The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-09


 she was born in Erie. Pa.. of honest but not too rich parents.
 They named her Ruth.
 Tn her early teens Miss Ruth began to visualize. T must be great success" she said. "I must go to New York to be recog nized. But what have that deserves rec ognition?" She could not answer because she did not know. Never mind" she said to herself, happily; s'some time I'll find out"
 So she busted herself watching the tele phone girls working at the switchboard At night she would go over the motions she had seen during the day and even rigged up little dummy board to prac tise on. At last she went to the head of the exchange and asked for position.
 Have you had any experience?' asked the manager.
 "Oh, yes" said Miss Laurel, then Just getting out of her sixteenth year. So they put her on the switch and as she seemed to know just what to do, they left her there.
 "Ah," said Miss Laurell to herself that night. Tn six years I will have saved enough to go to New York and by that time I will surely have discovered my talent"
 But, alas! what was splendid in theory didn't work out in practise. Miss Laurell's spirit was all right, hut her fingers weren't tough enough. She had wanted to do things too much in a hurry and hadn't given them time to callous. The plug cords which she shot into place, began to cut them. The hands began to swell. She went pluckily on until one day the tele phone people had to carry her out 10 hospital She had gotten blood poisoning from the little cords and she had 10 give up the telephone
 Can you work on the typewrter?' asked one of the doctors Miss Laurell had never worked on one in her life, but that didn't matter.
 "Of course,,,' she said.
 "All right when your hand is well I'll employ you as my stenographer, said he.
 Miss Laurel noted the make of type writer he used and made note of the salary-a much nearer New York one than the telephone people had given her.
 After that. every night, Miss Laurell went secretly to a business college and learned to typewrite on just that kind of machine with her left hand. She figured that if she could learn with the left she'd have no trouble in picking up the thing with the right in quick time. That is just what happened. So she got that job. '1'm sure it's not typewriting that I'm to be a genius at though sle sighed. "No it's something else. Now, what is it?"
 The conduct of one of the doctors friends ought to have given her the clue. He would sit and look at her for hours. Then he proposed marriage to her. At last he proposed so violently that Miss Laurel) left the office by the window. She wouldn't come back. But she did get another posi- tion-she had learned s.enography too, by that time
 And still she was dissatisfied. 'I know there is something that l can do better than all this" she said Lets see--have I carfare to New York and enough to live on for time?" She counted. Yes she had. Perhaps" she unused, q can discover my self there" She went to New York
 Almost at once she met MT Charles Falls, the famous illustrator The Illustra- tors Society, of which the distinguished Charles Dana Gibson is the president, was about to have one of it's charming but unconventional affairs. MT. Falls had writ ten an exquisite little pantomime. He called 1t Perfectly Happy It's theme and treatment were strongly Oriental
 "Alas!" sighed MT. Falls T am not happy"
 why not? asked Miss Kay-yes, she had dropped the Ruth en route to New York. -t
 q want some one to pose as my heroine. the Philandering Queen, and cannot get her. mourned MT. Falls.
 will dor" asked Miss Kay. MT. Falls looked at her with an awakening eye.
 Not that way" he said. Wait, I'll show
 Convripht 1916 by the Star Com na