Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-12-19

cones must be bygones between husbands and
| wives, and run round the table and kiss
TO the memory of anger, grief, remorse, agita,
/ ton and the far-off, unattained and dim. Poor,
pretty Mrs. Trenchl After dinner she came
down ready for the fray, in her " h1te fur opera
| cloak with its rose-coiored satin Innings, and
| her rose-colored bit of a hat, tremulous with
Ser
| the warpath?" said her husband gaily, pulling
on his gloves. "Fit for conquest: That's the
pretty bat, by the way"
81 made 1t myself today" she cried triumph
antly.
| "It's a work of art" he said. "And you have
| a genius for millinery and then he looked her
over from head to foot. There won't be such
| ''Where are your diamonds? You've forgotten
your earrings, Run and put them in; and
make haste-we're a little late as 1t is"
stood on her face like a blue bloom. 'Oh, PEG.
| pie don't wear earrings now" she managed
| 10 say, although her lips seemed too much to
| move.
Don't wear earringse How long SINGER"
"Oh, they're quite gone out" she said, gather
"Gone out? Half the women 1 meet have
them In. Come, make haste!'
You're very much mistaken" cried Mrs
And should think ought to know as much
about the fashions a man. And nobody pre-
tends to wear diamonds at all now, any way.
They re all given up for cOlored stones"
Il don't care If they have!" exclaimed Mr..
Trench holly. II thought women were sup
| like TO see you with your diamOnds-
81 couldn't wear them any way, you know,
she said, sure that she had hit ON the right
reason at last; "fOr you it's so long since
| Wore them that my ears ought to be quite
| grown up"
Now look here, Mabel, saw you with some
| Roman pearls in your ears night before last. So
what's the use OF talking? II you don't hurry
we shall lose this car and have to go to the ex-
pense of a hack"
1--WE needn't wait another moment" said
Mabel. I'm quite ready. And I'm not going
to wear the earrings, so there's no need OF de-
| Now, Mabel, why do you want to make such
fuss about nothing? It's absolutely essential
to my credit that you shall be seen well dressed.
And If you can't oblige me by wearing these
diamonds, you can just go up stairs and take
Oh your things and we won't go at all; SO a. 90
| "W hat do you think?' he said pleasantly.
II think you're a terrible tyrant!' she cried
| honey, And don't care whether go or not!'
And she huttered up stairs and flung herself
down in daZed bewilderment.
What was there for her 10 do? she asked her
SELF And what must her husband think OF her,
so stubborn and hayward that she would
rather keep him at LONE from the opera, their
about a trifle. What did she care what such a
husband thought. And yet. if she did, and she
Tor her to do? And all at once a bright and
evil thought smOte her. JOsephine-the second
girl; she remembered that no great while ago
she had seen in Josephines ears two bits OF
glass or paste, Alaska diamonds may be- that
had cost seventy-fve cents; and she had Won
dered why a girl in JOsephines position wanted
TO make believe she had diamonds in her ears,
which, ffthey were real diamonds, would only be
disgrace to her, and how she could spend Il
were trying TO save every dollar for the Oper-
alton on the blind mothers eyes. And
nd% TO thai ask favor Of Josephine phi to
Obliged TO give a piece OF her mind. But she
must put her dignity behind her. and-oh,
heavens, If Josephine had gone out with her
Alaskas in her ears! But Josephine had not
gone out, and 1t was only the work of mo-
ment, but the dreadfully hard work of a mo-
somewhere in the depths among the lower tones
OF q trombone, and then in clear, braZen tones
to say: Josephine, want you to lend me your
new earrings, quick, and never on any account
TO say word about it to any One!' And the de-
lighted Josephine fastened to obey, and Mrs.
Trench crept down stairs with two bright points
gathering in her ears under the hall lamp, and
her cheeks roster than ever. But she stood
there at the newel-post, If she had dared to
that anything like the way in which Mr.
Trench started back and looked aghast and
struck his hand on his breast pocket as if to
make sure that his heart was beating under
1t. she had never seen off the stage. But he
commanded himself Immediately, although he
did not succeed in getting out OF sight at once
the look of amazement and of puzzled wonder
That's right he said. and now you've
yielded your point, I'll be fair and yield mine.
Iou uccuH wear tHcIl IL You UOn want 10.
No, no. now, III insist upon it. Take them out,
my dear. won't have you morti1y your pretty
vanity by not being in the fashion, 1t wasn't
that she knew in her guilty little soul, but she
hated I'd wear her servant girls mock
finery, and she knew that every woman in
the audience would know the sham at
a glance. In her desperation she had pre-
ferred that to the encounter with her hus-
bands wrath and contempt-but now-she
hesitated. And then came the tinkling of the
car bell. They ran hurriedly out of the door
and down the steps and were in the cars, and
there was Mrs. Courcy de Spenser going to the
opera, too. Before Mrs. Trench knew it those
earrings, those hateful bits of glass and brass
had been snatched from her ears and were
slipping into the pocket OF her black silk skirt.
While pair of great white earrings, as big as
peas, were flashing and milking and rainbow
Ing IN Mrs. Courcy de Sponsors ears tor Mr.
Trench to see. Apparently he didn't see them;
nor had he noticed that the bits of Alaska
crystal were larger than her own earrings
She was over the trouble for this time-6ut
what was she TO do on the next AT last in the
midst of the lights and dresses and flowers and
music she forgot her SORROWS and abandoned
nerseiI to the general glory and ineffable
pleasure of the opera.
Mr. Trench was very quiet all through the
operiS and on the way home he appeared to be
at his wife with that puzzled air: but he was
very tender and gentle with her. Tor him. like
one VINO would invite confidence. in the few
moments that they sat In the little drawing
room before going up stairs; and the next morn
Ing as he went to business he kissed her and
asked her If she were sure she loved him and
nobody else, in spite of his temperS "Why who
else should love?" laughed Mrs. Trench heed
less OF grammar. Il don't know another man
In the world to speak freely with, except YOUR
brothers and my sisters husbands; and I'm
sure don't love them!"
Then will you tell me why you wanted to
give THEM Christmas presents to the extent of
getting angry with your husband about it?''
because L always have, and they always
have, and like things to go Oh the way they've
been going on, and don't want to mar the har-
mony ana put an end to our Old pleasant WAYS
ana They'll give us something, they always
have, and they always nave come over mere,
every one OF them, to breakfast on Christmas
mornings, and don't want them to think
we re mean, and
say so, instead of blowing me up the other day9
Now, can't help you. drew my salary ahead
I'LL the close OF the year to make the last pay
ment on the house, you know. l had 1; part &C.
uiar Use for a hundred dollars, and borrowed
1t, and We spent it, and don't know where to
borrow any more, and If did doubt if it
would be right to borrow money and run i'm
debt Just for christmas presents-dO you think
1t would be?'
"N-no," said Mrs. Trench tearfully. And
then he kissed her again and said, sacrificing
his last scrap OF principle: well have TO eNo
plain IL To them and make ii right next year -
But us he went up the street there was IL hesita-
ton i'll his gait and manner which showed his
mind TO be very much divided about some
thing.
Mrs. Trench saw it as she looked after him ac-
cordins To her usual fashion when she was not
injured or angered; and she found herself ask
Ing Ii she supposed he really had not a hun
ured dollars he could have handed her at that
moment, II there We're not some other plan i'm
his head for using II that he found ii hard to
give up. But IL wls Idle to speculate, and she