The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-17

ring, what are we going to do about Il?
You can't find out beforehand-
You can visit his family" suggested
Kitty.
What"
And notice how he treats the cook and
how much spending money he gives his
sister and whether or not he ever COM
pliments his mother, and how he acts
whom anybody asks him 90 strap a trunk
or fix the water pipes or mend the clock.
And there are hundreds OF other ways in
which a girl and a man can judge each
other before marriage. The trouble is
that we are so cngrOSsed in the admira-
ton Of one anOthcr's big qualities that
we don't notice the little jars we are con-
stantiy getting and that are bound in
time % jar us out of the hypnotic spell.
girl ought TO realize that if a man
tramplcs on her rufflos before marriage
he will Jrample all over her illusions and
opinions afterward, and that II he breaks
his dinner date with her before the we'd
ding he viii break his word or her heart
afterward And q man ought 10 know
that il n girl steps on his mental corns
before she gets him she will tread al
over his nerves afterward, and that IL
she shocks his sense of propTiety before
the ceremony she VIII EllbtA HAS ANNiAAAs,N
afterward. It's the straws, not the noun
tains, that show which way the wind
blows: and the person who is too busy
admiring the mountain tops 20 watch for
the straws is going 10 find that matri-
mony isn't-isnt-'
u straw ride" 7 finished And ii
isn't It's coast down bill, In q cart
without springs. over a lot Of thank-you-
ma'ams:' and the person who fancies It s
going 10 be an automobile trip on velvet
cushions is the one who gets upset at
the very first jolt"
And we can't escape the jOlts.' added
Kitty. sorrowfully. THE only thing TO do
is To brace ourselves for them, instead OF
spending our valuable time weaving illu-
sions about ourselves and each other. But
poor Algernon pictures Arabella as a
fairy, and fancies that her hair curls by
magic. and her clothes grow on her over
night Then when he sees her in curling
kids ana cold cream and gets her dress
makers bill he is horribly jolted- And
ATabella dreams of Algernon as a Prince
Charming, and never stops TO think how
he is going TO look in two days old
beard. without q collar. Then when he
wakes up with crouch and forgets 10
kiss her good morning she gets a terrible
jar"
And the coffee grounds and the divorce
grounds are stirred up" I finished,
mOuTnfully
Now, if they would only be honest, q"
began Kitty.
rs your hair naturally curly, Kitty"
1 Interrupted
How dare you, Mr.. Curtis"
And is that bloom on your cheeks the
real thing or just-massage?
neutrality-suspicious.
And 1 want 10 know whether it's ma
turc or the dressmaker that-that-'
But Kitty rose. and the temperature fell
SO suddenly that I hadn't the courage to
go on
'I-I-was only looking for the straws,"
/ protested. weakly.
That" said Kitty is a waste Of
time"
Why I asked. bluntly.
Because Kitty fingered the tasseI or
a sofa cushion, hesitatingly.
'WellZ' ! demanded.
Because wouldn't anyway"
"Wouldn t-what?7
Kitty leaned over and carefully tied
knot in the tasseI
Wouldn't WHAT I persisted. trying 10
look into Kitty's eyes under her pompa-
dour.
"Wouldn't-
Kitty looked up at me suddenly.
Wouldn't tell you even Tiff we-if
there was any reason she declared. de
family