New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-17


mentioned it to soul.
'Oh, yes, according to the vernacnIar =, :.
day I'd proposed all right You see ev.s
though girl couldn't come out frankly ssa
say Let's get married. because il wasn,+ AZ
style as it is now, she was allowex ve,,
liberal Interpretation Of any lnanity uttered !.
youth who had been as devoted to her az ~
been to Alice.
well, realizing that I was a,tu.Ilv =.
gagged | felt more cheerful about If +h..
had expected, and with my engagenert =
an excuse for party I was planning 70 nal
night of it after the ball with the feilonr.
at the club. But what was my sunrise -
have Alice command, when ! was takino ~
home, that | was not TO say word ahou+ :.
to soul, because if | did I'd spoil her engage
ment luncheon, which it would take her ~
least two weeks to arrange
But several persons know it already,
reminded her.
Oh, only couple of girls she answered
lightly, and they'll never tell
II had my doubts, but there was notb;,.
further to be said, so l promised faithful
that wouldn't open my mouth about II n,.1
she made the formal announcement st =.
luncheon. had to go on the water wagon
at once for safety, because an extra cockto;
always stimulated me conversationalv and
IN moment of weakness or thirst I rn;ob+
take the fellow who was with me. or even tho
bartender at the club, into my confidence
We'll, the two arid and unhappy weaLs
dragged by at last and Alice's luncheon cane
off according to schedule. Dead secrecy had
been maintained until the dozen or moro OWL.
invited stood on the threshold of the dnino
room. Ostensibly not a soul suspected anv.
thing, though Alice was wearing as bona fde
evidence Of her engagement as large solitaire
as my savings had permitted me to buv But
the first glance at the deliberately appointed
table told the tale. A chubby-faced Cupid sus
pended from the electroler poured arrow.
pierced hearts on the tablecloth beneath long
streamers Of pink satin ribbon emanating from
the same accommodating God of Love carried
the betrothal message to the place of each
guest, and pale pink carnations, rosy-hued
tulle and pink-shaded candelabra furnished the
proper color scheme for the feIicitous occasion
A detailed account of the function appeared
in the society columns next morning, together
with such a eulogistic account of nv unim
portant self that l thought I was dead and
buried instead Of engaged. Then for week
the postman prayed daily for deliveranca from
the weight Of his mail pouch as he staggered
up the steps with the mass CT congratulations
that poured in from everywhere. People were
punctiious in those days; they didn't telephone
but wrote letters, so the mail situation alone
was terrible. An avalanche Of engagement
cups then descended upon the house and
swamped every bit of bric-a- brac in the family
drawing room. After that there followed
series of entertainments in our honor that
lasted for months. / ate so many heavy indi-
gestibe dinners and drank so much champagne
that prayed that famine and drought might
settle upon the land
"And the worst Of it all was while this
terrible chain of publicity and obligation was
making our engagement more and more bind
ing, Alice and | were getting thoroughly tired
of each other l kept discovering all sorts Of
things that / didn't like about her, and her
frankness in calling attention to all my weak
points made it certain that our opinions con-
corning each other were reciprocal. We both
knew positively that our marriage would be
mistake, but we went hopelessly on, because
Alice didn't have the courage to break it and
l couldn't suggest such a thing without being
branded IN our set as cad. 1t seemed as if
by mutual consent had positively decided
that it would be much less embarrassing to OBJ
tain a divorce after we had been married
a while rather than to have our engagement
broken after all the rattle of social musketry
that had attended its announcement. The
wedding, at any rate, seemed inevitable.
And then salvation came from queer
and unexpected source. 1t was finally Halley's
comet that wrecked our romance and accom-
plished the breaking of our engagement at
the hands of Alice. We were all excited
about the appearance of the comet. The
celestial visitor was due to arrive about 3 IN
the morning, and Alice and | had been in
vlted to comet party to take place on the
roof of friends house. Instead of sitting
up and yawning in the library until it was
time to start, Alice decided to go to bed, with
The alarm clock of her maid guarding the
feeting hours until 80 But she didn't hear
the thing when it went off and I arrived to
escort her to the party before she had nm
ished dressing AS you know the date of the
last visitation of Halley's comet you will re-
call it was the time when girls were wearing
rats and puffs and coronets and all sorts OF
aids to the construction of an elaborate COLI
fure. Realizing that in the few minutes LETT
her to get ready she would never be able to
IN