Mary Baldwin College - Bluestocking Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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14 T}ie Augusta Seminary Annual. appeai ' ed imicli ohlei- tliaii ClHiidiair oi- Chattertoii ; li is dark hair, worn a little long, was cui-ly at the ends, and he had on a verj low tnrned-down collar. His voice Avas extremely pleasant and he spoke unlike any one else — very low, hut very distinctly. Polly thought at once, I will call my doll Barrett, and then he will be named for Lawrence Bari ' ett and Wilson Barrett, too. The next great event in Polly ' s life was a trip to Baltimore to see Edwin Booth, Lawrence Barrett and Madame Modjeska in Hamlet. She was going to see that great actor who would not come to Washington because he had been hissed off the stage there soon after Lincoln was killed. The Washington people would gladly welcome him now, Init he would not come. The eventful day arrived at last; they were sitting in the Baltimore theatre and the curtain rose. Polly was disappointed at first, and said, Oh I I don ' t like him at all ; why he is too old ; but soon she was on her feet, wild with interest. She had to l e pulled down, and was finally told that if she stood np again she would be taken away. Years afterwards, when she was a big blas6 Polly, she thought with happiness of tliat wonderful afternoon. That winter at the Riggs House were a quiet Senator and his wife, who always stopped Polly for a little chat Avhen they met her in the halls or on the staircase. They were friendly with every one, but friends with no one. Even in the hotel a home- like atmosphere seemed to surround them. The wife did not spend all her time calling and going to teas and receptions as the other ladies did. On Sundays a tall, white-haired old man always dined with them. This quiet couple were Mr. and Mrs. Hanison, afterwards the President and the first lady of the land. The old man was Mrs. Harrison ' s father. Dr. Scott. Polly was remembered in her own town because she rode a w hite pony ; people in AVashington remembered her because she was always dressed in white, Li her white broadcloth coat, which came down to her heels, her little white silk mittens and her white cap, she was always taken for a saucy little boy. When her father and brothers went calling on New Year ' s Day she went as a matter of course, and felt very much injured if they made her wait for them in the carriage. She always comforted herself by questioning the drivers about their li(jrses, and they, thinking

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The Augusta Seminary Annual. !• President liiiiiseir, did nut .stril i! iiwe to liur heart; but an act(jr, any one who Iiad wi-itton a ho jk, coniposed a melody or painted a ])icture, seemed a divinity to lier. One day she ran into h father ' s stndy and found him talkinii; to a gentleman she liad never seen hefore. Hit father said, Mr. Clemens, this is my little liirl. l ' »lly was awed at last, for she knew this was the man who had told ahont the little Prince of Eni land and the i aiiper Poy, and ahont tlioM ' had hoys, Tom Sawyer and Huckle- berry Finn. But how solemn he looked, as if he had never lauojhed in his life. Polly secretly thought her father nnist have made a mistake. Lawrence Barrett came to Washington about this time, and as Polly could not and would not be left in the hotel by herself, she was taken every night to the theatre. One day her sister received a note from a friend, asking hei- to a small reception, at which Lawrence Barrett was to read. The child was wild, and teased to be allowed to go, until at last her sister wrote to her friend, asking if she mitrht bring Pollv. When the child learned the friends would be ' iy ' glad to have her come, she could not rest, and on the morning of the reading she was up by six o ' clock, worrying the whole family by her repeated question, Isn ' t it time to go ? Being the smallest person at the reception, and not having learned the .art of concealing her thoughts, Mr. Barrett noticed her admi- ration, and amused by it, came and spoke a few words to Polly. That night when he played Bichlieu she could hardly believe it was the same kind, trancpiil man she had seen in the morning. At Christmas, w hen Polly was given a beautiful boy doll, dressed in a velvet suit and having hair almost as thick and shin- ing as her own curls, she at once named him Lawrence Barrett. In a few weeks Wilson Barrett came to Washington and, one Wednesday afternoon, Polly found herself in the great parlor of the Biggs House, standing by the kind-hearted wife of the Speaker of the House. But it was not Mrs. Carlisle who caused Polly to stand with open mouth, her gray eyes black with excite- ment and lier dimj led cheeks redder than her scarlet sash. No, it was a dark, distinguished looking man of medium height who had just entered. This was Wilson Barrett. Polly was so close to him she could stretch out her little hand and touch him. She noticed every detail, though she seemed to be in a dream. He

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The Amjusta Siininarij Annual. 15 hlic was a I»(iv, wore extrt ' iiu ' ly talkative. Tlii ' v would sav, ' ' I.iltlc iMarso will ho a statesman like his pa, somo of those days. I olly ' s faniily wore tired of hotel life, and in the s|u-in they took a pretty furnished house near the British Legation. I ' oily had some pots now, and one of tlie most heloved was a little alli- gator which had heen l»ronght to lier from Florida. It was lost once for several days. One afternoon a very stylish young man, a Secretary of the Legation, came to call. He sat down on the divan, but suddenly said Oh I and jumped up in such a hurry that his single eyeglass fell out of his eye. The dear alligator had been hiding under a cushion and had bitten the caller, much to Polly ' s delight. Two or three years went by and Polly had grown self-conscious and, sad to say, conceited. ' Her faniily went to the Church of the Covenant, ( ne morning they saw a friend from their own town, and Polly ' s father invited him to lunch, telling him Polly would show the way, as he himself had an engagement and would be detained in getting there. As Polly and the gentleman went down the church steps he said, I have had neuralgia and must tie up my head. So over a high silk hat, which had been bought in lionor of the visit to the city, he tied a large white knitted muttter. Poll} had to walk up the most fashionable avenue of AVashington, meeting every one she knew, seeing people turn and stare at her queer-looking companion, nudge each other and smile broadly, until her own door was reached and the ordeal was over, When she told her father about it he said she should have been proud to walk with so good a man, no matter how he was dressed, but Polly always suspected her father remembered that engage- ment after he saw the white muffler sticking out of his friend ' s coat pocket. It was decided that Polly was too lai-ge, now, to I ' un wild anv longer, and she was to be sent to Europe to learn French and German and to study music. Her elder sister was to go for the pleasure of the trip and to take care of Polly. Such bustling, hurrying and sewing Polly had never seen. If she stayed at home she had to do errands or try on clothes, so she ran awav. The servants who were sent to bring her home would sometimes find her hanging on behind street cars ; stealing ice out of the back of ice-wagons, or skating down a hill. Sometimes they