The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1908-06-07

Come right In" said Diana cordially.
as l hesitated politely at the door OF her
cave-I beg pardon bungalow-wIth my
note book In my hand.
These electric lights are so trying, -
she continued. turning hastily 10 switch
of the moon, as she waved mo 10 a sub
stantial rock cut in mission style, land
when one gets 20 my age and It still I'M
married-well, you know how it is" and
she regarded me with what considered
an indelicately personal glance
Perhaps SHALL I returned sweetly.
when 1 am as old"
How long have you been at it?" inter
rupted Diana abruptly. turning toward me
and crossing her knees in the:r dainty
leather puttees beneath her short hunting
skirt
"At-what?" 1 looked at her inqulr-
ingly.
The hunt-the husband hunt" she re-
piled bluntly. Now don't say you never
Intend to marry" she went on quickly.
They all say that. until they do H. It's
girls way Of preparing for possible de-
feat. It's the little loophole she leaves TO
slip out through in case she fails to slip
into the matrimonial knot I know all
about IL, because started Il myself"
YOU I exclaimed. stopping in the
middle OF opening my note book
Didn't have myself advertised as the
Virgin Goddess inquired Diana laconi-
cally, "the moment discovered that all
my school chums were getting married
of. while still hung like a belated apple
to the family tree? The original fox, 4"
she added. leaning back and gracefully
lighting a reed cigarette from which she
blew delicate rings through her red lips,
was woman. and the original grapes
were the men she didn't get"
And I suppose" I rejoined sarcasticaI-
~. that you were the original ba2helor
girl"
Exactly" retorted the goddess. "a
bachelor girl is one who hasn't married
yet"
/ shrugged my shoulders.
You seem to know all about it," I re-
piled spitefully but to me, some Of the
men that girls do marry look more like
lOopholes and excuses than Ike hus-
bands" and turned my note book with
a snap.
what creatures some women finally accept
you realize how they must hate to work
for living. Even the women who have
had the most striking careers usually fin
ish by tying themselves to some little in
significant nobody, or by adopting a boy
half their age. They appear to prefer a
near-husband 10 no husband at all. /
suppose I'll end that way myself" and
the goddess sighed again, as she gazed
pensively at the ceiling through the haze
OF the cigarette smoke, unless / become
an out-and-out old maid and wind up with
a class in physical culture
ITS all the fault OF the market" said
| sOOthingly. When peaches are scarce
we are glad to get aprIcots Out West
any dowdy little trump can get six able
bodied husbands in succession without
half trying. but here In the East dozens
Of beauties are born to blush unmarried
or else are only too happy to annex their
fathers clerks and spend the rest of their
lives doing their own housework'
Men are scarce" agreed Diana, sadly.
But then. so are stays II requires a
skilled hunter IN either case to run them
down. The trouble with women nowadays
is that they scatter their shots and fright
en- the game before they get anywhere
near it. Men are growing as wise and
shy as hunted deer. From the time they
are old enough to send valentines they
are sworn bachelors, with one eye warily
cooked for the matrimonial trap. The
old-fashioned woman knew great deal
more about the love chase than the most
sophisticated Modern girl She didn't use
gun and blow a horn to brighten the
game; she merely set trap and then ran
away"
Ran awayT' / looked puzzled.
MY dear" said Diana, laying down her
cigarette and looking at me pltyingly,
even a stag will chase you IL he thinks
you are running away from him. Our
graftdmothers used 10 manage to produce
the ILLUSION of being pursued; but we
don't even keep up pretense Of that any
longer. We hunt right in the open and
ride down our quarry with an Indian war
whoop."
What do you mean?" I demanded In
dignantly.
Don't we make them sofa pillows re-
torted Diana ''and invite them to dinners
and dances as often as we dare and send
them roses when they're III and our pho
tographs on the slightest excuse, and
take them out in our fathers automobiles
and pursue them to their lairs in down
town Offices and dress within an inch of
our lives 10 please them and tear out one
another's hair in rivalry over them? The
! very way girl piles on rouge and clothes