The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1908-07-10

l
through with absorbing interest. The
reflection in the mirror gives back a
rosier, brighter face as she mods ap-
proVingly toward II, but the improve
ment, although she does not guess
IL, is not the artificial color, but the
air of self-satisfaction she now wears
She has still an hour and ten min
utes to wait, but she is getting ner-
yous and restless. She is so afraid
that she is going to miss her train
because-she doesn't know just why,
but she is sure she will.
Tired women with children are, of
course, numerous. The fact that she
has one little toddler clinging 10 her
and another in her arms is no bar to
the little woman from Derby coming
into town 10 see the store windows.
She, with her New England thrift,
has risen early, dressed all four Of
the children, cooked the breakfast
and washed up the dishes by candle
| light and come in TO town to do
round OF "window-shopping." All
day she has been doing it Industrious
ly, now she is going back TO her viii
lage tired, nervous, over-wrought by
the noise and excitement. The chill
dren, also tired and out of sorts, have
every one misbehaved In various
ways, been punished pro TEN and
threatened with something more Iast-
| ing when they reach home, and are
therefore peevish and sullen. But
| ha uin do
in the same way, except she may have
fifth olive-branch to care for. AS
she lays the baby down, the toddler,
sticky and dirty-faced, sets up howl
for a little mothering. A middle
aged woman, motherly-looking and
plainly dressed, from whom one
might expect human things, turns,
glares at the tired little woman, the
bowling toddler, the fretful baby and
the sulking older ones, draws aside
her skirts and turns her back upon
the disconsolate family party, and
mirabile dictu It Is the young woman
with the roses-of-hers stocking cheeks
who is touched by the scene and tries
to amuse the little bowler.
| 1t is so much cheaper than to go to
hotel, that even women of preten-
slons to form stop in the station
| dressing-room instead of going up
town to hotel. Here they have a
maid at their disposal thirty
eighth OF one at least-so here they
make their toilet for the nonce. One
woman who is going to stay in town
all night has worn her "nightie"
under her blouse and petticoat so she
may be encumbered with nothing but
| her card-case. To the usual kit
| in her stocking she has added her
| toothbrush, so she is ready for
weeks tour.
The little thirty-eighth woman who
! comes into the dressing-room and
does not look at the mirror, sinks
| listlessly into a deep chair and lets
her umbrella lie where it fell. Eyes
| turn curiously or sympathetically to-
ward her as their owners hearts d.
rect them. Women offer her stimu-
! liant from their bags, and every wo-
mon who has bag has a bottle in
it, it would appear. But incidentally
discovering it through the kindness
OF their hearts, it were not fair to
discuss it.
AS others come and go the little
thirty-eighth woman is forgotten. The
ceaseless tide sweeping young and
old, high and low, rich and poor,
has run the gamut OF human expert
ence between two train-calls. After
about twenty minutes utter devitali-
zation little thirty-eighth arouses her.
self and looks at her watch. Now to
business! This is no trivial under
taking to be met in the free-for-all
mirror where the light is not strong
enough. Slipping into corner near
a window she takes the hand-mirror.
before which she draws up second
chair. OF comes her hat, out comes
her hair-pins, up comes the notion
stock from her stocking. She Is be-
ginning with the process of over-lay
in its first stage when We turn our
interested eyes to a group of young
girls who troop in arm in arm, fresh
as the roses of May. Here is no need
for powder-rag and rouge. 1t is on
tour Of inspection they penetrate
this sacred precinct. Ethel notices
Gladys chewing gum with the soul
content nothing else can give. "Oh,
where do you keep it," she asks in
surprise. 81 keep 1t in my hair,
rosy young Gladys answers inno-
Gently: 81 don't ever put ii In my
stocking any more; l don't think it's
nice"
Meantime the work OF the thirty
eighth has gone steadily on. The
pins having been taken out OF her
hair, fluffy pompadour and a coil
we're carefully laid on the chair In
front OF her, brushed and fuffed
the thin growth on her head skerered
into n Hat little knot and the false
Growing glory" carefully re-
placed.
We might have asked IL there has