The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1891-11-05

Most men regard Eve O'Clock teas a.
an unmitigated nuisance, and class them,
together with house cleanings, shopping
tours and sewing circles as necessary
evils imposed by society and dear to the
hearts Of women. One cause Of this
feeling may arise from the fact that here,
II nowhere else, the lord Of creation Is
put In the background, and Is Of no use
whatever. except to ill up pauses In con-
versation and throw into bolder relief
by his plain attire the more striking COS
tunes Of the fair sex. This tea drinking,
moreover, seems to many men o useless
waste Of time, because It Is Of no prac-
teal value in the sight Of the world.
Let 1t be understood once for all, then,
that to give asuccessful FIVE o'clock tea re-
quires great talent and Is an art acquired
BY few, implying as It does the ability
to get just the right people together
and to let them eat, drink and be merry
at the time when the majority Of man
Kind wishes to be doing something else.
Mrs. K, as is well known In Cam
bridge, possesses this talent In q marked
degree, and happy Is he who Is favored
with one Of her invitations. l, myself,
never fail TO attend, and from the crowds
that throng her parlors do not think
that am any exception to the general
rule. do not know whether It Is the
pleasant people you always meet there,
or the beauty Of the house, or the de-
hcious waters you are treated to, or the
eggshell cups out Of which you sip your
chocolate; or last, but by no means least,
the grace Of the hostess herself; but II 10
charming and soothing and restful, and
you 60 away feeling that you have spent
. very delightful half hour. l, indeed,
have good reason to remember one Of
these teas at least, for It was there first
met Miss Ormsby.
She impressed me as soon a. saw her,
for she combined qualities unusual In o
woman. Tall and slender, with golden
brown hair and fair skin Just tinged
here and there with suspicion Of the
brunette, she presented externally the
appearance Of . woman easily moved and
easily influenced When you heard her
talk you changed your opinion, for you
knew that she meant what she said.
Miss Ormsby never said, 81 think such
thing Is so;'' It was always, ~ know It Is
co." and this was O key 10 her whole
character. Like Pilate, her motto was,
"What have written, have written;"
and her will was as the law Of the Medes
and Persians, unalterable Her purpose
might be crushed by the force Of circum-
stances, but 1t was never changed With
out, and to the world as q whole, she
was a. docile as 0 kitten; within, and to
herself, she was tigress In strength and
brutality. The world at large does not
know this and probably will not believe
II, for Miss Ormsbyis leader in society
and society does not like tigresS; she is
like Q wolf in Q fold Of conventional
lambs, and Is called by the world Q strong
minded woman. So well, however, did
the kitten conceal the tigress that no one
has ever suspected her, nor would | II !
had not seen her claws
As said, l was introduced to her at
Mrs. rs Eve o'clock tea, and l at
once became interested in her. It is con-
Edered fine thing for man to be able
to size up mentally and morally any
woman that he meets; but It is very un-
pleasant when q woman turns the tables
on you and does the sizing up herself.
30 II was with Miss Ormsby; l knew be-
fore | had been talking with her Eve
minutes that she had taken my measure,
% TO speak, and | also had an unpleas-
ant conviction that the result was not
complimentary to myself Nothing In
her conversation, which was confined to
social commonplace, betrayed the fact,
and after awhile we drifted apart and
did not see her again that afternoon.
| saw her quite often after that at din
neTs and teas, and though we talked to-
gether on these occasions l never knew
her better than on the first day met
her. I Ioften wondered why she tolerat-
ed me, for l felt sure she disliked me,
but l had 10 take It out In wondering.
Istarted into Boston on 0 warm after
noon In June to attend to o matter Of
business Taking Q Park square car ]
rode into Beacon street and from there
WALKED across the Common. When !
had gone about half Of the way I saw
Miss ormsby approaching from the op-
posito direction. She was bewitchingly
dressed and looked even more fascinat-
ing than usual l was lazy, for IL was
. hot day, and did not feel energy
enough for . protracted conversation; 90
II was with Q determination Of not stop
ping II could help It that I advanced
toward her.
"Ah, MF. Cummings" she cried, - !
greeted her, "you are the very man !
want 10 0ea | was looking for some
knight 10 serve me and here he H."
II have done nothing to deserve that
etls - yOt. Miss ormIby," I replied,