Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-09-07


But in a world that's all my own.
BY Arthur Macy.
THE REWARD OF GLADIOLA.
In the first place her name wasn't
Gladiola at all-it was just Gladys
Brown common name enough, es-
pecially Brown. 1t was that ridicu-
lous Miss Graham, the history teach
er, who called her Gladiola, just to
make her more conceited. And she
hasn't anything to be conceited about,
either We all knew she didn't pay
any fees, but that Mrs. Peel, the prin-
cipal, let her come for nothing, just
because she used to go to school with
her mother. q mean Mrs. Peel used
to, of course.)
Gladiola thought a whole lot Of her
hair. OF course she did, or why dld
she brush it so long every night? !
wouldn't have had it as gift IL 1t
did reach below her waist. 1t was
red!
Then we all knew she thought her.
self smart. What was the use OF her
pretending she didn't when she took
good care to get all the prizes Mrs.
Peel ever let one girl get? You could
only get three at that school. IT you
got three that disqualified you from
trying for any more. 1t always seemed
to me 1t was better not to get any,
and then you weren't disqualified.
And if you weren't disqualified, what
was to hinder you from trying for the
whole lot? Elsie-she's my roommate
says l don't see it because haven't
got mathmetacil-I mean mathemat-
ical-mind Well, don't want one.
But don't seem to be getting on
very fast, and what want to write
about is the reward Gladys Q'm not
going to call her Gladiola) got for not
trying for that third prize. Now that
was one of the oldest things that
ever happened in That school, and 1t
lust shows what crank Mrs. Peel
was, She and Miss Graham used to
urge lis to try-used to say how
pleased our parents would be. II
you'd nice, exciting book, and hadn't
read your history over nor worked
your examples, they were sure to
say: Think how pleased your dear
mother would be if you were to win
the so-and-so prize" They called 1T
stimulating their ambition" when
they talked us over. Elsie told me
this, for she heard them say it one
day.
forget where left off-oh, |
know. About the prize they gave
Gladys for not trying-for not trying!
As Elsie said, what did they want to
go and do that for, when there were
three or four of us WHO had never
tried for any? But none of us got any
reward. 1 believe they wrote Does
not apply" on our reports home.
1t was about ten weeks before the
summer holidays when she came
Lottie l mean, of course, because the
rest of us had been there all the year
She was thirteen, and that was young
err than any other girl in the school
she was slow, too, and didn't know
| Just one thing she was up in, and
| that was one of Mrs. Peel's fads, too
Mrs. Peel had good many, but myth
ology was the first. She used to give
us AN oral examination in it every
other Wednesday. Oh, how we hated
it,. She didn't give you any time tc
think, and if you couldn't answer
and they were generally such silly
questions that you couldn't-well, she
looked at you! So did Miss Graham
So did some of the girls, the studying
set Elsie and l weren't in that. II
was at these examinations that We
saw now conceited Gladys was. She
always made point of answering
| every question. AS Elsie said, it was
too monotonous. l didn't even lister
to them. don't think it's right to be
studying about things that haven
any sense As Elsie says, we all know
these gods never existed at all, ant
if you learn about them you are
learning nothing. That's not what oul
parents sent us to school for! So
when Mrs. Peel asked about Baldul
and Aphrodite and Fricka and Pene
lope and Persephone, and things like
that, plan out Ely next new hat.
was doing that this day, and hat
Just decided upon snowy ostrich tip!
and palest pink velvet. done into littlt
shells, when Elsie whispered: Say
She doesn't know! Gladys doesn'
know"
OF course, l left the hat and cam,
back to earth. 1t was true. Mrs. Pee
stood up at her desk, spectacles OF
nose, and Gladys stood up at hers
and she didn't know. hadn't hear
the question, but know the answer
For that shabby little Lottie pipe
up:
II know, Mrs. Peel. Wotan mad
her SOS she wasn't goddess an
more-I mean a Walkyrie-any more
COS he got SO mad at her."
Gladys smiled at her. call that s.
hypocritical. No one can like to hav
anyone else know more than you dc
Mrs. Peel smiled, too, and asked tn
child some more questions. 1t turne
out that she'd been shut up with 10
of old books on mythology. and ha
read them till she knew them bach
ward. / believe she could have pui
zled Mrs. Peel herself. But that wa
all she knew, though. Her writin
and spelling were simply awful.
The p+izes were generally book