The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-03-28
WORLDLY WISE PERSON
BY JOSEPHINE CARROLL

AS a little girl Albertine always sat
In the chair in the farthest corner
when she went to children's parties
She had a meek, pretty little face
abundant yellow hair and large, ap
pealing blue eyes that held a shadow
OF apology in them for her temerity in
presuming to exist. She retained the
modest violet atmosphere after she
was grown up.
Other girls might blossom into dar.
ing coquettes and fascinating bellies,
but Albertine always kept in the back
ground. Whenever people looked at
her they involuntarily thought of lace
mitts and hoopskirts and curtseys.
They felt that Albertine should be
put under glass.
This being the case, 1t was aston.
ishing that down in her secret heart
Albertine had fierce love of the dar-
ing, the wild and gay and the extreme.
When she picked out dress design
she always chose the rankest, most
alarming atrocity. The dressmakeI
said, "Oh, certainly" and then pro-
ceeded to modify the pattern to suit
Albertine's appearance.
Things had a way of dropping softly
on her in old fashioned lines. She
wanted to look frightfully smart and
somehow she never did. Secretly she
suspected the dressmakers, but she
never dared accuse them.
1t was the same way when it came
| to the young men. Let a perfectly
steady, sober youth who earned reg.
ular salary and was good to his
mother come her way and Albertine
raised her little nose and shifted She
simply could not see him. She ad.
mired eXtravagantly the sort of young
man who dashed down the street
wearing crimson silk socks and a tie
to match and the latest cry in waist
coats, and if he was followed by a
bulldog so much the better. If people
raised their eyebrows and coughed
discreetly when his name was men,
toned it made the situation perfect.
Albertine always felt loftily then
that she was an experienced, worldly
wise person and the eyebrow raisers
were narrow provincials. Usually the
bulldoggy young man never pro-
| crossed in the acquaintance farther
than raising his hat and casting an
enhancing smile at her, but Albertine
was satisfied with just adoring him
from distance.
Her family was quite alarmed when
she fell in love with Harry Jungles,
because Harry always was in debt
and worked only enthusiastically
and Albertine's relatives had a great
deal of money. Harry seemed awake
to this, for he actually called on AL
berthe and talked poetry to her in
the parlor in low, rich tones and told
her how the world misjudged him.
! Albertine went so far as to powder
| her already white nose and her moth.
er caught her once using an eyebrow
pencil. 1t was much the same as
though an Easter lily had begun to
rouge. The situation was saved, how.
ever, by the sheriffs removing Harry
for forgery, and after that Albertine
wore what she thought was a heart.
broken expression and thought she
threw into her face deep lines of ex.
perience and suffering.
After Harry several others of the
same kind followed. Therefore, hav.
ing long lowered over Albertine in
fear that she would do some fool thing
and spoil her life her family was en-
tranced when she became engaged to
jeffrey. 1t all happened SO suddenly
that one was scarcely aware jeffrey
was on earth before he was introduc-
ing himself as future son-in-law and
brother.
jeffrey was absolutely as nearly
perfect as he could be for Albertine.
Liberal minded people might say he
erred on the side of rigidness and
propriety and possible narrowness,
but one felt that he would always be
at home at six o'clock sharp for din
ner and that Albertine never would
have to hang out of the front window
trying to distinguish whether it was
he wavering down the street at one
o'clock in the morning. Jeffrey choked
at the sight of a cigarette, wouldn't
be caught dead at dog show and said
his wife never should be permitted
to wear decollete gowns in the even
ing.
The more people considered the
matter the more inexplicable 1t be-
came. Finally her dearest friend fiat
ly asked Albertine to explain Jeffrey's
attractions.
"You see," said the dearest friend,
with your ideas I can't understand
how you happen to fall in love with
jeffrey, of all men,"
"Of all men!" echoed Albertine in
plying establishment. "Why, I'll tell
you, Susie-because l recognized at
once that Jeffrey is the most sophis-
ticated sort of person. He's such a
man of the world. l can't abide these
goody-goody men!"-Chicago Daily
News.