Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 November 1893 — The Awful Pause. [ARTICLE]

The Awful Pause.

“It is quite fatal to apnear stupid and uninterested when you arc out in society, you know," said a pretty girl to an amused listener to her prattle, “and I have discovered a capital recipe against looking dull whioh I will give you gratis At Mrs. A.’s the other day 1 found myself at a big luncheon, with a lot of older people present, and on taking our places at the table 1 was dismayed to find that one of my neighbors was an elderly woman and a total stranger, who turned her shoulder to me during a greater part of the repast, and the other was Milly 8., who is a dear girl, hut has not au idea in her head. After the first few minutes had pnssed in total silence a bright idea struck me. ‘Milly,’ I said, •let’s count; we will look just ae if we were talking, and it’s ever so muoh easier. When I leave off you beg’n.' And I began in my most vivacious manner, ‘One, two, three, four, five, six, seven’—then I paused, and Milly, showing her little white teeth with bona fide merriment, went on, ‘Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen,’ and we both ended with a burst of genuine laughter. “ ‘What a good time those girls are having!' I heard our vis-a-vis saying to her neighbor.rather enviously, I thought. ‘I wonder what they are talking about”' —[Chicago Journal.