The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-11-23
HOW 70 BE HAPPY ANYWHERE.
Every Woman Carries Her Happiness
with Her, If She Knows How to Develop
It
Chicago Times.Herald. }

A married woman-heppily. married
ought to be happy anywhere, but she isn't,
sometimes, and when she isn't it is he.
cause she lacks adaptability. The wom-
an who cannot adapt herself to her sur
roundings is to be pitied. Perhaps you
think that the woman who lacks adapta-
bility is the exception, but I am afraid
she is the rule.
The woman who marries an army off.
Ger ought to know that there is going to
be great change in her life. She goes
out to Fort K in Arizona, and when she
is indicted to the log hut that is to be her
homo for year at least, and perhaps for
three, her heart goes down into her boots.
There are other women there and they
assure her that she will soon get used to
it, but she refuses to believe in the posi-
bility, and within three months is plan
ming to take trip home to mother OF
course, he let's her go, but don't you sup.
pose he feels trifle disappointed in his
wifep
Then there is the naval officers wife.
Doesn't she know that the naval officers
have to travel away at twenty-four hours
notice? He must have told her that, and
yet when the order comes to go she tries
to delay him, and thus makes the parting
ten times harder. Or suppose she follows
him to the China station, and has to put
up at Hong Kong or Yokohohama, where
the manner of living is SO different from
this country. T here are some women
who find it rare fun and drop right into
oriental ways, because they are adapt
able, but the majority pass their time In
grooming. and, when hubby comes ashore,
take up all his shore leave wishing that
he could be removed to the Mediterranean
SQUADRON, or at least to the North ATTAIN
tic. Of course, he wishes so, too, but
he is under orders, and it would make IL
much easier If she was contented as he
tried to be.
Let me tell you little story of a from
tier town. 1t was situated on the north
eastern frontier twenty five years ago,
and, although now of considerable import
ance, then numbered 800 souls, all told.
1t was the terminus of a railroad, which
brought in one train every second day,
but which did not run any trains between
Oct. / and April because of the tremen-
dous snowdrifts.
There were just forty women In this
H.
dren. With the exception of four all
these women came from the "EaSt,
which in frontier vocabulary means st.
Paul and anything east of that point.
Their husbands had come out West to
grow up with the country, and after
years experience had felt justified In 60
| ing cast to claim the fulfillment of a pre-
vioas engagement.
The brids S We're brought to this town
| in the spring and had passed through the
summer very cheerfully. Then came the
| first frosts of September, and as the time
drew near for the departure of the last
| train their brows grew dark. They looked
forward with terror to six months exclu-
sion from the world they had left. I do
not know what they said, but / know
what they did.
There were four women in town who
had been mowers" as they call those
restless people who are always in the adj
vance of civilization, and of course they
stayed, and there were two other mar
ried women wko decided that if their
| husbands could stand the climate and the
solitude so could they, but every other
woman took the last train fer the east.
| Now, don't you think sll these women
might have adapted themselves to their
surroundings If they had triede
| Think of the wife of q missionary. He
| must go to the farthest points on the
globe, and she must go. too, OF course
| she knows IN general way Jnab Sn0
must encounter hardships and privations,
but you know you can't form any but the
| faintest idea of a place from g wri item
description, just as in summer you can't
really shiver over story of arctic psrils.
So when she actually is installed in a hut
with an earth floor, with surroundings
| little more than barbaric, you can t blame
| her If her heart feels sick, And how
| wretched she is going to be if sh Q cannot
| train that heart to cease its repiningsl
| 1t is nonsense to think that any civilized
woman can ever come TO prefer hut to
house, or the presence of savages to the
society Of America, but she can make
herself philosopher and extract fun, in
struction and even modicum of comfort
either at the equator or the pole.
II you will sit down and figure it out
you will find that of all the things in
your house there ara nine out of ten that
you could do without if you had to do so.
| The talent of adaptability is simply doing
without these superfuities and not miss
| ing them-at least not enough to frst
about it, 1t is very pleasant fate to not
| have to do without anything you want,
| but when the time comes when you must,
then make up your mind to adapt your
| self if you would be happy.
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