The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1903-09-11

ing to say sonnet ing, { didn't have
~ aa5aaHasearatpsayit b. Manys tho
| t eN I've j thin ~ at were well
fth sal Rg, but I d mt dare say
IN for kear IF akin| some mistake
before your mothers friends"
Sympathetic Stephen felt suddenly
sorry for his poor, hampered grand
mother, who, indeed, always sat dumb
when. there was :. company. although
Stephen had not suspected the reason.
If your father hadn't had to leave
school when, he did," continued, the
[7wise old lady, '"'-'twould haye been
Edollars in his pocket He. had to learn
Fittings when he was man grown that
fmost ten-year-old boys know nova
[days.' =. : -. - ~" 's -:
b. 1--WE lost friends that I'd have been
Eglad to keep, only Il Was afraid they'd
EHnd out wasn't educated if wrote
Ego them 4 had q letter from Horace
EE1reeley. once, when l. was a. girl, and,I
kfouldn't read it.. I used to know him
[EfWetl, and would have answered that
Eletfer, but didn't: know how. J
Efouldn t :spelrmuch more than MY own
Ename those days. T. ~~:A :. ~ =: =,
f. Stephen thought of his own spelling
ERnd. blushed. He remembered uneasuy:
at he had written notes: to: some. of
Ethe high-school girls in the past, and
Efhat Bessie Smith. had .giggled over
EAers - =
f. Did Stephen Write this?' asked Mr..
||!xsWard, holding Up a sheet,of paper that
ME had found on his mothers. table
BRne day, while looking for a maya
|A8lne. .9-}1iiu.2. .sstyn,ssh.J oEs,s 4c:as'e
"Yes," said Grandma Ward.
@ "Why, that's better business lette,
F can write to-day: His teachers
|sdnust have been mistaken about him"
81: "Oh. no.; they weren't" said Grand
EE1na. Wards with a: twinkle in her eye.
EEStHe.s improved lately: He is now my:
IaYriyate secretary" -. -, -: ...-
~ Your what?" gasped Mr.. Ward, .
Ex my private secretary. I've started
Ia business college for his benefit
{: "YOu!": !" = -: i'.~'-
rs eyes, Robert Common sense makes
E,np for the lack of education sometimes,
Ealthough I wouldn't admit that to.
Stephen" .... -
"He ought to be in school," said, Mr..
Ward.
- "Never you mind about that" said
Grandma Ward. you won't be able
( TO keep him out Of sch DOL by this time
:iext year. Letter-writing isn't the
.enly thing I'm teaching him.,
: Il won't interfere said Mr.. Ward,
[:fbut l have my doubts about his ever
Liking school,"
t.. There were times when Grandma
Ward, too, had doubts. If Stephen
lad not been genuinely fond of his
grandmother, the good woman, shrewd
IS she was, would have failed in her
curious Undertaking. AS :. it was,
stephen swelled with pride when. he
1thought how indispensable. he was to
his poor, dependent grandmother. No
/ one else had ever made him feel that
|.he was Indispensable, and he thor
-oughly enjoyed the novel sensation.
Grandma Ward continued to lie
awake at night to concuct business for
Stephen to attend to. ias, thetdaytimf.
She saw with delight that when par.
tfularly knotty problem came UP,
Stephen turned, as last resort, to his
hAted' textbooks for the solution of
the difficulty:
with Infinite tact she made him feel
at every turn how poorly he was
equipped for any, sort. of a business
career. =.
%"Grandma," said Stephen, looking
up from the dictionary one winter
night, you can keep secret, know,
for you never told anyone about that
| awful pipe. Don't say a word about
this to others until I'm safe out of the
: house; but I've made up my mind to
go back to school in the morning.
There's lot of things I've just got to
Know more about. l believe some part
of my brain has been taking a nap.
Things seem more interesting than
they used to. I believe could catch
up with the class if l. tried. -.
And he caught up before the next
teFm ended.-Youth' Companion.