The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-12-06
A TRIVIAL AFFAIR.


lie, that person is Walter. Walter, let me
tell you, is my good husband, who says
possess talent-yes, that's what he calls
it-for writing and has persuaded me to
enter the literary arena Whether shall
stand and face the many disappointments
of the litterateur or go down before them
I fear to think. Often when alone of an
evening, I take from my desk the great
bundle of nonsense have at different
times scrubbed, and after reading some of
the pieces through blush to think what
little merit they possess. Once I had the
temerity to send a poem to a magazine.
1t now lies bundled with the others, ire
jected" marked upon its face, and folded
with it is cruel circular, setting forth
in polite way that my poem lacks the
brilliancy to warrant public .tion-my be-
loved poem, In the composing of which
spent many days and many sleepless
nights, not to mention the cost of several
rhyming dictionaries.
My Waltec is a journalist, and while
not at the foot of the ladder, am told, has
not amassed fortune in his five years of
journalistic work In fact, the dear fell
low says that journalists who hoard up
millions or even thousands are few and
far between, and for very good reason,
too-they never get chance to. I have
met quite few journalists IN the past few
years and cannot remember having heard
any one of them pronounce the profession
money making one On the contrary,
with but few exceptions, they depreciate
the work and earnestly advise any one at
all literarily inclined to nip their inclina-
ton ia the bud, for they say that the pro-
fession is more OF thorns than roses and
has not the delights casual glance would
lead an outsider to believe Still, the dear,
genial fellows hang-for they are all dear,
genial fellows-on to their chosen work
with inconsistent tenacity and seem to lead
rs enjoyable lives as most people. But ]
am depressing.
When once remarked to Walter in the
blandlike innocence which is characters
tic of ne that it would be jolly if my con-
tributions were accepted by Che maya
zines, so that our slender bank account
might be swelled and our way through
life made easier thereby, he called me a
mercenary little wretch. Yet, while well
know that he often wishes we had more
of the needful, the idea of my working for
money is distasteful to him. Of course he
encourages me in literary work, but for
an. -sement only.
Yes, it is three years now since Walter
and were married. Father and mother
were averse to the match. In fact, father
threatened to disown me if married the
boy, and dear, gentle mother urged me to
not disobey my stern pater. TWAS Sc
we're ordeal went through in those days,
and sometimes / wonder how ever did it.
disliked to disobey father, but he was SO
unreasonable. am sure Walter has been
a good husband to me, and the only thing
father or any one else could say against
him was that he was poor. But was ia
ther not poor when mother married him?
And have not thousands of young people
commenced married life as Walter and I
did and lived to be prosperous? OF course,
but father forgot it and thought that
should have stepped out of the old home
with all the comforts 40 years of hard work
had given it into one of my own equally
splendid. The thing was ridiculous. It
never occurred to father that if all girls
refused to marry until their lovers made
homes for them equal to the ones those
lovers asked them to leave it would be a
continual string of old maids and old
bachelors the clergyman would have to
join together. All, me! Next to loves
young dream there is nothing half SO
sweet in life as the building up of
home, bit by bit, day by day.
However, Walter and 1 were married,
and father was very angry indeed. For
long time he held aloof from us, although
dear mother often ran over to see how we
were getting on. Then, after awhile, ia
ther melted, as Walter called it, and a
short time ago surprised us by coming
with mother to spend Sunday afternoon
with US and to- stay for tea. That was
bright day in our little home. did all I
could to make father comfortable, and
am sure Walter was just as agreeable as
possible. When at last they arose to go,
knew by the warm kiss he impressed
upon my lips that father had taken me te
his heart again, and when they had gone
Walter chucked me under the chin, kissed
me several times and laughingly told me
chat there were tears in my eyes.
You may sing praises of the pioneers
Of old for bravely enduring the hardshipa
they necessarily underwent in settling in
this fair country. They were heroic and
the women as well as the men passed
through many crisis which looks to us
now as being almost impossible to have
overcome. While 1 do not want you to
think that / am landing myself, let me
say that there are today young people
among us as brave and heroic as were
those pioneers of old, for are there not
thousands of them who, loving one an
other, join hearts and hands to battle
bravely, horoically, in building up home,
family, a country? There are young
homes where the fire of contentment burns
brightly all the time, where hearts are
warm, where charity and love continually
dwell, and all the while the young mas
tiers do daily battle for their darling wives,
their little families-battle heroically as
ever did the sturdy early settler who cut
away the forest for place wherein to build
his simple log cabin.
Walter and I agreed from the outset that
it would be better to rent n smaller house
and keep q servant than to have larger
one and DO the housework myself 1t WAS
q matter of dollars and cents with US. and
the luxury of q servant meant the cutting
down of expenses in some other way. Con
sequently we rented and furnished a neat
little house where we said it would be
love in cottage
We advertised fer :. girl. OF the few ap-
piicants one was astute enough to get the
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