The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-09-27
Blue Stocking"

By AUBFR FoREsTTER.
Nv friend, Alma Winters, is infected
with the scribbling mania. This is a
tvrant which holds her in stern rule; /
runs riot many times with thought and /
actions; yet, she is fully determined /
that it shall not wholly swallow up
those purely feminine characteristics
with which she hopes one day to make
Charlie BrightOn's home happy.
Yes, there is q Charlie in Alma's his
tory; she thinks it would not be com-
plete without him. Charlie is essen- /
tally proud of his Alma's talents, and
firmly believes that she eXcels all liy
ing writers. Every scrap that falls from
her pen he reads with avidity, and he
feels a plying contempt for any one
who has not made the acquaintance of
her productions. At the same time, he
is haunted with the shadow of a fear
that his darling may grow too "bluen
some day; that she may unawares de-
velOp symptoms Of eccentricity often
incident upon authority, that may rem
der her less lovely, less charmingly
womanIy than he thinks her now.
This Alma well knows, and she takes
every opportunity Of proving to him
how high regard she pays to all femi-
nine accomplishments; how earnestly
she is endeavOring to prepare herself
for all housewifely duties. She is sensi-
BILE enough to think that her brains
would be of small avail if they could
not grapple with the trivial as well rs
the great things Of life, if they could not
assist her TO plain, common sense.
Recently, circumstances occasioned
Alma to migrate with her individual
household treasures from one portion of
her home 10 another. She is now set
tied in a large, airy room in the front of
the house, on the third floor, overlook
ing an>open space where so much fresh
Verdure gladdens her eve, that she is
tempted to believe herself transplanted
into the country. Every care and at
tentiOn has been bestowed upon the ar
rangement of the new SQHcflBl, and un-
dOubtedly all competent judges must
pronounce ii gem. The carpet is of a
motled green, and with it corresponds 4
eXcellently well the plain, sage-cOlored /.
wall paper, upon which hang well-filled |
bOok-shelves and pictures in abundance. 4
The furniture is walnut, of tasteful de- 1
sign. A comfortable lounge, n rocking ]
chair and a cushioned armchair look I
very tempting for the hours of leisure, /
while a large writing table holding Al /
mas desk, together with any number Of /
books, magazines and papers strewn /
around in veritable literary confusion, I
invests the apartment with q truly bus /
iness-like air.
This writing table is the pride Of Al |
mas life. She wonders how she ever
made any progress in her literary career
without it, and views with most supreme
disgust the small-siZed substitute she
once deemed the embodiment Of all that
was desirable. Moreover, nv Young
Friar.l hoe cf rfaI ,r+oufo- - -. 49,.
It stands beside her writing table, and
the rapidity with which ii fills up would
do credit to an editors office. Time was
when Alma's unimpOrtant letters, wrap
pers Of newspapers, old scraps of serb
bling, such as pencil sketches of stories. Z
rough materials TO be worked out al
leisure, etc. etc, al dlfiRit,lBi, got scat
tered about amongst papers deemed
worthy of preservation, in drawers. /
closets and passes, necessitating a gem
eral rummaging, sorting and cleaning
away ever and anon. Henceforth. All I
such rubbish is doomed to be consigned l
to the waste-paper basket.
Alma has developed a marvellous tai /
ent for discovering suitable contents for
this basket. Indeed, it often amuses her
friends, when they call upon her, to see
her dart forward in the midst of the
any stray scraps that she thinks would
better grace it than her floor. And no
one dare misplace any article in the
ROOM there is place for everything,
ana everything is expected to be in its
place-no confusion is allowed EXCEPT
upon the writing table Upon one oc-
caslon, an intimate friend of AIma's
came IN 10 spend the morning. and as
she laid aside her bonnet, she opened a
closet door, saying, any poor bonnet
shall take refuge in here: if I place il
anywhere in the room L am quite con-
fident that should never be able to pre-
vent its finding its way into the waste
paper basket"
Charles sister is one of Alma's great
friends. The two girls have many tastes
in common, and often spend hours in
studying and talking together. In her
presence, Alma has taken especial de-
light in playing the habit of neatness
and order she is cultivating. Sallie
Brighton has often teased her brothers
betrothed about the ink stain on her
finger, as well as sundry dark spots
upon the wall paper and carpet, indica-
tive of sprinklings from the ink bottle
and over-turnings of the ink-stand-but
TINS was in the old room. The new
sdnctt.ln shall surely never be thus dis
S"O0ui lux sllall now aOundantlN from
ole pen but no traces Of it shall be dis
Jeter,Si JJetered otherwise. Upon this Alma is
s Olteh, when her fingers have been en-
St,-;sS ,i iot hours making her pen fiv
WI MSn Ilghtning speed over the fair
W %tineS luscript paper, page aftar naga
Vi mhicn fol from before bo,. t+SI
with the written word ready - lrelgIl'eu slsIl
fortune IN the sea OF Iiteraipro sSeh sSI, It's
gazed with pride at the unstaina'd nt.iIe' sae u, has
when she heard Charlie fanoiI;au. IIihgeT,
at the door, and simultaneoussiIyN NmGek mock
to run forward holding up her tinaSy. tinely apt
his inspection. Charlie had been sr LILO, l2r
fully afraid of that ink spot. n,oro o,e''u- u
than he liked 10 confess 30 his dsrIi,sco 80
Alma, and once a friend had seriopsiS.
annoyed him by persisting that if Miss
Winters were not an Out-an-out 'blue.
at least the ink-stain upon her finger
proved beyond question that her hose
possessed a decidedly cerulean tint.
Probably it was this-for, of course,
Charlie told her-that determined Alma
4 i l. 80 E,os Faf ful