The Virginia enterprise., 1913-04-18

W. The principal had Sc
.~<. cretly liked Florence
" ~ = Raimund, the best of
her two hundred girls, for
three years; and, sometimes,
she suspected that Florence knew it.
Miss Wing sat at her desk. 1t was
large desk of oak, always kept in
blameless order. No one could recall
seeing more than one letter at a time
lying on the blotter. Any others, yet
unread, lay in the wicker tray to the
left; the letters read but not answered
were in the wicker tray to the right;
the answered letters were in appropri
ate pigeonholes or in ashes, Miss Wing
being firm believer in fire as conf
1ential agent. About the desk hung
the most interesting object in the
room, to the schoolgirls; in fact it
would be hard to gauge justly the in
fluence this one, mute and motionless,
had over their young imaginations:
or how far it was responsible for the
rose-tinted halo that beyond doubt,
glorified the principal for them. The
object was picture, the picture of
young man in the uniform of captain
in the German cuirassiers. His thick
light hair was brushed back from a
fine and candid forehead. A smile
creased his cheek under the warlike
curl Of his mustache. 1t was a smile
so happy and so friendly in it's hap
piness, that it won the beholder The
eyes were not large, but even in the
black and white of photograph (the
portrait was an ordinary cabinet
carte) they seemed to sparkle. The
young fellows figure was superb, and
held with military precision and
jauntiness. One said looking at the
whole presence, This man is good
fellow" Viewing him more closely,
one might add, "And he is in love-"
The picture was framed handsomely
In gilded frame. On the desk below,
an exquisite vase of Venice lifted a
single, perfect rose. For Is years a
flower had always bloomed thus. Miss
Wing had hung the picture herself, Is
years ago. Then, she was the new
principal, and the school was but half
claimed at trusting "such a gill" with
SO much responsibility. During those
Is years the new building had been
built. the school had grown and flour
ished; and the gray had crept into
Margaret Wings bright hair. She had
so often put on mourning for her near
kindred that she had assumed 1t as
hor ha to;v
land ecstatic) knowledge of the school,
she had refused divers offers of mar
riage from citizens of good repute
ard substance. But during all the
changing years, the picture had kept
its place and the fresh flowers had
bloomed below. No girl could remem-
ber the desk without the picture; and
when the old girls visited the school,
their eyes would instinctively seek it
In it's old place; always with a little
moving of the heart Yet no one
ever alluded to 1t to the principal;
and no one, not her most trusted
teacher. nor her best loved pupil, had
ever heard the principal speak of it.
The name of the pictured soldier, his
story, his relation to Miss Wing; Miss
Wings dearest kindred and friends
knew as much about all these as the
school-and that was nothing. Never
theless, the school tradition reported
part of a name on the authority of a
single incident. Years ago an acci-
dent happened to the picture. 1t was
the principals custom to carry it with
her on her journeys, however brief );
always taking it down and putting it
back in its place herself. On this oc-
casion the floor had been newly pol
tshed, and in hanging the picture her
chair on which she stood slipped and
she fell, while the picture dropped out
Of her grasp. One of the girls, who
was passing, ran to her aid; but she
had crawled toward the picture and
would have it in her hands before she
allowed the girl to aid her to rise-a
circumstance, you may be sure, not
likely to escape the sharp young eyes.
Neither did these same eyes miss the
further circumstance that the jar had
shifted the carte in the frame and a
line Of writing, hitherto hidden, was
staring out at the world The hand
was the sharp. minute German hand,
but the words were English; the girl
took them in at an eyeblink, as she
handed the picture to Miss Wing;
Thine for ever, Max" Miss Wing
made no comment; perhaps she sup
posed that the girl had not seen. per,
haps-in any case she was silent.
Of course, the new light flooded the
school gossip Immediately. But there
never came any more; every new girl
was free to work her own will on Miss
Wings romance. Was MAX" dead
Had they parted because of any act on
the woman's part? Surely he could
not have been false, to receive that
daily oblation of flowers 1t was more
likely that she thus expressed an i'm.
perishable regret. Youth, ever fanci.
full, played with all manner of dainty
and plaintive variations on the theme,
Its very mystery was it's poignant
charm; since each tender young soul
created new romance and new ap.
peal. Elusive and pathetic, It lowered
On the edge of these young lives, like
the perfume of flower And it's in.
duence was the more potent that it
asked for nothing. It is not too much
to say that the spectacle OF that gen
tie and ret1cent faithfulness was the
strongest element in the school at.
mosphere. Certainly, because of it,
Miss Wing had greater power over
her scholars. She was q woman of