The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-05-31
JUST A GIRL
By JANE PHELPS
zENA-oF THE SILVER SPOON,

AENA-OE' THE 'SAl1tEkS SROON.''
CHAPTER 1.
The year I came out I was just
the busiest little mortal anyone ever
knew, L never. had an idle minute /
A society girl can put it all over
working girl as far as keeping busy
goes. Mother used to worry terribly.
for fear l would lose my 1ooks-I
was rather pretty, so my mirror as
well as my friends told me-with so
much dissipation
Really al times l was awfully tired.
But l would brace up, say nothing
to mother about it, and keep going.
Being born with a silver spoon in
ones mouth-or as mother put it,
being born to society''-is pleasant;
yet at times it has its disadvantages.
When the time comes that you have,
to use a pewter one, that you have to
leave the society in which you are
born, you forget what you are eating.
You think only of the spoon.
Naturally, / was expected to make
a brilliant marriage. But dear old
Dad used to say, when mother talked
of it:
Have your fling first. zena, you
have plenty of time And marriage
is serious thing-if most girls do
treat it as sort of a tea party
used to think of every young man
I met in the light of a future hus-
band. l think most girl brought up
ably intelligent of course; some of
them were amusing.
But none of them quite qualified.
You see 1 had standard set up in
my mind; I loved none of them. 1
wanted to be thrilled-and none of
them gave me even an imitation of
thrill
One of my chums, Rose Hartman.
was married. I J was one of her
bridesmaids. There were six of us.
| T
wedding gown and veil. She was of
a very old family heard one of
the boys say once it was SO old it
was decayedi-and had Some of her
grandmother's lace as a veil. and to
trim the corsage of her gown. When
l saw her looking so lovely. almost
saint-like, I felt that / would like to
be married too.
All the bridesmaids wore pink tulle
with big picture hats, and carried inn
mense bouquets of pale pink sweet
peas. / thought we looked lovely,
and all the boys, the ushers. seemed
to think SO, too. Three of them de-
| clared they wanted to steal me.
Gregory Stuart told me / had the
| bride wiped off the earth as far as
looks went. when I had finished
praising her to him.
| OF course ] didn't Rose is very
pretty. But I rather. liked Gregory,
| So I was glad he admired me.
Like all mothers, mine had a pen
chant for one certain young man who
called upon me. and who brought me
wonderful flowers and bon bons. Jack
Pryor was rather nice. and scandal
ously rich. That was why mother
seemed to think he would be a most
| eligible parti for me.
m not going to marry son-in-
| law. I'm going TO marry a husband >
| told her whenever she got really
serious about Jack. He was a won
| derful dancer, and T loved to dance.
| But 1 knew. if mother did not, that
most of Jack Pryor's brains were in
| his feet.
Mother used to say I expected too
much of a man. Father said that I
couldn't expect too much of goodness
and clean living. Dad really was a
wonder-a perfect host. a man of the
t and tallied@to me-more about being
good living rightly, than about any,
thing else.
When 1 was a teeny weeny little girl
| in pigtails I used to climb ON his knee
and he would tell me what kind of a
girl he hoped I would be; and as ]
grew older, what kind of a woman he
wanted me to grow into.
zone who is kind, thoughtful, fair
and square to herself, and all the
world. Your education, your accom-
p1ishments will not bring you happi-
| llCHSs z<SiAd- happiness IOlliCS 1tOtil
within. I want my girl to be good
really good
I didn't think so much of what he
said then, as did of my love for
him, and the half hour spent in his
| library with him. But afterward, long
afterward. these talks came back to
ilme. Especially:
II want my girl to be good-really
! good"
/ (Tom man-of an
ether sort)