The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-09-15

ne being much bent at the time from
rheumatsm.' This same charming
ilteralneSs found expression in her
personal Interpretation of her first
sewing lesson. Hem 4 little. then
run a iittle'-she taking = run around
me flower garden between every ten
Slllches. Every one recognized her
remarkable originality. - a very
small child; and il particular her
marvellous memory, which is a fam
ny characteristic No wonder that
one who. taught by an amused fathcr
ratified off Shakespeare a the aver
age small child recites Mother Goose.
came to be regarded as an infant
prodigy.
The serial stories il the children's
magazines. such As ST. Nicholas. ex-
cited the imagination of the fancifll
child She and her childhood chum.
hllza Skinner, lauShingly tell of the
wonderful fairy tale "Rumpty Dud-
sett," Of "Eyebright," of "Donald and
Dorothy In those two short hours
between dinner time after school and
the early winter dark. these two ex-
cltedly e Louisa NJ. Alcotts stories
when they first appeared, serially:
Under the Lilacs." Little Men"
Little Women" Jos Boys and the
rest.
Under the dexterous management
OF Miss ~Stubbert, an adroit teacher in
the primary grades at ST. Marv's
School, Raleigh, little Margaret was
first inspired to literary effort. And
at the < of ten, Margie" produced
a composition on "A Visit to AShe-
Vile which won the honor OF pub
LEGATION in The Muse. the magazine
published by the Seniors at st. Mary's.
An early ideal in fiction was The
Duchess about whom she wrote a
NOlnElin0nS "anyrooia finno at tho n oa
of fOurteen-Only TO consign it ulti-
mately to the w~astebasket. Regret
table decision. for how interested We
should be to see this early ''appre-
ciation' by n who has since given
us, in certain Of her own stories. some
what modernized versions Of those
charmlnsly sentimental and frankly
romantic creations. Molly Bawn,'
Doris and airy, Fairy Lillian.'
And that remarkably natural CONVEX
satlOn, expressive yet unpretentiOus
E which runs all through the novels O.
The Duchess" is likewise a charac.
~teristic of the dialogue Of the storie:
, of Margaret Busbee Shipp. Whenever
l ! see her, as conversation flows. slight
ly contract her eyelids, I know tha
I she is seduloasly pigeon holing som
l conversational gem. If | am Obscr
want, | shall some day ind it in on,
I of her stories. To use a Shakespear
t can phrase. she is "a snapper-up o
unconsidered trifes'-a loving jour
e nalist Of the idea and emotions 0
e daily life. This ii is to be a realist-
n to reproduce life, speech, converse
ton as it actually is. Her stories ar
all, n may say, drawn from real life
e They are the results of careful ObSel
n vation-fused into form through
high sensitiveneSs for romance an
sentiment. Mrs. Browning left a dee
impression upon her as a girl. .Whe
l. others could quote two lines of Mr.
n Browning, she could quote two page
S, n day one of her chums foun
e "Margie" Spouting page after page {
le Millions paradise Lost to a mos
le dazed looking drummer. why " he
friend ventured to demonstrate, afte
al the Drummer had made good h
" escape. Because it came in right,
IF responded the miscellaneous Margi
is I've waited fifteen years for a chant
a to use it. And do you suppose [ woul
st nave let slip the opportunity now, jul;
because he didn't want to hear it,
S. 1 shall not lay myself open to tt
le criticism Of over-serlousness by Gu
ting up the beautiful Margaret Busbe
n Shipp into sections and periods, ar
Sc labelling things "of the earlier mar
t. ner,' or "of the middle period"
l. ''of the latest mannerism.' But
to will say hat she writes most diver
he ing love stories, full of whimsical
as ity, sentiment, mo feminine contrari
as ty-surcharged with a blush of r,
be nance; charming stories abou chile
n. rem drawn straight from life, Wit
lis that '~'heightening for the sake of e
Iii feet which is the privilege of tt
IL artist; articles n descriptive essa.
er full OF human interest on the OF
hand, of subtle perception on IL
n. other. Her powers Of description az
m narration are very striking; one O
n ten fOrgets the slight story in cOnce
tration upon the beauty Or finish
is some semi-detail. The most tender
e. all her children's stories, the OF
ch which appeals most to me, is Lift
e: Paulfat." which, with drawings /
to Alice Beach Winter, occupied II
,st leading position in Leslie's Month
Magazine for July, 1904. Much as
,e. profited by her stories OF "Moonshil
ed and MoonShiners," in Golfers, son
or wears ago. I must give the palm. as