The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-12-18

|
(wNU service)
u VEN with such terms al sold
~ maid" and Incidentally" prac-
l. tically gone out of the language
there was something about the
five unmarried Meeker sisters that did
suggest them.
The Meeker girls were so apologet-
ically unmarried. Each and every one
of them met you on the supposition
that you questioned her standing.
The old homestead. inherited from
their parents, was filed with writings
among themselves and to their friends.
when they called. of opportunities that
might have been.
If Lily had cared to accept Tom
Whitel
II was known, among the Meeker
girls. that in 1899. during a two weeks
trip to the Adirondacks. Edith had
three times refused young Canadian
trader from Quebec who had since be-
come coal baron.
Meta. long and affectionately in
dicted by her sisters as the fiirt of the
family. had turned down" right and
left.
After the battle of Vimy Ridge. Ella
confessed to a secret fiance who had
fallen.
Teena. the youngest. although nom
committal. gave you the feeling that
life had not passed her by. Resides.
it was a fact that Nicholas Lang. a
widower of standing in the town. was
calling on her.
Every girl. at one time or another
in her life. has a chance to marry. the
Meeker girls were forever protesting.
perhaps too loudly. Thank goodness.
not one of US has ever felt the need
to marry just for the sake of being
married. Naturally we've had chances
NOT that it's the sort of thing we
discuss
Strangely. this defense mechanism
was not one which the girls employed
solely with the friends outside the
home who as time went on began TO
refer 70 them collectively as 1.-The
Meeker Girls" II was something they
practiced assiduously among them
selves. keeping their spirits agog. on
the huoyancy of self-induced state of
mind
Meta. it's an outrage the way you
treat men! After all. no one expects
you to feel called upon TO marry every
one who asks you. but surely you
,srh I1-
the house"
"If I were 70 let every man call
who drops into the Office to ask me.
we'd have the neighbors all talking.
| Just because I happen 70 be stenog-
rapher in law office doesn't give them
the right TO presume, and they might
as well know IT."
With Lily now. II was different
After all. the affair with Tom White
was one to leave its imprint across a
lifetime. The world thought Tom
White had died of influenza following
the World war. The Meeker sisters
knew better. Tom White. just as sure
| ly as if they had seen il disintegrate.
had taken to his bed of broken
heart. after Lily had spoken her sor-
rowful refusal It was somehow fit
| ting that Lily should continue TO keep
her heart locked in it's tower.
Ella. too. for that matter. Poor Ella.
whose secret garden had been blasted
in full bloom.
And so ii went among themselves
And life. in the Meeker homestead. if
1t appeared monotonous to the be-
| holder. was far from that to the girls
There was Meta. Evening after eve
ming. around the pleasant sitting room
fire. Lily. seated as usual Turkish
fashion on the sofa Ella stitching
away at handiwork. the girls would
! listen TO Meta.
Oh. hut she was naughty darling.
heartless sinner No wonder, even
with her equal share in the comfort
able little estate shared by the sisters.
Meta had decided TO venture out into
the business world She was just the
type to make contacts. or rather. as
the girls ciggled among themselves. to
avoid them.
The way Meta handled the difficult
situation of the men about her in the
Office was masterfuli Naturally they
swarmed about her Even at thirty
eight. there was sparrow prettiness
TO Meta bur lots of good II did the
men. Evening after evening filed
with drollerieS. merciless in her high
handedness and oh. so comical in her
world pictures of the luckless crea-
lures who wooed her. Meta recited her
days.
"And he comes into the office where
I am sitting pretending to be bent
over my typewriter and says: Miss
Meta"