The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-09
DOLLY NOW SUGGESTS
"a HALO FOR STEPMOTHERS
stepmoters Have Come Down in Story and in Song Hand In
Hand With Bluebeards and ogres-A Man Has Right
to Marry Many Times He is Widower-"Pul-
let-Pecked' BY Houseful of Grown Children
: .oLLY DALRyMPLz

| his. housekeeper and general supervisor
of the nursery. he has sense enough TO
know that the children need a mother $
care.
cousin sara" may be all that is well
| meaning and loyal. but he knows the
manner that little Annie is acquiring, or
rather lack of manner; also little
Georges behavior he is told by the cook,
is ''nuff ter mex yer hair stan en
aidge.'
In the course of time he marries
Miss Minnie Hale.
The first thought that has Influenced
him about Miss Minnie is that his first
wife loved her dearly
Miss Minnie is no longer in the bloom
of youth.
He knows her people-she knows
his and he grows very fond of her,
which isn't hard, and he finally thinks
that he can make her happy.
Miss Minnie" is fond of his chill
dren and Cousin Sara says Moth
ing to him.
When the wedding is over and
Cousin Sara" has departed, and the
home life has settled down with the
new mother in charge--poor Miss Min
ME" faces the music and dear An
MES" children.
be mean to them, nay. even brutal, and
they want the first scene in the play
to hurry up and come.
They are all primed for the step
mother fight" and Miss Minnie" knows
deep down in her heart that they real
ly need a good thrashing If she only
had the courage to administer it,
If they were her own she wouldn't
hesitate a minute how to proceed but
as it is she resolves to put into force
all the moral suasion hints she has
ever heard and try to win them.
She suggests that they have a parry"
and they take the hint and decide that
she is afraid of them and then the
trouble begins.
OF course she could tell their father,
but she knows his anxiety for fear they
will give her trouble and she hesi-
tates to admit that they have her
beaten in the first stage of.the game.
Poor Miss Minniel" If she could only
voice her real feelings she could tell
a tale of stepmother misery that
would make every girl who has
widower with children under consider
alton turn him down, cold" no matter
how much she loves the gentleman in
question.
When the timeecomes for Miss Min
ME" to tell her husband he promptly
goes for them in a way that leaves
lasting and beneficial results and turns
them over to be chastened and sub
dued with the instruction for her to
keep them so when he's away.
Miss Minnie" realizing that he is
right, goes ahead doing her duty as
she sees it and then it is that the
story gets abroad that she is shame
fully mistreating her STEP children"
1t comes back from cousin Sara's"
IL a1a txxrA Of
dear Minnies' children are pupils,
and who are encouraged to tell all they
know, that they are being terribly
used and the news is passed on to the
next door neighbor, who in turn tells
it to someone else; and the next thing
"AIiss Minnie" is regarded as the neigh
borhood monster" and poor little An
ME and Georgia" are terribly treated
and afraid even to beat an eyelash."
Poor little Annie and Georgiev'
Poor Miss Minniev's Z
There's only one compensation. in it
all and that is Georgel
Miss Minnie" has long since realized
that it is better to be the fourth wife
of a man who has learned patience than
to marry a bachelor and try to make
a husband out of him.
Being chem pecked" is bad enough,
but to be "pullet-pecked' by houseful
of children is even more blastingly dis
gusting.
Certainly man has a perfect right
to marry as many times as he is a
widower.
When his children are small they
don't know enough to advise him in
taking the step, and when they are
grown they ought to be so busy find
ing husbands or wives for themselves
that they let him run his own matri-
monial affairs.
But
Whether the children are little or
big, it's much the same and the finest
sort of a step-mother seldom draws
anything very pleasant in the lottery
of love in the step children line!