Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-04-25

beautiful stiff, cracking silk Overskirts,
and bushes that came and went; for then
it was not only artificial but lowering to
use rouge. And the young gentlemen
wore dropping mustaches, and whiskers
too if possible, and trousers that would
make presentday skirt apiece. And all
the young gentlemen paid the young
ladies beautiful, mile-broad compliments,
and the ladies looked up from "Lucile'
and said archly, "Oh, you gentlemen are
so wicked!" And everybody was much,
much more romantic than anybody dares
to admit being now, but rather potter.
1t was too late for the stress and trouble
of the Civil War; and too early for the
present wonderful industrial age to be
saying "Hurry up! Hurry up" to every
body.
And it was just at this pleasant period
that Fanny Fleming elected to be nineteen.
She was the dearest little thing that
ever was 1t was fashionable to be small
then, and she was in the height OF the
mode Her waist and hands and feet were
as tiny as they could be, her hair was yell
low, and her eyes We're blue, and her
cheeks We're pink, and altogether she was
a stunning little beauty-but sad tiirt.
YOU don't know exactly what that would
describe? Well, the young gentle
men knew, you may be sure! 1t meant
girl who could alternate the valse and
lanciers half the night, play croquet all the
next morning, and go to picnic all the
afternoon, and be rosy and audacious and
challenging and light-hearted through 1t
all. 1t meant all sorts of dear, sprightly.
little Alterations and darling shepherdess
mannerisms for gentlemen only, and
certain fairness in her dealings with girls.
She had bosom girl friends, of course.
But they hurt her feelings so often by
turning out to be eats if their gentlemen
admirers grew to prefer her that it really
wasn't Fanny's fault if she liked the gem
temen better. There We're very few cats
among Fanny's gentlemen. Several held
the position of Faithful Hound: but that's
another matter. Fanny shook her fan, and
dimpled and flashed her blue eyes, and
enjoyed their efforts very much
And YOU mustn't think, because Fanny
was such a sad flrt and such stunning
little beauty, that she was nothing else.
She could not cook, to be sure, because
her mother did not approve of young
lady's knowing how; but she could paint
in water colors, sing all NIillards songs,
dance divinely, do wonderful crewel work.
and kept not only her friends but her own
family very fond of her by a very real and
constant sweetness and gaiety. She was
even supposed to read deep books; but
she kept that rather dark, for it was well
known fact that gentlemen didn't like
strong-minded women. Arthur Grey, even,
was known to have violent aversion for
them, and he was very liberal minded
Arthur Grey? Why, he was one of her
gentlemen admirers, of course. He was
tall and dark and mustached and very
handsome. He had quiet dignity that
Fanny liked very much; though she never
told him so. She only let him infer it. He
was not the one she favored most. In fact
she trampled on him rather more than she
did on the others. He proposed to her
with continuity worthy of a more hope
full cause, and she continued to laugh at
him. But she never quite let him go.
"You know, Mr. Grey, there isn't any
use asking me again, she would tell him,
dimpling so delightfully."- that it seemed