The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-09-08
Ten Minutes
WITH THE
Short-Story
III Writers
THE PROVING OF MRS. ELDER
(By Frank w. Lewis)

dires Home where the old men walk
ed together and fought their battles
over again Their coats of army blue
hung Imply from their bent shoulders
their hands were tremulous as they
filled their pipes hacked at their
bars of tobacco Their heads nod
dcd in the dodderingly sage fashion
Of age.
giis your own folks whan all's
said and done. that you want said
one, gloomly
True enough, it's your own folks.
j amt got any left but my brother
lsraels widow. she was a fine, strap
4 pin girl Miss Elder Israel was
younger than me. ten years younger;
and she was younger than Israel, ten
wears or thereabouts I'm 10, so Mira
aint so y0ung | never hear nothing
about her marrYn' again, but she
might have. Israel been dead nigh on
10 twenty year. She's all I've got lett
Il amt much.
1T as good as anything else
grumbled the other. i've got a SON
Tan look at me. left here TO diel |
tell you what, Jim Elder, there's no
sucn thing as gratitude in this world i"
I they waggled their old heads de-
/ jectedly, and mumbied and grumbled
over the loneliness OF their loss. Their
memories travelled back beyond the
/ time of smoke and singing smell, and
fingered in the gardens where they
were children long ago. Their talk
was no mere OF the comrades OF their
young manhood. their fellows in the
4 grim days of the war, but of old play
mates, OF sweethearts whose names
ihey had almost forgotten. They
parted with a sigh at the end of the
+ afternoon.
ats your own folks you want;
your Old folks, they said, drearily,
when you get to be an old man.
All night the longing stayed with
4 old Jim Elder He would write TO
his sister-in-law, he decided, and invite
himself to pay he little visit. But
suppose she had married again? Sup
pcse she did not want him?
I'll go and find her, said the old
man TO himself u can see in d
minute if she don't want me- won't
write III just slip away tomorrow.
/ l'ye got enough to get there"
ii.
4 Originality and Mrs. Elder were en-
tirely unacquainted Her emlnently
respectable boarding house was like
4 tweptv others in the neighboring
/ side ets-brown-stone in the tran.
sition state between elegance and
shabbiness. Her heavy lace curtains
her Brussels carpet. the clock upon
her tomb-lke marble mantle, the
tapestry chairs and sofas, the side
board bed in the back parIor-all
these were 10 be duplicated in board
ing houses by the thousands.
Mrs Elders widowhood was as con
J ventionally denoted as her profession
She never wore anything but black
but she regarded her weeds less a.
symbols OF mourning than as badges
II respectabiity.
There's nothing" she used to say
in her expansive moments, so neat
and 30 elegant as black, il my opinion
I And cant help having some regard
for elegance. / was elegantly brought
'Iup, never expected to be conduct
ing a boarding house in my old age
1t would kill my husband if he knew
it-if he had lived to see il. He was
a very proud man, very proud man
His brother you have probably heart
of-Gen. James Elder Of the army
: From this il may be gathered tha
the pretentions Of Mrs. Elder were
! as unorginal as her household furni
/ ture. Her boardefs, however, were
no sticklers for conversational novelty
: on The part OF their landlady. They
mad boarded in divers places, an(
! were enured to all sorts of tales o
grandeurs past ii was enough fol
them that their landlady kept spot
lessly clean and entirely comfortable
boarding house, aud that she set
good table" as She nerself boosted
She did not iamper with tae gas jet
j il the interest OF small bills. There
tore. they called her blessed and were
quite willing TO call her aristocrati'
as well. Il sne insisted upon il.
, Only the star boarder resented th'
! harmless vanity OF the landlady. Blu
the star bUarder-she occupied tn,
Httbhh llOBl 7iah pithNhNiOlo VI nv
: osn. She gave out that while he
: hus band labored in Wall street sn'
was consorting with those whom sh'
i called the four hundred She spoke
4 langnialy OF opening up ner owl
i house next season. it she felt stronl
enough. She had spoken thus fo
the three years OF her residence witt
& Mrs. Elder
Mrs. Elder perceived and resente'
her stars attitude. though she wal
net a woman of particularly sensitive
aeives: but Mrs. Van Cassan was al
admirable investment financially, ant
that was 0 consideration which eveI
good landlady may not overlook
SO Mrs. Elder was deaf 10 ;nnuendoe'
and jests, and merely talked a little
more y0lubiy than ever about th'
! glory of her connections wnen Mrs
4 Van cassan was present.
One evening the customary GROVE
was streaming through the side stree
on which Mrs Elders house stood
1t was a misty twilight, ana the three
persons bound for her abode did no
recognize one another until they me-
at Ine foot of her sleeps They were
the girl from the art league, the law
yer and the star boarder. They hall
paused to give one another greetins
and as they stood a shaking old voice
addressed ihm
Excuse me, ma'am," II began, and
+ ..,tf tts.