The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-03-15
BY CLARA INEz DEACON.
{ Copyright, 1879, by the Associ

Copyright, 1919, by the Associated
Literary Press)
Mr.. Gerald Rochester was a man of
twenty-seven and very prim---very.
miss Agnes Frayne was young
woman of twenty five, and very prim
very.
No mistake must be made between
prig ard priin. The terms are not
synonymous. These two people could
have been prgis jus, as well as not,
but they weren't. They were merely
p.im-- very prim. They We're born
ttst way and couldn't help II. MIR.
Roc' ester was bookkeeper in a saw
ings bank, and there was no rule
ass irst his being rather jolly in con-
veFs:ation and bit careless about his
necktics, but after five years had
gone by no one could recall that he
had ever forgotten himself for a sin
gle moment. Even during a memoir
able run on the bank he had been
prim, although some OF the officers
used reckless language and had taken
their coats OFT. All honor to Mr..
hot hester Let a man be one thing
or the otfer--prim or unpr!m.
Miss Frayne had also been born
rrim. As a girl she had never skated
on the sidewalk. slid down hill or
rhased a bad hoy around the block.
AT eighteen she might have had
beau. bat she kept hes modest eyes on
her toes and discouraged him. A:ter
three years more no one on earth
could have got her to climb ,ree,
even to rescue her lost canary bird.
She was in the millinery business.
Some OF her patrons thought ner
rather too prim, but others said II
was better so than To find her chin
wi Ivt,
once AT nay rate. wrat was said for
or against made no difference, Miss
Agnes went right along with he.
primness. All honor to her, also.
Mr.. Rochester and Miss Frayne
had TO take the same electric ear II,
get To and from their work They
had often noticed each other--nor IN
a bold faced, but a prim way They
had not been introduced. and what
cosiiG they. do 'hnt sti sfae hv side and
stare out of the opposite windows.
On one occasion the car crashes into
a too coptiden. milk wagon and scat
tered broken glass and splinters of
wood about, and the milkman got Il
broken leg and his horse broken
neck. There was panic. with
shouts and screams and questions.
but amid al the alarm the two prfms
never lost their primness. The,
scarcely turned their eyes from thu.
straight lire. They We're not com.
plinrentsd by tho other passengers
A man asked Mr.. Rochester II he
was human beer bottle and u wo
man asked Miss Frayne II he had u
human heart. nut there was the sat.
isfaction Of realizing that they had
preserved proper form.
Again. while fat man was look
Ing for a lost dime on the car tracks
he was picked up and hurled over
the fence, and there was Il ripple OF
laughter from the passengers at the
way he spread-eagled himself. All
che passengers but TWO Joined In the
laughter. Those two never uttered
d haw! haw! Their primness caused
- tra- ~ ask NJ :. RI ncrster II even
the death Of his mother-in- law could
fetch smile to hts frozen face. but
1t was in impertinent query and he
did right to ignore II. A woman pas
seIger also had remark to make.
sf'"~ signing long sigh she shook
her head and said:
Il have been told that the hyena
has no sense Of huncr. and how 1
see It's true!"
This nrimre~s had gone on year
and day. Tho day ~ mentioned he
carse both the tookkeeper and the
r-,.l',rer had recorded u In their
id'a-ies, aad thA. little books Asp~~tf.
Twice 4 day fcr 4 veAr and q day.
ard they rad mt eroker, They wers
wa.t'ns for the Introduction that
never came. Even Mn introduction
would not have swept the princess
aside for more weeks. There would
have been questions to ask and an
swar.
rhere npst be 4 climax to all
thirvs. One winters day. when the
weather bureau bespoke fair skies
with In usssal c~rNAsrp~. y ~etned.
me wind came dawn from Hudso-' v
hay and frQvs ths drope n they felts
Az hcgne-eosns tin34 ~ streets we're
Aslares ltlker nor
.