The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1897-01-28
THEY REFORMED.

Some one had called her frivolous. She
was just 20. and at 90 one can afford to
weep bitterly in pink boudoirs
Life seemed very gray, indeed, for about
l5 minutes, and then the silver lining ap-
peared, and with it even faint rosy tinge
which the heavenly tailor sometimes tucks
into the seams of his smartest clouds.
And SO she smiled.
81 am going to be sensible,' she said
| and stuck a ferocious looking dagger
through the mass of braids at the back of
her head. Sensible and serious and I
am going to improve my mind, as Aunt
| Van Buren, used to say.
IT am going to the Astor library this
very minute, and the next time Mr.. Van
| Setback comes to see me he will not 60
| away and tell that horrid dowdy, Nell Den
! ham, that am a pretty little featherhe&d'
oh, dearl oh, dearI If he had only said ii
TO any one else in the world, but to that
| girl who still wears four hand ties and
big sleeves. as Noah's family did when il
| came out Of the ark, and doesn't know this
years style Of sailor hat from last years "
And SO she HE'D herself off to the Aston
, library.
Amaryllis was looking very sad when
Frivole arrived. She didn't have Frivols'i
: rose and cream complexion nor Frivole'.
I
| ate her blessings that morning. The first
thing she did was to begin to sob.
"Frivole, dear, what Is irs'
"Oh, nothing. only l wish-I wish
could have little wrinkle In my forehead
like you, and then people would soy
! thought sometimes"
} Amaryllis rang for tea.
"I'm SO discouraged, Amarynis, and
she rolled her handkerchief fntoa ball and
dabbed each eye.
~ want to be sensible and serious, and
I don't know how want to be clevel
and improve my mind want to be like
your And such a picture of appealing
misery the silver teapot had scarce reflect
ed before.
Amaryllis looked Mortified
"Mr. Van Schaick, the ewfully eleve
one, who writes books and IL a lawyer ana
Is going to congress and all that, 20,
know, he-weu, he called once and awhile
and he said I was f-featherhead Oh
what a dreadful wordr'
"And you wish to please this gfftet
creature!" said Anaryllis, dropping luml
Of sugar into Frivole's tea Suppose yo'
read some. Take up a course Of history
Dolly Madison Ia a fad just now. Rea.
up Dolly and the war Of 1919. War make
good small talk these days, and IL he Is 60
Ing to congress-
tAAaA
bilious one. But III try"
"Thas's right, dear. Now I'll confdo h
you. Frivole want to be frivolous'
"Oh, AmnryllisP'
"I'm tired Of being learned. I want t
know how to be attractive and pleasan
when people are tired as wen as when the
are fresh and ready to listen and argue
want to be like you. Now tell me how
You never weary people or task their In
tellects or upset their nerves You anus
them and refresh them.''
"Oh, talk nonsense and wear prstt
dresses, and when the atmosphere il IA
just curl your hair all over. think 20
are awfully foolish though. don't kno,
much about anything else, but MANN
always said a fiirt was born flirt and
think you would not be half 20 nice II 20
were frivolous, Amaryllis.
So they parted
1t was fragrant and softly gloomy in til
lamplighted music room, and Frivol,
looking rather white and anxious, sat bo
upright on the piano stool.
All day she had been "studying lite
ature'' and improving her mind" King
and queens were to her as SO many puppet
Paganism and civilization were mel
words TO play with. She was well up
literature I. was a novel position for FIR
vole, and when Mr.. Van Schaick was usl
cred in he was surprised. She didn't ru
into the hall to meet him with some al
Eurd welcome which he heard, misunde
stood and analysed as charming. 81
didn't laugh and shake her hand vigorou
l. and then sit down with a cloud Of fril
around her and chatter to him.
Alas, she did nothing OF the kindi
awoke her from a scene of carnage whe
he entered, and she raised two brillial
eyes and flushed face from her book, a,
vanced with intense suffering depicted c
every feature, and wringing his hand sal
"Oh, Mr.. Van Schaick, how glad I a,
to see you'll Wasn't 1t perfectly dreadf
about poor Mary, queen of Scots?''
It was very unkind of him, but Mr.. Va
Setback went away to the mountains ne,
day. Hedeclared that his nerves were COZ
plstely shaken up.
Amaryllis shook the silver tea bell a.
grily, and Frivole allowed two meanderiI
tears to earess her pink cheeks.
well, it's consolation, anyho1
Amaryllis, to know that you were not
success"
, Thanks, said Amaryllis.
} "What did they say when you tried to
, like me?"
, "Wsl, don't like to seem rude, Frivol
. dear, but the family wouldn't listen. Th'
simply absconded The girls all said h,
turned into 'Dodo' You remember Dot
: in tho book who talked about her baby
, landed proprietor and wished she cou
be Christian martyr. SO that her 1nse
| would curl up like bacon when they bur
/! ed her at the stakee
, "Then my Augh-you know you laui
all tho time, Frivols-well, my laui
scared Bob 30 that he knocked over . va
: which father brought from Egypt, al