Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-23


marriage, as man may love an angel of
loneliness and mystery, but afterward l
loved her as a man may love- only one
woman, and that his wife, with the inti-
mate interdependence of mutual under
standing with the coT:plete JOY of perfect
sympathy I 90 not think that any seri-
GUS difficulty in our domestic relations
arose during all the ten years of our we'd
ded life until the period of which 1 am
about to speak. And in this case it was
hardly the fault of Clarissa-it was GER
tainly no wrong on my part-it was simply
tie error of fate, eXpounded through
Clarissa's relatives
JUDGING from the humorous papers and
some experiences in the homes of friends,
it is not of rare occurrence that man
has trouble with his vifes relatives. Were
this any ordinary instance of mother-in
lavish domestic episodes, l should not
weary you with a rehearsal of my woes,
but it is in a class apart. My wife's fam
lily is throughout one to admire, its men,
Der are my friends rather than relatives
in-law; they like me and like them. But
l speak of the living Toward Clarissas
i,iu5trious forebedrS l cherish a feeling Of
deep anmosity, anu it is justified. The
race caused me deep mental anguish, and
only Providence, working through the
friendly offices of Gov. Norton, and the
unconscious diversions afforded by Kato,
wrought my release from torment.
For years Clar,SSa and I remained IL de-
lightful ignorance of the unfortunate
glories of her ancestry. But the evil coun-
sels of Mrs. Tagglety unveiled the facts
nd 6iSaS Nfrc To po1o
is one of the pervasive women. She has
many friends. who do not know her.
TT ose who know her are her enemies.
always knew her, and 1 always regarded
her with genuine disfavor. that grew into
acrte dislike and ultimate adherence
when Clarissa, who knew her not, became
her friend.
Mrs. Tagglety belongs to very large
n, s1ber of clubs and patriotic organiza-
tions: for that matter she would belong
to many more but for the fact that
through her atrocious methods she causes
the dissolution of most OF those to which
she becomes attached. And, being per-
suasive, she is always seeking and gain
ing, recruits 1t was thus that she came
to Clarissa.
You must be a Daughter" she an
no Inced to my Unsuspecting wife. And
then she went on to point out to C1arissa
that it was the duty of every patriotic
American woman to produce her family
skeletons In the genealogical court and
assert her devotion TO her cLuntry's good
by proclaiming a pedigree of colonial i'm
p'rtance.
But l don't know about my ancestors"
Cla-issa ventura, timidly
Then it's time you did, Mrs Tagglety
asserted. rudely: anf added. with that
platitudinous irrelevance that often char
acterized her remarks: Time is passing
every day"
Unable to reiute this forceful declara-
ton, Clarissa meekly yielded
When Clarissa limo Gently informed me
that she had decided to become a "Daugh-
ter ] neither shrieked nor tainted Lit
tie ] knew of the hideous import in the
words. When she mentioned the fact that
Yrs. Tagslety was responsible for this
course of action, / experienced no more
than the feeling of antipathy which the
naming of Mrs. Tagglety usually caused
and, indeed, events at the first gave me
no ground for uneasiness Clarissa en-
tered on the Undertaking without enthu-
siasm and without undergoing any immc-
diate moral perversion. She made few
perfunctory excursions to the local library,
and discovered some quite innocuous an
cestors that seemed to suffice for the ex-
igencies of membership in the "Daugh-
ters."
Then came the fatal day. On my reach
ing home an hour before cinner-time [