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Show , li 1 I ' H "To Wedded Life" H I ' 1 ii ' I m Laughter nnd tho music of guitars tounilod through llio Imlf-opcn door- B wy of a roHtnurnnt In tho Italian H quarter. It wns an air from "Car- HV mon" tho ititiHlcinnu playoil. Into tho rnltldlo of It liroko a woman's voice, H ribrant, dramatic. Only a fow liars It Bang, then stopped as suddenly as B It had begun. The players continued B m If no voire liad been heard. ' Tho Jaughtor, which had subsided (illicitly, was ronowed. With It urolto out a H lalro of applause. pH Schuylor Thompson halted boforo M tho door. Ho wns strango to San H Francisco, and ho hesitated about en- torlng. Then ho saw tho liamo "San- eutnettt" above tho entrance Tho liamo seemed familiar. Had ho heard m It In tho I'alaco Hotel? Yes, that was H It Somo ono had snld: H , "If you want a 'Dago' dinner, go to Bb j Sangulncttl's." H Ills stomach told him It wns din- H ncr tlmo; his watch said It was long H past It. Ilcforo tho npplauso hud H ceased, ho wns Inside. H Along the right sldo of tho room B was a long bar. Dehlml It wero B glasses and bottles. On tho other H sldo woro tablos, most of them occu- B pled and laden with dishes. It wns a H plain place, almost shabby. Wlilto H feand covered tho lloor lightly, plowed H Into llttlo furrows by trailing shirts. H Odors of Itnllan cooking and clgarotto H moko (lllod tho air. H Tho handclapplng ended and one H aftor anothor, almost slmultaucously, m l' xno uiiiors utteil their glasses H Cj toward ono woman, hold them In tho H air uiUil they caught her glance, then H dranlt to her. It was readily done, H grnoefully, easily, spontaneously. Sho 1 smiled and turned to her escort. H Thompson seated himself at a H tabUv-near tho singer. Ilcforo ho gavo H his order to tho waiter ho asked who m sho was. She was tho prima donna M of tho Itnllan ojmra company playing H In tho TIvoll opera houso, tho waiter B told iilin, a woman who sung Carmen 1 with a forco and abandon suggustlvo H of Calvo. Then Thompson under- H Mood tho applauso and the muto H Bitting nt a tablo nearby, between H tho singer's and his, Thompson no tic- K ed a woman and a man. Naturally H ho saw tho woman first. Her appear- H auco pleased his critical facnlty. Sho B was well formed, well groomed, well m gownod, tailor-made. Sho and her B escort worollngerlng over their des- M sort. As ho ate ho watched Uiem. m Occasionally their glasses met. Hor H hand onco closed on Unit of her B oticort above tho tablo in a moment- ftS ary, covert clasp. Hor smiles for I ilRp'2PlMils " w J H L tX"'- H Thompson seated himself at a table VS I near the singer. BftVj him woro conuottlsh, or so they kS seemed to Thompbon, for ho had seen BVj tho linking of tho fingers and the BkVj PBI "Ah, llttlo lovo affair," ho said to J himself, nnd ho becamo Interested BBVJ and slightly envious. ftfa Tho guitars slnick up a rag-time Bva air and In a mlnuto tho sound of dnnc- ftVS Ing, tho grinding of sand between B wood and leather, and tho nistlo of H silk and laco Hung hither nnd thither j, ' with onorgy, enmo to Thompson over m his shoulder. A girl, young, pretty H ,j ' and well dressed, was in tho midst of B X a Eluirtlo. I.aughtr aud tho clapping of hands rewarded lier olTorts. Thompson's Thomp-son's eyes nnd tlioso of tho tallor-mado tallor-mado woman mot. They smiled. "Good!" Ho thought. "I'm progressing." pro-gressing." Ho turned again to look at tho dancer, just In tlmo to see ho (ling herself Into hor chair, her cheeks Hushed nnd her eyes sparkling from tho oxortlon and her blark plcturo hat tilted far forward. for-ward. Hut It was only nn Instnnt sho was pormltted to remain quiet. Another An-other girl from tho samo party seized her by tho hands nnd pulled her to wJiiiii mtM zu-,r 4JW& The tailor-made woman, hor foot nnd together they went tho length of the room nnd hack, with tho postures nnd flourishes of cako walkers. walk-ers. Tho applauso was redoubled and springing to hor feet, tho slngor waved hor glass to them and quaffed It In their honor. Thompson loo. nn4 tho tailor-made woman drank to them. Then tho tallor-matlo woman nnd her escort clinked glnsses, nnd Thompson heard him say: "To you, sweetheait." Tho womnn looked toward Thompson Thomp-son and ho lifted his glass to her. Sho smiled and raised liors in return, and together they drank to health and happiness, or good fellowship or all together or whatcvor tho action signifies. sig-nifies. "Splendid," ho said mentally. "Splendid." Tho woman's escort turned to tho singer and said something. Sho laughed and replied In kind, and soon they woro In conversation. Ho flllod hor glnss and his own, nnd they, too, rcnowcjl tho unspoken pledge taken times innumerable. "This seems to bo my opportunity," thought Thompson, and ho leaned to-ward to-ward tho tailor-made woman. "How pleasant It is hero," ho said. "It Is pleasant," she replied. "It's tho first tlmo I havo boon horo." "Is it? Wo como hero every week or two. It's n change." "Isn't It very free and easy?" "In some ways," she said. So tkey chatted on. "Your oscort seoma qulto enamored of the actress," ho ventured after a time. "Dooa ho?" sho nskod In' a noncommittal non-committal way. "Aren't you Jealous?" "Oh, no. Ills talking to another woman doesn't make mo Jealous." "Woll, if ho was In my placo and I wns In his and I saw you tnlklng to him, I'd bo Jealous." "Oh, no you wouldn't," sho said, pleasantly. "My husband and I know each other too well to bo Jealous of each other." Sho looked across tho tablo at tho man and hor faco llghtod up with prldo nnd lovo. "Your husband?" Thompson said with a start. "Yes." And sho laughed merrily. "Does ho permit you to talk to strnngors?" ho asked In wondor. "I mean In a placo Ilka this?" "Why, certainly," sho replied. "And It's becnii8o it is Sangulnnetti's that wo can bo Informal." Then sho added: add-ed: "It's only whero thero Is truo lovo and unbounded confldenco that thero is real fioedom." Thompson pondered a moment. Then ho lifted his glass. "Hero's to wedded llfo," ho Bald. "To wedded life," she repealed, and i hoy drained their glioses. As sho passed out through tho doorway door-way a llttlo later, hor hand on hor husband's arm, tho lallor-mado womnn turned nnd smiled nt Thompson. Standing, ho uilsod ills glass onco inoro, and sho know his toast wns: "To wedded life." (leorgo 11. Squlro, In Now York I'ress. |