Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-17
CONTINUED From Yesterday,

1t was almost dusk, and | stopped
in the garden minute to pull the
dirt closer around the bachelors
tons that had popped" the ground
some weeks ago. Thinking about
them made me regain my spirits, and
| went on in the house, to be scolded
for whatever Aunt Adeline had
thought up while I was gone to do
1t to me about. Judy told me with
her broadcast grin that she had gone
| down to her sister-ln-laws for sup
! per, and | sat down on the steps with
sigh of relief.
Some days are like tin eocoanut-
graters that everybody uses to CRATE
you against, and this was one for me.
For an hour / sat and grated my own
self against Alfreds letter that had
come in the morning. | realized that
| would just have to come to some
sort of decision about what I was
going to do, for he wrote that he was
10 sail in a day or two. and ships do
| travel so fast these days.
! \ love him, and always have, of that
I am sure. He offers me the most
wonderful life in the world, and no
woman could help being proud to ac-
cept it. | am lonely, more lonely than
| / was Rilling to confess to Doctor
John can't go on living this way
any longer Ruth Chester has made
me see that if / want Alfred 1t will
| be now or never, and-quick. ! know
now that she loves him, and she
ought to have her show if l don't
want him. The way she idolizes and
idealizes him is marvel of womanly
stupidity.
Some women like to collect mems
| hearts and hide them away from
other women on cold storage and the
helpless things cant help themselves.
/ have contempt for that sort of
| butcher, and / love Ruth.
It's my duty to look the matter in
the face before ! look in Alfred s.
and decide. If not Alfred, what
then?
First-no husband. That's out of
the question: I'm not strong minded
enough to crank my own motor-car
and study womans suffrage. l pre-
| fer to suffer at the hands of some
cruel man and trust to beguiling
him into doing just as | say. / like
men. can't help it, and want one for
my own | don't count poor Mr..
Carter
Second-if not Alfred, who? Judge
Wade is so delightful that ! flutter
at the thought, but his mother is
Aunt Adeline's own best friend and
they have ideas in common. She is
so religious that living with her
would be like having the sacrament
for daily bread. Still, living with
him might have adventures. I never
saw such eyes. The girl he wanted
to marry died of tuberculosis and he
wears a locl1et with her in 1t yet.
| I'd like to reward him for such faith
fulness with a nice husky wife to
wear instead of the locllet. But then
Alfreds been faithful too look
at Ruth Chester and realize how
faithful, and my heart melts to him
in my breast-my hips have almost
melted away, too. so | had better
keep the heart cold enough to handle
| if / want anything left at all for him
to come home to-,
In some ways Tom Pollard is the
most congenial man | ever knew.
You have to say don't to him all
| the time. but what woman doesnt
| like a little impertinence once iii q
while? / flavor all Toms daredevil
kisses with kinship when | feed them
to my conscience. and | truly try to
make him be serious about the inn
portant things in life like going to
church with his mother and working
all day, even if he is rich / wish
he wasn't so near kin 10 me- Now,
there I feel in Ruth Chesfer's way
again! One of the things THAI keeps
the devil so busy is taking helpless
widows to the heights of knowledge
and showing them Kingdoms of men
that girls never dream even exist.
If all women could have been born
with widow eyes, things would run
much more smoothly along the mar
rage and givingin- marriage line.
And the poor men are most of them
as ignorant as girls abous what TO
do.
l suppose I really would be doing
righteous thing to marry Mr..
Graves. and I would adore all those
children to start with, but l know
Billy wouldn't get on with them at
all l can't even consider it on his
account. but I'll let the nice old char
come on for a few times more to
see me, for he really is interesting
and we have suffered things in COM
mon. Mrs. Graves lacked the kind OF
temperament poor Mr. Garter did. I'd
like to make 1t all up to him, but II