Paste Jewels | Page 3

whom much reliance
has been placed, are as paste alongside of the newly acquired bauble
from whom little was expected. It was almost unkind in Norah, Bessie
thought, to be so impeccably conscientious when Jane and Ellen were
developing eccentricities; but there was the consoling thought that
when they had all been together a month or two longer, their
eccentricities would so shape themselves that they would fit into one
another, and ultimately bind the little domestic structure more firmly
together.
"Perhaps if I let them alone," Bessie said to herself, "they'll forget their
differences more quickly. I guess, on the whole, I will say nothing
about it."
That night, when Thaddeus came home, the first thing he said to his
wife was: "Well, I suppose you were awfully firm this morning, eh?
Went down into the kitchen and roared like a little tyrant, eh? I really
was afraid to read the paper on the way home. Didn't know but what I'd
read of a 'Horrid Accident in High Life. Mrs. Thaddeus Perkins's
Endeavor to Maintain Discipline in the Household Results Fatally. Two

Old Family Servants Instantly Killed, and Three of the Kitchen Table
Legs Broken by a Domestic Explosion!'"
"Be serious, Thaddeus," said Bessie.
And Thaddeus became instantly serious. "They--they haven't left us,
have they?" he whispered, in an awe-struck tone.
"No. I--I thought I'd let them fight it out between themselves," replied
Bessie. "You see, Thaddeus, servants are queer, and do not like to have
their differences settled by others than themselves. It'll work out all
right, if we let them alone."
"I don't know but that you are right," said Thaddeus, after a few
moments of thought. "They're both sensible girls, and capable of
fighting their own battles. Let's have dinner. I'm hungry as a bear."
It was half-past six o'clock, and the usual hour for dinner. At 8.10
dinner was served. The intervening time was consumed by Jane and
Ellen endeavoring to settle their differences by the silent, sniffy
method--that is, Jane would sniff, and Ellen would be silent; and then
Ellen would sniff, and Jane would be silent. As for Thaddeus and
Bessie, they were amused rather than angry to have the dear little
broiled chicken Bessie had provided served on the large beef-platter;
and when the pease came up in a cut-glass salad-dish, Thaddeus
laughed outright, but Bessie's eyes grew moist. It was too evident that
Jane and Ellen were not on speaking terms, and there was strong need
for some one to break the ice. Fortunately, Bessie's mother called that
evening, and some of her time was spent below-stairs. What she said
there only Ellen and Jane knew, but it had its effect, and for two or
three weeks the jewels worked almost as satisfactorily as did Norah, the
new girl, and quite harmoniously.
"Bessie," said Thaddeus, one night as they ate their supper, "does it
occur to you that the roast is a little overdone to-night?"
"Yes, Teddy, it is very much overdone. I must speak to Ellen about it.
She is a little careless about some things. I've told her several times that

you like your beef rare."
"Well, I'd tell her again. Constant dropping of water on its surface will
wear away a stone, and I think, perhaps, the constant dropping of an
idea on a cook's head may wear away some of the thickest parts of
that--at least, until it is worn thin enough for the idea to get through to
where her brain ought to be. You might say to her, too, that for several
nights past dinner has been cold."
"I'll speak to her in the morning," was Bessie's reply; and the dear little
woman was true to her purpose.
"She explained about the beef and the cold dinner, Ted," she said, when
Thaddeus came home that afternoon.
"Satisfactorily to all hands, I hope?" said Thaddeus, with his usual
smile.
"Yes, perfectly. In fact, I wonder we hadn't thought of it ourselves. In
the old home, you know, the dinner-hour was six o'clock, while here it
is half-past six."
"What has that got to do with it?" asked Thaddeus.
"How obtuse of you, Teddy!" exclaimed Bessie. "Don't you see, the
poor old thing has been so used to six-o'clock dinners that she has
everything ready for us at six? And if we are half an hour hate, of
course things get cold; or if they are kept in the oven, as was the case
with the beef last night, they are apt to be overdone?"
"Why, of course. Ha! Ha! Wonder I didn't think of that," laughed
Thaddeus, though his mirth did seem a little forced. "But--she's-- she's
going to change, I suppose?"
"She said she'd try," Bessie replied. "She was really so very nice about
it, I hadn't