The Washington herald., 1907-02-24

/
and
"AIl men, interrupted Kitty. Indignant
~. sitting up very straight, while the
( little tears in the corners Of her eyes dried
up. viii keep woman Whiting when
ever they please, and just as long as
they please, and without the slightest ex-
cuse or the least qualm Of conscience.
Every woman's life is one long, dull,
monOtonous round Of waiting, from the
time she begins TO wait for caller or a
proposal. untll-uutil-
she begins TO wait for the Insurance
money" / suggested.
"Or for her husband 10 come home
nights" rejoined Kitty. Ask any girl
old enough to go TO a party what she has
/ learned about the gentle art Of waiting.
Ask her how i,f,ay hours she has spent
shivering in a low-cut gown while she
/ listened for cab wheels and jumped
/ nerv0usly at every ring at the dOOTbeil,
and watched her ruffies. and her flowers
and her spirits wilt and the hands Of the
clock creep round. Ask any society
woman what is the most nerve-racking,
breaking ordeal ia tire whole Of the
/ strenuous social whirl, and she will
promptly tell you it Is the ordeal Of wait
[ ing fOr the man who is going TO take her
4 to "a dance, or a dinner, or a box party"
no she won't, either I broke in.
shed be too vain to own up TO it,
and"
And If she did" finished Kitty, no
man would believe her. There isn't a
man living who knows the slow torture
/ the inquisitiOn Of anxiety that he infiiCts
/ on a woman while he goes out with the
] boys 10 have one more drink or spends
/ half an hour too long at the Office. OF
stops 10 talk politics or 10 finish a game
/ Of billiards, or"
"Oh, we'll" ] interrupted protestlngly.
/ how is "A man going to know those
/ things, when no matter what time he ar
rives he is always kept sitting twenty
/ minutes on the edge OF a drawing room
+ chair and then greeted by the girl with
I that bTeathlcss-hurry' expression and that
+ Aren't you awfully early?' air? Ism
/ human nature
/ 1T isn't human nature" remarked Kit
/ ". tapping the carpet impatiently with
4 the toe Of her dancing slipper, for a girl
with a spark IF pride to let a man know
/ that she has been ready and sitting in
/ apparently forgotten her existence. And
/ even If she did acknowledge that she had
been driven to the verge Of prostra-
I ton
And had quarreled with her best
/ friend, I interpolated reproachfuily.
/ And thrown things at her maid added
/ Kitty desperately
/ And kicked her pet poodle
And walked a bare spot in the carpet
| And worked herself into hysJeria."
He would merely open his eyes in as
/ constituent and thank his stars he hadn't
I married her" finished Kitty, and then 90
/ of 20 another girl who was wise enough
/ 10 keep her troubles and her temper TO
/ herself. Waiting IS supposed 10 be the
/ natural province Of woman; il was the
/ curse put upon Eve.
Eve didn't watt I objected. She bit
/ the apple first"
I And ever since" sighed Kitty. AS a
punishment woman has had 10 wait for
man 10 take the initiative Even when
/ the most important matters # her life are
at stake she must stand calmly by and
/ Clench her hands and shut her teeth
while a man makes Up his mind TO notice
/ her or 10 dance with her. or 10 propose
/ to her. or 10 marry EeT- Every woman
I who ever married had her wedding clothes
all planned and her bridesmaids picked
out before the man discovered the color
( Of her eyes OF noticed that she had a dim
+ pie in her chin. With her mind all made
/ I'D and her thoughts at the altar. a girl
! has 10 sit by silently and wait for the
/ love-idea TO penetrate the thick layers
/ Of resistance that cover the masculine
/ brain. Even though she may recognize
/ her souls affinity the moment she lays
/ eyes on him, she dare not by word or
/ sign indicate her discovery, but must
wait. patiently as a mother waits for an
! infant to cut his teeth and grow his hair,
/ for the man to cut through his egotism
and grow a fondness for her
And yet" I sighed, looking at Kitty
+ thoughtfully through the haze of my
/ cigarette. when he does propose she is
always so surprised and perfectly as
I touuded-"
And even after man has proposed -
+ went on Kitty, ignoring me. mine times
out Of ten there is another long wait be-
/ fore he is prepared to undertake the
/ financial responsibilities of matTimOny.
/ for him TO make his fortune or TO In
/ herit somebody else's, or for his mother
/ to die OF his sisters to marry or"
and then at the last moment" I con-
/ fessed she is sometimes left waiting at
/ the church, because he has locked him
I self in his Office or fled in panic"
/ Yes" agreed Kitty, and even when
/ the pre-ma trimonial waits are all safely
passed without crows feet coming round
/ "a wOmsn's eyes or her hair turning gray.
marriage only means to her long life OF
/ petty waiting; waiting dinner while the
cook quarrels and the roast grows cold
and her husband is down town telling
stories to the boys; waiting UP at nights
until the wee small hours for him TO get
/ home from the club or a stag party or a
/ poker game, waiting for him 10 get up
mornings waiting for his salary day;
waiting for him to make a better living:
waiting for the kiss he has forgotten to
give her; waiting for everything on earth
she ever gets" and Kitty jumped up from
the pink divan and began pacing the floor
again with the air of an imprisoned
tigress.
why don't you go without him." I
suggested.
Kitty turned sharply and glared at me.
"G0-without a mani she exclaimed in
blank establishment.
IF were SO base and unreasonable. 7
declared. 1 should think you'd be glad
i toto dispense with US"
we can't" moaned Kitty, houncing
down on the pink dlvan vgain regardless
OF her ruffies. That's the pathetic part