The Washington times., 1923-12-05

Jane ogIethorpe. who, ten wears
older than herself. with q com.
Inanding personality unfolding
rapidly at the dawn Of their init
macy, had attracted deeply but
subtly her own untried force Of
character and ruthless VIII EN-
barrassment over. she had en-.
joyed that long hour together,
and was glad to renew the init
macy, to find that her old friends
waErn affection had lost nothing
with the years. And she had
found her more Interesting than
In her youth.
She sighed 9. little as she looked
back on her long hours 81
almost unbroken solitude ii this.
old house. She had been com
paratively happy at first-a
blessed interval Of rest ana peace
In this marvellouniy wealthy and
prosperous city where the Door
were kept always out De sight
at least, where all the men were
whole and whers one never saw
= saunt woman's appealing eyes.
or emaciated ragged children.
Those untrouhled hours had ned
forever and establishment, limo.
tent fury. ana dire mental con
flict had followed. but never.
theIess she had dreamed
dreamed and been glad OF her
freedom from social and other
All other duties. Now, probably
these women and many more
would swarm here.
Her mouth twisted as her maid
helped her into the soft gray
coat trimmed with blue fox. or
DEAL That would come on sat
urday night. No wonder she was
merely amused and totally indif-
ferent today
When she arrived at the house
in Gramercy Park. purposely Iate,'
to give her entrance the effect
Mrs. oglethorpe had commanded,
she heard an excited buzz Of
voices III the drawing room al
she was being relieved Of her.
wrap. - she entered it ceased
abruptly and she heard several
hardly perceptible gasps. But the
pause. before they all crowded
about her, was too brief to Be.
noticeable, and they shook her
hand heartily or kissed her warm.
". IL their eyes were perhaps
too studiousIy ressionIess, their
words and manner might have
been those Of old friends welcom.
Ing hack one who had been long
absent ana nothing more. Con-
nicting emotions, born OF undying
femininity. were not evident for
the moment Mrs. Goodrich cried
out at once how wonderfully well
she looked. Mrs. Lawrence asked
IL she had stopped IN Paris for
her clothes and Mrs. Vane IL she
found New York much changed
Nothing could have gone off
better.
Mrs. ogIethorpe, in old-pils
black velvet as usual, with ii
front and high-boned collar Of
yellow rose-point lace. stood in
the background watching the
comedy with frank sardonic
grim If her guests had been.
faithless to the traditions in which
they had been bred, she would
have felt angry ana ashamed.
but the automatic manner Ia
which they rose to the occasion
and took the blow standing (ATrs.
Oglethorpe often INDUCED In the
vernacular Of her son, her Janet
and her Lee) made her rock with
silent mirth. She knew exactly
how they felti
They were a finelooking set
Of women and handsomely dressed,
but they indisputabiy belonged to
the old regime. and even Mrs.
Tracy, the youngest of them,
had something Of what Mary
Zattiany called that built.up look.
They were fashionable but not
smart. They carried themselves
with a certain conscious rigidity
and aloofness which even their
daughters had abandon and was
source Of disrcspectful amuse.
nnent to their inlquitous grand
daughters. Although Mrs. Good
rich, Mrs. Lawrence and Mrs.
Tracy were more UP to date in
their general appearance, wearing
slightly larger hats and fewer
feathers, with narrow dog col
lars instead Of whaleboned net,
they were as disdainful az the
others OF every art that aims to
preserve something of the effect
OF youth; although they were
spickingly groomed. They accept
cd life as 1t was, and they had
accepted 1t at every successive
STAGE serene in the knowledge
that in this AZ in other things
they were above the necessity Of
compromise and subterfuge. They
were the fixed quantities in a