Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-06-21
The Telegram
SYNOPSIS or PROCEEDING
CHAPTERS


Alice Fairbanks has won her way
through life by her optimism. She
has had the wonderful ability to
smile in the face of the most dis
couraging circumstances. Her sunny
disposition first attracts to her David
Tnorne. with whom she falls in
love. When a pretty. silly little
cousin of hers takes him away and
marries him, she is heart broken.
Later she adopts a little girl, and
afterwards meets and becomes en-
gagged to Lawrence Marlowe. She
thinks she has conquered the old
love, until, while at college in the
meets David again and finds hat he,
also, still cares. She runs away,
goes home and breaks her gag
ment with Lawrence. y few weeks
later she learns that her cousin,
David's wife, has died. She waits but
does not hear from him. Mean
time. Lawrence is settled in the city,
and her chum Clara has gone there
too, to work. They become engaged.
Lawrence writes her he has found
out that David has gone West.
CHAPTER 103
To be cheerful in the face of a
great trouble is far easier than to
smile while bearing a succession of
little tribulations. A great tragedy
may even be ennobling-but there
is W any reward for putting up
with an endless array of petty
worries.
1t seemed TO Alice that all her
life had been made up of these little
troubles. Even her fathers death,
more than 10 years before, had not
been q supreme sorrow: Mr.. Fair
banks had been too obviously glad
to evade the misfortunes of this
world by quietly passing out of it.
Her mother had never been i'll
enough to be n heartbreaking worry;
her helplessness had made hers a
only care, rather than an anxiety.
Whtle-as everyone who has pass
ed through it knows-there is moth
ing either heartbreaking or roman
tic about continued poverty, it's worst
fault Is the deadly monotony it
creates.
All this Alice had put I'D with
and smiled. The numerous little
trials and sacrifices found her al
ways ready and cheerful, and al
ways hoping, sometimes vaguesy
enough, for something better.
Then came the real heartbreak-
her loss of David: and almost i'm
mediately after this, some sort of
RVAH1OAANACA NAAlIt 6ilG &dfllHf Ile
one big tragedy in her heart. at
least the pretty troubles gradually
disappeared. She no longer had to
work so hard, she was able to feed
her starving miud-for often she
felt her brain was actually hungry
for mental food-and thanks to
Lawrence's father, some better in
vestments provided a more nearly
adequate income. Lawrence him
self had been a great consolation
and Berenice, perhaps the great
est one of all.
Yet Alice was in danger of losing
her optimism now. Several evenings
Lshe had come home from work at
the Settlement House so quiet that
she scarcely spoke. Once or twice
she forgot even to kiss Berenice.
Its such a hot MONTH" Mrs.
Fairbanks excused her daughters
moodiness.
IT'S not the heat. I don't mind
that" Alice answered, leaning back
in the living room rocker.
i've made a nice old-fashioned
strawberry shortcake for supper"
Mrs. Fairbanks held Il this fnror-
nation as though she knew it would
he enough to cure any attack of
blues. But Alice did not seem over
joyed.
That's nice" she answered. But
in her. tone vas politeness rather
than enthusiasm.
She leaned back with her eyes
closed. Mrs. Fairbanks, coming
from an inspection of the things
cooking on the stove, studied her
with concern.
Alice made little attempt to keep
her hair waved in the hot weather.
CEn haI 4z1t1r~aJ A--4N-- a. r
Christmas, though, n dressed it
SO it still looked very modish. But
after a day at S~hantytown, even
the most securely fixed couture was
apt to come loose and look untidy.
Several annoying wisps of hair were
creeping from under the hair net
yet Alice, tired and discouraged as
h was now, was still a far different
looking girl from tho one who had
gone to the city less than a year
ago.
For the first time in years. Mrs.
Fairbanks began a critical survey Of
her daughter. She had always ac-
cepted her before as the best daugh-
ter in the world, therefore the hand
somest and quite the most perfect
in every way.
She has a nice forehead, fairly
high and intelligent looking" she
said to herself. And a well-shaped
head-looks like she had plenty of
brains under 1t, and I guess she has.
Her father had brains. only he had
no practical sense behind them. Alice
haS-she's got my common sense
n her fathers mind"
She looked more closely, and
Alice, compelled by the magnetism
or her mothers gaze, opened her