Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-01-02

Copyright, 1880, oD LEROY scott
yr1BLL--she was going to make up to
w Kenneth in some other form for the
,,sslth and the social position she had
mt brought him. She was more than
.o,ne 20 make up for II land she was
si ssOins to do Il quickly! Kenneth should
ssyer have n chance to regret
Tbeirs had been an unusual honey
,roon. considering their great resources
for leisure and luxurious journeying.
when the time OF the marriage had been
decided on, Kenneth had begun to sug;,
usst alluring retreats for their bridal
ssss,,sinn but Jennie had said that she
ssserofarred to stay right there at Silver
P,h,Ifs proyided, OF course, his mother
,,ns willing. Kenneth had demurred,
snd w then had yielded. Since she wished
T. thus, the arrangement secretly
njsosed him. Business America was In
= turmoil consequent upon the vast fur
n,sbinp OF supplies to the Allies; there
we're great contracts to be let--com.
,.issions---the building Of new factories
and the remodeling Of old ones, for
nn,nn,tion ANY makipg---the wild Jumps in
,psr stocks --- limitless speculation
Creat fortunes made In n week--some
SSned out in day. In view. Of his
msny interests, Kenneth considered It
fortunate that he was placed where he
could act upon the instant.
The days OF her engagement and her
bbneymoon Jennie spent In unostenta-
tiousiy working ut her unannounced plan
IA become brilliantly successful wife.
The work was tedious and tiresomc at
times since It dealt with fundamentals
which would render her competent, but
which in themselves would never be
scintillant---perhaps they might even be
taken for granted and never be noticed
AZ all. But she never wavercd In her
Man and OF the same time she never
Ist IL interfere with Kcnneth's being
constantly with her when he was at
home, While he was away she went
tn school TO Mrs. Harrison, who was
hsr delighted teacher. She studied
Mrs. IIarrison's method of managing
servants; Mrs. Harrison, thoughtful and
considerate and vet never relaxing her
pleasant authority, had rendered non
existent the servant problem in her
household Jennie studied buying and
all the details of household manage
ment and most important OF all. from
the standpoint Of its direct influence
upon Kenneth, she was constantly with
NTH, lluTTlSDh anu htE hDNcNnNtBti
when they were planning and arranging
for week end parties and other social
affairs, In brief, Jennie took con
centrated course in domestic science
domestic science, that is, as it pertains
TO the households of the rich.
And this was not all. The decorating
and furnishing of the Park avenue
apartment had been placed in the hands
OF a well known woman interior dec
orator. Jennie came to business un-
derstandng with Miss Howard, in
yolving the private payment of a spe-
cisl professional fee; and as often as
she could get away from Silver Bluffs
she was in the city with Miss Howard.
She was told about materials and their
art Significance, and she was inducted
into the mysteries of color relationships
and also she was told in detail about
the furniture as 1t came In. In the
end her knowledge was neither wide
nor deep, but nevertheless she knew
more about how to keep her home in
distinguished than do 90 per cent Of
young brides whom the marriage vow
makes mistresses Of pretentious estab-
lishments.
All this was the hardest kind of rou
tine work nothing could have been in
Itself less spectacular. But she never
lost her energy, and never showed lack
Of spirit or freshness before Kenneth.
What kept her going was the belief that
she was building sofidly for the future !:
that though the preparations were diff
fcut and obscure, the structure was to
be glorious.
She had some reward for her period
OF surreptitious labor when the last
guest had gone after the ordeal of t. cir
first dinner party in the new apartment.
II say, Jennie, you We're simply
splendid !" cried Kenneth, with an ex-
citement unusual in him, taking her In
his arms. why, mother. at forty five
never ran off a dinner more smoothly
aud this is your first dinner and
your hardly twenty one And the
way you kept things going--everybody
Interested In each other, l mean. l
say, where did you get on to such a
lot Of thingsY'
She laughed. "Oh, was born with
one OF those universal compendiums of
drawing room manners and dinner party
conversation in my mouth"
he ignored her banter; after all,
be was primarily interested not in where
and how she had learned how to do it,
ogt in the fact that she could do il.
"You were simply splendid !" he re-
Il had no idea you would be able
70 handle things SO well at the very
sMrt. Why he. went on enthusiastic
any with your being SO clever. there s
20 reason why we shouldn't get right
INTO the biggest sort Of things. Jennie.
l. cant tell you how proud am of