The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1914-09-10
TAKING THEIR TIME
BY CLARENCE LYONS.

The woman with the purple straw
hat spread her skirt a little more
widely, so that nobody could take the
seat next to her in the street car. and
then resumed conversation.
Some women are so queer" she
said to her friend with the orange
feathers, which stood up at least a
foot above her hat Il could use
stronger language than that, but / am
of a charitable nature and always
willing TO give people chance. How
ever. that woman at the milliner's was
the limit.
Il always go TO Miss Cretonne for
my hats because she has style and Ia
cheaper than anyone else. She hasn't
shop, you know, but does hats at
home. So / dropped in on my way
TO the Ladies Aid meeting and ex.
pected TO be through In a jiffy. Some
body was In Miss Cretonne's Office, SO
she left me down outside In the hall
and said she'd be ready for me in a
short time.
The minute | heard the voice OF the
creature who was in there, | knew
what to expect. 1t was sort Of drawly
and undecided. and it had an edge on
It that meant, L know you're waiting
out there, but | got here first and
I'm going to take precisely as long as
| like
We'll, she made Miss Cretonne
bring in, one by one, every hat she
had in her sewingrOom, and she didn't
like any of them. One was too little
and another was too big. Finally she
decided that she didn't want a black
straw, anyhow. She said II Miss Gre
tonne was really up to date she'd have
straws in the new Bulgarian colors,
and, anyway, what she was interested
in was getting her old ecru straw re-
trimmed. No, she didn't want ribbon,
and as for flowers, they were impos-
sible.
Would Miss Cretonne please step
across the room and hold up the hat
with that bunch of flowers pinned on?
Couldn't she see 1t just killed the hat?
Why, her cousin had just got back
from New York, and she said nobody
there would be caught dead with flow
ers on her hat. No, she wouldn't have
the new Numidi feathers. She was
sure they got those feathers off the
heron or the robins at the nesting sea-
son, and, anyhow, If they were only
ostrich. as Miss Cretonne said, it was
painful to the birds when they were
plucked. Hats we're an awful trial.
she said. Wouldn't 1t be lovely II 1t
were the style not to wear any hats
at all?
Here l coughed to remind the wo-
man that was on earth. That caused
her to tell Miss Cretonne that it was
perfectly dreadful how much pneu-
monia there was around this season
and that her brothers wife out in
Idaho nearly died with pneumonia last
month.
you think you don't want feathers.
them" Miss Cretonne broke in nerv-
ously.
Perish the thought, She never
could bear feathers since she went
to funeral and sat behind hat with
sixteen ostrich plumes on 1t. Maybe
it was only fifteen, but they looked
like twenty. What did Miss Cretonne
think of a plum color straw to wear
with a green suit? Something a little
bit different, wasn't it? The woman
across the street from her had plum
hat last year and she always had been
crazy about it.
Here l coughed again to convey
delicately my conviction that If she
wasn't crazy she was at least feeble
minded. Then she rather thought she
might like black hat, after all, and
wished Miss Cretonne to get some
shapes from the wholesale house. No.
she hadn't any idea what shape she
wanted-just something pretty and
stylish and cheap and awfully good
looking. She would dearly love some
Bulgarian embroidery on it, but 1t was
SO loud. She was afraid 1t would get
common.
Mercy, wasn't It warm day!
Really, she must send her fur coat
down to storage. And whatever Miss
Cretonne did she should never, never
buy fur Of the man who had sold
that coat. Look how 1t had worn!
Il coughed again and tapped my
feet on the floor. At this she settled
down more comfortably and sighed.
She was certain spring hats were 60
Ing to be the end OF her. She did
wish that Miss Cretonne would decide
on some way to trim the ecru hat
Goodness, how her head ached!
ct was fifty-fve minutes by my
watch before she came out of that
Office and she certainly looked her
part-selfish, accommodating, incon-
siderate, fat thing! l was so mad I
Just few into the office!
Il suppose you got through in time
for the ladies' aid, anyhow" said the
with the orange feathers.
You're always so quick!'
Sometimes" admitted the woman,
with the purple hat 81 was late this
time. didn't care II three other
customers who had come In after me
were waiting out there. l just took
my time and had a real nice visit with