Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1907-02-01

Z lJ1AuAtiAA D1Dg ANN'F A2aAC a. ~ AAAo
to look reserved and severe. She hard
~ glanced at me before fastening
sharp. suspicious eyes on Anita.
Mrs. Ball" said !, this is Miss
Ellcrsly."
Mss ElIorsly!" she exclaimed, her
face changing. And she advanced and
took both Anita's hands. MIR. Ball
is so stupid" she went on, with that
amusingly affected accent which is the
Sunday clothes' OF speech.
Il don't catch the name, my dear
Joe stammercd.
BE off" said /, aside. to him. Get
the nearest preacher, II hustle him
here with his tools"
| had n eye on Anita all the time,
and l saw her gaze follow Joe as he
hurried out; and her expression made
my heart ache. / heard him saying in
the hall, GO in, Allie. It's O. X"
heard the door slam. knew we should
soon have some sort Of minister with
us.
Allie entered the drawing room. 1
had not seen her in six years. / re-
membered her u~npleasantly as a great,
bony, florid child, unable to stand
still or to sit still, or to keep her
tongue still, full Of aimless questions
and giggles and silly remarks that she
and her mother thought funny. | saw
her now, grown into a handsome young
woman, with enough beauty points for
an honorable mention, IL not for a
prlze-straight and strong and round
ed, with a brow n a keen look out of
the eyes which 1t seemed a pity should
be wasted on q woman. Her mothers
looks. her fathers good sense, a per-
sonality apparently got from neither,
but all her own, and unusual n in
teresting. No wonder the Balls felt
toward her much as q pair Of barn
swallows would feel if they were to
hatch out an eagiet. These quiet,
tame American parents that are al
ways finding their suppressed selves,
the bold fantastic, unadmitted dreams
Of their youth startlingly confronting
them in the flesh as their own chill
drenl
From what Mr.. Ball said"-Mrs,
Ball was gushing affectedly to Anita
II got an idea that-well. really, /
didn't know what to think"
Anita looked as if she were about to
~suffocate. Allie came TO the rescue.
Not very complimentary to Mr.. Black
lock, mother" said she good humored-
~. Then TO Anita, with q simple
friendliness there was no resisting:
Wouldn't you like to come up to my
room for a few minutes? p"
ooh, thank your responded Anita,
after a quick, but thorough inspection
of Alva's face, to make sure she was
AAAAS AAtA 49, Il AoA - SVAAANNb vi
this; | had been assuming that Anita
woula not be out OF my sight until we
were married. II was on the tip OF my
tongue to interfere when she looked
at me--fo permission to go, Don't
keep her too long" said l to Alva, and
they were gone.
you can't blame me-rea;ly you
can't, Mr.. Blackjack" Mrs. Ball be-
gan to plead for herself, as soon as
they were safely out of hearing. Aft
err some things-mere hints, you un-
derstand-for I'm careful what 1 per-
init Mr.. a to say before me. | think
married people cannot be too respect
full of each Their. / never tolerate vul-
garity."
mo doubt, Joe has made me out q
very vulgar person." said /. forgetting
her lack OF humor.
"Oh, not at all, not at all. Mr.. Black
lock-" she protested. In a panic lest
she had done her husband damage with
me. Il understand, men will be men,
though as a pure-minded woman. Pm
sure / can't imagine why they should
be-
How far off is the nearest church,"
l cut in.
"Only two blocks--that Is. the Meth
odist church" she replied. But l
know Mr.. Ball will bring an Episco-
palian."
why / thought you were a devoted
Presbyterian" said ], recalling how in
their Brooklyn days she used TO insist
on Joe's going twice every Sunday to
sleep through long sermons.
She looked uncomfortable. Il vas
reared Presbyterian she explained
it is in New York. And when
we came TO live here, we
got out Of the habit OF c~hurchgoing.
And all Alya's little friends were Eris-
e%opalians. So / drifted toward that
church. | find the service so satisfying
-so-elegant. And-one sees there the
people one secs socially
How Is your culture class p" / in
CURED, deliberately malicious, in my
impotence and And do
you sttll take conversation lessons ?"
She was f~uriously annoyed. ooh.
those old jokes OF JJoe's," she said, af-
fecting disdainful amusement.
In fact, they were anything but jokes.
on Mondays and Thursdays she used
TO attend a class for women who, like
herself, wished to be ''up 10 date on
culture and all that sort of thing" They
hired a teacher to cram them with odds
and ends about art and politics and the
latest literature, heavy and light On
Tuesdays and Fridays she had an "in-
digent gentlewoman," whatever that
may be, come TO her to teach her how
1 TO COlNciSt dliu OAlCI WlSt SOAQlCl HSI-
self according 10 the standards of po-
lite society" Joe used to give imita-
tions OF those conversation lessons that
raised roars OF laughter round the po-
ker table, the louder because so many
OF the other men had wives with the
same ambitions and the same methods
of attaining them,
Mrs. Ball came back to the subject
OF Anita.
Il am glad you are going TO settle
with such a charming girl. She comes
OF such a charming family. / have
never happened to meC. any OF them.
We are In the west side set, you know,
while they move I'm the east side set,
and New York is so large that me al
most never meets anyone outside ones
own set" This smooth snobbishness,
said In the affected society tone. was
as out of place In her as rouge and
hair dye in a wholesome. honest old
grandmother.
I began to IA the floor. Can IL be-"
/ fretted aloud, that Joe's racing round
looking for an Episcopalian preacher,
when there was a Methodist at hand?"
I'm sure he wouldn't bring anything
but a Church of England priest" Mrs.
Ball assured me loftily. why, Miss
Ellersly wouldn't think she was mar
ried, II she hadn't a priest OF her own
church.
My temper got the bit in its teeth. I
stopped before her. and fixed her with
an eye tina must have had some fire
In 1t. "I'm not marrying a fool. Mrs.
Isall." said I. You mustn't Judge her
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