A FLAVOR OF BOHEMIA.
THEO started for New York with high hopes. She was met by Nannie, and
their glee knew no bounds at the prospect before them.
"We shall have to hunt up a boarding-place," said Nannie, "for I have
only a little hall bedroom. And I thought it would be fun for us to go
around together, and I waited before deciding upon another."
"I didn't let Archie know the day I should be here," informed Theo,
"for I knew he would insist upon my coming to the house where he is;
and, besides, I thought it would be nice to surprise him. We will send
out cards when we are all settled. We want to be perfectly independent
while we can."
"I have a list of places," and Nannie referred to a slip she had taken
from her purse. "I thought if we could find two rooms, one that had a
north light, which we could use for a studio, and one which would do
for a bedroom, it would be very nice."
"Exactly the thing," agreed Theo. "Oh, Nan, isn't it the most
delightful experience in the world? I can hardly believe it is not a
dream; but wasn't auntie the dear, to let me come on first? She is so
lovely in that way. She seems to enter right into one's feelings, and
if there is a way to allow us our heart's desire, she finds out the
way."
"I think it was good of her," replied Nannie; "and I think it will be
delightful to have her here, and Val, later on. We must be sure to find
just the right place."
But to find "just the right place" was not so easy a matter, and many
were the disappointments. "We shall have to give it up for to-day,"
said Nannie, as evening overtook them, "and go to my boarding-house. My
bed isn't a very narrow one; we can sleep there for one night. There
isn't another room vacant, or we could take our time. I don't care
about staying there any longer than I can help, however, the people
are so very ordinary. I mean, those who keep the house; and they are
so very pretentious. They are continually talking about their former
grandeur, and deploring their fall from high places and their present
unhappiness, while they use 'ambril' for umbrella, and 'remlet' for
remnant, and all such unique expressions."
Theo laughed and declared she was glad of it. "It makes the whole thing
much more interesting," she said. "I wouldn't have it all perfect, for
anything."
The next morning, they set forth betimes, but one o'clock found two
discouraged, tired girls.
"Do let us go somewhere for a luncheon," proposed Nannie. "I am
half-starved, and we are away off from our boarding-house. I don't see
why we came poking over here, anyhow. We said we wouldn't think of
anything east of Fourth Avenue and south of Fortieth Street, and here
we are right by the Cooper Institute: it is too far off, and all that."
"Did you believe there could be so many impossible places?" remarked
Theo; "and aren't some of them funny, Nan? How many have we left? Oh,
are we going in here?" for Nannie was turning towards a modest-looking
restaurant.
"It looks clean and respectable," averred she; "and we are too hungry
to care for anything else."
Theo's face was a study, as, after giving their order, the two weary
girls sat looking around at the little tables scattered about the room.
They were occupied by a motley set of people, most of them eating
voraciously, as if time were the main consideration with them. In the
front of the establishment was a bakery, from which orders were being
rapidly filled for those desiring a piece of pie, a few buns, or some
such. A door behind the girls slammed continually, and the rattle of
dishes proclaimed the fact that the kitchen was not far off. Theo was
much diverted, and her amusement increased as the orders given by the
waiters, in a high key, reached her ears.
"Twice a cup of tea!" "Mince pie red hot!" and such peculiar
expressions came to their hearing.
"Are they crazy? What sort of a place are we in?" asked Theo.
Nannie laughed. "It isn't very elegant," she acknowledged, "but it
is quite respectable; and they will give us a very palatable little
luncheon, no doubt, at a very small price. We are entering Bohemia,
Theo, and we cannot be fastidious, though we may always be respectable.
Many you see here are students from the Cooper, or clerks from shops
near by. There comes our order, I am happy to see; let us join the
company of eaters."
Theo's amusement did not prevent her from eating heartily a
well-cooked, appetizing meal. And she declared, as they went out, that
she wouldn't have missed it for anything.
"But did you ever see people eat so fast?" she observed. "I saw one man
eat a whole pie and drink a glass of milk in less than two minutes, I
am sure."
"That reminds me of a foreigner whom I met at the house of a friend.
He said that when he first came to New York, he wondered why no one
ever seemed to have any time to spend over a meal, until he saw a man
devour a dinner in five minutes, and observed the same man spending the
following half hour on the corner talking to an acquaintance. Rather a
severe hit at our loquacity as a nation, wasn't it? But we must give
our attention to our list or we shall never get settled."
"Yes," responded Theo. "I am beginning to want to see Archie, and my
longing increases rapidly. But I will not humor it till I can say we
have made all our arrangements, thank you. What comes next, Nan?"
"This," said Nannie, showing her list, and "this" chanced to be decided
upon.
It was a house which had been newly papered and painted, and, although
the rooms looked rather bare, the host, whose politeness was extreme,
assured them that in a day or two each apartment should be resplendent.
"Is he French, do you think?" whispered Theo, as they were left alone
for a moment.
"No, I think not; but he is certainly not an American."
They were finally shown two small rooms, communicating; these they
decided might be made available.
"Can we have a folding-bed?" inquired Nannie.
"Sartainly, Mees," was the reply.
"Then I think we might venture to take them," and Nannie turned to
Theo, who signified assent.
"Efrytheeng comb vair soon," avowed the man, ushering them into the
parlor, which was singularly devoid of furniture. "Here comb a meeroir.
Pairfickly mogneefcent," with a wave of the hand towards the wall.
"Here comb a sofaw. Pairfickly mogneefcent;" another wave towards the
corner of the room. "Here comb a keertain. Pairfickly mogneefcent;" a
third wave indicated where the "portière" should hang. "Efrytheeng will
be vair fine, vair good, vair nice, vair well," volubly explained the
host.
"And we can come this evening? Will you have everything ready for us?"
asked Nannie.
The man assured them he would have everything in readiness. "My vife is
Frainch," he said. "She see the meal, vair fine, vair good, vair well.
I myself to the house, also vair mogneefcent."
The girls could hardly restrain their mirth, but, as all seemed
very neat and clean, and the house was one to which they had been
recommended, they felt that they could do no better, and departed to
return in time for a late dinner.
"We can make it look very habitable, I am sure," pronounced Theo. "We
are pretty high up, to be sure; but that does not matter."
And they set to work with a will to give their rooms a homelike
appearance.
Matters of adornment being the first considered by the girlish mind,
the walls were soon decked with sketches, fans, and casts; draperies
graced Nannie's easel; cushions were arranged in chairs.
"There are rather meagre accommodations for our clothes," mentioned
Nannie, "but until the 'pairfickly mogneefcent' wardrobe comes, we
shall have to do the best we can. It is long after bedtime, Theo; let
us see what sort of an affair our folding-bed is."
This proved to be another subject for diversion, the bed being, as
Nannie declared, "designed for discomfort."
"It is like two boxes hinged together," said Theo, as she established
herself in her side. "How are you, Nannie? Can you turn over?"
"Not at all," replied Nannie, "unless we both get up and get in again.
I feel as if I were in a coffin."
"So do I," responded Theo, "or as if I were boxed up to be sent off by
express." Then, as if the subject were a very cheerful one, they broke
into peals of laughter.
They slept but little that night, and the next morning decided that
the folding-bed was not a success, but, as there was no other to
be furnished them, they concluded to return to a bed of ordinary
structure, and in consequence were more comfortable.
Archie and Jack were duly notified, and called promptly, berating
them soundly for being so independent. But the girls only laughed and
declared themselves quite able to look after themselves.
A few days' trial of their boarding-place, however, proved that they
would be obliged to seek other quarters, for their host evidently
labored under the delusion that his guests were guests indeed, and
became quite incensed when the girls refused to join the family, or
declined to make the acquaintance of other boarders whom he insisted
upon presenting to them.
"As if we wanted to know them," said Theo, haughtily. "I like to choose
my own acquaintances, I must confess; and auntie particularly charged
me not to make cheap acquaintances. She never would have let me come
alone, or with any other girl but you, Nan."
"And mamma, although she quite approves of my studying and of my
independent ideas, does not approve of girls, no older than we are,
going into a boarding-house alone. You can't think how delighted she is
at the prospect of your auntie's coming to oversee us."
"Auntie says that the danger lies in a girl's ignorance of the world;
and even with Archie here, she said, I must be very careful. So, Nan,
we will take our leave as soon as we can find another place. I think we
would best take rooms only, next time, and either go out to meals or
have them served us from a caterer's. I am sure we shall enjoy it much
more. You don't know how I hate to come in contact with some of the
people we see three times a day at the table here."
"Yes," replied Nannie; "I quite agree with you. And sometimes we can
cook our own meals, and that will be great fun. We must try, though, to
find a place ourselves, and not let the boys know we are dissatisfied.
We will not give them the triumph of thinking we made a muddle of it
because we did not consult them."
Several days passed in which no attractive place presented itself.
"I really believe you are homesick," said Nan, one morning, to Theo;
"you look quite down-hearted."
"I believe I am a little," confessed Theo. "I must say I do not like
our dwelling-place."
"You are very sensitive to surroundings," criticised Nannie; "you
always were."
"I am more so regarding people," returned Theo; "and I hate to confront
our fellow-boarders,—they take away my appetite."
"You shall not do it much longer," declared Nannie.
And, true to her word, she came in that very evening with an
announcement, made with a beaming face.
"I have found the dearest spot," she informed Theo, "if we can only
get it. As I was coming from the League this afternoon, I was walking
down one of the cross-streets, looking about, when I saw a house with
a big vine running over the front of it, which attracted me for some
reason, and I went up and inquired for rooms. To my delight I was told
that rooms could be had there; and, oh, Theo, on the top floor are two
rooms which will suit us exactly. I believe I was directed to the spot,
for the former owner of the house was an artist, and one of the rooms
he used as a studio; it has a skylight, and the other will make such a
delightful bedroom. There are immense closets, and it is just exactly
what we want; there are not many persons in the house yet, and there
will be rooms to be had for Miss Nelson and Val on the same floor. The
only trouble is that one of our rooms is occupied now, but Mrs. Joy
is going to see what arrangements she can make, and will let us know
to-morrow. Oh, we must, we must get them."
"And shall we get our meals there?"
"We can or not, as we choose; there is a caterer in the basement. But I
think we might try going out till your auntie comes, anyhow."
Fortunately, the arrangements were made to the girls' satisfaction, and
they left the promised splendor for more sure comfort, and established
themselves so agreeably that they did not regret their period of
probation.
"We shall have to send for some dishes," said Nannie. "I will write
to-night; meantime, we will make the best of what we can pick up."
"Let us have dinner here," eagerly proposed Theo.
"All right; and we will go out and forage before the boys come."
An hour later, the girls returned laden with packages, and followed by
a boy bearing sundry parcels.
"Let me see; that is right," said Nannie, depositing her share of the
burden on the table. "One, two, three, four. I haven't dropped any.
Now, Theo,—Oh, how good that coffee smells; but, my goodness! there
isn't a blessed thing to make it in."
"Yes, there is," and Theo triumphantly brandished a tin pint cup.
"That?"
"Certainly. Archie and I have often made picnic-coffee in a tin-cup or
a tomato-can, and mighty good it was, too. Isn't that a darling of a
gas-stove? And how good of Mrs. Joy to let us use it. She is kindness
itself. Do spread out everything on the table, Nan, where I can see it."
"It is a funny collection, sure enough," stated Nannie, as she
displayed coffee, eggs, butter, rolls, potatoes, and chops, a can of
condensed milk, sugar, pie, and cheese.
Theo unrolled her parcels,—two cups and plates, two knives and two
spoons, a saucepan and a frying-pan.
"Oh, Nan, we forgot the forks!" she exclaimed, in consternation. "Oh,
no, we didn't: here they are. But what shall we boil the potatoes in?
Why, in the saucepan; how stupid of me. We can boil the water for the
coffee over the gas—no; we will boil the potatoes and then make the
coffee."
While the potatoes were boiling, a rap was heard at the door, which
being answered, Archie and Jack were admitted.
"Oh, we didn't expect you yet!" exclaimed Theo, in confusion.
"You didn't?" returned Archie. "That's a nice greeting, when we have
come to take you out to dinner. Goodness gracious! What are you up to?"
"Why, we're cooking our dinner," replied Theo. "The water is boiling
over, Nan; and," she continued, looking ruefully at the two plates,
"we'd ask you to stay and dine with us, but our table appointments are
insufficient."
"You'd better go out with us," interposed Jack; "much better."
"Oh, no. Stay, boys, and let us have our first dinner in the studio,"
put in Nannie. "Who cares if there aren't plates enough; we can eat out
of the frying-pan or the saucepan lid."
Archie was only too ready to accept Nannie's suggestion, and Jack,
finding that all were in favor of it, accepted the situation.
"Isn't it a fine, large studio?" said Nannie, delightedly. "See the
skylight, just high enough, and the floor all inlaid wood. I feel as
if we had stumbled upon the most wonderful discovery. If I had read
it in a book, I couldn't believe it possible to have such luck," and
Nannie paused in the operation of cooking the chops to point out the
best features of the room. "We are going to get everything arranged
right away, for we are sure we shall stay. Mrs. Joy is so nice, and
everything is so clean and convenient. I never was so happy," and
Nannie clattered a knife and fork together as if they were castanets.
"Come, gentlemen, 'sit by,' as they say up in the country."
"This is a very dull knife," observed Archie, sawing away at his chop;
"or else it has been many years since this was a little playful lamb."
"Oh, you mustn't use that!" exclaimed Nannie. "That is the spreader. We
didn't think it worth while to buy two real sharp knives, for we have
sent home for a whole table outfit; so we only bought one good knife,
and the other is a five-center. Here is the cutter; use it, and pass it
along: the spreader is for the bread and butter. You will have to get
used to our novel way of entertaining, Archie."
"It is great fun," maintained he; "only we ought to have brought
something to top off with."
"We'll go and get some ice-cream after dinner," suggested Jack; "or,
better still, we'll bring some here to the girls. My, but this is fine
coffee!"
"I knew it would be," returned Theo; "you know it always used to be
good when we made it in a tin-cup, Archie."
"Always," he responded. "What are you going to do this evening, girls?"
"We are going to hang Nan's sketches, put up the hammock, and set
things to rights generally. We know we are sure to stay, so we are not
afraid to unpack everything this time," Theo replied.
"We might stay and help," suggested Archie.
"There is no 'compellion' about it," retorted Theo.
"We mean to stay and help," decided Archie. "Miss Fourth of July, you
ought to be dressed up in stars and stripes, you are so everlastingly
independent."
"She is a regular Liberty bell," put in Jack.
Theo made a little face, and gave her attention to clearing away the
meal, while the boys went out for the ice-cream.
"It has been such a satisfactory meal," said Theo, as the last of her
cream disappeared; "so much better than a boarding-house."
"So much better," agreed Nannie and the boys.
"You couldn't take us to board?" inquired Archie.
"No," from Nannie, in a tone of scorn; "you'd get tired of it in less
than a week, and complain because we didn't have roast beef and soup
and puddings. You'd better stick to your own ways; besides, we are only
doing this till Miss Nelson and Val come, and then we shall have our
meals served, except once in a while we'll get up something extra, just
for the fun of it."
"Where do you want your hammock?" asked Archie.
"In that corner," directed Nannie; "here are the hooks. I think it can
go from the framework of that door over to the chimney-piece; it goes
nicely in that corner."
When the sketches were hung, the hammock put up, and Nannie's draperies
arranged with studied carelessness, the effect was quite good, and
Archie sat down in the hammock to admire. But in a few moments, without
warning, came a creak and a crash, and down came the hammock, bringing
with it the framework of the door.
Consternation fell upon the group as the four stood gazing upon the
devastation. After the first "oh's!" and "ah's!" there was silence,
broken by Archie's exclaiming,—
"'Oh, that I could know the end of this day's business!' Don't call,
for your life; don't call any one, good people. If the lady of the
house appears, do not let her in. Tell her something fell, and that it
is no matter. I'll be back anon," and he fled.
He was not long gone. And on his return, he was accompanied by a
carpenter, who soon put matters to rights, and suggested a more stable
place for the hammock; so the accident was not so bad as it at first
seemed.
"We insist that you go to dine with us to-morrow," notified Jack,
as the boys took their leave. "We want you to eat some real Italian
macaroni, and see how it is to dine 'table d'hôte' at a place we have
found. You will be too tired to cook your own dinner, anyhow, and we
shall come for you at half-past five."
The girls consented, and went to bed entirely satisfied with their new
quarters and with the prospect the winter seemed to present.
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