Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-06-18
4 SWEETHEART AT THIRTY
The Story of " oman's Transfer II alton
BY MARION RUBINCAM.
Protected by George Matthew Adami
yIOLET'S AMBITION.
ChaptPr !


In order To make clear the immense
difference between my life now. and then,
think | must give more Of the little de
tails 0f our davs at that time.
That supper. for instance was typical.
We go>Siped we q'larreled, or We ate IN
>Ilien silence OR else we told each other
about the worries ol the past dav and
>pcctIiatcd about the worries Of tomorrow.
The table IS the last place in the world
t. bring quarrels or worries. Many a mar
rage has been wrecked because the wife
complained or the husband growled over
the dinner table.
Ii was natural enough, in our case.
We never met as family except a. meals.
and there our various differences rubbed
against each other, and we Irrltated each
other.
Tonight. after James had fled from
he table, and after Jim. first to finish
had gotten up and stalked of without
Il word. Esther gathered up the dishes,
and began 10 help her.
Go on in and do Your lessons ] told
Vi. "I'll wipe and put the things away.
The milk cans have to be secured
vet" Esther fretted. And | think I'd
better take those small rag rugs from the
bedrooms and put them to soak. Tomorrow
I'll wash them. Vi can 20 get them.
III do it. let her study, | protested.
well, Esther conceded We got
to house-clean pretty soon. it is getting 10
be spring. 80 much cold this year | cant
believe it.
She put the last dish on the table,
where ! picked it up 10 wipe, not and
dripping, from the tin waiter. Then she
attacked a pile Of pans two frying pans
Of heavy iron, coated now with dark cold
grease, and any number of sauce pans.
We were not a large family, but some
how we managed to use up an immense
amount of dishes and utensils at meal
Esther poured more hot water into her
dish pan, and soaped her rag from bar Of
homemade washing soap. ! noticed her
hands as she lifted them from the strong
hot suds. They were red and puffy-loeking
ihthe old days she had had cunning chubby
little hands with short, plump fingers.
used TO admire them then, and the pink
nails al the end Of them. Nowadays
Esther nails broke from her work, and
were kept short that way and the skin
around them was broken and thick and
stained indelbly from work.
Jim says he 5 got man TO come this
spring for the sowing, she said. hope hc
STAYS through the summer,Jim "a Is they .er
asking awful wages now.N ell, Il clean the
attic room for him.
Our last hired man had left US in the
fall and gone to the city to work in the
factories. We had been trying TO get new
one for weeks.
Jim really needs two men. on this
big place, ! suggested. For the Hanes
farm was really fair sized 20 be run efficient
~, there should have been many helpers.
Jim always tried to do the work of
three; | went, on.
Think of the money it costs to hire
work-and they loaf when you're not
looking" Esther answered, taking the
true back country view that the way to
economic is to spend less, rather than to
make more.
I'VE got bit laid by Of course she
went on, lifting the last pan from the
water and wiping it with her wrung-out
cloth, then setting it on the back Of the
stove to dry. But there's SO much TO
spend it on. And the work Then VI
graduates in June, and there her dress TO
make, and another for class day. 1'hat'u
mean white shoes too
I'll buy her white silk stockings as
my present, suggested. vi had never had
a pair of silk stockings OF US had,
as far as that goes and it was the girl ;
great ambition. / had Il little money
did not know how much but all | used
it for was to spend on my family.
You'll put notions in her head, Esther
answered. silk stockings as married
with cotton ones but gi,ls these days have
ideas different from then. bis got enough
notions as it Is.