The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-03-09
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J THE PASSING OF.
MADAM BARLOW
SGzw BY OLLIE KukD sRAeEoN.EsW

The OF ledSe on WHICH LIE
cottage was perched was we'll nigh
inaccessible; quite so, in fact, except
by way of the picturesque little foot
path that crept up to it from the
group of suzanne houses clustered on
the brow Of the beach around its feet
a few hundred yards below.
The path was as lazy in its mean
derings up the slope as the cottagers
misunderstanding aside to touch
every blossoming sweet briar bush
and showing long frequent loiterirgs
at each rock seat along the way.
Midsummer was at hand and the
Eyrie the centre of attraction to every
summer young man at Spurwink
Cliffs. It had been SO since the barge
running semi-daily from the station
three miles away had deposited an
ever half-dozen delectable summer
girls at the foot Of "Eyrie Path" late
one afternoon three weeks prior to
the opening of the story.
Several impetuous youths more
eager than wise-scrambled up the
narrow footway the morning after
the arrival, with the expectation OF
catching a glimpse of the newcomers,
and incidentally p~recipitatirg an in
PRODUCTION, but not onlv were the
young ladies invisible, they found,
much to their surprise, a c%orpulent,
middle-aged, dignifed female sitting
in the window that held the path and
Intehtly reading.
When tr by what means a portly
chaperon could have been struggled
into town right under the eyes of the
summer colony puzzled the young
mel as much as her presence cha
grined them, for they had already en-
tertained visions of unlimited good
times with a bevy Of unchaperoned
summer girls.
mo fun up here, boys; let's watch
out for the girls around the rocks and
the beach; that old lady won't get far
from camp with all her avoirdupois
and this hill in the proposition, too,
you mark my words" and Billy Mat
thews ordered his squad tc right
about face" and retreat.
The story of the safely guarded
Eyrie soon spread through the little
community, and various tactics were
devised by the boys to lure the new
girls into the holiday life of this par
fip1,1or> h01f-Hn0nn chi m ~ UO11nO
men. The scheme all proved ore or
less successful, for it transpired as
Billy Matthews had predicted; the
duenna, or "our chaperon, Madam
Barlow" as she soon came to be face
tiously called, never did attempt the
difficult path, even in the discharge Of
all obvious duty. Nevertheless, all
hints to the girls for an invitation to
call at the Eyrie were ignored by
them, and every attempt made by the
ardent "half-dozen" to steal up unin-
vited resulted. in confronting the obse-
quious Madam Barlow with the inev-
itabla book in hand in the watch
tower" as the window came to- be
called, and past which no welcoming
nod e encouraged them.
The girls proved every bit as entic-
ing as the first sight Of them had
promised, and if, one by one they
eventually eluded the ferret eyes of
the madam and stole an hour singly
or in groups on the rocks, or for a
stroll in the moonlight, or a dip in the
surf with these equally charming
young men, it is certain no one trou-
bled about it, and all the cottagers
encouraged it from pure love OF mis-
chief, seemingly, for the exclusive
Madam" had, by medium Of her
young flock, absolutely declined all
overtures of hospitality extended
either to herself or the young ladies
by the friendly disposed c%ottagers at
the foot of her path. All day long, and
day succeeding day, she sat there,
reading-readins-reading n~evercon-
descending m glance even along the
path up whose inhospitable way
r%eighborly eyes were looking at her
impressive face in the window. The
cottagers alternately pitied and
blamed her, but it showed very con-
clusively where the most Of their SYM
patty was bestowed by their aiding
the young people iE. all their plans for
"a lark with the Eyre girls
As the days sped on it became evil
dent that affairs were likely to take
a serious turn among these two
half-dozens" OF young people. Billy
Matthews was hopelessly in love with
Ethel Moses - everybody could see
that-and Ralph Insraham was de-
veloping symptoms easily diagnosed
b. his chums, and which ne inganu-
ousiy admitted. Fred Lander and
Beatrice Murroe read Omar Khayyam
too Sssiduously for it TO go down
with any ore who had previously
known Fred and knew how cordially
! he detested poetry of all SORES, while
| the other individuals o. the now ia.
| nous double seXtGt" were manifestly
following closely the lead of these
three couples.
As q matter Of fact, Madam Barlow
was not greatly TO be complimentet
on LGr shreWdness or her trustworth'
mess as a professional ~chaperon,
The girls Snetaphorically pulled the
wool over her eyes" at will, and boil
| boyS and girls went their own SWee1