An American Suffragette | Page 9

the quantity of water we inject
into any one issue of stocks and bonds," laughingly suggested Mr.

Ramsey.
"Come, gentlemen, your charming Amazon will not stay up all night,
and it is ten-thirty now," called Hilda, who had already garbed herself
for the automobile.
CHAPTER IV
A SUFFRAGE BAZAAR AND BALL
A suffrage bazaar does not differ essentially from the same iniquity
under other auspices. There are the same useless articles for sale and
the same aggressive methods of disposing of them; the same varieties
of fancy work, knit, embroidered, drawn, quartered and crocheted; the
same display of canned goods and home-made jellies and feminine
apparel; the same raffles and "drawings" and "chances" by which
churches have long conducted their clerical lotteries; the same
side-shows and the same appeal to the social world to come and mingle
with the "high-brows" and be fashionably robbed.
Only in this instance far more ingenuity had been displayed in the
number and nature of the side attractions. There were guessing
machines where the cocksure were reduced to humbleness of mind by
their failures to state accurately the number of women voting in the
world or some section thereof; the number of countries that have
recently swung into line in the woman movement; the number of
subjects reigned over by women, and similar questions, all of which
proved "extra hazardous" to most of the guessers. Many of them did not
even know what the five stars on the suffrage flag indicated.
They had a row of Chinese examination booths, in which persons
wishing a certificate of "Efficient Citizenship" were given blanks to fill
out, in which they revealed their knowledge, or their crass ignorance, of
conditions in various parts of their own country. Mrs. Jarley conducted
a wax-works performance, and there was a moving-picture show in
which Mrs. Cornelia Gracchus, the favorite example of the "Antis,"
was shown lecturing in the Forum on medicine to grave and reverend
seigneurs, Joan of Arc leading her troops, and Florence Nightingale

bending over the sick and wounded.
An educated pig told the uneducated person in how many States
women have full suffrage, and which they are; where suffrage
campaigns are pending, and the names of the distinguished Americans
who have gone on record in favor of this reform. A Street of All
Nations showed the onward march, all the way from the women of
Washington casting their "recall" ballots to the women of China
unbinding their feet, and Turkish ladies tearing their veils into tatters.
Dancing was going on in an adjoining room, but the crowd was so great
that it was impossible to even locate Jack's "Mystery," so Frank turned
his attention to a row of booths, draped in black, with silver astrological
symbols, palmist signs and two flaming aces of hearts and diamonds,
where past, present and future were revealed at very reasonable
prices--considering. "Me for the astrologist," he said. "Jack, go in at the
sign of the glowing heart and find out whether Venus is going to be
good to you, and then we can swap experiences."
"I think I'll try the palmist," Jack replied. "If it's even moderately well
done it is interesting," and the two brothers disappeared into the
cavelike apertures before them. Frank's experience seemed to be highly
satisfactory, for he reappeared grinning cheerfully. Perhaps he had
cause, but he did not reveal it, and when his brother came forth from
the clutches of the sorceress, he insisted that he should have his
horoscope cast.
As there seemed no hope of finding the lady they sought until the
crowd should have thinned a little, Jack laughed and entered the
silver-spangled tent. The seeress was gowned in white, with silver
chains and bracelets and girdle, and a long white veil completely
enveloped her except the face, and this was concealed by her yashmak
up to her mocking gray eyes, with their dark, level brows. There was
something in her eyes that attracted Jack, and made him believe in her
uncanny powers quite against his will, and even while he told himself
that this was but the foolishness of the hour. He gave her the necessary
data, and she consulted her charts, and gave him a rapid and
wonderfully correct delineation of his character, "a nature which

combines the characteristics of Scorpio with some of those of
Sagitarrius, as is the case," she explained gravely, "with persons born
near the cusp," a term which produced no impression upon his mind,
though he said, "Oh, indeed," politely. She made some cabalistic marks
on a square of paper and turned to him with a somewhat startled
expression, which faded at once, and the mocking eyes looked full into
his as she went on.
"You do not believe in anything I am telling you, and therefore I shall
speak quite