The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1902-11-15
Seleet Stnrp.
HER MOTHER'S PRIVATE SECRETARY.
From Good Housekeeping.

Miriam said Mrs. Oldfeld, "there
is just one more letter to write. | have
left it till the last because it will let you
into family secret; very happy one,
dear.
The mother smiled fondly at her hand
some daughter, who sat in low chair at
her side. The girl s face flushed, she
bent her head over note book which lay
in her lap, and turned a pencil nervously
between her fingers. The soft autumn
breeze from the open window blew her
brown hair into tendrills, and it clustered
softly about her white neck The mother
sat for moment, watching rosy flush
ebb up to the white forehead.
''Is there no chance for Arthur, Mi
riam p she asked gently.
The girl lifted her head with an haugh-
ty gesture-it was an odd movement which
characterized her as child The mother
had often laughed at it in the little girl !;
now the pose seemed to belong superbly to
the tall, splendid woman. Miriam looked
into the loving eyes bent upon her and
shook her head with perfect decision.
Mrs. Oldfeld smiled.
"Well to the letter, DEAR she said :.
"Address it to Robinson W. Hawley,
ESQ.,, 242 St. James Building, New
York. y
Miriam's fingers moved quiveringly
across the paper
"My Dear Mr.. Hawley." )"
Mrs. Qldfeld paused and put her hand
across her eyes as it she were thinking.
''This is not an easy letter to write,
Miriam. 1t is hard to give away one of
your own, no matter how much you trust
a man.
The girl sat gazing into the sunshiny
garden.
cit is just like one of mother droll,
original little tricks to break the news to
me in this fashion, she thought. "Moth-
er never does anything as one would expect
her to. - A smile hovered about her lips
while she put into rapid shorthand charac
acters her mother dictation.
II can assure you, my dear Mr.. Haw
ley, of the complete surprise your letter
brought to me. OF course, I say yes,
since the happiness of one SO near and so
dear to me is bound up in such an answer.
No one SO we'll as | can tell you how wisely
you have chosen wife. The loss in our
home of one who is SO dearly loved can
not yet realize, but I know that when |
give you my sister Elizabeth, L"
Miriam dropped her pencil and gazed at
her mother with a whitening face. She
sprang suddenly to her feet. The note
book fell to the floor.
s'Mother r. she cried, with a long,
sobbing breath, "do you mean Elizabeth
our Elizabeth
eyes, DEAR said Mrs. Old6eld,
'thadn't you guessed it !?
Elizabeth p The girl
question was a piteous whisper.
"My daughter p cried the mother,
sswhat's the matter p
Miriam had sunk upon the low chair.
The mother drew her gently to her arms
as if she were child again and caressed
the ripping brown hair.
Doesn't it make you happy, Miriam?"
she asked. II think it would, dear, if
you knew him as well as we do
"He is-he is not worthy of Aunt
Elizabeth r cried the girl passionately.
Miriam, what do you know about Mr..
Hawley? You never have met him. .
81 know-but nobody is good enough
for Aunt Elizabeth. Mother, please ex-
cuse your private secretary. I'm going
for tramp. I've got to be used to be
left alone in the family"
Mrs. Old6eld sat gazing down the coun-
try road after the retreating figure of her
daughter. Miriam was creature of
moods, occasionally thoughtful, but oftener
merry and radiating sunshine. "Was it
jealousy ?" thought the mother wonder
ingly. Her sister Elizabeth, who was
only two years older than her own daugh
ter, had come into her home at their
mother death and the children had grown
up together with such bond of affection
as exists between few sisters. Mrs Old
field had rare wisdom in the training of
In Elizabeth she found one
The child cared for moth
ing but music. So every advantage had
been gived her. Her own daughter had
shown such wonderful love of house
keeping that in her training the mother
carried out some thoroughly original ideas
As soon as the little girl learned to write
she had proudly taken the
place of her mothers private secretary.
When invitations had to be sent out they
we're written in a big, bold childish hand.
The housekeeping accounts were balanced
each week in the same uniformed chiro-
graphy, but with the neatness of an ex-
perienced bookkeeper. Social notes and
family correspondence were frequently
trusted to the enthusiastic little girl. Be-
fore she went into high school she had be-
gun to make herself Indispensable to her
mother, from whom club circles and socie-
ty exacted large dues In school the girl
added eagerly to her other studies portion
of business education and domestic
science training. Her one thought was
now to make herself as valuable as posi-
Die, her mothers private secretary. She
lad returned from her four years at col
L