Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-17
A SWEETHEART AT THIRTY
rbe Story Of Woman's Transformation.
ny MARION RUBlNCAM.
protectcd 10y Gcorne MattIit" AV
IBEGIN TO AWAKE.

know ali about the city. Who's yours
from?" vi asked.
,b, envclopc opcn. And | began to read
aloud: ~.
Dear Enid. hope YOU got in all right.
| stu,nose hy this time you are settled
| s,ppose vou'l be surprised to hear from
me so soon. But il ralned hard all DAY
and we couldn't do any outside WORK, ana
Laura's doing the mending, so | got time
,o drop YOU A line. | wanted TO ten you
about Mark. .
LES inst as | said He's engaged to
Anna Lee Kendall. She snapped him quick
,s a wink. YOU can bet, when she hao q
chance. They're going to be married
next month and go over to his place.
she's a lucky woman, l call her; ana TO
think. Enid Haines. you might have had
b;,, e ,,ou'd wantedi | declare | want to
cr,, whom | think about your foolishness.
\ GOOD home and him with good IN
come -,
An these wears you been living with
me and YOU didn't get more sense. Of
course I'm not saying we weren t glad 10
bavr Won. and YOU always done your
sharc of work, and helped mind the
children when they were young. but Just
the same. having another person around
cos,s something and | think you might at
Ieas, done the only thing | ever wanted
,.nu Ia do. Particularly as 1t Is TO your
own GOOD. not mine. But then you never
had much sense and | don't suppose you
ever will. only hope you don't get INTO
any scrapcs IN the city. | won't rest easy
till YOU get home next summer
Your affectionate Esther.
Cheerful person, Mother is, Vi com
mcutad | looked at the letter silently n
moment. The very sight OF the paper ana
,bc crampCd handwriting brought back
tH.. sense Of oppression | had felt Tor years.
Al Esther was very fond OF me.
rln.rc are women who show their love
f, making the beloved miserable. They
f, ANXIOUS that the loved one shall do
hing. the best way-but that must al
v..y. be their way. They oppress, they
.,lnnr,.ss eventually they strangie the
fovr 10 death. Then they cry out mIser-
,bk why doesn't he love meE m
sure did everything could for him.
Aud this was Esther She had been
kind to me. in her fashion, but her fashion
WAS never TO allow me. to think for my
self nor to act Independently. First |
vas the Young glrl who needed care and
protection. then | was the ''old maid
Who had little or no sense and whose
sizes we're considered queer.
only that morning had begun to throw
~ tins feeling of being sat upon. And
uaW Esther. hundreds of miles away,
lrachcd out in her letter and again threw
.,Ncr me that scnse-as though someone
4 flung around me a dark, heavy, wet
Ak - | could neither breathe nor see.
rs was like fat and friendly spider
: meant well, but one shrinks from It's
pproach.
l..tcr from me. Mother is all right She
simply cant believe either OF US have any
ansc Oh Aunt Enid, we're herel Let :
lorgct everything else, and 60 out and ex-
plorc the city.
She threw up her arms with gesture
full az natural grace. of youth and of
..btness that al once Esther influence
mod | found my coat and together we
,..rt n,t 10 see the sights of the big city.
For davs We travelled about, doing
,rvthlng Bud suggested to us. We
on Subways and elevated trans we
IN surface cars and rode as far as
went. We walked through Central
( and the big Van Cortlandt Park and
Bronx Park, which WAS out our way.
walked through the universities IN the
~ We went breathlessly again and
IN "a the crowded section downtown,
hcrc the buildings leaped to the sky,
~ W. had 10 crane our necks tar back to
.l,mpse their tops. as we stood on the
nsv.fnent We took ferry boats over the
riyer and harbor. and one Sunday, when
Bind could spend the day with US, We
.rampod through the lower West Side,
.hroneh a part Bud called Greenwich
Village. and bevond that, where the city
VS. rs quiet and sleepy as any OF the
villages up our way.
Wherever we went, people turned and
.miled / thought II was Nlolet's prettl-
ncsS that made them stare, but gradually
heran TO see that II was because we
were so different from the people about us.
Even the poorest have something
lifferent . Vi told me. Look at that
,tfIe girl waiting for the car. Her shoes
re shabbier than mine, and her clothes
.,ok cheap. But she Is dressed like every
one else. and we are al wrong. OF course,
I'm glad to be here, don't care whether
look like rube or not.
But of course she did care. And found
hat cared, too.
.Vlolet.' | said suddenly lets not
live where we are now. We have room
We hate. and we buy crackers and cake
md bring them home 10 eat because that S
cheap way, and boil eggs and make tea
1ecause We can do it in the room without
making a noticeable smell of cooking.
Fven so. 1t costs US $50 month for rent,
and more than that for our food"
What shall we do?' Vi asked eagerly
We're going to get a tiny fiat of ouI
1wn. and keep house, / answered. And
-,.lr,. -. u
look like these people around us.
Il WAS, for me, daring idea. 1t was
th,. beginning. too. | was at last, awaken
mg
Monday-Our New Plans.