Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-08-15
PORTALS new YORK LETTER.

pring me nefer edld TO tine Oynic as
we walked onto the roof garden. "You
know | am tired Of them, tired OF the
eternal Hungarian band, the artificial
Palms waving in an artificial breeze. "
ut takes too long to go into explana-
tion--you'll see," was his only reply.
Now The Cynic did not mean TO be
rude--it 10 only way he has in talk
ing to women, and am too lazy to try
to correct the flaws my predecessors in
his friendship have made-and they
are many-the flaws, | mean, not the
predecessors care little about them
| am grateful to them for some Of the
nice things they have taught him.
l soon saw why he came. The
petite maid," | exclaimed, and he
smiled 1T has long been loke-may be
half earnest-that ridicule his love
for the petite woman and always vowed
| never saw a stunning looking one,
but there she was, and her hair
straight as could be and yet attractive.
Not On iron or curling paper had
touched 1t. / gazed in deep respect. The
woman who can resist a curling iron
has a will power worth talking of. The
history of most women's locks is the
same.
There, was once girl who had beau
tiful, long, brown, sillSen hair. 1t was
the kind of hair that every girl who
las ourls raves about, but as it was
straight as string the dear girl
thought 1t was not near so pretty rs IL
il were ripping with waveets and
fluffy with little curling tendrils.
When this girl was just baby and
was able to sit up and take notice, the
first thing she realized was that her
admiring relatives were bemoaning the
misfortune OF her straight hair. "If
sbe had been little boy" they said,
.'she would have had beautiful curls,
because nature is contrary and gives to
those who do not need. :"
AT the schoolgirl age she began to
experiment with hot slntepencils and
other barbarous implements which are
used for linking purposes. OF course
she looked like a witch, but what did
that matter? She had curls and that
was enough. The older she grew the
more she curled and the more ourls she
had tho more curls she wanted, until
after time it got 80 that that girl got
up one hour earlier every morning and
went TO bed one hour later every night
so as to have her hair looking like a
last years bird nest or the stuffinR out
OF hair bolster.
One time when she went to a summer
resort where the salt sea took out the
curls faster than she could get them in,
she gave up all hopes of recreation and
enjoyment and put in her time twisting
her topknot on smoking, sooty iron,
which at other times hung in lamp
chimney.
Some girls hive ambitions to write
great books, to paint great pictures or
to act great "acts" on the stage, but
this girl lost all of those interesting
undreamed dreams because her hair
was straight and she longed for wavelets
1t was a case of curl in the morning,
curl at noon, curl at night and she soon
acquired the habit of arising in the
wee small hours to see If the curls we're
still there. OF all the devices ever in
vented there was not one with which
she had not experimental. She wadded
her side locks in kid curriers' and then
she houndered all over the bed because
the bumps stuck into her scalp. When
she finally slept she dreamed her head
was under a steam roller and that the
experience was not pleasurable. With
long white rags she tied up these locke
and then she looked like Topsy. Again
the precious tre5ses were wound about
cylinders of paper and the girls head
looked like waste basket turned loose.
III IL wasn't kids, or papers, or rags it,
was curling tongs or those atrooious
things known as orimpers which make
your silken locks look like a map of
weather Indications. they are bent and
twisted into SO many intricate lines.
In due course OF timo the young
woman observed that her long and
beautiful hair was growing thin, broken
and disheveled. This did not distress
her particularly. except that IL elong-
ated and stretched out each curling
seance. for il one hair was found un-
kinked the curling iron found it, sizz-
ling it UP into q nice little curlycue
that hung gracefully over her ear until
10 had time to straighten out which was
usually In about five seconds.
But one eventful day after many years
OF curling and waving and kinkiDg and
sizzling and smoking this girl lost heart
and she stopped long enough to reckon
up the time she had spent on this hair.
crimping deal the result being that she
was too weak TO take her tongs in hand
OF 10 continue the tiresome task that
had extended over SO many years. She
took that mop Of brown silky tresses
and she brushed it up on the top OF her
head. She twisted the long ends into
cunning little pyramids, hills, valleys
and dells until she was quite fascinated
with her own handiwork. Then with
numerous invisible pins she gathered
up the wisps ard straight locks and
carefully hid them away. The result
was something amazing. The girl was
cnarned. Che thought how clean and
neat that always frizzled crown Of glory
looked. She smiled like a Cheshire cat
when she thought how many burnt
Fingers would be saved and what long
hours OF wrath compelling endurance
would be avoided. When her friends
met her in the street they jumped hack
with loud whoops of joy and declared
then and there that the girl looked ten
years younger. Life has taken ON a
roseate hue. To her the sky is bluer
than it has ever been before. Roses
smell sweeter and the sun shines
straight into the lowest basement
windows of her heart.
She remembers that delightful story
told ty Artemus Ward about the man
who was thrown into Spanish dungeon
and who one day being struck with a
happy thought, opened the window and
got out, She wonders why the happy
thought was twenty years on the way.
And so, dear reaosrs, learn your little
lesson from this beautiful tale of
misery and Joy. Perhaps your beauty
efforts, like hers. are directed In the
wrong line. Perhaps your curls are
better straight. So don't let thu happy