The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-05-22
Peculiarities of Womankind
limited at in These Stories
TO a Friend but Had Borrow
Carfare The Observant Girl n a Tahative Mood
whena Man Is Very oun
hava heen Martha Smith

perhaps?-could it have been Martha Smith
that he had asked for the show. But no
he remembered perfectly that he had called
Mary up first and asked her for the thea
ter. He was still further treasured when
a moment or two after his admittance
Mary came down stairs IN the pretuest
kind of a silken frOck, looking as festive
as the most exacting theSter beau could
demand.
He is a very young man, as has been
remarked consequently be isn't quite sure
whether il is incumbent upon the man
or the girl TO suggest leaving the house
when they have saeater engagement ne
knew that IL Was getting perilously near
theater time, but ne hesitated, thinking
that perhaps il was Marys privilege 10
suggest their starting Mary however.
chartered away with an obviously hl-at-
ease air, and il was apparent that some
thing-perhaps the same thought was
troubling her mind. Just as the tension
was getting a bit too marked for comfort
the matter-of-fact father Of Mary APP
peared in the door.
he said, with a brief shake of the hand.
Il guess I'll have to ask you 20 excuse
overwhelmingly. she has an engage
ment for the theater with her mother and
Mr.. Youngnan gasped: why. thought
-er-havent you engagement with me
for the theater tonight he asked, des-
perately OF Mary, his face crimson with
embarrassment.
Why goodness. no-you asked me to so
to the dance with you tomorrow night ard
Martha Smith told me you were going 10
take her to the theater tonight You just
go on over there and get her-she's probably
ready and waiting for you-and III never
| TELL" she added.
And she didn't. of course. Certainly not.
But somehow people found out
=
The Observant Girl was in a Respondent
mood. Isn't life full of troubles anyway
she asked across the little table in the down
| town drug store.
Whats yours?" asked the Other Girl.
succinctly
Chocolate soda, please" responded the
| observant Girl, accustomedly; then she
came TO herself. "Oh, my trouble, you
mean; thought you wanted 10 know what
l wanted to drink. Ny trouble is my tulle
DOW IL ism so much a question OF 10 tulle
| or not TO tulle as it is where To tulle. At
| times / am tempted 10 give up the effort
| entirely, but so as l come 10 the con-
| clusion L come down town and meet every
girl l know. each with large, Respondent
/ bow of tulle somewhere about her. / can
see with a quarter of an eye that II give
/ up tulle drop out OF the procession, so
straightway go and buy some more.
| But its the where of that bow or rosette
| or tulle that troubles my maiden mind. Not
| long ago / read story about a poor man
who got dreadfully mixed up about the
| bulge in womans clothes-he just couldn't
| keep track of IL. First he said IL was I'm
their skrts-either those dreadful crinolines
| or bustles, you knows then II got into their
/
/ ter and gravy n everything; then IL landed
| in the bodice just above the belt and every
woman went around looking as though she
| had had her waist blown up by an air pump.
/ and now he didn't know where il was going
for TO go. / could tell him now, poor man
| for my dressmaker told me only the other
| day that IL was well up around your Shout
| ders and that Just so long as you had a
| bouffant effect about there you could be as
| skinny az you pleased elsewhere in your
| waist-and goodness knows she charges
| enough 10 know. But it's the tulle bow
with me- First it was the rosette of tulle
1 or chiffon that we pinned down on the
| berthas of our summer frocks-don't you
remember? IL wasn't always a tule thing
| then-half the time ii was a great staring
| black valvet bow-but whichever IL was We
i pinned IL in the vicinity OF the beading on
| our corset covers and We're happy. You met
| 'em everywhere at any time-thin frocks or
/ percale shirt waists according To the taste
| of the wearer. blossoming out on the left
| side into a rosette of tulle or a bow OF vel
| vet
Then the tule bow went up higher and
| the bow lost out You had to have a bow
or a rosette of maline mixed up with the
| lovelocks at the back OF your neck or else
you were practically lost soul. I've bank
| rupted myself keeping a stock OF fresh
| lengths of maline on hand. for you know
| as well as / do that IL isn't in the nature
| of maine to Withstand for long encounters
| with coat collars, hairpins. combs and sofa
pillows.
'It was just as bad though when the bow
| moved round in front last summer. My
| neck lSd something OF a SlFaltt-tkt erect
| in the very low turnoyers that all the girls
| / know insisted on wearing. but i wore
| them anyway. and like everybody else
| stuck huge bow of tulle right in the GEN.
| ter of the front. You can say what you
| please but / don't believe that chins and
| tulle bows in close proximity are part or
| the divine plan. Now what can a poor efrl
| do? And where is the tulle bow going 70
iand?"
The Observant Girl paused as two girls
| entered and sat down at the next table,
| Her gaze took them in with that nice de-
| gree Of insoence which sweet girls show
| toward girls whom they do not know,
| The new girls were hashily dressed and
| their picture hats surmounted fiaring POM
| padours. Down the center OF one pOmpa-
| dour curved the horrors of a white comb
In snake form; on the other was perched
| tulle bow.
THAT settles it," said the Observant
| Girl as she drained the last drop of choc-
| olate soda In the glass and set II down
| with an air OF hnality. THAT settles n.
| I'm out of the game. The tulle bow Is
| looping entirely too many loops for me--so
take this my child. with my blessing
| she put small pastebcard box into the
| Other Girls hand. Its a brand new tlille
| bow for-anywhere you like" said the OBJ
| servant Girl.