The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1888-04-19
A SUCCESSFUL FAILURE.
How Would Teach q Boy to be
q True Bayard.

Mamma ReUer used to act like that,
Till Alice was engaged. 1t makes all the
difference in the world when you have
n sister who assumes The going to be
married dignity. and gets priv ate let.
tiers that she goes off into a corner to
read, and wears a ring with real dia,
mond in.
And Alice was engaged to 4 Toptree,
and they were such an ancient family
that got very tired of their genealogi-
cal tree, besides feeling very small. and
of no account, after Fenwick Tree
top" as | often called him, had condo
seconded to come into the family, for
Alice looked down on Dorothy and
from that pinnacle.
My name is plain Mary, and nothing
else. Mamma often told me that she
nearly called me Rose Maryland
that would have been pleasant. for in
the language of flowers it means ''re-
membrance.
When Jack Turpin went off to sea-as
ship surgeon-she bowed him out of
the front door herself and didn't give
him chance TO say goodbye to me.
only she couldn't see. as l did, the
pleading look in his eyes that said, 'be
true to me-" knew. though not a
word was spoken. But papa shook
hands warmly and said, Give us the
light ofyour countenance again. John, I"
and thought it perfectly sweet of the
white-haired old darling. But then
papa isn't mother with marriagea-
bic girls, " so he can say things.
1t was that set mamma so much
against Phil Rowlock. and there comes
my grievance. He was talking to the
fair Ethel Winman one evening, and
when speaking of mutual acquaint-
anee, CHANGED to say: ''Of course
she encourages all the young men
to the house, for she has maIriageable
girls" 1t wasn't anybody we knew.
but | saw mamma freeze up at once
and knew he had offended her. For
she did not want us 10 marry, and says
it is libel men and boys start nova
days that if you ask male creature
to your home you are yearning to take
him to your heart-and half the time
they are not able to support them
selves. much less a wife. For 6ous.
nowadays, she says, are talking about
the other sex as if they were grand
fathers, and had experience. l know
they do talk and act foolish, and when
brother VIII is talking about nv ex-
travagant dress. do sharp little sum
in arithmetic. and find that while am
satisfied with ten-cent muslin in sum-
mer, they wear dollar-a-yard tweed,
and more jewelry than is good taste
for girl.
So was provoked at Phil, for he is q
good sort of a boy, only he thinks it
sounds big to sneer at girls. l often won
der that boys with sisters can do it. /.
shouldn't wonder at an orphan, if his
mother died before he knew any thing
about her. but boys with sisters should
know better.
And | said something like that 10 the
boys. and that it was q mark of a higher
civilization 10 be able to show proper
respect for our sex, and not treat them
rs an inferior, for that day was past.
And then / told them bit in the papers
about class being asked "Why Moses
was gentleman" and one little boy
said, because when the daughters of
Jethro went to draw water the shep-
herds drove them away, but Moses
helped them. and said to the shepherds:
Ladies first, please"
And l hope Moses did it in friendly
sort of way, rs one chum might to an
other, and not rs if the girls were his
interiors in any way. Whittier knows
what mean, for he wrote:
20. for knight like Bayard,
Without reproach or fear
And L always thought he was one of
that sort himself.
Well, after that, mamma was more
severe than ever, and talked severely |
about ladies who were too free and |
easy with their girls. and Phil didn't !
come back. and Jack Turpin was ut |
sea.
And then one day papa's second |
cousin, Randolph Massey. came to visit |
Us. He was model young man and |
polite to torture, always standing till |
we were seated. if we entered the room |
Just for a moment-and ever ready 10 |
pick up peanut shell if any one hap
pened to drop one. We all thought his |
manners perfect and held him up rs |
4 model to the boys. he was really |
more polite than Jack.
But one night as We sat in the draw
1ng-room singing, there was a sudden
cry Of fire from the kitchen; we didn't |
stop for Randolph to hold the door
open and bow US out, assure YOU. 1t |
was in the laundry, and cold north |
wind made it dangerous for the house.
"lil was away, there was only papa,
who had rheumatism. and Tom. who
was dizzy with a raging headache. to
go up on that roof and hold the hose.
went up the icy ladder. and was BUSH
~ drenehing the roof of the laundry,