Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-03-09
His Tutor
She Taught Him to
Conjugate the
Verb to Loue
By EDWIN SHARPE
By EDWIN SHARPE

OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES +-* s+++*a-+s.
Father has never done a days work
in his life. have often heard him say
that to go to a store or an office every
day and attend to details such as buy
ing and selling and shipping and finan-
ciering and such matters that have no
Importance except for the time being,
dying as fast as they are born, like GER
tain insects, would soon wear him out.
But to sit in "A library and read INNER
tai works such as the Greek poets and
the Latin prose writers-father reads
them in the original Greek and Latin
that is a way of spending ones time
fitted not for commercial slaves, but
intellectual gentlemen.
When | was a child we lived--my
parents live there yet-in the country
not far from a great city. Father had
inherited some property from his an
cestors that had been handed down
income, though small, was sufficient
for our wants. So father was at liberty
to spend his time in a way that he on
sidered profitable. l sometimes over
heard people sneering at him for living
the life of a drone, as they expressed
it, but since | have grown old it seems
to me that even the real drones in a
colony of bees must have their place in
natures workshop or they would not
be there.
Another singular thing about Dame
Nature is that, while she requires years
to transform a boy into a man, she will
turn a girl into a woman in a twinkling.
At any rate it was so with me. When |
was thirteen | was sitting one morning
ON the porch at home, my doll being in
a chair beside me. Seeing a young fell
low-he appeared to be about seventeen
come into the grounds, l seized the
combination of china, cotton and saw
dust and flung it in an open window be
hind me. There were some books OF a
table near by, and, taking up one of
them, pulling down the short skirt of
my dress at the same time so that it
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, l saw not the printed words, but
the advancing youth. I have a NINA
ture portrait made of him at that time
and many who have seen it have taker
it for an ideal creation. He was tai
for his years. and his beautifully shaped
head was set on as beautiful a neck,
his collar being of the open sort, which
showed the throat to advantage. His
face was a 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 in a twinkling. My
own transformation did not occupy
more than a minute. Within that pc
Rod l caught sight of the youth, flung
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. l was stung
to the quick that he did not look at me
He reng the bell, asked for father and
was shown into the house. l 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 a satisfied step
as though he had come for a purpose
and had accomplished it.
| wished to go right down to the Ii
brary and learn all about the visitor
from father. but | feared to show an
undue interest in him. | tried hard tC
wait a long while, but five minutes
was all my impotence would allow
Going into the library, l pretended tt
hunt for a book, at the same time ask
ing as if incidentally:
"Who was your visitor, papaf"
Julian Trowbridge."
"What did he come forF'
ITO ask me to coach him for his col
lege examination. He has applied FOL
admission in June"
"Are you going to coach him?"
Eyes. l 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. I pulled
him through his graduating examina
tions.'
"Oh, my goodness gracious!' I sale
to myself. putting my hand to my hear
to still it's wild beating. Then 1 asked
"Is he coming here for Instruction.
Eyes, every morning at IL"
And so 1 should see every day til
June this young god whom 1 had sud
denly set up in my heart. If father
had known the tumult within me III
doubtless would have ordered me t.
the nursery every morning before hi
pupils coming. Father had publish