Evening star., 1923-06-24
Sentiment, Charm ard Surprises
Were Involved When Our Square
Received Social Recognition.

which attracts the startieus Ho.iee VI
the wayfarer-
THE ANGEL. OF. DEATH
One Flight Up and Ring Bell
To use. of the Squart the spiacard is
a commonplace, and the Angel of
Death just. Boggs, a chunky. 5ristly
little man with gold teeth and a
weak. meek. peanut-whistle voice.
who conducts. worthy though. hum
BILE enterprise of hygiene AND clean
Illness more specifically set forth in
the legend running. crimson. across
the top of his business card
BOGGS KILLS BUGS
Once in the long ago that explicit
announcement had famed upon the
house front. It yielded to the more
dignified form when Mmes Tallafftrr
took Mr. Boggs' top floor. She said
that she could not live over 1t. >and
the landlord sacrificed hts prizd al
iteration rather than lose lodger so
elegant and aristocratic. So the sign
came down and she went up. With
her went furniture, scanty but mag
Dificent. IA silver-inlaid lock box To-
Ally crdited with safeguarding the
Pemberton family diamonds, Sempro-
MUS who was fat and black and
cat. and Old Sally. who was fat and
Slack and thief. ~.
Mr.. Boggs lodger was all that is
most glorious in southern lineage
Her full style and title was Nine
Rachel Pinckney jPemberton Tallaf-
ferr, with two ls two is and two RS.
tf you value her favor. She belonged
TO no less than seven Daughters of"
organizations with sumptuous sta
tfonery, and to spirit guidance
group.
In person Nine. Tallafferr was
spare. tall and straight. She became
known to the locality. behind her
back, as the duchess. She made oc-
casional excursions. going westward
and uptown. sometimes actually in
an automobile, and always escorted
by Old Sally. 1t was understood
from the boastful Mr.. Boggs) that
on such occasions his lodger was 60
ing into society.
X u
pCT though aloof she was not alien.
- She could in time of need descend
from her remote Olympus and lend
a hand. Tht first occasion was when
sudden and disastrous spring epi-
demic Of that Herod of diseases, diph-
liberia, swept down upon our Square
bringing panic in its train. Then the
Duchess consulted briefly with the
Little Red Doctor Shit put on the
black silk of splendor the Pinckney
laces and the Pemberton diamonds
and thus girded for the fray. went
forth, spare, thin-lipped. female St
George, against our local dragon
Wherever that sane and confident
presence appeared. panic gave way to
reason and mutiny to obedience. The
Little Red Doctor delivered his esti-
mate of her:
Cold nerve and tradition Our
Square ought to put up statue to
her-in steel"
Against which may be sci off the
Duchess summing up of the Little
Red Doctor:
'He seems a worthy young man"
Yet she possessed understanding
too, of subtle, fine and profound
Kind. Otherwise she could never
have done for Schepstein's what
"tAo uAo "hcH TWonty-
year-old Meta killed herself through
taking poison tablets (by mistake of
course, as the Little Red Doctor per-
1urfously certified). In his hour of
lonely grief and shame. Our Square
turned it's back upon the little cross
eyed, cross-grained, agnostfc traf-
ticker in old debts, old furniture, old
books, old stamps. old silver and
anything else old which he could buy
from the unfnformed and sell to the
covetous, because we feared his saw
age and cynical rebuffs But when
the furtiye hearse and the one car
riage for Schepstein, which was to
have been the whole of little Metta's
funeral, drew up at night before the
Schepstein nat, Nine. Rachel Pinck-
ney Pemberton Tallafrerr descended
her steps and crossed Our Square.
armful of white roses. They met
Schepstein at the foot of his steps,
following his dead AS the casket
passed her, Madame TallafYerr took
the wealth of bloom from the SER
want and scattered it's snowy purity
above the girl. At that the face of
Schepstein, which had been cold lead
gray, changed and flushed and soft
ened. and he staggered suddenly
where he stood and might have fall
len had not that strong old woman
thrust an arm under his to help him
on his way. So two mourners went
In the lone carriage to little Metta's
funeral.
0NLY long afterward was this
~ known to Our Square. What es-
tablished the Duchess as an Olym-
plan controller of destinies was her
handling Of MacLachan, the Tailor.
MacLachan, on his black, alcoholic
days, was wont to sing "The Cork
Leg" On this occasion he sang it
sitting on the coping Of the fountain
with his legs in the water, and beat
ing time with q revolver. This was a
case for Terry the Cop, but Polyglot
Elsa OF the Elite Restaurant, with
moro cunning than conscience, had
dispatched the intrepid Terry to the
farther end of the beat upon purely
fictitious italian riot For reasons
of her own she did not wish Terry
punotured. Hence Our Square lurked
about in the night shadows, watch
ing the balladist from respectful
distance.
The Duchess rustled stifiy up to
the fountain and bade MacLachan
L1ra Ala CoIsx> %nnoxxaA