Douglas Island news., 1916-12-22

and twenty-six stacks of "hots.' Al-
 SO. he had drunk iorty-four cups of coffee one brcwed especially for
 thc occasion by each wife. Ben opincd that he would leave home with a heavy stomach as we'll as with a heavy heart. By the time Bon had |harnessed himself In his war bag and a few dozen other things and was
 ready Co begin Che somewhat arduou5 task ot kissing his wives goodbye, bc noticed that only halt a dozen ot them were present. Thinking Go cs- cape before they returned. he waved |his hand morrily and said "Ta Ca. IOld Girls" and betooE himself off, IRut hero is where Ben. experienced ! in ways feminine though he was,
 had miscalculated. Two wives were waiting for him iu the hallway. three on the front porch and one in every
 fence corner aloog the lane which led from tho house Co the county
 road. The result was that when
 Ben had run the gauntlet he was about the worst musscd man that ever reached a recruiting station.
 tAuthor's Note.-Six weeks are supposed Co have passed since we saw our hero leaving for thc front with hope in his heart and some thing that felt like a weight in his tumtum. During this interim forty
 four copies of one letter had been
 received by Che loved ones left be- hind. The letter closed "I send you
 one thousand kisses" As that would
 mean an aggregate Of forty-tour thousand, it was easier Co write it than Co deliver the goods)
 Ben Abdul had been absent two months and a second letter was ovcr- duo. The lardcr was sadly in need Of repleuishiug and the grocer was not smiling as pleasantly on Ben's various. divers and sundry wives as had been his wont when they asked ! for credit. He said he had fifteen wives of his own Co support and By ! che Blood Of Allah. he could not see 'his way clear Co support such a dele gauon as Ben Abdul had legt behind. It was during tho tenth week of .Ben's absence and his wives were ! in the midst Of breakfast Little was being said. Ever and anon a dainty handkerchief would be lifted quietly Co a tear-dimmed eye. a silent tosti-
 mouial that gloom pcrvaded that household. The gloom also extended ! to the eggs which were Of the cold storage variety
 A servant entered and handed a telegram Co wife No. I who was seated at the head Of the table and
 who had always stood pat in refus-
 ing Co yacato her position to any of Che forty-threc who came after her
 Hastily tearing open the envelope she silently scanned the contents
 Then rising to her feet she said. land it was noted that there was not even a tremor in her voiccl Ladies, it becomes my duty to announce that our husband is dead"
 Here the Stroller feels that he should draw the veil over this sor- rowing household. Our hearts have been blcd In the past for former hap py European homes where but one wife is left to grapple with the cold and clammy world. How much deep- CT must our compassion be stirred for homes where forty or more wives are left without a broad and self-rellant back on which Co warm their cold and velnless feet? But to fully il- lustrate the horrors Of war, the Stroll Ter feels that he should add few more paragraphs.
 In due course of time a note which Ben Abdul wrote between the time he was wounded and Che time when death claimed him. arrives. There is but one copy Of it instead of forty four but it is directed to My Dar- ling Wives" which shows that Ben was a diplomat even when death was lowering over him It requests that monument be erected Co him in the villags cemetery and. if consistent with their desires and inclinations, he wishes his wives to march four abreast to that monument at least one evening a week for Che first six months and weep over the spot the same as though he was buried there instead Of in the vicinity Of the Oar denelles. After the first six months they need not go SO often They may then begin Co conserve their tears. The note closes as follows: "The more my supposed grave re- sembles a buffalo wallow. the more lustre win attach Co the memory of Your Lovig Husband, Ben Abdul"
 P. S.--As the Stroller did not de- sire to harrow up the feelings Of his readers unduly, he refrained from mentioning in the above that one