Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-26

tain them: sized up her clothes, youthful
in cut and color; the fIlet of black velvet
around her a la Greekified hair-suspi-
ciously. blonde-the French heeled pumps
and a black foulard that fitted her over
the hips like an eelsk.n.
The sharp young eyes of Youth and In
nocence took notice that the foulard was
marked-down: that the French pumps
were shabby under their French polish.
and that one artfully closed hand implied
the frayed finger tips that most of us
know about-oh, we poor. dear, brave,
eonniving little women folkies.
'Betshees bad"
The gum-chewed verdict came from In
| nocence. whose lawful place at that min
ute should have been in some seventh
grade schoolroom.
Y ccorse. Anybody kin tell that,
Whodjespose would lookatarole NUT
like her hum"
\ clerk held out a white china box filled
with rougepink salve. whereupon Youth
and Innocence. without explaining how
they came by this knowledge OF wom-
that matter, how they happened to be so
sordidy knowing at their callow years,
switched their combined interest to face
paint
And the woman. having paid for her
jar of cold cream. got up from the stool.
went toward the store door and pumped
into a woman who began to congratulate
her about some Tom.
les, ism spienold! Inc poor Ter
| low was getting real discouraged when
the appointment came. He certainly is
the best husband that ever lived
Which is merely to hint that with all
! their knowledge of a world they have not
tested. and despite their keen insight
into affairs they know nothing about,
Youth and presumable Innocence may oc-
casionally make a mistake. Do | hear
storm of protest.
A man stood in Peacock alley hedg-
ed around with girls. He was telling
them story. If he smiled or waved
hand humorously the girls dimpled and
flashed white teeth in laughter. When
his voice took on the stage tremolo that
goes with the lowered lights and PUNK
ed violin strings the girls looked as sad
as poor Niobe before she started in to
weep.
wanted to move on to the lobby. but the
girls wouldn't let him They wanted an
other.
Nothing TO all that. of course, except
that the man was ugly that ii seemed
as if nature must have cut him out with
a pair of scissors, without pattern to
go by. Honest. he was slabsided and
| crooked-featured that he would have
| been downright pitifui except that
Except that nature, properly ashamed
| of the mess she had made of the poor
| fellow. atoned for it by endowing him
with the greatest gift in the world.
Ihere lie STOOD. the center OF a human
| wreath of pretty girls, and they had to
| be finely dressed girls to be poisoning
around in Peacock alley. There were
| other men. handsome young fellows and
DISTINGUISHED older ones, but they simply
| weren't in ii with the ugly man. They
/ just stood around and served usefully as
] background
/ Rich? Well, of course, he must have
i had his money, otherwise why Peacock
alley? But why drag in a sordid sug-
gestion like that? The alley feels the
| tread of millionaires every night in the
year but if ever you catch any one of
| them holding convention of girls by a
| thread of story when a string of other
millionaire men stand around trying to
| ballroom, when the tinkle of music is
| altering down from the top floor. post it
| in the lobby, will you? 1t will be scoop.
| Magnetism. That's what II was.
] The greatest gift in the world.