Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1908-04-16

] had much Of a chance to read
them, for I've had to work out ever
since l was Is. But in novels, you
know, the girl is always beautiful, and
always dressed in shimniering satin
and lace; and the man generally
meets her behind a bank of palms at
a ball, and they wind the thing up in
a garden of roses just as the sun goes
down. And, as he clasps her slender,
dropping form in his arms, and she
lays her golden head IN his manly
bosom, l always wonder how much
of that clasping business there'll be
when he sees her with her golden
hair done up in curl papers and a last
weeks calico dress on?
And, you know, that makes lots of
difference. Now, I'm not a bit pretty,
but when I'm dressed up you'd be sur
prised. My hairs dark, and it's ma
turally straight and oily and wants to
lay right fiat to my head. But when
I've washed it good and curled it Just
the least bit and snarled it into a POM
padour back and front there's not n
person in a dozen but would say the
whole thing is nature. Then my com-
plexion is kind of dark, but I've found
out how to use Princess cream and
rice powder so it won't show. And l
know just what kind of styles and col
ors to wear. So, when I'm dressed up
in my brown, tight-ftting, tailor suit,
with furs and hat all to ~match-the
whole thing simple and elegant and
not a bit like a hired girl-and I'm
with a crowd of girls and we meet a
maxwell, he never looks at the
others.
But, when l get home and change
my tailored broadcloth for an old blue
calico with a patch on the front, when
the powder wears off and my hair be-
gins to wilt and get stringy, then |
guess a mar wouldn't turn his head
unless it was to keep from looking at
me.
Then why don't l just keep fixed up
all the time? Because l don't have
time. When a girl gets up at four,
6CIo VI CuhldOI, ulliho hfO COWo, puIo
out a big washing, gets dinner, churns,
does the ironing, gets supper and then
mows the yard while she's resting,
there's not much time for polnping
your hair. And when / saw l couldn't
work and keep pretty, both, l chose
to work. And l eve worried anything
about it-not till l met Isaac.
He's a school teacher, and an awful
fine scholar, too. He graduated from
common branches, and he's spent two
whole terms in the county normal.
He's been teaching district school for
seven years now-every year in a diff
ferent place.
He talks a whole lot about his pro
fession," and about 'the child" and
the "child's mental growth" and "iu-
tellectual processes" and a lot of other
things l can't understand. He's told
me, too,. that it takes a great deal of
courage. for a a to recognize his af-
finity-Mhatever that means-among
the lower classes, when his calling in
life is to be a brain worker and a great
leaQer among e
And, besides being a school teacher,
he's the most finicky fellow l ever
went with. They say it takes him ff-
teen minutes to comb his hair, and he
can't put on his hat without a looking
glass. When | get into a big stew of
work | forget all about how | look,
but Isaac never gets so deep in as
that. a summer, when help was so
scarce here in the country, and the
men just working their heads off to
get harvesting done, and Isaac was
sitting around at home studying intel
lectual processes, John Winters here,
that's the woman's man l work for,
he asked Isaac to help him. And
Isaac helped one forenoon. And they
said he wore gloves all the time and
when he come into the field he was
carrying an umbrella over him.
went with him all the next winter,
and by spring he was coming here
twice a week regular. | used to spend
nearly two hours beforehand getting
ready for him, and he would just take
spells over my-my-looks; but all
the time l felt kind of uneasy
At last one night when he was try
ing to make me promise him, sure, l
just up and says:
Isaac" says ], you don't know me.
You think I'm pretty, and I'm not"
Why aren't you pretty, Matilda ?"
says he. (He always says aren't"
and "isn't.") Haven't you the most
beautiful hair that was ever on a
woman's head? Isn't your skin like
the petals Of a lily? Aren't your teeth
like pearls?"
mo, sir" says ], they anti! 1t
takes me half an hour to do up my
hair SO it looks like it's naturally fluff
fly. These pearls you're talking about
most of EN- cost three dollars apiece.
and my lily skin comes out of a cold
cream jar and a powder box. My eyes
is the real thing, but If there was any
way of changing EN- I'd be a doing
it,"
He seemed sort of dazed for a min
ute, but at last he says:
well, Matilda, even If your bodily
charms are not all-er-real, those Of
your character are. And love, NATL
da, is not dependent on the physical.
Love is a spiritual thing. 1t is a COM
munion of souls"
That all sounded nice, but still 1
didn't feel just right about it. But /
told him I'd give him an answer the
next afternoon when he was to come
and take me out buggyriding.
Il didn't sleep much that night. II
annmad to me- 1 had coma 70 tho r1ano