Rocky Ford enterprise., 1913-08-08

one to harbor cankering cares on such
day. The earth was happy. aban-
doned to the sunshine, irresponsible.
care free. rejoicing in the perfect mo-
ment. The woman felt the restoring
processes that Nature, in its tireless
generosity, offers to all who will take
them. She felt eased of her troubles,
soothed and cheered, as though the en-
wrapping radiance that bathed her
held an opiate for tangled nerves.
Blinking in the brightness she leaned
on the window-sill, immovab1e, quieted.
feeling the warmth suffuse her and
dissipate those alarms that half an
hour earlier had been SO chill \ and
heavy.
As she dressed, the sense Of well-be-
ing and confidence increased She
looked very well this morning. Since
Dominick's return she had looked
haggard and thin. Sometimes she had
seemed to see. showing shadowy
through her reflected face in the mir
ror. the lines and hollows of that face
when time should have put stamp on
it that neither massage nor pigments
would efface. A sudden moment of
revelation showed her herself as an
old woman, her nose pointed. her
mouth thin, tight line. This morn
ing the glass gave her back none of
these disconcerting hints. She was at
her best, and as she dressed carefully
and slowly, she had the satisfaction of
seeing that each added article Of ap-
parel increased her good looks. When
she finally put on her new hat-the
one she had bought in celebration of
Dominick's return-and over 1t tied a
white and black dotted veil. she was
so gratified with the picture she pre-
sented that she was reluctant to leave
it and pirouetted slowly before the
glass. surveying her back and side
views. and finally lifting her skirt that
she might see the full effect Of her
lilac petticoat as It burst into sight
In an ebullition Of pleats and frills.
Walking up the avenue she was
bridlingly conscious that her brilliant
appearance drew its tribute of glances.
Many people looked at her. and their
sidelong admiration was an even more
exhilarating tonic than the sunshine.
She walked with a light, elastic step.
spreading perfume on the air. her
progress accompanied by rich seduc-
tive rustic. Once or twice she passed
members OF that exclusive world from
which she had stolen Dominick. She
swept by them, languidly Indifferent.
her eyes looking with glacial hauteur
o-er their heads. The sound made by
her brushing silk petticoats was graft
fyingly aggressive. She impaired to
them a slight disdainful swing. and
lifted her dress skirt daintily higher.
conscious Of the impeccablei amplitude
of her emerging lilac frills.
The habit of dining with her own
people on Sunday had been one she
had never abandoned, even in the first
aspiring days Of her marriage. 1t was
sort of family reunion and at first
Dominick had been a not unwilling
participant In its domestic festivities.
The solid bourgeois responsibility of
his wife's relations appealed to him.
For all his advantages in money and
education he was of the same class
himself. and while Berry was, II not a
beloved spouse, a yet endurable one,
he had found the Sunday gatherings
and subsequent hejira to the park not
entirely Objectionable. For over a year
now he d es aped from it, pleading
the need Of open air and exercise. and
HIS sisters-in-law, who had at first pro-
tested. had grown used to his absence
uncomplainingly.
The day was SO fine that they hur-
ried through their dinner. a hearty
and lavish meal. the chef d'oeuvre of
Hannah's housekeeping. and. ioath to
lose a moment of the sunshine. deter
mined to walk down to Van Ness ave-
nue. and there catch an outgoing car
to the park. 1t was the middle OF the
afternoon and the great thoroughfare
lay still and idle in the slanting light.
There was something foreign. almost
tropical in its vista. in the scene that
hung like a drop curtain at the limit
Of sight-pale blue hills dotted with
houses-in the back
ground of sky deep in tint. the foliage
dark against It as II printed upon its
intense glaring blue. in the sharp lines
of palms and spiky leaves crossing
succeed walls. The people that
moved slowly along the sidewalks fit
ted into this high-colored exotic set
ting. There was no hurry or crowding
among them. They progressed with
an un-American deliberation, tasting
the delicate sweetness of the air, re-
joicing in the sky and the sun. paus-
ing to look at the dark business of
dracaena against a wash of blue, the
skeleton blossom Of Century plant.
the pool of thick scarlet made by
parterre of geranipm.
The three sisters-Hannah and
Pearl leading. Berry and Hazel walk
ing behind with Josh-fared buoyant-
" down the street. As they passed.
they commented on the houses and