Part 20 (1/2)

The ood education, which she saay to give her daughter, and ht have accepted it if the actress had not added:

”When she reaches the age of seventeen, I will place her on the stage”

That ended the matter The mother was horror-stricken, and could hardly h Even when her eht be doing her daughter a great injustice, she said, sharply: ”It would be better for her to starve trying to lead an honorable life, than to be exposed to such publicity and such awful tenorance of what the future had in store for her child, did she close the door on a golden opportunity for developing her greatest talent, and the young person's first drearief As she reviewed her disappointment and the dreary days that followed, a flood of self-pity welled up in the girl's heart, and she felt as if shedesperate to quiet her restless nature

Fortunately the disappointe of scene, for hter left Cleveland and went to try their fortunes in as then ”the far west” After a long trip by rail and a thirty-mile drive across the prairie, they arrived at their journey's end, and the ht in the country soothed the older woman's sore heart and filled the child with the joy of a real adventure

They remained in that beautiful world beyond the prairie for two years, and never did the charirl, who did not hts and sounds, but exulted in the new experiences as, ”with the other children on the farm, she dropped corn in the sun-war it up; and when it had sprouted and was a te morsel for certain black robbers of the field, shescarecrow”

While the out-of-door life was a fine thing for the young person, still e was it that she was now throith other children, ere happy, hearty, rollicking youngsters, and, seeing that the stranger was new to farm-life, had rare fun at her expense

For instance, as she later told:

”They led me forth to a pasture, shortly after our arrival at the far a horse, they hoisted ood bit about horses since then,” she says, ”have hired, borrowed and bought the aspect His eyes were the size of soup-plates, large clouds of slass-enamelled surface, and if he was half as tall as he felt, so fiends, leaving h up near the sky, drew afar off and stood against the fence, and gave me plenty of room to fall off But when I suddenly felt the world heave up beneath me, I uttered a wild shriek--clenchedpropriety to any point of the compass that happened to be behind me, I cast one pantalette over the enameled back, and thus astride safely crossed the pasture--and lo, it was not I who fell, but their faces instead! When they came to take me down somehow the ani it, whereupon the biggest boy said I had 'pluck' I had been frightened nearly to death, but I always could be silent at the proper moment; I was silent then, and he would teach me to ride sideways, for my mother would surely punish me if I sat astride like that In a feeeks, thanks to him, I was the one as oftenest trusted to take the horses to water at noon, riding sideways and always bare-back,a second to the creek, until all had had their drink Which habit of riding--fro person adds, ”has made me quite independent of stirrups since those far-away days”

Besides the riding, there were htful pastimes which were a part of life on the farm, and on rainy days, when the children could not play out of doors, they would flock to the big barn, and listen eagerly to stories told by the city girl, who had read them in books Two precious years passed all too swiftly on the far up into a tall, slender girl, who had learned a love of nature in all its forer, which satisfied her mother that the experiment had been successful But now there was education to be thought of, and when news ca specter of the mother's life, they went back at once to Cleveland, where the hter was sent to a public school But at best it gave a er course of study to one who had always been a reader of every book on which she could lay her hands To make the dreary, daily routine less tiresome, she supplemented it by a series of ”thinks” These usually took place at night after her candle had been blown out, and the young person generally fell asleep in a white robe and a crown of flowers, before she had gathered up all the prizes and diplos she had earned in the world of reverie, where her drea

And now came the approach of her thirteenth birthday, and her plea that she ht be made more useful in the world And then, ca-house where she and heras assistant to theherthe boarders, there were two actresses, a hter, whose na person whose eyes followed her so eagerly, because Blanche was one of those marvelous creatures whose real life was lived behind the foot-lights

Soirl as so near her own age attracted Blanche, and the two beca person was not in school In exchange for her thrilling stories of stage life, Blanche's new friend would tell vivid tales which she had read in books, to all of which good-natured Blanche would listen with lazy interest, and at the finish of the narrative often exclaiht to be in a theater You could act!”

Although this assertion was alwaysperson did not fail to brood over the statement when she was alone Could there be any truth in the statement, she wondered? Then came a marvelous event

Blanche hurried ho friend that extra ballet girls anted in their coasped the young person, ”maybe they won't take me!”

”Well,” answered Blanche, ”I've coaxed your mother, and o and see I'll take you to- person seeain behind her locked door she knelt down and said 'Dear God! Dear God!' and got no further, because grief has so many words, and joy has so few”

That was Friday, and the school ter al person found herself on the way to the theater, with self-possessed Blanche, who led the way to the old Acadeirls went up-stairs, and as they reached the top step Blanche called to a s across the hall:

”Oh, Mr Ellsler--wait a moment, please--I want to speak to you”

The man stopped, but with an i the story:

”I wasthe corridor when Blanche called irl whose appearance in a theater was so droll I hed had I not been more than a little cross Her dress was quite short--she wore a pale-blue apron buttoned up the back, long braids tied at the ends with ribbons, and a brown straw hat, while she clutched desperately at the handle of the biggest umbrella I ever saw

Her eyes were distinctly blue and big with fright Blanche gave her nao in the ballet I instantly answered that she was too small--I wanted woirl herself never spoke a single word I glanced toward her and stopped The hands that clutched the umbrella trembled--she raised her eyes and looked at me I had noticed their blueness a moment before, now they were almost black, so swiftly had their pupils dilated, and slowly the tears rose in them All the father in me shrank under the child's bitter disappointment; all the actor in irl's face, and I hastily added:

”'Oh, well, you may come back in a day or two, and if any one appears h to march with you, I'll take you on' Not until I had reached le word, but had won an engagee her--with a pair of tear-filled eyes”