is a big fair-haired lummox that sings tenor in the Presbyterian choir and has the young men’s Bible class in the Sabbath School.  Vernabelle lost no time in telling him that he was oh, so frankly a pagan creature, born for splendid sins; and Otto seemed to believe it for a couple of weeks, going round absent like as if trying to think up some sins that would be splendid, though if any one but a Bohemian had told him this he’d have blushed himself to death.  It shows you what a hold Vernabelle was by way of getting on Red Gap.

It was sure one season of triumph for Metta Bigler, who lurked proudly in the background as manager.  Metta’s mother wasn’t near so thrilled as Metta, though.  She confided to me that Bohemians was a messy lot to clean up after, raining cigarette ashes over everything; and also it was pretty hard to have raised a child to Metta’s age only to see her become a cigarette fiend overnight, and having these mad revels with currant wine and other intoxicants—­and Metta was even using a lip stick!

And Metta’s mother wasn’t the only one in town looking sidewise at these Bohemian doings.  There was them that held aloof from the beginning and would give their bitter reasons at every opportunity.  These was the ultra-conservative element of the North Side set, and what they said about the new Latin Quarter was a plenty.  They said it was mostly an excuse for drunken orgies in which all sense of decency was cast aside, to say nothing of cigarettes being brazenly smoked by so-called ladies.  They said this here talk about getting away from it all meant the ruin of the home upon which all durable civilization must be built; and as for wives and mothers going round without their stockings look at what befell proud Rome!  And it was time something was done to stem this tide of corruption.

Mrs. Cora Wales and Mrs. Tracy Bangs, president and vice-president of our anti-tobacco league, was the leaders of this movement and sent in a long complaint to the chamber of commerce urging instant action or a foul blot would be splashed on the fair name of our city, to say nothing of homes being broken up.  They was ably backed up in this move by a committee from the civic purity league.

And of course this added to the attractions of the Latin Quarter, giving each Bohemian a new thrill.  Vernabelle said it was by way of being ancient history; that from time immemorial these little groups of choice spirits who did things had been scorned and persecuted, but that every true Bohemian would give a light laugh and pursue his carefree way, regardless of the Philistine And so it went, venomous on both sides, but with Vernabelle holding the bridge.  She’d brought new stuff to town and had a good working majority in favour of it.

Downtown one day I met Metta in the Red Front grocery buying olives and sardines in an excited way.  I suppose it’s for one of her unspeakable orgies, but she tells me it’s something special and I must be sure to come.