Evening star., 1926-11-23
SUB ROSA
BY MIMI.

The other day, at tea where there
were gathered about IA boys and girls,
l was annoyed at the persistent chat
ter of one Vera, a slim little blond
who must once have been very pretty
in a pink and white and gold way.
The years had dealt unkindly with
her, however. She was only rs and
yet she seemed to have lost all the
charm and vivacity of youth from her
dried-up little face. She was sallow.
Her blond hair looked lifeless. Her
blue eyes were of that faded color
lessness which detracts from the ap-
pearance Of any girl.
Yet she sat at her ease on the sofa.
holding a teacup in one hand, and
gesticulating wildly with the other
while her thin, cracked little voice
rose high.
She was telling stories. mostly-and
what stories. Such utterly trivial,
stupid chatter as one seldom hears to-
day was pouring from her narrow.
pink lips. Anecdote after anecdote
she repeated-each just bit tanner
and more pointless than the last.
Her hearers fidgeted uneasily but
they had to listen. I was amazed at
her effrontery. If she had been been
a beauty could have understood the
ease with which she placed herself in
the center of the stage-but having as
little charm and attraction as she
possessed, could not understand the
source Of her immense self-possession.
Later l asked my hostess where
Vera got the solid, cast-iron nerve
which permitted her to monopolize
that entire conversation in such bOr
ing fashion.
My hostess sighed. Poor w., she's
had a bad time Of it," she told me
sadly "She used to be the reigning
belle here you know. Men fell in love
with her just as regularly as they ate
breakfast or took the morning paper.
She had the most marvellous time in
the world.
"She was always just as dumb as
she could be, but even the brainiest
boys didn't seem to care. She was
so pretty and so cute. She had the
most Fascinating little mannerisms.
Men used to go wild over her. Every
body envied her.
Then the poor kid had bad oper
alton and 1t made her look terrible.
Somehow she lost all her glorious COL
oring. She began to be bit faded.
Men began to drift away. She
hadn't any personality to hold them
by. She had only her gorgeous looks
and her adorable little ways.
Wcll Sic utterly uIIpOpuldL W.
day. Hasn't an invitation to single
affair. Not a man in town ever takes
her out. She's really tragedy. But.
you know, she doesn't realize it yet.
She still thinks she must be fas-
cinating just because she was once
so charming.
And so she still thinks she has a
right to the center of the stage. In
the old days people used to let her
rave on just for the pleasure of watch
ing her. Now no one wants to watch
her, and listening is a positive tor
ture. Poor ""
VS. case is not rare. Lots of us have
lost something we may have had five
or six years ago-something of youth
or pep or beauty; but most of us have
sense enough to get along in spite
Of the handicap. It's the girls who
refuse to recognize that they have
changed who need to be warned. Let
them realize the cruel truth-and let
them no longer bank on that particu-
lar charm which used to be theirs.
If we have lost our cunning, baby
ways, then we mustn't hope to charm
people with the old baby tricks. We
must develop brains or something
equally good to take the place of what
we've lost.