Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-09-22
BLUE, OR CRIMSONP

BIT n. r. HUDSON.

from Aarpsr's Barar
Twas momentous question. far more 50 than
INC Daoef. giancing az the title Of this story i'm
auns& The young lady standing by the window.
srees costume, gazing at the blooming squares
" me little garden below, was no nearer deciding
than she had been three days ago. vet ,t ,n,st
u settled that afternoon, and the hands OF the
0oek were pointing ten minutes to & blue, or
cnm-sonf"-the words began 70 adjust themselves
WIN annoying pertinacity 70 the mouotonous
ucking on the mantel-"olue or crimson, Yale. or
Aar-vard?' ana then this further anix, containing
the Kernel OF tue difnculty. "Rolfe, or Mars-toni
Which shoaid It bet The clock dropped prelimi.
nanes and stuck 70 the telling clause with per.
vs. 20 asgravating that the young lady knitted
nsr pretty blows and finally stopped her ears She
must think-sne must think. Here were only mr.
zen minutes In which to balance, for perhaps the
tnoosanotn time, the merits Of two rival and de-
ciared suitors for her hand, represented by the
cosors OF the rival colleges Which should IL be-?
aow u was that though neither Of these sultors
nAd yet oeen accepted, each believed himself IA
sored and expected bis supposed lady-love to wear
ms coors that evening. Is ms stery which only an
accomplished coQuette could explain This par
tleuiar coquette did penance Ior much previous
nlratlon during the maurdis quart fheure at the
Due g. 20 ss1 ,o1 Rn 70
party.
she had put on purchasing either as long as
Pos1oie and had had immense trouble to pre-
vent being presented with both. But for this un-
fortunate party. which had given each admirer an
have decided quite YET whether To- sccep RoRe
Marston, whose dark eyes and charming manners
had turned the heads OF half the girls In her .set
VINO was handsome, arstocratlc, and-oh, most
potent word!-rich, or Walter Rolfe the little
lover" OF her childhood, her play innate and teacher
At once, her loyal champion always and the hero
why. Lou, what In the world are you standing
mere Tor Win your fingers In your ears? SO you're
ssYes I'M WuyYs
.0h. I've just got note from your Aunt Maria
Shes suck, and nothing IL do out l must 90 up
there this evening. And i Thought perhaps you'd
make the biscuit for supper. l can't trust Inga,
you snow Insa was the swedish 'help," maJes-
Tic, snow fair, picturesque, serene, and as Yet In
nocent OF the least details OF cooking. Cant you
De back In half an hour? 1t don't take long to
.Yes, M" with a despairing glance At the clock.
One would not have said she was trying very
hard. noting her deliberate pace when once on the
street Sne co1ld have wished the walk TO town
twenty times as long. Low provokingly things
happeDedi The "help' only nj TO look at, and
Aunt Maria sick to-day OF all the three hundred
and sixty-nve IN the year! on dear! DEAR! Should
OF course IL ought TO be blue Waiter and she
had seemed 10 belong 10 each other-always. She
had stanehly believed him. Till lately, the ceveresI,
pest and andsomeSt boy in the world He might
oe-yes she was a raid he ras-a little common.
place, Tut he was as much a part OF her past as
her brother JerS ny, and seemed as much part VI
her future. To eliminate Walter
But then what girl she knew would think OF re-
fusing Roger Marstonf de belonged 10 one OF the
Boston families; he had nve times Roles pro-
perry; he was nandsomer too-aL least The girls
Thought he was; he sang; he painted; anu poor
no one else would hesitate between the two, and
yet
Here she was at a store door, and the clocks were
pointing nfteen MINUTES past nye. sue passed that
door, and the next anu the next; then turned
back r solutely. What was the Use Of wavering7
II declare, Miss Lou!- This greeting was given
by an lrreproachabie gentleman or forty vino was
patroihng the center OF the store. Il cannot
L. ~ m - hsnxTa sol
without glance at my windows, and now, wnen
I'm In the Gepths OF despair, In you walk as II
-You see. Mr.. Balcnelder" was the saucy re-
Spouse, Il couldn't endure the separation any
longer And now fortunate 1 am TO md you at
"wAatI You're going to ignore the claims OF
i ire ar you, and purchase some sordid
..Do you keep sordid triiess was looking for
ribbons"
.Rl00on! All! yes, yes; now see. Why couldn't
you have spared my feelings and gone TO MIR. Ell
lsru'sf lie would have sold you a r1DDon without
pang. while l.. AT the very thought feel quite
he nad selected. while speaking, roll of GRIM
son, and was dexterousy looping 1t as he held IL
before has customer. VINO survey ed II and min with
astonishneEt not unmlxed With anger. IL has
PASSED TO a pfoyerD that nothing should be taken
for granted where a woman Is concerned.
Mss Jennings remarked cooly, as she turned
10 the case: Perhaps some other color would
make you feel less sanguinary. This straw color,
-H4, h.T-stin holding up the crimson. "You
see, I'm Ike joey bagstocA, sly, develisn sly"
Almost as sharp as Harvard senior, 1 assure
.You have an excellent opinion of YOURSELF
well, I'm no solomon, Miss Lou-no solomon
But then IL doesn't require tue wisdom OF solomon
" know that you want crimson nbOon. ANY
Yankee could tell that"
-only see what a lovely hue! Your color, ex-
scsly; Brunettes should wear something rich and
Miss jennings returned thanks for the advice
and allowed the glver 10 show her every crimson
ribbon IN the ease Finaiiy. she said meditatively,
0n, quile, quite; yes yes"
"And III guarantee the effect over white will be
Il VIII take six yards Of
"And here's narrower width Of the same shade,
nyou want IL The storekeeper had let ral his
handful OF bright satin, anu was measuring on
defty- "Four-nve-six six yards7"-nIIing tine
scissors
six yards-of this blue" the young lady con-
cluded-
"Eh!" Mr.. Batchelder dropped the scissors and
stared over his spectaees. The purchaser mad
hard work 10 repress smile the discontinue OF
the voiuoie salesman, VINO uttered not another
he had Failed then sufficiently 10 remark Va
rum et HutQb-"
'DonJ Put the blame on me, Mr.. Batehelaer 1t
would have taken the wisdom OF solomon 10 know
that wanted a blue Ribbon aud you're oniv q
YANKEE. No wonder you made mistake Good
Miss jennings satisfaction did not last long No
sooner Was she on the street again than she re-
pented having bought the wrong color tu,t for
spite. Had she not determined on crimson? And
nov here was the decision reversed by go,sping
sJOre-keeper. Now thai she had the blue AZ quite
lost Its value In her eyes.
And why noI"-this bright thought entered
her mind when she was about halfway home
why not buy the crimson rioooL tooY- with
both coors ready choice could be made at the last
minute
Immensely relieved at this respite she FASTENED
back 70 the village, made her second purchase az
another store. and reached home, very hot ana
tired, at exactly quarter OF SIX. she tossed her
hat paraso, and parcels down or the hall table
and hurried into the Kitchen Appropriating one
OF the Swede's calico aprons she st tnaI serene
domestic a. work making up a hot 1re
"Butter these pans, Inga," she directed as she
new from closet 10 table, and cut up some cake. I"
sYesS"
And turn out some of that grape jam, and put
Ice on the butter"
"Yess-" TIe bulk OF Ingas conversation CON.
sisted OF this monosyllaole.
The Swede never hurried. Her young mistress
perspirlng and disheyeIled. found this delibera.
tion Irritating. Her temper was presently further
disturbed The door between the hall and Kitchen
was thrown open. and her ten-year-old brother
Bob entered bolsterously, followed by MS dog
..AinT supper ready? Say, Inga, get snip some
thing 10 eat
"iess.r
"No," interpnsed Lou. ''wait till supper-time
and 20 right out OF the kitchen"
Bob retreat q 10 the han grumbling: ats time
for supper now. he might have a doug hnut any
way. He'll jump for IT. Look here ana see how
lie can jump, Inga"
The cOmpliant swede paused In see Tbera