The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-08-20
Did She Deserve 1t?

DID She deserve IL!
For once she thought she would play the
role of the listener. II was such a good
opportunity. Here she was ensconcsd on
her rocking chair behind the closed We
netian blinds IN her little hotel room built
out on the veranda, and right outside sat
her friends, Mrs. A and Mrs B., each
armed with Dir OF embroidery and also
bit of gossip. No names were mentioned.
so surely IL could not be a deadly sin
to sit there and oyerhear their idle twad-
die!
Yes" said Mrs. B.. II always liked
that onion pattern for tablecloths. old as
it is-but. as 1 was saying. You need not
be surprised at anything she does"
No. am sure of that. Only, TO marry
at her time of life really seems a little
too much"
well. I don't know. The old saw, you
see, about going through the woods and
picking up crooked stick at last"
II wonder whom they can mean|'
thought the listener. 1t must be Nina
Blye. hear she is engaged to that worth
less Lee boy
Yes" continued Mrs. A, "and she was
supposed to have been Tilted years ago"
II never heard who he was. did your"
mo. 1 did not. though l fancy IL was
a mistake. Very likely he showed her
some little attention, and she nagnified
it into great affair. III her exaggerated
way. Then her friends imagined il serious
when it did not pan out all right"
Probably; she does exaggerats, even
to the borderland of falsehood."
MY dear she far oversteps that. never
credit a thing she says unless verified by
others
Poor Nina, they are hard on her, yet it
is true, every word" murmured the lis
tener. nearly audibly, in her excitement,
but they are not charitable to the artful
mink, at all events"
"She Is rather agreeable, though, In
spite Of her unrelia bility, don't you
think?"
well, rather, at times, though her con-
slant effort to do the funny act bores
one."
How old do you suppose she is?'
''Why, she is way over IS. She went
to school with my eldest sister, who was
little girl when she graduated
80, yes. 1 remember-I mean 1 have
heard she was quite aged. OF course,
never knew her in those days"
Dear. how FUNNY" thought the listen
er. Nobody ever went to school with
a woman who Is now over 40, though
sometimes older sisters did. But really
think Nina is not as old as that, though
one never knows the exact age of people
who make up as she does. Now l went
to school with both these takers, though
they were so much my seniors that u
scarcely remember them
do you think this man. lover, or what
ever he is, cares for herr" asker Mrs. B.,
impressively.
Cares for her, indeed! with her ruined
and thin hair? She has no
money to speak Of
mo but she has a good position and
fine family connections, who could help
him bit in his career
II never thought of that. Yet I pity
him. Think of her temperp'
20, If she catches him she will have to
control it. for he has a fiendish temper
himself, they say"
do you see much of her now?''
mo, hardly ever; we really have moth
ing in common. Children bore her, and
she seems to regard me in the light of an
old married woman, and forgets that Il
am so much younger than she isl
while she does the giddy,' suppose?"
eyes. very giddy; last night she actually
danced"
What crime" said the listener to her
self II wonder if they noticed that 1
did, too"
"sbe ought never to dance-she is so
heavy and clumsy
Good" again muttered the listener.
"She is clumsy, I must admit. They de-
scribe her accurately
MY husband says he can hardly get
around the room with her"
"She never danced well, even when
much younger. But have you ssen her
lilac frock? Actually real frock, made
with a guimpe, you know, just like my
Sally's."
Absurd But her leghorn fat and feath-
srs were enough for me. At her age, think
Of f1at!'
'-Her complexion, too! Why, her face
Is all over one color-nose, cheeks, and
chin-and her hair is faded, and she has
galore"
and TO think of her catching that boy,
Bob Gray, Mercy, what noise was that?
A window slammed"
But the listener head no more. She |
knew now to whom these dear friends /
Of her referred 1t was not Nina Blye, |
whom she though the description covered |
so we'll. The lilac frock and guimpe, the I
eghorn fat, and the supposed lover. Bob |
Grey, gave her at last the cue. She also /
has been informed of several things that |
she had greatly feared lately, and Of one /
Or two events that had not happened, nor /
we're likely to materialize.
For instance, she learned that she was 1
EN- years older than her family Bible /
'ecord; that her complexion ard hair. once |
her pride, were in ruins; that she had a |
Dad temper. She felt just then that she
verified the last accusation
She had heard that she exaggerated
way over the borderiand of falsehood;
hat she had been Tilted in the dim past;
md had at last caught young mani
Here she checked her anger long enough
o smile, as she thought how surprised
-oung Mr.. Grey would be. could he hear
hat his attentions over the golf links
we're so misinterpreted.
She had confirmed the old adage about
steners never hearing good Of themselves.
Though she could not help thinking that
he had heard enough disagreeabie things
Q last her for some time, IL not forever.
New Orleans Times-Democrat.