Evening star., 1902-02-22
JOBSON FORGETS AGAIN

Mrs. Jobson gayexHpeattending matinees
quite number d years ago She found
that she had to. THe inpossibility of max
Ing connections ks to preside over the
Jobson dinner wa8 what caused her to
abandon her occ4sf mat visits to afternoon
theatrical perfosw4nces. She tried the
scheme OF quitting the performances about
half an hour before the final fall Of the cur
tain. but this was unsatisfactory, not only
because she had ts miss the denouement OF
the play. but because she always got home
late anyhow. 20
The other mornink while the. Jobsons
| were at breakfast, aiyoung unmarried wo-
man friend of Mrs. .aJobson's dropped In to
tell the latter THAI she had couple of COM
pnmenlary atsefaS 1.-The matinee that day
anu asked MRS Jobson II she would care
10 accompany her to the show. Mrs. job
son looked wistful. but she replied:
I'd like to, but don't believe 1 can"
Huh! put in Mr.. Jobson, looking up
Why can't you?"
We'll" said Mrs. Jobson; ''the dinner.
you know"
That's all right about the dinner: you go
TO the matinee. said Mr.. Jobson, shortly,
ana SO MRS. Jobson accepted the invitation
ana ner young unmarried woman friend
went her way. When she had gone. Mr..
Jooson glared fercefy at Mrs. Jobson anu
Look a-here, madam, what's your idea
III enueaVoring to show me up In this man
her! WHAT'S your scheme in trying to hold
me up as sort of Bluebeard and general
h hard nut before everybody that drops in
Mrs Jobson said that she didn't quite
catch his drift
What made you put on that air Of mis-
cry and pale grief when that girl asked
you to go to the matinee with her, eh?"
nor
the impression that you're dubbed with a
day."
Mrs. Jobson said that she didn't remem-
Der having looked that way.
no the dickens ever said anything
a, anout your going to matinees. I'd like to
Mrs. Jobson replied family that to the
best of her recollection there had been,
quite while ago, some little difficulty over
the matter of Mr.. Jobson's dinner when she
mad gone to the matinee
never was anything of the Sort" stout
ly maintained Mr.. Jobson Il never said a
word to you about going to matinees in my
lie. Fact is, I've often asked you, when
you tried to drag me off at night to shows
that didn't care whoop to see, why you
didn't take In the matinee of such shows.
inis game OF yours of trying to make all
hands think I'm household bulldozer and
tyrant mas got to be stopped that's all. You
can go to the matinee. I'll get my dinner
down town and you needn't work yourself
INTO @ any nervous delirium as to whether
III get enough to eat or not. I'll be home
about or 10 o'clock tonight, or maybe I'll
take in some kind Of a stag variety show
myself. Anyhow, don't YOU bother. but
just go ahead and have the fun that's com
ing to YOU"
Mrs. Jobson was delighted over the op-
portunity to see play that she had been
secretly hankering to see and she told MIR.
Jobson that he was just about as good as
ne could be, If not whole lot better, and
all the morning, as she went about her
household work, she experienced a glow of
pressure over his increasing good nature.
Her young woman friend called for her
at noon, and they went down town and had
the usual feminilne apte-matinee luncheon
bonh. bl rnoeoiate eclafs: pickles and cocoa. and
consume during the performance, and Mrs
Jobson enjoyed herself hugely.
1t was about 5;15 O'clock when she left
her young woman friend at the Jobson
front gate and entered the Jobson abode
dreamlly humming clfngng little air that
the orchestra had played during the after
noon. She was still in sort of trance over
the memory of the play as she took off her
wraps IN the vestibule, and she was con-
sequently startled almost out of her wits
when she heard a deep cough-unquestion-
ably the cough Of Mr.. Jobson-proceeding
from the basement. She ran down the
basement stairs and into the basement din
ing room. n
Mr.. Jobson. with. heavy scowl on his face.
was gnawing on an old ham bone that he
had found In the refrigerator. Beside him
was half loaf Of. stale bread that he had
dug from the bottom of the bread box.
TWO pounds of butter,"on the wood platter
as it had been delivered, was also beside
nlm' ana between gnaws at the bone Mr.
Jobson was taking sips from the warmed
over coffee left from breakfast which con-
sisted chiefly of muddy-ooking grounds
Why explained Mrs. Jobson "how did
you happen to come home?"
Lob,
preston Of intense amazement
How did happen to come homer" he
asked her. hoarsely. Where do ordi
nari nartiy hike for after office hours-to the
But said Mrs Jobson, did Won forget
that you told me to enjoy myself at the
matinee. and that you would have your
dinner down town and perhaps go to the
theater yourself this evening?'
Mr.. JObson stared at her with an exnres
sion OF utter stupefaction on his face.
Matinee? he gulped. Dinner down
town? What are you talking about?
haven't even heard the word matinee men
TONED for seven years to my certain knowl-
edge, and as for my taking dinner down
town. what dye suppose | slave like an
Alaska dog to keep this home together for?
rms madam, 1s about the finish. When a
man, worn out from overwork, has to crawl
home and make the best sort of a meal he
can out Of back-number scraps day in and
day out, while his wife Is gaddine about
TIC StieelS anu lIlNoIns around at matt
nees. then it's about time to declare such
an impossible situation at an end. The
moving vans'll be here the first thing to-
morrow morning. Mrs. Jobson. and I par
ticularly request that you endeavor to re-
main In the house long enough to see that
the movers don't knock hunks off the piano
and other furniture. I'll make suitable nro.
vision for you. and when the papers are
drawn up you'll be at liberty to trot
around all you want to, even to the point
of participating in one Of those six-day
walking matches, for all I care" said Mr..
Jobson. with an air of martyr-like resiena.
tion and went on gnawing at his bare ham
bone.
The postman. however, is still delivering
letters every day to the Jobsons at the old
address. but the next time Mrs Jobson
yields to the temptation to attend a matt
nee performance unless Mr. Jobson is tray
cling and at least 500 miles from Washing
ton he wants to be told Of 1t.