The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1917-02-27
His Tutor
She Taught Him to
Conjugafe the
Verb to LoUe
~ EnxyTN cuAppr
By EDWIN SHARPE

- A-Ao AAAS. 4 nave O1lcQ utdIO ulLll Say
that to go to store or an Office every
day and attend to details such as buy
Ing and selling and shipping and flnan
ciering and such matters that have NJ
Importance except for the time being
dying as fast as they are born, like Ger
tain insects, would soon wear him out
I But to sit in a library and read immor
tai works such as the Greek poets and
the Latin prose writers-father readi
them In the original Greek and Latin
that is way Of spending ones time
fitted not for commercial slaves, but
intellectual gentlemen.
When l was child we hyed-my
parents live there yet-in the country
not far from great city. Father hat
inherited some property from his an
cestors that had been handed dowr
through several generations, and oul
income, though small, was sufficient
for our wants. So father was at liberty
to spend his time In a way that he con
sidered profitable. sometimes oyer
heard people sneering at him for living
the life Of drone. as they expressed
1t, but since have grown old 1t, seems
to me that even the real drones in a
colony of bees must have their place In
natures workshop or they would moi
be there.
Another singular thing about Dame
Nature is that, while she requires years
to transform boy into man, she will
turn girl into woman in a twinkIing,
At any rate it was so with me. When ]
was thirteen l was sitting one morning
on the porch at home, my doll being in
chair beside me. Seeing a young fell
low-he appeared to be about seventeen
come into the grounds, seized the
combination Of china, cotton and saw
dust and flung 1t Ia an open window be-
hind me. There were some books on q
table near by, and, taking up one OF
them, pulling down the short skirt OF
my dress at the same time SO that II
would cover my knees, ! pretended to
read.
The young fellow came along by the
winding walk under the great trees
they had recently put forth that sea.
sons leaves and approached the
porch, Though my gaze was bent on my
book, I saw not the printed words, but
the advancing youth. have a minia-
ture portrait made of him at that time,
and many who have seen it have taken
1t for an ideal creation. He was, tall
for his years, and his beautifully shaped
head was set on as beautiful neck,
his collar being of the open sort, which
showed the throat to advantage His
face was perfect oval, his eyes large
and lustrous. his hair falling about his
temples In disordered waves.
have spoken from experience In
saying that Dame Nature will turn a
girl into a woman in a twinkling My
own Transformation did not occupy
more than minute. Within that pc
Rod caught sight Of the youth. hung
away my doll and was in love.
The newcomer paid no more atten-
ton to me than If l had been made,
like my doll, of sawdust. | was stung
to the quick that he did not look at me.
He rang the bell, asked for father and
was shown into the house. went up
stairs and, stationing myself beside a
window overlooking the walk by which
he must pass out Of the place, waited
for him to do so. When he departed /
was watching him from behind cur
tains. He walked with satisfied step,
as though he had come for purpose
and had accomplished It.
/ wished to 60 right down to, the L.
brary and learn all about the visitor
from father but feared to show an
undue interest in him. tried hard to
wait a long while, but five minutes
was all my impotence would allow.
Going into the library, pretended to
hunt for book, at the same time ask
ing as IL incidentally:
aWho was your visitor, papa2"
Julian Trowbridge"
sWhat did he come fort"
ITO ask me to coach him for his col
Iege examination. He has applied for
admission in June"
'Are you going to coach himT'
Eyes. couldn't very well refuse.
He's the son Of my old friend Trow-
bridge, who was in college with me.
Trowbridge has devoted himself to ig-
noble pursuits and got rich. pulled
him through his graduating examina-
TONS
ooh, my goodness graciousr' said
to myself, putting my hand to my heart
to still its wild beating. Then asked,
as he coming here for Instruction.
Eyes, every morning at IL"
And SO should see every day till
June this young god whom had sud-
denly set up In my heart. If father
had known the tunault within me be
doubtless would have. ordered me to
the nursery every morning before his
pupils coming Father had publish
ed translation of Ovid's art Of
Love- with copious notes, but he did
not know enough about love itself to
suspect that his own daughter had
already been pierced by one Of Cupid's
arrows, The natural be studied In his
library from the ancients; the artificial
came to him the moment he left it.
His daughter must go to college, and
that meant absence of love for seven
or eight years to come. That he had
right under his own nose but repe-
tition of what had occurred ever since
human beings were born into the world
was furthest from bis thoughts.
In nature the first step in mating Is
to build nest. In my case there was
a lot of preliminary work to do. NY
first great object to accomplish was to
induce my mother to procure some
dresses that would reach at least to
my ankles. After much trouble / per
suaded her to engage dressmaker to
come to the house and make me some
summer costumes BY day mother
would give her instructions as to the
length of my skirts, and by night l
would surreptitiously lower them while
they were merely basteG. When they
were finished mother would scold the
poor woman for not obeying her orders.
How Is your pupil getting on, papa ?"
! asked one day.
Not at all. He's stupid as an owl.
He can't even conJugate the. present
tense of the verb to love. ~
do you think he'll pass his entrance
college examinations3"
mot this year."
Father was not looking at me. so II
was at liberty to raise my eyes to
heaven with mute thanks and resolv-
ed that, If the coaching should con-
tinue for another year. In case the In
structor could not teach the pupil how
to conjugate the verb ito love" / would
do so myself
Hnr. a rnar I,,linr, sIs-n.ul,..sa.- 49,.