The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-08-21
THE TOWN BICYCLE.
BY ALICE w. ROLLINS.

! It was not that Miss Matilda was
tired of her sphere. She simply hae
never had one. It occurred to bei
somewhat late in life that it would b;
pleasant to have a definite object ir
view, and if it should prove to b'
spherical by nature so much the better
Un1eiiish always, hers was no personn'
aim. She did not crave culture, nor
profession, nor a husband, nor any
thing that could be hers. She wished
to do something for the world. The
world, of course, meant Boxton.
There was one difficulty. She did
not like to admit the present existence
of flaw in Boxton. To try to improve
it would imply that it needed improy-
ing, and Miss Matilda had always con
sidered the village of Boxton quite per
feet of it's kind. What did it not possess:
1t had a meeting house with q spire.
schoolhouse, a fire company with red
shirts and buckets, a common, gro
Gerry store with one corner in it for a
post office, and even a small circulating
library, emanating from the "sittin-
ROOM of Maria Follansbee. Miss Ma
tilda would not have advocated the ac-
lquisftion of anything which might
have been had before, but which Box
ton had been without. The acquisition
OF something new, however, some
thing which other towns never had had
till recently, seemed to offer no insult
to the past, and to be merely a proper
Difference to the present and a noble
legacy to hand down to the future.
! Such thing was the bicycle.
True, no one in town could afford TO
buy bicycle. What was worse, Boa1-
ton had no leisure class able to devote
Saturday afternoons to the enjoyment
of bicycle. No, it was certain that no
individual in Boxton was well adapted
for the bicycle craze.
Rut the town, as a town? Why not
have public bicycle, as we have pub
lie library or q public school? The
town could own it; the people could
hire it by the hour, and Boxton hold up
it's head with the cities that had boule-
wards. True, the dreadful thought did
cross her mind that if ever such day
did arrive, everybody would want the
bicycle on the same afternoon, and
there would be only one. However, she
decided that sufficient unto that day
was the evil thereof. Her duty was to
provide the bicycle. Others might
quarrel over it as they pleased.
A bicycle was expensive, she knew
that. And they could not increase the
town taxes, and they had no village
millionaire to subscribe the whole
amount. But they could give straw
berry festival, and the children could
pick huckleberries, and she, she-Mlss
Matilda-could take n boarder.
She had often thought it pity not
to take boarders in the roomy, old
fashioned house, with the neighborine
woods, and the splendid well, and tn
fine apples, and the excellent croqu"'
ground Admirable woman that she
was, she had never regretted that Ger
tain aristocratic sense of fitness II
reigning supreme over such a mansion
had cut her off from adding another
source to her income; but she had al
ways been haunted with a sincere sym
pathy for the boarder that might have
been, cut off from the splendid privilege
of dwelling, even for few weeks, i'll
the green pastures of Boxton. Now
however, that she had q motive out
side herself, and outside any personal OF
individual prejudices in favor of other
towns, she felt justified, for the honor
of Boxton, in assuming the role OF
compensated hostess.
It was Samuel Barstow who first
checked her enthusiasm.
"Is it a-goin' to be a feller's or gals
wheel?" he asked suddenly.
Miss Matilda was startled-she had
not known there We're two kinds-but
only for moment.
'Both," she answered, firmly.
For in the brief instant of shock she
had decided to take two boarders. She
had always wanted to, and now 1t wa:
her duty to.
So a few evenings later there ap
peared in city paper the advertise
ment:
"Wanted-A boarder with q bicycle
For with true New England thrift
Miss Matilda had no sooner decided OF
boarder than it occurred to her wha
saving it would be if the boardel
should bring a bicycle with him. Thl!
would serve the double purpose.of in
spring the village by frequent exhi
bitions of the wheel in motion, anC
save the expense of their having t.
take lessons when their own town bi
cycle should finally be installed in
Hence it happened that Graham'
johnson read in the evening paper
"Wanted-a boarder with bicycle"
1t tickled his fancy. He could answer
all the requirements. He had Away
been a boarder, and he had recently
bought bicycle. But what was thei
idea? Would they want to borrow th'
bicycle? Or did they want boarde
with an object in life that would keel
him most of the time away from home
and therefore away from meals? A
any rate, it was worth finding out. H.
might, at least, secure material for ;
New England dialect story. So few
days later he took part of the journe,
by rail and the rest on his wheel. Hat
he known Miss Matilda's preference fo
boarder in simplicity of costume h
could not have looked tireder, hotter o
dustier than he did when finally he az
peared at her front door. 1t was an at
fractive front door-that is, it woult
have been if 1t had been standing opel
into the wide hall, with the breath o
June and June roses blowing through il
But at the moment it was shut fast, ant