New-York tribune., 1892-12-04
MISS BARTON
sTHE CARRIAGE WILL CALL AT HALF
PAST SEVEN"

seen you Tor a long tlmc tnOugn 1 u''V S""'
ex-fdus Achates, Jack Olmstcd often enough? ?
What is the trouble between you two, anyway :?
DO you mean to say that you've never heard
about that little unplcasantucss, Dick% aoked
Bob Ferrers.
"Never Girl in the case. | suppose. Tell
me about il, won't you? That is. if You may
No--Pve nothing TO do How could l he
occupied here? For unparalleled loneliness. COM
mend me 10 summer hotel. where one is
stranger TO all the other people, and the other
people are all intimate.
but you know some of the crowd here:
in fact the leading characters of my story
Eunice Barton and Olmsed
"Oknsted is well enough. but he's with the
Thorpes all the time, and l don't like them
As for the little Barton girl, ugh! she'd take
first prize in an ugly woman show.
~She isn't good looking, I'll admit; but she's
a good little soul, retiring, modest, and all
that MY chief objection TO her is that she Is
n Barton and the Bartons are such uncommonly
vulgar upstarts.'
Personal gossip in public places is something
worse than folly; it is crime. While DICK
Van and FerreIs discussing her affairs,
EunYce Barton sat in vine-clad summer-houSr'
within ten feet of them. Suppcsng that tn"
men would wall, on, she kept perfectly quiet
Their words hurt her The truth is apt to
hurt II was small comfort to he caNed
~rood little soul" She knew that she was
homely and her heart ached at the knowledge.
Pretty women cannot sympathize with her.
They do not know what it is to be stunned by
men, or accorded b word. and then, TOO
obviously from pity. They cannot realize that
to the poor wall flower" n ball room Is a
place of humiliation ard torture.
Had Eunice Barton pleased herself, she would
have lived the life Of a reclusc: but her family
could not understand her distaste for society
She was the only child and to them her lack
OF beantv was not apparent the Bartons lived
in a rented house, and dined III the front room
OF the basement They had risen above horse
hair SOFAS but they had succumbcd TO the evil
influence of figured cotton-back plush. Their
ideas of decorative art excluded samplers but
wax vase with wax flowers beneath bell glass
was to them thing Of beauty. Any and every
form of entertainment party u them
They had heard of five o'clock teas, but
disapproved of such functions. Tea at siX
o'clock, as VIC always have it, is early enough
for me- Mr. Barton wont 90 say Enni'c
went to the church sociabes with her father or
her uncLe Other girls went with young men
Eunice eyed them enviously. The young men
never invited her
Every summer the Bartons spent four weeks
in the country, and every summer. when they
same remark
"Now, Euncc, keep your eyes open. May
ketch beau while you're away. Who
knows"
Eunice almost hated her uncle when he said
that She had heard it ever since she left
school at sixteen, and she twenty-five.
At first she too had had vague ideas of
some one who was 10 come and rescue her from
the wax flowers ard the socablos and the
ko,. oho1
bitterness She saw that did not even
dislike her: they were absolutely indifferent.
She realized that the longing for love, that is
the curse or the blessing Of q woman's heart,
was distined to be unfulflied, and she hated
other happier, prcttier girls
She was a.. the - Hotel because her family
liked the place. II noisy and vulgar, but
that they did not know. To them il was the
abode of all that was fashionable and magnificent.
Their names were copied from the hotel register
into local rapcrs, and once they hid even been
printed in Ncw-York daily. Mrs Barton bought
numbers of these precious papers and sent some 10
friends: others she kept in a trunk, with her love
letters from Mr.. Barton. Eunicc's first shoes. and
similar treasures.
Eunice, sitting in the summer house, had been
thinking over these things The conversation she
overheard was but a crowninG torture.
c0nvenient bench tempted Vane and Ferrers.
They sat down, lit their cigars. and continued
their criticism of the Bartons II was too late
to retreat so Eunicc was forced to listen.
"Those Bartons are worse than stupid" said
Ferrers: but, TO do them justice, il they arc
insufferaby aggressive, it's all for Eunice. How
they push that girl forward Throw her at
fellows head YOU know That's why Olmstcd
and are out"
"Great Scott You don't mean to say you
sVarreed about Eunicc Barton ?'
Vane laughed he spoke and 10 Eunce the
laugh seemed Infinitely than words. II was
scOrnful and contemptuous
Yes. il was about Euncc indirectly. You re-
member May Seymours wedding9 You know that
every in church knew il was to take
place Tuesday, the 9th OF February lorg before
the cards were out. Well, early in January Mrs
Barton wrote TO Onstcd snying that she wished
TO see him about something particular. OF course
he went, and what do you suppose the something
was? She wanted him TO escort Eunce 10 Nays
wedding. She told him she would engage a
carriage which would call for him on the evening
In question. How that for an ambitious
mamma Jack is quite the bright particular
star Of our church. and he's pretty well fixed
financially. All the mothers run after him. but
10 one had ever been quite open about it as
Mrs. Barton. Jack was taken by surprise and
couid tblnk or no excuse: and anyway he's an
awfully good chap. so lie said he'd be delighted
to obigc her. Then he went out and kicked
himself
The day Miss Seymours invitations came out
Jack received second note from Mrs Barton
reminding him of his engagement to accompany
Eunice. Poor boy he wasn't likely to forget il!
She added a postscript to say that q carriage had
been ordered and that it would call for him at
hAlf-past seven. Jack wrote and thanked her.
The Saturday preceding the 9th OF February
Jack met Mr.. Barton downtown You know old
Barton pompous and condcsccnding 10 every one
Including his superlors. lie shook hands with
Jack. BY the way said he. my wife told me 10