The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1886-04-22


1t gave people pleasant things to say
OF her kindness to q forlorn old spin
ster, for one thing-and Pm afraid II l
had comprehended it in the beginning
should have put an end to it out OF
hand-was that, quite innocent and
ignorant OF it all, was her chaperon.
at is such o misfortune" she said to
the right people, "that my own dear
chaperon, who always takes me about,
was obliged to leave almost as soon
as we came; and should have had to
60 too, and be buried alive somewhere,
/ suppose, if my dear little Miss Rug
giles had not happened to be here, and
she has taken charge of me so kindly"
Take charge of that mink! l should
as soon have thought oftaking charge
of a will-o' the-wisp.
"Now, you see what I mean when l
say it is necessary here to be always
en- evidence. You're forgotten II
you're not. Out OF sight, out ofmind.
| am here to be seen. Ii hadn't been
sitting here with you, that absurd lit
tie Vonderbust wouldn't have asked
me to drive, and the others wouldn't
all have gone to pulling caps about
Mr.. Dunrobin wouldn't have seen it
as he sat there with his cigar. When
l have filled everybodys eyes, Mr..
Dunrobin will begin to see me. So
am always very plainly visible with
my train OF idiots. Oh yes, l am as
froth, but its a game as deep as the
sea underneath"
"Bettie, Pm ashamed OF human ma
ture when hear you talk"
"No OCCASION" crumbling her bread.
"You wouldn't be ashamed of me if l
were trying to make a fortune by what
you call honest labor. Well, if this
isn't labor, should like to know what
it is"
"Laborl"
"It's labor enough, let me assure
you, just to talk to these whipper
snappers. IT'S more trouble than it
would be to write book, tograduate
your conversation to the level of their
little intellects, if they have any intel
lects-Penhurst and De Lacy and Van
Stout and the whole set. You have
to make believe to each one that you
find him perfectly delightful. If you're
the least atom above his comprehen-
sion in your talk, or silent, or slow,
good-bye and goodbye to one, good
bye to all. If one of them sees anoth-
er hanging over your chair, he thinks
there's something worth while there,
and he is coming in for his share; but
if he doesn't see anybody, he's going
where it is plain there is something the
other fellows admire. Do you see?
Here they come; l thought they
| would"
She ran into my room one night be-
fore going down to the german. cam
all right?" she said. "Come down
with ME, that's a dear"
"Why don't you rest tonight" I
asked, not yet aware OF my chaperon-
age.
"Rest!" she said. Gas if there were
any rest in the middle of campaign!
I'll rest when Pm through"
"Bettie, Pm afraid"
"What of? That / shall fail? Well,
what if lido? Folks have tailed before.
And if fail, life won't be worth cent,
and there's always the river, you
know"
"Bettie Bennett! I'll have nothing
more to do with you at all. l think
you are"
"As bad as bad can be! Then come
down and help me not to fail. I've
got to dance tonight to the last dance,
and take ices and drink champagne
with the best of them or the worst of
them, just as if l were to the manner
born. If don't dance the first dance,
then the others will think something's
to
old story, and sha'n't have a part
ner all the rest of the night. It's kill
ing-this place. Do you think l am
falling off any?"
"Falling off," said I. ssThere's moth
ing TO fall off. You'll be the more piqu-
ant and taking the more faded you
are. You'll be prettier at forty than
you are at twenty. But, oh, Bette,
you're awfully old at twenty"
"Well, my dress is new. And isn't
it lovely?"
1t was a bright colored gold satin,
fitting like glove; and with it she
wore a quantity Of topazes, and there
| was black swans down wrap to be
left on her chair or to pull up if she
were chilly, and set off with its soft
shadow the perfection of her perfect
little shape. "Topazes are cheap"
said she. "You can buy beauties as
big as the tip OF your thumb, for two
dollars and a half apiece, in the old
country jewellers shops. It's the set
ting that costs; but nobody need
know that 1t isn't eighteen carat. 1t
isn't everybody would dare to wear
topazes with yellow satin; no contrast
you know. But don't they make me
look just dripping with light?"
EYES," l answered; "they make you
look like constellation half seen in
sunset. But you're wasted here, Bet
tie. You ought to be in countries
where there are kings; you'd be direct
ing affairs OF state presently"
II shall be content if l can direct
this affair."" she said, with her gay
laugh. "Come! I've just given Caro-
my turquoises, by-the-way. To tell
you the truth, they're not in the least
becoming to me, and she admired them
SO. There's another part of the labor
you have to keep on the best terms
with all the other girls, unless you are
so perfectly assured that there's no
need OF it,or else they will tear you to
| pieces. Sweet life!''
1t was triumph that Bette had
that night. The beauties, the heroines,
the bas-bleus and the sangre-azuls
were nowhere, as she said afterward in
her own dialect. She was surrounded
like queen bee with workers. She
had bouquets by the dozen, SO that
her lovers had to help her hold them.
She gave some quietly to the bouquet
less girls. in pursuit OF her plan, you
might have said, but really,I daresay,
because she had kind heart under
all her artifice and audacity. l only
gave one to Helen Patterson and an
other to Virginia Lamb, that happen
ed to be duplicates of some kept, be-
cause their mothers were getting so
mad at their neglect, and l was
afraid they might begin to show their
claws" said she, next day. "Why,
didn't you see me go and sit down by
Mrs. Lamb? Twas praising Virginia
to her. was wishing l only had Vir-
| <,,,, 3e I, L