The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-06-05
Baby Love
By Ethel HOLMES

That love which springs up between
two young persons Of opposite sex Is
like the child that comes to them after
marriage. It has its babyhood, It's
childhood and its youth. AS baby Is
delicate little thing, liable 10 De
snuffed out by the slightest adverse
happening. so Is the beginning OF love.
| Young love has fits measles, its whoop-
ing cough and its collie.
Charlie Edmonds was twenty-one
and Rosa Lee eighteen when they De
came engaged. There was cyclone OF
| ecstasy for twenty-four hours, then
reyulsion. Charlie wondered IL he
hadn't done something dreadful He
wanted to go right off and put himself
back where he was before; but. be-
ing a man of honor and not seeing
how he could honorably do so, he hest
tated. Besides, he shrank from going
hack on the wild enthusiasm OF the
initial transports and confessing that
he was SO unstable. The truth Is he
was staggered by the responsibilities
he had assumed.
love was quite enough to cause him to |
forget the responsibilities and to long |
for another kiss. It was 8 o'clock in |
the afternoon when this new phase |
came over him. and he resolved to go !
, to see her after dinner. That would |
| be 8 o'clock. How would he get
through those intervening three hoursf
, At half past Z he could stand it no
: longer and started for her home. Fortu-
: nately 1t required fifteen minutes to
get there. He saw a figure at the
( froEt window and on entering the
, drawing room saw the girl sitting In
the cleaning. He advanced to en-
( brace her. She waved him back.
0 81 suppose it is all mistake" she
q said.
. "All mistaken His heart sank
within him.
!. Eyes. 1t is impossible that you can
Q love me and remain away from me all
! these long days"
d "An these long days! Why, we have
o been engaged only since the night be-
!" fore last"
q 81 sat here in this window waiting
!. for you till o'clock, then went to bed
!. and cried all night"
r. "Poor, dear little girl" he said, wind
u ing his arms about her and smuggling
n her face--or. rather. her lips-against
"A his.
Z The first spasm Of baby love had
passed and was succeeded by six hours
h Of rapture.
r. s1l 80 ok Up n
: the drawing room door at 2:15. and the
! last kiss was at 2:30 in the vestibule.
Baby love didn't have spasm or
a. anything else for another two days.
= Meanwhile Charlie was getting down
i to engaged life quite rapidly. A man
moves from one position to another; a
NJ woman, in certain respects. Is apt to
an remain where she finds herself. Baby
.r love had all the children's ills, but
nj with every one Charlie gained by ex-
no perience and came to consider them q
N. matter of course. Three months after
no his engagement he called on his flanct
m. one evening TO find symptoms that
shortly before would have been alarm
or ing.
NO "It's perfectly evident" said Rosa
*. withdrawing from him as he advanced
10. to give the usual lovers salute, "tha
nd this cannot go on any longer"
DIV what can't go on any longerg'
as ''Why, your indifference to me whei
not we are in other company"
Il what have done nowY
70 "Do you think that your treatment o
uv me at Mrs Randall's garden party wa
oh such as l have right to expect"
vi what did doT
his "You know very well what you did
no. When asked you to get me an ice, In
he stead of doing so at once you continue
Nv your conversation with Mrs. Fitz Gel
the aid. paying no attention to me what
mol ever"
Mrs. Fitz Gerald was telling me a
thet incident that happened to her. l coul
The not break away from her in the mit
die of her story, could IL"
not "You didn't wish to break away froi
her You were listening with rapt a
emf tention."
yasl surely you're mott
and, Jealous? Oh, dear, no. / wouldn
think of being jealous Of an old woms
an. like that, She's twenty eight If she's
old day"
IereI For the first time since his engag
to ment woman's unreasonableness begs
the to rub the wrong way. His brow lo'
peaI cred.
. att ''You say that things can't go on al
and longer in this way. Do you mean tn
our engagement must be brokenT
' to "Unless I can be assured that "
an. are not to be caught by any marri
Tent woman who chooses to throw a sp'
onf. over you"
eets 81 thought you said you were n
! in jealous of Mrs. Fitz Gerald"
her I'm not. Mrs. Fitx Gerald is not t
son, only designing woman there is in
he world"
ome. what do, you visa me to dof"
thes This was a poser. Rosa, not hayi
con. any reply to make, was silent She
the had her say and was ready to make
up. She stood boxing down at [
out floor, and as there was no antagoniI
'thef In her expression Charlie went to
rcuit and took her in his arms.
SUD Charlie hoped that the end Of thu
the paroxysms would come with maria
q on They did not end with the weddi
day nor with the honeymoon. Not
sue a real baby came was there q D
son ceptible change. Then Charlie sud-
q Dy " discovered that his wife had fou
kkovs Ner- .saN. x,.Nw