Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-17

bowl IF baked cuStdIu. ii7 ~,
IL was earthen. cheap ana , co nun u,
but the custard was the pest VI
A. ,.;rd Rich. brown and smeliihS
,.,,oc il was fit to set before an
,;n,re With very simple material
E,io,, lad achieved q masterpiece.
email woman was Ellen. WIN
,.;obt hI,e.yiolet eyes, gay Color d
,,,,n,oro,,s mouth. There were INES III
TO-. face. gray hairs showing AT 'e,
,nn,nles. but her girlishness persiSlt , )
49,, NOW. when most women Won"
80 looked fretted and nervous. III
a. vert cody on with her prepa IA
yions for supper. 1t was clock, .o"'
Any moment this distinguished quest
might arrive. a.. ,,,,.,, of a
s+o,,ntne at her door. and she
-,r ont forgetting to remove her
i,;,rben apron. TO welcome the Wis
;,nr Mrs. I. B. Gridley, VINO had
1,aen I.uella Pell when Ellen KING was
r.s Ellen Sampson, stepped throuSi,
tha door the livericd chauffeur heio
80 From the beautifully clad foot
which first appeared to the most pe-
coming of French hats. she was >"
charming as to make one 1ofEet H"7
VAS middle ged. Gray. the shilihei
ing gray of the moonstone, enNt''psa
rIaamed with diamonds and platinum
H. l,iss fell like a snowflake on
EIen's flushed. warm face. Ellen
ciasn left A hint of -four on the slikeh
sleeye They went into the mouse
IA Ellen beheld Luella sitting IN
>he old morris chair in the mldst "
the shabby living room strange
feeling came over her. 1t was as !
she had put on pair of glasses wnH'
revealed everything-the crakeo M"l'
naner. the threadbare rug. the sas
cling chairs, the pin'holed S'ldue9'
these things had been there pe,"lr,
nm che had never seen them. NO"
sae did see them in all their ugllness;;
r-ith all their meaning Of poverty ana
rarrov living, And in the midst OF
ther sat Mrs. ]. s. Gridley in t'rench
rrsv smelling Of Partisan perfume
an exquisite figure of wealth.. cui.u.e'
all the choicest things of life. WIN
q murmured excuse, she hurried oach
: 10 her kitchen.
Jue,la's letter had come as sur
; prise a few days before. She had writ
len that she was motoring with par
~ of friends and must or Necessary
0ass near her old home town. She
wouId steal away for a few hours
q
schoolmate. Ellen, who was the only
nerson there with whom she stu kept
lin a friendship. Her swift car driven
nv her Belgian chauffeur could whlsh
her there and back before her absence
would be scarcely noticed ny nef com
oanions And she would still have
time for a little visit.
!. With the happiest heart. Ellen had
prepared for Luella. And noW-she
stood looking at the custard IN the
earthen bowl. What would Luelia say
TO the bowl? 1t might even spoil the
custard for her.
II took all Ellen's courage to set
the earthen bowl of custard upon the
Eahle. The rest of the supper was
correspondingly plain and homeiy,
deliciously cooked and favored. She
hadA her friend come to the meal.
I'VE are alone because Tom and
the BOYS have gone fishing" Ellen
eYnlained as she poured the tea.
,sThey always go fishing SATURDAY
helm Yourself to the omelette, dear,
Her spirits rose as she saw the album
dant portion Luella took upon her
plate.
At last it was time to dish the Gus
tard. Ellen saw Lucia thoughtImily
regarding the earthen bowl. The
she chatted bravely.
=. Without doubt Luella liked the Gus
lard, In fact she asked for a little
more. If it hadn't been for the earthen
bowl
Afterward the two friends sat on
fhe small porch and watched the eve
ming shadows gather over the town.
In the grass below a ring of golden
tiaffodils shone and the air was
scented from the boughs OF the OLD
riavs. mentioning this one and that
Dne. Ellen could finish all the little
histories whose beginnings Luella had
observed.
;: And Rollin Meek" she asked at
length.
!! 'Oh, Rollin is a fine man. He mar
ysed Emily Lewis. They have four
ehildren-two boys and two girls. They
are great home-lovers, all OF them.
Rollin has printing office. small. but
he gets a good living" Suddenly she
remembered that Rollin Meek had
gone with Luella Pell. She looked at
I,uella. Strange that she should re-
member Rollin Meek! "Would-would
you like to see him, Luella?' she
asked. II could call him up and he'd
run over for q moment-perhaps ne
may go by presently on his way down
town. declare. He's coming now
A big man swung up the street
vhistling. Ellen called and he came
up to the porch. A word of explana-
ton and he and Luella were shaking
hands. He stayed for a moment, chat
ting, then he uttered some word about
being in a hurry, clipped off one OF
Ellen's daffodils and FASTENED away.
There was a silence while Luella
looked after him and Ellen looked at
Luella.
He didn't know me-" Luella said.