The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-11-08

women of the species Social Climb er,' presented for her amusement. These women, who armed with has, tily amassed wealth try to f1utter over that invisible but impassa bIe barrier that divides the sheep rom the goats in the society of the capi- tai, employ every device Of extrava- gant entertainment, ravishing display of jewel and gown, and over-decorat- ed, manage in their hectic struggle to outshine women of their own class and to penetrate the charmed inner circle of official Washington
 Altogether they are & menace to social life, since to them the end jus tifies the means, and their skill is oc- cassionally realizing their desires, gives them a false hope of permanent and dazzling success that sends them headlong and blindly needless into the vortex of scandal and intrigue. Kitty Robesons reflections gener- ally stirred her Tecollections and in deed they were built on the firm groundwork of her experience. One case of this mad race for social prestige within Kitty's experience pre- scented itself to her as she outwardly listened to a very dull speaker at her club. She sighed and gave her nem- ory full play, as she mentally re- hearsed for herself the story of Muriel Chandler, whose husband Howard Chandler, years older than she, had become the principal stockholder in one of Massachusetts immense cot ton mills. His Yankee accent was for given in view of his hale good-nature, but the social ambitions of his wife, she who, report had it, had been a Jerk in the mills, were a source of +n official "a inc ton. In fact, this ambitious woman, sought no less than to break into the i inner circle.''
 | To further her scheme. the old man, her husband, purchased a stately old l ancestral home of a Southern family 1 whom the Civil War had reduced to i utter poverty, and as a result of the l blanket instructions given to a we'll known firm of interior decorators to i restore it to its ante-bellum splendor 1 no pains nor expense were spared and the result was that the place i emerged resplendent, in fact, 1t was 1 overdone owing to the greed for price 1 less heirlooms which dominated Mu- riel Chandler's covetous imagination. The Chandlers arrived and open 1 ed up their new home. But in 1 spite of the purchased splendor, i Society entered not the wide, hospit- i ably-built entrance, and the one-time clerk sat depressed day after day | waiting the elite who did not deign
 to darken her door. She had counted l on two things to secure her entree in 1 to Washington society-her wonderful old home and her pearIs-her mag l nificent rope of pearls. But she wait | ed in vain.
 r. Murie1 Chandler had acquired a
 great gift of ingenuity and was deter | mined not to be thwarted, so she lent herself to scheme as old as the hills and one that is not taboo in society she attached to her retinue as paid | dependents the wife of an eX-ofhcial whose ability to introduce the Chand-
 lers was not to be doubted.
 As a matter of fact, Kitty Robeson was among the ladies in the upper
 set who had the rather questionable
 ance.
 The affair at which the introduc-
 ton took place happened to be a char ity bazaar, an occasion which offer
 ed Muriel Chandler an extremely good 1 opportunity for displaying her new ly acquired wealth.
 | Kitty was not at all surprised to
 receive an early call from the Chand-
 lers, whose nasal twang characteriz- 6Q IlelT speech anu necessarily re-
 minded one of the fact that they were
 not in keeping with the soft South
 ern atmosphere which pervaded
 Washington at all times.
 | Physically, Muriel Chandler was
 unattractive. Her black hair lacked
 brillianey and as tinged with a rus
 ty hue, her large nose over-accented her narrow temples and high fore
 head was inconsiderate1y barred by al
 unbecoming coiffure, and her posture was unerect and altogether doWdy. Tc cap the climax of her lack of charm was an irritability of temper that urg.
 ed her to sharp and stinging common , l on whatever and whenever met witt her disapprovaI.
 Nevertheless, Kitty was amused te 7 study her as a type, so she encourag l ed her acquaintance as minor di
 version. Strange to say, Howard I Chandler, the elderly husband, dic
 not impress one in an unfavorabl,
 light at all, and it was on his ac
 count, as much ss for any other req
 son that Kitty accepted for hersel
 and her husband a very urgent invi
 tation to dine with the Chandlers
 short while after MuriePs call.
 The dinner was a marvel of cu1
 Iinary excellence; the appointment
 were perfect to a fault; and the guest
 were practically without exception
 from the highest diplomatic circles.
 After dinner Xxi ty had an oppor
 tunity for a chat with a friend of thu l Chand1ers, Sienna Joslin, whose hus l band held a minor appointment 0 { the ya<iety ,d'spensed under the Spoil , systenl-it fairly matched in import ance the position attained by the Yan : kee miIl-owner.
 i q hope you will call to see us, Mrs S Robeson,'' Mrs. Joslin finally said , 1 ''Our home Is at -16th Street. w Q hope to be able to find a. house tha /; we can purchase in a short while"
 Kitty had difficulty in mentall. , placing the exact house because i : had often impressed her with It's ar " chitectural excellence and it's desira t ble location.
 t With a truly delightful tact Kilt
 successfully excused herself, and pre- l. served a friendly feeling by inviting Il Mrs. Joslin to call on her. Needles $ to say, Kitty's invitation was imme d diately accepted
 l. In the days that interVened befor l. that appointed call, Kitty insinuate l. some inquiries and learned that tn