Evening journal., 1899-07-26
MANY GRASS WIDOWERS
Wilmington is Completely
Overrun BY Them.
A sORRY L0OKINa sET THBY ARE

WORRY ALONG UNTIL FROsTs
COME AND BRING DOMESTIC RE-
LIEF IN THEIR TRAIN.
Wilmington is full Of grassy -widowers
just now-summer grass-widowers. the
Wayfarer means. They are sorry
looking set. He runs across them at
every turn-poor. miserable, detected
men whose wives are out Of town for
several weeks-some at the seashore:
others in the mountains, and others.
again, rusticating In sequostered rural
retreats far from the grind and swell
ter Of metropolitan lifo and humidity.
If these absent wives could but see
these miserable specimens Of the genus
homo; II they could but get a birds
eye view Of the community at this
particular time. their hearts would be
filled with compassion. and showers OF
|scalding tears would fall on the heads
Of the disconsolate lords of creation
who have been left to their own re-
sources for the time being. 1t is well
that they cannot attain such coien
.of vantage. for, II they could. the
sight would impel them to forego their
own pleasures and hurry back to town
70 restore the social equilibrium.
These miserable Summer grass
widowers haunt the table-board estab-
lishments, the restaurant tables and
the dairy-lunch counters. Some have
been so overcome by the responsible
ties Of life that they are running free
lunch routes with the keen intelligence
and earnest zeal OF professional round
ers--nve cents worth Of beer and ten
cents worth Of lunch-as a sacrifice TO
the absent household gods
Early in the morning you see this
miserable horde OF grass -widowers
leaving what they call. by courtesy.
their homes. They are closed. for the
Summer, to everyone but themselves.
A restless night in hot and ill-venti-
lated rooms; a quick wash in water
which has been standing in the pipes
for a day and a night; a hurried rub
down with towels which have worked
overtime, because Of lack OF enersy on
the part OF despondent men to hunt Tor
clean ones--these things, and the hor-
riblc dreams OF domestic confusion.
which are not all dreams. conspire TO
make men feel most keenly the volun-
tary, absence Of their Lares and
Penatos.
Yes, they leave their homes, sad OF
face, heavy OF heart, weary OF eye and
despondent OF soul Unclean. un-
shaven and unshorn they make their
way to some quick-lunch place. where
coffee and sandwiches constitute the
bin Of fare. They partake Of this plain
and substantial food with resignation;
some Of them with pretense OF hilar-
ity. II their wives had set out such
repast there would have been
a cyclone IN the dining room and ty-
phoon in the kitchen. But they know
better than to try to make
the day pass miserably for
the quick-lunch man. They might
meet with resentment little
more forcible than sighs and sears, and
With no makeup in sight for dinner
time. It is impossible for them to ex-
ercise their God-given prerogative to
find fault without proyocation. While
a wife would not say. If you don't
like what keep, get to L out OF here."
the quick-lunch man might, and doubt
less would It's hard coffee, but they
swallow It, and a ham sandwich with il;
and. with tagging footsteps, go about
their mornings labor. The hours hang
heavily, somehow, with nothing but
hot coffee and sandwiches. cold milk
and pie to look forward TO-
Yhey know that the quicB-lunch
man won't meet them at the front door
and say, How are you. dear?" and ac-
company the interrogatory with smiles
and kisses. There would be trouble in
he tried it, and yet, somehow, these
grass-widowers miss this af-
fectionate attention. The Wayfarer
has often thought that II some enter
prising quick-l0nch vender were to en-
ploy a pretty and attractive grass
widow to meet these miserable mortals
at the lunch-room door at meal time
to give them the glad smile, the az
lectionate embrace and the warm and
mpulsiye kiss in fairly good imitation
Of their absent wives, he could make
q fortune in one season and retire
Some fair creature with hair of gold
and eyes Of ethereal blue; or some be-
ng with hair and eyes as black as the
sloe. could even carry the bluff to the
axtent OF inquiring: What detained
you, darling? Dinners been ready
'or twenty minutes and everything is
,old." 1t would be a big hit in these