The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-03-20
THE GAY GIRL IN LENT.
SHE IS DOING THE PENANCE ACT
VERY AVELY.

VERY B AVELY.
just how It is all MsnaRsd-How
Lonesome it Grows-How She We'll
comes Her Only Remaining Ad-
mirer - Feeding Her Little Pets.
Retiring With Her Devotion Ian
tern.
Copyright 1927
NEW YORK, March 19.-Do you know
what the dear girls are doing with them
selves nowl Well, of course during Lent
they couldn't act the same as all through
this past gay season. 1t would never do to
fiirt in Lent, or to go TO gay balls or little
theator parties, or any OF those other de-
lightful private affairs they have such fun
at. They can't even plan any new
things to wear, for what's the use
of planning for something forty days away
The fashions would be all changed
by that time. So they have devised a
lovely scheme-the girls have-to fill up all
the dull, lonesome hours, and each one car
ries it out alone-that is. almost alone, for
they could scarcely do without one admirer
for forty long days. The plan is made up
of a great mauy divisions, and each
division takes just SO many minutes. The
watch is always lying open to observe the
time.
1t begins early in the morning, as soon as
each one of the girls get up. She does this
a great deal earlier than she used to-ex.
actly o'clock-and instead of having her
maid fix and dress her, she does 1t all her
self-for penance, you know. When she
gets her morning robe on she has the tiniest
morsel brought to her for breakfast, and
then sits down to her dressing table with all
now exactly $3.50 O'Clock. and she rubs aud
polishes and fuses and fixes until o'clock.
Her maid stands behind her, but isn't al
lowed to do a single thing, for that would
spoil everything. At9 O'Clock exactly she
jumps up aud consults her ivory memoran.
dunn tablet that hangs from her belt by a
little gold chain. 1t says: "9 a. M. feed
ing pets.h So she trips downstairs into a
little room whore there stands great big
cage, and in the cage are four Of the cum
ningest little rabbits you ever saw. Each
one has a name, and though they all look
exactly alike, she knows the name that be-
longs to each. There's Pink and Wink and
Mabie and Babe, aud each one is taken up
very gently in turn and given a little tender
lettuce leaf patted and smoothed, called by
a few endearing nBmes, smiled at and then
put back She stays there until $3.50 and
then flies upstairs In a great hurry
so as not to lose any of
the precious moments. 1t is
posing time now, for fifteen minutes, aud
she stands still in each Of the positions she
learned at the school for three minutes, and
then goes through the Desartean way OF
r1la nj # IN Vga har IN
face into all sorts of ugly lines, aud one
minute soowls darkly with her brows over
hanging as fiercelY as she can manage and
the next minute stretches her mouth into
the most painful smile. This, Of course,
softens all the lines of her face, and makes
it very mobile, and when she begins 20
grow old, the wrinkles won't come half so
quickly.
But Just as her mouth is stretched wide
open In true Delsarteen yawn, a ring of
tue door bell brings it together very much
quicker than otherwise, and glance at her
watch tells her that 1t is 10 o'clock. And
this time she DOESN'T consult her tablet, for
does she not know that the time has actually
arrived for the one thing on the programme
that is really interestinga
For it is awfully slow. isn't it, girls, to
manage so long without Charlie and all the
rest of ones devoted admirersl
And So, when she was making out the
programme, she had to put in just one
place for-not CT arlie, but Jean. Sine met
Jean at an opera, aud he is 30 passionarely
fond of music. and when he found out she
was too, he begged leave to come and 90
over some of the operas with her. And,
after a good deal Of hesitation, she gave him
permission to come exactly at 10, ana TO
stay for just an hour.
Jean is not an ordinary admirer He is
big and eccentric and musical looking, and
sometimes almost frightens her when he
scowls over SOME music that doesn't please
him. But when she plays something that
does, his face looks so different, the fierce ex-
preston dies out, and he appears. it seems 10
her, almost inspired, as she glances up once
in a while very quickly aud shyly to see il
the music suits. And she begins to think that
maybe he is nicer than Charlie after all,
and that she likes to have lover that she
stands slightly in awe Of, and that doesn't
spend all his time in saying pretty nOthings,
and that when the clock chimes eleven
strokes she Is so sorry she didn't give him a
longer time TO stay, and when he takes her
hand and murmurs laden, until to-mor-
row" she knows in her heart that she has
fallen in love with him.
But now it's time to dress for lunch, and
since she does this. too, all alone, she has
allowed long time for it. Sometimes the
lace or bow or particular adornment she is
trying to fix is obstinate under her fingers,
and she has to arrange it over aud over
again. And all the different effects have to
be tried one after the other In front Of the
mirror; sometimes IL is rather perplexing,
and she feels like looking cross. But then
she remembers it is Lent, and that she
must train herself conscientiously, aud re-
member all her resolutions.
This is tho end Of her penance time. After
lunch she feels she has earned the right to
20 out quietly and meet some of the other
girls and compare notes, and perhaps make
more programmes. In the evening she
doesn't see any company, and when it is
time to retire she takes her devotion lantern
with her. II is very small, made of copper
in the style of Louis XIV, and on
one side of the glass is engraved a picture
of the Virgin, on its others are the arms
of the convent TO which II belonged. The
nuns used to take the lantern with them at
night when they performed their sacred
duties. She's very proud OF this treasure,
and sweeps upstairs holding IL high in her
hand. gathering her long robe about her In
a regal fashion.
And then she signs little, and thinks, If
only jean was here to seel
CARRIE CARELESS.