Show I 1 t IN m uh 1 come huelton Qu elton cried jack D bursting into my office one mornin june last drop those everlasting ang pers and take an hours rest I 1 w you to go to the opera house with th m me e and for foi what pray I 1 answered should I 1 go to the opera house in daytime the forenoon at that Is it a re pearsal rehearsal certainly not its the exercises af 0 f the girls high school and there is one thing specially cally on the program that I 1 am finx IOUs for you to hear get ready uan its time to go it will do you to see those pretty girls two gundred lun dred and fifty of them and listen 0 what some of them have to say it vill brush the cobwebs off that hard bard old editorial brain of yours now I 1 cannot tell you how it was but r icks proposition roused in me a sud ien en but overweening desire to attend hose exercises it would be so radical I a change from the amusements that I 1 usually indulged in something so bright and inspiring and beautiful that I 1 became all in a minute as enthusiastic about it as my bustling friend wm was I 1 tossed aside the exchange that I 1 had been scanning laid a weight on my copy paper seized my hat and actually hurried jack out of the office and into the street on our way to the opera house I 1 suppose we are all subject to those sudden impulses but mine astonished me all the same later in the day I 1 came to the conclusion that some beneficent spirit had moved me As we entered the house where a large audience had already gathered the members of the graduating class were just coming upon the stage this of itself was a pretty sight and jack and I 1 found a place where we could see it to good advantage the girls whose ages ranged from sixteen to nineteen years were all dressed in white with just variation enough in material and trimming to take away the appearance of monotony each girl carried a bunch of flowers in her hand and wore upon her left breast the crimson and gold ribbon of the class chairs were arranged in tiers from the front of the large stage to the rear and the girls entered in two lines one from each side those that entered from the right crossed the stage and passed to the chaire on the left and those that entered from the left passed 0 jo o the right this semi military effect was very pleasing and made the sr scene ene orderly without being stiff when all were seated the exercises began but it is not my purpose to describe them in detail jack soon let me know why he had asked me to come there and that is what I 1 am going to tell you about he pointe I 1 to the fifth number on the program and said that is what I 1 want you to her hear miss agnes farrells recitation she is a remarkable girl I 1 want you to see and hear her today to day dav and then I 1 am going to tell you a story about her she s a heroine every inch a heroine with aa a gallant a spirit as ever eer animated the heart of a soldier and et she is one of the gentlest and most lovable girls you ever saw but wait I 1 looked at the program and saw this 01 5 recitation the charge of the light brigade agnes constance farrell the first four numbers of the program had been given and then the principal of the school announced miss farrell A fair haired young girl arose from the front row of seats and advanced gracefully to the front of the stage her manner was easy and self contained but absolutely free from self assertiveness it was the manner of one conscious of her power but too modest to make that consciousness apparent with a slight out but graceful bow to th the e a audience ence she began to speak az 4 BEARING HAROLDS unconscious FORM half a league half a league hau half a league onward all in the valley of death rode the six hundred forward the light brigade charge for the guns he sald said into the valley of death rode the six hundred clearly and distinctly the spirited words fell from those young ups lips and as the fifth une line of the aa stanza was VMS reached they rung through the house like the notes of cardigans Card igans iganA bugle as he be ordered c that famous charge los ing all consciousness of self in the arof dor i her part fired fire d with the glorious spirit of the unes lines she rose to a height of oratory almost sublime and held her r audience auf fience bound under the spell of her a power I 1 have hate never heard anything finer than lan her impassioned utterance of the fourth stanza of the immortal poem flashed all their sabers bare flashed as they turned in air sa bIrIng the gunners there charging an army while all the world wondered plunged tu in the battery smoke eight through the une line they brar broa JS gB at rom 9 reeled from the saber sa ber stroke shattered and sundered then they rode back but not not no the six eix hundred the slight figure of the girl trem trembled ald ith enthusiasm e her fat face e glowed I 1 like ike that t ith at of one inspired and her marvelous marve IOUs wl sosweet Ss sweet clear and reso resonant nant or rut u al it t like one of those flashing sabers s b at the close of b her er recitation the aud audience lence until then rapt in silent admiration burst into a perfect storm of applause I 1 had never seen nor heard a more brilliant performance come said darcy we can go now that is what I 1 wanted you to hear what do you think of bera ber she is a wonderful girl I 1 answered simply wonderful what do you know about her 1 I am going to tell you said lack jack it is a very pretty little story of heroism but it came near being a tragedy agnes farrell fanell fan ell is eighteen years old I 1 have hae kno knoon her for four years 5 ears she is one of the brightest girls I 1 ever saw her tastes are intellectual and yet she is as far from being a bluestocking as she could well be few of you editorial know alls are so well informed in general literature philosophy natural history science and astronomy as she is and yet she has her sail boat at the seashore and few men can equal her in its management she swims like a fish and is as brave as bravery itself in fact she excels in all outdoor sports that girls indulge in and enters into them with as much spirit as she exhibited on the stage just a moment ago but let me tell you the story that I 1 referred to her father has a cottage at a quiet little place down on the coast a place separated from the mainland by a broad generally placid inlet where may be had delightful sailing and fishing the family goes there every summer 1 I spent three weeks there last season and it was during that time that the incident happened of which I 1 ELM am going to tell you A family by the name ot of graham has a cottage near the farrells one member of which is a boy about agnes age his name is harold he is a great sailor too and his boat the arlel ariel is ie almost as well known for its achievements as agnes sprite in fact there has always been a sort of good natured rivalry between them for while agnes and harold are warm friends they would never agree on the relative speed and other qualities of their two boats no actual test had ever been made fr they did not care lo 10 have a regu far w race they rather shrunk from the publicity that a race would give them but bia one day in july an opportunity occurred that neither felt disposed to decline and so they at last matched their little crafts against aga inist each other it happened more by accident than ileo ign harold had gone out early in the morning tor for a sail around the in lef taking with him only one of his f fi i lends sam colston two hours later agnes took her boat out with her younger sister bertha as her companion this was nothing unusual for agnes is so good a sailor that no one ever eer thought of forbidding her to go even alone if she so desired the girls had not been out long ong when they saw harolds boat just turning the point of a pretty green reed grown island on the western side of the inlet there was a brisk wind from the south and the ariel was feeling its full force as she rounded the island and turned her prow toward the north where the broad unbroken body of water stretched out before her it happened that agnes boat was waa headed in the same bame direction and as j they were now fairly abreast other though still some distance apart the conditions for a trial of speed wre were almost irresistibly in fact they were irresistible for harold presently pres enly stood up in the stern of the ariel and waved his handkerchief in a challenging manner at the young sailor of the sprite agnes could not stand that and she lost not a seconds time in waving defiance at the artel ariel why agnes said her sister in surprise are you going to race with harold graham oh but im glad I 1 know well beat him 1 I am going to try at any rate answered agnes and settle once for all which is the taster faster boat or which la is the better sa sailor ilor as you please and so the long deferred race was on at last circumstances seemed to have brought it and now that it was here neither of the contestants cared to avoid it both were confident of victory it was a beautiful sight the dark blue water was flecked all over its surface with little foam caps that were raised by the sweet south wind for more than a mile toward the north the course extended with no obstruction of any kind not even a fis hermans boat being in view on each side of them were little islands with their reed grown banks reaching clear down to the waters edge thus looking like big emeralds that had been dropped upon the sapphire bosom of the inlet and over all was the glor glorious loas light of a cloudless sunlit sun lit sky touching everything with beauty and beaming life over such a course sped the two pretty boats boa ts their prows cutting the water and an d sending the spray back along their glistening keels the boats had now approached within talking distance dl tance of each other and each young sailor was bantering the other but all the while intent upon the progress of the ram race and as they talked they steered closer an and d doser closer to each other until finally tho the two boats boate might have been covered with one big sheet realizing the danger dan gerof of sailing so dose close together harold said that he would she erff toward the west warning aarum of his intended moT movement ement aba turned ted quickly looked toward bin hi t W ea NF tp V 1 3 f could regain it or could d realize she the nose of the meant what it all itself with tremendous sprite had thrust force into the A ariel r le 1 a and nd knocked her over like an egg eggshell shell h e ll 11 harold and his friend were thrown into the water which was quite deep at that place and they disappeared beneath the surface 1 like ik e stones e s young ster face ston almost st immediately colston came cam up a again g ai n m 0 to ahe half and was as clinging submerged sail of the ariel when agnes bad brought her boat abo about ut end was preparing to give aid to her unfortunate antagonists harold was wa nowhere in sight the brave girl did dd not hesitate a second she rightly supposed sup poised that the young fellow had become entangled in the rigging of his boat and if that were true he would drown unless someone went to his rescue giving a few hurried directions to her sister she threw off her hat and plunged into the water where harold had gone down the accident had given young colston so great a shock that no help could be expected from him agnes must save harold by her own exertions or he must perish she was cool and undaunted in spite of the trying situation in which she found herself and taking a quick mental note of the surroundings roun dings she dived underneath the water presently she reappeared bearing harolds unconscious form colston was able by this time to come to her assistance and together they got him on the deck of the sprite and promptly began their efforts to restore him to life they had a hard fight of it but they conquered at last for harold soon opened his eyes and smiled up into the face of the gallant young girl who had put his life in jeopardy and then saved it by her heroic action now added darcy you know why I 1 admire that young girl so much this story has never been told before to anyone but the friends of the two families and I 1 tell it to you now quel ton with the distinct understanding that you do not tell it with the trio names of the parties to my readers I 1 will say that I 1 could not resist the temptation to relate the incident but I 1 have kept faith with darcy I 1 have not given you the real names |