The Washington herald., 1913-08-15
Nv FRANCES sHAFFER.

The King was in his counting house. counting up
The Queen was in the kitchen. eating bread and
honey"
Isn't that a funny little Jingle to in
spire newspaper comment? But II
did induce some editor to send his
thoughts a-drifting and to take his pen
in hand. And as a result Of his deep
meditations, he added few words to
give new meaning and fresh interest to
that ancient nursery melody
Here is the bill for my wife's Christ
mas present to me, he snorted!
That oId-time lady and lover Of child
zen, Mother Goose, made much better
iingIes than he, but that did not dis
may him at all. and he went on TO ex-
plain
Now We understand why the Queen
discreetly remained in the Kitchen eat
ing bread and honey"
To be sure We do
That is. we understand all about the
Queen and her retirement to the lower
domain until the mighty wrath Of the
King had died away-if it was wrath
that made him snort" Pretty word,
by the way, TO add to a nursery song,
is it not?
But the King?
Did the great man once-upon-a-time
endow the Queen with all his worldly
goods, as he promised when he spoke
the words that made them one? 1t al
most seems that he must have forgotten
that little ceremony, else why did the
poor woman, in spite of her queenly
estate, have to resort to ANY old way
to- get a bit of money to buy Christ
mas present?
Wife Should Have Share.
Didn't he ever reason it out with him
self that at least a slice Of his worldly
goods ought to be hers, 'for keeps" to
do with as she liked, without question.
without A word of explanation and with
out resort to the kitchen while he was
thinking it over and figuring it out?
a strange old King he must have been
and a stranger husband. if he never
counted it the proper thing to give her
taste of independence. because that
King in his counting-house had lots and
lots of money. and his poor little part
ner had TO ask for credit in order to
buy his Christmas present! And then,
when the bill came in, she must dis
Creetly withdraw to the friendly seclu-
sion of the kitchen, because his money
was not thing to be lightly triied with.
The King had his counting-house, the
King had his money and the newspaper
man his little moss-grown joke-but
where did the Queen come in? And
where do some of the modern home
queens come in. for it is in a few quar-
tiers reckoIed extremely funny" for a
wife to buy husband present with
mis- money.
According to the marriage vows, 1t
all becomes hers once the ceremony is
over. In reality it never does. and no.
body thinks that it should. But it seems
time 10 assume that the work of a
wife counts for something, and that
when she buys a Christmas present, or
any other. she buys it with money well
armed by her labors in the home, and
not with funds that are his from start
10 finish.
Adjustment of Earnings.
All of which does not necessarily
mean that she always should be paid
in cold dollars and cents. for that
might be a pretty hard matter to ad-
just: but that somehow or other she
should be deemed in possession of
enough to buy a little present, with
money fairly earned. For it is sort of
humiliating to feel that everything that
goes to her is by grace OF a gift, and
she can give nothing in return. For she
is not always a lady of elegant leisure,
just sitting in the kitchen, eating bread
and honey.
In some homes indeed in the great
majority, that little joke about the
Christmas present is a foolish joke and
nothing more, because in the matter of
money there is no thought of his or of
hers, of yours or mine, and all goes well
because il is ours.
But there are other homes where there
is sure enough impulse to retire to the