The Winslow mail., 1899-02-04
HOW TO BE HAPPY ANYWHERE
Every Woman Carries Her Happiness
with Her, L she Iznows Row
TO Dcvel0o 1t.
married voman-haDDilv MAI

ought to be happy anywhere, but
She isn't sometimes, and when she
sn't it is because she lacks adapta-
bility. The woman who cannot adapt
herself TO her surroundings is to be
pitied. Perhaps you think that the
woman that lacks ad2pt2bility is The
exception, but I'm afraid she is the
rule.
The woman who marries an army
officer ought to know that there is
going to be a great change IN her life
She goes out to Fort \ in Arizona,
and when she is inducted to the log
hut that is to be her home for year
at least, and perhaps for three, her
heart goes down into her little 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
possibility, and within three months
is planning to take trip home to
mother. Of course, he let's her go, but
don't you suppose he feels trifle dis
appointed in his wife?
Then there is the naval officers wife
Doesn't she know that naval officers
have to travel away at "a hours notice?
He must have told her that. and yet
when the order comes to y she tries 20
delay him, and thus makes stle part
ing ten times harder. Orssuppose she
follows him to the China station, and
has to put up at Hong-Kong or Yoko-
hama, where the manner of living is so
different from this country. There are
solae women who find it rare fun and
drop right into oriental ways, because
they are adaptable, but the majority
pass their time in groanirg, and, when
hubby comes ashore, take up all his
shore leave wishing that he could be
removed to the Mediterranean squad
ron, ,sor at least to the North Atlantic
Of course; he wishes so, too, but he is
under orders, and it would make it
much easier if she was as contented as
he triesto be.
Let me tell you a little story of a
frontier town. 1t was situated On the
northwestern frontier 25 years ago,
aHd, although now OF considerable i'm
portaEcc, then numbered 800 souls, all
lOIl. II NtlS lIt tSI1IIihtS vi ii IclI-
road, which brought in one train every
second day, but which did not run
any trains between October l and April
1 because CT the tremendous snow
drifts. w
There was just 40 women in this town,
all married, and about six had children.
With the exception Of four all these
women came from the s'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 going
east to claim the fulfllment of a previ-
Gus engagement.
The brides were 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 exclusion 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 movers" as they call those
restless people who are always in the
advance of civilization, and of course
they stayed, and there were two other
married woman who decided that if
their husbands could stand the eli
mate and the solitude so could they, but
every other woman took that last train
/ for the east. Now, don't you think all
these women might have adapted them
selves to their surroundings if they had
tried?
Think of the wife of a missionary.
He must go to the farthest points on
the globe, and. she must 60 too. Of
course she Knows ina general way that
she must encounter hardships and pri-
vations. but you know you can't form
any but the faintest idea of place
from "a written description, just as in
summer you can't really shiver over a
story Of arctic perils. So when she
actually is installed in hut with an
earth floor, with surroundings little
more than baFbaric you can't blame
her il her heart feels sick, Ard how
wretched she is going to be if she can
not train that heart to cease its re-
pinings! 1t is nonsense to think that
any civilized woman can ever come to
prefer a hutFto house, or the pres
cnce of savages to the<society of Amer
ica, but she can make herself philos-
opher and extract fun, instruction and
even q modicum of comfort either at
the equator or the pole.
If you viii sit down and figure it out
you will find that of all the things in
your house there are nine cut Of ten
that you could do without if you had
to do so. The talent of adaptd ability is
simply doing without these superfiui-
ties and not missing them-at least not
enough to fret about it. 1t is a very
pleasant fate to not have to do with
out anything you want, but when the
times comes when you must, then make
up your mind to adapt yourself if you
would be happy y.-Effie Wybrant Smith,
in Chicago Times-Herald.