Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 April 1885 — The Dainty Girl and the Orange. [ARTICLE]

The Dainty Girl and the Orange.

It was evident that she had rehearsed on the orange and felt confident that she could slide it down her throat without spatter, slobber or muss. She first took it carefully between the tips of her small fingers, toying with it as though the task of eating it involved no special effort at grace. Next she laid it on her plate and with a knife cut it into quarters. Thirdly, she lifted a section with the thumbs and forefingers of both hands and neatly separated the peel from the pulp at the ends. This freed the latter until it lay almost disconnected on the peel. The fruit had been chilled in a refrigerator until it was as cold as a chunk of ice. At the instant when her refreshment from the cold, cold bit of orange was to have commenced, disaster intervened. A gentle repartee had just been emitted from her lips, and they still bore the smile of ineffable blandness. The eyes of Adolphus were fondly ravishing her fair face. Then, oh, then the quarter of orange did not slip into her dear mouth, but fell into the low corsage of her dress. If a piece of ice, had slid down her skin, lodging in a spot in the region of her belt and quite inaccessible at the table, she couldn’t have yelled “Ouch!” with more vim or scampered to the ladies’ dressing room with greater celerity.— Clara Belle.