The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-06-16
The Woman's Page of The TCirmes-Dispatch
Your Vacation

Vacation time is upon us and every-j
oody-at least nearly eyerybody-isf
planning happy holiday A man thatl
know has pulled down everythinEi
in his wardrobe and his wifes ward
robe and the childrens closet outsids3
the nursery He is going fishing twot
months from now, somewhere ind
Maine, believe. He laughs at his lit
tie boy Gravely seated on an over
turned bureau drawer making believol
that he is fishing on 4 big lowered
carpet with IL bent pin and string
from his sisters pctticoa;. He laughtSi
at the same little boy for stalking deer!
around the legs OF the dining room i
table. but after all it is quite the same;
game that they are playing--the bigt
man and his little son-and sometimes
equally as satisfactory in results,
that is, one In minus the mosquitoes
and the lunch.
Everywhere you turn you run intoi
somebody that has a delightful rlami
of some sort. The busy men must e>oi
| somewhere to set the cobwebs out ori
their brain, and the fluffy wives. jusrt
for show, who cannot stand tho heat,i
they declare. and SO they shut UP thal
house and turn the man adrift for al
couple of months at the least, arc ind
the mountains, or some such place oE
summer retreat. How about thel
mothers and wives that cannot go at
ID
town. and then there are large num-
her that could not go if they would, \
and there are pages and pages wptten}
IL the book OF tragedies about littlet
sick children and longing for Godsi
own sky and green grass that wei
never know about. Hot factories and
| stores arc fun of them. those girls
that cannot go away because there4
| Just isn5t any money.
But you. that going away. you'd
are the one that talks about tho slum
work that you do in the winter time |
| And 1t is good work, too, but whn I'll
bout the country? You may sit onI
your dear, cozy veranda. with it's softl
| cool things about. and one weekend
you have party OF friends down frons{
the lake and the next month you en-l
| tertain some of the girls that arei
stopping at the place beyond. Do yout
know that actually in the countryI
| there are people that have no porches.
and that the little sick children tossj
with the WEAKNESS of the heat andl
| closcnesS OF a narrow cabin on lowl
| and uncomfortable beds? No. and iti
would never enter your head that within
| the big rich houses all about in some1
/ OF those cunning little places that your
| have passed there is poverty and huns
! ger and a heart-wearing struggle forS
! whcrewithal.
| In the heartof one of the richest andI
i
| State lived a family. tenants they We're
| on n big farm, and the man from whom,
! they drew thoir pay was counted
quite wealthy man, and their daugh-
ter was stricken with the terriblei
| white plague" She put UP such al
brave fight. and the days and nights|
| of suffering were hard to bear. Herr
mother fought beside her. that ter
rible battle OF love against death, butt
they didn't have the few dollars ne,
| cessary to send her to sanatorium
| before it was too late. though later
they did get the money together for
her to go. All those rich people-all
those months they were spending UNI
thinking with her dying almost in
their sight; but you see they didn't
think about It, and help came too late
In the village of pretty houses there
are obliged to be brave, lonely hearts
that wonder where they are going to-
get even a chance to make the little
pittance so necessary to sustain life.
DO you know l don't believe that the
few buttonholes you might get them to-
make would mean half as much as the.
fnct that your carriage or machine
stood at their door one afternoon once
in a while for them TO take just the,
shortest bit OF a drive. You never
thought OF it, I am sure-those people'
| who live In the country and must
trudge the weary mile or two to church
not possibly miss the carriage that
afternoon.
There are lonely. aching hearts any,
where we turn. This is your vacations
time. and you want your days to bei
filled with all the happiness and good
times you can possibly have Won't,
you pinch off just the smallest sort OF
crumb of your cake for the tired littlei
dressmaker at the end OF the only.
street in the village? She would Gomez
back from the drive and the Joy OF thef
easy cushions, and just the simple-t
pleasure of saying to the woman across,
; the street. Wont you come. too?''.
with her heart OVERLOOKING with belieft
! in the sunshine OF the world and the
goodness of you. dear lady, in parties
ular.
Yes. indeed, there is all the oppor-
tunity I'm the world for applying some
of your winter work in your vacation.
Don't let those long. pleasant days be-
just for yourself and your happinesa
! and good time. Look around whera
you are: maybe You have never beeni
!; there before. and it will all be news,
Look around In that little village wherei
, You have spent every summer OF yours
life; just when you least expect tol
, find yourself doing it, your arms wiIS
be hcaped high with the love of thas
people that you have simply been kind,
to and thought of. Where arc you'll
going this summer. and is it to be jus I'll
Your happiness entirely-an altogetherss
selfish summer?
BRENT WITT.
Revival OF Lace. u
I, inf p artt m, hA arEt