Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-01-16
YOUNG OFFICERS WIFE.
Girls Brought Up in Luxury Who Marry
in Army May Have aro Time
CFrom the Washington St;


81 met in New York the other day" 81
the experienced wife Of an army office
who put in a good many years of sorVi. foe
on the far Western frontier "a girl who
has got a sore disillus ionront in store for
her. She Is rich in hcI own right. tho
daughter of a rich New York wild "
who was raised here in Washing on. and
she Is going TO marry, next month, 4
yChng second lieutenant who entered inc
service from civil life, and who. after his
service in the Philippines, has already
been ordered to duty AT very far West
ern infantry pest. All that this rich AVID
accomplished young woman knows about
soldering Is what she has Seen OF II
around Washington and New York -tho
trimmings on tie tunic of soldering, 50
TO speak FJr some years past she has
beer much mingled with the army society
OF New York and Washington, and from
her manner Of speaking. il all seems very
Prard ana glorious TO her. | feel for the
child in the awakening she is going To
ha"e. Sh" ant seem to diSassociate the
50 luicring that she has seer at Governors
Island for Example. which Is charming
SPOT only ACROSS beautiful stretch Of
water from New York. or tho soldier
that she has seen at Fort Myer. whirh is
only step a ross the river from the II o-t
behulliul Ct American citios-she can't APP
pear to realize | say. that the sort of sol
dlerine with which she Is familiar * nj
terly and absolutely different from that
which is probably in store for her ypuug
sc cCnd lieutenant husband for a 60 d
many years to cCme She goes from a
charming. luxurious home, in tho most
lovely quarter Of New York to post that
Is VIGOROUSLY dismal and gloomy. A. tie
wife Of second lieutenant, and n very
Junior second lieutenant at that, ana,
moreover one from civil life-I need not
he. ID liatf to-, .l
have to take just whatever quarters are
dished out to her husband. 1t doesn't
make any difference that she has been
used to living In home such as the wives
of the senior officers of the post never
lived ir-the junior officer sets up his men
age just where it Is pointed out TO him,
and all of the heaItaChes of his wifc's
over the better aco ommodations o. tie
seniors don't help the situation a little
bit The young woman has some maguil-
cent furnitur' of her own. and a lot that
her mother wants to give her and she
confidently expects that she will have
room to scatter this fine furniture around
her new home. None of us who has met
her has had tho reeve TO tell Ter yet Just
how completely hopeless it would re for
Ter to even think Of taking her ane fur
rlture to such quarters as her husband
VIII be assigned in the post they are GO
ing to.
AS an only daughter the young woman
has been great deal spoiled, anG she has
tcon used to having her Cwn way ever
since her childhood When she gets to
the little infantry pest to which her hus-
hama Is assigned she will find that there
is lust as much rank erd seniority among
army wives as there is among the hus
bynds, and ! fear she Is gcinE To surfrr
sadly when she gets mike up in her frst
few battles when the matter of feminine
prcrogative is the issue. She will not only
find herself mixed up in that old quarrel
between the women of the staT and the
women of the line, but she will hni her-
self, as the wife OF second lieutenant
from civil life such a really minute factor
in what might be properly called the
scrap that her humiliation is bound to
be intense Her husband is really fine
young fellow ana she Is naturally very
proud OF him, which will cause her 10
suffer all the more acutcly when he has
to take his solemn or violent wgginSS
from his siiperiors for unavoidable mis-
takes. She will not be stationed near a
superb city like New York or Washington,
whore she can take refuge when the lit
tlcncss of life at a military post begins
to pail upon her but she viii no near ono
of the most dieadfully dun and unntcr-
citing towns II the United States.-if eight
or ten miles may he called near She will
have to do a great deal OF her own work
for servants are scarce out that way. and
enlisted men In the service are permitted
TO do less and less 'dofrobbing,' as il IS
termed. every year. Ard ! don't believe
the child could boil mess of potatoes or
properly dust piano If she Tried ner
HARDEST
Dress parade end guard mount are
perfectly !oVely-yes, en- clear bright
mornings in and around Washington and
New York. But oh, their tediousness the
tediousness of life itself for man woman
and beast In far Western American in
fantry post! She who sTcaketh knoweth
too, or she wouldnt have thosn Mrinklrs