The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1920-03-25
THE ROSE--GAR~)
DEN HUSBAND
By MARGARET WIDDEMER

The Liberty teacher lifted her eyes
from half made catalog card, eyed
the relentiessly slow clock and
checked long wriggie Of purest,
frankest weariness Then she gave
furtiye glance around to see IL the
children had noticed she was oft
guard; for il they had she knew the
whole crowd might take more lfber-
ties than they ought to, and nave to
be spoken to by the janitor. He
could do great deal with them. be-
cause he understood their attitude to
life. but that wasn't good for Liberty
teachers record.
1t was four o'clock OF stickily wet
Saturday. AS long as it is anything
from Monday to Friday the average
library attendant goes around thank
ing her stars she isn't school teach
err; but the last day of the week,
when the rest of the world is having
its relaxing Saturday off and coming
to gloat over you as it acquires It's
Sunday reading best seller, if you
work in library you begin just at
noon to wish devoutedly that you'd
taken up scrubbing by the day, or
hack driving, Or porch climbing Or
ANYTHING on earth that gave you a
weekly half holiday.
So the Liberty teacher braced her.
self severely and put on her reading
classes with view to looking older
and more firm Liberty teacher" it
might be well to explain was not her
official title. Her description on
| the pay roll ran Assistant for the
Children's Department, Greenway
Branch, City Public Library Grown
up people, when she happened to run
across them. called her Miss Braith-
waite. But Liberty Teacher was
the only name the children ever used,
and she saw scarcely anybody but the
children six days week, 81 weeks
year. AS for her real name, that
| nobody ever called her by, that was
Phyllis Narcissa.
She was quite willing to have such
a name as that buried out Of sight.
She had a sense of fitness; and such
| a name belonged back in an old New
England parsonage garden full Of
pink roses and nice green caterpillars
AMI girl dreams, and the days before
she was IS; not in a smutty city IL
| brary, attached to 25-year-old young
woman with reading glasses and fine
/ discipline and WOODEN shirtwaist!2
| It wasn't that the Liberty Teacher
| didn't like her position. She not
only liked it, but she had great
deal Of admiration for it, because it
| had been exceedingly hard to get.
She had held it firmly now for a
| whole year. Before that she had
been In the cataloging, where your
eyes hurt and you get little pain
between your shoulders, but you sit
| down and cantalk to other girls;
| and before that in the circulation,
| where 1t hurts your feet and you get
ink on your fingers, but you see lots
/ of funny things happening. She had
started at IL years old, at $50 a
/ month. Now she was rs, and she
got all Of $50, 50 she ought TO nave
been very happy Liberty Teacher
indeed. and generally she was. When
the children wanted to specify her
particularly hey described her as
"the pretty one that laughs" But
at four o'clock of wet Saturday
afternoon, In a badly mentilated,
badly lighted room full of damp little
unwashed foreign children, even the
most sunny hearted Liberty Teacher
may be excused for having thoughts
i that are little tired and cross and
restless.
| She flung herself back In her desk
chair and watched, with brazen In
difference, Giovanni and Liberata
Bruno stickuy paving the colored
| Bird Book that was, supposed to be
looked at only under supervision;
she ignored the fact that three little
Czechs werS fighting over the wall.
ing library cat; and the counds q
conflict Chased by Jfmsy Hoofan'a
desire to got the Last surviving Algel
book away from John Zanowsk
moved her not white. The Liberty
Teacher lad s.eRPsa, s2z Rys .N.p
dtss. being crown ut and RESPONSIBLE
and she Vas wishing wishing hard
and vengufu1ly. This Is always I
risky thing to do, because you never
know when the destinies may over
hear You and take you at your exac
word. with the detailed and careful
{ accuracy one acquires in library wcr1
she was wishing for q sum Of money
garden, and q husband-but prin
Before tho Police Came.
Frcan the Boston Transcript.
'sPleate help . poor feller wot onl.