The Washington herald., 1913-03-02

i Sne was nalaO, a Qfydu, OF u
nymph. and was pursued by Boreas, or
Eolus, or Zephyrus until. turned into
flower, she could say nothing about Iris.
The handwriting and drawing were beau
tiful: but the pages OF mathematics were
mostly blank. save for certain .splashy
discolorations presumably OF lachryma-
tory origin, denoting lack Of self-control
and scholastic weakness.
| 1T is absurd" said I. Ito think of
| certifying her. While she has a certain
measure of intelligence"
| "A certain measure" shouted Chester.
| IF you weren't a natural-born saphead,
I'd! Come up to Aunt Judith's!"
| / went with him, firm in that solid
self-control which gives fixity OF char
acter TO my nature. l saw in its true
light the amiable weakness of my rela-
tives which made them slaves to this
girl. l felt as stern and austere as
public officer should. and looked 1t, 1
| believe, for mother was quite in a f1utter
as she asked me to read clipping from
an Eastern Tennessee paper describing
| the departure from that region of the
| Frayns.
From this ] learned that Miss Frayn
and the colonel had been the last of
| the Frayns, the family having been ex-
| terminated in the Frayn-Harrod feud
| The colonel had been an engineer in
Lees army. He had given public notice
| on leaving at noon he would nail to the
front door of the courthouse with the
| revolver of Boone Harrod, the last enc
my shot by the colonel, his version of
| the origin Of the feud. He had carried
out this parting piece OF bravado with
| no disturbance except an exchange OF
shots as the train moved away from the
station. l was horrifcd Was a person
! in this barbarous state OF culture asking
me. Oscar Boggs. member OF the Nation
al Subcommittee on Tone-Deafness-,
"okky, said my mother, from behind,
this is Miss Frayn"'
! looked at her, and was suddenly inn
pressed with the nonexistence Of the
material universe EXCEPT as centered in
and consisting of eyes OF a ruddy brown
ike those of fine horses, rufous hair sur
rounding the small head like a nimbus,
and fused mass of impressions made up
oi the abstract concepts of trimness, fire
elegance. and unconquerability. I have
reported the matter to the society for
psychical research. but have received no
answer as yet. 1t was clearly abnormal.
She placed her arm about my moth
ers waist and looked most respectfully
at me.
You ah the great man." said she,
"of the family All have so much cause
TO love" Here she stopped as IL to re-
gain self-cOntrol. ''Ah wish NAH po'
panahs." she went on. had
There, there" said my mother. nat
ting her arm. ''It'll be all right anyway,
dear"
was considering what to say. Her
skin was clear. white. daintily transpar-
ent. and of a delicacy our Western girls
seldom display lowing. / surmise, to cli-
matte influences: she stood there on
Aunt Judiths Persian rug, her petite
figure with its rounded curves half-lev-
itated, like Atalanta upon the oat-head-
and there returned upon me the mental
vertigo. the lack of cerebral co-ordina-
ton. and the obliteration of the material
universe.
Am All so ignorant. really?" said
she. "Ah'm fond of children; and All
must find wohk!"
Why did l hate Dustin? Why could
1 not command my speech? I always
in this instance.
AS for ignorance said l. "Sir John
Lubbock says: Studies are a means not
an end And Lord Bacon hath it: To
spend too much time in studies is sloth.'
see that you have acted on these max
inns. Prof. Dustin's astigmatism and
myopia rendered it impossible for him TO
See you.
I stopped in some returning confusion.
ratiCs-' said she
The personality of the teacher said
7. controls the matter"
| heard her laugh. a little delighted
! laugh. and found myself agreeing to the
heresy that. after all. the chief thing
is TO train the girls to be gentle, and the
boys brave! Then l gave her my arm
in to dinner. Chester. who had never
offered a girl his arm except at a dance
or after dark. glared at me- Mother
was uneasy at the stirring of the old
hrOtherly antaEOnisms. I expanded. and
told Miss Frayn that II all Southern
women were like the only one had met,
didn't wonder at the feuds. Then see
ing whittier ! was drifting, I asked her
plans as to the school she would take
when sent her her certificate. She said
that "Mistah Chestah'' was going to let
her have the home school,
"A hoy like Chester" said !. will
have little influence with Mr.. Middle
kauf. the director
''Oh, cut it out. Oc,' burst in Chester.
I've got it all framed up to be elected
Director
My political plans" said I, will not
allow of a breach between my family
and Mr.. MiddIekauf."
We'll. mine do" retorted Chester.
You'll take your chances with the Mid
dlekauffs' just as / do,
1t was not the occult influence, but a
desire to benefit educational conditions.
that led me to visit Miss Frayn's school
the week Chester's insurgency placed her
in it. My memory is hazy as to the mat
ter but my notes show that her weak
ness was in the matter of organization.
oh said she. when I mentioned this.
do you all prefeh things so regular foh
poky? It's so much mo- pleasant fob
the little things to be free She called
most of the little ones Honey" and al
lowed much latitude in whispering and