Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-10-07
The Argus Daily Short Story
Her Lesson in Loving Louise Olney.
Copyrighted. 1903 by Associated Literary Press

ATrer good nIsnr so nst;rsS tn;rI
her mother sighed at the change I'll
her daughter Anne Morton weuf 10
her room and locked The door. Throw
ing aside her lace cloak, she turDed OH
all the lights and. tall aud graceful
in her clInging yellow gown, studied
herself in the mirror.
Richard Hunter had not asked for Il
single dance. but had devoted himself
TO Mollic Pierce Anne began to real
ize that this had been the order of
things for some time. Norris Trevor
also had not come near. And only Il
year ago. before she had broken her
engagement with Richard. there had
not been dances enough to satisfy her
admirers. Surely NJ twenty seven
woman has not lost the power To at
tract! Was she becoming a wallflow-
or!
The mirror was re%sSurinE. Her
fine brown eyes were tirgc and clear,
her heavy dark hair perfectly nrrang
ed, her oval face and small head GER
tainIy distinguished She smiled rue
fully. and Il dimple dcepcnetl in her
check. But when her face fell to re-
pose she noted critically that she look
ed bored. almost unhappy: the corners
of her mouth dropped and two cross
little lines showed between her eyes.
Anne began TO take stock of herself.
Tonight she had actually sat out three
dances with the chapcrons. She faced
the fact that her friends were becom-
ing fewer: that the men called less
often. invited her less often to share
their pleasures. THE girls" no longer
dropped in TO gossip of clothes and
merrymakings and bcaus. Yes, even
i'm the family things had changed. Her
mother. always loving. was also pa
ticnt. Harry. with the frankness of
fourteen. remarked. when she was ir-
ritated with him. that she was becom-
ing a cross old maid. Jean assumed
condescendinG younger sister airs.
She was quite sure that ii was Rich
ards place TO make the first move to-
ward reconciliation. even though she
admitted TO herself that the fault had
been mostly hers. At last she went to
BED and cried herself to sleep. But
she awoke early. so much earlier than
usual that. as she lay thinking. it came
TO her that not for months had she
really seen her father. not for months
had she breallfasted with the family.
On impulse she rose. took Il cold
plunge and dressed for the street. She
had nearly finished when the rising
bell rang.
She stood nervously adjusting her
collar at the mirror, Il little sensitive
about going down lest some member
of the family might comment on her
unwonted presence. when she noted
that she looked positively cross. 1t
made her seem old. She by an effort
made herself smile. and the dimple
again showed itself Then she started
for the door just in time to encounter
Harry. who was coming with an old
gong to awaken her. Yesterday she
would have complained TO her mother;
today she laughed as he scampered
back to his room to finish dressing.
When she heard the breakfast bell
she started slowly downstairs. and as
she reached the lower hall she caught
her own name spoken by her mother
in an anxious tone. Involuntarily she
paused. Her father replied:
Don't worry. mother. Anne needs
lesson in loving. She will have to suf-
fer till she finds out that no woman
is loved and sought unless she is low
inG-lovable. She will not be her old
attractive self till she stops being
bored and sarcastic and is pleased and
interested and shows that she is She
is getting selfish. and nothing but
thinking of others will do her any
good
but. Fred" her mothers voice con-
tinued. Richard never came near her
last night nor Morris nor Henry Par
ker. Do you suppose they resent her
treatment of Richard? And she is
never about when our older friends
call and never I'D in the morning. Has