Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-10-24

Knows what all besides, while, IL we
stopped eating to breathe or speak,
Patty few in with plate of freshly
made things of the most heavenly ma
ture, called corn fritters. Mrs. Trow-
bridge beamed all over when l said
should like to live on them for a
month.
We We're obliged to eat good deal
of everything. otherwise Mrs. Trow-
bridge would have felt hurt. and l felt
sleepy when we had finished, but ! re-
fused to go and lie down to rest, as
they wanted me to, it seemed such a
waste of time. At last Mr.. Trowbridge
offered to show cousin Jim" around
the farm, and maybe i looked wistful,
for when they found that l was deter
mined not to take a nap. they asked if
would go with them.
Mr. Trowbridge had on a linen coat
now. n long, yellow one. which should
laugh at if l sawsit on the stage in a
quite Impressive i'll it, He famed him
self with large straw hat. without
any ribbon, and talked splendidly to
us, as we three walked together under
the trees.
If any English person should write
a novel and make farmer in it talk
Ike Mr.. Trowbridge. every one who
read the book would say he was i'm
possible. His way of speaking was a
little siipshod sometimes though not g
bit more than ours when we drop our
.'g's'' and things like that, only more
guileless sounding-but without seem
| ing bit as If he wanted TO show off
what he knew, which Is so boring. he
quoted Shakespeare and Wordsworth
and Tennyson and in mentioning his
work at the hives in the morning asked
if we had read Maeterlinck's Life of
the Bee" From that he fell to dis
GUESSING other things of Maeterlinck' 5
with Mr.. Brett and incidentally talked
of Ibsen. There wasn't the least af-
fectation about it ALL
| BY and by he left us alone for few
minutes while he went to speak TO a
man who works ON the farm. He, was
going to show us the maple sugar
camp when he came back, and we sat
on a fellcd oak and waited, with Il
smell of clover coming to us on the
warm breeze and the ''tinkle-tankle"
of cowbells in the distance.
"What an extraordinary man" 1 said
to Mr. Brett.
.You mean because he's farmer"
said he. his eyes laughing.
swell, suppose do. But. then, of
course hes a gentleman farmer. not
an ordinary one at ALL
Hes a gentleman in the way that
all the good people in the country
round are acknowledgements they're
self respecting and kind hearted and
intelligent But he comes of genera
lions of workers. They make no pre-
tensions to blue blood, though perhaps
they may have some in their veins,
and don't think themselves superior
socially to their own farm hands, like
, that one over there. Nor do they con-
slider themselves inferior to anybody
Not that they would think of assert
ing their claims to equality with your
friend Mrs. Stuyvesant-Knox. for in
stance. They simply take it for grant.
ed that they are the equals of any 9th.
er American or, for the matter OF
that, persons of any foreign nations
What would your mother the Ouch
ess think of them-now, honor bright
Don't dream you'll hurt my feelings
because they're my cousins and we
may come of the same stock
thought for a minute, and then ]
! said.
Mother would begin to patronize
them graciously at first as If they
could be classified with our farmers
mean. the peasant ones, not the
1 younger son or poor gentleman kind
When she found she couldn't, she
/ would be inclined to resent it. Their
at last, when dim, puzzled inkline
OF the truth came into her head, and
she found out that they knew as much
as she about books and politics and al
sorts of things-oh, / can hardly fancy
exactly what she would feel, but I'd
| trust Mr.. and Mrs. Trowbridge or any
one ike them not to appear at a dis
advantage with her, whatever she did
with them They wouldn't have sell
consciousness enough to be oyerawed
by her, though she caa be so dreadful
lIy alarming. Why, Mr. Brett, In q
way believe they're like us-more
like us, really. deep down and far
back, than a good many enormously
rich people / met at Newport, who
think no end of themselves and live
IN palaces and know royalties abroad
Just as said once to Sally-Miss
IWoodburn-we take ourselves for
granted, and then don't make any
| more fuss or bother about our man
ners or whether we're going to do the
right thing or not. But few of the
people even In your Four Hundred
don't seem quite easy in their minds
about themselves. I've never seen
anything In big houses at home where
I've been with mother of Vic to come
/ near the luxury of theirs, yet several
I've met can't seem to relax and look
thoroughly comfortable, as if they
really liked it. They don't Toll about
% we do; they only pretend to loll, be.
60 use its in their part In the play
they're acting-oh, such smart. So
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