Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-14

"
would be twenty Of them at
least. not counting Wallets and ladies'
maids, so that large as Castle Raa
was the house was full
They were about equally divided as
to sex and belonged chiefly TO my
| islands class, but they included
MIR, Eastolff's beautiful wife, Camilla,
and Alma's mother. who, much %
Alma's ohagrin, had insisted upon be-
| ing invited.
My husband required me to receive
them, and ] did so, though | was only
| their nominal hostess and they knew
1t and treated me accordingly.
| ] should be ashamed to speak of the
| petty sights they put upon me, how
! they consulted Alma in my presence
and otherwise wounded my pride as
woman by showing me that ! had
| lost my own place in my husband S
| house.
know there are people of the same
class who are kind and considera te,
! guileless and pure, the true nobility OF
| their country-women who are de-
voted to their homes and children,
good-but my husbands friends were
| not of that kind.
They were vain and proud, selfish,
! self-indulgent thoroughly .insincere,
! utterly i'll hammered, shoCkingly Ill
! Informed, astonishingiy i'll educated
| Capable of speaking several lan-
guages but Incapable of saying 4
| sensible word in any Of them), living
and hourishing in the world without
religion, without morality and (if it
| is not cant phrase TO use) without
| God
What their conduct was when on:
shooting. picnicking, driving, riding,
motoring and yachting (for Mr. East
cliff had arrived in his yachD, J 30
not know, for, doctors orders" were
| Alma excuse for not asking me TO
accompany them.
But at night they played bridge
| (their most innocent amusement,
/ gambled and drank, banged the piano
danced Grizzly Bears sang duets
! from the latest musical comedies, and
| then ransacked the empty houses OF
/ their idle heads for other means OF
! killing the one enemy Of their exist
ence-Time.
Sometimes they would give enter
| tainments in honor of their dogs
when all the animals OF all the guests
I (there seemed to he a whole kennel OF
/
of silk and satin with pockets ana
pocket handkerchiefs. and then led
| downstairs to the drawing room
where Alma's wheezy spaniel and my
husbands peeNish terrier were sup
posed to receive them.
Sometimes they would give "freal
| dinners" when the guests themselves
| would be dressed up. the men il
! women's clothes, the women in mems
the male initiating the piping treble
| of the female voices, and the female
the oYervoweied slang Of the male
until. firing OF this foolishness they
! would end up by flinging the food al
| pictures on the walls. the usual pelle
being softened bread and the fayoritf
target the noses in the family por-
traits which, hit and covered with q
spraW Wing mess. looked so ridiculous
as 10 provoke screams of laughter.
The talk at table was generally OF
horses and dogs. but sometimes Il
was Of love, courtship and marriage
including conjugal fidelity. which war
favorite subject of ridiCule, witt
both the women and the men.
Thus my husband would begin by
saying Che often said it in my hear
ing) that once upon a time men tool
their wives as they took their horses
| on trial for a year and a day. and
| really with some women there was
something to say for the old custom
Then Mr. Vivian would remauk that
1t was "a jolly good idea. by Jove
and if he ever married, by the Lord
that's Just what he would do
Then Mr.. Eastcliff would say that
1t was ridiculous superstition that a
woman should have her husband all
10 herself, "as il he were a kind OF
toothbrush which she could not share
with anybody else" and somebody
would add that she might a reason
ably want her dentist or her hair
| dresser TO be kept for her own use
| only.
After that the ladies. not 10 be left
behind, would join in the offhand rat
tie and one Of them would give IL as
her opinion that a wife might have
an incorrigibly unfaithful husband
and yet be we'll off.
ugh" said Alma one night, shrug
ging her shoulders. Think OF a pooi
woman being tied for life to an en-
tirely faithful husband"
u adore the kind OF a man who goes
10 the deuce for woman-P arnell.
and Gambetta and Boulanger and
that sort" said a smart" girl OF
three or four-and twenty whereupin
Camilla Eastcu6 (she was a Rus
| siam cried:
That's Why the correspondents in
| vour divorce courts are so sharming.
They're like the villayns in the plays
always so lightfully wicked
To Be Continued Monday,