Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-07


release him from their engagement
three weeks before they are to be
married. He tells Julia that he is in
love with another woman, but when
J he goes to Nancy Cromwell and tells
her Of bis love he discovers that she
has been playing. Later Dan meets
Lucy, Julia's sister, and tells her
that he loves Julia after all.
THEN START THE STORY y
r UCY thought of what Dan had said
hall the way home. Already in her
minds eye she was beginning TO re
construct her sisters life. Perhaps
everything could be patched up between
\ Dan and Julia, after all. Lucy missed
Julia. In spite of the fact that she
made fun of "Julia's IDEAS as Lucy
called them, she secretly admired her
sister for those things in her nature
which Lucy had not and never could
possess. Lucy remembered Julia's
sweetness of nature, her unsefshness
from the time the two had been chill
dren. Lucy remembered all that, and
vet IL Julia had come back to the gloomy
old three floor and basement house and
had taken up her life agaia there
sleeping with Lucy and being criticized
by the family, Lucy would have been
just as selfish as she always had been,
leaving her share of the room work to
Julia and wearing her silk stockings
whenever she pleased.
1t was no less than a bombshell that
Lucy dropped that night at dinner.
Conversation was never very sparkling
at the dinner table in the Grant home.
The dining room was n gloomy room,
even in the daytime the gas had to be
lighted and Mary, the hard working
maid of all work, was usually in
bad temper. Her feet were bad and
she complained continually of the stairs.
n On Thursday Mrs. Grant helped out by
taking care of her own floor, which
A consisted Of n sitting room and bed
room. Lucy and Julia had always
H dreaded Thursday nights at dinner be-
Y cause their mother, tired out and miser-
able and thoroughly martyred by what
Y she had done, would always bring up
\ uncomfortable subjects for discussion.
/ The greatest bette nor of all was the
monthly bills. Instead of waiting until
after dinner, when Mr.. Grant, soothed
by his meal and smoking n cigar, was
in less nervous frame of mind, Mrs
Grant would always place them at the
side of his plate so that he would be
greeted by them as soon as he entered
the room.
Julia always had less on the bills
| than any one else, but Lucy, who
\ never had any money, would charge
n such things as hairpins and toothpaste
h and ribbon. This always infuriated Mr..
Grant. When he would storm about
such things Lucy would look impudent.
Julia would look simply bewildercd and
Mrs. Grant, drawing a long sigh, would
always expostulate with him.
''The girls have to have clothes, "
she would remark calmly.
"I know they do, but I've asked
them to pay for things less than a
dollar, I make them an allowance and
they should keep within that
"I know, Edwin, but it's so hard to
do that"
"This blue taffeta, what is that?''
Mr.. Grant would storm.
Mrs. Grant would wrinkle her brows.
'"Taffeta, blue taffeta, let me sec;
don't know what that can be. They
must have charged me with something
| didn't buy"
y, ooh, mother" Lucy would inter
rupt. "That was to fix over your old
dress, don't you remember"
And then would be a silence as Mr.
Grant crushed the bills and stuffed
them into his pocket. Mrs. Grant had
no idea of the value of money, and
although she never had anything tc
show for it, she spent great deal in
frivolous manner.
This was Thursday night and the
first OF the month. Lucy knew that
! she would come in for more than hel
share of the blame and fault finding
this time because of Julia's absence,
therefore her news was doubly i'm.
portant.
Mary brought in the roast and set II
down before Mr.. Grant, and his gaze
was diverted from his paper to the
little sheaf Of envelopes which he eyed
! gloweringly. OF late the bills had beer
4 worse than ever, due to the high cos
OF living. If the women had but known
1t there were times when a sick nausea
took Edwin Grant by the throat wher
he thought of them. Times were hare
and his business brought him in nj
more money to meet them. And ye
no one in the family seemed to thinl
about that fact. 1t is SO often tina
way.
Lucy chose this as the propitioul
moment and launched her bomb.
"Well, / saw Dan today"
Mrs. Grant, who had been mourn
fully studying design in the wal