The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-09-15
EVENING STORY
VioIets and Apple blossoms.

hAohNtS saAHb @APltAO A&AocSCAAASs
(By Louise Oliver-i
In the spring the whole worlds
fancy lightly turns to thoughts oflove"
would have been a more expansive
and quite as true a saying as the one
with which we are familiar.
Even Mrs. Irons, lingering over her
cup of coffee after her husband had
left for the office, sighed unconscious
ly several times as the warm blossom
laden breeze gently blew in the dining
room window, bringing memories OF
other springs and of giriish affairs
long forgotten.
Finally she shook herself free from
her revery. Time was going and dishes
were to be cleaned up and she had a
full days work ahead. She had been
so busy with emergency classes ana
sewing for the soldiers that the spring
cleaning had had to wait Now she
realized that if she wanted to finish
before very hot weather she would
have to begin at once. The attic was
scheduled for today, and Mrs irons
prepared for the onslaught or SIX
months accumulation of dirt, did not
look sentimental in her bungalow
apron of checked bingham, a Mother
Goose dust cap and rubber gloves. Be
sides she had discovered that drst in
the house is as harmful to the eyes
as dust in the road, SO she hao m
geniously appropriated pair OF
Emery's road glasses for sweep lays
and wore them now.
To have glanced at portrait of a
very splendid looking woman in a
frame on the table in the living room
where Mr.. Irons insisted on having IL
right next to his tobacco gar, one
i would never have suspected that the
person ascending the attic stairs
armed with broom, dustpan ano
bucket could be the same Individual
No wonder Polonious said 10 Laer-
| ties, rich thy raiment as thy purse
can buy" He knew the power o.
| clothes And if clothes make the mar
| what do they do to the woman But
of course, this is depressing. our story
| has less to do with Mrs. Irons clothes
| than it has to do with her signs ioi
throwing up the winter-sealed win.
dows, the same soft. seduous breezs
came wiling in. And Mrs. Irons
sighed again.
| But of course, her mood changed
when she began to realize the condl
ton of things. Being model wifi
and housekeeper, it shocked her i'm
measurably to think that so much dlr
should accumulate in her house. Ant
for several hours her broom flew, he
scrubbing brush ratified. and chamoi
whined over the window panes.
At last the dirt was out excep
! what had adhered to her, and she
came to the sorting-out process.
Reserve bed clothing had to b
shaken out of its moth ball coma
summer garments ousted from trunk
to make room for furs, and accumu
lated junk sorted for ragman o
rubbish man, keepsakes gone over
laughed over or cried over and re
placed in their pasteboard boxes.
Mrs. Irons had come down as ia
as the keepsake process.
~, ~, f,ar of n
reau with yawning drawers, she sorte
letters and pictures of a time gon
by-carefree. mad, happy time of he
girlhood, when as Flora Fleming sh
had hearts strung aquiver, pierced b
the arrow of her charms. The heart
had offered homage by the usual var
ious tokens that youth in love gener
ally sends his lady. and Mrs Iron
now fingered tenderly punches @
faded flowers, strings of candy spoon
representing an average five pound
of bon-bons apiece, photographs, et'
And as the blossomsweet breez
blew dangerously in she suddenl
found herself with dry bunch c
violets in one hand and a photograp
;. of Fred Mapleton in the other. Mr.
Irons sighed again and looked Ion
and searchingly into the dark, pas
sionate eyes that smiled back mys
teriously into hers, and then at tn
violetS. In their depths she knee
nestled a faded little note, waite
stained and ink run. With shakin
fingers she took it out and re-rea
the never forgotten words:
Il adore
Maiden. Fair Flora
, Who rivals Aurora
l In charm"
There were five verses in whic
Fred had declared his passion an
r sued for her hand. Fred was alway
: sending her things with verses insid
Why hadn't she married Fred? Sh
picked up the photograph again an
{ looked thoughtfully into the intens
eyes, and glanced rather fondly at til
8 dark hair waving back romanticall
3 from the forehead. IF 1 had marie
: Fred" she reflected, IF wouldn't
cleaning Emery Irons's attic. I'd /
$ oaming hand in hand with him mi
S the blossoms of Normandy, as he use
= to say. Fred, 1 mean" and her heal
stirred uneasily. II wonder why l di
l marry Emery? Just because-wel
because he insisted so. 1 guess He
that kind-rnakes everybody do ju.
as he wants. And, besides, Elmer
: was nice before he got SO deep in bus
ness and gray haired and stout BIZ
, Fred" she sighed softly again an
) shook her head. I'm afraid "
missed something in life. I wondt
where ne is and tiff he is married
, she said, tenderly laying the flower
and photograph back IN their box an
closing the drawer.
The bell rang and Mrs. Irons weI
down, forgetting that she much re
j, sembled a blue checked beetle in
night can