Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-09-17
hard roll IKE an ossIfied bolster, at the

tnlng else winch makes me reel tnat ,
it's always Sunday in my room at Mrs. |
Ess Rays. I'm used to old fashioned, !
ruffiy pillows and q plain white cover |
let smelling of lavender, on which l !,
can flop down whenever like, to read
a novel or to have a nice little weep"
But there's no Hopping on this gor-
geous pink and silver expanse, and it's
small consolation to know that no
queen of England ever had one as
handsome.
Mrs. Ess Kay and Sally escorted me
to my room when l came to it first.
After I'd admired everything enough
to satisfy them, l was taken to see
the bathroom adjoining, and then a
kind of wardrobe room opening out of
that. ! was almost Frustrated by the
magnificence of both, which pleased (
Mrs, Ess Kay very much, and in the
grand wardrobe room, smelling de-
liciously, though family, of cedar, my
poor boxes-already arrived-looked
mean and insignificant. Mrs. Ess
Rays and Sally's huge innovations
would have been much more apprO-
pirate than my dress baskets, which
had been squashed into lopsided de-
formity under heavier things in the
hold.
| Louise was on the scene armed with
my keys and Mrs. Ess Kay wouldn't
hear of letting me do anything myself.
"Now, I'll explain why l had to desert
you on the DOCK" she said. "Or per-
haps / needn't explain. If you watch
Louise unpacking for few minutes
you'll see for yourself. And l do hope,
sweet child, that you'll excuse my tax
ing liberty"
This made me curious. Louise
opened one of my boxes which had
had been labeled Not Wanted" and
1 could hardly believe my eyes when
she lifted out an exquisite poppy col
Ored chiffon, embroidered with sprays
of golden holly and berries made of
some cleaning red jewel.
"Why, there's been some eXtraordi-
mary mistaie," l exclaimed. THAT
can't be my box. I've no such dress"
81 know, love, but l have" said Mrs.
Ess Kay, land, thanks to YOU, I've got
it and several others through without
paying duty. l thought you wouldn't
mind, you're such a dear pet and it's
been such an accommodation. Not that
! care about the money, but l do love
to get the best of those fiends at the
custom house, and / have, for once.
You see, it was like this: When Louise
went to the baggage room TO get out
some things for you had them put in
my trunks afterward and some of my
dresses changed into yours, as your
frocks had all been worn and mine
hadn't told Louise to put my things
down ut the bottom, some in each of
your trunks, and / was pretty sure the
man wouldn't touch them, as you're n
British subject l trusted to luck that
you'd be too cute to say anything and
give me away if you saw the dresses
while your trunks were being exam
ined, but l just hoped he wouldn't dig
down to them. l dared not tell you
what was going on, as Sally said 1
ought to, because if l had you might
have refused or else spoiled everything
by being self conscious. If you'd been
with me the fiends might have caught
on to our little game, they're so suspi-
cious. but where you were they never
suspected any connection between US.
You're just dear"
had been dear in spite of myself.
but there was no use in making a fuss,
now the dearness was all over, what
ever / might have done if I'd known
beforehand that / was to be a cats
: paw. Perhaps if 1 hadn't been given
the iced stuff with the Strawberries I
might have been crosser; but, fortified
by that, lived up TO my reputation as
a dear during the half hour of the I'M
packing
: When my frocks all hung in a row
like Bluebeard's wives, in the cedar
wardrobe, and l was left alone with
them at last, my first thought was to
plunge my imprisoned roses In water
my second, to do the same with my
self.
The hope of tea (Which hadn't beer
fulfilled and bath had kept me aliv,
through those two hot hours on tn,
dock, and now could choose between
several kinds of bath, each one NOR,
luxurious than any 1 had ever known
At home there's either the big bath, II
the bathroom. or there's a tub in you
bedroom, so it doesn't take you long t,
make up Your mind which you vii
have. But here there were so man,
things l could do that grew quite con
fused among them.
There was the big bath, so big tina
two of our big ones at Battlemea,
could have gone into it, and instead o
climbing ANONYMOUSLY in in the ord
nary way you walked down severa
glittering white marble steps. 1t wa
very alluring, but as the marble tam
was so vast l feared l might have
spend all the rest of the afternoon il
getting it full of water. 1t SCENE,
impertinent to make a convenience o
such splendid, early Roman sort o
receptacle for q mere five minutes
splash. A bath of such magnificenc
ought, felt, to be what American
call a function" ceremony 70
which you would prepare with pei
fumed ointments and ambergris an
protract for half day at least. NO
to be wasteful. Then there was til
4 hat xr-hi IT,, 1T.