Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-02-17

Father has never done a days work
In his life. L have often heard him say
that TO go to store or an office every
day and attend to details such as buy
Ing and selling and shipping and finan-
ciering and such matters that have ne
Importance except for the time being,
dying as fast rs they are born, like GER
tain insects, would soon wear him out.
But TO sit in a 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 a way Of spending ones
time fitted not for commercial slaves,
but intellectual gentlemen.
When l 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. 1 sometimes
overheard people sneering at him for
living the life of a drone, as they ex-
pressed it, but since l 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 boy into man, she will
turn girl into q woman in twin
king. At any rate it was so with me.
When l was thirteen / was sitting one
morning on the porch at home. my doll
being in a 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 IL in an
open window behind me. There were
some books on a 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,
I 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. I
have a 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 4
his beautifully shaped head was set
On as beautiful a neck, his collar be- 1
Ing of the open sort, which showed /
the throat TO advantage. His face was .
a perfect oval. his eyes large and lus- /
trous, his hair falling about his tenn
pies in disordered waves.
/ have spoken from experience in
saying that Dame Nature will turn
girl into a woman in a twinkling. My
oTn transformation did not occupy
more than a minute. Within that Pc
'iod caught sight of the youth, flung
AWAY my doll and was Ia love-
The newcomer paid no more atten-
ion 70 me than il 1 had been made,
ike my doh, OF sawdust- 1 was stung
o the quick that he did not look at
ne He rang the bell. asked for ia
her and was shown into the house. 1
vent upstairs and. stauoning myself
'esfde window overlooking the walk
y which he must pass out of the
lace, waited for him To do so. When
lie departed / was watching him from
,ehlnd curtains. He walked with a
atisfed step, as though he had come
or purpose and had accomplished IL.
/ wished to go right down to tie IL
lrary and learn all about the visitor
rom father. but I feared to show an
ndue interest In hlLa- I tried hard