Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-06-29

New York. June 2S.-All day long
Ma Holmes sent in the front parlor
Of her cottage and looked out to sea.
Fifty yards away the waves hurled
themselves furiously upon fringe Of
ugly rocks. Lifting her eyes to the
horizon, Ma Holmes watched the
whitecaps snatch at the sky. Fear
came into her heart, for somewhere
there on the restless deep a frail
craft scudded under bare poles, and
in that craft were Ma Holmes hus-
band and son.
Night came and with it rain. Ma
Holmes lighted an oil lamp and
placed it in the window. Then
throwing a sou'wester over her head
she ran out, and for an hour she
passed from house to house, stop
ping only for moment at each cot
tage, but in that moment giving
comfort and good cheer to other wo-
men who, like herself, waited for
their men.
Men Came Home.
At last Ma Holmes reached her
house again. The wind has ceased
70 howl, and the rain had fallen
away to quiet drizzle. Her men
should have come home yesterday
Were they safe or had the sea called
her children for all time? Ma
Holmes did not know and could but
wait. Through the long hours Of
the night she sat beside the lighted
lamp. Her fears tomented her. If
only she had something to read
something to occupy her mlndl but
in Ma Holiness cottage was no
hook. And indeed. if at any time this
little island off the coast of Maine
had been forced to render unto
Caesar the things that were Cae-
sar's" it could not have produced
more than six books.
So, with midnight in her heart"
Ma Holmes watched and waited. i.
One o'clock. Two o'clock. &.
Three o'clock. The night
seemed interminable. and Ma
Holmes could but sit in her chair,
with her hands folded in her lap,
and struggle with black thoughts.
At last dawn and the sun and a
quiet day, and by noon the little
ships came sailing in, and women
ran to the shore and waded in 70
their waists and met their men, and
most of them forgot their fears. On
ly Ma Holmes did not forget. The
terrors of that night and of many
nights like that before could not 50
easily be forgotten, and that sum-
n,er when visitors CHANGED upon the
little island and brought with them
books to read, Ma Holmes conhded
her wish for books of her own.
Promised Library.
"And you shall have them" said
one to whom Ma Holmes opened
her heart. You shall have a trav-
cling library from the Church Pc
riodical club" Ma Holmes smiled
and forgot the promise with the
passing of the visitors, forgot it TN
til there arrived for her box which
she opened and found to contain
books. What happened then may
best be described by Ma Holmes i'll
this letter to Miss E. K. Chamber
Jayne, director of travelling libraries
of the Church Periodical club.
That beautiful library landed il,
tie middle Of the kitchen floor after
10 o'clock last night. How can I
thank you enoughs There were
books in that library that I have
wanted all my life to read and never
could get. Big son promptly Sc.
lected The Sky Pilot" went to bed
and read himself to sleep. Pa fol-
lowed his example, with History
Of America and Its People, and still
l sat on the floor and went over
the books one by one. The room
grew cold. l reused up to replenish
tie fire and put more oil in the
lamp. Then l went back to those
books. At last pa appeared to build
the kitchen fire and asked sternly
why l hadn't come to bed all night
"You ask me TO tell YOU what we