The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-01-27
EVENING STORY
In Jemima's Place.
BY JANE OSBORN.


nutmeg crater to an opera coat--it
buying Sometimes the wives knew
about Sally, and some of the nus
bands preferred to take the credit for
her wise purchases. So even if Sal
had not been a good stenographer she
would have been indispensa Bile just
because she was such a good shopper
but Sally was, as matter of fact,
a very good steD0grapher.
Aside from that she had no very
great distinction, save pair of round
blue eyes. a complexion that owed
none fits brilliance to the arts of
the dressing table and an amiableness
of disposition that had won for
among her employers the reputat on
of being a nice little girl
For over q year she had been MAX
ing herself useful to the husbands of
her concern as proxy IN their work in
doing their wives shopping. In fact
she had selected all of Mrs. Smiths
hats for year, and spent more time
in selecting Mrs. Jones's dress Access
series than she did her own. So Sally
| became rather better known to the
married mem of the office than the
other girls, because one by one they
came to depend on her for this work
| of m&king purchases
But Newton Holt was not married.
There was no Mrs. Holt for Sally to
make purchases for, and Sally was not
the stenographer assigned to Newton
Holt, SO except that, tho he had rather
passively registered mentally that she
| was nice little girl" he had no we'll
defined opinion regarding Sally.
! Then came Christmas. day fraught
! with the unexpected for Newton, and
| after that the look of distraction and
of worry that was gradually wearing
the lines in his forehead deeper and
! deeper.
! II wonder whether you would do
| a little shopping for me- Newton VEN
tured one morning in mid-January,
and those were the first words aside
| from a perfunctory good morning" or
| good evening that had ever passed
| between them. Sally assured Newton
| that she could, and his first commits
sion was a package of the best 3
| o'clock tea waters that can be bought"
| perhaps an odd order from a bach
| elor, but Sally would not have given
| the matter a second thought had it
not been for Mr.. Hollis rather embar-
| fassed expression at the time.
Then came an order for a pound of
| candied violets. Even more embar-
| raised than before did Mr.. Holt seem
at this. and as Sally left his office
after, she had handed him the rather
| costly sweetmeat she distinctly heard
| him say to Mr.. Smith with whom Mr..
/ Holt shared his office:
o
| sweets She sulked for an hour Sun
day because 1 got her rock candy
Sally'S first thought was not one of
! surprise al the tactlessness of any man
who would attempt to please a young
woman with rock candy-tho this did
occur to her, too. But, even to her
own surprise her first impression was
| one of real hatred for this person Je-
mima-Jemima who must have can
| died violets. No doubt it was she, too,
who insisted on the tea waters, and
perhaps it was because of her capri
| ciousness that Mr.. Holt wore the look
of anxiety that was daily engraving
deeper burrows on his brow.
Then came the request extra ordi-
nary. Mr.. Holt asked Sally to select
a little uptown apartment for him. He
stipulated quite distinctly that it must
have sunshiny rooms. that it must be
warm He also asked Sally to bring
him a copy of the least that he would
be required to sign so that he might
see what restrictions there would be.
Eventually Sally found the apart
ment that satisfied her, and in maxi
ing the wise choice that she did she
employed the same method that she
had in all her previous shopping. 1t
was in short, the secret of Sally's shop
ping success.
When she bought hat for Mrs.
Smith she fancied herself that fat.
pompous lady, fancied herself the ata
tendant of many bridge parties and
the president of a woman's club or
two, and when she had fully put her
self in her place then she felt capable
of buying a hat that would be as much
in Mrs. Smiths taste as tho she had
| bought it herself
So when she went to select the little
dovecote-for what else but a dovecote
could it be?-she tried to put herself
in the place of the one for whom Mr..
| oil Iii oil
tons.
All she knew OF her was that she
was named Jemima. that she detested
-ock candy and liked candied violets
and tea waters. and she loved sunshine
and that she must have led Mr.. Holt
a merry chase to have produced the
| look of anxiety that still engraved his
| brow.
That wasn't much, but with an i'm
agination like Sally's the work of re-
constructing a flesh and blood young
| woman from those meager data was not
difficult. Especially when she had the
additional data that she was the be-
loved of Mr.. Holt. who. Sally was
had any girl he chose to make his
wife. So Sally enjoyed picking out
| the apartment.
That is, she enjoyed it while she
pretended that she was Jemima. Then
| when she came down to earth and re-
allied that it was all for some one
| eIse-wen. there are times when even
| mice little girls with round blue
/ { es develop streaks of jealousy that
are almost feline
Mr. Holt was charmed with her Sc
| lection. Then he made the request
| that seemed impossible. To buy the
| furnishings for that apartment-to
| have feathered the nest-would ordi-
parily have been a veritable orgy of
e ljoyment to a girl like Sally
But with this growing jealousy
yes. Sally had to admit tit seemed
| almost impossible. To make charm
| ing Jemima's boudoir. to select the
| drapery for Jemima's dressing ia BILE
| this was too much to ask even of Sally.
| Then came a surprise.
| You know a bachelor doesn't like
any fuss or frills,' Mr.. Holt told her.
Il have always been happiest in my