The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1873-12-12
A True-tO-Life Picture.

Mr.. Howard Paul in his Entertainment
says, THAT when a sudden sharp fever
of economy attacks a woman, and she
determines TO make hat or bonnet for
herself, for a brief period between the
formation of the resolution and the con-
summation of deed, her mind passes
through various amusing stages OF agita-
ton. First, she gets herself up in her
most attractive guise, and proceeds to
purchase a 'shape'-as l believe the
fragile outline OF framework of the future
structure is called-then taking the bus
home, she drinks in the details of every
hat that enters, and learns them all by
heart, and does mental sums over the
cost Of the ribbon, and makes up her
mind to have flowers in hers like those
worn by the woman in the corner, and
lace like that gaudy looking creature in
the middle. The next day she walks
down the street, and studies all the hats
that come along; and, when a woman
passes her with one on, she twists her
neck round to see how it looks behind,
and is digusted to see that the woman is
also dislocating her neck to see how she
trims her hat When she arrives in
front Of milliners, she fingers until
she has analysed all the hats in the win
dow, and she determines to trim hers in
nineteen different ways, and decides not
to have flowers like the woman who sat
in the corner. Then she shoots into the
shop, and asks TO see hats with the air
of person who wishes 10 invest a small
fortune in head-gear. She examines ev-
cry hat in the establishment, overhauls
ten bushels of flowers, and gets about
fifteen shillings' worth of work out of
the saleswoman, and then says that she
will look further Then she gets home
with her mind fixed on thirty-eight or
nine different styles in which she wants
to trim her hat.
"After a while she begins to think she
ought to have a feather in it, and she
passes two or three sleepless nights try
ing to decide whether to put one in it or
not. At last she resolves she will. Then
she lies awake for two more nights en-
deavoring to determine whether it shall
be red or blue. She settles on blue. She
buys her trimming, and sews il on in
twenty successive positions, her mind fill
ed with deepest anxiety as to whether
the feather should go on the right side,
the left side, or on top. She puts il ON
the right side; hut just then Mrs. DE
Boots passes the window with feather
ON the left side of hers, and SO she
changes il the next morning. Mrs. Fitz-
brown calls, and her feather is on the
right side, and then another change Is
made. At church next day Mrs Smith
has feathers on both sides, and Mrs.
johnson has one on top. Then more
sleopless nights and painful uncertainty;
At last, in utter despair, she takes the
hat TO milliner, and pays thirty shill-
ings to have it trimmed. When it comes
home she pronounOcs it hateful and
picks il all to pieces, and broods over it,
and worries and hets and loses her appe-
tite. and feels life TO be a burden for two
weeks longer, until suddenly she has just
the right thing, and becomes once more
serene and happy and puts the hat on
and goes out and makes millions Of other
women miserable because their hats are
not trimmed exactly like hers. As
wife woman is a blessing; as mother,
naught can compare with her; as an
organizer Of new hats, she is simply an
object Of amusement or-compassion."