The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-06-24
CHAPTER Iaa



paper Enterprise Associafioa.l
l never have seen such an inn
provement. In 50 short a time, in
a woman as I'm Eliene. Her face,
which | had always thought lack
ed expression. is a mirror of the
most wonderful expressions-each
one sweeter than the last.
Eliene, like many other women,
was made to be a mother and
nature set the stage for a tragedy
wien she denied her children.
l really believe she has already
forgotten that she did not give
birth TO these heavenly twins. She
has dismissed all the servants who
knew her before their advent ex-
eept hersold colOred nanny, who
would die as quickly as lie for her,
and do either In an instant II she
thought IL would save her beloved
chile" one moments pain. and
consequently everyone around
here takes IL for granted that
Eliene Is the babies real mother.
Eliene's face was always regu-
larry beautiful, but she always had
a very discontinued expression
she made the beholder unhappy.
She was a kind of a kill-joy with
her bored looks and sarcastic re-
joinders to any attempt TO make
her see any pleasure In life.
Some women are mothers and
mothers only from the time they
hug their first dolls, Margie,' she
said TO me last night, "and some
are made only 10 be wives.
My mother, Margie, was of
the latter class. You know l had
three sisters, and while our moth
ser loved us I'm a way, IL was to our
father the real devotion of her
life was given. She never for one
moment thought that any sacrifice
of herself, or of us, was of any &C
count If IL made him happier.
Don't for one moment think
that dear old Dad was a brute
instead he was kindness itself
and much more generous of his
time, money and thought for us
than mother, but with mother
his slightest wish was law. She
made of him a god to adore.
I'VE girls learned early that
mothers whole thought was for
Dad and she was utterly uncoh-
scious that she was doing US any
wrong by It.
The night my father died
stood with her at the foot of the
bed and watched his life ebb. She
was silent and tearless-mother
was never demonstrative-
finally she looked at me and said:
'Ellene, my life is going out with
your fathers. lie has been my
whole incentive to live. | cannot
see myself in the land of the liv-
ing without him.
"As l looked into her face | I'M
derstood that could she have
| thrown her four daughters lives
into the balance and kept her hus-
| band she would have done so
gladly. We meant nothing to her
when placed beside him.
Her REAL life ended with IA
Their. Although she lived some
years afterward, we nor anyone
else were of any comfort to her.
Her real self was buried with
him-she began to die the day we
buried him.
Somewhere, Margie, I have
read a commandment to parents:
Give to your child what your par
ents neglected to give to YOU
From the time l was old
enough to think l wanted babies
to give them the mother love and
devotion that l missed from my
life-that my mother never gave
me.
81 don't need to tell you how
disappointed / was as time went
on and l did not have a baby. II
simply spoiled my life, and /
know | made Harry miserable, for
I just could not be happy without
children.
when | found out about the
twins naturally l was heartbroken
and | went up there that day to
wreak vengeance on that poor
woman's family. But when l saw
those babies l could not say any
of the ugly things that had been
In my heart. All the mother love
had in me cried out for them.
/ do not know what / would have
done II their mother had lived.
1T may seem strange to you,
Margfe. but loved them better
because they were Harry's. L