vou are but achiM?" Anna Breighton was kneeling beside be-side her grandmother's chair, and the fairy godmother waa stroking her curls with one tremulous white hand, where the antique jewels shone like drops of blood and scintillating sparkles of green fire. "I'm 18, grandmamma." "So you are! How time flies! Eighteen Eight-een years old! But who's the happy man? We see no society worthy of ourselves, Nancy, and" "I'm sure you will like him, grandmamma. grand-mamma. He is coming to pay his respects to you to-night. His name is Major George Appleton. He is in the the cavalry, and he owns a ! house on Madison avenue, and and he loves me, grandmamma." Nancy held her black-tressed head on the old lady's shoulder as she spoke the last words. "And where did you meet him? When were you introduced?" ."1 wasn't introduced at all," returned re-turned Nancy, with mischievous elves of flame coming and tjoing in her eyes. "I was fluting muslin up in Mrs. Barker's room, when he came in on an errand; and oh! grandmamma, grand-mamma, you havejalways thought it so dreadful to work. But if I hadn't been working, I never should have met him. And I love him so much, grandmamma!" fl"Well, well," said the old lady rather reluctantly; "things seem to be altered from what they were when I wiia a girl." "But you shall live with usalway, granny dear and Minnie too, and we shall be so happy." And Anna Brighton's tears were tears of perfect joy. |