The Washington times., 1936-12-04

Wall1S WaS Mrs SjmDsOu
only IL then.
But recall that at this youthful
age she showed the gayety. the
independence and the determine
tion that are today her most sue
cessful characteristics.
Mrs. Teackle Wallis Warfield,
not long after she was widowed,
moved to the Preston apartments.
Naturally Wallis came with her
mother.
The Preston still stands, square
red brick building on the north
west corner of Preston Street and
Guilford Avenue. It wasn't even
then the most important apart
ment house in Baltimore. But it
had that quality that Baltimore
continues to regard so Importantly
it was genteel. It was a good
address,"
Just a few hundred yards from
the Preston, north on Guilford
Avenue, ran the main tracks of
the Pennsylvania Railroad under
q wide steel bridge. One block
south on Guilford Avenue at the
intersection of Biddle Street the
only elevated street car tracks in
al! of Baltimore began and ended
q mile or so later in the downtown
city.
The rushing of the trains and
the rumbling of the elevated made
the old Preston a noisy place. But
nobody who lived there seemed to
mind the colnmotion.
Nor was the smoke from the
trains anything for which to apol-
ogize. Hard on the curtains and
destructive to yes-but
definitely a part of Baltimore.
Ard so to be accepted with a GER
tain elegant resignation.
very nice people" lived in the
Preston when Mrs. Warfield and
her daughter moved there. Its
most distinguished residents were
"the Tunstall Smiths" In Balti-
more one spoke of "the Tunstall
Smiths" with a quick-rising breath.
Mrs. Tunstall Smith was sis
ter of the last Lord Fairfax. This
direct descendant of the first Lord
Fairfax was the only English
nobleman in this country, so we
believed. He lived in nearby Vir-
ginia and recently died there on
laid that was part of his ances-
tors kingly grant of the Northern
neck of Virginia.
Mrs. Smiths husband was the
Honorable Tunstall Smith. Mr..
Smith was very much an Honor
able.' When he walked along
Preston Street in his grand, tall,
slim wasted English way, he
would lift his hat and bow mag
nificently when he met friend.
His beautifully m Gus a ch d
mouth would part in a polite
deprecatory smile when he had to
step across the hop scotch marks
made on the pavement by Wallis
Warfield and her playmates.
Wallis often played hop scotch.
She was better at the game than
any of her crowd. Tucking one
foot under her pleated skirt.
breathing hard, biting her tongue
in her concentration, she'd jump
the chalked squares as adroitly
as she has jumped the hurdles
to her present goal, the sacred
precincts of the British throne.
Wallis wasn't pretty child.
Indeed, she was homely. But she
had big brown eyes that were
sometimes appealing and soft.
More often they were alert, keen
eyes that overlooked nothing.
She was always gay, always
good tempered. She was always
fun to be with. Her voice at the
age when most childrens voices
are rasping, was deep and melodl-
Gus.
Her laugh was really enchant-
ing. And very contagious. It
said, what difference does it
make. Life's so silly anyhow
Although Mrs. Warfield was
fond of ruffled frockS and kept
her reddish gold hair curled, Wal
lis chose her own clothes. She in
sisted that they be quite plain.
Usually black or white middle
blouseS with full skirts and black
or dark blue ties.
At that time she had just begun
to "tie her hair back" That
meant she was beginning to grow
,z..S ~ os CoI O\