Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-11-05

81
man to realize his OWE illiteracy, and
although at first it had gone sorely
against the grain to take correction
from chit of girl, it was not long
before he came to trust her and to
accept her amendments without ques-
ton. =
As, you have explained the matter
to our satisfaction, we will disgorge
one-haif the amount charged" he had
dictated the first day.
"Refund?" suggested the young lady
quietly. The Chief frowned slightly
and proceeded. IF you will peruse
the foregoing verbiage-''
Remarks?" Again the pencil was
poised questioningly
The Chief fdgeted for moment
then he said somewhat feeblY; What's
the matter with those other words?
They sound good enough to me-
Silently his stenographer opened the
dictionary and laid it before him.
"Hum- 'Disgorge, to give up un-
| willingly ill-gotten gains tVerbiage,
the use of many words with little
| sense,'" he read, and after that he al
lowed himself to be shorn of the high
sounding expressions he had been so
| fond of using (but which yet did not
seem to express what he meant in
spite of their imposing appearance)
without protest =
| By the end of the first week every
man in the Office was ready to lay his
| heart at the feet of the 1Cfackajaek
l
on all his margins in an effort to fig
ure out how two could live on 500 4
| month, and the Harvard Graduate was
framing his proposal in blank verse,
| for he knew that he had met his ideal.
He was still young enough to have
| ideals.
/ But there came day at last when
the Harvard Graduates dream was
i shattered-a day, however, when in
the Chiefs eyes his new stenQgrapher
acquired the final touch of perfection.
The Chief had not been altogether
happy under the new regime, in spite
OF the confidence he now felt, for the
first time, that his correspondence was
being properly handled. It was all
! very we'll to be able to feel that you
could throw chaos of words into
machine, so to speak, and the machine
would grind out order, but to be con-
stantly on dress parade as to manners
and speech before this prunes-and-
prisms miss was like sleeping in
boiled Shirt and high collar. Also, in
this expurgated edition of himself, he
felt as though he had lost some of the
force the virility-that had made
him what he was in spite of his de-
fective education.
He became hesitative under this sup
preston and one day, in working off
some of his irritation, '.big, big D"
exploded into the telephone not twelve
inches from the delicate little ear
which must beyond all question be too
greatly shocked even to listen to an
apology from the repentant culprit.
Now he had done it! Already he had
vision of his paragon sweeping
haughtily from the Office without a
word, leaving him to struggle. alone
and unaided, with the English Ian
guage for the remainderAof his busi-
ness career Then he realized how in
| valuable she was to him. He felt
like lame man about to lose his
crutch.
He dropped the receiver and >mopped
his brow.
IL beg your pardon" he NUT
tered; 81 didn't mean that. IT"
The Crackajack looked him calmly
in the eye.
"Why not? It's pure, vigorous Eng
lish-and quite the right word under
the circumstances. There are occa
, sions" she said. when no other wore
: is Neutrality-suspicious. when use
myself f-mentaily.
The Chief took long, long breat
and took off his coat. But the Ha
ward Graduate groaned and, tearing u
/ his blank verse, scattered it over th
bottom of the waste basket-sadl.
( slowly, as one would cast rose leave
!. upon grave.
: ''Ah, woman, woman he sighed bl
! terly. "once our suIeriors, now OF
: eauals!''-New York Press.
: THE CHlLTERN HUNDREDS.