IN WHICH I RING THE BELL
Dear Mom:
Well, I suppose you seen my ideas in the papers. I have never had anything so wonderful happen to me in my whole life. There it was every bit of it and all fixed up in such fine language as I could never of thought of and sounding so very very wise. And to think that this greatest Man in the whole world has said it, and every newspaper in the whole world almost has published it on the front page. Why Mom He didn’t say hardly anything else at all. He made his whole interview out of that idea I have give to His secretary. Me poor little Mamie Riggs, manicurist in the Elite Beauty Parlors with just one copper cent in her pocket this night!
That is a fact! I spent three cents for that afternoon paper so I didn’t have the price of my usual malted milk for lunch and had to take a glass of plain milk and a doughnut. But I didn’t mind that, I went back to the shop feeling so smart the girls all seen there was something and they wanted to know, “What is it, Mame, you got a new beau?” That’s all they ever think about of course.
I says, “No it ain’t that it’s something more great.” But I didn’t dare give them no hint because it’s what Mr. Edgerton calls a state secret. So Ada Higgins she wants you to call her Adaire now and did you ever hear of anything so silly, being ashamed of her origin and trying to put on side she says, “I know, it’s that swell gent that was here a few days ago. What’s his line Mame?”
And just then the phone rung and it was Mr. Edgerton calling and he wants me to have dinner with him again and of course then all the girls is buzzing like a lot of bees they never heard of such a thing as my not telling they always tell about their affairs because after all what have they got to talk about between customers with the pitiful narrow lives they live and no great ideas about world events and no way of getting behind the scenes of the political show and seeing how the actors is made up.
Well he says for me to meet him at a Chinese restaurant this time. It is over in Z street and a long ways and gee it is drizzling and I shall have wet feet when I get there. But I dassn’t try to borrow a nickle from my landlady because my rent was due four days ago and I am side-stepping because I just had to get a new scarf to hide my old dress. It is all very well for Mr. Edgerton to talk about wanting to keep close to the plain people, and the rough honesty of them and all that, but no man wants to go out to dinner with a slouch you know that Mom and it ain’t going to happen while I’m the lady. So now I’m off and tell Pop to send me some of his ideas about politics as quick as a postage stamp will bring them.
P. S. Well it was my first dinner a la Chink and we had chop suey and it is made out of chicken and something else that should be called guey instead of suey. But it is hot and very filling and that is the principal thing when you are trying to pull through and go straight on eighteen-fifty per and rents what they is in the city of Washington, D. C. Mr. Edgerton brought me home in a taxi and now I have got my feet in bed and I couldn’t go to sleep anyhow till they get warm, so I will tell you what happened.
Well of course we talked international affairs since that is the most interesting thing in the world, and what everybody talks here in high society. Mr. Edgerton says that when he told the Spokesman the great idea that I had give to him, He grunted, and that is eloquence from Him. And He told Mr. Edgerton to have it wrote out for Him and He even added a couple of sentences of His own because some of it was so important that He wanted to say it twiced.