The Washington herald., 1918-07-03

tell you own mother, or your hus-
bands mother that she can't come,
no matter how inconvenient IL is to
have her. You can't shut the door
of opportunity in the face of your
own nephews and nieces, for it does
mean q lot to a boy or girl to have
the advantages that a city can give
them. You cannot mortally offend
people you have loved all your life
by telling them that you would
sooner have an attack of smallpox
than a visit from them at that par
ticular moment.
No. You are simply the goat.
You are the sacrifice that your fam
| lily offers up on the altar Of their
pleasure and convenience. and par
simony or poverty. and the only
way you can help yourself is by
making yourself homeless.
IF people are rich and own q
big house with plenty of servants
it must be perfectly heavenly to
make an Old Ladies' Home. a Spin
ster's Retreat. q Convalescent
Home. a Rest Cure, q First-Aid-to-
| the-Ambitious and q Shopping An
mex of their homes for the benen,
of their relatives.
But it is a different story when
you are a struggling young couple
just getting a start in life, as Bob
and 1 are. with the high cost OF
| living even for two a horror to
turn your hair gray. and with a
little band box fiat into which we
have to insinuate ourselves with
shoe horn. il is such a close Mt.
Every time we have company we
have to do a series OF Iegerdemain
feats that upset our whole ar
rangements. We have to turn
couches into beds and chairs into
dressing tables, and go through APP
palling stunts that ought to touch
the hardest heart with enough pity
for us to make the visitor leave on
the next train.
1T doesn't, however. He or she
has come to enjoy himself or her
self and our sufferings make no i'm
preston upon their calloused ma
ture. Our guests are saving hotel
bills. and that fills them with such
a deep and abiding joy that nothing
else matters.
Worse still. when you have visitors
| they expect to be entertained. They
casually mention that they have al
ways wanted to go to the most
fashionable restaurants where they
have midnight frolics and that shock
ing cabaret they have read such
! dreadful things of in the Sunday
newspapers. And they ask what they
I are singing at the opera and what
are the best plays. and tell YOU how
they have been looking forward to
hearing Caruso and seeing Maude
! Adams.
, And they go shopping every day,
and order chicken a la king. and lob
ster newburgs at the restaurants, and
they never. never, never offer to pay
single cent for anything. And they
say 1t must be dreadfully expensive
living in a city. and they are afraid
you and Bob are terribly extravagant
going around to places of amusement
all the time like you do, and you
haven't the nerve to tell them that
you don't have even the money to
go to the movies for your own pleas
ure, because you spend every penny
you have on your grating relatives.
Why, haven't even had a new
dress since my trousseau, nor has
Bob had new suit since he was mar
ricd. Every time we are ready &c
get something for ourselves we have
a visitation from one side or the
other of the house that wipes out
our bank account.
THAT is why we are going to board.
ing, and we are going to stay in a
hotel until there is some law passed
making a closed season in which pool
young couples can be safe from theiI
families. AS things are now, we
haven't even got a sporting chance
for our lives.
please write something on this sub