The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1913-02-21
A PRACTICAL
Joke
1t Turned Out Seriously In
Two Respects
By ARTHUR D. PURDY

ssesseeesseessesesssssssse
Sue Gwinne was known as the big-{
gest little devil in B. We were ALI
young then and were inclined to bel
trolicsome. was, so far as know.J
the only serious one in the lot. sup-t
pose that this was the reason / fell
in love with Sue. Opposites take toI
each other. and by good rights Suei
should have returned my proffered aft
lection. but she did not. At any rated
l couldn't be sure for more than half
an hour at a time that she did-Sha
would say something very sweet tdl
me. raising me to the pinnacle of eel
stasy, then cast me down by cold treat4
ment.
miserable, and why couldn't undert
stand. I wondered why she didnt
play her pranks on the rest of thd
boys. l couldn't see that they had
any especial advantages over me. MOI
was l considered stupid. Why, thent
had she picked me out to torment?
Sue had kept me in chronic stat&
of fret during the fall and winter, buk
when the season was about to close
seemed inclined to let up somewhat lii
her endeavors to make me miserable
Our set agreed to end the winter'A
festivities by fancy dress ball. Del
Gliding upon or getting up costume
was entirely out of my line. for / hah
no inventive faculty in such matters
In my dilemma Sue kindly came To
my assistance Leave it to me-" she
said. land I guarantee that you shah
have one of the most striking costumes
at the ball."
This was not only great relief tb
me. but set me up with regard to her
preference for me. Had she not picked
me out among all the fellows for all
act of kindness? And when she told
me that she would make my costume
with her own hands l was proud us Ia
peacock. All she wanted was few
measurements. AS to material. she said
1t would cost little or nothing. asked
her what the costume was to be. bJt
she wouldn't tell me, assuring nae that
I would be much pleased with It. III
really cared very little what ! repre-
sented, whether it was Louis XIV
Oliver Cromwell or George Washing
ton. was quite content to leave the
whole matter to Sue, believing that she
would provide a costume in keeping
with my dignity.
The afternoon OF the day on which
the ball was to take place Sue tele-
phoned me that I had better comee3so
her house and try on my costumE -
did so and met with surprise. Tn E
was not the least doubt as to my ca,ls
ing a sensation in it or that itesf
be considered the most striking Fl
tune at the ball. was to represents
bird of paradise.
On a light framework was the BODY
Of the bird. it's feathers made Of TISSUE
paper. Space was left in the centfr
for my body. and stockings Of q pfulb
er color were provided for my 4<G
The sfaif was a w0nder-6ss = "a:
streamers composed Of many hue9 moi
out in the rear. resembling either the
tail of bird of paradise or a Rainbow.
whichever the beholder chose.
confess was very crestfallen. The
prospect of disporting myself ia this
gaudy apparel was especialIy dis
agreeable to me. I refused to use vt
Sue had two or three Of her GA Z
friends with her. who at once mani
faCfad ACCOMPLISHMENTS fhof Tf5sfff1
not appreciate it. and Sue herself look
ed very much put out that all her tron
BILE should have been for nothing. Be
tween them they succeeded in per
suading me to put it on. did SO and
was no sooner decorated with itsthan
they all cried at once: "Splendid!
Beautiful! 1t will be the finest thing
in the room. What an original idea =
Well. simply yielded my consent to
make a fool Of myself. because four
girls set themselves to the task Of
forcing me to do so. Each one of
them promised to make it easy for rle
by their support. giving me the most
though how l was to sweep that three
yards of tail around in dance Isdid
not know. and they failed to explain.
We are any Of us liable to do some
thing and afterward cannot under
stand how we were silly enough to
have done it. and this was a case In
point with me. | knew all the while
that l should refuse to wear such a
costume. but didn't have the stamina
in me to withstand these girls. Be
sides. feared that If I failed to ap-
pear in it after the pains Sue had tax
en- in designing and making 1t ! would
break the thread that bound her to me
On the night of the ball was oblig
ed to carry my costume to the building
where it took place and put it on there
Had gone through the streets with il
on l should have been mobbed. The
moment entered the ballroom every
eye was fixed upon me. The girls who
had persuaded me to wear the bird
stood by their promise to support me-
and all clustered about me. each claim
ing the honor of the first dance with
me. though they all at last gave way to
Sue.
shall never forget that dance Had
I been the kind of fellow TO make a
guy of myself in order to afford amuse-
ment for others would have consider