The San Francisco call., 1905-08-22

the one of them least worth looking at,
though the most favored by mere nature.
With the prepossession toward green
went an inclination to dress reform. This
is an admirable reform when you are old
and settled enough to stand it. In youth
it has tendency to dowdiness of form
and carriage, and it struck final blow
to Martha's delicate complexion when it
was coupled with dark greens-any color
SOS it's green, to change Eugene Fields
line. With these outward manifestations,
as might have been imagined, went de-
cided seriousness of thought. AS mat
ter of fact, Martha was not a bit more
serious minded than Margery or Doro-
thy or Cecily, her cousins. Somebody or
other had contrived to impress her with
the notion that seriousness became her,
in just the same way that she had ac-
quired a notion about dark green.
1t must be said. however, that whether
dark greens and seriousness became Mar
tha or not, the two certainly went per-
fectly together, no matter how much the
girl herself was disfigured in the process.
Dress reform, dark greens. seriousness
and all, Martha went out to her aunt's
/ for a house party. She missed the train
and forgot to telegraph. 1t came on to
/ rain. The house was two miles from the
station.
Martha was not serious minded for
nothing When she found no one at the
station to meet her she simply grasped
4 her umbrella, left her suit case and
I trunks to be attended to later and set
/ forth with her little shopping bag, having
obtained accurate directions And 1t
rajned cats and dogs before she arrived.
All wet and bedraggled, she was well
coined as effusively as her damp condi-
ton permitted and hauled up to Doro-
thy's room to change her clothing. The
three sisters had an idea of their own,
/ and they proceeded to carry it into prac-
/ tice. So they arrayed the girl as she had
1 never been arrayed before in her young
! life--in rose pink with dainty ribbons and
chiffons. the gown being just little
! tight so that it forced its new wearer to
stand more nearly erect and her hair be-
! ing dressed in the most becoming man.
ner imaginable by the happy conspira-
/ tors
There were four young men visiting the
! Bankses, brothers to girls who were
1 friends. One of them was Arthur Mac
Mann When Martha burst upon his
vision, all arrayed in loveliness as she
was, she swept him off his feet. Having
/ lot of temperament, he set about MAX
| ing violent love that very night Martha
/ had little or no experience and 1t swept
/ her off her feet, too. With her gown and
4 the attention it brought her she assumed
! a new personality, forgot her seriousness
and was just the rght-hearted. happy
! girl her cousins had wished her to be
and by much the beauty of the family
/ The house party lasted for two happy
weeks Nearly all the first of these the
sisters contrived to have Martha's trunk
mislaid. so that she was forced to rely
1 upon borrowed and more becoming gar
/ ments. They saw which way the land
1 lay, and as Arthur was a good match
! and not one that they had in mind for
/ themselves they let their matchmaking
/ instinct have full play, with their moth
4 er's entire appreciation.
The night before she left for Chicago
Martha and Arthur were engaged, SUBJ
ject to parental approval-which was sure