The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-09-21
GLoRIA's ADVICE
Chapter 58


Gloria thought awhile, then asked:
How old are you, PAM"
"Twenty-one, almost twenty-five
the girl answered
Gloria laughed:
How marvellous to be young enough
to count forward to thesnext birthday!
I'm SO when that unfortunate date oc-
ours, so l refuse to think about it until
it's past, and too late to worry over!
You're so young for your age, Pan!
DO you know, you were never in
love with this Morton at all?"
Pan looked sufficiently astonished At
this remarkable statement to cause
Gloria to laugh again.
She went on:
'You weren't-not really, you know
You forgot too soon when you got into
new surroundings. You found some
thing better here-didn't you?"
Into Pans mind came a memory o.
George Ridgeway's tired eyes and fine
features, and the mouth that puzzled
her so by its sweetness and its cynic-
ism
She nodded her head.
You see, that was all there was to
it. In the country you had nothing to
think about but yourself That sounds
brutal, dear child, but I'm afraid it's
true. Heaven knows you had enough
unpleasant things happening to make
your thought anything but cheerful.
And there was little else to think
about
Nevertheless, you did think about
yourself and therefore you made the
little hurts greater in your own mind.
1t wasn't love but lonliness that made
you turn to Morton. What was there
about him to satisfy girl like your
Pan answered eagerly;
/ He was wonderful He was so diff
ferent. He didn't like girls in the silly
sentimental fashion of the other boys.
He respected them-the others-were
well, so vulgar sometimes, in the
things they would say about girls.
Sometimes they would say vulgar
things to them. Even to Gladys-I
heard one boy boast that he dared say
anything he wanted to her
They seemed to think that girls ex.
listed to play with and spoon with.
There weren't many really solid friend
ships; there weren't many cases where
there was real compaionship and re-
spect between a boy and a girl.
That's what made Morton so Low
able. He gave a girl credit for a brain
the others didn't-or if they thought
any girl intelligent, they called her a
school ma'am and kept away from her
But Norton could have been wife
and a friend too, Gladys can only be q
wife"
Gloria smiled a little and said:
Norris City is place of about two
or three thousand, l suppose, and off
Thnrofnro
usually narrow in it's point of view
And yet even there, you'll find severa
sets of people. Gladys and her family
happened to be in with that specia
kind-we might call them countrified
though it's not a fair term. Let's cal
them an unintelligent crowd of people
There was another set. l met them
they were more serious, they liked
books, they were broad minded-they
were more nearly of your sort.
You were hopelessly out Of place
there that's all. You were miscast, as
stage people would say, as out of place
as a fine tragedy actress trying to play
part in a bedroom farce"
81 was out of place"
"You we're too good for them
NhGloria was almost irritated becaus
~ Pan would not see it. That's usual.
the trouble with these poor, shy, littl
tongue tied creatures that sit in cor
ners and NOPE and can't think of
thing to say. They're all right, there
nothing wrong with them, except tina
they haven't found their own prope
circle of friends, their meter, as tn
French say. They belong with the ser
Gus people, not the rowdies, if onl
they could see it.
She moved restlesly under the COY
ers. Pan wondered how much longe
she could keep her in bed, Gloria wa
ready to rebel against her forced cor
finement
You were hopelessly out of place
1t wasn't your fault. 1t hardly eve
is the fault of the girls themselves
+ It's almost always because the mothel
or aunt or older sister-whoever is i
authority-has no discretion. Thes
shy, sensitive little souls are misuI
derstood, and snubbed and hurt, whe
they should be petted and encouraged
If Gladys had been methodicall
ssnubbed and put in her place, sh
would have been less spoiled and prol
ably generous and sweet. If you ha
been encouraged as she was you woul