Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-27

N ONfANCE had never ceased to play part
X and large one-in the career of Edith Cor
= don. The one regret of her life was that
John Gordon, her husband, had become intensely
practical 1t had been Jack in those days when
the blood burned and the heart was prodigal with
vows and protestations; but that time long past
and the erstwhle dashng Jack" had developed into
the stout somewhat prosaic entirely unromantic john
man eminenty unsuited to play Romeo to Edth's
Juliet
Edith herself had not stood sti-outwardy-w the
advancing years While, of course, the freshness of
youth no longer shone in her face the classic features
about which Jack had been wont to rave, but which
John viewed now with such complacency, had been
left unravaged by the course of time The gloss and
sheen were gone from the abundant chestnut hair that
waved above her low brow, but the soft light of
the somewhat premature gray of advancing years
provided substitute scarcely less charming.
Her figure too, was not quite what it had been. The
funess of ripe-Edh thought sometimes with dismay
that it was aripenng of womanhood had
overwhelmed the slender curves of girhood but the
result still satisfactory, especially when aided by
those mysterious devices by which feminine humanity
successfully conceas the overlooking tendency of aging
flesh No greater insult could have been offered Edith
Gordon than to have said that she getting fat"
No in the house said it. either although naured
.da Srora e,,ch
"slander and evil speaking" but Edth's heart
young as fresh verdant; her mind imaginative,
IS suby apprehensve of the mysterious the beautiful
the heroic, as it had been when she was girl
In that of development she had stood still 1t
never-ending source of grief to her that John-she
hated that name and never called him that except in
public in private it often Jack dar" something
Else equally affectionae-that John changed,
unresponsive so unromantc. Why, he had actually de-
ared that he would rather be comfortable in his clothes
than look well in them any day of the year! That he
didn't really enough about growing stout to diet
HIMSELF That nothing on earth would induce him to
bant" and as for exercise, he abhorred it He was
never SO happy as in shabby old dressing gown and
disreputable pair of his slippers, by his fresde
with Edith more beautiful than ever he averred-and
with truth too-in his eye opposite him. and the chill
dren of this singular pair six in number clustered
around them
But, after ALL John was good sort of He was
the best of husbands and absurdly devoted Edith in
his own quiet way He really left her if he could
help it. When he went away from the city business
he always took her with him. He delighted to her
beautifully dressed, and while he sometimes mocked he
inwardly approved of all her efforts to maintain and
tain the charms which had him to her affections
many years before But he wasn't demonstrative. No
contingencies that could arise would prevent him from
eating his dinner Edith was furiousy jealous at times
of the children who moed and toiled about him and
over him. and to whom he frequently addressed those
pet names and endearing terms which she had once
thought were her own peculiar property.
But she never had the slightest chance to be jealous of
anyone else She sometimes wished that he would give
her an opportunity to rise out of the placid humdrum
consciousness of his steady affection; and in dar
ing flights of imagination she frequently wished that in
some way without doing anything wrong compromis-
ing herself in any way she could make John ragngly
jealous, see him lose meal or two and get thin
But nothing happened She often thought, with a
sigh that all the of her life past there
nothing before her but to live in this contented peace
full uneventfu way until the end If Edith had had
wider experience of lifeand husbandsshe would have
known that she was blessed almost above all women
her requirements He consciously forgot an
niversary There were anniversaries in Edith's