The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1914-12-17
TRYING TIME FOR WIVES.

To one whose love for me shall last
When lighter passions long have passed
So holy is and true;
To one whose love hath longer dwelt
More deeply fixed, more keenly felt
Than any pledged by you.
In these days when but one worri.
some thought seems to possess the
minds of husbands, when they clutch
their papers eagerly and read the war
news and mediate long and earnestly
over it, it behooves the wives of their
bosoms to contrive some means to dis
pei the gathering gloom-find diver
sion which will take up their atten'
ton.
She cannot hide the evening paper,
for nine men out of ten would rather
miss their meal than give up read
ing the news of the day. When friends
come to dine, instead of hubby's being
able to forget the subject of war is
dragged in with the soup, to last
through till nuts and coffee. If she ac'
companies her good husband to the
theater, whether it be "high-priced
production" or a movie" the man.
ayers seem determined to give the peo'
pie their moneys worth by issuing
some kind of bulletin about it or
showing a few reels of the horrors OF
underworld disturbance.
What place can she go to that is not
saturated with such news? 1t keeps
her husband depressed and guessing
as to what will happen next. No mat
ter how long she has worn her old
gown, and asks for new one, she is
rebuffed by an ominous shake OF the
head No knowing what turn his bust
ness affairs might take, he tells her,
adding that she had better keep a
tight clutch on the dimes and dollars.
If she had been promised a new auto
mobile for her birthday, hubby sug.
gests that she put the money to an
other use-coal for the winter, or
nest-egg against the high price OF
living. If she's been expecting her
mother to come and pass a month or
more with her hxbby cries frantically:
Not now; there's enough war on the
other side! Let us have peace" Even
her innocent little club affairs come in
for an overhauling. She must cut down
the number she belongs to and enter
tain her neighbors at no cost. Her
little boys show her the spirit of the
times. They marshal all the lads of
the neighborhood in her front yard,
and with paper swords and putty blow.
ers for guns are having terrific en-
counter. What heed do they pay to
her beautiful flower beds and rose
bushes in time of war? They trample
them down as ruthlessly as stray birds
in the wheat. The little girls who are
supposedly Red Cross nurses have
their own troubles in dragging off the
wounded lads. The good wife wishes
from the bottom of her heart that she
could take her family to some remote
spot where not word could be read
or heard of terrible war. She quite
believes If her husband was a modern
Robinson Crusoe, cast off on lone
island, he'd find the way to send out
wireless messages intensely intent
upon the last word as to what had de-
veloped overnight. But wise wives
will go on making home all the pleas
anter and more CHEEKY for their hus-
bands and loved ones. Wives and
daughters should brush up their for
soften music and treat papa and his
friends to inspiring home treats that
his heart may not be too heavy with
other burdens. Now is the time to
make your home as attractive as pos.
Sibla