Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-08-04
Curiosity


mediately placed in a sealed en-
: velope"
What difference does it maker"
| asked her hostess.
| IF you lived at our boarding house
I you'd think It made a difference" re-
f, turned Miss Horkins very positively.
THE enumerator, after finding how
many there were in the house, left four
horrid papers, each one with spaces
sufficient for large family, and It
was extremely awkward"
Il don't see why 1t should have been
awkward" observed her friend. "My
husband attended TO it for our family,
, but could have done # myself just
as well. 1t is simple"
1t is all right in your own home,
but in place like our boarding house
where everybody can read what the
others have written, II is like pro-
, claiming your affairs from the house
tops. Everybody was anxious to see
what the others confessed. The land
lady put the blanks on the table in the
library, with pen and ink beside
them. | was determined to wait I'M
I'll every one else had finished, take
one OF the papers to my room, fill II
out and hand 1t 10 the enumerator my
self. But had yet TO realize my land
lady's powers OF strategy
u was very much surprised at some
of the things / read on that sheet Of
paper. Mrs. Larkin's husband is her
third. If you please, and Mr.. Jones is
a divorced man, though he has passed
himself off for a bachelor. Dear old
Mrs. Blake, who doesn't care who
knows her family history or her age,
had used the wrong line all the way
down, so 1t read that she had been
married 40 times instead of 40 years.
Mr.. Empson had filled out his own
space, but his wife had insisted upon
doing her own. and that was the fun
niest OF ALL" Miss Horkins laughed
merrily.
What was there so amusing about
ftp"
In comparing her statement of her
age with that her husband had given
as the number of years they had been
married, ! found her wedding day
must have been somewhere around
her fifth birthday"
But how about the landlady's STRAIT.
egy?"
/ am coming to that. | had tust
finished writing out my own state.
ment when there was tap at my door.
There was the landlady, who said as
mild as milk: Pardon me, Miss Hor.
kins. but I must have that list when
you are through with it. | had for
gotten all about Nora, and as the
poor girl can't write / must do It for
her
THAT does seem as if she had
planned It."
MY dear, It was clever"
"Of course. you handed over the
record?"
Not |. said: If you send Nora
to me | will write 1t for her. as have
my pen and ink all ready
I could not think of giving you so
much trouble she returned
1T Is not trouble at all, my dear
Mrs Blenks.' insisted. You are such
busy woman should enjoy helping
you, even in so small a matter
You are so kind she insisted, but
| have nothing TO do at the moment
and l will take the paper If you
please
Il was growing desperate, but for
tunately Nora came upstairs Just then
she is the second girl, you know
and | called her Here. Nora | said.
4 want To do some writing for you.
| think Mrs. BleDks would have wait.
ed and taken the paper with her after
all, If some one had not asked for her
downstairs, and she left the room con-
siderably nonplused, for l think she
realized that the paper would not get
out of my clutches until 1t reached the
hands of the government official"
Did you succeed in your en-
deavors?"
Il did rarely fail in what | I'M
dertake. A few minutes after she left
the room Mrs. Blenks called out:
Miss Horkins, the enumerator is here
Send the paper down by Nora as soon
as possible
ut was no small task to get through
with Nora, can tell you. She seemed
TO think she was asked to sign away
her rights to something goodness
knows what-and as she said she
could read print had TO give her the
record to look over for herself. She
Is very high-tempered. and her ire was
reused by what she read: OF all tine
impident questions she exclaimed.
'Askin if I'm a Chinese or a mulatto.
and if / can spake English. Sure.
what else wud ] spake? And all tn s
from President Taft. for here's his
letther on the outside, And him cray
to know the age of livery man. woman
and child IN the whole country! Mr.
Bryan niver would have done such
thing
Il explained TO the girl the best
could, and had Just written down the
last yes when Mrs. Blenks came W
again with. Really. it is too bad 10
keep that man waiting | must take
the paper down
1t is shame, said |. gently. but
you see Nora hasn't been here long
enough to understand our ways And.
ny dear Mrs Blenks. will not al.
ow you TO go downstairs for so small
4 thing So Swimming past her. rar
downstairs and gave the record 10 the
enumeration with my own hand