The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1891-08-28
,eat the introductions While T was saw

peat the introductions. While was say
ing few last words to Mr.. Spence in
regard to the sort of instruction was to
receive from Mr. Fleisch, Paul Barr con-
versed with my father, laying down the
law III his most superb fashion regarding
the Immense fortune in store for any one
who would start what he called a fig
farm IN this country. Although | had
never heard him breach a business mat
ter before. he seemed entirely familiar
with his subject, and fairly bristled with
statistics and calculations to prove the
soandness Of his theory, gardeners to the
contrary Notwithstanding My father
listened to him patiently, and seemed to
be amused Aunt Helen sat apart with
a reserved. patrician air
My two callers took their leave to-
gether, and when the front door closed
my father said loosely:
who are your friends, Virginia?
hope they have not been persuading you
to invest in fig farm.
blushed, renem bering my former
design of specializing with Mr.. Dale, of
which, however my father had no
knowledge 49,"
Both are literary men of high repu-
tation," answered quietly, though | had
an instructive feeling that my father
would make sport of this assertion. But
experience had taught me that with him
it was best to, call a spade spade.
THAT accounts for it. thought the
gentleman in velveteen had screw
loose somewhere" he said. as he passed
out of the room.
"Well, Virginia" exclaimed Aunt
Helen when we were alone, whom have
you picked up now?'
81 don't understand you," said l.
who areythese young men who were
here just They are foreigners, on
their own Observation-Disclosures My
own belief is that they have gypsy blood
in their veins, for what can one know Of
the antecedents of persons who come
from small German principally? They
don't even claim to be counts, and any
one with the, smallest pretext to respect
ability in that part of the world is a
count at leastao They look to me as if
they had Dean-,,on the stage, especially
the one to whom you were talking. |
will do him the justice to say he Is a
handsome wretch, but like ali those for
eign adventures he has dissipated air.
As for the other, he is simply common
place and vulgar, with little upstart rad
ical notions. -
WAITED Tor her TO finish before reply
;41~ II, hot RI,
Spence and Mr. Barr are both literary
men Of high standing They are neither
of them foreigners, but were born in this
state. By Bohemian Mr.. Spence meant
the literary and artistic fraternity in
general, Aunt Helen. He is a philoso
pher as well as poet, and Mr.. Barr
paints pictures in addition to his other
work"
''But who are they? Where do they
come from? 1t is all very well to say
they were born in this country. But
who and what are their parents? Spence
-Spence-I never heard the name in my
life. There were some Bars who used
to live in the next street to us when
your mother and were young; but thew
were all girls, and as remember them,
ordinary"
when men have acquired fame it is
hardly necessary to inquire if they be-
long to the best families | rejoined
borrowing q leaf from Aunt Agnes book.
SIT is one thing to admire the works
of genius and another to have it tram
| posing over your house. YoT. acquaint
ances are, dare say, well enough as
poets and philosophers, but don't SCI
what that has to do with you You arr
neither poet nor philosopher, and yor
will fatter them much mere by buying
their books than by asking them to five
o'clock tea. must say that, philosopher
or no philosopher, the young man wht
was talking with me has very strange
IDEAS Just think Of his advocating CO
operative housekeeping, and marriage
before justice of the peace. Ifancy
too, that he is lax in his religious opin
ions. If he is your idea of a desirable
acquaintance to invite to your house,
am sorry for it. You never got any sucl
notions from my side of the family"
''It is useless to talk with you if you
go off at a tangent, Aunt Helen," said l
Il am proud to call both those young
men my friends, and they are vastly su
perior in every way to nine-tenths o
those one meets in society. Mr.. Spence
whose ideas you think SO peculiar, is on
of the ablest scientists in the country, ant
am going to take lessons in his philoso
ply from one of his assistants. AS toll
you the other day, am tired of fritter
ing away my time in nonsense"
land as told you the other day, Vir
ginia, go on as you have begun, and w
shall hear of you presently on the stage
That Mr.. Barr might pass in a drawing
room on account of his picturesqueness
if he were to brush his hair; but tn
other one is simply a ,gawk, to be plain
Science, indeed! Don't come in few
weeks to ask me to believe that we ar
all descended from monkeys or an
other stuff, for shan't do it. That
what call nonsense; and you will dis
cover some day that most people VIII
have any self respect are of my way Q
thinking"
had never known Aunt Helen to b
so excited, but there was nothing to b
done. Society and etiquette were he
household gods; and by ceasing to VOL
ship the same divinities | had draw
uno, myself the ful1 energy of her dis