Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-12-04
FOUR GIRL BACHELORS.
A GLIMPSE At THEIR CHARMING
HOME IN NEW YORK CITY.

They All Work, and Spend Their Incoms
in . Cooperative way-Provisions Mad,
to Meet tho Peculiar Tastes Of Easl
Member Of the Quartet.
Yes, there is such person as girl bachelor
and she is not an old maid either She is al
Independent American young woman will
the stars and stripes futtering in her direct
honest glance, and she prefers freedom ant
the sense of Ownership in her own freside K
anything else in life
Here follows the true story Of four CIR
tents together:
"How do you do! It's awfuny good Of yor
to run in in this friendly way to see how oul
new housekeeping gets on. Sit down here by
this window. Isn't that roof top view de
lightfule That only comes to those who live
near the sky. like sparrows amid the spires,
and that, Of course" with contradictory
shrug, twas our only reason for taking the
top floor when we might have had the first.
Now look about you and tell me how you
like it."
After this breathless invitation I gazed ST.
lently at everything in the place for a few
moments, and had to admit that liked ii
very much-so much, in fact, that secret,
envious yearning burned within me to fee
then and there from dull, conventional
| grooves, as Christian did from the City of
Destruction, and be also a girl bachelor,
happy, securely poised and sufficient unto
myself
Imagine large, square room in . corner
house on an uptown street, one side facing
Broadway. 1t was so high up your best
friend or the man who owed you that long
outstanding bill might so down that noisy
thoroughfare and you could not distinguish
him by features, walk or clothes There
was vista of acres of sky in tender evening
tints; Of steeples and waving flags on the
higher buildings; Of chimneys and roof tops
a little lower down, and far below street
lamps and electric lights like strings of bril-
iants crossing at the corners and giving tbs
gray, twilit streets fairylike glimmer So
much for the view.
This large room, the assembling place Of
the four girl bachelors, was eloquent of four
distinct hobbies.
On a rep covered divau, in one corner,
among a sea Of sateen pillows, lay q banjo,
as if a musician had just thrown it down.
But knew it was Polly's and that she had
placed it there simply for the effect. could
fancy her, her blonde head on one side, study
ing that particular corner and pslszlins her
brains for something else to give it an extra,
superRsthetic touch. On the wall above It
about thirty small, unframed etchings were
tackled in rows, up asd down, haphazard
Another corner showed deep bamboo
rocker, a quantity of books and dainty
cherry desk containing every new knick-
Enack for writing.
On the opposite side of the room a work
basket, embroidery frame and square foot
stool were arranged.
And at the back stood an upright piano,
its top crowded with music sheets-Chopin's
waltzes cheek and jowl with the latest comic
opera jingles.
Though these four corners typified hobbies
delightful to each Of the girl bachelors they
also signified work, bread and butter, rent
and new gowns, for Polly, who dotted on
everything unusual ia q room, was an artist
Her sketches appeared regularly in the illus
trated magazines. Dolly was q newspaper
woman and sent letters on metropolitan fads
and foibles to out Of town papers. Lefty
earned $50 week by designing art embroid-
cry for big house down town, and Hetty
was music teacher.
The floor was covered by close woven,
variegated mating, with great navy blue
and orange rug in the center and few bear
skins here and there. Madras curtains grace
fully draped the windows A deep hued au-
tumn landscape, in a heavy gilt frame. hung
I'm a good light. This, by the way, was the
most important piece Of work Polly had ever
DONE She had named it 'When Twilight
Melts Beneath the Noon Away" "An Octo-
Der Evening"" Where the Road Winds
Down." etc. But she had never been able to
sell it, and had stopped rechristening it, It
had come to be joke, but no one dared deny
its beauty, even though the colors were a lit
tie perple1ing.
'Now come and look at the bedrooms One
in pink and white for Lefty and me, because
we are brunettes, and the other Opening an
other door in lilac and white for Polly and
Hetty, because they are on the blonde order,
and because music loves art, and vice versa
Well, it looks awfully cosy, but oh, the time
we have had to get straightforward Polly in
sisted on painting everything she could lay
her hands on-water lilies on the panel Of
that door and dog roses on the ceiling of her
bedroom. trembRe when I think what the
janitor may say. And Lefty has been en-
broidering everything-sofa cushions, doy-
lies, tray cloths. Hetty and l did nothing
but get things in order as well as we could
without stumbling over paint brushes and
stepping on needles It was fortunate my
work could not be used to decorate a room,
unless, as Polly said, l used the leaves Of all
my rejected manuscripts for wall paper.
''Now, this is the dining room. You see,
there's folding bed in the corner. That's
for a visitor OF for one Of US when we feel
cranky and must be alone. Polly says the
moods of artistic souls should DO respected
What do you think! But 1 hope we never
will feel cranky in this jolly little paradise.
Oh, after boarding houses 1t is delicious to
have a home. Why, the smell Of cooking for
twenty or thirty people used to come up
stairs so we always knew what We were 60
ing to have and felt as if we'd eaten it before
we went down. In the morning it was the
smell of si1zled eggs, atlunch the corned beef
hash or fish balls, at night the roast naeat,
onions and sometimes corned beef and cab
bage That is over with, thank heaven Ny
time is my own, so l cook the breakfast on
our little oil stove. We have oranges, baked
apples or grapes, eggs or loin chops. rolls and
coffee. order the things for breakfast over
night, and have the grocer, who Is just
around the corner, send them in the morning
THE elevator boy. whom We each tip with
q quarter every week, floats esreoely up With
them and leaves then, outside our door a& 7
o'clock After breakfast young hired girl
comes in, cleans the place and stays until
lunch is over. We all manage to be in fer
lunch at 2 o'clock, but we usually 60 out TO
Sippar This Is when We ssxon1e, on some of