Kansas University Weekly.
185
The other of the two who belonged to one of the numerous branches of the family of Smith was somewhat more modern in her appearance. Her dress was stylish, her hair arranged in an upto-date fashion and as she wore no jewelry she had an air of refinement about her which Mrs. Jones seemed to lack.
As we left the station where they got on the train we could see from the car windows a group of men on the porch in front of the country store talking earnestly.
"Isn't it too bad" said Mrs. Jones "those men are wild about that horrid fight. Men are so cruel. Sometimes I just shudder to think what we are coming to. There's horse-racing and base-ball and foot-ball and so many useless things to take men away from what they ought to give their attention to and now when we are priding ourselves upon our high state of civilization Nevada permits that b-r-utal fight. I think its a shame, a shame," tapping her foot vigorously on the floor, "and those men back there at home will talk about it all day and wonder who's won, well for my part," tossing her head and shaking her curls, a way which she seemed to have of making her words emphatic, "I think that women should use their influence to elevate that depraved sex by paying as little attention to such things as possible."
Miss Smith nodded but said nothing probably knowing her friend well enough to let her do the talking.
The ladies had distracted my attention from my paper but thinking the conversation had ended I began reading again. As I sat next the aisle with my face turned partly toward the side of the car I noticed that the mirror reflected the large pictures of Fitzsimmons and Corbett in such a way that the ladies could see them if they chanced to look that way. Having relieved her mind by attempting to impress upon Miss Smith the seriousness of the mission of her sex, womanlike, Mrs. Jones turned to the mirror to see if her hat was on straight, and faced the pictures. She surmised at once who they were.
"I wonder who won" she seemed to think for she never would have inquired at home even if every one else in town had known the result. "What brutal looking men!" she said to Miss Smith. "I think we ought to read about this fight in order to know what we are going to contend against when woman begins her grand battle against the vices of man. May I see your paper a moment?" she said as I laid it down. "The daily papers are all so kind to women now-a-days and almost all of them devote a column to us."
"Certainly, certainly" I replied, "I suppose of course you know that Mrs. Fitzsimmons attended the fight."
"Did she?" she replied eagerly. Then almost breathlessly with excitement she read what Mrs. Fitzsimmons had said at the ring side. "Go for him, Bob, why don't you go for his body? If you seconds don't fix Bob up so that he wins this fight, I'll make it warm for you."
She dropped the paper in her excitement. "Good for Mrs.Fitz,good for Mrs.Fitz" she cried. "No wonder Fitzsimmons won.Woman's influence is always supreme wherever exercised."
Then noticing the smile on Miss Smith's face she added in a subdued tone of voice "but I do think its real rough sport."
R. G. McK.
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