The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-01-23

L------- case Beulah has
chosen wisely. Genius has more rights
in some ways, and in some it has less.
She shouldn't feel that she is free to
fold her talent in a napkin; she doesn't"
NO, nc" murmured little Mrs. Gar
ner. but it seems mighty hard and
and difficult, doesn't it? Do you think
she minded giving him up very much?
They had been engaged so long," she
added apologetically.
She's absorbed in her art" replied
Miss Nancy impressively. Her life is
consecrated to it,
The pair were sitting in Miss Nam
cy's fat in Ninety street, and
the room in itself was a biography.
The walls We're hung with what Miss
Nancy called (and l capitalize accord,
Ing to her sentimenN Ancestral Por-
traits-hye of them, and wonderful
things they were. In one corner was
a tiny brown old Erard piano. the first
Erard ever made, l should think. 1t
was still capable of sending forth an
odd, pleasant eighteenth century-like
tinlle. Some battered old pieces of sill
er, cake basket and teapot taking
the honors, stood in solemn dignity on
the elaborate. shiny, new hardwood
mantelpiece.
Miss Nancy Rutledge was an elderly
and unmarried lady, but if you allow
yourself to turn toward her any of
your usual sighting and condescend-
ing sentiments for spinsters you are
offering her the first patronage she ev-
er received in this world. Miss Nancy,
in the kindest, most unconscious way,
patronized creation. Never out of the
south was an unmarried woman so
generally and simply allowed preced-
ence over all matrons as was given
Miss Nancy in her own world. It was
not that these southernerS loved mar
riage less-far from it-but that they
loved intellect more, and intellect was
what Miss Nancy tacitly and firmly
claimed to have. was supposed to have
and did have, the amount thereof in
question declining slightly with each
successive step of this statement.
Miss Nancy had come north to live
plaudits of admiring friends, and their
prayers and plaudits had echoed
around her throughout the five years
In which she had gallantly triumphed
over bankruptcy in New York. In that
time she had played many parts; she
had written for the papers, had taught
mathematics in school, had assisted
m, hn
cunious paper devoted, as its title page
stated, to developing the resources of
the south and had given lectures on
the history of Virginia in the parlors
of some rich people who could never
forget-though sometimes sorely tempt
ed-that they were born south of Ma
son and DiXon's line, and of late, in
the midst of work upon life of Gen
eral Lee, for the southern subscription
trade, she had found new resource
in the care of small portion of that
army of southern girls which is now
constantly encamped among us. She
had three in the house with her and
devoted some attention to several liv-
ing elsewhere. The Office of chaperon
suited Miss Nancy. According to her,
all girls were lovely, most of them
beautiful-'perfect bellies at home"-
and the pleasure of deyoting her stores
of garnered wisdom to their service re-
newed her joy in life. She was benev-
olent, sincerely so, and believed. with
good showing of reason, in her pow
er to guide and instruct humanity at
large and also was humanity suscepti-
ble to the charms of appreciation The
very groundwork of Miss Nancy's
claims was common sense. You could
see that in every line of her matronly
figure and hear it in every note of her
pleasant, hearty voice. and in her large
featured face and bright gray eyes
common sense was enthroned.
But, contrary to popular prejudice
human beings are constantly rendered
unknown quantities by the possession
of quite contradictory qualities, and
Miss Nancy, to tell the truth. had beer
subject in her life to n few enthusi
asms which left her common sense