The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-04-28
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"PolIganna. Just Dasid. "
"Ddtcn, b" etc.

genteel and respectable; that Nurse
Sarah said 1t was. Ours was going to
be incompatibility, for one thing,
which meant that you got on each
others nerves, and just naturally
didn't care for each other any more.
But they only laughed, and said even
more disagreeable things, so that /
didn't want to go to school any longer,
and I told Mother so, and the reason
| too, of course.
But, dear me, wished right off that
I hadn't. I supposed she was going to
| be superb and naughty and disdainful,
and say things that would put those
girls where they belonged. But, my
stars! How could I know that she
was going to burst into such storm
of sobs and clasp me to her bosom, and
get my face all wet and cry out: "Oh,
| my baby, my baby-to think have sub
| jected you to this, my baby, my baby !"
And I couldn't say thing to COM
fort her, or make her stop, even when
| I told her over and over again that |
wasn't a baby. I was almost a young
/ lady; and wasn't being subjected to
anything bad. I liked it-only didn't
like to have those girls brag so, when
our divorce was away ahead of theirs,
| anyway.
| But she only cried more and more,
and held me tighter and tighter, rock
ing back and forth in her chair. She
took me out of school, though, and had
q lady come to teach me all by myself.
so I didn't have to hear those girls
brag any more, anyway. That was
better But she wasn't any happier
herself. 1 could see that.
There were lots of other ladies there
- beautiful ladies - only she didn't
seem to like them any better than /
did the girls I wondered if maybe
] they Dragged, too, and / asked her;
but she only began to cry again, and
moan, What have / done, what have
l doner'-and 1 had to try all over
again to comfort her.. But / couldn't.
She got so she just stayed in her
room lots and lots I tried to make
| her put on her pretty clothes, and do
as the other ladies did, and go out and
walk and sit on the big piazzas, and
|
| tables. She did, some, when we first
came, and took me, and / just loved
| 1t. They were such beautiful ladies,
| with their bright eyes. and their red
cheeks and jolly ways; and their
dresses were so perfectly lovely, all
silks and satins and sparkly spangles.
| and diamonds and rubies and emer-
aids, and silk stockings, and little bits
of gold and silver slippers.
And once l saw two of them smok-
ing. They had the cutest little ciga-
rettes (Mother said they were) in gold
holders, and I knew then that 1 was
seeing life-real life; not the stupid
kind you get back in a country town
like Andersonville. And / said so to
Mother: and 1 was going to ask her
If Boston was like that. But I didn't
get the chance. She jumped up Sc
quick l thought something had hurt
her, and cried, "Good Heavens, Baby!
(How / hate to be called Baby" y
!, Then she just threw some money OF
to the table to pay the bill and hurried
me away.
1t was after that that she began tC
stay in her room so much, and not
take me anywhere except for walks
at the other end of the town where
1t was all quiet and stupid, and n,
music or lights or anything. AnC
though l leased and leased to go bach
to the pretty, jolly places, she wouldn'r
ever take me; not once.
Then by and by, one day we met {
little black-haired woman with white
cheeks and very big sad eyes. There
J weren't any spangly dresses and golt
slippers about her, 1 can tell you! Sh'
was crying on a bench in the park
! and Mother told me to stay back anC
watch the swans while she went NJ
and spoke to her. (Why do old folk
always make US watch swans or reat
|. books or look into store windows o.
run and play all the time? Don't the!
, suppose we understand perfectly wei
what it means-that they're going t.
say something they don't want US t.
hearD Well. Mother and the lady Oh
, the bench talked and talked ever 81
, long, and then Mother called me UP
] and the lady cried little over me
and said, "Now, perhaps, If I'd had {
little girl like that Then sh
stopped and cried some more.
We saw this lady real often afte
, that. She was nice and pretty an
sweet. and I liked her; but she wa
always awfully sad. and 1 don't believ
it was half so good for Mother to b
with her as 1t would have been for he
to be with those jolly. laughing ladie
that were always having such goo
times. But / couldn't make Mothe
see 1t that way at all. There ar
times when it seems as If mother Jus
couldn't see things the way l do. HoT
= estly. II seems sometimes almost as
she was the cross-current and contrs
dicfion instead Of me It does.