SHE, TOO, WAS OF A LARGE FAMILY.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 717, 29 March 1900, Page 3

SHE, TOO, WAS OF A LARGE FAMILY.

At a little informal married women's luncheon out in Streatham ths other afternoon, given by the hostess in honor of her ' guest from America ' — a dainty, languorous, black-eyed woman under thirty — the conversation turned to the subject of large families. It appeared that most of the lunchers came from prolific families. Each appeared anxious to give her family's large tribual record for a considerable distance back, and none noticed the alarmed countenance of the hostess as the talk progressed. The hostess made many ineffectual efforts to signal the conversation to a standstill : likewise she unavailingly endeavored to stop the large-family theme. But it was no go, and it was finally the turn of her ' guest from the West ' to set forth the numerical contributions of her ancestors to previous censuses. When the question was put to her directly she exhibited not the slightest concern, but smiling languidly remarked : "lam the youngest of twelve daughters and eighteen sons." , "Impossible!" exclaimed all the women except the hostess, who contemplated figures on her fan with a drawn dreary smile. ' Not at all,' replied the guest. • Yov are perhaps unaware that I was 'borr and reared in Salt Lake City ' (the Mormon city). ' Oh ! ' blankly exclaimed the othei women. ' Quite so ! ' Then the hostess experienced no dif ficulty in shifting the current of tall into the weather channel.