Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1905-07-29
observation-disclosures
Observation-Disclosures
Copyright, 1901. by T {. Mcclure


in the suburbs, where life rolled smil-
ingly under clear skies, sweet enough,
to be sure, but just tritic unintcrest-
ing. There were times even when she
was that little girl when she had crav-
ed the tonic of the worlds ugller
moods, burned to see it at its tierceSt,
as Indifferent to human beings as If
they were ants.
This may have been mere youth and
incXpcrcnCe or it may have been be-
cause she was Surfcitcd with beauty.
Was not her home the most imposing
in Farvillc? Inside the house an cXqui-
site quiet rcigned, sort of hallowed
stiffness that made her want to shout
and whoop in defiance.
Her sisters We're the beautiful King
girls" She herself. as n chance re
mark had informed her, was the plain
one" At the moment she had felt deep
ly mortified. She hadn't supposed it
was 50 bad as all that. From this time
her distaSte for beauty grew more
marked and in one of those heated mo
best of sisters had said plainly that she
was sick and tired Of their everlast-
ing beauty" With this observation she
had made a rapid but highly character
lstic departure from the room, and the
family beauties had grnncd ut each
other knowingly
"She's a funny little sister" observed
t,,.l
met by Bertha's thoughtful Il wonder
why she is so bitter against beauty?
She's not half bad herself She's unu-
sual, the restless little monkey
And, indeed, this view Of her appear
ance was shared by Il man who had on
more than one occasion allowed him
self to look at her the second time,
though she was unconscious of his very
existence. Her trips to New York in
variably led her to one destination. and
there he had come to watch for her
The mother and the beautiful sisters
never knew, any more than they knew
her keen interest in the gloomy in
teriorS visible from the elevated trains
that their youngest was In the habit of
rushing through her shopping at the
high class stores where they had credit
and then betaking herself pelmell to
great Sixth avenue department store,
where, rs she passed through the re-
volving doors, she felt with shiver of
delight that she plunged into the
stream Of life
The iostling and crowding the TEEN
ing exhibits that Overrnn counters and
were forever falling to the floor, the
near silk, near silver and near gold
commodities that filled the place so
lavishly, far from offending her taste,
stirred her fancy oddly, and she saun-
tered up and down the long aisles
alive with that suppressed excitement
that is one of the keeneSt emotions
life had to offer and Indifferent to the
huffetings of the crowd which seemed
to her delightfully."- good natured if a
little bit lacking in form.
But the spot that she loved best Of
all was the broad landing of the mar
bic staircase that swirled grnndly up
ward from the center of the first floor
with mngniticenCe that was dazzling
even for Il department store This
landing formed balcony. rich with
oriental rugs and upholstered furni-
ture, and, most desirable Of ALL it
commanded n panoramic view of the
floor beneath
Here the youngest" often sat for
an hour or so at time, with her chin
resting on the railing and her eyes
fixed grcedily on the scene below. n
Fascinated spectator of one of the best
theatrical productions that the big
round world has to offer
The mamie was an artist and he
haunted the balcony on the lookout
for typcS-had noticed that she usually
came out of her absorbed contempla-
ton Of the scene below her with n
start glanced in a daZed way at the
bold faced clock near by and then fair
ly scampered down the flowing marble
stairs and melted away in the crowd.
Not being mind reader. he could not
know that she was wondering II there
was any chance of catching the $50
or how on earth she should explain her
absence since $50 by the purchase of
six yards of val lace.
But the studies of her face and head
In his small sketchbOok multiplied,
and the ortener he drew her the more
dissatisfied he became. Always he
just missed catching the spirit of her,
the youth, the interest, the ardor and
the innocence of her glance, of every
line and movement, for it seemed to
his artists eye that she was very
marvel of expression.
1t was about this time that the pub
fishers for whom he did more or less
work sent him a book for illustration,
and rs he read the manuscript it
seemed the very girl of the balcony
who had wandered into its pages. BY
some strange fate the lines that he
selected as the pictorial points told a
tale. she stood looking down at the
throng below her. breathless absorb
ed" was one; Malvern, watching
her, recognized that of the thousands
she was the one" was another, and
the pictures composed themselves III
his brain with a precision that could
not be gainSaid.
lie had watched for her before with
dreamy pleasure. Now his watching
became eager, intense. His fingers
itched to tell the story-tell it, as he
knew he could, as he had never told
n story before Once, indeed, she had
glanced toward him with a mute in,