Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1901-08-15
The Asslils af the Extremes.

merous girl ccusins--by Eleanor
particularly-abnt when the dreaded
moment arrived she vas alarmed.
In dss minutes John would be a.
tnally gone, for she entire dax, aud
she sould he all alone with johns
moths. yes. actually nith her mo-
thar
sh syeaiss ~ sesy .soberlx.
and Il hope sa.. d. hnx| unsie-
.lsltsss,oysa sas'. ,lseIo.b. John
shz-s.-<<4 = 2 $500 - nh
smiled Il IL .-er. ! They we're
having breakfast, they and Johns
mother, in their own home for the
frat time. They had been married
exactly Eve weeks. and they had
come home from their wedding trip
on the previous evening. The home
was new only to Valerie. 1t had
been for many years the home Of
John and of Johns widowed moth
er.
John had explained to. Valerie
that he might not leave his mother
alone, and that she would be loath
to relinquish her home, and almost
unable to adapt herself to a totally
new environment. Valerie was
quickly sympathetic.
"She need not john" she had
said, reassuringly. "She 10 older
than !, and ! don't want to spoil
any Of her life for her. OF course
We will 60 and live with her. l
shan't be q horrid, typical daught-
er-in-law % she had warmly con-
cluded.
John did not know exactly what
she meant by typical daughter-in-
Law, but he assured her again and
again that she could not possibly
be anything horrid. Their discus
sions of the practical details of
their future invariably ended in
such personal irrelevancies.
Valerie certainly looked unlike
anything horrid as she gravely re.
turned Johns smile. Her rose col
ored muslin breakfast jacket, with
its decoration of black velvet bows
artistically sewed on at random,
lighted charmingly her fresh young
face, and harmonized prettily with
the rose stuck also artistically at
random in her curly brown hair.
Johns mother, about whom there
was nothing at random, glanced at
Valerie occasionally with an inner
disquiet almost equal to Valerie's
alarm. In a moment John would
be gone, actually gone, for the en-
tire day, and she would be left all
alone with Johns wifs-yes, tctu-
ally with her daughter.in-law She
also had been amply prepared and
amply warned touching the inevita-
BILE emergency; but she also looked
soberly at John.
He thought that his mother was
thinking how beautiful it was to
have Valerie permanently in the
house; and again he smiled. His
mother was gentle and tender be-
meath all the precision and prim-
ness concerning which Johns cous-
in Eleanor had solemnly warned
Valerie-Valerie whose theories Of
order were undeveloped-and she
had assured John that his wife
would be most welcome.
"I have no intention, my dear, /"
Johns mother had said to him, "of
being O conventional mother-in-
law-and it will be sweet to have q
daughter"
She had the gentlest intentions;
bat as she looked at Valerie she re.
called vividly oil that her niece
Eleanor, who had been in college
with Valerie, had said regarding
the girls tendency to leave her hat
on the piano, her umbrella on the
library table, her overshoes on the
stairs, or her book on the floor.
"Vslerie is an angel" Eleanor
had said, "but she thinks house
is made just to live in. She has
such picturesque, disorderly way
of being orderly p
Johns mother had had occasion
to appreciate the justice of Elean-
or's criticism, for Valerie had via
tied her q week before her marriage.
Johns mother had given the crit
cism not very much thought; but
now Valerie was no longer o guest; !;
she was permanency!
The permanency was meditating
upon the possibility Of going with
John. and spending the day at his