The Washington times., 1920-07-25

flung her arms about his neck, and
with an ecstatic cry of You old
dearv pressed a kiss upon his lips.
Mrs. Eddinger looked on with
anna cement, puzzled and not lit
tie troubled. who is that woman?'
she inquired icily.
silly"
But kiss like that isn't love kiss"
pleaded Mr.. Eddinger, and when thev
reached home he illustrated what a love
kiss was like with such success that for
the time the incident of the afternoon was
forgotten and amity reigned once more.
The restored harmony was not for long,
however. More discords began to creep in
while Mr.. Eddinger was playing in The
Boomerang" which had phenomenal
three years run at New York theatre.
In this play the young star had to make
love to two young women-very charming
ones. He had to embrace fervently beau
tiful Ruth Shepley, his stage fiancee. He
had to cast longing eyes at alluring Martha
Hedman, who played the nurse in his doc
tors office.
Mrs. Eddinger saw the play but once,
and when she left the theatre she dis
played symptoms Of nervous irritability.
Then followed rumors of angry arguments
in the Eddinger household.
How can help it," urged Mr. Eddinger,
"if Winchell Smith wrote lot of fool stuff
for me to do in this play? Those girls
are nothing to me except opposites in
scene!"
But why do you show such extreme
enjoyment when playing with them?" is
said to have been Mrs Eddinger's acid
reply.
And so the debate went on as long as
"The Boomerang did, Mr.. Eddinger vainly
doing his best to explain the perfect inno-
cence of stage kisses, stage hugs and stage
goo-goo eyes In spite of the success he
had scored in the play he was not sorry
when the long run closed and Miss Shep-
ley and Miss Hedman went into other
companies. Now he hoped that the dove
of peace would smooth its ruffled wings
and make his home happy again.
But the fateS were against him. He was
starred in wedding Bells"-name of i'll
omen!-and in this comedy again he had
to make love to two women. This. time it
was charming Jessie Glendinning and win
some Margaret Lawrence who were the
objects of his stage devotions.
Once more all the force Of the personal.
fly that has fixed so many things to the
delight of thousands of theatregoers was
called into play to adjust the difficulties
in his home life. II succeeded in keeping
the trouble that was brewing from bub
bling over until after wedding Bells was
on the road. While Mr.. Eddinger was on
the Pacific Coast he was served with the
divorce papers. A party alleged to have
been given in the Eddnger apartment dur
ing his wife's absence was one of the
things upon which the proceedings were
based.
Just a harmless little affair."" Mr. Ed
dinger explained "Such affairs are quite
the thing in the topsy-turvy land in which
we stagefolks live"
Mrs Eddingers reply was snif-a
long-distance sniff, conveyed through her
lawyer
Mr. Eddinger was most forgiving. Poor
girl" he said 'It's my absence that has
done this. These long separations are the
curse OF every actors marriage. When |
see her again / can straighten everything
out"
VIII Mr. EddInger be able to "straighten
things out" as he hopes? There is still
time. for three months must intervene be-
tween the interlocutory and the final do.
cree OF divorce. And everybody who has
seen the smiling, forceful ease with which
Wallace Eddinger always manages TO ex'
tricate himself from all sorts OF dinicul.
ties on the stage will be inclined to think
that his wife may yet be unable to resist
the appeal OF the former Little Lord
Fauntleroy."