Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-20

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these domestic combinations mean wife
ard children or simply mother and sisters
is too recent to make a deep impression IN
the sense Of loneliness, or it may be the
| stay-at-home is still fully occupied MAX
| ing experiments how to use his liberty to
| the best advantage.
Gossip has always been rife with the
| doings of left-at-home husbands. Some OF
! 1t may have been true, but the largest part
| let us charitably hope, was always ma
| licious invention. The old nonsense OF silly
wealth and finery at a fashionable water
| ing place, while their devoted husbands
or fathers toiled at home through the heat
| and every other discomfort to keep II all
| going, has been exploded long ago.
| Where the wife is very prominent In
| social doings, at any of the summer cities,
| ten to she has big establishment
| back of her, kept going by her Individual
| means, and twenty to one hubby" Is Its
| strong attraction. And If he is not. 1t Is
| not her fault. But for the one family able
! to pull down the blinds in a city house and
| find itself, with numbers undiminished. en-
| joying all the delights Of another home by
| the sea, or in the mountains, there are
| fifty others to whom the annual hegira Is
| something of burden, and always
problem.
For the Children's Sake:
Madame and the children must get away
| from the heat of the town, not because
! madame cannot stand it, she has done so
dozens of times, but for the youngsters
| sake. 1t is a poor education nowadays
which does not include practical demonstra-
| ton of what the sea and the mountains
and the country of the story books really
means. Here is a case in point: A we'll
known Washington official has one daugh-
ter. bright little pet, just six years old
| and full Of interest and inquiry as to the
| iO She the the other
day for the first time and was spellbound.
| The pebbles on the shore she thought most
wonderful treasures, and in proof of 1t
| sent home to a cherished little friend a
| handful Of pink stones.
OF the noise of the sea and the breaking
of the waves on the shore, She bad evil
| IDENTIFY some ideas of her own and one was
that the whole thing was an exhibition of
| wonderful machinery which would stop
just as the elevator in big hotel does oc
casionally. Then came the question: "Oh.
| papa, when VIII the last wave come in ~
| So, with madame and the young folks out
of town. what does the stay-at-home man
do with his liberty from home ties? 1t is
taken for granted that he works all day
ard every day, just the same as he does the
rest of the year. Certainly that is the
main reason he remains home. Occasional
| ly YOU meet the wife of his heart back in
town again, and you wonder what brought
her. If you happen to know her very best
friends you will soon find out She had
heard something, or his letters grew fur
Their apart, she knew the So and Sos
were in town and he was always such a
goose over that crowd. or the check had
not come. or. best reason of all. she wanted
to see him herself, and here she Is.
Eyes, got in yesterday afternoon. and
went up to the house. Had an awful
time getting in, but I succeeded. and you
ought to have heard the Warwhoop JACK
gave me a welcome. There he was.
sans coat, sans vest on the back porch
reading The Star, and the worst old lot
of novels you ever saw piled up near him"
And Ch0 rrn6 haH ri U-if
one night in town doing her more good than
all the weeks elsewhere. Such is woman!
How the Time is Spent.
A professional man was asked how his
men friends spent the summer at home.
Trying to settle up unfinished business,
for the wariest lawyer gets very little new
business these two months. My house Is
closed up, except the room I occupy, tho
quiet is appalling. but you get used to it
in few days. There are two or three up
town hotels and cafes where you are sure
to meet your friends at breakfast and din
ner, and it Is very poor fellow. indeed.
who has not an acquaintance with a bright.
interesting family at home, who will not
be glad to see him an evening now and
then. Everybody has their summer friends
and the whole of them never get out Of
town at once. In fact, most families never
go till August unless there are little chill
dren amongst, them"
The theaters up to this time, have af-
forded an opportunity to while away an
| idle evening. The suburban inns have had
| big dinner crowds to cater for, and it would
| be interesting reading If the names of the
prominent citizens were printed who get
| all the recreation and fresh breeze they
want between dinner and bedtime, riding
| around on the street cars
The bicycle might be put at the head Of
| all diversions this summer. 1t is said that
| the wheel and its enjoyment in town has
| done away with the necessity of over-Sun-
! day and out-of-town trips. More. than that
the bike has so leveled all imaginary So
cial distinctions that lofty parsonage
| finds he can affiliate with the rest of the
| wheelers on the road without losing any of
| his own dignity. The money that hitherto
went into the purchase of summer luxuries
has gone or. is going into the price of a
| wheel. Horseback riding has been SO rele-
I gated to the background that livery stable
keepers are in despair. Secretary Smith Is
one conspicuous adherent to his lifelong en-
| joyment of horseback riding. He makes
his morning and evening canter fill up the
time that he would ordinarily give to the
| home circle were Mrs. Smith and the
| youngsters here. There are very few even
| nes that Mr.. Smith does not ride either
before or after his dinner, which he takes
| at restaurant not half dozen squares
from his house.
Safety Storage Device
| How to safely dispose of stay-at-home
husbands is not any greater problem for
years back, but the time is coming when it
need not be any more trouble than to stow
away other valuables, for which now stor-
age warehouses, safe deposit vaults ard
other safe and sound hiding places are SO
abundantly provided. Up in Boston an
. experiment Is being tried in cold storage
. warehouse established by a refined widow
, lady, of uncertain years naturally, who
, offers to contract with going-away wives
, to take care of their husbands during their
: absence and to return them in as good con-
dition as when received.
Naturally, the great feature is the con-
slant supervision which she will exert over
her charges. While everything will be
done to interest and amuse them, nc
4 breaches of discipline will be permitted
4 | and the solicitous care and strong arms OF
, | stalwart assistants will be called in if any
monkey business is attempted. He will be
: required to write to his wife at frequent
] intervals, fresh epistolary efforts every
/. time. The t!me-honored trick of preparing
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