Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1890-01-03
-FOUR GIRL BACHELORS.
A GLIMPSE AT THEIR CHARMING
HOME IN NEW YORK GIN.

They All Work, and Spend Their Incomes
In a Cooperative Way-Provisions Made
to Meet the Peculiar Tastes of Each
Member of the Quartet.
Yes, there is such a person as a girl bachelor,
and she is not IN old maid either. Size 4 an
independent American young woman with
the stars and stripes luttering in her direct,
honest glance, and she prefers freedom and
the sense Of ownership in her own flreside to
anything else in life.
Here follows the true story of four girl
bachelors who for good or i'll pitched their
tents together:
How do you do? It's awfuly good of you
to run in in this friendly way to see how our
new housekeeping gets OH. Sit down here by
this window. Isn't that roof top view Ge-
i~ightfuls That only comes to those who live
near the sky, like sparrows amid the Spires
and that, of course" with a contradictory
s!lu-, was 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.
iently at everything in the place for a few
i!oli!|ttlS, dLu Idu W ultllllU UlltU l llheu IL
very much-so much, in fact, that a secret,
%cnvious yearning burned within me to flee
then and there from dull, conventional
grooves, rs Christian did from the City Of
Destruction, and be also a girl bachelor,
happy, securely poised and sufficient unto
myself!
Imagine a large, square room in a corner
house on an uptown street, one side facing
BROAD r. uy0c ca hirl, ~, vO1l~ haSt
friend or tho maj who owed you that long
outstanding bill might go down tina noisy
t~!:uroughfare and you could not distinguish
h:a, by features, walk OF clothes. There
WAS u vista of acres Of sky in tender evening
tints; Of stecples and waving flags IN the
higher buildings; of chimneys and roof tops
a little lower down, and far below street
lamps and electric lights like strings of bril-
liants crossing at the corners and s. ing the
gray, twilit sIaEets q 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 q rep covered divan, in one corner,
among a sea of sateen pillows, lay a banjo,
as if a musician had just thrown it down.
But knew it was Polly's and that she had
placed it there simplyafor the effect. could
fancy Eer, her blonde head on one side, study
ing that particular corner and puzZling her
brains for something else to give it an extra,
super;rsthctic touch. On the wall above it
about thirty small, unframed etchings were
tucked i'll rows, up and down, haphazard.
Another corner showed q deep bamboo
rocker, 4 quantity Of books and a dainty
cherry desk containing every new knick.
knack for ':riting.
On the opposite side of the room q 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 check and jowl with the latest comic
opera jingles.
Though these four corners typified boobies
delightful 10 each of the girl bachelors they
also signitied work, bread and butter, rent
and new gowns, for Polly, who dotted on
everything unusual in a room, was an artist.
Her sketches appeared regularly in the illus.
trated magazines. Dolly was u newspaper
woman and sent letters on metropolitan fads
and foibles to out of town papers. Lefty
earned $50 u week by designing art embroid.
cry for q big house down town, and Hetty
was q music teacher.
The floor vas covered by a close woven,
v~ariegated mating, with a great navy blue
and orange rug in the center and Il few bear.
skins here and there. Madras curtains grace.
fully drapel the windows. A deep hued au.
tumn landscape, in a heavy gilt frame, hung
in 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 Moon Away" San Octo-
Der Evening"" Where the Road Winds
Down." etc. But she had never been able to
sell it, and had stopped notwithstanding it. 1t
had come to be a joke, but no one dared deny
its beauty, even though the colors We're a lit.
tie perplexing.
"Now cone 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
Hctt : 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. 1 tremble when 1 think what the
janitor may say. And Lefty has been em.
broidering everything-sofa cushions, doy-
lies, tray cloths. Hetty and l did nothing
but get things il order as well as we could
without stumbling over paint brushes and
stepping on needles. 1t was fortunate my
work could not be used to decorate a room,
unless, as Polly said, I used tho leaves of all
my rejected manuscripts for wall paper.
Nov, this is the dining room. You see,
there's a folding bed in the corner. That's
for a visitor or for one of us when we feel
cranky and must be alone. Polly says the
! moods of artistic souls should be respected.
What do you think? But l hope we never
will feel cranky in this jolly little paradise.
Oh, after boarding houses it is delicious to
have n 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 aEd felt as if we'd eaten it before
we went down. In the morning it was the
smell of sizzlcd eggs, atlunch the corned beef
hash or fish balls, at night the roast meat,
onions and sometimes corned beef and cab
bage. That is over with, thank heaven. My
time is my own, SO cook the breakfast on
our little oil stove. We have oranges, baked
apples or grapes, eggs OF loin chops, rolls and