The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-05-11
The Letter From France
Bv MAMMALIAN FOSTER.
OF The Vigilantes.

Mathematics teach us that from 1 leaves nothing,
and there is also the well known biological theorem that
you cannot get blood from trn1p 1t IS also assumed
Sir Isaac Newton having demonstrated the law, that
what goes up bound to come down. but this is only ab-
stract Mrs Lane probably would have denied it.
The fiat rent previously $1,000 year, now was
81 400 and it showed no signs whatever OF coming down.
The same condition applied also to her chldrens shoes
The shoes now cost ST. whereas they formerly had cost
81 But this merely detail similar pheno-
enon occurred to beefsteaks, potatoes, butter hsh
and the ST other varieties of domestic essentials ALI had
gone UP; nothing had come down. About the only
thing stable in Mrs. Lanes cosmos was Mr. Lanes year
ly income. This was 1000 year. Already Mrs Lane
had given up one maid. The war literally at her
door True, Mrs. Lane had no son. no brother-no kin
of any kind-in the war, but the war still was at her
door. 49,
Give money for the ware What do you think she
was doing anyway? She was giving every cent she
had trying to make both ends meet in her household
It hurt though. Mrs Lane was kindly, warm heart
ed woman and she would have liked to give. The war
was dreadful! It dreadful she stopped reading
about it,
But one must read letters. One must do that when
a friend takes the trouble to write them.
The letter came in the morning mail. Mrs; Lane
read it, then she read it again Afterwards she sat
there absorbed SILENT rigid The color had crept out of
her face and her breath swiftly from between her
parted lips.
lust sS5s back &c 1 e to reads d % sa
which b s as one Ss to @ o are well enos 9n up
S seo ' Of So1 s we SD have to lift
with
to have a and mouth
feednr Il? Managed to get pint
nOf O5 e and
nsans d held a S9 h nSa against e and gagged
and 21 n as0:
ov s2d n ai YOU g and the rest
One o'clock struck. Mrs Lane still sat with the
letter clutched in her hand E'What's for dinner3'
asked Hannah the maid. Mrs. Lane hardly heard her
She was still sitting there when Olivia foundered in
Olivia was fourteen, the conscious age. "Mother"
she said fretfulIy I can't go to dancing school again
in brown gloves when all the other girls have white
ones" The plant reminded Mrs. Lane that Lawrence
at boarding school had written that morning about
his socks He had only two pairs of silk ones left
""And, MOTHER said Olivia, continuing. But what
Olivia said Mrs Lane didn't hear. She had dropped
her head on the table and unaccountaby was weeping
Just suppose it was my boy-mne! she was sobbing
F'Why, motherl" calculated Olivia
She hurried toward her mother. What is it,
mother? You're acting just as though Lawrence had
gone to war!''
Mrs. Lane looked up, the tears streaking down her
race
''That's just what is the matter with mel should
be acting as If Lawrence were there And so should
youl IF Willie were like these the boys there she
pointed to the letter that had slipped from her lap to the
eggs milk brandy to keep him alive, would you be buy
white gloves? And would we think what other peo
pie wear on how they live or whether we had only one
servant noW2 If my boy was over there, Il my son
WERE
But other women sons are over there Mrs Lane
had at last realized this The tears were rolling down
t