Katy's Conqueror

She wa3 ttio memeec, pretnesi. ijui m the whole shop. Shè Mg from morning uutil nigUt She was over idle.anii when the other gins BtopDed their sewing machinc3 lo talk about their "fellers," hers kept whirring oway liko a noisy beo that had no tin o to extract honey from the roses of lifo. Not tnat she was unsociable. Bless ycu, no ! When her work was done for tbe day, she was as chatty and eompanionable as need be, and her odd rcniarks about men and thoir ways, were fuli of geaial satire, that was perpetually ontertaining, She had no leanings towards the stroDger sex, she said, Sl.e did nut need the supporting arm of any of thom. Sho was ablu te get alono; without a masculino hewer of vvood and drawer of water, and she supposed he niight bc ablo to tight his way tlirougii the forest of Ufe without her assistanoe. Anyhow, she was deterruiued that be should. lf he failed, so much tho worse for him, and so much the better tor her. Slie would preserve her iudependsnoe, and he would not have the excu?e of an incumbrance in his downfall, She was able to support herself, When tho possibility of being taken sick was presentad to her, she replied, thacsho had sonie money in the Baring bank, aud when she had pas.sed her days of aciivo labor tnere was the old wonian'j home to go to. w!-iere she miglit oa jiiiro as inkpendent as il' she was filliug the place of a needv motlier-in-law, or living on grudging" relatives, who counted e very copper that it cost iüem to support her, This ruay appear cynieal in print, butit was said vvith suub ajoyous treeUom irom all foreboditigs regurdiug the future that il was greeted wuh the nierry retorts that usually attend Uie utteranco of a favorito but soniewhat wayward child. No "ne was offeuded and she meant no ofteiise. It was simpJy tho pbiiuaupuy oí me oí imu sviioui .;i.pid had passfd by in his somewhat Eromiscuous sho wering of dart aiuong er giriish assoeiates. Her mtlilng lover was unknown ia corners f ar or near, and when she went homo at niglit, if she did not chance to have a feuiiuine oompanion, she was conlcnt to go alone as morrily, aye moroso, oftentimes, than the girl who had an impalient aüendant who found fault if she were five minutes late in keeping her appointnient. To thetvters, to coucerts and other ontertainmoDts she always paid her own way. Indeed her iudependeuce was carried to such an extont that she once mortally oflended a rich old uncie from the country, who had not a living relative in the vvorld, by refusing to allow him to pay her fair in the horse ca. But tho wisest of in ïnako some mistakes. There are vulnerable points in the strongest mortal armor, aud some foe will tind them ojit, however hard we may try to hide tíw.n. There carne a timo'when our heroïne, Katy, vvas off her guard. It was ufter the dea 'i f a fonainitte friend, to v hora she was inuch attached and over wboïè témate thore had boen a partioalarly pathetic prayer ï'ecited, wbich kit aur modern, everyday BeaU-lco in ai. tgrasoally ientlment al uiood. Af ter the funeral of this girl Katy met a yoiing man who appëaieJ to be is deeply aospondent over the Jos3 of tl;i 'rosbisud pluckod in the springtime of life," as the parsou ohrasea ie, as Katy was hereelf, iie wás, niureoverer, the brother of the ruinistev, who had reoently been married, Rii'lhe bore a striking reseinblanca to his clerical relative, though he'was cast in a some whftt more mascalino and lesa d.speptic mould. It was Katy's luck, ill-fortune, or what jou will, to be placed in tho same c;irriage with him as the solerán cortege proceedod towards theTgrive; talking over tho virtues oí tne.r de:ir, doparted friend they graduaily caído to sce rare virtues in eaeh other. This led to a broUioriy and sisterly inliiaacy, which she, at least, was sure would nerer ripfn into anythinjr like the fruit th:.t grows u pon the tree of conjugal ove. a her part th attaohmenc was wholiy unpeltisi!. On his - Wcll, we shali see. Their ntitnaey.of course.soongotnoised abroad. In a workroom fuil vt young women of a marriageable ge how could it be othervvise? It was in vain that íhc jrotesltü liiat l:e was only a friend - a bröther. ïliere were many knowiiig ghakes of the head wiien this was said, as if most of the girla had not been without a similar experiiíiiees, and when she carne down to the shop one morning and lold her nflarest and dearest femiile chuni that she wrs emraged, with many iujunetions regarJing nbsolute secrecy about tho maiter, it was not surprising that thore were many "I told you sos," iïoating about iu :onsiderably lus time ihau it would have taken l'uck to niake hia proposod journey around tho world. They were a rather good-looking conplo on the whole. All tho glrls acknowledged that. thougb they did say that atu was raiher looolight of ligure, and had a tlush in her cheoks that would have been less alarmin if the rouge pot and not nature had placed it there. He - well, ho was ta!l, braad shoulder-, ed. well-formedantl apparontly in perfect health. There was an undefiuablo something about him, however, whicli suggesied the loungur at the atteruoon matinee, the young man who is always well dressed aud apparenll; has nothing to do. There was a sieekness about his well-oiled hair, his dyed niustache and his clean-shaven face that did not inspirfi confidence :imong the worldly wise. His manner was notexactly flashy but it was what the girls cill "oti'-handed."' He could give a joke and take ono with the good-natured tolerar.ee of one who regardod woman as pevhaps a necessary appendage to the comforc of lordly man. He had what is called a mastërful way with him, and the girls liked it. In spito of fenialo suffrage, there will always bo women who will give their hearts to a conqueror, when they will refuse them to a slave, and Katy was bouud to the chariot wheels of the victor. Tüore were plenty nf tearful farewells when Kaly's last night's toil was orer in tho work-room where slie had labored so long. All the sharp things, ail the jealousies, all the rivalries were forgotten a3 sho kissed all of her couipanions, and said she would nevor como backto the Jittlo windo-y asrain whure she had been so very, very happy. tLcv must all come to eu har. tor sho would bo nlways glad to see them for the .sake of dear old times. Then she went out of the door, and they all lcoked after her with a reproachful feelijg ia Iheir gentío breasts againstthatpowrr which had brought so much happiuess to somo peoplu aud so li'.tle to olhers. Tho jrayers were said, tho service done, as the poe', has it, and KsUy anj Kobert, or Bob as hi.s friends called hlni for short, were man and wife. They had apparently ft happy honeyïuoon, thoutfi poople did say af ter the thrue rnonths were over, that it was about time that Robert was fiuding soruething to do. Ha was not iu au.y employrnent when the marriage took placa; bul thero was, lio said; a man iu uis brother's clmrch who wad going ty givo hiiu a placo at a salary oí .$2,00U a vear. as soon as ho got a patent through for one of the greatcst inventioiis that had lieen made :n years. lu point of fact. he was to have a suare n t!o business a3 spon as it was fully -slablished. ín thomeanwhile, it woüki bo íoolish for him to accept anothVr situiition, though there were hundreds of places open to him. ïime went on, his brotherhad aucepted a eall elae wheie, and the man, i! Le ever had nny interest in Robeit, had lost it. N.nii insr was heaid of the patent, and siill the voung husband was idlo, aud was " apLarecüy, lo outsiders tt least, makiug nu efibrt to be otlierwiso. katy was cheerful through it all, and wbon ho came home lookiug very despondent - from liie billiard room, some were nialieious enough 10 repoit- she was always sympatheüc and regretted, in a very wifely manner, his ill-luck iu procuriug employment. 1 he follöwing inorniag she would go down to the bank and draw once moro upon her little hoard, which was melting away like the snow before the suu of a late spring day. At last it was gone, and want, which had been peeping iu at the window, ünally carne boídly in through the front door. The old story was re peated. The trinkets went tirst, aud then artieles more useful and less onyirubiital foilowed. Wherc? You who have known the delusivo hope Unit lies iu a pawn ticket need not ask. Thtm the seltishness which lies at the bottom of all self-ind ïlgent namres began to show itself moio decidedly. In iittle ways at tirst but ünally boldly and UBC(;mpromisiDgly. It really gave the young wife a sUock one d.iy wheu at tlieir scantily spread table, on which there was öarely enough for two, the husband said. after uevouring more than h;s f uil share of viands: "Say, sis, you don't want that piece of nie, do you?" She passed it over to him without a word, and he swallowed it without further comment or apolory. And so it wout on. There was always sonielhing n thtir conünually narrowing suppN of provisions that he indioated üe neuded more than she did, and she ly yielded, and forgave him too. One niorning he got up as early as Bill óikes. ti. [tgí&i nature had departcd entirely, and he said without circumloaution: ■ ■ "Say, Katy, when are you goiug She lookotl around upon their nieagerly furnishedchamber, put on her things and went out. liaok at tho old shop! The shop which she had left with so niany learful adieus. But sho was not glad to be there, nor were her former associates rejoieed at her retnrn. She was married now. What business had sho there? Still, she carne day after day, with a gradually lessening lightness of step, until one day sho was missed from her accustomed piace at tbe window. The next day it was the same, and the next and tho next. Then it began to bo suggested that she must be sick, and all the kind feeling towaids her revived. Some one ought to go and see her, and two of the gids volunteered to do so that evening. They discovered her many tlights up stairs. lf they had gone farther they would have fouüd themselves on the üat roof of a tenenieut house, Shu was desperately iü aud ín bad. Ho was j whittliug a stick besido a table, on which weie the heads of two smoked herricgs, "Has she had aay gruel or lood suitr.ble ior an invalid!1" was asked. 'Well, she got just what I had, a ad what'fl good onough for me, is good enough for her," was the brutal auswer Tbe girls were not ricli, but went to tho nearest grocery store and purchascd such delicacies aj thoy conld aflford.and prepared them for the sick woman. "Oiil you bring enough fcr two?" hc i-i.. ;l,as he watched them making th:ir preparatione, VVitii the help of the other girls in the shop they nursed Katy through ihis illness, nntil she was able to return t; work, but it was not long before she feil sick again, and a doctor was called in. He said ihe could not livo, and when the hrsband heard this he put on his coat - he had retained his good cloUies through all - and rem.irked, as he shut tho door: "Oh, if sho ain't going to get better there'a no use of staving round here," He was scen ko more, aud a week after sho was taken to the Cposumptires' home. She faded away with the liist cool breath of áutumn, and as she closed hor wesry eyelids for the last time, sho elasped something to her bosom. It was a pic.ture of Robert.