The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-01
61s KANSAS AVENUE.

is that the mystery surrounding the
American husband had been worrying
me for months. Here had I stumbled
upon the opportunity of solving it. In
stinctively 1 chung to my advantage.
There has not been any divorce.
There is not going to be any divorce.
You VIII make me cross in another
minute" But 1 was becoming reck-
less. He is not deadl You are not
divorced from him! Where
is hep I demanded with some heat
-"Where IS he" she replied, aston
ished, where should he be? At home
Of course" I looked around the
luxuriOusly furnished room with its air
of cosy comfort, of substantial restfuI-
ness. What home?' I asked.=''What
homel Why our home, in Detroit. -
What is he doing there2" I had be-
come so much in earnest that my voice
had assumed uncOnsciously an au-
thOritatiVe tone. Presumably it hyD-
Noticed her. She answered my ques-
ton as though she had been in the
witness box. How do I l1nowl How
can possibly tell you what he is do
ing. What do people usually do at
home 2- Answer the questions, ma d.
am, don't ask them. What are you
doing here? Quite truthfully if you
please My eyes were fixed upon
her Enjoying myself He likes ma
to enjoy myself. Besides I am educat-
ing the children. You mean they
are here at boarding school, while you
are fgadding about What is wrong
with American education? When did
you see your husband last 2''-''Last?
Let me see! No, last Christmas I was
in Berlin. It must have been the
| Christmas before, I think. IF he is
/ the dear kind fellow you say he is
how is it you haven't seen him for two
years p. Because. as tell you, he is
at home, in Detroit. How can I see
him when I am here in Dresden and
he is in Detroit. You do ask foolish
questions. He means to try and come
over in the summer, if he can spare
/ the time, and then, of course-''
Answer my questions please, I've
spoke to you once about it. Do you
think you are performing your duty as
q wife, enjoying yourself in Dresden
and Berlin, while your husband is
working hard in Detroit 2''-tRe was
quite willing for me to come. The
American husband is a good fellow
who likes his wife to enjoy herself. -
/ L am not asking Tor your view on the
/ American husband. I am asking your
views on the American wife-on your
tSelf. The American husband appears
to be a sort of stained glass saint, and
! you American wives are imposing
upon him. It is doing you no good,
| and it can't go on forever. There
1 will come a day when theAmerican
husband win wake up to the fact that
he's making a fool Of himself, and by
over Indulgence, over devotion, turn
ing the American woman into heart
less selfish creature What sort of a
/ nome DO you think II IS IN Detroit,
/ with you and the children over here
Tell me, is the American husband
made entirely of driven snow with
! blood distilled from mOonbeams, or is
he composed of the ordinary in
gredient. Because if the latter, you
take my advice and go back home. I
take it that in America proper there
are millions of real homes where the
woman does her duty and plays the
game. But also. it is quite clear that
there are thousands of homes in
America. mere echoing rooms, where
the man walks by. himself, his wife
and children scattered over Europe
It isn't going to work; it isn't right
that it should work You take the ad-
vice of a sincere friend. Pack up
you and the children-and get home. -
I left. It was growing late, I felt it
I was time to leave. Whether she took
my counsel I cannot say. I only
know that there still remain in Europe
a goodly number of American wives to
| whom it is applicable.
JEROME K. JEROME.