Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-08-27
MY SECRETARY.
Harper's Weekly,


obcycd his behests down in Liverpool.
had only seen him very occasionally,
for, though he was reported to be as
klnd rs he was eccentric, we did not
pun very well together. Hence my
grief NJ his deccasc was deep enough
TO be respectable, and, having installed
our chief clerk at Liverpool, ! cheer
ful y came up to the London Office as
my uncle's sole heir. This identical
morning on which / was rolling town
ward in a Fulham bus was the first on
which ! was going regularly 10 work.
There were eleven OF us inside, and
when the conductor gave us hasty
survey and then opened the door, am
sure there was not one among us who
did not sincerely hope that the new
conner might prove u tolcrably slim
man. Instead of man it was a Girl.
SHc slipped into the vacant place and
then we were off again. She was a
particularly nice girl. Hcrhair was vel
low, her lips very red, ana her eyes
very blue, and such Il vivid little bit of
co.oring was quite Il relief after the
stold monotonY of the bearded faces
around her Her ulster was thin and
worn, and her gloves were miracu-
lDus proof OF how much darning one
pair could stand; but it was neither
her pretty face nor her shabby clothes
that 50 attracted me- No; it was her
own exceeding happiness. She was
chiidlsnly happy; ALMOST idiotically SO,
i thought 1T last, for there She was,
with her hi5 eyes sparkling with fun,
ami the dimplcs playing ut hidc-and-
seek round her mouth. What on
earth was she thinking about? She
could not have been more than nine
teen or 50, and carried with her Il roll
OF manuscript in usiness-like sort of
wav rs if tine document were her own.
When ! was put down in Fleet street,
] noticed that She, too, left the omni-
bus but WAS not prepared to see her
lrc dc me into the Office and vanish
up ihc staircase. All NY life | had
nourlshcd u special detcstaton for
wtl.tn Nv omen; 50 it WAS with con
siderable amount Of anger that turn
cd round on d Jones, who had a seat
III the lower room. and asked him who
was NE lady who had just passed me.
GA Jones was my uncle's foreman
az "nclcnt, highly Respectable, MOTTO
be- %, rd-Jt sort Of - man, who had
e tnc lt'O The Office at Suca a remote
ditv ih,t il WAS .o,t in the midst of
tac mi id.G aEc~.
III Gt ,caJcd ihc foreman. 81
o.. >c., 10 4c >ur'. be- pardon, Sir,
b. -. tis m,mcut | thought YOU
meant some one with letters or manu-
script, and they always come in here.
ii She went straight upstairs it was
Miss Charity L1n ior.
"Nhat does she want, and who is
shop asked; and if Old Jones had
thrown thua.Ierno.t by way Of an
swrr cou 4 not have hcrn more as
founded than was by his re ly.
.'She is yoar secret ry.' he said.
'Alv srcrclary!' exclaimed. Good
heavens! | "on' have Il girl for sec
rctary.
You must" sand cd Jones, and
then hc proceeded to explain.
Mi J. njor, il appeared, had been
my tncle's secretary Tor some three
year, when one morning his daughter
had arrive in his stead saying that her
father wa, mWc,l, and might she not
undertake. his work for couple of
da>S. Nv uncle a freed, and the girl
did The work, and did il so creditably,
old Jones declared, that his master was
only too glad to retain her when it
proved that, as regards writing, par
aytic~stroke had placed Mr.. Landor
Oh the shelf
And so, pursued my informant,
"AliSs Cherry has been here going on
year now, and il you dismiss her
youth excuse me, sir--but you'll get
yourself into pretty pickle. She
knows all about everybody, and the
corrcsp ondence. and
This is pure rubbish" | interrupt
ed loftily, for it was hardly soothing
suggestion that my future success de-
pended on a slip OF girl.
| had snug quarters-a tolerably
Cood-siZcd room, where my uncle used
TO sit in state, and an inner one, very
much smaller. where | found Miss
Charity Landor. She looked desper-
atcly induSt ous, n perfect model of a
secretary, in fact, when l first peered
into the room, for she was seated at
the table, with whole pile of papers
before her, and her pen was skimming
rapidly along. while the orthodox little
business frowu drew the pretty eye
brows nearer together.
Good morning. and | walked into
the room.
Good morning, Mr.. Blake" said
the girl. She rose and held out her
hand. 81 hope you will approve OF
me. But perhaps you don't approve
OF women secretaries?'
mo, | don't" | said, bluntly, ''but
/ should be very sorry TO cause you
any Inconvenience, so suppose we say
that for one month things shall 90 on
as they are?"
The girls face fell.
Business is business; | did not want
a girl in my office, and | told her so.
Furthermore, explained my views OF
women's duties in general. and limited
pretty plainly that thought she would
be far better at home nursing hcl
father.
| went to my room feeling thankful
to her that she had not tried 10 coax :
more gracious answer from me- Will
such face-wth such eyes, who coulC
resist her? Did she know how beauti
full she was? Pshaw! every woman
knows that.
Our paper was simply chit-chat or
the topics of the day. and steered toll
eraby clear of scandal. There wer,
science papers. and book papers, anC
the only amusing column was the on
that was devoted to miscellaneous COS
sip, and was signed 1.-The Man Abou
Town" The style was clever an,
easy, and | nouriShed secret but pro
found admiration for my unknown
contributor Looking over his lates
articles it suddenly struck me l ha'
never been told his name, and put m
new secretary to her first use by asking
it of Miss Charity Lander.
.'Hope." said the girl. HE neve
calls. Mr.. Blake used to write t
him.
Il should like to see him. | answer
ed. ':Do you not admire his writings
Miss Landor2"
mot particularly" she replied. II
reads to me as if he put in good des
OF rubbish by way of padding"
For the first week or so / found th
girls presence was irksome, but. a
the strangeness wore of. it seemed {
make my work doubly attractive. Sh
was an immense help to me; but, tr