Aunt Jane's Nieces
The man
looked after him a moment, and shook his head, sadly.
"Poor boy!" he whispered.
Then he walked up to the front door and rang the bell.
CHAPTER XI.
THE MAD GARDENER.
"This seems to be a lazy place," said Louise, as she stood in the
doorway of Beth's room to bid her good night. "I shall sleep until
late in the morning, for I don't believe Aunt Jane will be on
exhibition before noon."
"At home I always get up at six o'clock," answered Beth.
"Six o'clock! Good gracious! What for?"
"To study my lessons and help get the breakfast."
"Don't you keep a maid?"
"No," said Beth, rather surlily; "we have hard work to keep
ourselves."
"But you must be nearly through with school by this time. I finished
my education ages ago."
"Did you graduate?" asked Beth.
"No; it wasn't worth while," declared Louise, complacently. "I'm sure
I know as much as most girls do, and there are more useful lessons to
be learned from real life than from books."
"Good night," said Beth.
"Good night," answered the older girl, and shut the door behind her.
Beth sat for a time moodily thinking. She did not like the way in
which her cousin assumed superiority over her. The difference in
their ages did not account for the greater worldly wisdom Louise
had acquired, and in much that she said and did Beth recognized a
shrewdness and experience that made her feel humbled and, in a way,
inferior to her cousin. Nor did she trust the friendship Louise
expressed for her.
Somehow, nothing that the girl said seemed to ring true, and Beth
already, in her mind, accused her of treachery and insincerity.
As a matter of fact, however, she failed to understand her cousin.
Louise really loved to be nice to people, and to say nice thing's. It
is true she schemed and intrigued to advance her personal welfare and
position in life; but even her schemes were undertaken lightly and
carelessly, and if they failed the girl would be the first to laugh at
her disappointment and try to mend her fortunes. If others stood in
her way she might not consider them at all; if she pledged her word,
it might not always be profitable to keep it; but she liked to be on
pleasant terms with everyone, and would be amiable to the last, no
matter what happened.
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There was once a king who was very powerful. He had great influence over the wild beasts and animals. Now the tortoise was looked upon as the wisest of all beasts and men. This king had a son named Ekpenyon, to whom he gave fifty young girls as wives, but the prince did not like any of them. The king was very angry at this, and made a law that if any man had a daughter who was finer than the prince's wives, and who found favour in his son's eyes, the girl herself and her father and mother should be killed.
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