The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1909-06-05
PAGES FROM PATRICIA'S
JOURNAL

/
For The Sea Coast Echo.
A Modern Knight Rescues Patrlci;
From Precarious Situation.
June 8, 1905-When we closed ur
! the winter place in Baltimore. and
| opened up La Grange. for the sum
! mer, mamma insisted on writing Lord
| Tlddlewinks Ga distant relative Oh
hers) to make our home his during
his visit to America.
Mammals one failing is her pride
in being a descendant of England's s
bluest blood as she terms 1t.
For my part / think an American
has more to be proud az than AMY
other being on earth. and | am thor
oughly an American; glory in it.
| think if the truth were known
that designing mamma's' are more
largely responsible for the wedding 6f
American dollars to foreign titles
than Americas daughters are The
girl herself is usually romantic
enough to marry poor young chap
earning a thousand or so year,
and struggle through life in a flat,
because she loves him. But NO, right
here mamma, and oftime papa, COM
mence with those hackneyed sayings
such as when poverty comes in the
door, love flies out of the window, -
and all such things, and within
year or SO of her entrance into So
ciety, mamma trots out on the stage
a foreigner, in all liability more pow
erty-str1 cken than the poor young
chap that daughter loved, and for
lagniappe with a lot of debts and
scandal attached to little two-penny
title; in the end daughter marries
him and it all usually ends in the
divorce courts within few years. Of
couse, | don't mean that my mother
is like that, still l think way down
in her heart she would like to hear
her daughter Chats mel spoken of
as Lady So-andso." and so she
is very cordial to Lord Tiddlewinks.
He is a tall hatchet-faced individual,
who bores me exceedingly with his
prim, precise manners.
Brother James came down to La
Grange'last night to take a little rest
We are all very proud of James for
he is one of the leading lawyers in
Baltimore. He tells us that he has
invited a Mr.. Philip Edwards down
here for a week, and that he is liable
to be here mos any time. ! wish my
England. There, Patricia Puritan,
AREN'T you ashamed of such an un-
hospitable spirit.
June 10-Oh, such a day! This
morning | went in the library to get
a book AS | turned the leaves a
slip Of paper fluttered ont and fell to
the floor I;'s3aght it was probably
memorandum, and stated to put it
back in the book when I caught
sight of my name at the head of the
page. 1t was evidently part of a let
ter, but how could it come there and
who could be writing about me? Of
course | ought not to have read it
but l did, and this is what l read:
Il shall marry, probably soon, as it
in an easy task for an Englishman
with a title to marry an heiress over
here. This little Patricia Puritan
will be an easy mark l fancy, and
she has the pounds and shillings, old
boy, enough to put me on easy
street the rest of my life. There
fore prepare ON my return to see the
future mistress of Tiddlewinks
Manor" Affectionately yours,
TIDDLEWINKS.
Wasn't that awful :? l was SO
angry that if I had met Lord T.
right then l should probably have
said things that l would afterwards
regretted.
How / longed to show that little
miserable scrap of paper to mother,
but she was spending the day away,
and Aunt Constance was staying with
me during her absence, ! didn't like
to show it to James or Papa for they
are so quick and hot tempered, SO l
decided to keep it until mamma
should return at night, meanwhile /
would keep out of sight for knew it
would be impossible to treat Lord
Tiddlewinks civilly after that.
In the afternoon l wandered down
through the orchard and across
meadow land, to a favorite haunt of
mine, and there we'll hidden from the
nearby roadway by stone wall, (by
the way, stone walls seem to be an
important feature in most of the hap
penings at La GrangeD4I sat down
under a tall pine to read and dream
away the drowsy afternoon hours.
| had fallen into a reverle, and
was wondering, as girls of nineteen
WILL just when, where and h!ow Il
would meet my especial knight-errant.
| little thought that an nSwer would
come so soon, and in such an un-
romantic manner as it did, for while
| was musing thus l heard success
sion of quick snorts, and looking be-
hind me | saw cow, with her tail
up and horns lowered, paving the
ground and snorting in vicious
manner, ready to come for me. |
have often wondered how the hero
ines in novels always manage to leap
fences and climb trees inSuch
graceful and expert manner, when
ever danger is at hand, but | have
ceased to wonder, for although my
tactics were anything but graceful, |
could not have acted with more celer
ity if / had been eluding the pursuit
of enraged cows every day of my life
and the speed with which | sprinted
across the meadow towards the or
chard, is still source OF amaze
ment to my self. l had no idea he
fore that / was capable OF such swift
motion. / think that even the co"
was surprised and her disappolnt-
ment at seeing me Chamber into the
| low-hanging boughS OF an old apple
tree. was voiced in bellows of rage. {