The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1895-12-25
WOMEN WHO SPECULATE
Dabblins in Stocks Not Confined
to the Male Sex.
TEMPTED BY EARLY SUCCESS
Make Failures, All Know the Pangs
of Occa siomsl LOsss.s-wiyes of
Prominent Men Among the Crowd
of Feminine Gnnblers.

1t was while on d Christmas shopping
tour recently that The Times woman re-
porter and companion ran into very
charming woman wearing an oyster white
coat, big black yeIyet lat and a 5abot OF
lace, which made a swirl OF lines under
an exceedingly PRETTY face.
She was excited7, This was apparent in
the flush OF her checks, which caused one
eyes. Tie excitement was also revealed in
the tenseness of her rcd lips, which showed
little white teeth between them as she
talked.
One describes her .prettiness in detail,
because II is singular, considering what
she talked about,
A very pretty woman is supposed TO talk
about tribes or pieasantries. She talked
OF very serious and weighty matters. My
friend chatted with her, andI observed from
the other side of the bargain table and lis
tened.
II lost $4,000 yesterday, and il the
thing keeps on am ruined"
II am so sorry" Inurmurcd the friend,
.'how did 1t happen?"
"Oh, don't ask me; don't know. It's
these thieves and rogues, and it's Mr.. Clcve-
land, too. Isn't ne perfectly brutal to
talk of war;
But he can't consider-you see these
things don't enter into his calculations.
It's the honor of the country, and that sort
OF thing"
sThen, it's that Oney," she exclaimed,
quite inconsequentially. Il know Olney
puts him up to it, and he is SO stubborn,
he would rush the country into war. If he
ruined ever ybody," $500. .. .......-
20. you're not ruined" said the other,
soOthingly.
q ,..gt1 I.,,t III, L.,
fearful life!'
When she passed on the reporter said to
his friend: what is she talking about?''
A FEMININE SPECTATOR
"why. that woman is a speculator," he
answered. .'She is supposed to I've very
shrewd, too. She is charming. but an in
veterate gambler
And what in the world did she mean in
| speaking of MIR. Cleveland and Mr.. Olney?'
"oh, you know. it's this talk of WAR which
has caused a panicky feeling in stocks.
They took a great slump yesterday and
wiped out the fortunes OF people who
hadn't plenty OF money to back their
deals -,-.-a
All this was Greek to me, and decided
to go and talk to this little woman my
self. SO l took her ADDRESS in Il note
book, and for the moment forgot her.
Now, as all things group themselves
around a given center in this universe, ii
seemed that was To be the center for the
moment around which these tales OF femi-
nine Woe should circle. The next day |
was lunching with a literary and society
woman of Washington at n cafe. We had
given the order and while it was being
filled she had opened Morning Times and
was carefully perusing the-io me-absC-
lutely barren market page. Suddenly she
exclaimed:
All, I shall certainly lose $500
why. my dear" / answered. has
some one run off without repaying Loan
''Oh, no. she said, with a nervous
smile: Its my stocks that are troubling
the. Now, why didn't / sell a. was ad-
yised' But whoever heard of Northwestern
falling SO low?'' u.-
''Northwesterp what!'' asked.
= Humph! We'll. You are a silly woman. ="
returned my cultured vis.a-ris, pulling off
her Dent gloves and wishing her rings so the
stones were on the outside OF her dainty
fingers. ,.,
The Northwestern is a railroad; / have
put money into marginson that stock. Now,
If that firm up-rallies and regains what
il has lost, why We willrun over to New York
and hear Yvette GuiIbert sing. or course,
just speculate Tor fun
Having niurmured something polite about
the proposed jaunt. 7 said:
How did you come To do 1t AT air.
well, VIII teiIyoa; esotercaily, though,
remember. &c
1T was Col. Jones who put me up to it.
One day last summer when everybody was
out OF town and things were horribly dull.
was idling the afternoon in a hammock.
reading a story by Anthony Hope. Isn't he
clever? l read ever one OF his chatty little
books. / think he was invented to save us
women from being bored to death.
Where was /? o, yes, was reading
something OF his: just finished 1t. in fact. and
was "a wing and wondering what next,
wishing was in the mountains.
COL. JONES ON OPTIONS.
Along came Col Jones looking per
fectly happy and pleased with the world
and himself. / asked him how he managed
to keep from being bored, and he said
- The asiest thingin the world, Madam.
Get on little deal in options: something
that is good and lively, and you'll be all
right"
..Gamble."
Ny exclamation was cut short by frigid
stare through my friends Iorgnon. When
she lowered them she said, little coldly:
You are not Informed, my dear, so
please be careful of your expressions.
Gambling is what they do in bucket-shops,
though why they call them bucket-shops,
I'm not sure a..-
Perhaps they rush the growler," 1
suggested but she didn't understand my
slang any better than did her technicali-