The Washington herald., 1918-10-09

we fall victims to those who proffer
which they pine. Practically any sim
uous siren can mark any man she
pleases as her own. as is amply
proven by the prosperity OF the vsmp
business. while the most puritanicsl
matron. with the most rigid moral
principles, reyerts to the Mother Eve
type when q glib-tensusd talker
comes along who whispers In her ear
the things her husband never says
to her any more.
It's rather pitiful TO think what we
could do with our hum-drum exist
/, ences by wreathing them with a few
flowers and tying a saucy bow of rib
bon on them, and still more pitiful 10
think that we are too dull and stupid
or too lazy and Indifferent 10 DO Il.
Take domestic life, for instance
Most of us find that pretty dull and
| monotonous, and we think of home al
place where no one considers II OBJ
ligatory to use even common polite
ness in dealing with those with whom
| they live.
There are, however, a few people
wise enough to take the trouble 10
gild family life. They keep the spirit
of romance alive, even after they have
domesticated II by the living room
radiator. These couples no more es-
cape the inevitable trials and tribu-
lations and sacrifices of mstrimony
than do others, but by their glorifica-
tion of the holy estate they take the
sting out of self-denial and make 1t
worth while.
The husband still keeps the attitude
Of a lover. He brings home to his wife
a flower, a book. a box of candy that
show thought and care in their selec-
ton. He makes little treats for his
wife. He gives her little surprises.
He notices what she has on and how
she does her hair. and is full Of ap-
probation of all that she does for him
and so he keeps the thrill in life for
her
The woman plays up 10 her hus-
band. She takes the trouble TO dress
for him, to put a flower on her breast,
TO turn always a radiant face upon
him and TO make of her home q place
| OF enchantment where he may forget
the struggle and the anNieties OF the
outside world. And so they make Of
| their love and their relationship a lir-
ing. palpitating JOY, instead Of dead
emotion.
Yet these people are no better sit
uated than thousands of others who
/ find marriage d woeful disillusion.
They make no more sacrifices. nor do
they do their duty by each other any
better than the others. They have
| merely found out how to infuse the
| hoop-la into matrimony.
The same principle holds good with
| regard to our work, which is either
| dreary drudgery or an exciting career
according to the spirit that we throw
into it. Why do people yean to be
actors. writers. artists. instead of car
| penters. bill clerks and green groceTs? ?
There is really just as much excite
| ment in building skyscraper as
| there is in building up a character
\ on the stage. There is just as much
romance in shipping goods to the far
parts of the earth as there is in writ
ing novels about the seven seas. You
can make Just as good a picture in
still life in n shop window as you
| can on canvas.
All the difference is that the actor,
| the artist and the writer follow the
professions about which there rests a
| sort OF hoop-la glsmor. and II is the
hoop-la spirit that camouflsges work
and worry. and turns them into high
| adventure.
iCopynsht, 1913, BY the Wheeler Syndicate Inc >