Ellsworth American., 1920-01-21
Near St. Anne's
By JANE OSBORN
"a. 1919, BY Mcclure Newspaper syndicat..l

Matron OF an "old ladies' home,
Madge Grayl If you had seen her as
she set out that Thanksgiving eve you,
too, would have rebelled against the
fate that had forced Madge to her de-
cision. 1t had been merely the result
of a little arithmetic. She received
$50 a week-a sum that would once
have seemed munificent-fOr her work
as filing clerk In a downtown office.
For board and lodging In tiny hall
bedroom she had to deduct S12. There
were six lunches besides, and clothes
and carfares and all those little Incl
dentals that, no matter what your in
come, always come TO work havoc with
your budget. At st. Annes Madge had
been offered $50 a month-but there
would be no eXpenses-no carfare,
board, lodging, lunch or laundry. 1t
was not that Institutional life seemed
to hold out any attractions to Madge,
but simply because she was tired OF
putting up the fight that seemed nee
essary in adjusting her standard of
living to that $50 a week. So Madge
was interested when Mrs. Saunders.
who had known Atadge before Mr.
Gray's death and the collapse Of the
Gray affairs, wrote telling her in let
ter full of pity that st. Anne's home,
of which Mrs. Saunders was a direc-
tor, was in need of a matron and that
Mrs. Saunders remembered how tact
full Madge had been with the old
ladies at the hotel where they had
once spent the summer. Her letter
did not very successfully conceal the
fact that the matronship of st. Anne's
had not been q position very much
sought after and that the $50 had not
been deemed sufficient to the other
supreme tact needed to get on with
the aged gentlewomen" who lived at
st. Anne's.
If the inmates of st. Anne's had
easier, but the fact that they paid
not inconsiderable board and that
they themselves regarded st. Anne's
not at all as a charitable institution
although it was heavily endowed
made the task of being their matron
none too easy.
Imagine the fair-haired Madge.
scarce more than a child herself,
mothering all those old ladies. But
to her there was nothing incongruous
in the idea. So having no more inter-
esting plans to make for the holiday,
she told Mrs. Saunders that she would
go out to ST Anne's to "look things
over" and see if she thought she
could possibly assume the responsible
ity that the position required.
Mrs. Saunders had thereupon
asked her to go out Wednesday after
noon and spend the Thanksgiving
weekend there. She wrote to the de-
parting matron to receive Madge and
to try TO make st. Annes seem as at
tractive as possible.
So when twenty-year-old Madge
started out by train to the unfrequent-
ed suburb that harbored st. Anne's it
was with the feeling that if she ac-
cepted the position-and there seemed
not the faintest doubt but that she
would-her last decision would have
been reached. She would simply re-
main at st. Anne's the rest of her life.
So far there hadn't been very much
else for her but disappointment, she
retiected-poor little Madge who was
capable of so much enjoyment-and
Tor such as her a retreat like st.
Anne's was the best that life could af-
ford. Never had one of the inmates of
st. Anne's approached that vine-coy-
cred house in the country feeling anv
older than did Madge that Thanksgiv-
ing eve.
= But she didn't look old-far from 1t,
The demure little hat and the mex
pensive plain dark suit greatly became
her. 1t did not require sables and vel.
vets to set off the prettiness of Madge
In fact, Madge was of that winsome
artless type that appear best when
most simply dressed.
She sat in her seat in the rail
road train watching the retreatins
landscape-the cold gray November
sky and the ponds in the meadow.
showing border of ice around tht
edge.
And as she looked a tear welled III
from each of those violet eyes ant
met at the bridge of her dainty nos,
and then splashed down on Madge'
hands that lay folded before her. Wha
was the use of wiping it away? Ther,
was no one to see, or, at least, no on,
TO care
Then two more tears started, bu
suddenly were checked. Some on
was leaning over her. She looked III
and stifled little cry with the han,
that had risen to wipe away tn
vestiges Of her foolish tears.
''Bob," said Madge, and Bob sal
"Madge." Then he sat down besid
her. "Well, whatever are you doing?
he asked, and Madge said: "Oh, JUS
going to Malvern. Are your"
Bob said he was, and then: "Wha