, 1897-09-11

as Two turtle-doves. | suppose we must
have been takin' in about a thousand
a week, on an average. during the %
or 30 weeks Of the year. and if it hadn't
been for her Internal jealousy the snap
would have lasted right along up to
now. But she spoiled everything just
when we were beginning to lay by mon
ey.
How did il happen? How does every
thing happen that's got a woman into
Ii? Jealousy, and nothing else. My
Gawd! it makes ME sick to think Of it.
George. give us the same over again.
You see. she got jealous OF a little I-tal-
ian girl that was in the company. and
one salary day I said I'd step out from
the hotel over to the opera-house and
collect the money. | never let her risk
her health doing things like that when
could do them FOR her. even if did
get my feet wet. as I did that day, when
1t was pouring rain-so wei that | stop
ped into that little Italian macaroni
joint after coming from the theatre, jus;
to lei my clothes dry and have a glass
OF something to keep the cold out. The
little Italian chorus girl was a-settin'
there eatin' her lunch, and when she
seen me she called cut fer ME to take a
seat al her table, and we got to drinkin'
wine and chattin' and one thing and an
other till it got to be pretty we'll along
toward 7 o'clock and / thought we might
just as well have dinner there and I'd
go h!me later, as there was no perform
ance that night. So. after dinner, ii
was raining pi.chforks and ] called a
cab to a the girl home, and, s'lhp me
God! | had no more thought OF doing
anything out OF the way than I have
this minute, but that jealous wife Of
mine had been barkin' mp different trees
Tor some time and had got onto this
Italian without nj KNOWN 1t. All the
time We was dinin' she was standing in
a doorway opposite, pipin' us both off,
and when we come out to git into the
cab she made one clean jump like a
panther-cat, and the Lord only knows
what followed. l see her two eyes blaz-
ms in the dark, and I lit out. l can tell
We. but the way she clawed that poor
girls face and neck was something fear
full.
No, she couldn't get no divorce on
takin' dinner in a restaurant with a lady,
but she stood out 81 long in the rain
that she took cold and it settled on her
lungs. and though I spent pretty near
all the money she'd saved on doctors
bills. | saw l couldn't do nothing FOR
her. She never could earn the money
she made before. and. as | am accustom-
ed to living like a gentleman, We had
to part.
No. Tapioca and I didn't meet till
last winter. There was two in between
her and the other.
Who were they? Well. the first was
Eyeballs-
Yes, that's her. Irene Eyeballs, the
emotional actress. and if she hadn't been
too burned emotional, we would have
Sol oi Dtttcl. EIIlOIIoHdl dttIu6 10 VII
right on the stage, said l, but I don't
want none Of it with my dinner or
breakfast. and E~yeballs was all right
up to a certain point. To begin with.
she was, and she might be today il she
had any one to handle her. a woman
with a big draft. But she'd had two
husbands before I run up against her.
and i found that she want so alfred
trusting as a woman ought to be. In
fact. she was on to pretty near any
racket that could be put up, and the
worst Of it was she kept such tight
hold on the strings Of the money-bag
that pretty soon 1t seemed 10 me life
want hardly worth living. l argued
with her and demonstrated. but she kept
goin' on from bad TO worse. until n
day I told her that she owed 1t to her
self to see that I had money in my pock-
ct to spend. and then she told me to go
out and earn it myself-after all I'd
done for her-and l took her at her
word.
Tie next was Il wealthy society lady
that had been in amateur theatricals
and wanted to appear on the stage. l
began with her as her manager and end
ed as her husband, for she had nearly
Sc, 1000 cold plunks in the bag, and l
| thought with my business experience
We ought 20 make that last a good while.
I knew tina the longer l kept her off
the stage the longer the money would
hold out, and so l kept tellin' her not
to appear until she was sure Of maxim
A success: but finally she kicked up such
a dust hat i had to let her act. just to
give the public a chance Of KNOWN as
we'll as l did what a blamed fool she
was.
Did she come out here? In Juliet
she was A the day l married her-and
such a roasting as she got in the papers
the next day I never did see. Even I
felt sorry for her when l found her lynn
on the soty crying and moaning, with
the papers all clutched in her hand. That
experience kind Of opened her eyes. and
all Of a sudden she got mean as dirt
and wouldn't spent a cent on anything,
and 1T was that, together with bein' a
laughing-stock for the whole commun-
ity. that drew us apart after a while.
And about that time Tapioca doomed up
on the scene, and got kind o struck on
~1- L,s-.