The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1895-02-05
BOOMERS.

tween Mr.. and Mrs. Cranston. But
after Mrs. Cranston bought a bicycle
and learned to aide well there was a
disagreement which came very near
breaking up Il happy home. They had
been married three years, and they had
often said that their married life had
been n long honeymoon.
Tom had yielded so readily to all of
his wife's whims that she had uncon-
s~ciously gained an opinion that her word
was to him like the laws of the Modes
and the Persians.
But this idea was all knocked to
pieces when one morning AS they sat at
breakfast Mrs. Cranston said:
'Tom, I'm going to order my dress
maker to make q suit of bloomers for
me today. do SO much bicycling now
that skirts are too heavy for me.
What" shouted Tom, dropping his
spoon in the oatmeal.
Mrs. Cranston also dropped her spoon
and looked in surprise at her husband.
81 said, she repeated, that l was
going to get a bloomer suit. What
strikes you as particularly strange about
khat?"
"What strikes me as particularly
stranger" he repeated, with a wild look
IN his eyes. do you think for one in.
slant that | will allow my wife to race
around town looking like a Autograph
Of a variety entertainment? Not much"
"But, Tom, :" said Louise in a tone
that had never failed to persuade her
husband that she was right and that he
was wrong, II don't see why / can't
have boomers. Mrs. Kynaston and
Mrs. Bentley and Mrs. Jennings all
wear them, and their husbands don't
object, so why should5ou?"
''It makes no difference why I
should" said Tom doggedly. 81 don't
intend to have my friends on the ex-
change coming to me and saying, Tom,
I see your wife's wearing boomers
Not if I know il.
But, Tom" she began, "I"-
"Oh, don't talk any more nonsense,
Louise" he broke in. II am sick of il.
You shan't wear boomers, so that set
ties 1t. And Mr.. Cranston, whose appe-
tite had been taken entirely away by
his wife's announcement, got up from
the table and started for the door.
"Goodby!" he called from the hall,
and then the door slammed, and Louise
sat at the breakfast table wondering
how it Was that she had never before
known that her husband had a will of
his own.
She had told all her friends only the
day before that she would be wearing
boomers within a week, and when they
had suggested that her husband might
object she had said:
What! Tom object? Why, he never
objects to anything"
And now Tom had absolutely refused
to allow her to wear them, with facial
expression which showed. that he would
not stop short of the divorce courts to
prevent it.
Finally she arose from the table and
went to her Dom
She had an idea which, she thought,
If properly carried out, would gain
Toms consent to the wearing of bloom
ers. She wrote a hurried note to her
dressmaker ordering a bloomer suit of
a pattern which she had already select
ed and then donned her old bicycle suit
to pay q call to Mrs. Kynaston, who
had a husband who did not object to
boomers.
She told her troubles to the viyacious
Mrs. Kynaston, who was not sparing in
her sympathy for the poor friend who
had a narrow minded husband who OBJ
jected to a convenient bicycle dress.
why, how foolish of himl'' she said.
II don't believe the poor man has ever
seen a proper bicycling costume. I'll
tell you what we'll do. Wen all 60
bicycling this afternoon and come back
by your house at just the time your
husband gets home, and he will see
what a bloomer suit looks like"
And so tine bicycle party was arrang-
ed, and when Thomas Cranston arrived
at his home that evening he saw five
women riding in front of the house, and
four of them were in full bloomer cos
tune. The fifth, who wore skirts, was
his wife.
lie was not SO badly shocked as he
thought he wonld be, and he wished
ShNN IN AiA1 AOb b@Nl EO uCGIuEh III Ills
refusal of his wife, request, but he made
up his mind that it would be humanity
to yield after his remarks of the morn
ing, and so, with a bow to his wife and
her companions, he went indoors and
began to dress for dinner.
That night Louise again preached the
subject of bloo1ners. but her husband
silenced her by saying:
"Now, see here, Louise, don't speak
to me about bloomers again. You may
goin-for women's rights if you like.
and you may wear standing collars and
mems w~aistcoats, but You shall not
wear trousers, " If bicycling does
justify it in your eyes.
"Trousersi'' cried Louise indignant
". Who said anything about trousers?
i was talking about boomers"
II know you were, said Mr.. Grams
ton, land please don't talk about them
any more. I'm tired of it, and / won't
hear it mentioned again"
The next morning when Mr.. Grams.
ton put on his coat to start for bia ofiea