The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-06-12
EVENING STORY
The New Fashioned Girl.

power of mind over matter. She
played tennis and rode horseback, and
the skirt of her bathing suit was so
abbreviated that her father questioned
its right TO be called a skirt. Nancy
dabbled somewhat in higher thought,
and her Woodworking dad once re-
marked that in ten years she would
be president of every woman's club
in Newton. When she reached the
age of 25 Nancy had doubts that such
a thing love existed. But that was
before she knew Henry Blauvelt.
Henry was something of a poet, al
tho his verses were always returned
from the magazines with diplomatical-
ly worded and neatly printed rejec- |
ton slips. Poetry was Tor him, more |
over, side issue, and he could afford !
to be cynical whenever a regretful
editor told him that the return of his |
manuscript did not necessarily imply |
| lack of merit. Henry was the son"
| in the firm of Biauvelt & Son, the |
most prosperous department store, in
| town, and every week he drew $50 |
| from the firms profits and proceeded
in spending a good part of it in pur-
chasing the most expensive sets OF
poetical works he could find
Henry. besides being something of
poet, was also slightly oldfashioned
| in regard to his consideration of the
gentle sex. To him. girl resembled a
| piece of priceless china which too
much handling would break He be-
| lieved that a girl should spend
| greater part of her time at home. :
that golf, tennis and such sports were
for men and not for women, and that
an automobile was safe with wo-
man at the wheel as was locomotive
without an engineer.
| And the fact that Henry BlauVelt
fell in love with Nancy Earle was as
much of a surprise to Henry as it
was to the rest of the town
1t happened one sunny afternoon at
the Country club when Henry was sit
ting in the cool shade of the big YER
anda. No one was with him, and he
was deeply concerned with the prob
lem of spearing an elusive cherry with
Il straw when the club messenger
strobe by. announcing a telephone call
for Miss Nancy Earle. The boy called
so loudly that Henry spilled some
) lemonade on his new flannel trouers,
and while he was ruefully contemplate
strolling by.
Nancy had been attending a meet
: ing of the tennis committee and was
, dressed in some kind of filmy white
| material which showed off to perfec-
ton the roses in her cheeks. AS she
passed the gaping Mr.. Blauvelt she
: looked as sweet and as old-fashioned
: as her name.
t Henry Immediately fell in love with
I her He thought vaguely that he seen
her before somewhere, as he probably
had a score of times, and he searched
: his mind whereby he might find plan
which would lead to an introduction:
Newton however. is rather a small
: village. and before the afternoon was
! half over Henry discovered that at
7 least ten of his acquaintance knew
Nancy Earle Intimately.
5 He decided that Bob Melvin should
do the honors. Calling Bob aside, he
explained that he wished to be intro
! duced to Miss Earle, and Bob, know
ing the characteristics of both Henry
and Nancy, laughed so loudly that sew
eral of the older club members glared
} at him Indignantly and Threatened TO
s have him reported to the chairman or
E the house committee
Henry failed to see anything TO
e laugh about in his simple request He
e mentioned this fact rather crisply to
l Bob. and the official introducer, once
3 brought to his senses, hunted up
t Nancy and introduced her to henry;
s Henry held up three fingers OF his
right hand and .'luttered something
about being honored: ,
Nancy ignored the three fingers.
seized Herry's-yieldins hand in her
own calloused one and shook 1t heart-
lily. .,
nounced. I've been wanting to speak
: to YOU about tennis racket l bought
it in you. store only two days ago,
and vest -rday a string broke: 10 you
think / can get a new enc lOI IL
Henry assured her hastily that ne
would take up the matter himself: He
felt a sudden sinking of he heart
when he discovered that she was ten
mis- player, but one look into the
depths OF her eyes made hlm 1orgttI ,tI
of everything except the fact that she
was the prcttiest girl he had ever seen
That was the beginning of three
months battle between Henry's Ideals
anu Hen:v's idt al. Nancy was not "a
| n n
ever he took her for a spin in his Gray
roadster she insisted on driving
I whenever he engaged her IN game
= | of tennis she insisted on beating MINI
= and the first time that ne saw her IN
- her riding clothes lett MN weakly
gasping for breath.
), According to ell logic. Henry should
i have tired of the girl who represented
e the exacr opposite Of all he considered
proper and fitting in a woman. Occa
sionally he grew discouraged but rev.
u er tired. Something about the blue
= of Nancys eyes, about the music OF
k her soft voice and the ripple of her
II laughter charmed him The n ore he
e see her. ard the business of Blauvelt
v & Son went sadly neglected.
Henrys life was a mixture of Joy
ana gloor,. Whenever Nancy smiled
at him he lived for a brief moment
in Utopia, and occasionally when
Nancy indifferently told him that she
had already promised somebody-or-
other that he might take her 20 II
dance Henry received very vivid
impression of what hades might DE.
But wher the summer had almost
worn away he resolved to ask Nancy
to marry him. He had long since
changed his opinions regarding wo-
mans pl1re in the general scheme OF
the universe; he smiled happily when
Nancy demanded the drivers seat in
his car, and when she defeated him
numerically in tennis he ventured a
n feeble joke about it being a love
game, am let it 20 at that Only
one thirg mattered-the light OF
Nancy's eyes and The sof, touch OF
her ha nd.