The independent-reporter., 1910-07-21
Cragnore
A Practical Lesson In the Art
of Husband Winning
By GWENDOLIN ADAMS
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.
By GwENDoLIN ADAMS

/ The central figure In these complica.
tions is Roscoe Curtiss. If this were
play the heroine would be-well. I
would be the heroine There wouldn t
be any hero: that is. unless Roscoe
would be considered such. but he isn't.
Hes simply an objective point like the
king In chess. A character the theater
people would call the heavy woman
the woman who makes ali the trouble
lis Kate Carpenter. The reason she
has made all the trouble Is that she
wants the same man want. We both
want Roscoe.
There. think l have stated the
case just as 1t is.
Roscoe is intellectual. He stood high
In his class In college and took a lot
of honors-whatever that may be-but
] don't love him for bis learning
love him for himself That Is. don't
exactly know what loee him for. I
only know that love him.
Kate Carpenter Is a college graduate
too. She's the only girl am afraid
Of When we three are together. Ros-
coe and Kate and I. she always intro
duces subjects | don't know anything
about. That's way she has of max
ing me take a back seat. Roscoe
doesn't like TO talk "booky." as he
calls 1t, and tries to stop her. but she
won't be stopped. Not that she pre-
fers to talk booky; she only wants to
show her superiority over me.
I'm not such a fool but that I can
see that Kate always turns the con-
versation on to subjects she knows
something about. and when Roscoe
gets on to a subject of which she is
ignorant she keeps mum. 1t occurred
TO me to listen when they were talk
ing, notice the subjects she avoids.
make a list OF them and study them.
And so did. found out that history
doesn't interest her. Nor does science
She smatters over social questions.
processes herself theoretically Social
ist and all that.
During the spring months ! devoted
myself TO study. All the members of
this play. as l call 1t. are friends-at
least the families are-and we meet
every season at the summer cottage
of one or the other for a house party.
This year we are at our country home
In March. April. May and June stuff
ed myself like a Christmas turkey with
history 1 studied up to the last min
ute before leaving town. and when
reached Marston, our place. l tell you
l knew lot. I'd read whole volume
of the history of England.
didn't let on what knew. / just
laid low for Kate when she got on her
high horse before Roscoe. | didn't
have TO wait long. The day after we
all arrived we three were sitting on
the porch. Roscoe smoking, Kate do
ing fancy work. lolling In the ham,
mock. Kate got on to votes for wom-
en- and cited certain conditions away
back IN Greece or Egypt or some other
benighted country In support of the
position she took.
"l'ye always considered" | butted
in, Lady Jane Grey to be the legiti-
mate sovereign of England"
Both Roscoe and Kate looked at me.
astonished. then glanced at each other
Then Kate went on about the women
of other times. Notwithstanding her
put down.
why don't they include Oliver
Cromwell in the list of British SOW
ereigns?" | remarked casually. HE
was king really, IL not In name. At
any rate. he was ruler"
You should have seen the amazed
sneer Kate gave me. But this time
she deigned to notice what said.
Cromwell was regicide."
That scooped me. / didn't know
what regicide was any more than
what camel or leopard feeds on.
But didn't let on how ignorant was.
| just looked as If knew all about 1t.
Kate took up her old subject again,
r"d did some thinking. She seemed
To know more than l did about Crom-
well and regicides and all that. How
would 1t do for me to invent a char
acter? concluded to try 1t.
do you think" l asked. that the
hanging of Cragmore at Tyburn was
just and proper thing to do?"
That caused both Roscoe and Kate
to sit up and take notice. They looked
a. each other for a moment sort OF
quizzically; then Kate said to Roscoe:
Zone Of Jeffries' victims, wasn't hep
"Never heard of him." Roscoe re-
piled.
II think he was Monmouth con-
spirator." Kate protested. She would
not deigD to ask me about him. She
had too great contempt for my ig-
norance and too high an opinion of her
own knowledge.
"Who was he. Lulu?' asked Roscoe.
"lm surprised" said, that Kate
doesn't know who he was"
She was the maddest girl you ever
saw. Her face was red as beet. and
she made her fingers fly at her work.
"l'm not here cramming for an ex-
animation" she snapped.
was so encouraged by the success
of my scheme that thought I'd go
on little further
"Well. I don't mind telling you who
Cragmore was. since you don't know"
] said good naturedly. Zone can't re-
member all the minor characters. I
was Interested in him because he was