Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-05-31

MenI INTO nor own small room. IL
,.s won,d.es ~ u I'll ever feel like that about
She stared moment and added, That
| was real enough, poor thing" She drew
res0iute breath. Well, no use in feel
hg IKE crmlnai, my dear. Now for
the COOK and the waitress"
She rather took satisfactlon In that.
,or she had disliked both of them keen
~ she gave them until the end OF the
week and IN the meantime telegraphed
LOT Emily Giles. who for over five years
nad helped her keep houae for her father
az home. OF medium height, spare. thin
cnested and thin Tipped her hair already |
sreaked with gray, Emily had been less
q servant than grinly devoted frieno.
SInce EthePs departure, she had peen
Emily will COM " thought Ethel,
unless she's dead or paralyzed."
And Emily came.
| ,Well. Miss Ethcl here am" she
sa,d on her arrlva' She said, Miss
always said Ethel" before. But her
| tone made 1t sound like, well, kid. here
l am. Now let's SEQ what kind OF
mes mess IL Is you want me to get you out
| with the aid Of a boo,e entitled. How
to Live Well on Little" together they
puzzled and contrived
The things that have gone on In this
kltchen,' Emily muttered more than
anS Sers her SHARP gray peersd nsre
| now at the many unpaid bills, when
| tnat cook of yours wasn't grating she
must nave been getting drunk on your
Wlne.' As the record was unfolded OF
years of careless extravaganza, Ethel
would frown and turn away. for II
seemed disloyal to pry so deep. Poor
amy was dead and buried.
| 4, with Emily she went marketing. ana
Iney beat down and bullied mankind
q aN A.,I nN
they. worked out a schedule of house.
keeping on a rigdly economical scale,
dividing the work between them. All
THIS was rather pleasant. The trouble
came IN the nursery, where more than
once the face of the stricken woman
| there made. 1t hard TO keep ones mind
Keen and clear for all the intricate de-
tails OF the careful mothering in this
| room, from which barely sound had
ever gone out to disturb the peace OF
Amy's home.
But It was soon over. The nurse had
taken her departure and Ethel had
moved to the nursery. And now the
routine of her day brought such
her future course though at first she
had but little time 70 stop for self-analy-
sis. AT In the morning she was reused
by the low, sweet chirrup of Susette,
| who was peering over the edge of the
| And her day from that time on was
| filled with succession of little tasks,
which at first puzzled and wearied her.
made her often anxious and cross but
then attracted her more and more. What
a change from the month before. from
Mr.. Greesheimer 10 Susette She be-
came eugrossed In the washing and
feeding Of her tiny charge. Anxiously
she watched Susettc for the slightest
she grew to know the meaning of GER
tain looks and gestures, baby talk.
Susette became p"rsor, wee but very
intimate
In the park on those lovely davs Of
May, Ethel liked to feel herself a part
Of the small world Of nurses and
mothers who chattod. or sewed while
children played and motor cars went
purring by There were little distrac-
tions; for Susette was a sociable crea-
ture, and the small friends she dis
covered brought Ethel into conversation
with the women who had them in
charge. Several of the mothers were
F'rench-.very French in the way they
dressed. in the way they sewed, in their
quick gestures. shrugs and smiles and
their pretty broken English They lent
a piguaHt novelty to motherhood in
At times she thought of Amy. why
had Amy missed all this? How had she
peen able TO keep away from this
adorable child of hers? Ethel saw in
sne IN arSInts windows VS. Of shops the most tempting
had money to spend Susette's ward
robe was simply pr neticw And often,
sitting In the Par and watching on
the road nearby II endless procession
or automobiles and the women like Amy
so daintily clad, and puzzling and remem.
pering innumerable little things from her
first gay month IN town-in Ethers
mind the picture of the sister she had
adored began to change little, and to
lose Its hold upon her. Amy beautiful,
indolent toward Susete and the house
hold Amy tense, with jealous vigil
ant light in her eyes, when 1t was a
matter of Joe and her love or the
| money so passionately desired
| But these recolections she would die.
miss with excuses for her sister There
are two kinds OF women" Ethel sageIy
told herself. Mothers and wives. And
sio,,wTs sne was a VIII" Il may be I'm
Of herself, her worship OF her sister
changed to a plying tolerance. The
| question, Shall I ever be like that ,"
once so full Of eagerness-had already
been answered unconsciously. "Poor
Amy. she's dead Sae lived her life H
LIN going to live another"
Just what life It rs to be was as
unsettled as before.
For as she grew used to this mother
Ing. the old adventurous hunger for life
welled up again within her For long
periods she forgot tho child and sat
| frowning into space, her mind cropping
| restlessly for ways and means to find
herself and get friends OF her own, in
dependence, work and gayety. a chance
TO grow and BE somebody here |" Shs
had her angry, baf1ed moods.
But from these Susette would bring
her back. whats your life to be, YOU
poor little dear? And II you don't worry,
why should I?' And resolutely she
would turn to tho snail, absorbing life
of the child.
This went on lor any months. 1t
changed her feeling toward the town, for
now she had foothod here. II changed
| her feeling toward Amy, whose picture |
had begun TO blur. But that queer SEN |
sation of intimacy Of being in her SIS
ter's place. was even deeper than be-
| fore. For now she was mothering Amy's |
child-her child and her husband.
For n time she had seen little Of Joe |
| She had been absorbed IN her new work A.: |
and Joe. In his business troubles. But |
| as he began to see llcl' ahead. again he |
| took notice Of thing at home and |
| rather to his own surprise he enioyed |
the change that had been made. The
| simpler ways appealed 10 him. He and
Emily got on famous. And he began
to notice Susette, to ONE home early
now and then, In tim" to see her take
her bath or to sit on r." floor and build
houses of blocks. He Aew about build
ing houses, and he Cold do fascinating
things which made his small daughter
stare at him In grave admiration.
How dear he is with her." Ethel
| thought
Although sho was barely aware of the
fact, her own new tenderness for the |
! child had frightened the bonds between
her and its father. His blunt, affection
ate kindliness appealci 70 her often in |
a way that even brougTt little qualms Of |
doubt she would looh at Joe OCCASION
ally in n thoughtful, QH'stloning manner.