Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-06


KS&W whr of merciless New York.
TS8~ When the novelty of the excitement of
WICK fitting up Riverside Drive mansion
Sr03SW spent, Mrs. Willis Varian divorced from
girhood friends and home ties, Weakened
to the isolation of her environment She had church
affiliations, sociological aspirations. She was the
product of an old-fashioned Young Ladies Academy
and in consequence had Greek letter fraternity club
alumni association semieducational. semisoclal
connection to widen acquaintance and put her IN
sonal touch with the worthwhile of the metropolis
Her husband whom she adored. as her father had
been by her mother when not ION the road was buried
in downtown office The one event of her coloress
days was his Homecoming at seven Then there was a
formal dinner served after the of familiarity with
large wealth and good form; for, Willis Varan sald
@Now that we are in for it, Dosia We'll begin by
practising ground there will be no flaws
to pick at when we go to our neighbors :,
Mrs Varian would have preferred smaller house
Hers naturally the domestic quality. To run her
home with the assistance of maid or two would have
helped her to forget her loneliness; but Willis wouldn't
hear of it.
Il have the price" he said, after the of his
kind The best is none too good for the Va1ans We
keep up with the procession. It's good business
An employment bureau with clients restricted to the
"best families, furnished the mansion with the requ
site autocrats -housekeeper, chef cook, butler cham
bermads and chauffeur, to the number of thirteen
for, getrchquick houses go in the metropolis, the
Varians unpretentious. After the first season
Mrs Varan drew the line at daily visits from the florists
Her innate simplicity recoled from its flsomeneSs her
economic sense rebelled against its wastefulness.
"One rose Willis dear, the breakfast table is more
to my liking than miniature conservatory Let me
"Grow them if you choose said Willis glancng up
spontaneously from @The Wall Street Tidings.'
And so Mrs. Varian found her first definite occupa-
ton, if not responsibility, in her new home.
1t was keen humiliation in recalling these tentative
days to compute the time and money wasted buying
things she did not want, envying the shopgrs' busy
lives while she waited for change The matinees she
sat through in lonely splendor wondering how the
smartly dressed about her filled in their days.
When she met them motoring in the park on the
drive her heart went out to them She pictured their
inner lives, hopes, and aspirations. She speculated
upon their ultimate end until they became more vital
her than the characters the novels brought home
by Willis from the newsstands.
She had no natural taste for reading 1t was dis
couraged at the Young Ladies Academy, When not
shopping or motoring she haunted the drive foot,
until she knew the color of the and the
Of every occupant of gocart between her home and
Grants Tomb.
"If only had baby!' she sighed. "What hearts
ease baby must be!'
Willis suspected her loneliness the aching void
of her vanishing youth Never would he know it from
her; never she OWNED would he discover it for himself
His was North American Indians comprehension of
a woman's needs Had he not provided her with fine
wigwam? What squaw of Sitting Bull or Red Shirt,
had costlier blankets or choicer beads?
"Why babies sent to women who don't want
Them she wondered daily as she caressed the little
charges of the nursemaids. sent to who have
no place for them in their hearts or homeS?'
But to this questioning the gay, enigmatical world in
which she seemed cipher, turned deaf ear as
she reraced her steps from unanswerng gocarts to the
silent spendor Of her empty home to dress for the din
d deux.
Mrs. Nar1an SartOr1al taste was urerr1ng. ohe was
of those women who lend distinction to anything
they choose to put on. irrespective of mode.
Wliss pride in her appearance quickened her interest
dress 1t not long until they had the habit of
occasionally dining To walk behind her Sherry,
the Plaza the RitzCarlton, they made their
the table reserved for them and overhear remarks
upon her chic and freshness from the smart people
present, his browning JOY. No annoyance of the
Street could dsspate this tribute to his choice of wife
These semipublic exhibitions at so much plate were
occasoned by the arrival of out of-town business
associate with his wife daughter As the latter
rarely Mrs Varians taste, she encouraged hotels
rather than her house for those gasronoic perform