The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-01-10

PlONCA tildI 5IiG Hdd UOlII uplIlLy GIN
nerve. She appeared as a surprise tt
the other women Of the staff because
she didn't look half as smart as sh,
was. In the matter Of smartness thu
thing usually works the other way
Then she was neither young nor pretty
which means that her body was scraw.
ny, her face thin and her years nearer
to thirty than twenty. If she had beer
beautiful and young as well as coura'
geouS and clever the other WOmer
would doubtless have driven her into
exile or dsfavor with the infallible
weapons of envious rivalry, but as they
did not perceive her less apparent at
tributes till long after they had agreed
on her physical shortcomings. she was
we'll intrenched in Ter position within a
fortnight.
Then she began to do things" The
society columns began to Scintillate.
Photographs on inaccessible debutantes,
dowagers and millionaires began to APP
pear with startling frequency. The
managing editor realized that Henriet-
| ia was find and thereafter there
was no stopping her. But it wasn't her
| professional success that worried the
! other women; it was the sudden and
| astonishing glories of her wardrobe
! She burgeoned forth each day with
some new, fashionable trick in
hats, boots or jackets. The worst Of it
was that she wore them with consum-
mate ease and ignored the envious
glances and whispered criticisms of the
others. The clever ones made carica-
lures of her skinny face, sketched her
gawksh shape with cruel mimicry and
exaggerated the crow-like projection of
her truly ugly nose. Miss Knox, who
was a prim beauty of no particular
ability, then began to discover that
Henrietta was becoming wonderfully
confidential with the reporters, that
she called the elevator man Bill and
that she had no particular horror of the
staff drunkard, the fight editor or
any of the other characters about the
office That settled her with the wo-
men, They commenced hostilities with
frigid ''how dos and rapidly CONCEALED
into stupid silence when the despised
society editor was present.
The indomitable old maid (being near
thirty and homely, she was an old maid,
you know, refused to be discounted
by the hostility of her women associ-
ates. Her brave little heart was strong
enough to keep the smile alert upon her
pinched face, and there was song on
her lips every time she came into the
enemy's camp. She was hurt, deeply,
grievously hurt, but she didn't show it,
striving rather to gain comfort from
a. I'm,
about the place, even the yellow tom
cat, was her friend.
And it was so. From "the old man"
down to the most hardened and unro-
mantle police reporter, every man on
the Herald allowed that she was "a
good fellow" The sporting editor
called her 'Hetty," the city editor took
her to dinner with him, the elevator
boy waited for her, and even the inexo-
rable copy readers handled her stuff
with consideration born of personal |
for the f1at-chested but radiant |
Miss Chalmers. All this gentleness
from the rude sex was balm to the |
starved little heart of Henrietta, and |
she repaid it with royal generosity,
but
Even the hungry heart cannot thrive |
upon balm and incense only. There |
was no tenderness in the rough and |
ready friendship Of the men, who |
agreed that Hetty was "a good fellow"
Motherless, alone in her silent rooms.
tired of a years hard work, conscious
IF the hatred of the women. yearning
for the sole possession of some strong,
owing companion, she found the Yule-
.ide crowding upon her, and felt few
singing tears trickle down to the point
IF her long nose. She thought of each
and all the dear. honest, faithful roll
licking chaps at the office, and Won
lered which of them might have cher
shed some dearer, nearer name for her
han good fellow" None had gone so
ar as to squeeze her bony hand. She
Flushed as she found herself regretting
hat no man had ever shocked her inn
virtuous soul with even "A
lash of unmistakable passion Kisses?
She remembered only those her own
people had given her long years ago.
She wondered whether she lacked some
quality.
Surely" she murmured to her look
|
,een wooed and won and priced for the
Qualities of their minds and hearts"
"She lighted another gas jet and
reened the masses of her red brown
air. That. at least, was beautiful.
he tried some rouge powder on her
hin cheeks and pnched her blue nose
Ill it was red, but the cosmetic looked
arish to her honest eyes, and she |
ighed admission that no amount of |
inching could lend beauty to her indie
cribable beak, Then she loled gloom
Y back to her Morris chair and sought
omfort in an old book of poetry.
leading Under the Mistletoe Bough," {
he dozed away and dreamed that the !
porting editor and the elevator boy
ad both caught her under a branch of |
listletoe and were struggling for the s
rst kiss, when i
OF course she awoke. S
Henrietta Vane Chalmers appeared d
the office on Christmas eve arrayed
her bravest. Her plain face was V
with the JOY which a
limpse of her desk gave her. 1t was
overed with Christmas parcels al
lady, She whistled little carol to
arself as she read the cards and
oened the packages. Merry Christ {
as to Hetty,' From Your Pal" "The u
og Editor Greets the Society Editor"
c., etc. She turned them over and | =
ord II, then, oil fo11r1 mot a u-ovJ | ~