The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-04-21
MARDIE's EFFICIENCY
BY JANE OSBORNE.

kitchen cabinets always filled Martin
with strange, inexpressible longings.
There was just enough of the house
wifely in his thoroughly masculine
makeup to make him feel convinced
that, were he a woman, there would
be deep content in making biscuits and
bread and cake and pies In front Of one
Of those devices, with the neat little |
rows Of spice boxes all ranged most
conveniently to hand, where sugar and
Hour could be measured out in cup
fuls and sifted at the simple turn OF
q lever and where all the dishes that
anyone might need for cooking for two
were within easy reach. And at the
department store that Martin passed
every night on his way home from
business, there was whole window
full Of those tempting, soul-disturbing
cabinets, ranging from little oak ones
at $19.T4 to white enameled affairs at
Sg9.69 A woman stood beside him
looking longlngly at them, too. and as
Martin saw her he sighed. If Marble
After Martin had INDUCED his dream
for housewifely Joy in this fashion,
dinner at the boarding house, to which
he always brought strong, brave ap-
| petite, seemed less sufficient and less
satisfying than ever.
That night as Marble was sitting
| Misunderstanding, Of course-one OF
| Ibsen's plays Martin, as usual, was
buried In the evening paper. But his
longings pursued him even there. For
there, spread over half page of the
evening paper, was an advertisement OF
those tantalizing kitchen cabinets with
cuts almost as tempting as the cabi-
nets themselves and column Of de-
scription of all their virtues.
| He felt Marbles eyes on him and,
he heard just the suggestion OF sob.
i "What's the matter? Aren't you
| happy2" Martin soothed. After Mar
dies sobs there had been the tempest
OF Marbles tears and then came the
soothing Of them. Pm so glad you
asked that" Marble frightened, "be-
cause I'm not just exactly happy and
/ didn't want to have to tell you. I've
been making plans--and you are al
ways so busy with that horrid old pa
per and the stock quotations and the
! real estate reports-I saw you reading
those reports this very minute-that
never get time to tell you. Even II
| / am a woman" she went on, there is
no reason why / should not be an in
!. dustrial factor. There is no reason
why / should not become efficient
there Is no reason why / should be
parasite" To Martin all this sound
!, cd deadly familiar. He had heard 1
I lots Of times before and he could en-
! dve no more.
= KNOW he murmured. "I've heart
!, thMdope before"
aBut not just this" Marble persist
= cd. "You See industrial conditions
have changed woman's position"
Martin dropped his head in hi
hands peevishly. "Oh, don't" he wal
almost fierce as he spoke. Don't g
: into details What put that sort O
thing into your head, anyway
yesterday I went to conference
: of the Woman's College club"
. "Lord!" Martin was one of the mel
= who believed that he disliked all col
+ lege women ON principle. "Cut tina
! out. / don't want to hear 1t"
: Marbles tears were dry. "Well
10 since YOU won't listen to explanations,
y she said with hauteur, there won't b
Eany. | want to take course at col
ft lege. + feel that my education ha
been neglected. want to become el
"a fcient. I want to-" She was tryin
y to explain again.
- .Not with my money you can't TAX
II college course" was Martins vel
ar dict. "You know my prejudice"
" "Nobody said anything about you
b, money" snapped the wife. The fa'
a. that she had never spoken in that ton
In before made it all the more cuttin
IN now that 1t came. II may be poo
but I'm not a pauper. I've got fe
l. hundred dollars in the bank and L
~ use that and ask no questions. / We
In going to explain-but you wouldn
IT. understand"
ir This took place one evening in Sc
a tember just when the law classes
W the university were forming. And b
IT. cause Marble was gone from home tiN
r. or six hours every day, Martin kne
that she had kept her threat. II 81
r. ever studied at home, the books we
he always wen concealed in the evenii
to and Mafdie's conversation betray'
n nothing OF the subject on which h
In mind must be dwelling during II
al hours Of the day. One day in Nav
IT. found letter on his desk. He open
We it. Department of Household Art
lr- was the heading on the folded she
within, "The honor of your compal
is requested at luncheon to be Civ
Saturday at one o'clock by the grad
We ating class In household managemel
'st The luncheon Is to be prepared a
sc served entirely by members of t
N Glass;.
it. When he reached the domestic S
CHI ence laboratory at the university II
IA minutes ahead of time, no Marble W
so to be seen.