g heavily at her sides, and in a
low, hurried tone she began: "Clara, now Clara, now see, I've been usen
your soap--ach, it smells so goot!--nearly all der time!"--"Why," I
broke in, "you were welcome!"

But she stopped me roughly with one word, "Wait," and then she went on.
"Und der pins--why, I can't no more count. Und der hair-pins, und der
paint," (her voice was rising now), "oh, der lofely soft pink paint! und
I used dem, I used 'em all. Und I never t'ought you had to pay for dem
all. You see, I be so green, fraeulein, I dun know no manners, und I did,
I did use dem, I know I did; but, so help me, I didn't mean to spoonge,
und by Gott I didn't shteal!"

I caught her hands, they were wildly beating at the air then, and said,
"I know it, Semantha, my poor Semantha, I know it."

She looked me brightly in the eyes and answered: "You do? you _truly_
know dat?" gave a great sigh, and added with a fervour I fear I
ill-appreciated, "Oh, I hope you vill go to heaven!" then quickly
qualified it, "dat is, dat I don't mean right avay, dis minute--only ven
you can't keep avay any longer!"

Then she sprang to her dress hanging on the hook, and after struggling
among the roots of her pocket, found the opening, and with triumph
breathing from every feature of her face, she brought forth a small
white cube, and cried out, "Youst you look at dat!"

I did; it seemed of a stony structure, white with a chill thin line of
pink wandering forlornly through or on it (I am sure nothing could go
through it); but the worst thing about it was the strange and evil smell
emanating from it. And this evil, white, hard thing had been purchased
from a pedler under the name of soap, fine shaving or toilet soap, and
now Semantha was delightedly offering it to me, to use every night, and
I with immense fervour promised I would use it, just as soon as my own
was gone; and I mentally registered a solemn vow that the shadow of my
soap should never grow less.

I soon discovered that poor Semantha was very ambitious; yes, in spite
of her faint German accent and the amusing abundance of negatives in her
conversation, she was ambitious. One night we had been called on to "go
on" as peasants and sing a chorus and do a country dance, and poor
Semantha had sung so freely and danced so gracefully and gayly, that it
was a pleasure to look at her. She was such a contrast to the two
others. One had sung in a thin nasal tone, and the expression of her
face was