The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-27
T RS. LITTLETON DE BLANK
a sat upon her summer piazza
VI surrounded by her six un-
m beauteOus daughters, and her

AWW surrounded by her six un-
IL N n beauteous daughters, and her
heart was heavy within her
breast. Out on the golf links might
be seen the forms of other damselS
of the summer colony. each intent up
on her puts" and drives" There also
gamboled a number of the eligible
young men of the neighborhood. The
rumble of billiard balls and a musical
''ping-pong." 'pingpong," from the
windows of the country club told where
the others were gathered.
Mrs. Littleton De Blanks daughters
played golf badly, and they realized
1t; therefore at an early stage of eX-
perimenting they left the field to girls
whose faces did not freckle and whose
noses incarnadined not under the ar
dent glare of the king of day" Mrs.
De Blank was not averse 10 this sac
rifice, for she noticed that the golf
links were not promoters of engage
mentS.
Billiards always had absorbed some
lords of creation who did not golf, but
it was not until pingpong came in that
the De Blank piazza was utterly de-
serted. There had always been the
smart young Clergymen to dance at
tendance upon Angelica, the eldest
daughter; dignified young college pro-
fessOrs to hover about Araminta, the
second Miss De Blank; mirthless icono-
Janette, who went in for advanced So
cialiSm; and serious, soulful youths
who painted or wrote verses for the
train of Rosalie, the fourth daughter
who produced weird chromatic effects
with water colors and had some skill
in the use of the rhyming dictionary.
The other girls, who were sixteen and
eighteen years of age, were not yet
officially out
Now, the smart young clergymen,
the college professors, the socialists, the
poteS and painters were victims of the
pingpOng craze. They played from
early dawn until the wee sma" hours
and, save for the tew unprogreSsive
spirits who had not yet got beyond golf.
the nom SportSwomen of the summer
town seldom saw a man.
Few of the ladies cared to indulge in
summer pingpong. Played indoors a
few rounds left them both exhausted
and disheveled.
Mrs. De Blank is Napoleon in social
strategy; a woman with a limited In
come and six Spinster daughters who
are neither beautiful nor brilliant needs
to be. Therefore, after chatting under
a few days of masculine neglect, she
evolved her great idea.
'Hildegarde," said she to her young
est and favorite daughter, Il have de-
Cided to turn the southwestern end of
our Yeranda into pingpong parlor.
1nere seems TO De an absolute mania
for the game, and there is no reason
why the young people should not enjoy
it whOlesomely and together. The
young men now seclude themselves at
the clubhouse. where l have no doubt
there is more or less betting and drink
ing. 1 spoke only yesterday about the
change in the appearance of the Rev.
Athanasius Psalter, such an excellent
young man formerly"
"Pshaw!" Hildegarde replied. "Atha-
nasius is all right. He is merely get
ting the pingpong face"
Perhaps so. my dear; he really does
look haraSSed."
mo wonder; they say that young
theological student who is the guest
of the Maecenas-Browns, and a Con-
troversalist at that, is pressing him
close for the pingpong championship !
Athanasius is progressive, but he can't
stand that" her daughter explained
feelingly.
MY dear! Controversalists? There
is no such denomination"