Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1905-10-13

me, but the stage
Oh, the gentle courtesy Of his man.
ner! loved his solicitude. Father
hungry girls like us, Maggie, know
how to value a thing like that.
"You know | said, slowly, ''the
thing that keeps woman straight and
a man faithful is not matter Of bricks
and mortar nor ways of thinking nor
habits of living. It's something finer
and stronger than these. It's the
magic taboo of her love for him and
his for her that makes them-sacred.
With that to guard :hem-WhV-"
Eyes, yes" he patted my hand soft.
ly. Still, the old see the dangers Of
an environment that young and i'm
pulsiye woman like you, my dear,
might be blind to. Your associates"
My associates? Oh, you've heard
about Beryl Blackburn. Well-she's-
she's just Beryl, you know. She
wasn't made to live any different
Some people steal and some drink and
some gamble and some Well,
Beryl belongs to the last class. She
doesn't pretend to be better than she
is. And, just between you and me,
bishop, I've more respect for girl
of that kind than for Grace Weston,
whose husband is my leading man, you
! know. Why, she pulls the wool over
his eyes and makes him the laughing
stock of the company. ] can't stand
her any more than can Marie Avon,
who's never without two strings"
| All at once | stopped. But wasn't
it like me to spoil it all by bubbling
over? l tell you, Maggie, too much
truth isn't good for the bishops set;
they don't know how to digest it.
| was afraid that I'd lost him, for
he spoke with stately little primness
as the carriage just then came to a
stop; | had been so interested talking
that | hadn't noticed where We were
driving.
"Ah, here we are!" he said. u must
ask you to excuse me- NISSAN, Mrs.
that is-theres public meeting Of
the Society for the Prevention of
]
Cruelty to Children this afternoon that
l must attend. Good-by, then"
"Oh, are you bound for the Cruelty,
too?" | asked why, so am |. And
-yes-yes-that's the Cruelty"
The Cruelty stands Just where it did.
Mag, when you and first saw it; most
things do in Philadelphia, you know.
There's the same prim, official straight
up-and-downness about the brick front.
The steps don't look so steep now and
the buildings not so high, perhaps be-
cause of skyscraper or two that've
gone up since. But it chills your blood,
Maggie darlin', just. as it always did, to
think what it stands for. Not mans
inhumanity to man, but women's cruelty
to childreni Maggie, think of it, if you
can, as though this were the first time
you'd heard of such a thing! Would
you believe it?
walked from that to find myself
marching up the stairs behind the bish-
ops rigid little back. Oh. it was stiff
and uncOmpromising! Beryl Black
burn did that for me- Poor, pretty,
pagan Beryl!
My coming with the bishop-we
seemed to come together, anyway
made the people think he'd brought me,
so | must be just all right. | had the
man bring in the toys Id got out in the
carriage, and | handed them over to
the matron, saying:
They're for the children. | want
them to have them all and now. please
to do whatever they want with them
Therell always be others. I'm going
to send them right along, if you'll let
me, so that those who leave can take
something Of their very own with them
something that never belonged to
anybody else but just themselves Won
understand. It's terrible, don't YOU
know, to be deserted child or a tor.
tured child OF crippled child and have
nothing to do but sit up in that bare
clean little room upstairs with a lot Of
other strangelings-and jus: think on
the cruelty that's brought you here and
the cruelty yor may get into when YOU
leave here. If I'd had a doll-if Mag
! had only had set of dishes or a little
tin kitchen-it the boy with the gouged
eye could have had set of tools-oh
can't you understand"
l. became conscious then that the
matron-a new one, Mag ours is gone
was staring at me, and that the peo-
pie stood around listening as though
I'd gone mad.
Who came to my rescue? WHY the
bishop, like the manly little fellow he
is He forgave me even Beryl in that
moment.
It's Nance olden, ladies'" he said
with a dignifed little wave of his hand
that served for an introduction "Sbe
begins her Philadelphia engagement to.
night in And the Greatest of These 81
Oh. I'm used to it now. Maggie I'm,
do like it. All the lady-swells buzzed
about me, and there Nance stood preen.
ing herself and growing softly till
till from among the bunch of millinery
one OF them stepped up to me She had
big smooth face with plenty of chins
Her hair was white and her nose was
curved and she rustled in silk and