New Britain herald., 1915-11-05
How Madge Tried to Be a ''Good
 Little SpOrt.''

cite which moment before I had re- fused with such disapproval. I was afraid he would make some comment upon my change of attitude which would upset me, I was so agitated with the conflicting impulses which had swayed me in the short interval between my refusal of the cigarette and my decision to try smoking one to please Dicky, that I feared his possible facetiousness as a nervous horse might the stroke of whip
 . But with. infinite tact Dicky refrain ed from any comment whatever upon my sudden change of front He drew out the case again, opened it, and held it out to me. T. selected one of the little white rolls gingenly. I sup pose my face must have reflected some of the distaste for the experi- ment felt for Dicky laughed short 1y.
 Tt won't bic you," he said. Here, this end in your mouth" As he saw me looking helplessly at the thing he took it and deftly inserted it between my lips, "Now," striking a match, "as I lit it, draw in your breath. Then puff the smoke out. Don't swallow it whatever you do."e
 For many years I have trained my self to observe closely any directions printed or oral concerning any new thing I am attempting, and then to follow them exactly. The training stood me in good stead in this ex- pertinent which I so disliked. I fol- lowed Dicky's directions to the let ter, and won the tribute of an ad- miring exclamation from him.
 By George, Madge, you're a won- der. I can tell by the way you go at the thing that you have never had one in your hand before, and almost any other novice would have choked. You'll make dead game little sport when you get rid of some of those antiquated notions of yours"
 All the Puritan in me rose LID in revolt That I. of all people, should be praised for my dexterity in manip- ulating a cigarette! But was com mitted to the thing now, no drawing back, I told myself with a mental grimace
 To my surprise I found no trouble in smoking the cigarette, no sicken- ing taste to fight against, no mental and moral tremors such as I had fam cied would accompany a departure of mine from the rigid path T had al ways marked out for myself. ss4l might as we'll have been puf1ng at one of the after-dinner coffee spoons for any sensation, pleasurab1e or otherwise, winch the smoking gave me. @& @t Es s-sH Don't Smoke it All"
 l Reason and logic said loud in my ear: What an absolutely asinine thing for any woman or man to do this putting at little white roll, un- der. the name of sociability, pleasure l or anything else!" Another voice, (which belonged to the emotional self I was just beginning to realize I pos sessed,' whispered: Well, if it be such a silly. harmless thing to do, why l not smoke one occasionally to please 1 Dicky?
 l \ looked up from reverts to find Dicky watching me mischievously. l You never stopped -puffing all the l while you were deciding the momen- 1 tous questions you had on your mind,'' he said gayly s"I would advise you to stop now, however, l. would l not want you to feel ill, as you might do if you finished it as a first exper- i sience. K And II do want you to smoke one again with me. You can't ima- :. zine how comfy it, is or how busy you I looked doing it. Thank you for pleas ] ing me. this way my darling. girl. t~~ He bent and kissed me, and for a moment I felt a glow of pleasure in having gratif1ed his wish. Then into
 my mouth crept an acrid taste, the indescribable taste of smoke. It die
 not nauseate me, but, in its way, i ) was one of the X most disagreea bls
 things I had ersexperienced.I I rose and started toward the bath | ro3o ,er t< ~ic
 Are you feeling i'll, sweetheart
 ought to have stopped you before. 1T am not i'll at all, I returned the taste of smoke is unbearable. Tn
 going to wash my mouth out.
 Not the taste of the morning af
 ter, but the minute after, eh, Madge
 T think would just as soon hay
 one as the other," shot back at hir as went into the bathroom.
 rinsed my mouth carefully wit
 solution used for sore throat.
 thought whimsically of the smal
 schoolboys of my early teaching day
 whose mouths had sometimes wash
 ed our with soap for using bad lang
 uage, and, yes, I remembered on
 1uckless wight who had received tn same punishment for cigarette smok
 ing! I smiled ironically. Talk c
 chickens coming home to roost!
 Dicky Gaily Quotes Omar. ,. When I rejoined Dicky he evidentl
 was thinking deeply, something 5 very seldom saw. him do. I did nc
 speak to him, and sank into my chail s as silently as I could But he hear
 the rustic of my dress and lifted hi . head. ''>
 Feeling better, sweetheart? Ba
 taste all gone ?o ..@<s