The Palace Beautiful: A Story for GirlsMeade, L. T.
General
The Palace Beautiful: A Story for Girls
Meade, L. T.
England -- Juvenile fiction; Orphans -- Juvenile fiction; Sisters -- Juvenile fiction; Young women -- Juvenile fiction
"Then you shan't be, Miss Jasmine, darling. Here, sir, you're another
of the Aunt Flint tribe, but my darling Miss Jasmine shall not look
as she does now if I can prevent it. Please, sir, will you look in
this here little purse given to you by the honest hand of toil, and
see if it contains the price of a hundred of those nasty _Joy-bells_.
There's my three months' wage in that purse, sir, so I expect it will
prove sufficient."
The editor opened the little purse gingerly.
"Do you wish your friend to subscribe for you?" he asked, looking at
Jasmine. "I will allow you to have the first instalment at a
reduction. The full price for a hundred copies of _The Joy-bell_ at
sixpence a copy will be, of course, fifty shillings. On this occasion
you shall have these delivered to you at your residence for forty-five
shillings."
"It's in the purse, sir," said Poppy, with an air of modest pride.
"Forty-five shillings, and fifteen shillings over, for my wage with
Aunt Flint comes exactly to three pounds a quarter. The fifteen
shillings will find me in boots and house shoes, Miss Jasmine; and as
my 'at is fresh trimmed, and I have enough cotton dresses to go on
with, you are more than welcome to the two pound five."
"We will arrange it so, then," said the editor. "Miss Mainwaring, you
must give me your address, and you shall receive proofs in a day or
two. This sum of money provides for the appearance of the first
instalment of your story. From the sale of the hundred copies you will
be provided with funds for the second instalment, and so on."
"But how am I to pay Poppy back if I must give you the money that I
get for the magazines?" asked Jasmine, her face becoming more crimson
each moment.
"Ah! that," said the editor, with a slightly sarcastic smile, "that is
surely not my affair."
After this a few comparatively trivial arrangements were made. Jasmine
gave the address of the Palace Beautiful to Mr. Potter, and walked
downstairs, feeling excited, pleased, and disappointed.
"Oh, Poppy!" she said, "how light, how very light your purse is."
"No, Miss Jasmine," answered Poppy, "you're out altogether there, for
fifteen shillings in silver weighs more than three pounds in gold.
It's my heart, not my purse, that's light, Miss Jasmine--it has done
me a sight of good to help you, Miss Jasmine; I know he is a cheat in
there, but never mind, when your pretty, beautiful tale appears
there'll be a run on it, I think, and that _Joy-bell_ will be asked
for high and low. You'll pay me back, never fear, and I'll be real
proud to my dying day to feel that I was the first to help you."
That evening, as Jasmine and Daisy sat together waiting for Primrose
to return, Daisy said suddenly--
"Did you soar to-day, Jasmine, when you took Poppy's wages to have
your story printed?--was that what you call a soaring flight?"
Daisy spoke innocently, and with real desire for information, but at
her words Jasmine covered her face and burst into tears.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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