Norwich bulletin., 1916-07-20

'rrJo," said the busy litle woman with the ttp-tifted nose, this ends it! After this I shall be just as selfish and cold hearted and unsympathetic as the rest. of the world and take no interest whatever in my neighbors! I've al- ways tried to do my duty, but it isn't appreciated, let me tell you!
 'I'd like to know how many women would have taken the trouble to ob- serve that that MT. Barkle across the hall came home after o'clock exactly eighteen nights last month and his steps didn't sound very steady as he came up the stairs, either! Nobody, unless she has the interests of her neighbors at heart is going to lose her sleep and keep awake to learn that.
 I'm sure it didn't make any differ ence to me personally what went on in the Barkle fat-it would have been lots easier to have shrugged my ShOul- ders and said that it wasn't my worry, and got my beauty sleep! But some how Pm not made like that. l cannot stand it, if I think any one is i'll trouble.
 Not that you'd have guessed from Mrs. Barl1le that anything was wrong! She was just as bright eyed and had just as much color after a week of such actions on his part as she had before, no matter when you saw her. knew exactly how it relieves a person to confide her troubles and gave Mrs. Barl1Ie every opportunity, running in early and late on one preteXt or an other and merely sitting and looking sympathetic, with an occasional sigh to show that l recognized that this was a world of trouble-but not @ peep out of heri
 "Of course it was gritty and I ad- mired her for it, but it wasn't good T l.. -1,+ whether she didn't have anything she wanted to COnfide in me and she looked sort of surprised and said she didn't But I know that she knew what l meant, because she added that she was sorry, but she had an engagement downtown and had to run alongside was uncomfortable and wanted to es- cape, you seei
 It's hard for some people to break down that wall of reserve, and l re- solved to help her all I could. I took 10 telling her of cases l had known where for years women had endured husbands who drank their heads off, and what a shame it was, and how no woman was called upon to stand that And, would you believe me! In the face of the fact that it was 1.15 when her own husband got in the night be- fore, she just said yes, indeed, it must be very hard, and started to talk about the suffrage vote in Iowa,
 'cBut I didn't despair When I see a duty nothing can distract me from it. I knew then that her trouble must be something desperate or she wouldn't take such pains to conceal it. Pos sibIy she had the idea that nobody in the building knew about MT. Barkle and his actions, so ! mentioned how wakeful l was and noises in the halls disturbed me. I hear every single sound. no matter what time of night 1t is!' I told her pOintcdly. And she said it must be very annoying!
 My heart just bIed for her, stub born as she was. I said thank good ness my husband had his faults but he loved his home, and spent his eve nings in it; and that I was sure I wouldn't know how 10 put in my time # I were left lonely as some women were, and that l certainly felt sorry for them. And she said she did, tool
 Tt made me kind of mad, her laying it on that thick as though I didn't have a particle of senseI What she needed was to realize that others knew of the sad situation and would think a lot more of her if she acknowledged it and talked t over, and didn't go on pretending everything was perfectly lovely. I think that sort of an atti- tude needs taking dOWni
 T talked 1t over with Mrs. Grimp on