The San Francisco call., 1909-06-13
Mercury Is Propitiated

OF all absurdities, my dear child"'
exclaimed the professors wife when we
were alone the next evening. She had
waylaid me with the proffer of a fresh
apple turnover as l came home from
work and asked me in for chat while
her husband was out on an errand.
You have no funds for financing
such an extravagance as that. A
salon, forsooth, A lot of freaks and
paupers to clean out your pantry and
keep you up. of nights when you ought
to be getting your beauty sleep. I'll
warrant hardly one of them had his
carfare home or stopped TO think that
You have to be at work at O'Clock
and earn even less than they"
] was already half through with the
turnover and had not the temerity to
reproach her on her own threshold for
not appreciating the exalted privileges
of intellectual eompanionship. I saw
that she could not understand. But she
seemed to seize upon my feeble argu-
ment before it was uttered.
sympathy OF course you want
sympathy and good company. Every
young woman does, but you're giving
thrice what you'll ever get from men
of that kind. Brains are all very well.
and I'm not lacking In respect for my
husband, as you know, for he's always
been good to me. But before he got
this position in the laboratory at the
fertilizer works we came near to star
walton. All my wedding money went
to help with his original experiments
and / didn't grudge it, but they never
came to anything and he was nearly
Killed In an explosion. The baby was
taken with pneumonia that winter. and
If ] hadn't been handy with my needle
the wolf would surely have entered
our door. know as well as you what
1t is to work all day on a cup of tea
and crackers. But with you this sort
or sacrifice is gratuitous and absurd.
However, you have come TO the city
with no trade and with no definite pro-
fession. and unless you take up some
thing practical you stand good
chance of continuing TO mail cata-
logues at that department. store ad
infinitum."
The last of the succulent turnover
had happily disappeared ere the ut
terance of this dire prophecy and /
no longer lamented the bologna and
cheese of yestern ght nor dreaded any
morrows ILL., My hostess had just
given me an idea for a touching little
story and / felt doubly grateful to
her. There WIS a stir in the crib OF
her year old cherub beyond the in
ner doorway and I heard the profes-
sors step in the hall.
Now. remember" she said at part
ing, its tomorrow night that you are
TO dine with us. ] want you TO help
me entertain my brothers chum. He
is fine young businessman with a
bright future before him.
They called this individual the COM
modore, because Of his excessive fond
ness for yachting, and / found him
gifted with but mediocre converse
tional ability when diverted from this
uned.fying theme, until a change re-
mark of the professors about the
baby's broken wagon ELECTED his
prompt and efficient mechanical serv-
ices. and with them a flood of infor-
nation regarding the mechanism OF
gocarts, velocipedes, clothes wringers
churns and ice cream freeZers
My firm is introducing "a new
washing machine on this coast. and
wonder If 1t wouldn't be just in your
line TO write us a nice little ad. They
tell me you're ambitious with your pen
You might put it in poetry. you know
That is done sometimes to make il