Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-20
THE REFORMED JACK

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The young matron, in her pretty biJou
home on Capitol Hill, looked very melan-
choly. She rested her chin in her two
palms and sighed drearily. Her two call
ers, also youngSInatrons. exchanged glances.
Her husbands brutal to her." the glances
read. Il
Why Ethelareda- they chorused aloud.
You seem SO. unhappy! Surely Jack is
not"
'Oh. nor interposed the melancholy
young matron, TACK is decidedly not.
Jack is Don'E fancy such a thing for a
moment. You see, I've reformed Jack.
That's why I'm so wretched."
well, of ais mysteries!" exclaimed the
two visitors in unison. Reformed him.
ana now you are wretched? What can be
the meaning Of
Don't utter that word reform any
oftener than you can really help" said the
hostess. dismally. 81 have learned 10 de-
spise IT. 1t has lost for me my old Jack.
aha cont fancy he'll ever return to him
sell. snail tell your
"Do"' said they both as thav settled
themselves.
wen, you both know that before we
were married. and for little while after,
100, JACK drank just teeny little bit-not
very much, but once In a while and then
not very seriously. 1 decided to exert nv
iilnuehce TO have him stop, for I had no.
Itceo' you Know, two or three times when
JACK returned and kissed me in the vesti-
nuie, ne sort OF drew in his breath, with
!. me loea-the poor, foolish silly-of keeping
~ from me that he had taken drink or
Two down town. This made me rather
Dlue' and thought l would use my inilu-
e eita WIN MIN to have him stop drinking
ai.osetnur Wen, We had a little harmo-
NOUS talk one Sunday afternoon and lack
S.oPped drinking altogether. l noticed that
&c "as slo"lng cross and irritable at times
S,.ei that, and he changed a great Zeal.
rnrot linen mat perhaps Jack smoked too
ni1 ne was forever smoking cigars. and
phe evening asked him If he didn't think
ne couio DO as well without them alto
sether; yes he said, L think can. and
hut ot - ne abandoned smoking entirely,
~ sIacious me. how cross il did make
NM NM Really, he was perfectly fe -ocinus AT
LINES around the house for weeks af+er
ne stopped smoking s
gooa na while, however, he regained his
changed from the old Jack. First he ba
So 'tiiherihg around the house when he
eaI'e nome in the evening He'd hammar
-. pslnl ana Whttewash and engage in all
mat sort Of thing for hours after dinpar
SO that we had scarcely anv o1Iiet +in,a e.
se.her at all. Then he began to take an
interest IN the question of hygienic foods
anu ne decided that salt was Injurious rs
n1nr a. ic ne OF diet. To please him 1 re-
, laoie' and seasoned my own dishes in the
hltcheh surreptitiously. Then Jack con
Ssisea violent dislike for coffee and tea
e .Itd no RAG always been so devoted to cot
vel coffee and tea were tabooed
and I had to take an occasional cnn Of
soiiee wren Jack was at his office | crayad
TOT 1t so. Well last winter Jack took If
n.y. MS heao that going to the theater was
al matter of habit, and one evening
when 1 asked him to take me to see a niaS
ne replied, I've got no money to look
away. What benefit do we derive from
gong to the theater?' 1 couldn't. of
course, enter into an argument with him
ABOUT 1t, and SO l had to go to a matinee
occasionally with one of NV women
Lrlenos. You are rot to suppose that Jack
became stingy Not in the least. But he
seemed to develop so many crotchety no.
tons! The Potomac water displeased him
greatly and he purchased two expensive
hlters-one for the drinking water exclu-
sively and the other for the cooking water
After while he stopped going out alto
gether. Really 1 couldn't get Jack to
bulge out of the house. He would read his
evening paper for an hour or SO after din
ner. and then he would go in for cabinet
work or something like that. And then,
worst of ALL he began experimenting
things in the kitchen. The stuff he read
about the hygienic preparation Of foods
got him into this, and, truly, 1t was terri
BILE! Three of my cooks left within two
months. They said they couldn't stand it
L had the most awful time getting girls to
remain with me, and when I spoke to Jack
about going into the kitchen ae simply
froze me with looks!7l
About month ago he informed me
that, after carefully weighing the subject
from every viewpoint, and reading I'D all
OF the best authorities on the subject he
had decided that the use Of animal food
was deleterious and wrong, and he pur-
posed adherng to vegetable liet alto
gether henceforth He invited me to Join
him in the vegetarian plan. OF course, |
could do nothing but accede for it wouldn't
do for me to have meat on the table If
Jack didn't partake of it-and, girls, do
you know that [ am just starved! l go to
mammals twice every week, and she has
a big, thick steak for me, and | lcok for
ward to these events yearningly Well
last night when Jack came in from his
lodge, which is the only place he visits [
met him at the door for the usual saluta-
ton. Jack told me that he had decided
he was sorry. but he had decided-to aban-
don the habit of kissing. 1t was a danger
Gus practice, he said, and liable to commu-
nicate and propagate germs or something
like that"
The little woman dabbed the corner of
her left eye with her handkerchief.
And I wish l had my old Jack back,"
she concluded.