Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-06
SOME PETTY CRIMES
Worries the Borrowing Girl
Causes Others.
SHE IS A REAL NUISANCE
Has No Scruples About Person or
Article.
PATCHING OUT HER FINERY
Practice Carried to Excess is
One of the Meanest
PATCHING OUT HER FINERY


to her nerve in borrowing The girl with
the gray eyes waited for the approving
murmur of assent and. having got it. went
on: I'm so glad that you told her there
was a superstition in your family about
letting any one outside the family wear
them. She may not ask for them again;
but if you'd given the fact that you wanted
to wear them yourself she would have tried
and tried until she caught you some time
when you had your red gown on, and so
really could not wear them yourself. l
don't think there's an article of my ward
robe she wouldn't ask for if she wanted It,
OF course I'm too good-natured-my beset-
ting sin you know-but I've tried being
cool about granting her requests and 1t
doesn't make any difference. She's one
of those too-sweet-for ything girls who
always expect everybody else to give in to
them I've notived that the more saccha-
rne a girl is the more selfish she is likely
to be. Funny contradiction, but it's So.
Yes. l agree with YOU" said the young
woman with the brown eyes; that girl
has gift which makes me envious-the
anything feel that she is doing them
favor. instead of their doing her one.
She actually asked me to lend her my new
evening coat last winter after had worn
II only once and | was goose enough to do
it. Naturally, she got it spattered with
mud and tried to clean the spots herself
with sasolene The result was that l had
to send it to the cleaners and they kept
il over a week. That week. of course, was
my gayest one. when | needed 1t every
night. She was so sorry. so sweetly sorry,
that l almost hated her.
But the next week she probably borrow
ed something else of you--a little thing
like that wouldn't discourage her." The
blue-eyed girl spoke with so much feeling
that they all exclaimed together: What
did she do to you?
mot that I've ever suffered at her
hands" the blue-eyed girl went on, but /
know her kind. I've been borrowed of and
borrowed of, from one salty, pin to whole
new party gown, until I've wished many
time that l were AN artless Bandar, loose
upon the mountainsde. Nobody could Dor
row my clothes then, that's sure oh,
know this feeling is far from the Christian
precept Let him have thy cloak also but
II you'd been Inconvenience as L have
been"
i know just how you feel" the black
eyed girl interrupted, for l can't bear to
lend my clothes, either; If they're new 1t
seems to take the bloom off. and if I've
worn them good many times they have
so many associations that it seems like
lending a part of myself. Wasn't I angry
the time l lent lovely pair of white stock
ings to a girl who danced them full Of
holes, and then, instead of making good
with a new pair, simply drew the holes to-
gether with thick darnng cotton and sent
them back. Shell never get anything else
from me, not even wire hairpin"
practice of borrowing never has any deli
cate sCruples about using things that other
people are especially fond Of" said the blue
eyed girl. They will ask for anything
that they think they look we'll in, even if
they don't need it to fill a hiatus in their
own wardrobe. No delicate scruples about
them They will ask you for any your jew
elry they like, even to the wedding gift
your husband gave you on your wedding
day; they would almost borrow your we'd
ding ring if they needed it,
1.-THE thing l hate most of all to lend
the girl with the black eyes took up the
discussion at this points gloves Lots
of women who wouldn't borrow clothes
think nothing of borrowing gloves. | posi-
lively refuse to lend my walking gloves
even to my best friends. for they can't Well
be cleaned. and the fact that any one else
has worn them gives me funny. prickly
feeling in my fingers. The people who Dor
row gloves never seem to realize that no
two peoples hands are alike, and that
when a glove has gotten shaped to your
hands it's good for it to be stretched
differently
II hate just as much to lend slippers as
you do to lend gloves. and for about the
same reasons" The girl with the gray
eyes had been following approvingly the
ball of discussion she had started rolling.
And I've finally got up enough backbone
to refuse, absolutely refuse. to lend either
slippers or wells. For myself. I'd almost
lief borrow another persons tooth brush
as veil she's worn several times. How
anybody can do ii l don't see"
Thank goodness. 1--we never had to lend
anything l really cared about; but, OH the
number of little things I've dispersed would
fill up notion counter" 1t was the brown
eyed woman who spoke. I'm looking over
my accounts lately | was struck with the
number of purchases l had made of hair
pins, safety pins. side combs. powder books,
manicure supplies stick pins perfumerieS,
what a dressmaker would call the findings
of the toilet. And then l realized that I
was being pretty hosptable in letting my
m Let RI I
live, you know, in a neighborhood conve-
nient to all the car lines and the shops and
theaters, so that I've become regular re-
pair shop for the damaged beauty of my
friends at all hours of the day. Just for
curiosity l added up the items which had
undoubtedly been distributed in this way,
and tell you the total made me gasp. I'm
firm believer now in the proverb, many
nickel makes a mckle' "
"A good many OF us are inexcusably
thoughtiess about these trifles." 1t the
brown-eyed woman who Interrupted here.
for it's awfuly easy to get into the
habit Of borrowing little things We never
stop 20 think that when we borrow the last
pair of clean white gloves friend may
have she may need them before they can be-
returned, nor II we ruthlessly take the last
hat pin out Of her cushion she may need
1t even worse than we do. It's the Conven-
fence OF having these things on hand not
their speclfce value. that makes us so re-
sent their being constantly borrowed away
from us. Shakespeare was right when he
made old Polonius say, Neither a borrower
nor lender be
THE easiest thing to borrow ones self
and the most difficult thing ever to recover
is a handkerchief" said the gray-eyed girl
'Oh. handkerchefs! I should say so!''
The chorus was unanimous
ut doesn't seem to make any difference
whether ones initial or monogram Is en-
brodered or stamped on them-one's friends
borrow and keep them just the same. I
tried having some that particularly want
ed to keep marked with my full name 1
am rot losing them myself my friends
cheerfully borrow them, full name in plain
sight. and never return them except in a
few eases. I'm thinking Of having my next
supply marked with my name patronymic
and address I believe I might get back
one out of three If l did that"
81 doubt it, two of the girls exclaimed
in unison "Handkerchiefs and carfares
are two trifles about which the average
woman is totally without conscience" one
of them continued She'll borrow a car
fare from whoever Is with her because she
doesn't want to break a dollar bill and she
will collect handkerchiefs as II they were
as worthless as old newspapers. It's funny
how a conscience so scrupulous on other
points can be so lax in regard to handker-