The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-07-21

taste. ''This IS her home," thought
Rush, looking about him; "these are the
rugs her tiny feet tread upon; these are
her books; there stands her piano, over
whose ivory keys her ivory fingers
glide" In this way he amused himself
until he heard the rustling of a woman's
gown on the stairs. His heart stopped
beating and seemed to grow so big that
he was afraid he could not speak when
she entered. Ten thousand thoughts flew
through his mind. He arose from his
chair, and, shutting his eyes, said to
himself: when that door opens shall
see the most divinely beautiful creature
that treads this earth; one for whom /
would lie down and die-nay, more, for
whom would stand up and live"
A sort of ecstasy took possession of
him. The door swung back on its hinges;
he opened his eyes and Aunt Rebecca
Sanford entered the room. Rush start
ed. If he had been struck in the face he
could not have had harder blow. It
took him few seconds to recover his
wits. If he had had to speak first he
would certainly have disgraced himself,
but Aunt Rebecca began at once.
'She's very busy just at this moment"
miss Sanford had an ugly way of say
ing ''she" or cher" when she meant her
niece, forgetting that there were any
other shes or hers in the world), land
asked me to step down and see you T.
very partial to press boys myself, Mr.
Hailstorm" (another ugly trick of hers
was to get peoples names wrong, land
I'm always glad to have a little chat
with them. Take a seat, pray. You
wanted to see her about that strike.
Well, now, really don't see how she
could say anything on that subject. She
doesn't want to pitch into Maxmann be-
cause the man really means we'll; but,
YOU know, Italian opera is an expensive
luxury. That's why it's fashionable. It'll
never be popular, though, mark my
words. English opera is what'u fetch
the people. If that child ever sings in
English opera she'll make her everlasting
fortune. tell her so, too; but they all
have foolish pride about Italian opera.
It's nonsense, arrant nonsense. The big
gest money is in the English opera, you
mark my words.
Rush had no doubt that she was cor
rect, but he hadn't come there to hear
Miss Rebecca Sanford's opinion of the
relative merits of English and Italian
opera. He was diplomatic young man,
however, and when he found that the
prospect of seeing Miss Knowlton looked
dim, he tried all his arts. When Aunt
Rcbecca, who was an impulsive woman
for all her shrewdness and brusque man
ner, learned that it was his first assign
ment, she took a personal interest, and
said he should ''see that child as sure as
there was Moses in the bulrushes, and
she left the room to fetch her.
This time there was no mistake. Rush
heard the clear notes of Miss Knowlton's
voice as she descended the stairs, and in
moment she was advancing toward
him with her hand extended. Such a
beautiful hand, tool 1t felt like a rose
leaf as it lay in his for half second.
81 am very glad to meet you, Mr..
Hurlstone, and shall be most happy if l
can be of any service to you"
Then she sat down on one side Of him
(Aunt Rebecca sat on the other), and
''took him all in," as she afterwards told
him. She saw tall, well made young
man with brown hair, clear, dark skin,
and strong, white teeth that budding
mustache made no effort to conceal. He
was certainly handsome, and he had an
easy, natural manner, that was very at
tractive.
About the strike she would rather not
say anything, but, as he had taken the
trouble to find her and did not want to
go back empty handed, she would say
that, although she did not believe in
strikes, her sympathies were with the
strikers in this instance.
"They did not strike for higher pay
she said, "but for what they had already
earned. do not, however, want to ac-
cuse Mr.. Maxmann. He had no inten-
ton of cheating them out of their money;
he only wants time. You see, Italian
opera is very expensive, and the ex-
penses are not properly apportioned.
We prime dome are not paid in the
right way. We should not get such
large certainties. l have always held
that a prima donna should be paid in
proportion to her drawing powers-a
small certainty and percentage"
"Hear that child, now!" interrupted
Aunt Rebecca, you might know that
she was an artist-no head for business
A small certainty, indeed! Who ever
heard of such thing?"
mot prima donna will venture to
say" said Helen. "No manager would
be bold enough to mention the subject
in her presence.
So they chatted on for fften or twenty
minutes.
II have been very frank with you,
Mr.. Hurlstone, said Helen, land leave
it for you to draw the line between what
l have said to you and what have said
to The Dawn. think that am perfect
ly safe in trusting myself in your hands,"
And she gave him a look of such con-
fidence that he was quite beside himself.
Both Helen and her aunt were pleased
with Rush. "When you are at the the
atre come around and see us, said Aunt
Rebecca at parting. He was SO young
and so enthusiastic that she liked him;
and then he was newspaper mani"
Rush had column of The Dawn for
his story, and it was good one. The
city editor complimented him upon it,
and told him to come inside the next day
and he would try to find him n desk. So