Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-06-13
"A MatrOn'S
Confession
She Tells How She 6avs Up Her
Doll For q Hoyer

She Ieib now She uaW up n0
IL Doll For q Cover
IL By EVELYN D. WILCOX
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.
Father has never done a days work
In his life. I have often heard him say
that to 60 to store or an Office every
day and attend to details such as buy
Ing and selling and shipping and flnan-
Giering and such matters that have no
Importance except for the time being,
dying as fas. as they are born, like GER
tain insects, would soon wear him out.
But to sit in library and read i'm
mortal works such as the Greek poets
and the Latin prose writers-father
reads them in the original Greek and
Latin-that is way Of spending ones
time fitted not for commercial slaves.
but intellectual gentlemen.
When was a child we lived-my
parents live there yet-in the country
not far from great city. Father had
Inherited some property from his an
cestors that had been handed down
through several generations, and our
income, though small, was sufficient
for our wants. So father was at lib
erty to spend his time in way that he
considered profitable I sometimes
overheard people sneering at him for
living the life Of drone, as they ex-
pressed 1t, but since I have grown old
It seems to me that even the real
drones in a colony Of bees must have
their place in natures workshop or
they would not be there.
Another singular thing about Dame
Nature is that. while she requires years
to transform a boy into man, she will
turn O girl into a woman In twin
king. At any rate it was so with me.
When was thirteen was sitting one
morning on the porch ut home, my doll
being in q chair beside me. Seeing a
young fellow-he appeared to be about
seventeen-come into the grounds, /
seized the combination Of china, cot
ton and sawdust and flung 1t In an
open window behind me. There were
some books on table near BY. and,
taking up one of them. pulling down
the short skirt Of my dress at the same
time so that it would cover my knees.
1 pretended to read.
The young fellow came along by the
winding walk under the great trees
they had recently put forth that sea-
sons leaves-and approached the
porch. Though my gaze was bent on
my book, saw not the printed
words, but the advancing youth. l
have q miniature portrait made OF
him at that time. and many who have
seen it have taken it for an ideal crea.
ton. He was tall for his years, and
his beautifully shaped head was set
on as beautiful q neck, his collar be-
ing of the open sort, which showed
the throat to advantage. His face was
perfect oval, his eyes large and lus-
trous, his hair falling about his tenn
pies In disordered waves.
i have spoken from experience In
saying that Dame Nature will turn
girl into q woman In twinkling. My
own transformation did not occupy
more than a minute. Within that Pc
riod l caught sight Of the youth, flung
away my doll and was In love.
The newcomer paid no more atten-
ton to me than If had Deen made,
like my doll, Of sawdust. I was stung
to the quick that he did not look at
me. He rang the bell, asked for IA
ther and was shown into the house. l
went upstairs and, stationing myself
beside q window overlooking the walk
by which he must pass out Of the
place, waited for him to do so. When
he departed was watching him from
behind curtains. He walked with q
satisfied step, as though he had come
for a purpose and had accomplished 1t.
i wished to go right down to the IL
brary and learn all about the visitor
from father, but / feared to show an
undue interest in him. I tried hard
to wait long while, but five minutes
was all my impatience would allow.
Going into the library, I pretended to
hunt for a book, at the same time
asking as If incidentally:
"Who was your visitor, papa"
Julian Trowbridge."
| "What did he come forT
TO ask me to coach him for his col
lege examination. He has applied Tor
admission in June"
"Are you going to coach him?"
"Yes. couldn't very well refuse.
He's the son Of my old friend Trow-
bridge, who was in college with me.
Trowbridge has devoted himself to
lgnoble pursuits and got rich. I pulled
him through his graduating e1amina'
tions."
"Oh, my goodness graciousg' I said to
myself, putting my hand to my hear
to still its wild beating. Then I asked
els he coming here for Instruction.
Eyes, every morning at IL
And 80 I should see this young goo
whom I had suddenly set up In my
heart every day TIL June. II father
had known the tumult within me NJ
doubtless would have ordered me to
the nursery every morning before his
pupils coming. Father had publish
ed a translation Of -Ovid's Art Of
Love" with copious notes. but he did
not know enough about love Itself te
suspect that his own daughter had
already been pierced by one Of Gu
pids arrows. The natural he stud
led in his library from the ancients
the artificial came to him tho momen
he left II. His daughter must 60 t.
college, and that meant absence o.
love for seven or eight years to come
That he had right under his own nose
but a repetition Of what had occurred
ever since human beings were borl
into the world was furthest from hi'
thoughts.
; In nature the first step in mating Il
to build nest. In my case there wa
.. q lot of preliminary work to do. M!
first great object to accomplish was Il
induce my mother to procure som
dresses that would reach at least u
: my ankles. After much trouble per
suaded her to engage dressmaker Il
come to the house and make me SOM
-