Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-12-10
PERFECTLY SHOCKING.

have ventured TO call the story Of a little
bit Of my life Shocking" to remind my
readers that they are expected to be shocked
by it, and that the moral it conveys should
lie brought home to the hearts Of all truly
fashionable people But, shocking my
conduct was, fear cannot repent or be
ashamed Of it, though | am phianthrupic
enough TO hope that my sad example may
act as warning to all young married
women
The essence OF autobiography is egotism, as
some writer remarked, and shall therefore
not apologize for the numer Of Is that will
occur Ia the following pages
nv mother was a very we'll known person
in New York society she lived in and for the
word-the world Of bail going and amuse.
ment-and played her part IN 1t with much
zeal and success
IL was only when an unfortunate redness
OF her nose caused, Ill natured people said,
by tight lacing, disguised her with the look.
ing glass; that she adopted the high church
pietism to which she is now so devoted, and
she sits in her favorite corner of the Church
OF the Beatifc Pharisee. with her lovely
books OF devotion, her smelling bottle and
really forget about her nose and are inclined
to ignore the reason which has so happily, il
painfully, brought her into the arms Of the
church.
She was always very good mother to
me, and from the suspicious day which saw
my debut in society till that no less au-
spicious one when she wept quietly behind
me as Tom placed a gold ring on my hand at
hs MI Of oh uba II,
most careful of my welfare and eager for my
advancement and happiness And what a
chaperon she was Even at in the morn
ing, when other chsperons were asleep or
tuning with the desire for bed, there she sat.
pale and determined, ready to encourage a
good parti, or frown upon bad
one, or on me if | encouraged him
Many a time have | reached home from Del
monicos, smarting from the pinches she,
for my own good, had bestowed upon my
arms, when had been more than usually OBJ
'tinate in pre:erring some good looking
journalist with nothing year, to an abdom-
inal broker ready to place the disposal Of his
millions at my feet
And her vigilance had its reward. for at
the end of my second season, Just as papa
was beginning his annual growl about the
papers were enabled 10y mamma sending
them information to announce my forth
coming marriage with Mr. Thomas Van
Pygg. OF Sixth avenue and Irvington-on-
Hudson, quite one OF the best men, in a pc
cunlary sense, of the year Tom loved me in
the most ridiculous, old fashioned way, and
always treated me as If were in some way
his superior, whereas-but | suppose | had
BATE Iaea
suffice that was and am rather pretty. could
play on the piano and sing after fashion,
and bad developed quite marvellous amount
OF aesthetic taste in what We call high art
furniture think ! knew how to dress, too,
and papa-who usually found fault with me,
50 his testimony is important-said that
had an enormous talent for spending money
Well, we were wei. and we went of for
our honeymoon, grinning like couple of
idiots, as We no doubt were And here comes
one of the most humihating of my confeA
sions was absurdly, inexpressibly happy
during that same honey moon / had so
often laughed at the thing, and vowed it was
= relic of barbarism. and declared that a
married couple should at once commence
the life apart frop one another, except at
meal times. which is their after fate. that il
- 'ei uheaoAu i AVs uie 70 ue 50 happy.
OF course. no one is ever ''in love- nova
days; so it couldn't have been that. No.
fancy it must have been the getting away
from papa and mamma, combined PERHAPS
with the feeling that | was now free to
amuse myself as | listed, with no one to
frown or say unpleasant things to me when
| firted with dear. handsome Dirk Van
khounhyde. Dirk had always been my IA
vorite partner and HE despair when | told
him that the announcement in the papers
was true was very touching. He came to
the wedding-which be thought it funny to
call the funeral remember, and he really
made IT look like one-and the repruachful
look be gave me as got into the carriage
with Tom would have been touching. only at
that moment was taken up with Toms stu
pidity in letting some u my lace get smut up
in the door.
But, somehow, clumsy and stupid and
ridiculously in love as Tom was, the honey
moon wen, like lightning, and scarcely
opened one Of the many books French novels
principally that had taken to while away
what thought would he 50 dreary a time.
/ regret to say that We kept company lust
- the footman and maid do, and spooned
Like . couple Of sentimental German tradss
people
The frxt person TO call in Fifth aysuus