The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1909-08-02
A Midsummer
Day S Dream


me get my things OFF There, that s
better Now, guess what I've donei"
And the Typewriter Lady beamed
about her
! Got married"
Got a raise"
Got a bargain hat"
No you silly children. Something
much better. I've been offered a house
in the country for the summer" And
the T. l. seated herself triumphantly
| and played barcarolle on her ma
| chine, with variations.
There's a. lady at our boarding
house who owns this lovely old place
in the country The people she rents
ii to are going abroad for the sum,
mer and my sister and | are to have
it free for the whole season, Just for
taking care of it,
We're just waiting for salary day
so we can buy the few things Wen
need for it. You see it isn't quite
completely furnished that is, Wen
need a few porch chairs and some
extra table linen, and some bath fix
lures. The bath fixtures are my idea.
| always did have a perfect craze for
bath fixtures
You can all come and spend week
ends. Why. | can hardly wait for the
first Of the month TO buy my com
mutation ticket And, say. under
stand there's a summer school cur
there for young men! Aha, thought
thatd bring out a few sparklcs III
dicating interest | think it's sort Of n
preparatory school where thee get
them ready for college-and You know
boys that are being prepared for col
lege usually have fathers who aren't
exactly what you'd call poor. Oh,
have a perfectly glorious summer
planned"
4 say, Hortense," chimed in the One
Practical Girl, have you been out TO
see the place."
Not yet We're goAg Saturday
afternoon. so as to be there when they
deliver the porch chairs and the linen
and the bathroom accessories"
The one Practical Girl smiled in
scrutably once upon a time said
she. Il bought a suit through seeing
it illustrated in the back OF a maya.
zine. II was a perfectly grand suit-in
the picture. My wash-lady is wearing
it. Every time see it on her I have
pangs Of conscience to think how
made a fellow creature a victim to
something | wouldn't tolerate myself
She has never reproached me in
words She Just perslstently wears
the suit-the moral OF this tale being
that Won never can tell until you sec
things" And the One Practical Girl
went on sharpening her lead pencil
on Monday morning the Typewriter
Lady's desk remained closed. The
girls had been breathlessly awaiting
her account Of the country paradise,
of how the porch looked garnished
with its new chairs, Of the splendor
Of the nickel soap dish, the towel
racks, the Observation-Disclosures,
from-onc-tiftyshower bath, and all the
rest that was to bring summer refresh
ment 10 the city.worn office ladies'.
At noon came Hcrtense wearing the
blank expression of a magician whose
trick has gone awry-who has failed
to make the rabbits come out of the
hat-and who breads the jecrs Of the
audience One could see with half an
Eve that the tears were being held
back with a mighty effort The one
Practical Girl slipped her arm swiftly
around her shoulder
Don't you care, Hortense. | bet
know Just exactly what's happened
Didn't buy that suit out Of the
But. say. don't you care.
You can make up what you're ont az
pocket BY having ten-cent lunches.
same as did for a couple Of months.
and you'll feel all the better for it,
-"
1T isn't the money" walled the
downcast one, half so much as it IS
the meanness OF that woman mis-
representing things to me like that. !
remember her distinctly mentioning
the tub The tub u makes me rage I
when ! think OF IT, Imagine the pic A.,
ture Of my nickel plated soaD rack at |
fached 10 the side Of a disintcgratinr
wooden washtub, and my perfectly
grand patent nozzle shower bath
hooked On to the branch Of A tree
somewhere, rugged UP over the
tub"
"Horteaset,i"
IN tent in a tent. Of courset .
There wasn't any bathroom, And the .
porch chairs Oh. girls II makes me
weep 10 think Of nv beautiful porch b
chairs sitting out in the middle Of
the dusty road. being run over every 4
minute by automobile They'd have
10 sit there. YOU see. for there wasn't Il
any porchl And the front door opened
right on 10 the road. And as for table
linen What would be the nee Of
table linen il you had 10 eat canned
food all the time7 You could just
make a picnic OF il and have il ont
IN the woods. or anywhere. FOR all
hey had was a coal stove 10 cook on.
nd ia rather 20 without eating than
% have To make fires and things every
light when I get home And the pre-