Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-18

spoiled one, of which facts Kathleen was
fully aware, thanks to good eyesight and
much anxiety and the aforesaid windows
and walls.
Moreover he was the first-born Of his
mother, who was past her first youth
and .set in her ways" Of, as Kathleen
told herself, a mouth was true indi-
cator) And from the hour of his advent
the rest of the world had faded away
beside this wonder of wonders. Meals
and cleaning and mending We're of minor
Importance not to be considered at ALL
in comparison with some need or desire
of baby's. And being normal infant
he was quick to learn. His original
that he needed developed into impera-
tive yells for the petting and rocking and
singing which, for the most part, he
needed not at ALL And his favorite time
for these vocal disturbances was the
period between l and 4 am.
His fathers occupation brought him In
at am, took him out again at and
brought him back at II for a meal and
his longest period of sleep This schedule
was by no means conducive to pIacidity
Of temper. even Under favorable circum-
stances. And in the household of Kath-
leen's new neighbors circumstances were
by no means favorable. The irregular
meals were obtainable after a fashion,
but thanks to the babys demands for
amusement and attention sleep had been
an unknown luxury for two months.
And the baby was not the first-born of
his father. There had been another wife
and another baby. the latter now a girl
of seven years. Consequently what was
to the mother the most marvellous of
creatures was to the father just baby
And the one parent had assured the
other that her idol had Satan's own tenn
per- and that he intended to work ref
ormation even if he had to whip the said
idol.
He's spolt. spoilt spoilt. And you
did it. And when you spoil child you
make criminal he shouted on one
painful occasion al am.
For days now the baby's mother had
gone about with tightly compressed lips
and brooding eyes That very morning
she had swept the diminutive and i'm
maculate yard five times, glancing back
at the house where the father tried to
his complaint against the world. Both
Kathleen and she We're waiting for that
threatened whipping, and both knew that
when it happened Rubicon of one sort
or another would be crossed.
Kathleen awoke somewhere in the
silent Watches The baby was, as usual
vociferating his objections to the vacancy
and monotony of his life, but, contrary
to his habit, he was doing this with a
marked diminuendo. Each wall, follow
ed by sound weird and emphatic end
ed in a gasp of amazement. Evidently
the promised correction was being ad-
ministered, and in no perfunctory man
ner, either.
woman's agonized voice screamed:
Stop that, you brute''
A heavy foot was stamped and a man
voice replied. with no hint of contrition:
Leave me! Go back to your people. Take
that imp and leave the brute in peace.
If | don't get some sleep
I'll go.' was the reply, distinctly audi
Bile. In the morning..
And Kathleen who was a Judge of
character and knew people and never
made mistakes, knew that she would CO.
and that, having gone. what she called
her pride would prevent her returns And
Kathleen turned and sobbed into her pill
low her grief over the trouble she was
borrowing, and which was yet so keenly
her own.
If she could only do what nobody had
done for her and Larry IL she could
only break that awful tension, soften and
destroy that atmosphere of resentment
that conditions and mistakes had Gre
ated. Show the mans side to the woman
and the womans side to the man, Tears
would do it, she knew.
If she could only make them cry it all
away! If she could but tell him how the
yard would look if no tiny. funny gar
line therein. If she could but let the
woman know of the emptiness of the
life that awaited her. And presently
Kathleen smiled into darkness. She knew
way!
Kathleen had one great gift. the gift
of song, but of technic she had nothing.
The struggle for bread and butter had
never abated long enough for her to cul-
tivate her gift. a misfortune which was
perhaps not altogether a misfortune after
all But she was supplied with heart
and soul and tenderness and understand