The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-11-20
! BEGAN TO AWAKE
ChaDter 30.

Sldpt6T 4
MY letter Is from Edna She wants
to know all about the city. Who's
yours from?" vi asked. ss.
Your mother" answered, break
ing the envelope open. And I began
to read aloud:
Dear Enid, hope you got I'M all
right. I suppose by this time yousare
settled. l suppose you'll be surprised
to hear from me SO soon. But 1t
rained hard all day and we couldn't
do any outside work, and Laura's do
ing the mending. so got time to drop
you line. I wanted to tell you about
Mark.
Its just as said He's engaged
to Anna Lee Kendall. She snapped
him quick as wink, you can bet,
when she had a chance. They're 60
ing to be married next month and go
over to his place. She's a lucky WON
AMI call her. And to think, Enid
Haines, you might have had him If
you'd wanted! 1 declare I want to
cry when l think about your foolish
ness. A good home and him with a
good income.
AN these years you been living
with me and you didn't get more sense.
or course Pm not saying we weren't
glad to have you, and you always
done your share Of work, and helped
mind the children when they were
young. But Just the same, having an
other person around costs something
and I think you might at Least done
the only thing I ever wanted you to
do. Particularly as it Is to your own
good not mine. But then YOU never
had much sense and I don't suppose
you ever will. I only hope you don't
get into any scrapes in the city.
/ won't rest easy till you get home
next summer.
"Your affectionate Esther"
Cheerful person. Mother u.s." vi
commented. looked at the letter ST.
lently a moment. The very sight of
the paper and the cramped handwrit-
ing brought back the sense of oppres-
sion 1 had felt for years. Yet Esther
was very fond of me.
There are women who show their
love by making the beloved miserable.
They are anxious that the loved one
shall do things the best way-but
that must always be their way. They
Cypress, they suppress, eventually
they strange the love to death. Then
they cry out miserably-"Why doesn't
he love me? I'm sure l did everything
| could for him"
And this was Esther. She had been
kind TO me. in her fashion, but her
fashion was never to allow me to
think for myself, nor to act independ-
emily. First | was the young girl who
needed care and protection, then / was
the "old maid" who had little or no
sense and whose tastes were consid-
cred queer"
Only that morning I had begun to
throw off this feeling of being sat up
on And now Esther. hundreds of
miles away. reached out in her letter
and again threw over me that sense
as though someone had flung around
me dark, heavy. wet cloak. so I
could neither breathe nor see. She
was like fat and friendly spider
she meant well, but one shrinks from
its approach.
Never mind" Violet said, taking
the letter from me. Mother is all
right. She simply can't believe either
Of us have any sense. Oh Aunt Enid
were here. Let's forget everything
else, and go out and explore the city
She threw up her arms with GEES
ture so full of natural grace, of youth
and of lightness, that at once Esther's
influence waned. | found my coat and
together we went out to see the sights
of the big city.
For days we travelled about, doing
everything Bud suggested to us. We
went on subways and elevated trains,
We got on surface cars and rode as far
as thew went. We walked through
Central Park and big Van Cortldndt
Park, and the Bronx Park which was
ont our way. We walked through the
universities in the city. We went
treathlessly again and again to the
crowded section doWnt own. where thu