The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-04-15
THE PRIZE PIN.

Am--and there were q lot Of little tables
| with all the places at them filed but ours.
lwas seized upon and pumped down at
one Of them, where Mr.. Starr was alone.
and Molly was borne of In another direc.
uon. was SO glad that he had fallen 10
my share, for he had told me Just that aft.
ernoon as we were parting that he had
met my cousins this summer, and I
plunged In about them at once. We had
Just got started when he Interrupted me
to say:
What Is a conversation partyf
What Ia a whatf' said l.
A conversation party
A bore, should say said L He
bowed In such hurt tone Of voice that /
saw had done something. So asked;
Are they special fayorites of yours2 I
never heard of Them
Didn't you look at your inyitationp
said he.
Never said I.
This is supposed to be conversation
party he was growing cheerful again
and relied on you to explain to me what
that meant. +.y =
on this 10 conversation party said
I, Tim going home. never oonversed in
my life. can't even talk. I only chatter
AT that moment up rose Miss Blank.
She Is very dignifed girl, wears specta.
Giles, and she Strengthened them and said
that there were to be six 'topics;' that she
had allowed one minute and a half for
each; that she would read them off-sbe
had paper In her hand-one at time.
and as she read each one she would strike
a bell. AT that signal we would begin
operations. At the end of minute and n
half she would strike 1t again, and then
would give us ten minutes rest before she
struck for the next. Then she looked all
around and said, When I strike the bell
the first time, each young lady will give
her partner description Of football
game. Then she struck her bell and Mr.,
starr and l looked at each other and he
began to smile. was just wondering if
he would look better without his mus
tache, and had about decided that I'd ad-
wise Molly to advise him to shave it of,
and was studying his face from various
angles, when Remembered what I had to
do, and 1t broke me up so that after sour.
rying wildly round in my mind for some.
thing to say l blurted out:
Well, you know, the ball is round.
And the bell struck.
Then l scolded him for laughing, and /
toid MIN that women were always quicker
and brighter than men, and gave him q
lull account Of Bellies grabbing the reins
mat day when her brother went out Of the
1ogcart backward as they drove over a
stump, and how she never screamed or
'urned hair, but drove straight home,
IND he walked after her, seven miles, as
Don as he had come to himself after faint
ng, and I'm sure a man would have
topped and made fuss over Ben. And
nat reminded him of most amusing ex-
'erience Of his in Lower California, and
while ne was telling 1t to me Miss Blank
aid, When l strike the bell, each man
vii describe to his partner the dress she
as on.
Il knew that 1t was my innings then,
or Mr.. Starr looked me all over at least
* times Then he began"
fist isn't reds'
!" No., said 1.
!" It's kind Of bluey green.'
=" Wrong, said I. It's that lovely new
urple you know.
cts silh.' IE
!" Wrong again. You know it's chiffon
yer satin.
It's trimmed with-em broidery.'
Embroidery said flor even a man
light have known that. ITS mammals
vely old point lacer :
" It's very pretty, he said meekly.
" We may as well call that right, saidL
think it's pretty myself. What morep'
It's very becoming
" Excellent, said ], clapping my hands.
o up headP And, then the bell rang.
zen he began about my unlucky round
otball, and said that he supposed that /
d never seen game, and was indig-
mt. told him that I had brother at
award, two cousins at Yale and breyet !
other in-law at Princeton, and what I
Int know about football wasn't worth
owing; that l had been at every biz
me since was 10, and had worn foot
lis Of every college color no had even
m; that knew colors. Just then again
hostess came to the fore and fired the
yptian pyramids at us for topic.
The pyramidsp said /. What is there
say about themT And then l told him
v Dick and Nancy decided to 40 to the
ly Land for a wedding tour, and went
Iceland instead, and while we were dis
sing the best ways Of spending honey-
ons and how long they lasted-the
leymoons l mean--we found that we
had something we hadn t heard sprung
m us, and SO we. agreed that we would
on bold face and seem very solemn
perhaps they wouldn't notice.
And when the other two topics-I'ye n
gotten them-were announced we inst
'ped moment and looked interested, =
then went right on talking. He told
a great deal about law-how to com.
crimes and not be punished for them
nd what brought him to 2. and
N he was going away. l might have
wn he wasn't there for lifel And
we'd him how to tell the difference be.
en- lace and embroidery, and told him
1T the handsome dragoman bow that
cd the soles of Marie's shoes when wa
g home from Cairo lifting up one aft. j
ne other-poor little fellow, he was
Is.
And In the midst of it all the guests
up and crowded round Miss Blank,
we went, too, and then the first thing
ew they were presenting me with the
'-this pin-and saying that New -
( had carried off the honors, and the
} protested the more Mrs. Blank and
JuaRe cooeu over me, and the judge
that added modesty to my bril- -
" and through the door could SEQ
Starr and Molly out in the hall in fits
lighter. III
md that wasn't all, for the next day
Sunday, and coming out of church
president of the Literary club Joined
he's awfully handsome-and asked
were willing to write q paper for VIZ
the next week, and put down my w
ssion Of Ignorance to the same thing
! modesty. And when we drove down
We some orders in town the next day
was sitting in the sleigh, an earnest
n8 woman came UP and introduced
If and said That she was the secretary
Q Current Events club, and wouldn't
} them 'talk'-she had. heard Of my 49,
powers, and 1 might
Q my own subject, for they, had told
was equally at home In everything.
k heaven, came away tho next
ing, before they had chance to find
1t, and never will I put my foot in
England again, not in the season for -