Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1881-09-01
The Iron Virgin.

| Please do not imagine from my tltle
that am about TO relate any thrilling
tale that has to do with the so-called
"Iron Virgin" of the Middle Ages which
crushed man in its iron embrace as
easily rs you would crack u nut. No
my heroine belonged to what at the
time my story opens was the small town
of Springfield, in Massachusetts.
When it was, comparatively speaking,
in its infancy, there stood on Street,
little away from M--street, stove
store, and visited its door by way
of sign, stood the figure of a
girl, made of iron. / do not know what
the connection was between the stoves
within and the interesting female, ex-
cepting the material of which they We're
both composed; but there she stood.
eight feet in her shoes and weighing
perhaps 600 pounds.
She stood there year i'll and year out,
one of the notable signposts of the place.
The suns of summer beat down upon
her until heat visibly irradiated i'll every
direction from her. Many a winters
cold had sent u freezing chill through her
and had given her nightcap and epau-
lettes of snow, and formed icicles on her
nose; and yet she had borne all with the
most supreme Indifference, kept her
place and remained faithfully on her
post. If you put yourself ia her line
of vision she would stare at you III the
most impertinent manner, though to tell
the truth, she had not particle of hrass
III her composition.
She was III country town and III
truth she was rustic object generally.
Every summer, however, her owner,
cold Steele" as he was called, had her
scrubbed and polished with stove-polish
and she would come forth resplendent.
She was an old friend of the small boys.
Not even heirannoying tricks had power
| to move her-not even the mdignity of
a putty-ball on her nose. In summer
when the sun had made her burning hot,
they would entice some green hand to
touch her and would shrek with delight
| to see him Jump. In winter when Old
Steele was not by, they would peg snow
balls mt her until she broke out into
rash of big, white spots all over her
body. But she was cast in an iron mould.
She bore all with the most ironical in
| difference.
One exciting incident, little while
before my story opens, had varied the
monotony of her existence. One night
some 'larkey spirits" called so, sup
pose, because they rise so early-about
10 o'clock p NJ. some larkey spirits, l
say, removed her from her position, and
set her at the door of the Union Bindery
where n sign gave notice "Girls Want
ed" That same night. the 'jovial band
of ardent spirits" removed two large
cofins that acted as signs i'll front of an
undertaker's shop, and placed them by
the door Of ''Dye-house" much to the
amusement of passers-by in the morn
ing.
''Mr. Steele, the owner of the stove
store, was queer, old fellow, and we
boys delighted in playing Jokes on him.
l am going to tell you of one that We
played on him, which was connected
with the ''iron virgin" Mr.. Steele s
and we boys boarded at small hotel, a
few blocks off from Mr.. Steele's
store. One evening, few days after
the virgin" had been placed in front
of the Bindery, we boys felt like some
mischief. So we concerted the plan,
which / shall unfold to You, in my story.
We first sought out the hotel-keeper, n
man named Sharpe, full of fun, and n
prime favorite with us boys. We un-
folded our plan to him and he promised
to help us as much rs he could. Mr..
Stelle was in the parlor warming him
self before the fire. We went i'll and
Joined in conversation with him; one by
one, however, we boys feigned sleepi
ness and started off apparently for bed.
But before go on, l must explain a
peculiarity of Steele's.
You have seen n piece of seaweed
hanging by the side of wharf at low
tide-how dirty it looks and how list
lessly it hangs there? And you have
noticed too, what a change comes over
it when the tide comes inflow its color
becomes bright and how it is tossed
about by the waves? Well, SO it was
with Mr. Steele. Ordinary subjects
stirred him but little, but when politics
were touched upon--O, he was all ex-
element His face shOne and his arms
gesticulated wildly, as the discussion
stirred him up. After We boys had
gone out, Sharpe turned the converse
ton to politics, and Immediately Steele
became very excited, so excited that
when / slipped into the room in my
stocking fact and took the key out of
his outside pocket, he did not notice it.
This I was the easier able to do since he
wore n style of coat very common at
that time, with very large pockets styled
q la orOpriet0ire. He invariably kept
his key in the right pocket-at least l
mean two of his keys-his store-key and
| +ba low Of bic room IN tba bOta1 Gbuok