The Washington herald., 1914-04-19
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The Vegetable Garden.
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When The Man was about to marry
The Girl her father told him frankly that
he was getting an extravagant piece"
She hasn't the slightest conception of
the value of money" he said, and The
Girl stood behind The Mans chair run
ming her cool, soft fingers through his
hair, giving it playful pull to accentu-
ate the comment, even as her father
talked.
Hear, Kitten?" Intercepted The
Man turning upon her a look that told
her father quite plainly that love turned
the girls faults into virtues as far as
her lover was concerned. Muttering
something about love" and fools" as
though they were synonymous terms, he
flung himself disgustedly from the room,
whereupon The Girl cuddled down close
TO The Man and they went on with their
roseate dream Just as though they had
never been interrupted.
In the years that followed the marri-
age-four of them-The Man thought
many a time of what The Girls father
told him when he had first entered his
married life. for truly The Girl had a
perfect genius for spending money. Once
he had tried to demonstrate with her a
little upon which occasion she had
looked into his face with eyes wide with
pain, and two great tears had stolen
surreptiously down her warm, soft
cheeks, whereupon The Man cursed him
self for brute, and added an hour of
work to his already busy days.
Now The Girl was not willfully eX-
travagant. 1t was Just a part of her
being. She had lived from babyhood
to maidenhood surrounded by all the
soft things of life, and they were as
much necessity to her as the air she
breathed. She was not unmindful of
the fact that The Man was working too
hard for her. but it never occurred TO
her that she could in any way prevent
il. 1t was not her fault. she argued to
herself that he was not rich, nor could
she see that she spent cent more than
was necessary, but Just the same she
was sorry that The Man had so very
much to do. and when he was late for
dinner she made herself so charming
that when he opened the front door the
rose-pink picture which greeted him
obliterated the memory of his busy day.
and made him grateful enough at heart
that he had won The Girl for his very
own: counted it a privilege to slave day
by day in order to supply the luxuries
Of life to which she was accustomed, and
thanked heaven that his business was
steadily growing in prosperity.
UnutterabIe Loss.
So it happened when at the end of
four years The Girl passed through the
Door of Mystery into the land from
which there is no returning The Man
sank into the slough of dispair. He had
never known how radiant was the light
her presence had cast in his home until
it was there no more. He forgot all of
her extravagances; forgot how desper-
ately hard had been his struggle to sup
ply her demands upon him: forgot every
thing but the beauty, the brightness. the
tenderness of her. and the gnawing hun
ger of his loneliness and grief ate so
constantly at his heart that friends
warned him that he would follow The
Girl if he didn't look out, a warning
which gave him a certain degree of COM
fort. of which he said nothing.
Then time joined forces with youth
md lessened by degrees the poignancy
f The Mans sorrow. and little by little
brought back his interest in the world
about him, and desire to be vital part
of it.
At the end of year comrades urged
him to seek society and he accepted their
advice At first he found the compan-