It has alwavs been one of my chief ambitions to meet a Celebrity. On one or two occasions we have had them at school, but they never sit at the Junior"s table. Also, they are seldom connected with either the Drama or The Movies (a slang term but aparently taking a place in our Literature).
It was my intention, on being given this subject for my midsummer theme, to seek out Mrs. Bainbridge, a lady Author who has a cottage across the bay from ours, and to ask the privelege of sitting at her feet for a few hours, basking in the sunshine of her presence, and learning from her own lips her favorite Flower, her favorite Poem and the favorite child of her Brain.
Of all those arts in which the wise excel, Nature"s chief masterpiece is writing well.
Duke of Buckingham
I had meant to write my Theme on her, but I learned in time that she was forty years of age. Her work is therefore done. She has pa.s.sed her active years, and I consider that it is not the past of American Letters which is at stake, but the future. Besides, I was more interested in the Drama than in Literature.
Posibly it is owing to the fact that the girls think I resemhle Julia Marlowe, that from my earliest years my mind has been turned toward the Stage. I am very determined and fixed in my ways, and with me to decide to do a thing is to decide to do it. I am not of a romantic Nature, however, and as I learned of the dangers of the theater, I drew back.
Even a strong nature, such as mine is, on occa.s.sions, can be influenced.
I therefore decided to change my plans, and to write Plays instead of acting in them.
At first I meant to write Comedies, but as I realized the graveity of life, and its bitterness and disapointments, I turned naturaly to Tradgedy. Surely, as dear Shakspeare says:
The world is a stage Where every man must play a part, And mine a sad one.
This explains my sinsere interest in Mr. Beecher. His Works were all realistic and sad. I remember that I saw the first one three years ago, when a mere Child, and became violently ill from crying and had to be taken home.
The school will recall that last year I wrote a Play, patterned on The Divorce, and that only a certain narowness of view on the part of the faculty prevented it being the Cla.s.s Play. If I may be permited to express an opinion, we of the cla.s.s of 1917 are not children, and should not be treated as such.
Encouraged by the Aplause of my cla.s.s-mates, and feeling that I was of a more serious turn of mind than most of them, who seem to think of pleasure only, I decided to write a play during the summer. I would thus be improving my Vacation hours, and, I considered, keeping out of mischeif. It was pure idleness which had caused my Trouble during the last Christmas holidays. How true it is that the Devil finds work for idle Hands!
With a Play and this Theme I beleived that the Devil would give me up as a totle loss, and go elsewhere.
How little we can read the Future!
I now proceed to an account of my meeting and acquaintence with Mr.
Beecher. It is my intention to conceal nothing. I can only comfort myself with the thought that my Motives were inocent, and that I was obeying orders and secureing material for a theme. I consider that the at.i.tude of my Familey is wrong and cruel, and that my sister Leila, being only 20 months older, although out in Society, has no need to write me the sort of letters she has been writing. Twenty months is twenty months, and not two years, although she seems to think it is.
I returned home full of happy plans for my vacation. When I look back it seems strange that the gay and inocent young girl of the train can have been!. So much that is tradgic has since happened. If I had not had a cinder in my eye things would have been diferent. But why repine? Fate frequently hangs thus on a single hair--an eye-lash, as one may say.
Father met me at the train. I had got the aformentioned cinder in my eye, and a very nice young man had taken it out for me. I still cannot see what harm there was in our chating together after that, especialy as we said nothing to object to. But father looked very disagreeable about it, and the young man went away in a hurry. But it started us off wrong, although I got him--father--to promise not to tell mother.
"I do wish you would be more careful, Bab," he said with a sort of sigh.
"Careful!" I said. "Then it"s not doing Things, but being found out, that matters!"
"Careful in your conduct, Bab."
"He was a beautiful young man, father," I observed, sliping my arm through his.
"Barbara, Barbara! Your poor mother----"
"Now look here, father" I said. "If it was mother who was interested in him it might be troublesome. But it is only me. And I warn you, here and now, that I expect to be thrilled at the sight of a Nice Young Man right along. It goes up my back and out the roots of my hair."
Well, my father is a real Person, so he told me to talk sense, and gave me twenty dollars, and agreed to say nothing about the young man to mother, if I would root for Canada against the Adirondacks for the summer, because of the Fishing.
Mother was waiting in the hall for me, but she held me off with both hands.
"Not until you have bathed and changed your clothing, Barbara," she said. "I have never had it."
She meant the whooping cough. The school will recall the epademic which ravaged us last June, and changed us from a peaceful inst.i.tution to what sounded like a dog show.
Well, I got the same old room, not much fixed up, but they had put up diferent curtains anyhow, thank goodness. I had been hinting all spring for new Furnature, but my Familey does not take a hint unless it is cloroformed first, and I found the same old stuff there.
They beleive in waiting until a girl makes her Debut before giving her anything but the necessarys of life.
Sis was off for a week-end, but Hannah was there, and I kissed her. Not that I"m so fond of her, but I had to kiss sombody.
"Well, Miss Barbara!" she said. "How you"ve grown!"
That made me rather sore, because I am not a child any longer, but they all talk to me as if I were but six years old, and small for my age.
"I"ve stopped growing, Hannah," I said, with dignaty. "At least, almost.
But I see I still draw the nursery."
Hannah was opening my suitcase, and she looked up and said: "I tried to get you the Blue room, Miss Bab. But Miss Leila said she needed it for house Parties."
"Never mind," I said. "I don"t care anything about Furnature. I have other things to think about, Hannah; I want the school room Desk up here."
"Desk!" she said, with her jaw drooping.
"I am writing now," I said. "I need a lot of ink, and paper, and a good Lamp. Let them keep the Blue room, Hannah, for their selfish purposes. I shall be happy in my work. I need nothing more."
"Writing!" said Hannah. "Is it a book you"re writing?"
"A Play."
"Listen to the child! A Play!"
I sat on the edge of the bed.
"Listen, Hannah," I said. "It is not what is outside of us that matters.
It is what is inside. It is what we are, not what we eat, or look like, or wear. I have given up everything, Hannah, to my Career."
"You"re young yet," said Hannah. "You used to be fond enough of the Boys."
Hannah has been with us for years, so she gets rather talkey at times, and has to be sat upon.
"I care nothing whatever for the Other s.e.x," I replied hautily.
She was opening my suitcase at the time, and I was surveying the chamber which was to be the seen of my Literary Life, at least for some time.
"Now and then," I said to Hannah, "I shall read you parts of it. Only you mustn"t run and tell mother."
"Why not?" said she, pearing into the Suitcase.
"Because I intend to deal with Life," I said. "I shall deal with real Things, and not the way we think them. I am young, but I have thought a great deal. I shall minse nothing."