The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-02-21

Liberty Teacher" II might be
well to explain, was not her Of
fetal title. Her description on
the pay roll ran, Assistant for
the Children's Department Green
way Branch, City Public Library
Grown-up people. when she
happened to run across them,
called her Miss Braithwaite. But
Liberty Teacher" was the only
name the children ever used, and
she saw scarcely anybody but the
children, six days q week, 81
weeks q year. AS for her real
name, that nobody ever called
her by, that was Phyllis Nareissa.
She was quite willing to have
such a name as that buried out of
sight. She had sense Of fitness;
and such a name belonged back
In the old New England parson-
age garden full of pink roses and
girl dreams, and the days before
she was IS.
Ii wasn't that the Liberty
Teacher didn't like her position.
She not only liked 1t. but she had
a great deal of admiration for it
because 1t had been exceedingly
hard to get. She had held 1t firm
ly now for a whole year.
Before that she had been in
the cataloguing, and before that
In the circulation. She had start
ed at IS years old, at $40 a
month. Now she was % and she
got all Of $50, so she ought to
have been a very happy Library
Teacher indeed, and generally she
was.
When the children wanted to
specify her particularly they de-
scribed her as 'the pretty one
that laughs" But at four o'clock
of a wet Saturday afternoon even
the most sunny-hearted Liberty
Teacher may be excused for hav-
ing thoughts that are a little
restless. With the careful accu-
racy one acquires In library work
she was wishing for sum of
money. a garden. and a husband
but principally husband.
This is why:
That day as she was returning
from her long-delayed Commute
dairy lunch she had charged, UNI
brella down. almost full into a
pretty lady getting out OF a shiny
gray limousine. Such an unneces-
sarily pretty lady all furs and
fluffles and wells and perfumes
and waved hair! And each Of
her white-gloved hands held tight
to pretty picture book child.
Mother and children were max
ing their way to the matinee of a
fairy play.
The Liberty Teacher smiled at
the children with more than her
accustomed good will. The moth
er smiled back, smile that
changed, as the Liberty Teacher
passed. to puzzled remembrance.
The gay little family went on in
to the theater, and Phyllis Braith-
waite hurried on back to her
work, trying to think who the
pretty lady could have been, to
have seemed to almost remember
her. Finally the solution came,
just as Phyllis was pulling off her
raincoat In the dark cloak room.
Eva Atkinson" she said.
Back in long ago in the little
New England town, where Phyllis
Braithwaite had lived till she was
almost Is, there had been a Prin-
cipal Grocer. And Eva Atkinson
had been his daughter, not so
very pretty, not so very pleasant,
not so very clever. and about six
years older than Phyllis.
Phyllis remembered hearing
that Eva had married and come to
this city to live. And this had
been Eva-Eva. by the grace of
gold, radiantly complexioned,
wonderfully groomed, beautiful
|ly gowned and looking "a, per-
haps. at most; with a car and a
placid expression and heNps OF
money, and pretty clean children!
The Liberty Teacher, severely
work-garbed and weather-drag-
gled jerked herself away from the
small greenish cloak room mirror
that was unkind to you at your
best.
She gave a little out-loud cry
of vexation now as she thought
of 1t two hours later.
II must have looked to Eva
like a battered bisque doll-no
wonder she couldn't place mel"
she muttered GROSSLY.
Eva never was as pretty as
was." her rebellious thoughts
went on. You think things, you
know, that you'd never say aloud.
I'm sick Of elevating the publicl
I'm sick of working hard 81
weeks out of So for board and
lodging and carfare and shirt
waists. I'm sick Of libraries. and
of being efficient. want to be
a real girl! oh. wish--I wish |
had lot OF money and q rose
garden, and a husband"
The Liberty Teacher was
aghast at herself. She hadn't
meant to wish such q very un-
maidenly thing SO hard. She
jumped up and dashed across the
room and collected the most up
roarious of her flock around her
and began telling them stories out
OF the Merry Adventures Of