Morris tribune., 1903-02-14
My yellow Jacket

My friends make fun Of my weak
ness for yellow.
I confess that | adore it, not
outstanding that have good rea-
son to detest it. Truly, human ma
ture is a bundle Of contradictions.
I love yellow because of certain
episode in my life which occurred
when [ was but eight years of age.
I love nankeen above all on account
of jacket of that material which
played in that episode an important
part.
Our school, which had been plac-
ed under the patronage of st. .Eliz-
abeth, was mixed one-that is to
say, up to the age of ten years boys
and girls worked and played togeth-
er. In spite of occasional quarrels
the system, on the whole, worked
very we'll.
I had not been eight days at st.
Elizabeth's before | fell in love.
Do not laugh. I loved with all the
strength OF my child nature, with a
love disinterested, simple, sincere.
1t was Georgette whom l loved;
but, alas, Georgette did not love me.
How mach [ suffered in conse-
quence! | used to hide myself in
corners, shedding many tears and
racking my brain to find some
means of pleasing the obdurate fair
one-labor in vain, a thankless task,
at eight years of age or at thirty.
To distinguish myself in my stud
les, to win by my exemplary con-
duct the encomiums of the sisters
Dulorre, all this made no impress
sion upon cruel Georgette. She
made no secret Of her preference for
a dull, idle, clustering fellow nine
years old, who won all the races,
who could fling ball farther than
any one else, carry two huge die
tionaries under his arm and admin
lister terrible thumpS.
This hero was rightly nicknamed
Meta Mort.
I knew what his blows were like,
having been the involuntary recip-
lent Of some of them. Some, do I
say? | had received more than a
dilatory donkey on the road to the
fair.
And Georgette had only laughed.
Obviously it was absurd to think
of employing physical force against
my redoubtable rival, and intellec-
tual superiority in this case availed
me nothing. I determined, there
fore, to annihilate Met-a-Mort by
my overpowering magnifcence.
Naturally our parents did not
send us to school attired in our
best clothes. On the contrary, most
of us wore there our oldest and
shabbiest garments. Consequently |
| opined that it would be no difficult
achievement to outshine all my
schoolfellows.
[ should have to coax my parents
into loosening their purse strings
and get them to buy me beautiful
new jacket.
It took me very long time to de-
eide what color this jacket should
be. | mentally reviewed all the col
ors of the rainbow. Red tempted
me, but | doubted whether a jacket |
of that color would be attainable.
Should it be blue, green, indigo, VIC
let? No! Not one Of those colors
was sufficiently striking.
I paused at yellow. That might
do. 1t is a rich color. There is
something sumptuous and royal
about it. Summer was approach !,
ing. I decided finally upon yellow
jacket of nankeen.
Without delay | set to work on
my school garments. 1t was a wo~E
Of destruction, for | wanted to na..:r
them appear as disreputable as pos
sible. | slyly enlarged the hoes,
wrenched off the buttons and deco
rated my person lavishly with spots
and stains of all kinds.
In what JUDGED to be an on