The daily morning Alaskan., 1901-01-16
A DIFFLDENT CREATURE

The young Columbia Heights matron | was telling it on herself at q cronies | luncheon:
 ''I met her at the boarding house where Jack and lived before we started house keeping" she said. "She was such q | quiet, demure creature, and after a cou- ple of months I really grew to like her n2nderfully She was a travelling dem l strator for Chicago firm, and she as at the various department stores kere in Washington for more than four 1 months. She had a lovely way about her and was companionable although | quiet, anu she never spoke very much of herself She was about 9, should say She seemed to be extremely difiident with | to men. She would lower her | eyes and look rather i'll at ease in their l presence When she saw that they were admring her hair and complexion-her hair and complexion were wonderful she would actually shift uneasily in her seat and look 50 terribly embarrassed that often felt sorry for her. Well. you can picture mg surprise when she came up to my room one even ing when Jack was out and bashfully held out her left hand for my inspection. 1, of course. didn't understand what she meant by the movement until I saw the l solitaire on her engagement finger fash ing under the gaslight. Of course, l hug ged her then and told her how glad I was, pincllng her at the same time for having been SD extraordinarily .secretive about it. But I didn't really know until today, when this came, and letter. she said, holding out her hand with the ring. I had refused him quite often, you know f And she blushed all colors. "Of course, asked her who him was, and she told me all about him. He was q rising young board of trade man in Chi cago. and she had known him ever since she was q little girl, she said. She de- -scribed him with many blushes and acted in general as if she didn't feel delighted over her engagement to a rising young Chicago board of trade man. ''1 could shake you l said to her. Why don't you enthuse and talk about your dresses and the rest of your trous- seau, as all girls do when anything so momentous as an engagement happens to themP "'But it is all so strange she replied, and then l laughed at her again and be- gan my usual flow of wisdom with refer ence to the married state. l tremendously enjoy telling engaged girls about the pit falls they've got to steer clear of, and all that sort of thing. It enables me, you know, to sort of even up with all of the gloomy, pessmistic old things who ladled out tons of advice of the same sort to me when the announcement of my engage ment to Jack was given out.
 Well, l told her how ruinous it would be for her after she was married to let her husband see heHehair in curl papers and how she should iiiyays look neat around and fight against Sa.:9mptation to look slatternly after the 45dneymoon wope off Then l told her how rrha.st fully vain men are and how fatteryl fs the breath of their nostrils; advised her, if she wishedsto have her husband wor- ship her and give her the very incest things to wear purchasable for money, to make him think that she thought him about the most extraordinary male crea- ture that ever consented to live on top of the earth1-to tell him how strong she thought he was and how liberal in his views. and so good looking, too, and so utterly, completely different from other men!
 "'The poor things, told her, can rsana sho most phcnonea1s doses of fat tery from their wives without ever even winciug or sr~poCting that they are be ing "WwEr" ieto a complaccnt frame of mind. aul il + part of a sensible wife's
 
 tlat in her opiuiou he ought to be n Header of mon' or a great executive chief" or a "toWciHs figure in tAe worlds aTairs" or sI..e such funny thing as that. if Er o'.y ,a. ail the opportu mites that ike su..r. .I ncn have had.
 "Thcn. of cuu. . warned her against the dagger uf t,E.s .''l too much that didn't cyactly .ta iI; said that it wasn't noetsn~y 'oi some husbands, es- pecaily those of jcaons disposition, to know tuo uuch clnrp.Nue their wives ala.s aul enfca o.cI tn impress upon her tue vuiac Of A., il t'..sc matters; told her. for in4t.r., j,'at if her hus- band forbade her from taking luncheon with woman thai he didn't like for some foolish rraSon OF other, and she just wanted tD take Ian hsuu with that wom- an. why. to go ria.t ahead and take lunchcpn vi.h her, llt to say nothing about it to him; that it wasn't at all nee essary for him 10 know.
 ""These wives who run to their hus- bands and tcll them every .lc blessed thing l sail. are always getting them selves in trouble. and lois Of thanks they get. hcsiIlcs. for their canAorr
 "Oh. my yes! just did more than exude wisdom to that quiet, demurc girl. And she just listened to me as if were whole symphony orchestra and rclden ed so girlishly over my remarks anu ob viously seemed to think that so many of the things that l said were so queer! Oh, there's no doubt in life that she must have gone right up to her room after she left me and stuffed the bedding into her face and just shrieked and she must shriek every time she thinks of all that wisdom l imparted unto her right down to the present moment-l know she mustr'
 And the young Columbia Heights ma tron fell suddenly silent and thoughtful.
 "Why," two or three of her cronies at the luncheon asked her at once, should she have thought it all so funny?"
 ''Oh. nothing replied the young Co lunbia Heights matron. ''only l found out after she lest Washington to go to Chicago to get married that she had only been married and divorced twice, that's al and that when she was mar ried the first time she was only 17 years of ager- Washington Star.