Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1914-09-11
A SMOKING.
CASE
Story Of a WOman's
Exchange
BY EDITH ". ROSS
BY EDITH v. ROSS

After Chester Barnes turned his thir-
tieth birthday, having tired of society,
when he came to his room from bust
ness in the evening he found 1t irk-
some to get into evening dress. So
he dined in business clothes, thinking
he would dress after dinner for any
function to which he might have been
lnvited-for the theater, opera or what
ever entertainment was in store for
him. But after dinner he found 1t more
difficult to exert himself than before
and, sitting down to his evening paper
OF a book, failed to arise till 10 or IL
o'clock, to get into his pajamas and go
to bed. After having done this quite
continuously for few months, one
evening he unused thus:
There's no use denying the fact any
longer that I've outgrown social, or,
rather, society, life, which Is hollow,
selfish and altogether Improbable. Pm
getting out OF 1t very fast and will new
or go back to 1t. can't marry because
the girls / associate with are all
brought up to spend money, and l am
not earning enough to supply my own
wants. AS for marrying n helpmate,
| can't do that because | don't know
any girls of that kind. Being forced
to live In bachelor quarters alone, I'll
procure books from the libraries and
read. But first must get the bare
ness out of this room and make It as
homellke as possible"
Mr. Barnes consulted with an elder
ly lady friend as to how he might get
the "bareness" out Of his room and
was advised to buy few attractive
pictures to cover the walls and knick-
knacks to adorn his furniture. He
bought the pictures, and, as for the
knicknacks, he found u profusion Of ar
ticles that no man would ever have
thought OF ut woman's exchange.
One thing he purchased there which
only woman would have dreamed Of,
though 1t was useful to the sterner
sex, was n case for smokers articles
made OF a wooden fabric bound with
silk and decorated with number Of
beautiful bowknots
Barnes laughed at this when he saw
1t, but bought II because 1t was so dis
tinctly feminine. When he got II to
his room he hung 1t on the wall, string
Ing his pipes along the chain of loops,
expecting to keep them there till the
smoking case became odoriferous. He
also dropped a rubber tobacco pouch
in n pocket probably intended for It
by the fair smoker, then sat down In
his easy chair to admire his decOra-
lions.
They all looked attractive and were
n great Improvement to the room. But
there was still something wanting
Barnes knew very well what 1t was
He had got rid of the baroness, but
not the loneliness. Going to his smok-
Ing case, he selected pipe and took his
tobacco pouch from Its pocket. With
II out came bit of paper, which
hoated down to the floor. He picked 1t
up and read In feminine hand as
follows:
Lonely Bachelor-If this work OF my
hands falls to such. ! Bympathlze with
you In your loneliness. Perhaps when
you read this you will be passing nm
evening by yourself In your room. II 30
think Of the girl who Ia doing tho same
after teaching all day, making things like
this smoking case to help to keep herself
alive. BY the bye, don't you think struck
a bright idea when I thought OF max
ing It?
Ned thought she struck u brighter
idea when she put this missive In 1t,
though at first he was disposed to con
slider her doing NO n trlfe-well, trlhe
irregular, but 1t occurred to him that
a girl stupid enough to make smok-
ing case out OF wool and silk, adorned
with bOwknots, might suppose she
could put out such n message without
her identity being discovered. How
ever, there is something attractive to
men in woman's misconception Of
mans requirements, and vice versa.
At any rate, Ned was very much inter
ested In his find.
He was more than Interested He
was senslbly, or. rather, sentimentally,
affected by the sympathy OF this poor
girl, who was like himself yenrning for
which nature intended for
her, but which she was denied. He
lighted his pipe and began putting
clouds Of smoke, through which he
formed conceptions OF her. Was she
dark? Was she fairi Was she dis
posed to be merry? How would she
look sitting on the other side OF the
table doing some bit Of needlework,
not to sell to strangers, but for some
one she loved?
This simple picture grew into others,
yet all Of the same kind. The room
became one Of a number. There was a
faint cry. She arose and went TO an
room, from which 1t had is
sued There was lullaby, which In a
few minutes ceased. The dreamer
arose and looked into the room where
the woman and child were and saw
the baby sleeping, the mother bending
over II.
Leaving the child, they walked back,
hand W hand, and, drawing sofa be-
fore the fireplace, sat together and,
Whispering. laid plans, in which the
Iittls.Aeeper wai the central figure
The dream changed. He came home
after business TO meet her at the door.
and she gave him "A kiss mechanically,
for she was troubled She told him
that their Oldest child, now boy Of
seven, was III. The doctor had been
MAu.lnn..