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Show Losing the Social Instinct "My dear," said young Mrs. Allison, peeling off her gloves and flinging them down with a snap, "you did well when you renounced tho frivolities of life." ."When I or what?" gasped tho matron with auburn hair, as sho dropped an extra lump of sugar into her caller's tea tnd set tho cup down hurriedly. "Woll, why not?" Inquired young Mrs. Allison. "Thnt will do, dear. I tako only two lumps, not the wholo bowlful." "Explain yourself, Celestol" demanded de-manded tho young matron with auburn au-burn hair, sovorely. "Has any ono beon saying thnt I am gottlng fat and stolid or is this your Inimitable way of criticising my winter wardrobo?" Young Mrs. Allison smiled inscrutably. inscruta-bly. "Celeste," said her hostess again, sharply, "lf you weren't my best friend I should call that a posltlvo grin." Young Mrs. Allison continued to grin, happily. "Well, sho said, after selecting tho thinnest Bandwlch on tho tray and biting into it with caution, "to begin with, you'vo moved to a suburb, sub-urb, haven't you?" -"Um-mm; Is that all?" "No, but that's ono thing." "Very well; what next?" "And you'vo stopped wearing false hair." "Why, yes, so I have," admitted tho hostess, tranquilly. "I got tired of tho messy stuff, and when I happened to think It over I couldn't see any reason why I shouldn't lot my hnlr stand on Its own merits." "Exactly," agreed young Mrs. Allison. Alli-son. "Thirdly, you'vo dropped the brldgo club I" Tho matron with auburn hair sighed. "I had to," sho explained. "And." sho ndded, with n sudden burst of confl-; confl-; denco, "you've no Idea, dearest, whnt a relief it Is. For two years, once a week, I've hooked myself Into my best clothes and sat all of a pleasant sunny sun-ny nftornoon Mn some ono's stuffy drawing room gambling for, let us say, a green sunsbado that would tnnko mo look, If I won It, like n borso show poster. I have partaken enthusiastically enthu-siastically of sirupllko Ico creams and oily salads forty-flvo minutes before dinner hour." Sho paused for breath nnd smiled suddenly upon her caller. "Instead of all that," she concluded, "I now repose ln this easy chair with a book nnd n box of chocolates, which ncblovo tho samo effect upon my np-potlto, np-potlto, but aro less strenuous." "Nonsense," said young Mrs. Allison. Alli-son. "You'ro losing the soclnl Instinct, that's all! All suburbanites do. Dut, as I remarked to begin with, you hnvo I adopted tho wise course." Sho frowned thoughtfully, while her hostess waited ln silence. "Well?" her hostess demanded, finally. final-ly. "It's very tragic," said young Mrs. Allison. "You know my Aunt Elvira?" Elvi-ra?" Tho matron with nuburn hnlr nodded. nod-ded. "The poor woman who was so 111 nt your houso last summer," she said. "Poor nothing," contradicted young Mrs. Allison, stornly. "There's noth-, Ing tho matter with Aunt Elvira but Imaginary diseases. Sbo's so crabbed that her own children won't live with her, and sho's so rich thnt her other rolatlvos havo to. Sho takes n private car down to Florida every winter and I had thought that Fred and I could make rathor pleasant use of nn Invitation Invi-tation to go with her this year, bo-cauBo bo-cauBo Fred didn't get any vacation In tho summer. "Well, my lovo, Inst wcok Saturday I positively dragged Fred homo from tho office to go out to tho Country club with mo In the afternoon. I felt that my system demanded tho diversion diver-sion nnd I didn't want to go alono. It was n horrid, chilly trip and our supper sup-per out there was miserable. When wo got homo this Is tho message writ-ton writ-ton on Aunt Elvira's visiting card that met mo In tho hand of tho maid: "'Dear Celeste I'm norry you couldn't tnke tlmo from your pursuit of pleasure to comfort my tired and travel stained Bolf. I'm going over to Cousin Emma's. Respectfully, A. E.'" The matron with nuburn hair gasp-ed. gasp-ed. "Dut did you know sho was coming?" com-ing?" eho asked. "Oh, no," said young Mrs. Allison, composedly, "not hnvlng a sixth sense for hor arrivals In town. It's Just ono of her llttlo eccentricities, that's alt! Cousin Emma goes to Florida I on Thursday," sho ndded, sadly. "Woll, of nil things!" cried tho matron ma-tron with auburn hair, sympathetically. "Aftor you and Fred had It all planned!" "Wo-l-I," admitted young Mrs. Allison, Al-lison, slowly, "ns a motor of fact, Fred hadn't planned exactly. Ho Boomed Boom-ed positively to enjoy tho situation. Ho said ho bad a picture of himself going, anyway. And ho ndded that ho'd rathor pound rocks than to go any-whoro any-whoro with Aunt Elvira Qood-by, dear; I'm going to Join your easy chair brigade and do my hair flat In tho back" |