The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1916-01-21
Her Lesson
In Loving
1t Was a Severe One, but |,
Brought Her Happiness.
BY LOUISE OL.NEY,

change in her daughter Anne Nor
ton went to her room and locked
the door. Throwing aside her lace
cloak, she turned, on all the lights
and, tall and graceful in her cling
ing yellow gown, studied herself in
the mirror.
Richard Hunter had not asked for
a single dance, but had devoted him
self to Mollie Pierce. Anne began
to realize that this had been the or
der of things for some time. Nor
rls Trevor also had not come near.
And only a year ago, before she had
broken her engagement with Rich
ard, there had not been dances
enough to satisfy her admirers.
Surely at twcnty-seven a woman has
not lost the power to attract! Was
she becoming a wallf)ower?
The mirror was reassuring. Her
fine brown eyes we're large and clear,
her heavy dark hair perfectly ar
ranged, her oval face and small head
certainly distinguished. She smiled
ruelully, and a dimple dccpened in
her check. But when her face fell
to repose she noted critically that
she looked bored, almost unhappy;
the corners of her mouth dropped,
and two cross little lines showed be-
tween her eyes.
Anne began to take stock of her
self. Tonight she had actually sat
out three dances with the chaper-
ons. She faced the fact that her
friends were becoming fewer; that
the men called less often, invited
her less often to share their pleas
uces. "Thc girls" no longer drop
ped in to gossip of clothes and mcr-
r%ymakings and beaus. Yes, ever in
the family things had changed. Her
mother, always loving, was also pa
tient. Harry, with the frankness Of
fourteen, remarked when she was
irritated with him that she was be-
coming a cross old maid. Jean as
sumed condescending younger sister
airs.
She was quite sure that it was
Richards place to make the first
toward reconciliation, even
though she admitted to herself that
the fault had been mostly hers. AT
last she went to bed and cried her
self to sleep. But she awoke early,
SO much earlier than usual that, as
she lay thinking, it came to her that
not for months had she really seen
her father, not for months had she
brcakfasted with the family. On
impulse she rose, took a cold plunge
and dressed for the street. She had
nearly finished when the rising bell
rang.
She stood %nervously adjusting her
collar at the mirror, Il little sensi-
tive about going down lest some
member Of the family might com
mcnt on hcr -unwontcd presence,
when she noted that she ,ooNcd pos
itivcly cross. 1t made her seem old.
She by an effort made herself smile.
and the dimplc again showed itself.
Then she started for the door, just
in time to encounter Harry, who
was coming with an old gong tc
awaken her. Yesterday she would
have complained to her mother; to-
day she laughed as he scampered
back tohis ROOF to finish dressing.
When she heard the breakfast
bell she started slowly downstairs
and as she reached the lower hal
she caught her W name spoken by
her mother in an anxious tone. In
voluntarily she paused. Her father
replied:
needs a lesson in loving. She vii
have to suffer till she finds out thai
no woman is loved and sought un
less she is loving-lovable. She vii
not be her old attractive self til
,l1c stops being bored and sarcastic
and is pleased and interested, an(
shows that she is. She is getting
selfish, and nothing but thinking o:
Others will do her any good"
But, Fred" her mothers voice
continued, Orchard never came
near her last night nor Morris no.
Henry Parker. Do you suppose
they resent her treatment of Rich
ard? And she is never about whe1
our older friends call and never W
in the morning. Has it occurred tt
You that Richard may have shown
her he wanted to break with he,
and that she is unhappy about it
Last night he was so devoted t.
Molly P~ierce!!"
Nonsense! Richard simply ha(
a real mans self respect. She dis