The Washington herald., 1914-01-11
not know" insisted The Girl. and The
Man laughed derisively.

The-voice-of-The-T Thing -That-Is Righi
kept up a constant murmur in some hid.
den place in The Girls brain. 1t asked
her what she hoped 10 gain through this
friendship with married man. It told
her that she was wasting her youth In q
love that could not possibly resrit in mar
riage: that she was tast.c< ef a Dead
Sea fruit that would turn her whole life
to bitterness. II argued that she was
robbing herself of the chance to meet and
associate with men who might love her
and who might be able also to touch the
vital chord of response in her own heart.
The voice-of-The-T Thing -That-Is- Right
whispered that the man who is unfaithful
to one woman-to his wife. and home
maker. and the mother OF his children
hasn't 1t In him to be true to any other
woman In all the world.
And SO insistent became The-voice-of-
The Thing g-That-Is-Right that The Girl
told The Man. and The Man twitted her
for being "a silly"
Now 1t isn't q difiicult matter for an
experienced man to win from an mex
perienced girl faith In his tales to her Of
his marital infelicity, or to make her be-
| lieve that his love for her Is made Of
different and more lasting stun.
Besides" he argued In tone Of dnal-
ity, my wife doesn't care. She gets ev-
erything she wants. Why. there isn't a
man in town who gives better support
to his wife than l."
And for the nonce. because The Girl
was very much infatuated, The-voice-of-
The Thing -That-Is-Right was smothered.
Because there is always somebody with
an overweening tendency to fmpart un-
pleasant news. the truth about The Girl
and The Man eventually reached The
Wife. and. when The Wife did not wear
her thoughts and emotions on her sleeve
that the world might run and read. the
world said she didn't care, and The Man
was mighty grateful to the world for the
idea, which he speedily impaired to The
Girl He was a deal infatuated with the
prettiness. the softness. the trustfulness.
and the youth of The Girl. He liked the
gayety Of her companionship. her ripping
laughter. and the music of her voice, and
what he liked was the thing that mat
tered, for he reckoned not of the future
OF The Girl at all. and he was perfectly
sure that The Wife would make no pub
lie scene-for, you see, there were chill
dren.
The Man was right In his opinion con-
corning The Wife. She loved the chill
dren, and il she could shield their honor
by making the world believe that every
thing was right with her. she counted no
sacrifice too great.
On an evening The Girl lay back In a
comfortable chair in her own room with
weary eyes closed, trying not to listen to
The Voice of The-Thing- That Is Right
but II would creep out from under the
blanket which The Man had thrown over
1t. and the things IT said to The Girl were
most disturbing and depressing; so much
SO that somehow she could not keep the
tears from creeping from under her lids
and slipping surreptitiously down her
face, for you see the heart of The Girl
was pure enough thing. and as yet but
touched in its tenderest spot
She loved The Man, and somehow she
could not bring herself to look beyond
this simple fact. not even when The
Thing Right pointed
the way.
And as she sat very still and troubled in
the big chair with the weary hours Of the
day behind her. and the shadows OF night
stealing into the room. the comforting
hand of sleep touched her.
''May come in?" questioned a gentle
NOiCc- ne NIlrl COul0 answer
The Wife stood before her. o. yes, The
Girl had seen her before, and knew well
enough who she was, and found herself
very frightened in her presence.
Don't be afraid. dear child. for have
not come to scold you," said the older
woman, seating herself very close to The
Girl.
you see, I was once very young. like
you;ver much inclined to believe In the
flattery of men; very prone to take my
happiness where I could find II. and I.
too. have done battle in my life with The
Thing That-Is-Right.
And SO 1 have come to set you right
on two points. The first is that a lavish
support can repay no woman for the
thing she holds more precious than any,
thing else in the world-the love of the
man to whom she Is married and the
honor of his home. I want you to know
that every woman with a shred Of self-re- !
spect cares when another woman robs |
her Of the love of the man to whom she |
Is wed, and the deeper the hurt in her |
heart the stronger her determination to |
it. So be certain when The Man |
tells you that his wife doesn't care. he is |
lying.
But more than this I want to tell you 4
that The Girl cs n reap only tares when |
the harvest time of her love shall come.
Life is a beautiful, beautiful thing to +!
one who loves wisely, dear child
But IL turns to dust and ashes for the /
woman who snatches her own happiness |