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

| }
into family secret; very happy one,
dear"
The mother smiled fondly at her hand,
some daughter who sat in a low chair al
her side. The girls face flushed, she
bent her head over a note book which lay
in her lap, and turned a pencil nervously
between her fingers. The soft autumn
breeze from the open window blew hel
brown hair into tendrills, and it clustered
softly about her white neck. The mother
sat for a moment, watching a rosy flush
ebb up to the white forehead.
lis there no chance for Arthur, Mi.
riam p she asked gently.
The girl lifted her head with an haugh
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
Miriam's fingers moved quiveringly
across the paper
"My Dear Mr. Hawley'
Mrs Oldfeld 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 mothers drol,
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.
81 can assure you, my dear Mr.. Haw
ley, of the complete surprise your letter
brought to me- OF course, | 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, /"
Miriam dropped her pencil and gazed at
her mother with whitening face. She
sprang suddenly to her feet. The note
book fell to the floor.
"Mother r. she cried, with long,
sobbing breath, ''do you mean Elizabeth
our Elizabeth-?'
eyes, DEAR said Mrs. Oldfeld,
"hadn't you guessed it?'
My-aunt-Elizabeth p The girl s
question was piteous whisper.
"My daughter p cried the mother,
"what' the matter y
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 we'll as we do
"He is-he is not worthy of Aunt
Elizabeth p cried the girl passionately
miriam, what do you know about Mr..
Hawley? You never have met him. y
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. Oldfeld 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
| children. In Elizabeth she found one
temperament. The child cared for moth
ing but music So every advantage had
been gived her. Her own daughter had
shown such a 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
intelligently she had proudly taken the
place of her mothers private secretary.
When invitations had to be sent out they
were written in 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
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