Evening star., 1921-02-13

n AYBE you'll be surprised to
!" know I'm not always pro-
motin' the juno bride idea
and applaudin' the sweet
strains of the weddin' march. Just to
prove it. I'll tell you about an Incl
dent that happened some years ago.
A young girl registerin' about
twenty-four summers hurries into
the studio for a consultation. While
at and neat to the last hook. She
makes you feel like relaxin' and be-
ing comfortable-one of the sort who
could make piano box seem like
home. sweet home.
You wish a palm reading?" I ask.
Il do" she answers: Il must make
decision, and l need help"
Well" I announces, "Clarisse can
peep at the breakers ahead. What s
the question that's cuttin' down your
sleep?"
II can't decide" she answers,
which of two men to marry. For a
month I've been fighting it out in
answer yet"
HIM" says. rather thoughtful
"The minds not exactly~ the Gus
tomary place to think this marryin'
question out. 1 believe the hearts
considered the proper location.
Something's wrong. Let's consult
CHE gives me her hand, which Is
large and firm and rather practi-
cal. OF course, I lend an eye to the
love lines first, expectin' to see a
couple OF them cutting deep through
the mount at the base of the little
finger But imagine my surprise
when l find them among the missin'
'Giriie. I asks. did l understand
you to say that you loved two men
and couldn't pick the heavy pary?"
NO." she says. very emphatic, you
did not. l said l could not decide
which of two men to marry. There
wasn't any mention of love in the
statement"
Beg pardon" I says. my mistake!
The truth is. somebody's tryin' to
shove you OFF the dock. What?'
We'll" she says. you might explain
it that way You see. rye been
brought up with the idea that a wom-
an must marry before she's twenty
five. II she doesn't she's a failure"
so you're tryin' to live up to the
family slogan and step off before the
fatal day." 1 suggest. ANY prefer
ence between the two willing vic
tims?"
Hardly any" she smiles, shown
her sense of humoTs not dead vet
"One Of them is q kind hearted ship
pin clerk and the other is a fat dem
tist"
And neither one of them," put in,
thrills you any more than a cold po-
tato"
Perfectly true" she agrees. IT can't
decide which face will look the most
365 mornins in the year
on the other side Of the perculator."
And there's that extra breakfast
every leap year." 1 says. But. Sc
why under the sun should you
marry either Of them"
say It's up to me. My parents have
spent all they can afford on me, and
there are three younger sisters wait
ing to step into my shoes. Under
stand?"
II see." 1 says. Regular little
housewife. Just the sort Of person
for hve-room fiat and vacuum
you've tried to cultivate a taste FOR
matrimony and the housekeepin.
career. Natural mistake"
you think it is a mistake, then@'
SI1e asks Tatnfr surprised.
t,sd II know ko it's it is" IL. I says a "A woman
about as contented as an Eskimo
campin' on the equator, and YOU
won't be any exception. Let's ex-
anime the lines again."
r 4 \ \
T BEGIN to study her hands in ear
nest. because I see it's a question
of choosin' a career and launchin' a
lady out on the sea OF success II
more people would study their hands
instead of their mirrors when they
come TO the crossroads there would
be fewer mistakes to weep over.
You're not bookish," 1 announce,
and you're not musical. I'm also
second-rate stenographer."
fright" she agrees. 1--WE got fore
sight enough to>know that I'd never
be anybodys private secretary in
your hand. grille" I continues. that
about one woman in every fifty is
marked with. You've got executive
ability. You'd be 100 per cent
efficient in your line. And I'm in
clined to think" I says. "judgin'
broken to me. that I know what your
particular line is!'
leanin closer. that you Know SHs Of
some work could succeed in?"
II do" I says. IF you are not too
proud to begin low. Furthermore,
/ can have a job for you in twenty
minutes II you're willin' to wear q
cap and apron"
She says she is.
I pick up the phone and get In
touch with the small hotel over on
one Of the lakes where I'd just spent
my vacation. It takes me about three
minutes to make tho proprietor. un-
derstand that I've got the dining
room manager he's been iookin' for
Has she succeeded? TIL say she
has! The next time you happen to
drop in at the Astorbilt for lunch,
look up their new host. She wears
imported clothes and the queenly air
like she was born to them. But just
the same. she's the little girl with
the homelike personality and the
taste for housekeepin' that I saved
from premature matrimony some
aaeao .-asAa-