The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1897-04-01
A PAPER FAMINE.
Bv MARY HARTWELL OATHERW0OD
fConvrieht,s 1896, by tho Author.]

xubisnorcd Marlctta BrlttIcS, rising
from beside tho old hair trunk in her
prandfathcr's garret. Once upon timo
she had found n 3 cent piece in crack
of that trunk. But half Saturdays
probing with a knitting needle failed to
find such treasure again. 1t is hard to
be / years old and an orphan and the
genius Of your town all at once, for
when you arc II, particularly if you are
an orphan, people have ceased to call
you dear little thing Only your IA
ther and mother know what you need
much moro than food and clothes.
To be praised at school and be called
poctcSs by ladies with albums may bo
fine thing, but n genius even ut is
lonesome animal, with crying wants
which tho people around him do not
hear.
The attic echoed that cry. of which
it was perhaps as tired as Mariotta's
folks down stAirs, "Oh, do wish had
some papcrV'
One golden day, when the schoolmas-
ter praised her compositions, Grandfn-
ther Brittlcs had put his hand in his
pocket and bought her five foolScap
sheets. They were an oily, blue kind,
which took ink reluctantly, but sho
made book out of them, "Tho Hor-
mtcss Of Marston Moor" 1t lay now
in tho old trunk by tho sido of tan
colorcd epic written on wrapping paper
and called "Thc Indian Poctcss." " Her
Golfer of treasures also held u number of
poems and short stories, varying in
length from MI inch to n quarter of Il
yard. Besides her fathers leather note
books were there, his medical lectures
all afont in tho stories his daughter had
written around thcm Marietta could
not afford paragraphs She wrote in ono
thick block, punctnating nicely, hut
making no breaks for conversation. She
could only admire the spacing of tales
in print and muse on the wealth of
writers. People who wrote like that
must have loads of paper 10 this littlo
girl riches took tho form of creamy,
smooth stacks Of foolscap
Once her cousin from college mado
her an hcircss with all his scraps Of
pink, blue, green, huir and ivory white
note paper. Such golden days como sol
dom in Il lifetime. Sho ought to have
hid somo of this windfall and denied
herself the lavish use of it, SO "The
Knight and tho Lady, would not have
10 ride around and around in her head
III repeated stanzas without Il blank
page to receive them.
The poetry about Mrs. Bopos baby
WAS written Oh the very last pink scrap.
Marietta wished ink could bo wiped Off.
But while shc was ruing sho recollcctct
rS
mcnt for any piece of writing whic}
Marietta might bring her. 1t was no
pleasant to do poetry to order, yet sh
had enjoyed writing about that doar
dead baby. only she did not want Il
rcnd it to the mother.
Tho forco of her promise and th
chance of Mrs. Bopc's having writin,
paper to uso as currency took suddol
hold Of her.
She oprncd the trunk and took on,
tho pink baby poem, and hid it in hc1
pocket with the loving shame Of authors,
ana went down stairs to ask if she might
60 to Mrs. Bope's
grandmother Brttlcs and the two
young aunts were sitting straight III
their chairs. making over muslin gowns
winch had to bo handled carefully.
sometimes Marietta really wished sho
was not Brittlcs. 1t seemed SO hard to
nVo III tho largest house in town on the
smallest income. If she were ono of the
Smith or Burden girls, she could u,
cheertully earning money to buy pnpc,
with. But the BrttlcS wcro old st0cl
ana great people in their ncighborhood
Brlttlrs would be II pattern of gcntil
lty If he starved at it.
The grandmother said Marietta might
90 TO Mrs. Bopo's, and her aunts told
her not 10 run her shoes over and cut
tho upprrS. She could walk instead
or ruil--Which strained leather and
started the pcgs--und sho must not take
h'r Sulibonnct off to slap any school.
mate with it. She could play tag with
her naked hand. A chiId's hands arc
tougher than much washed calico.
Marietta went to Mrs. Bopcs without
any desire to run. She usually liked to
play that she was IN Indian princess
rnShIhg on fleet moccasins through her
native woods, and there was not n girl
Ill school who was swiftcr on foot. But
She stood ut Mrs. Bopes gate, smelling
tho sweet brier which climbed thc
-A'A'" "iti' (lTpau Gl0t she
could not herself understand
Marctta never asked anybody to listen
TO what she had written. She Thought
OF herself MS two little girls, ono within
the other. The outside girl was Il romn.
ing, hearty creature, very we'll satisfied
with life on the playground. The inside
elrl was eager for some world of libra.
f'cS ana gentle spoken men and women.
world i'll which sho might meet and
Sh!'y gaze upon Nathaniel Hawthorne
and Washington Irving and tho uront
poet Longfollow. Tho inside girl hated
TO write III ladies' albums and only did
so because GRANDMOTHER Brittlos said if
would be impolitc to refuse. She d;S
not expect anybody else to be Interested
III what so delighted hor Itnow seemed
to be tho inside girl who hesitated nj
Mrs Bopo's gate, half minded to 90
back and stuff tho baby poem in some
crack of the old trunk.
But Mrs, Bone sau bor o,,l ~ .,