Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-19
Drawing by Howard Brown

between them to compensate for this lack of privacy
The time he spent with his mother part of the
routine too. 1t was not. rule very joyful. She
didn't believe in excitement for him.
The stress of modern life is SUCH his mother told
his attendants, especially the stress of life in
position such Jeffrey will fill, that his childhood
must be spent in camnesS.
So, while Jeffrey encouraged to play. he
not allowed even to get excited,-the moment he
and what, Jeffrey wanted to know the of
game that you couldn't get excited over? One
thing certain: his fathers nerves hadn't been
shielded in any such way He allowed to get as
excited he wanted to. 1t astonished Jeffrey
little; for he naturally supposed that all other little
boys were brought up much as he, until he learned
differently from his own father.
1t at this moment that the idea of Micky
popped into Jeffrey's head Micky. it seemed had
been his fathers nickname in the glorious epoch he
had just told Of 1t seemed to Jeffrey that he could
actually him; that of the shining land where
the make believe people live Micky had come, bold
and adventurous as to be companion to him He
was the most soul satisfying, make believe friend
Jeffrey had ever had. Jeffrey wished to know more
about him: for of course the more Jeffrey knew the
real Micky would seem.
After the doctor had gone he slipped his hand
into his fathers and looked up at him questoningy
You'll tell me more about it,, won't your" he
pleaded. Il want to know just what you did all the
time you little; so l can grow up to be exactly
like you, you know
His father laughed one of his great laughs. 'All
right, he agreed, III tell you all about me-. He
himself thought JeffreyS ambition very worthy
one He had come long way in the course of his life
and II jeffrey could only get similar distance, why,
he ID pretty nearly America.
SO 1t was that great experience came for Jeffrey
without anybody in the world knowing anything
about it.
That night Jeffrey's spirit walked free Now he
knew what he wanted. All the things he hadn't had
in life beckoned to hm,-freedom, adventure. COM
faculties in ones way All the immortal pleas
of boyhood beckoned to him. He had Micky
to show him the way! Oh. if he only had chance.
he could do the things that his father had DONE be
knew he cOuld 1t not for nothing that he
his fathers that his grandmother had faced
poverty and even disaster with gay courage. Oh.
song of the world had reached him for the first time.
the song that lures boys adventurng far a6eld and
sends them down to the
That night, when he went to bed Miss Thompson
reported to his mother that his face flushed and
it took him long time to go to sleep. She couldn't
for the life OF her see why the routine had not been
interfered with in the slightest Jeffrey had had
exercise much, play much, rest much and
studied SO much, according to the best possible
division of his time.
NEXT morning he walked early. Micky there
before him. Life seemed to turn bright face to
him. and had broadened out SO that he did not want
to miss any of it. With such heart for play of
every kind and for adventure as he had, there didn't
seem to be any reason why he shouldn't have 1t.
That was the first time that he came into definite
clash with the system. Before this, he hated it
without knowing it. and now he knew he hated it.
Where does the chance for initiative come in. in a
life where every hour is blocked out beforehand;
where you know just where you going to be and
what you are going to do during every single hour
of the day!
There was just one time when Jeffrey had a
chance, and that the time of the 'out of doors
play mentioned in his schedule. He could go out
to the meadow, where there brook, or he could
play in of the big gardens, always in sight of
Sanders or Miss Thompson. To-day he let off steam
running up and down wildly. making believe he
racing with Mcky. He was delighted to find he
beat a real little boy; he had never had chance to
try. He got excited; there was no doubt