Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-06-14

ny ner instant recognition Of business
ability in a subordinate. Business
ability!" How Aunt Emily adored
1T! What a starved, wolflike appetite
she had for all that it stood for. How
intensely she lived in her new lifel
Before long she had developed a
new line, advertising (this was before
the modern science of advertising was
dreamed of) and while / dare say it
would be an exaggeration to claim
that she was the first to expand the
present principles of psychological ad-
vertising, know good many people
who think she came very near doing
so. Merchants from other cities came
to see her window displays, and talked
with her about advertising. Aunt
Emily, who never did anything for
nothing, soon saw that she had mar.
ketable product there, and proceeded
to put it on the market. She organ
lied what I'm sure was the first ad-
vertising agency, and ran it in odd mo-
ments Of her busy days.
She was up and off to work early,
reading the morning paper as she ate
breakfast, which Uncle Charles had
seen to. Then they saw her no more
till night, when she came home walk
ing strongly in the door, looking very
distinguished and chic in the beauti-
fully cut tailor suits of the best mate
rial that money could buy I
am speaking now, Of course, of the
times after that difficult beginning.
That period lasted, after all, only till
she could get her bearings in the new
world. Very soon, she was earning
more money than Uncle Charles
had ever dreamed Of making. By
the time Uncle Charles was around
ON crutches, there was good
competent girl in the kitchen. This
left Uncle Charles more time and
strength to give to the children, more
leisure to perfect his own music, and
more energy to plan the thousand in
genious variations, on the theme Of
domestic life which made their home
the most delightful one to visit in, you
can imagine.
Aunt Emily fitted in it all very COM
fortably. She was always agreeably
tired by night, and relieved of her sur
plus energy, she was astonishingly
good-natured and easy to get along
with. There was plenty of money
these days, for competent help, which
Uncle Charles managed smoothly
there was plenty of money for good
clothes, and good food, and nice china,
and pretty glassware, and fine linen,
oil of which Aunt Emily enjoyed with
hungry pleasure which was never
blunted by ceaseless repetition. She
was happy for the first time in her
life, Aunt Emily was, and although
she was by this time, middle-aged and
gray-haired, she was handsomer than
she had ever been in youth. She grew
and grew in acumen and business abil-
ity, and ripened with experience, till
our small city was not big enough for
her. She scared off to New York,
carrying the family with her to an ex.
pensive apartment, and from there to
Paris, where they lived for many
years, Aunt Emily being the Paris rep
resentative of a great New York de-
partment store.
To the day of his death Uncle
Charles always kept the children close
to his heart, and directed their growth
just as lovingly and wisely as ever.
Phoebe is a professional pianist now,
well known all over America and Eu-
rope. For years she was usually COM
panioned by her father, crutches and
ALL Charlie is a successful architect,
with a lovely French wife and two
babies. 1t was beautiful to see Uncle
Charles with his grandchildren
Bobby would certainly have gone
straight to the dogs, if he had not had
the most inspired handling at his IA
theirs hands. He was a wild. tempera-
mental, unreasonable, warm-hearted,
hOt-tempered boy, who could not get
on an instant with his mother. But
Uncle Charles held to him through
everything. made man of him at last,
for he is noted field worker for the
New York Natural History museum.
This story sounds as though it were
petering out, doesn'tPit, and as though
this was about all there was to it? But
there is something else, something
never told anyone but father. 1t was
the great shadow secret of my child
hood, something father and l knew,
and nobody else. But now that Uncle
Charles and Aunt Emily are gone, !
can tell it.
This is what happened: When
was nine years old (about three years
after Uncle Charles accident) l
CHANGED to stay at their house over
night. 1 had a bad dream, out of
which woke up with a start, and I'M
able to get to sleep afterward, l got
out of bed and wandered to the win
dow to look out into the moonlight,
And, there in front of the house, walk
ing round the garden paths, what do
you suppose 1 saw? You will never
guess. I saw my Uncle Charles, walk
ing nimbly and briskly without his
crutcheS.
/ went home the next morning in a.
maze Of bewilderment, and climbed up
to my fathers attic study. Speaking
all In an excited hurry, 1 told him
what had seen. His first expression
was one of utter amazement, "Your
Uncle Charles walking without his
crutches!"
And he fell into long, thoughtful
brooding silence, looking over my
head. and not listening TO my rush Of
EXPLANATIONS. Finally he glanced down
at me with q strange anYinns look