The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1873-02-15
21liscellameons.
MSSS Loud.

She is sixteen, the eldest girl of the Loud fam
| lily, and so thinks herself entitled to the great
rocking chair in the corner of the living-room
| She is making lace rullle for her neck, and
| has spread it out on her lap ready to be sewed
| when in comes her grandmother followed by
Julia, the sister next in age, who says
| "Beaty, please give grandma her chair !"
| 80 dear !" says Beatrice, screamingly, "look
at all this work spread out on my lap! Why
can't she take another chair justfor minute?
Because she can't says Julia, little in
| Indignantly, "tor poor grandma is not well this
| morning, and wants the easy chair" So Bea-
| trce bounces out of it, and the chair rocks vio-
| lently backward, and is in danger of striking
| the poor old lady but Julia darts forward and
| stops it just in time to prevent the injury.
'!Nice manners p she says and then Beatrice
screams out, 80, grandma, did not mean to dc
| thatn
| The old lady seats herself and sighs, but says
nothing. Beatrice finishes her ruffle, tacks it
into the neck of her dress, and then, arraying
| herself, starts out on an errand down Broad
way. Her head is up, and she lifts her feet
after the fashion Of the day, and strikes the
handle of her parasol down as gentleman hits
the sidewalk with his cane, and, in fact, carries
herself with the air of ore who imagines she
owns half the city at least.
But she is back in time for dinner, for those
of her class do not despise the pleasures of the
table Papa is seated at the head, and the
other members OF the family are taking seats
also, when Beatrice bursts into the room and
monopolzes papa, and begins to talk in loud,
ringing voice, about something wherein young
person should be listener and learner instead OF
leader and teacher But she gives her opinion
upon the subject, as if it were perfectly unan-
swerable.
Her father is amused at her smartness, as he
fondly calls it but her mother, woman of
good sense, looks troubled, and her eye follows
her daughters movements with anxious solici-
tude.
Her elder brother, Randolph, listens awhile
to her voluble replies to her fathers rather
quiet questions, then wonders satrically when
Beatrice will learn to be ''civil with ease"
81 am always easy in my manners, and civil
too !" she replies in tone that can be beard
across the street.
"Then why do you not let pa and ma lead
the conversation? % asks Julia, after she has
comfortably seated their old-fashioned grand
mother.
"Julia is getting to be nuisance, with her
reproving ways" says Beatrice affectedly.
81 am getting tired of your airs, mutters Ju-
liza, preparing to eat her dinner in silence, for
Beatrice interrupts everything that anybody
else attempts to say. haying SO much assurance
The grandmother sighs and thinks,f "Ah, il
was not so in my young days. Girls taen had had
so. Beatrice could not have come into room
then as if she would walk over every body, and
plump herself into chair, and talk till every
body's ears tingled."
beatrice y calls out Randolph at last-for
to make her conscious of being addressed one
has to speak in her tones-FI read such good
thing in behavior book to day! Listen. 1t
was this: 'An agreeable, modest, dignihed
bearing is, in the younger period of a womans
existence, almost like portion to her. Now
in that case you are quite portlonless, you see.
80 dear me, what book did you find that in
1t is quite behind the age, such sentiment
l like to preserve my individuality, and not be
| thought an imitator or in leading strings"
"Well, you must think others like to be led
| by you, for you'll never let anybody else speak
| in the house if you can preventit," grumblng-
| ly SAYS her younger brother Walter, who has
| been trying this half-hour to gain his fathers
ear for the merits of a velocipede he wants him
| to buy.
| In the evening company came. They were
| a gentleman and wife, and son and daughter.
Beatrice rushed toward them as if they had
come expressly to see her, taking her mothers
place. and addressing them with such volubll-
| ity that they were quite astonished. They
| were very polite, and of course turned to the
| lady of the house to pay respects to her first
| and Beatrice found that all the fine things she
had been saying were lost upon them: H.. =,
Randolph gave her look of reproof, but she
answered it with saucy pout, and recovering
| quickly from her modification, took seat be-
| side the graceful Miss Gleason, and after look
ing her all over in the offensive way some girls
and women too, have Of inspecting your dress
she shot at her a volley of words, for | can call
it nothing else, so little like pleasant chat OF
| agreeable conversation was IT.
Miss Gleason was lively girl, too, but had
all the pretty maidenly ways that are so be-
coming to very young girls. She tried to take
her part in the conversation, but there was nc
chance, for Beatrices eyebrows were raised, and
her ewes glancing from the sister to the broth
err and her whole face seeming to say, "Doyou
not see how bewitching am, so perfectly ire
sistible 2"
Randolph joined the group, and began to talk
to Miss Gleason and her brother in order te
check Beatrice's folly, but her volubility over
mastered him, so that he must keep silence OF
| interrupt her. He chose to do the latter, ano
| said: "Beatrice, l should like to hear, just
once, Mr.. and Miss Gleason's voices, if you
please"
80 dear me, Pm such talker, know p
said Beatrice. "Now, Ranny, what have you
got to say ?"
Miss Gleason was highly amused at her treat.
ing her elder brother like little boy, and Ran:
dolph, with some effort, said, "l am restricted
| to so many minutes, suppose"
"Well yes l shall begin again ifsome OF you
don't say something" said Beatrice, in the tone
of having dull company to entertain.
"Perhaps we are of the class who never talk
unless they have something to say said Mr.
Gleason, giving pleasant hint
30, for PHYS sake, | hope you don't belong
to that heavy class !" said Beatrice, and al
laughed, and then Randolph said, 81 hope We
do !" and Miss Gleason made rhyme with him
| by saving, 81 hope so too )" then added, We
ought to be now what we shall wish we had
| been when we are old"
"Well, am," said Beatrice, with ringing ac.
cent "and when get to be smart old lady,
shall be glad was smart when | was young
Young Gleason laughed at that, but said 81
am opposed to the expression Smart for feal
it will be the ruin of our American manners.
80, | adore the word !" screeched Beatrice
"and all the more because it is so purely Amer
| ican."
"But it is such misleading term,' said he
slyly.
"iiow SO ?" asked she, willing to show her
powers of argument.
"By mistaking sound for sense" put in Ran
dolph.
30, like to sound out my sense, if have
got any," said Beatrice.
"Well, wouldn't drown it by hollerng as /
YOU were in the woods" said Walter, coming
up with a request from Mrs. Gleason for some
music on the piano.
80 dear me suppose that request is sin
cere from Mrs. Gleason, but most persons make
of me only hand d-organ," said Beatrice, rising
with shrug, to go forward to the instrument
Randolph looked at her to make her conscI
GUS of the impolite speech, but she was so full
Of self-conseq quence that she did not notice him
Mr.. and Mrs. Gleason bowed pleasantly a
the "hand organ" as it came up, for the par
lors were large, and they had not heard Bea
trice's remark.
She was fine player, and all who had a love
for music liked to hear her; and she knew THIS
therefore il was mean in her to make such {
speech. Young Gleason thought SO, and though
he gallantly stood by her side to turn over tn.
music, he did not feel charmed as he woulc
have felt over highersouled musician, WHIT
delights in tho art when it delights others.
| fuyu