Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1913-05-16


Terry's smart enough, but not the
kind you can bank on. Jacks good.
straight boy. Cornelia couldn't do bet
ter"
That's what think" said the moth.
er, who, however, looked grave and
worried. "Cornelia's thirty. It's time
for her to settle, and she'll make a
good wife. They'll live here, too.
ThereIl be no kicking up of their
heads and going off to Europe or New
York and thinking them selves too
good to come back to California, like
Maggie Duffy and her baronet. / want
them here. want to see some grand
l'children round this house before die.
/ want to know where Cons money Is
going to-
She sighed, and 1t was obvious that
her heart was heavy.
YES" she said, 'it's good mar
riage and Pm pleased at 1t. Jacks a
Roman Catholic but you can't have
everything down here in this world"
The Ryans we're Protestants, almost
the only prominent Irish-American
family in San Francisco which be-
longed to that church. Cornelius
Ryan had been a North-country man,
and went out with the Orangemen
when they paraded. He had been firm
in his faith and so had his wife, and
with the Hibernians violent devotion
to creed they had made public their
their hopes that their children would
not make alliances with it's members.
"Oh WE'LL" said Cannon with a
shrug of vague tolerance, "a mans be-
liefs don't matter. With woman it's
a different thing. She brings up the
children and takes her religion hard.
Jack won't interfere with Cornelia
that way"
Perhaps not" said the mother
There was slight pause and then
she said with sigh:
We'll, thank God, one of my chill
dren's going to marry as want"
She was gazing into the fire and did
not notice the quick look, sly and
piercing, that her companion shot at
her. The conversation had suddenly,
without any effort of his, fallen upon
the subject to which he had intended
directing 1t.
YES" he said, looking away from
her, you've had one disappointment
That's enough"
Disappointment" she echoed in a
loud voice. disappointment? I've
lost my son; lost him as II he was
dead-worse than il he was dead, for
then I'd know he was happy and safe
somewhere"
1t was cry of pain, Rachel mourn
ing for her child The note of feeling
in 1t checked the remark on Cannon's
lips. He understood what her suffer
ing was and respected it.
why, Bill Cannon" she went on,
turning the perturbed fierceness of her
face on him, how often do you think
see my boy? What ties do you
think he has with his home? He came
up here after he'd got back from Ante
lope, but before that I'd only seen him
once in six weeks"
That's pretty hard" he comm ented,
his elbow on the arm of the chair, his
chin sunk in the cup Of his up-curled
hand. That's pretty tough. I didn't
know it was as bad as that"
Nobody knows anything about him.
He won't let them. He won't let me.
He's proud, and trying to hide it all.
That's the reason he comes up here so
seldom. He knows l can see into him,
see through him, clear through him,
and he don't want me to see how mis-
cradle he is"
"Oh!" said the old man, moving
slightly and raising his eyes to look at
her, The interjection was full of sig
nificance, pregnant with understand
ing, appreciation and enlightenment.
He was surprised himself. He had
thought, and had understood from
Dominick, that no one, especially no
one of his own people, know of the
young mans domestic infelicities.
Neither of them was shrewd enough to
realize that the mother would guess.
would know by instinct
"And what do you suppose he came
up for that once?" pursued Mrs. Ryan.
You could guess a lot of times but
you'd never strike 1t. He came up
here the night Of my ball to ask me
to give him an invitation for his wife!"
She stared at her visitor with her
face set in a stony hardness. hard
ness reminiscent of that which had
marked 1t when Dominick had asked
for the invitation. Cannon saw 1t and
checked the remark that rose to his
lips. He was going to say: why
didn't you give 1t to him" and he
saw that 1t was too light comment
for what had been tragic occasion.
All he did was to utter grunt that
might have meant anything and was
consequently safe.
That's what his marriage has done
for him, and that's the state that wom-
an has ground him down to. She'd
worked on him till she'd got him to
come up here and ask for 1t few
minutes before the people began to
arrive! That's what she made him
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