The suburban citizen., 1901-07-20
MIn8. -atOn'8 Tea.



suits me, or can suit me, and shal
. remain a bachelor"
, And you go to take'tea at Mrs. La
TOMS" murmured Mrs. Harmon, b(
tween her teeth, while a disturbin
expression came into her clear-seeinI
old eyes.
Under this ironical and even irI
Quisitorial look Andrew lost counted
ance a little; he could not deny thd
to matrimony he preferred tirtinl
with Mrs. Laton.
He was pulling himself together 4
reply, or rather to defend himself
when the street door bell was heard.
"a caller, eh? Is this your receptio
day, aunt or do you, too give youN
friends tea at five o'clock?"
you are impertinent nephew. al
my age a woman does not give five
O'Clock f1irtations. 1t is not even 4
caller. [ am sure 1t is my little friend
Rosamond, the charming girl l spoke
Of"
II shall fee, then"
'Do you not wish even to see her ~
''Never! Or. If you insist, l shall go
into this little ante-room and look u
her through the crack of the door. qhat
is the only concession l shall nake,"
and the young man .sepped quickly
into the next pUm as the opposite
dC6r Op4fed to admit the visitor;
! thrGigh the slit Andrew could make
out the graceful silhouette Of young
girl.
CHow do you do, Mrs Harmon|
| lid the girl, as she entered the room.
4 have brought back the little books
oil the orphan asylum that you lent
md pima. May I stay a moment with
YOU"
Sh continued to keep her back to-
ward Andrew and he, now beginning
to gehhed Of the game, had about con
cludet that she must be frigltfully
ugly. .
sit Nown here, dear, beside me Y
and Mn. Harmon easily contri"'eu tC
place the girl just opposit~e tne slnai
room. and the your~y man. approaching
bis oro j the crack was struck by the
1ao4.., face he beheld.
N"Wel, Rosamond what are you do
ing nowadays? Are you going 01t
muchG'
'No. very little. 1 had a card for
Mrs. Iaton's tea this afternoon, but
wrote her 1 was ILL., You will not be
tray me, will your and she laughed q
merry laugh that set Andrews heart
to vibrating.
"Do you not care for such affairsY
asked Mrs. Harmon.
"Sure, Mrs. Harmon, you do not
think it would be amusing to spend an
hour or two watching Mrs. Laton'S
fiirtations, with no one to talk TO, but
the insipid women and stupid men OF
her setY'
"YOu are severe, my child"
Severe? Well, with a woman like
Mrs. Laton do not think one can be
too much So"
Instinctively Mrs. Harmon raised
her eyes to the door that concealed
Andrew, and, under pretext of arrang
ing the portlere, she crossed the room
and, as she rearranged the drapery
whispered to her nephew:
ITS nearly tive-youn be late fol-
your tea"
But her warning was unheeded; An
drew did not bulge. AS for the girl by
the fire, she was still full of her idea
"DO you know Mrs. Laton, AIrS. Har
mon?' she asked.
"Yes, yes" the old lady FASTENED tC
reply, and to turn the co1yersat.Cn she
went on. But you are wrong to de
clare that all men arc stupid. There
are some who are quite sensible"
Sensible? Well, l don't know tlcrl
do not mean that they are all stupid
but they think themselves 50 superior
that they are weariscmc. They are
vain, insufferable bcrcs with thei
blase airs and their ideas that they are
irresistible because they can 1irt will
Mrs. LatOn, who has bleached hair
smears paint on her face as If 1t were
palette, and whose brains are goot
for nothing but to Cevise CutragcoU
gowns"
Again Mrs. Harmon cast an uneasy
glance toward tho little room, in whicl
Andrew was fast waxing angry. L,
would have liked to strangle this girl
whose superb health and triunphan
beauty irrtated him.
"And when will you get married, n!
dearr" suggested Mrs. Harmon, agaiI
throwing herself into the breach.
81 shall never marry"
Indeed? Why not?'
"Why nOtW repeated Rosamond,
shadow Of melancholy coming over he
face that Andrew admired in spite o
himself. Because l am a little foo
who cannot do as the rest do. / woul,
wish to love my husband and to hav,
him love me. / would wish to MARI!
man whom ! should single iron
among the rest FOR his goodness ant
intelligence. would wish to have
confidence in him, and above all to b
proud Of him."
AS the girl spoke she had becom
animated with a gentle exaltatior
which was not without its effect OF
tbo ryouno man bobfud fhc Joot.