Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1904-01-09
THE QUIET LIFE

cultured East and settled In 4 little
trans Mississippi town as professor OF
mathematics in Blockit College.
~Mr. Anders." said President Or
son. as he met the newcomer at the
steamboat dock, 81 shall be glad 70
have you make your home at our
house. We are rough and crude here
In the West, and perhaps you may
feel more at home with US than else
where"
.sThank you, sir" said Prof An
ders, a tall, thin young man with
small brown side whiskers and seri-
Gus face. you offer pleasant solu-
ton to a problem which has perplex-
ed me greatly"
Prof. Anders moved his chest OF
books and his trunk into two rooms
on the second door OF President or
sons cottage. There he settled down
to a lifetime of teaching trigono-
metry. solid geometry and the higher
mathematics.
Before he was forty the irreverent
students of Blockit College called
him ''Old Zeke," and loved him as the
personification of all that was scnol-
arly, gentle and unworldly
When Prof Anders first came to
live in the home of President Orson
the other occupants of the house were
the president, his wife and their
daughter and only child. Alice, then
a happy little girl of eight. From the
beginning the professor and Alice
were friends and ehums.
The professor read her little verses,
| told her wonderful tales or fairies,
and on one occasion at least was de-
tected down on all fours, with Miss
Alice mounted in state upon his back.
Hes a lion," explained the little
girl. as the professor scrambled up in
embarrassment from the floor, "and
I'm the lion tanner"
Which was, perhaps, nearer the
truth than she imagined.
When Prof. Anders had lived in the
house ten years Miss Alice was q
beautiful. blooming girl OF eighteen.
AS the professor saw her budding into
womanhood he started to shrink back
| into his shell. But the girl would
not allow it, She insisted on remain
| ing in her old position of friendly inti-
macy. and even went so far as to dis
cover an unexpected fondness for the
problems of higher mathematics.
Twenty years went by without at all
disturbing the relations of the four
dwellers under the Orson roof.
Miss Alice, mature woman OF
| twenty-eight, was looked upon as a
maiden lady who had deliberately
chosen that part in life. She was
even more beautiful than in the hey
day of her youth, and she took an ac-
| tive part in all the social life OF the
little college town.
Then suddenly, came the deluge.
| President Orson died suddenly, and
his wife, stricken by the shock, sur
vived him only a month, leaving Miss
Alice an orphan Prof Anders felt
| that his little world had been shaken
TO pieces by a CONFUSION of nature.
| For a week after the funeral of Mrs.
| Orson he was even more absent-mind-
| ed than usual. Then one evening he
sat down at his desk in the corner
| of his sitting room and wrote the fol.
| lowing letter:
Dear Miss Alice: We-or at least
I-are confronted with a most seri-
Gus and perplexing problem. ! real.
ize the improperly of my remaining
longer in your house now that you
are without your natural protectors.
At the same time l feel strong. and,
/ believe, a natural reluctance to re-
move myself and my possessions from
| their accustomed surroundings. This
| feeling has taken a most compelling
| hold upon me and makes me bold
enough to suggest that possibly you,
to some extent, may also be reluctant
to see old associations broken by re-
moval If | am right in this sugges-
ton, may l venture to suggest further
that if you could see your way clear
| to a matrimonial alliance, with myself
as one of the parties, l should feel
myself honored far beyond my de-
serts, and at the same time the prob
lem which confronts us would be
| solved.
Awaiting your reply with more
than my usual impatience, l beg to
remain your most obedient servant,
ezekiel ANDERS."
Having folded this letter and in
| closed it in a stamped envelope ad.
dressed to Miss Alice orson, the pro-
fessor slipped out Of the house. and.
with many a glance behind to see if
he was observed, dropped it into the
mail box two blocks away.
Next morning the professor left the
house an hour before the mail car.
| rier arrived, and he sent home word
| during the afternoon that he would
| not return for dinner in the evening
When he finally let himself in the
house was in darkness. But on his
desk he found the following note:
Dear Professor: l am glad that
your mathematical training has put
you on the track of the only reason
able solution of the problem which
'confronts us. / shall be glad to see
you before your classes in the morn
ing"
Well. three months later they were