Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-02-10
Their Married Life
By MABEL HERBERT URNER

| But she says some of the meetings
are very good. 1 believe Mrs. Smith
Rankins is going to speak next week
on the Mexican situation"
Warren threw up his head and
roared. THE Mexican situation, eh ?
/ can just see your Mrs Smith RAN
lSins. one of your busy females, getting
up"-here Warren pitched his voice to
shrill mimicry-" Now, ladies, this
afternoon ] shall give you little talk
on the Mexican situation" Then
grimly, Now if you go to any of those
fool clubs and come home spouting
current events-there's where l get
out"
They We're through dinner now. and
when they went into the library Helen,
| who could never resist an opportunity
of inveigling from Warren some word
of approval, leaned over his chair with
a purring-
Then you don't mind if Helen isn't
Intellectual and can't talk brilliantly
on the affairs of the day."
| But this did not elicit the response
she hoped, for Warren only pushed
her away with a curt:
We'll 1 DO mind your getting in
my light. BY George!" as he opened
the paper, ellison & Briggs are in
the hands of receiver! Well, that
means I'm out a cool three hundred"
How. dear?" solicitously.
oh, a client of mine held a lot of
their paper Knew they were on
their last legs, and I was trying to
get some of it before they failed"
Helen glanced over his shoulder at
the big headline. ELLISON & Briggs
in the Hands of Receivers, "Liabili-
ties $750,OO0 Assets $3.50, OOO."
For months the papers had been
full of just such failures. Helen had
Skinned over the many headlines.
but it had all seemed so impersonal,
as had, too, the general discussion
on the hard times"
All national problems are regarded
with impersonal unconcern by most
women. The feminine mind is con-
cerned only with the difficulties that
| directly affect herself or those she
loves.
But now the firm of Ellison &
Briggs meant to Warren the loss OF
three hundred dollars. This was a
concrete example of the hard times
| affecting them that Helen could un-
| derstand. Had he suffered other
| losses of which she knew nothing !
FOR Warren rarely talked shop al
home.
He had taken some papers from his
pocket and was now going over them
broodingly, his face showing unmis.
taxable lines of worry.
"Daar. has it been a very bad zeal
for you?''
We'll. it's not been a particularly
i good one"
why don't you tell me wher
things are hard? I could try to econ.
omize more about the house and about
my clothes.'
"Oh, the little you'd say wouldn't
cut any ice. It's the big fixed ex.
penses that count. My office alone
costs over three hundred month
and it's as much more here"
Helen was far from an adept ir
mental arithmetic, but after a few
moments silence she managed to fig.
ure out that six hundred a month
was about twenty dollars day.
Twenty dollars day! WHY
! Warren that seems awful"
ut seems light when business i.
good"
"Oh, if there was only some way
could help" longingly.
| Now you just stick to your knit
ting and let me do the worrying
this is my job
And you bought me that laval
here Christmas, and l got that dres.
last week. Oh. there's so many
things | could do without"
We'll, you don't have to. An oc
casional furbelow or so don't matter
much. A woman can't understand
that it's the regular fixed expenses &
mans up against. Steady grind