The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-01-01
HOW WE 1T.

MAY | have Il finger in Your pie, my
dear young ladies'" queried Miss Morti-
mer. stepping quietly into the society
room where we fourteen girls were in
hot discussion over our graduating
dresses, and where the relative merits of
Swiss or carleton. silk or cashmere, the
rival beauties of Spanish lace and French
embroidery, were being cloquently set
forth by the devoted adhcrcnts of one or
the other. We were on our feet in Il
minute, and ''Of YOU may," Choir
used a score of voices. for Miss Morti-
mer was u great favOrite, and what
she would have to say upon the all
absorbing subject would have especial
weight, for she was Il rich mans daugh-
ter, whose every want was supplied, and
who always dressed with exquisite taste.
Withal. too. there was n bit of Il mystery
about her which lent an added charm in
our eyes. Why did she teach? Why
was she always so sad? OF course there
was some love affair or other about il,
and among ourselves we wOv many II
little romance entering about her lovely
face and elegant figure and dress. Then,
too, there was Il fascination about her
very name.-Gcncvieve Mortimer. Who
ever heard of Il forc-ordained school
teacher with such Il name rs that?
Why il was rcdolent of perfumes, flowers,
luxury. and had nothing akin to black
boards, staring walls, and rough floors.
So when she appeared we We're all at
tention. and drawing her into u
midst, seating her in our n easy chair
and settling ourselves upon the floor
about her. waited impatiently for what
she had 10 say 10 us.
II know it's about our dresses" whis-
pered Ella Treat.
$50 il is. Miss Ella, for ] was in the
next room: and as You all seemed to
disagree with the poet about that sex
cellcnt thing in woman.' could hardly
help hearing what yon said, and
Il expect we just shouted" interrupted
Sophie Day.
'And | wanted to say that ! did hope
you would make yourselves an eNccp-
ton TO former graduating classes. and
establish a much needed precedent for
those to come
.How?" '.Why?" What ito you
mean?" exclaimed one and another.
Cannot you guess
ado YOU mean that YOU don't want
us to wear lace and silk?' faultered
Maud Monroe.
"Do you mean that you think simple
muslin would be nor appropriately
asked Ella Raymond. IL do hope So
and her anxious face Frightened.
"May / tell you a little story" an
swcred Miss Mortimer, land leave You
to draw your own differences and answer
your own qucstions?'
A murmur of applause gave glad per-
mission, and our absorbed attention
would have BATTERED Il Wendell Phillips
.'ln the school which | attended foi
several years most Of the girls had ricl
fathers, and | am sorry to say that
think we paid quite as much attention
TO orr dress rs to our scholarship. As
class,-thcrc were seventeen of us,-w,
certainly We're not overburdcned will
either beauty or brains, though Eller
Fletcher was Il brilliant scholar, ant
Mary Martin sirikingly handsome. Tn,
former was our valedictorian; the latter
in addition to her essay. was TO sing ant
play ut commencement. and both girl
felt that. at that time if never before 81
afterward. they must bc Us well dressed
as the rest of us.
but how were they to bring it about
For Ellen Fletcher, though Il high-bor1
girl. was ut that time an orphan, dc
pendent upon Il parsimonious, crotchet,
old aunt. who. though rolling in money
b~egrudgcd expenses even necessary 10
herself, and Mary Martin was the oldes
of Il family of fatherless children who's
incessant wants the family income hard
ly sufliced TO meet. For three Othe
members of our class expensive dres
seemed almost equally out of the qucs
ton, and though rs ~light-hearted school
girls many of us knew little of the limit
ations of a slender purse, we certainl
were astonished when We saw that FL
lens white silk and cluny lace. rivale'
i'm costly elegance Marion Cuyler's
whose father was Il millionaire, and tina
Mary Martins deliberately cmbroidere
Grape must have cost a small fortune
Schoolgirls have quite an idea OF tn
, fitness of things and it seem a little in
congruOus. Still it was none OF on
affair; they had II right to dress as the
chose, and beside, class-pride require
tnaI I'LL SnOtlu LOON WtiI. cO VIC S"N
ourselves no further concern about !
and when the great day was over, wer
quite ready to believe our indulger
friends, who assured us that no elias
ever looked 80 beautiful or peforme
such wonders.
1T was not until long aftcrward thu
/ learned how dearly Ellen and Mar
at least, had paid for the short-live
satisfaction of hat occasion. Ellen,
seems, had engaged to teach, n eve
confident and courageous, thought
would be an easy matter TO a v frol
: her earnings the needed amount. ;
she borrowed it,-hcr only resort, -frol
I q cousin whom she dctested. But M
:. small salary did not prove the golde
b mine she expected; saving to pay a
. old debt was a good deal easier theore
ically than practically, and in spite
all she could do it was four years befol
the last cent was paid. To make