Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1894-01-11

Tor all. Lave a cigarette. pa!
mo, thank you. never smoke in the
morning"
No? Perhaps you don't care for the
brand What are these, Clara?"
Egyptians"
"Ah, we must have some Richmond
Gems or Turkish. wish, pa, when you
go into town you would get me some
Turkish"
II will do nothing of the kind. | dc
not at all think that it is fitting habit
for young ladies. | do not agree with
Mrs. Westmacott upon the point"
Really, pa! 1t was you who advised
us to initiate her"
But with discrimination. What is it
that you are drinking, Clara?'
Rum, papa"
Rum? In the morning?" He sat down
and rubbed his eyes as one who tries to
shake off some evil dream. did you
say rum?"
Eyes, pa. They all drink it in the pro-
fession which am going to take up"
Profession, ClaraT
MRS. Westmacott says that every
woman should follow calling, and that
we ought to choose those which women
have always avoided"
Quite So"
well, / am going to act upon her ad-
vice. | am going to be pilot"
My dear Clara! A pilot? This is too
much"
''This is a beautiful book, papa. The
Lights, Beacons, Buoys, Channels and
Landmarks of Great Britain Here is
another, The Master Mariners Hand
book You can't imagine how interest
ing it is"
'You are joking, Clara. You must
be joking"
Mot at all. pa. You can't think what
a lot / baEe learned already. I'm to
carry a green light to starboard and a
red to port, with a white light at the
masthead, and flare up every 10 minutes. +"
"Oh, won't it look pretty at night"
cried her sister.
'.And | know the fog signals. One
blast means that ship steers to star
board, two to port, three astern, four
that it is unmanageable. But this man
asks such dreadful questions at the end
of each chapter. Listen to this: You
see red light. The ship is on the port
tack and the wind at north. What
course is that ship steering to point?'
The doctor rose with a gesture of de-
spair. Il can't imagine what has come
over You both," said he.
"My dear papa, we are trying hard to
live up to Mrs. Westmacott's standard"
well, must say that l do not ad-
mire the result. Your chemistry, Ida,
may perhaps do no harm, but your
scheme, Clara, is out of the question.
How girl of your sense could ever en-
tertain such notion is more than l can
imagine. But must absolutely forbid
you to go further with it."
But, pa" asked Ida, with an air of in
nocent inquiry in her big blue eyes,
what are We to do when your COM
mands and Mrs. Westmacott's advice are
opposed? You told us to obey her. She
says that when women try to throw off
their shackles their fathers, brothers and
husbands are the very first to try to
rivet them on again, and that in such
matter no man has any authority"
"Does Mrs Westmacott teach you that
l am not the head of my own house%
The doctor flushed, and his grizzled hair
bristled in his anger.
Certainly. She says that all heads of
houses are relics of the dark ages"
The doctor muttered something and
stamped his foot upon the carpet. Then
without word he passed out into the
garden, and his daughters could see him
striding furiously up and down, cutting
off the heads of the flowers with a
switch.
''Oh, you darling! You played your
part SO splendidlyI' cried Ida.
"But how cruel it isl When saw the
sorrow and surprise in his eyes, very
nearly put my arms about him and told
him all. Don't you think we have done
enough"
mo, no, no. Not nearly enough. You
must not turn weak now, Clara. It is so
funny that should be leading you. 1t
is quite new experience. But l know
that am right. If we go on as we are
doing, we shall be able to say all our
lives that we have saved him. And if
we don't, oh, Clara, we should never for
give ourselves"