Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-09-12

Time was when Nellie More enjoyed
two distinctions above the other pretty
girls who sold everything conceivable
from the counters of the big store on
Sixth avenue. The first of these dis
tinctions was that of being the clever
est manipulation of the latest slang
The second was that of being Michael
Maloney'S STEADY company"
When Mike had arrived from the
Emerald Isle and had been made
clerk in the branch of the Amalga-
mated Tea Stores company all on the
same day he had been easily persuad-
ed by some friends who had preceded
him into the land of freedom to attend
a dance of the Moonlight Athletic as
sOciation in the evening There Nellie
had seen him and, seeing, had becn-s
well. impressed
Who's the new harp?" she had
asked with we'll disguised interest.
whereupOn she was duly presented To
'Mr. Maloney, just over from Dub
lin"
Perhaps it was the unconventional
ty of her conversation that attracted
the young Erishman from the start.
Perhaps it was her fresh. young beau
ty. Perhaps it was the snap and 60
that marked all she said and did
At all events. Mike and Nellie were
steadies' from that evening forth
In another sense Michael Maloney
was as steady young man as ever
became n citizen of New York. and
when he was promoted to the position
of manager in the branch store being
his sweetheart became a real distinc-
ton for Nellie
But shortly after ATichacIs promo
| ton Nellie acquired new distinction
| which entirely eclipsed one of her old
ones and certainly went far toward
| finishing the other. It all began limo
| Gently. enough. No one would have
suspected the results when she Dor
| rOwed one Of her favorite authors
novels. There was no sign of danger
until she had got well on toward the
end of the book.
| In fact, at the middle of the second
page the girl had handed the volume
back TO its owner, with the comment,
II can't dope out this talk But the
| other had urged perseverance. assuring
| Nellie that she would get used TO the
swell guy talk" of the story and that
the tale itself was "somepun grand"
And. sure. enough. at page 223 Nellie
was shedding real tears over the sor-
rows of the heroine She nearly forgot
to wait on customers. so absorbed had
she become The worst of it was that
she had become fascinated with the
swell guy talk itself. At the end of
the book she began anew to study the
lofty phrases of the empty conversa-
tons. for she had been converted to
the idea that really nice people used
that sort of language instead of the
very lucid style of her past colloquies,
She Instituted Il process of self refor-
nation. She suddenly forsook the
dances of the Moonlight Athletes She
went TO night school classes in Eng
lish. She attended lectures on English
at the settlement house Her progress
In the improvement of her conyersa-
tional style was a thing to delight the
hearts of the settlement workers.
In two weeks she had got so far that
instead of remarkng that it was 4
swell day. she impaired to Mamie
Mcdonnell that 'the sun bids fair to
shed his Illuminating rays uninpeded
by nebular Obstacles
Mamie promptly admonished her to
come off the roof" One by one hei
old friends forsook her and left hei
to the society of a pocket dictionary
and grammar-and more of her au
thor. Her little brothers and sisters
. took to spending their evenings on the
sidewalk beyond her correcting infiu
ence-and palm.
Her father and mother openly sighed
In relief when she sailed forth to at
tend her classes. But all these thing
only added zest to her earnestness b,
lgiving 1t a favor of martyrdom. Shi
had the makings of real reformer.
1t was when she undertook to re
form Michael that she waded in thu
waters of real sacrifice to principle
Michael did not yet know how to wiei.
!. the east side slang. but he had
brogue that could be cut only with a.
ak Snd that brogue was incompatibl