The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1889-11-29
FOUR GIRL BACHELORS.
a GLIMPSE AT THEIR CHARMING
HOME IN NEW YORK CITY.

They All Work. and Spend Their Incomes
Ia "a Cooperative way-rrovisions Made
to Meet TIA. Peculiar Tastes of Zach
Member of the Quartet.
Yes, there Is such person as a girl bachelor,
and She Is not am old maid either. She is AN
independent American young woman with
the stars and stripes fiuttering In her direct,
honest glance, and she prefers freedom and
the sense of ownership in her own hreside to
anything else m life.
Here follows the true story OF four girl
bachelors who for good or in pitched their
tents together:
How do YOU doi It's awfully good Of YOU
10 run IN in this friendly way 10 soc how our
new housekeeping gets ON, Sit down here 10y
this window. Isn't that roof top view do
hghtfuli That only comes 60 those who live
near the SKY, like sparrows amid the spires,
and that, of coursc,n with contradictory
shrug "was our only reason for taking the
top door when We might have had the first
Now look about YOU and tell me how YOU
like IT,"
Alter this brcathless invitation | gazed Il.
lently at everything in the place for few
moments, and bad to admit that liked IL
very muCh-so much, i'm fact that a secret,
enviouS yearulng burned within me 90 dee
then and there from dull, conventional
grooves, a. Christian did from the city Of
Destruction, and be also girl bachelor,
happy securely poised and sufficient unto
myself
Imagine "A large, square room in "A corner
house on an uptown street, one sido facing
Broadway II was 80 high up your best
friend or the man who owed you that long
outstanding bin might IS down that noisy
thoroughiarc and you could not distinguish
him 10y features, walk or clothes. There
was vista Of acres Of sky i'm tender evening
tints, OF steeplcs 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-
iauts crossing at the corners aud giving the
gray, twi!lt streets fairylke glmmcr So
much for the view.
This large room, the assembling place of
the four glrl bachelors, was eloquent of four
distinct hobbies
On rep covered divan, in ono corner,
among sea of satccn pillows, lay banjo,
ns II "A musician had just thrown IL down.
But knew IL was Polly's and that she had
placed Il there simply for the effect. could
fancy her, her blonde head ON one side, study.
ing that particular corner aud puzzling her
brains for something else Ia give IL au extra,
supcrpsthetic touch. On the wall nbove il
about thirty small unframed etchings were
tackled IN rows, mp and down, hnphazard.
Another corner showed "A deep bamboo
rocker, a quantity Of books and dainty
cherry desk containing every new knick-
knacls for writing
On tie opposite side OF the room a work
basket, embroidery frame and square foot
stool were arranged
And NJ the back stood an upright piano,
its top crowded with music sheets-Chopin's
waltacs check and jowl with the latest comic
opera jingles.
Though these four corners typlcd hobbies
delightful 10 each Of the girl bachelors they
also signihcd work, bread aud butter, rent
and new gowns, for Polly who dotted on
every thing unusual in n room, was nn artist.
Her sketches appeared regularly In tho illus
tratcd magazines. Dolly was newspaper
woman and sent letters on metropolitan fnds
aud fobles to out of town papers. Lofty
eorncd $50 q week 10y designing art cmbroid.
cry for n big house DOM town, and IIctty
was a music teacher.
The noor was covered by close woven,
variegatel mating, with "A great navy blue
aud orange rug in the center and few bear.
skins here aud there. Madras curtains grnce-
fully drapod the windows A deep hucd nu-
tumn landscape in heavy gilt frame, hung
IN good light. This, by the way, was the
most important piece of work Polly had ever
done. She had named IL when Twilight
Mclts Beneath the Moon Away "An Octo-
bcr Evening" where the Road Winds
Down. etc. But she had never boon able 10
sell il, and had stopped rechristening IL. It
had come 10 bo joke, but no one dared deny
its beauty, even though the colors were "A lit.
tie perplexing.
"Now come and look at tho bedrooms. One
in pink and white for Lefty and me, because
we are bruncttcs, and the other (opening an
other door In lilac and white for Polly aud
Hetty, because they are on the blonde order
aud because music loves art, and vice versa
Well, IL looks nwfully cosy, but Oh, the time
we have bad % get straightenedi Polly In
sisted on painting everything she could lay
her hands on-water lilies on the panel of
that door end dog roses on the ceiling of her
bedroom trcmble when ! think what the
janitor may say. And Lefty has been en-
broidering everything cushions, doy-
lies, tray cloths. Hetty aud ! did nothing
but get things in order as well as we could
without stumbling over paint brushes and
stepping on needles. 10 was fortunate my
work could not b. used to decorate room,
unless, as Polly said, ! used tho leaves of all
my rejected manuscripts Tor wall paper
Now, this IL the dining room. You see,
there's n folding bed in the corner. That's
for n visitor or for one n US when We feel
cranky and must be alone. Polly says the
moods of artistic souls should DO respected.
What do you thinki But / hope We never
will feel cranky IN this jolly little paradise
On, after boarding houses II Is delicious %
have a home. Why, the smell n cooking for
twenty or thirty people used 30 come up
stairs ~ We always knew what We were 20
ing to have aud felt as II we'd eaten 10 before
We went down. IN the morning IL was tho
smell Of hzzled eggs, atlunch the cOrned beef
hash or fish balls, at night tho roast meat,
OniOus aud something's cOrned beef and cab
bage That j. over with, thank heaven. My
time il my own, ~ / cook the breakfast on
our little oil stove. We have oranges, baked
apples or grapes, eggs or lOin chops, rolls md
coffee. order the things Tor breakfast over
night, and have the grocer, who Il just
around the corner, send them Ia the morning
"The elevator BOY, whom we each tip with
a quarter every week, floats serenely up with
them and lea - them outside our door at
O'Clock. After breakfast a young hired girl
comes in, cleans the place and stays until
lunch IL over. We all manage % b. In for
lunch az 2 oclock, but we usually go out b
dinner. This Is when We 'sponge' On sons n
our relatives or friends, but frequently we
are all 81 liberty 10 20 b n restaurant What
lots II fun We have experimenting, md We
catch glimpses n ell sides n life One night Ne
dine at DelmOnicos in state the next night, %
economic for being ertrsvagant, We feed at
ar obscure hostelry On upper Sixth avenue.
-. a. =. n fark rrH