The Nevada County picayune., 1906-07-27
THEIR FIRST COURSE

school girls whose combined years counted scarcely 50. its responsibilities were enormous. They were planning the menu for . very special club luncheon.
 This wouldn't worry me one bit if we weren't inviting boys" Helen confessed, anxiously. Helen was the one with smooth, yellow braids wound round her head.
 "I know; that makes us more par ticular," agreed Louise. of the wavy, black tresses. As she spoke she lifted two small hands and widened, yet a little more, the tremendous loops of white ribbon, which stood out behind her ears.
 But Gertrude, whose goldy-red locks were done up in curly halo-distract- ing to behold and impossible to imi- tate tapped a sheet of paper with her pencil and remarked
 Girls, every minute counts"
 "I know 1t and so does every pen ny. Still, We want the boys to think we do things in style. of course" It was Helen again.
 Do you think they'd like to begin with oysters? ?" volunteered Louise.
 "Oysters!" Helen's face took on a reminiscent smile. "On the half shell? Well, l can swallow them now, thanks to Aunt Harriet's butler!"
 Aunt Harriet's butler?" It was not Gertrude who asked. She was pointedly looking at her watch
 Didn't 1 ever tell you, Louise? l never ate ray oyster in my life un- til Aunt Harriet invited me to New port. l used to practice when l was all alone and it wasn't bit of use. I've been at places where it was posi- lively rude to refuse them, but 1t was a physical impossibility to do any thing else, until I got into that New port residence of Aunt Harriet's, and her English butler fixed his eye on me. There were six oysters, just as usual. I knew I couldn't, but knew he expected me to. It was an awful feeling. I knew I couldn't, no mat ter what he expected, but l felt him looking-and then, to my own aston ishment, I took one of those oysters on my fork and swallowed 1t! Since then I can do it every tiQe!"
 "Hurrah for you!" laughed Louise. "I was 12 years old when I ate my first and my father gave me dollar for doing it. It was huge, too-like Thackeray's."
 "Thackeray's?"
 Girls, We must get to work" inter- posed Gertrude What's this study hour worth if we don't get out lunch con planned?"
 That's right, Gertrude" Helen con- ceded. "We might as well waste the time getting our lessons if we aren't going to do any real work. But just let me hear about Thackeray first. Go on, Louise"
 "Youve heard 1t, I know, and so has Gertrude. He doubted the stories about the size of our oysters before he came to America, and so James T. Fields and some other friends of his conspired and got the biggest ones they could find anywhere-perfectly mammoth, you know-and had them served to Thackeray with all sorts or apologies about their being so small.
 "Yes." smiled Gertrude, relaxing for minute And Thackeray just gasped when he looked at them. l remember what he said, too, after he had disposed of one. Fields whls- pered, to him to know how he felt and Thackeray whispered back; Pro foundly grateful, and as if l had swal- lowed a little baby.
 "Horrorst" shivered Helen Cant we have bouillon for the first eourse?'
 "No. I'm in favor of blue points, Louise insisted And oh girls, that makes me think of funny story''
 There's no time for stories. Louise"
 1t won't take a minute, Gertrude. It's d true one. too-abeut woman who has made a lot of money keeping fashionable boarding house She knows all about course dinners and fancy dishes, but she isn't very strong on schooling. and 1t worries her little so she's always trying to cover the lack by telling what grand edu- cation she's going to give her son. Well, one night some professors at her table were discussing the merits of various universities and she broke in and said: Gentlemen, I'd like to know what you think of Blue Point. That's the school my boys going to-
 "Oh, she meant West Point!
 Great brain, Helen! You guessed right Gertrude, you might have laughed, too made 1t short.
 q couldn't" said Gertrude, solemn ly, her transparent skin suddenly rosy. ''It was too tender a subject. Won't YOU tease me about 1t if l tell you something?"
 Never" promised the duet.
 I've always hated oysters and knew I couldn't swallow one raw un- til Lawrence May took me to lunch con about a year ago. He began by asking how liked blue points and told him politely: Very much, in-