Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-03-06
The Sailors Wife
and His Homecoming

wait and watch in vain, and these are
the uuietest of all.
"But for the most part they are
young and eager and impatient. They
have borne but indifferently well the
ordeal of waiting ashore for the inter-
minable series of official calls to END
and the Mayfiower with the president
aboard to turn her sharp nose toward
Washington. The last six hours was
the hardest part of the whole period
of a year and two months of waiting.
The ships lay in three columns in the
roads. The waiting women could see
them and the men aboard, yet they
might not fly to their arms until the
admirals and captains had paid their
official calls upon Mr.. Roosevelt, and
the president, following the rigid naval
etiouet, had returned the courtesy. 1t
was almost too much for strained
nerves.
He, His and Him
For the last two days down here he,
his and him have been the most
popular words in the English language
Wandering from group to group, one
overheard snatches like this: He says
they will His ships get the rec
ord L got letter from him. Nc
names-just the iteration and reitera-
ton of the personal pronoun. If you
Q1d not KNOW WHO uG WAS anu hii
about him and his ship, then you
were less than nobody, and had better
stayed away from a scene in which you
had no part. This is no place for those
who believe in equal rights and Keep
ing man in his place. To the waiting
women the men aboard the ships, who
are coming to them tonight are all
heroes and demi-gods. Superior beings
to be worshiped and praised without
1 ff-if
New gowns have been bought be-
yond all counting. Being the merest
acquaintance, yet one is told He likes
me in dull red-some foolish memory
and 1 have a gown made just like the
one he used to like. If he doesn't say
something about 1t and tell me that he
understands and is pleased, know
shall break down and cry, and you
know he hates for a woman to cry
Most men do, don't you Think
Some of these women have not seer
their men since Christmas year and
more ago, when the sixteen battleships
started on their world-girdling voyage
Many of the younger wives made the
trip across the continent and met the
ships when they arrived at San Fran
cisco and stayed with them until they
steamed from the Golden Gate for Hon.
olulu and Japan. A devoted little band
Of navy widows followed the fleet
around the world, meeting their hus-
bands at each of the ports where a stoI
was made. Some of them have been
wives for years and others were brides
of two weeks when the fleet steamed
away from Hampton Roads. But they
are all equally excited with hope and
anticipation over the prospect of being
reunited the woman who saw her hus-
band a month ago at Gibraltar
equally with the women who with tear
dimmed eyes watched the fleet slip over
the horizon year and two months ago
"It is worth something to have the
privilege of meeting such a band OF
loyal, devoted, courageous, fine-hearte6
women, proud of their husbands, proud
of the SERVICE bearing themselve!
like happy-hearted children, unashamet
to show the whole world that theil
hearts and their lives are wrapped VI
and lived in the service of the ships
! our sea fighting men,"