Norwich bulletin., 1915-11-17
SIMPLE LITTLE AFFAIR

after rye sung this swan song .
began the pale and haggard woman.
II am going to seek some secluded
any one and just quietly pass away!
That's the only thing left for me to
do that / am able to undertake.!
IF you'll let me sing off key and
take my time" she went on; ..rl
make things clear to you. And per-
haps If simply state that my child il
trying to go to masquerade party
you'll understand.
1T didn't seem so threatening when
she first mentioned it to me. She
| said that their sewing club thought it
would be such fun to have a. mas
duerade and ask the boys and what
| should go as? She being 10, did
the conventional thing. / said
though it would be perfectly lovely
for her to go as a flower, and that
we cotfld make a pretty costume from
crepe paper sewed on a cloth founda-
tions She could be a pink rose or a
lily, and she was delighted. That Is,
till the next day.
''She tore home from school and
found me surrounded by pillows of
pink crepe paper rt1ffles and shrieked
at me to stop. She said she had de-
cided that she didn't want to go as d.
flower because none of the other girls
was going to. They said flowers were
babyish. and Isabel was going as, Lady
Macbeth and Anne was to be the
something quick for her equally
| splendid
when indignantly inquired as to
the disposal of the forty five yards of
crepe paper ruffies my daughter said
could put them in the missionary
box for some poor persons to use in
iampshades.
When I remarked that thought
an expensive costume for a simple
little childreT's party was foolish she
burst into tears and said she'd die If
she couldn't wear something Cutlery
like Anne's and grown up. She said
she wanted to go as Spanish dam
Ger, and pieases to put on millions of
spangles. remembered discarded
yellow satin evening gown Of mine,
50 unpacked three trunks till
found 1t and turned up the hem.
I Then my little girl rushed in and
said that she had been looking at
fashion pictures at the corner dry
goods store and must have a full gath
| cred white blouse to wear under the
velvet bolero jacket. This was the
1 first, had heard Of the Jacket. but it
seems that one cannot be a Spanish
dancer without one. / gave up a
luncheon to make the white waist and
| then I started out after spangles
II spent years searching for those
necessary adjuncts. The department
store directed me to theatrical cos
tuners, and the theatrical costumer
stopped talking baseball with a friend
long enough to weep on my shoulders
and confess that he expected to go
into bankruptcy because he couldn't
import any more spangles from
France. He said that if he owned a
spangle at the present moment he'd
| lock 1t up in his safe and sit on the
safe with a shotgun, but perhaps If
I'd go to such and such a dry goods
store they might have them on the
81 walked to such and such a store
and journeyed seventh fioorward and
they said yes, here were nice span
giles. 10 cents dozen AS 1 wanted
a thousand, more or less, I decided it
should be less in this case.
/ so I arrived home in the winter
i dusk broken hearted woman with an
aching back and feet that felt though
they really belonged to some elephant.
only to find my child before the glass
her head like Spanish turban My
$50 imitation pearl necklace was
/ draped around the turban and dia-
mond brooch adorned the front of
i It.
| I'D hate to give you her verbal
opinion of me when I swooped down
and rescued my Jewels. Anyhow, she
/ said, she had decided not to go as a
Spanish dancer after all. Nobody
! else was going as one. All the girls
We're going to be peasant girls and
/ she wanted to be peasant girl.
/ Thereupon l sat down and gently
| but firmly explained to her that a
masquerade was not a series of ditto
marks, but grand mixture of all
sorts and every one had to be differ
ent from the rest and anyhow her
Spanish costume was almost done,
ana wear it she must, after all my
labor.
She burst into walls at that She
insisted she would be utterly miser-
able as q Spanish dancer and she
didn't see why / was so cruel. And
Harvey Smith was going to be a bull
| fighter. and If she went Spanish he'd
| think she was trying to make up with
| why wouldn't I LET her he raa CANT D