Evening star., 1922-09-02
Cosmetically Speaking.


Ferry had hobby horse that
he rode hard. He hated cos
metics, That is, he said ne
did He could rant by the hour about
the modern girl and her crime against
civilization when she painted another
face on top Of her own.
Mrs. John Munro Lindsay, his un-
willing hostess, had to listen to a
particularly rabid discourse on ms
part on Sunday morning when she
would much have preferred 10 DC
cleaning the twins shoes, making tne
Sunday dessert and attending to otn,
er important matters. She conceateo
her boredom as best she could; suG-
gested artfully that. as John was
over at the country club giving MS
sister Rose an early morning lesson,
Mr. Ferry might like to stroll over TO
them; and, restrained a MAD desire 10
stick out her tongue at him as ne de-
parted For Mr.. Ferry's attentions
to Johns sister were decreasing IN
stead Of increasing. Which was truly
discouraging to a persistent match
maker
Merriam grumbled about it to John
later in the morning. after the oblig-
ing Rose had departed for Sunday
school with the twins.
Don Ferry hung around here and
hung around here until ! had to IN
vite him to come for supper tonight
in order to get rid of him this morn
ing. oh. Johnsy. but he does bore me
so, He got to raving again about
cosmetics, because Poppy Dubois
rode by-and the joke is that Poppy
is one of the few girls ] know who
never uses anything because she's
naturally-just poppy checked"
What did he say when you told
=; t,,,t nIy Tnh
Don't bother to tell him. because
he wouldn't have believed me. The
stupid thing. Oh. why did Rose have
to fall in love with such stick-he
doesn't even know enough TO know
that he is really in love with her"
posed task of arranging Roses tardy
love affair sometimes struck him as
an amusing joke. He stretched him
self luxuriously, in the hammock to
tackle the Sunday papers.
Merriam perched herself. tailor
fashion, at his feet, bending her
bronze head over to polish her finger
nails.
"Saksey. but I love a chance to
prink." she remarked dreamily. Il
do neglect my poor old carcass-the
twins. and the house, and everything
eats SO much time
"Uh huh" he murmured. ur-
needing.
"Johnsy-' she shouted so suddenly
that she startled him. Il know what's
the matter with Rose! She never
prinks! She just cleans herself up
She doesn't even know how pretty
she could look. Why, / look three
times as pretty as she does, and I'm
not really half so pretty as she!''
You sort of hate yourself today,
don't your" he teased.
can," she retorted roguishly, sos
folk won't say, Who's that dumpy
woman with that handsome. 6iistin-
guished-lookfng man. but. just the
samey, John" she went back to her
discovery, that's what is wrong with
Rose; that's what makes her look so
priggy. old maidish."
Rose isn't young" he said.
Look here at me, old dear" She
whirled his paper to the floor. IT'S
high time you understood that a
woman is just as old as she looks"
SOS man." answered John.
NO, he's old when he stops look
ing" she flashed back at him. And
guess you're beginning to get old
IL you don't realize that Rose looks
oh, just oldish-I just itch to do her
over" Merriam added impulsively.
Anybody would think she was a
house. the way you talk" John reach
ed for another section of his Sundays
life work.
Throughout his Sunday afternoon
nap, he was conscious of giggles and
protests from above stairs. Through
out his Sunday frolic with his babies,
he was wondering idly where his
sister Rose was. And the children
tucked in bed. Sunday supper on the
table, and Sunday night guests ar
irving in the honeysuckle-scent
twilight, he abruptly asked his wee
| ,,,ffa hot nod Of hai
He stared at his wife as he asked.
She looked-old!
Her hair was pulled tightly back
from her face. Two splotches of
rouge dabbed at the wrong spots gave
her usually piquant face a strained
look. She was squeezed into a linen
frock that had shrunk too far from
numerous washingS, and her usually
ringless hands were disfigured with
what she had sometimes frankly
called Roses countrified jools:"
you look like the devil" he in
formed her bluntly.
She curtsied.
I want to, she informed him mys-
|teriously. She sailed noisily out to
the porch to welcome Mr.. Ferry, who
stared his superb disapproval when
he saw the rouge.
But a moment later he and the rest
of the men were almost startled into
loud paeans as Miss Rose trailed
!. slowly down the stairs.
1t had taken her most artful coax
ing, but Merriam had wheedled Rose
to let that long neglected prinking
turn a countrifled schoolma'am into a
lregal-looking creature.
Merriam had parted Roses hair
sleekfy and coiled 1t in a seductive
knot at the nape of her neck: had
loaned Rose her own great-grand-
mama's dangling emerald earrings,
and fastened them into Roses slightly
rouged ears; had artfully laid a black
lace shawl that had belonged to that
same ancestor across Roses shoulders,
much to Roses relief, for that person
/ had been horified at the reckless way
! Merry had slashed out the neck and
sleeves of Roses modest white frock.
The druggists boy had been bribed
\ into making a Sunday afternoon de-
livery of liquid powder. What color
Roses cheeks really had was hidden
under an interesting pallor. but her
! lips were a scarlet line. But all of
| il Merriam had done 50 delicately that
| no mere man, could have guessed 1t
was not real. Cunningest of all were
Roses hands-ringless and white and
patrician looking = though Merriam
had borrowed the-rings to save hurt
ing Roses much-ruffied feelings.
| "And Donald Ferry just said to me
THAT he'd never seen anybody look
| SO sweet and natural - Rose looks
tonight. Merry giggled as she