Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1919-08-14

munity-for both the daily newspa-
pers thus described Mrs. Foster when
she founded the Women's Tennyson
club; and her word upon art, letters
and the drama wal accepted more as
law than as opinion. Naturally when
"Hazel Kirken finally reached town,
after its long triumph in larger places,
many people waited to hear what
Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster thought
of 1t before they felt warranted In ex-
pressing any estimate of the play. In
fact, some of them waited In the lobby
of the theater as they came out and
formed an inquiring group about her.
IT didn't see the play" she in
formed them.
"Whati Why, we saw you, right in
the middle of the fourth rowr"
eyes," she said, smiling, shut I was
sitting just behind Isabel Anderson.
/ couldn't look at anything except her
wavy brown hair and the wonderful
back of her neck"
The Ineligible young men Of the
town (they were oil in%eligible) were
unable to content themselves with the
view that had so charmed Mrs. Henry
Franklin Foster; they spent their time
struggling to keep Miss Amberson's
face turned toward them. She turned
it most often, observers said, toward
two: one excelling in the general
struggle by his sparkle, and the other
by that winning if not winsome old
trait, persistence. The sparkling gen
tleman lied germans" with her, and
| sent sonnets to her with his bou-
quets-sonnets lacking neither music
nor wit. He was generous, poor, we'll
dressed, and his amazing persuasive
ness was one reason why he was al
ways in debt. No one doubted that
he would be able to persuade Isabel,
but he unfortunately Joined too merry
a party one night, and during a moon
light serenade upon the lawn before
the Anderson mansion, was easily
identified from the windows as the
person who stepped through the bass
viol and had to be assisted to a wait
ing carriage. One of Miss Amberson's
brothers was among the serenaders,
and when the party had dispersed re-
NAMED propped against the front
door in a state Of helpless liveliness ;
the Major going down in a dressing
gown and slippers to bring him in, and
scolding mildly, while i~mperfectly con-
cealing strong impulses to laughter,
Miss Anderson also laughed at this
brother the next day, but for the
sutton 1t was a different matter: she
refused to see him when he called to
apologize. "You seem to care a great
deal about bass yiols!" he wrote her,
IL promise never to break another
She made no response to the note, UNI
less 1t was an answer, two weeks
later, when her engagement was an
nounced. She took the persistent one,
Wilbur Minafer, no breaker of bass
viols or Of hearts. no serenader at all
A few people, who always foresaw
everything, claimed that they were moi
surprised, because though Wilbur Min.
afer Knight not be an Apollo, as II
were," he was "a steady young bust
ness man and a good church goer,'
and Isabel Anderson was pretty sen
sible-for such a snowy girl" But
the engagement astounded the young
people, and most of their fathers and
mothers too; and as a topic it sup
planted literature at the next meet
ing of the "Women's Tennyson club
"Wilbur Minaferi" a member cried
her infection seeming to imply that
Wlbur's crime was explained by his
surname. "Wilbur Minafer! It's tht
queerest thing ! aver heardl To thinl
of her taking Wilbur Minafer, JUS
because a mar any woman would like
a thousand times better was a little
wild one night at a serenade
"No, that wasn't her reason" sale
wise Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster. II
men only knew it-and it's a goot
thing they don't--a woman doesn'
really care much about whether
mans wild or not, If it doesn't affec
herself, and Isabel Anderson doesn'
care a thingl"
"Mrs. Fosterw
"No, she doesn't. What she mind
is his making a clown of himself II
her front yard! 1t made her think h
DIDN'T care much about her. She
probably mistaken, but that's wha
she thinks, and it's too late for he
to think anything else now, becaus
she's going to be married right ava,
the invitations will be out mex
week. It'll be a big A~mberson<styi
thing, raw oysters floating In scooped
out blocks of Ice and a band from GU
! Of town@champagne, snowy presents
| a colossal present from the Majol
/ Then Wilbur win take Isabel on tn
t carefuIest little wedding trip he ca
manage, and she'll be a good wife I
him, but they'll have the worst spoile
lot Of children this town win eve
see."
$ slow on earth do you make this
r out, Mrs. Fosterf"
{ "She couldn't love Wilbur, coul
she?" Mrs. Foster demanded, with i
challengers. "Well, 1t win all go
her children, and she'll ruin 'eml"
@~ - &.