WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>This is section fourteen of The Gilded Age. This LibriVox

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<v Speaker 1>recording is in the public domain. The Gilded Age, A

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<v Speaker 1>Tale of to Day by Mark Twain and Seedy Warner,

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<v Speaker 1>Chapter fourteen. The letter that Philip Sterling wrote to Ruth Bolton,

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<v Speaker 1>on the evening of setting out to seek his fortune

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<v Speaker 1>in the West, found that young lady in her own

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<v Speaker 1>father's house in Philadelphia. It was one of the pleasantest

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<v Speaker 1>of the many charming suburban houses in that hospitable city,

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<v Speaker 1>which is territorially one of the largest cities in the world,

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<v Speaker 1>and only prevented from becoming the convenient metropolis of the

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<v Speaker 1>country by the intrusive strip of Camden and Amboy Sand

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<v Speaker 1>which shuts it off from the Atlantic Ocean. It is

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<v Speaker 1>a city of steady thrift, the arms of which might

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<v Speaker 1>well be the deliberate but delicious terrapin that imparts such

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<v Speaker 1>a royal flavor to its feasts. It was a spring morning,

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<v Speaker 1>and perhaps it was the influence of it that made

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<v Speaker 1>Ruth a little restless, satisfied neither with the outdoors nor

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<v Speaker 1>the indoors. Her sisters had gone to the city to

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<v Speaker 1>show some country visitors Independence Hall, Gerard College, and Fairmount,

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<v Speaker 1>water works and park, four objects which Americans cannot die peacefully,

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<v Speaker 1>even in Naples without having seen. But Ruth confessed that

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<v Speaker 1>she was tired of them, and also of the mint.

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<v Speaker 1>She was tired of other things. She tried this morning

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<v Speaker 1>an air or two upon the piano, sang a simple

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<v Speaker 1>song in a sweet but slightly metallic voice, and then,

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<v Speaker 1>seating herself by the open window, read Philip's letter. Was

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<v Speaker 1>she thinking about Philip as she gazed across the fresh lawn,

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<v Speaker 1>over the tree tops, to the Chelton Hills, or of

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<v Speaker 1>that world which his entrance into her tradition bound life

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<v Speaker 1>had been one of the means of opening to her

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<v Speaker 1>whatever she thought. She was not idly musing, as one

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<v Speaker 1>might see by the expression of her face. After a time,

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<v Speaker 1>she took up a book. It was a medical work,

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<v Speaker 1>and to all appearance, about as interesting to a girl

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<v Speaker 1>of eighteen as the statutes at large. But her face

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<v Speaker 1>was soon a glow over its pages, and she was

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<v Speaker 1>so absorbed in it that she did not notice the

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<v Speaker 1>entrance of her mother at the open door. Ruth Well, mother,

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<v Speaker 1>said the young student, looking up with a shade of impatience.

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to talk with THEE a little about thy plans. Mother,

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<v Speaker 1>THEE knows I couldn't stand it at Westfield. The school

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<v Speaker 1>stifled me. It's a place to turn young people into

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<v Speaker 1>dried fruit, I know, said Margaret Bolton with a half

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<v Speaker 1>anxious smile. The chafes against all the ways of friends.

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<v Speaker 1>But what will THEE do? Why is THEE so discontented?

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<v Speaker 1>If I must say it, Mother, I want to go

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<v Speaker 1>away and get out of this dead level. With a

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<v Speaker 1>look half of pain and half of pity. Her mother answered,

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<v Speaker 1>I am sure THEE is little interfered with. THEE dresses

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<v Speaker 1>as THEE will, and goes where THEE pleases, to any

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<v Speaker 1>church THEE likes, and THEE has music. I had a

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<v Speaker 1>visit yesterday from the Society's committee by way of discipline,

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<v Speaker 1>because we have a piano in the house, which is

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<v Speaker 1>against the rules. I hope THEE told the elders that

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<v Speaker 1>Father and I are responsible for the piano, and that

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<v Speaker 1>much as THEE love's music, THEE is never in the

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<v Speaker 1>room when it is played. Fortunately, Father is already out

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<v Speaker 1>of meeting, so they can't discipline him. I heard Father

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<v Speaker 1>tell cousin Abner that he was whipped so often for

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<v Speaker 1>whistling when he was a boy that he was determined

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<v Speaker 1>to have what compensation he could get. Now thy ways greatly,

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<v Speaker 1>try me, Ruth, and all thy relations. I desire thy

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<v Speaker 1>happiness first of all. But THEE is starting out on

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<v Speaker 1>a dangerous path. Is thy father willing THEE should go

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<v Speaker 1>away to a school of the world's people? I have

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<v Speaker 1>not asked him, Ruth replied, with a look that might

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<v Speaker 1>imply that she was one of those determined little bodies

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<v Speaker 1>who first made up her own mind and then compelled

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<v Speaker 1>others to make up theirs in accordance with hers. And

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<v Speaker 1>when THEE has got the education, THEE wants and lost

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<v Speaker 1>all relish for the society of thy friends and the

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<v Speaker 1>ways of thy ancestors. What then Ruth turned square round

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<v Speaker 1>to her mother, and, with an impassive face and not

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<v Speaker 1>the slightest change of tone, said mother, I am going

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<v Speaker 1>to study medicine. Margaret Bolton almost lost for a moment

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<v Speaker 1>her habitual placidity. THEE study medicine, a slight frailed girl,

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<v Speaker 1>like THEE study medicine? Does THEE think THEE could stand

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<v Speaker 1>at six months and the lectures and the dissecting rooms,

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<v Speaker 1>has the thought of the dissecting rooms. Mother said Ruth calmly.

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<v Speaker 1>I have thought it all over. I know I can

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<v Speaker 1>go through the whole clinics dissecting room, and all does

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<v Speaker 1>THEE think I lack nerve? What is there to fear

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<v Speaker 1>in a person dead more than a person living? But

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<v Speaker 1>thy health and strength, child, they can never stand the

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<v Speaker 1>severe application. And besides, suppose THEE does learn medicine, I

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<v Speaker 1>will practice it here here where THEE and thy family

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<v Speaker 1>are known. If I can get patience, I hope at

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<v Speaker 1>least Ruth, THEE will let us know when THEE opens

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<v Speaker 1>an office, said her mother, with an approach to sarcasm

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<v Speaker 1>that she rarely indulged in. As she rose and left

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<v Speaker 1>the room, Ruth sat quite still for a time, with

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<v Speaker 1>face intent and flushed. It was out now she had

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<v Speaker 1>begun her open battle. The sightseers returned in high spirits

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<v Speaker 1>from the city. Was there any building in Greece to

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<v Speaker 1>compare with Girard College? Was there ever such a magnificent

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<v Speaker 1>pile of stone devised for the shelter of poor orphans?

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<v Speaker 1>Think of the stone shingles of the roof eight inches thick.

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<v Speaker 1>Ruth asked the enthusiasts if they would like to live

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<v Speaker 1>in soch a sounding mausoleum, with its great halls and

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<v Speaker 1>echoing rooms, and no comfortable place in it for the

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<v Speaker 1>accommodation of anybody. If they were orphans, would they like

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<v Speaker 1>to be brought up in a Grecian temple? And then

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<v Speaker 1>there was Broad Street, wasn't it the broadest and the

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<v Speaker 1>longest street in the world. There certainly was no end

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<v Speaker 1>to it, And even Ruth was Philadelphian enough to believe

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<v Speaker 1>that a street ought not to have any end or

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<v Speaker 1>architectural point upon which the weary eye could rest. But

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<v Speaker 1>neither Saint Gerard nor Broad Street, neither wonders of the mint,

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<v Speaker 1>nor the glories of the hall where the ghosts of

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<v Speaker 1>our fathers sit. Always signing the declaration impressed the visitors

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<v Speaker 1>so much as the splendors of the Chestnut Street windows

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<v Speaker 1>and the bargains on Eighth Street. The truth is that

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<v Speaker 1>the country cousins had come to town to attend the

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<v Speaker 1>yearly meeting, and the amount of shopping that preceded that

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<v Speaker 1>religious event was scarcely exceeded by the preparations for the opera.

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<v Speaker 1>In more worldly circles, is thee going to the yearly

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<v Speaker 1>meeting Ruth asked one of the girls, I have nothing

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<v Speaker 1>to wear, replied that demure person. If THEE wants to

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<v Speaker 1>see new bonnets orthodox to a shade and conform to

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<v Speaker 1>the letter of the true form, THEE must go to

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<v Speaker 1>the Arch Street meeting. Any departure from either color or

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<v Speaker 1>shape would be instantly taken note of. It has occupied

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<v Speaker 1>Mother a long time to find at the shop's the

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<v Speaker 1>exact shade for her new bonnet. Oh, THEE must go

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<v Speaker 1>by all means. But THEE won't see there a sweeter

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<v Speaker 1>woman than Mother, And THEE won't go. Why should I.

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<v Speaker 1>I've been again and again. If I go to meeting

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<v Speaker 1>at all, I like best to sit in the quiet

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<v Speaker 1>old house in Germantown, where the windows are all open,

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<v Speaker 1>and I can see the trees and hear the stir

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<v Speaker 1>of the leaves. It's such a crush at the yearly

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<v Speaker 1>meeting at Arch Street, and then there's the row of

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<v Speaker 1>sleek looking young men who line the curbstone and stare

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<v Speaker 1>at us as we come out. No, I don't feel

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<v Speaker 1>at home there. That evening, Ruth and her father sat

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<v Speaker 1>late by the drawing room fire, as they were quite

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<v Speaker 1>apt to do at night. It was always a time

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<v Speaker 1>of confidences. THEE has another letter from young Sterling, said

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<v Speaker 1>Eli Bolton. Yes, Philip has gone to the far west.

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<v Speaker 1>How far he doesn't say, but it's on the frontier,

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<v Speaker 1>and on the map everything beyond it is marked indians

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<v Speaker 1>and desert and looks as desolate as a Wednesday meeting. Hum.

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<v Speaker 1>It was time for him to do something? Is he

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<v Speaker 1>going to start a daily newspaper among the kickapoos? Father?

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<v Speaker 1>He's unjust to Philip. He's going into business. What sort

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<v Speaker 1>of business can a young man go into without capital?

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<v Speaker 1>He doesn't say exactly what it is, said Ruth, a

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<v Speaker 1>little dubiously, but it's something about land and railroads. And

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<v Speaker 1>THEE knows, father, that fortunes are made, nobody knows exactly

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<v Speaker 1>how in a new country, and I should think so,

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<v Speaker 1>you innocent puss, and in an old one too. But

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<v Speaker 1>Philip is honest, and he has talent enough if he

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<v Speaker 1>will stop scribbling to make his way. But THEE may

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<v Speaker 1>as well take care of THEE self, Ruth, and not

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<v Speaker 1>go dawdling along with a young man in his adventures

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<v Speaker 1>until thy own mind is a little more settled. What

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<v Speaker 1>THEE wants? This excellent advice did not seem to impress

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<v Speaker 1>Ruth greatly, for she was looking away with that abstraction

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<v Speaker 1>of vision which often came into her gray eyes. And

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<v Speaker 1>at length she exclaimed, with a sort of impatience, I

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<v Speaker 1>wish I could go west or south or somewhere. What

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<v Speaker 1>a box women are put into, measured for it, and

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<v Speaker 1>put in young if we go anywhere, it's in a box,

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<v Speaker 1>veiled and pinioned and shut in by disabilities. Father, I

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<v Speaker 1>would like to break things and get loose. What a

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<v Speaker 1>sweet voice, little innocent it was, to be sure THEE

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<v Speaker 1>will no doubt break things enough when thy time comes. Child?

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<v Speaker 1>Women always have. But what does THEE want now that

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<v Speaker 1>the he hasn't? I want to be something, to make

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<v Speaker 1>myself something, to do something. Why should I rust and

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<v Speaker 1>be stupid and sit in inaction because I'm a girl.

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<v Speaker 1>What would happen to me if THEE should lose thy

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<v Speaker 1>property and die? What one useful thing could I do

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<v Speaker 1>for a living for the support of mother and the children?

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<v Speaker 1>And if I had a fortune, would THEE want me

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<v Speaker 1>to lead a useless life? Has thy mother led a

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<v Speaker 1>useless life? Somewhat? That depends upon whether her children amount

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<v Speaker 1>to anything? Retorted the sharp little disputant, what's the good

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<v Speaker 1>father of a series of human beings who don't advance

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<v Speaker 1>any friend, Eli, who had long ago laid aside the

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<v Speaker 1>Quaker dress and was out of meeting, and who, in fact,

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<v Speaker 1>after a youth of doubt, could not yet define his

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<v Speaker 1>belief nevertheless looked with some wonder at this fierce young

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<v Speaker 1>eagle of his hatched in a friend's dovecote. But he

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<v Speaker 1>only said, has THEE consulted thy mother about a career?

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<v Speaker 1>I suppose it is a career THEE wants. Ruth did

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<v Speaker 1>not reply directly. She complained that her mother didn't understand her,

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<v Speaker 1>but that wise and placid woman understood the sweet rebel

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<v Speaker 1>a great deal better than Ruth understood herself. She also

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<v Speaker 1>had a history, possibly, and had some time beaten her

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<v Speaker 1>young wings against the cage of custom, and indulged in

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<v Speaker 1>dreams of a new social order, and had passed through

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<v Speaker 1>that fiery period when it seems possible for one mind,

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<v Speaker 1>which has not yet tried its limits, to break up

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<v Speaker 1>and re arrange the world. Ruth replied to Philip's letter

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<v Speaker 1>in due time, and in the most cordial and unsentimental manner.

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<v Speaker 1>Philip liked the letter as he did everything she did,

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<v Speaker 1>but he had a dim notion that there was more

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<v Speaker 1>about herself in the letter than about him. He took

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<v Speaker 1>it with him from the Southern Hotel when he went

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<v Speaker 1>to walk, and read it over and again in an

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<v Speaker 1>unfrequented street as he stumbled along the rather commonplace. An

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<v Speaker 1>unformed handwriter seemed to him peculiar and characteristic, different from

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<v Speaker 1>that of any other woman. Ruth was glad to hear

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<v Speaker 1>that Philip had made a push into the world, and

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<v Speaker 1>she was sure that his talent and courage would make

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<v Speaker 1>a way for him. She would pray for his success

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<v Speaker 1>at any rate, and especially that the Indians in Saint

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<v Speaker 1>Louis would not take his scalp. Philip looked rather dubious

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<v Speaker 1>at this sentence, and wished that he had written nothing

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<v Speaker 1>about Indians. End of Chapter fourteen.