Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1916-11-21
The statue Of a Man.

The Statue Of Man.
The street was wider at the south
send Of the block than at the north, a
village eccentricity which the big city
Swallowing the village whole, had not
stroubled to correct. Into the wedge OF
extra space thus left had been sQueez-
Eed tiny park, a mere symbol of green
freedom, inserted like buttOnhOle
Sdown the center of the street. The tat
tered lace-work Of the iron fence en-
closed a fading sketch of tree, q
s4aint blur of grass, and, standing
Il strongly against the wider end, the
statute of man. The work, though
frude, had been sincerely done, and
SEthe begnignant power of the middle
Haged form had saved even its quaint
frock coat and the top hat in its hand
From the missiles and -jests of that
swarming neighborhood. Or perhaps
Its immunity lay in the inscription
which generation of street arabs had
ahrilly spelled out: 81
SERENO GAGE
The Friend of Children
Isl Erected in Loving Memory by the
Children Of the United States
1t was neikhborhood of tight little
brick houses, here and there green
y door with brass knocker or richly
EWhite door with clean side-lights tes-
4 tifying to some stanch old resident
who refused to be driven out by
L changed conditions. House after house
Il had given up the struggle, first relax
ing to boarders, then yielding to lodg-
sers, and finally abandoning itself to
!. foreign hordes and smells, while
Agreasily dark little shops yawned open
Ain wha. had once been tidy Easements.
Young couples with house desires and
nat incomes sometimes moved in, but
they never renewed their leases.
Round corner from the little park
I = door-plate still said Serene Gage.
In ali their comings and goings the
widow and children Of Serene Gage
passed his statue: Mrs, Gage throwing
/ 1t brisk practical glance and remark
Ing that the city ought to keep 1t up
3 better, Sabra erecting her fine head as
though It were statue to herself,
h Ralston too worried to notice it unless
/. there were children to be ordered of
the fence, and Clotilda-Chloe, the
surprise child, who had come long
after the old nursery things had been
given away, lifting a glance of loving
question to the father she had never
oeen. "And don't you ever wonder
about us?" she sometimes asked him.
But Serene Gage, who had given his
Me to the cause of all children, had
worked for them, plead for them, initi-
] ated half the modern laws and soci-
cites on their behalf, looked out as
!. obviously over the heads Of his own
I as over the ragamuffin heads that
X bobbed about his pedestal on summer
y afternoons. Their servant had de-
parted in peace.
CHAPTER l.
Sabra closed the door behind her
softly, considerably. as though Civ
A ing an object lesson in the proper clos
l ing Of doors, and advanced to the
! breakfast table with the same fine
! perfection of manner, pausing to lean
on her chair back and look success
\ sively ut the others.
Mother. Ralston," she began, II
want you to consider something, quite
4 impersonally, as though I were not
7 concerned" Chloe was also there,
and Billy, Ralston's little motherless
son. but they played a minor part in
the family councils.
then dropped back again. Hang it,
Sabra, / can't talk before go to
work." he protested with confused,
helpless Irritation, his hands fumb-
ling as though to gather up his break
fast for fight. you know how it puts
me on. / felt really creative this
morning Oh, writer ought to live
by himself"
Sabra took her seat with perfect
resonableness. Very well. 1t will
disturb Ralston, so we won'ttalk 1t
over till later" she announced. Moth
err, dear. | hope you slept well. Good
morning, Chloe and little Billy. She
was handsome, weighty as poised as
though she breakfasted on public
platform with well-bred conscious
ness of her audience. II wonder if
there is any fresh toast?"
Chloe, slim and brown and silent as
some young foreigner, jumped up to |
wait on her Mrs. Gage was review
Ing household possibilities with man