Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-02-24
THE DAILY NOVELETTE,
Their Crystal Anniversary
~. MABEL T.. BLIGH

,,., crawford picked up her sewing
Mrsi threw il down again N disgust.
aaIn,. wrath was not unJustineu;; @ Se
h'er.vsvod her surroundings WIN piu
foIho of symbol of the dreary, mo-
k.o MI. of life. It expressed so clearly
oto"s yssIentless decay of youth and nope;
ing The rocker in which she sat; Win an
nsofects OF antiquity save It's charfn,
the uel si,m,nary of her married life. 1t
WS Seen intended for mere temporary
re- ,,ss. II had been their pleasant convic,
W., VIZ, mat in a year or two they would
lioi,re lioli II with something bctter-..some-
replace ihs, one could live with always.
Eni,s .. Aifreds aflluence had proved al
u,,, bu, inst over tho ridge of attainment.
Sho then went over again the bills IN
her desk. once month ior sWsnty hi,,s
innved up with a placid faith that
roxt month" there would be something
~ over, But that next month never
ra,ne. All too frequently the only bal
zee was one of debt. II the tiny say
SS 'nSs grew 10 the proportions OF little
,us ne 20 the seashore, one OF the children
,as sure to be Ill. There never had been
surplus put by for any little pleasure
'hst il did not vanish before necessity
''I ne uas not the everlasting proximity
- noyerty which made Mrs. Crawford's
,as grow dim as she sat In tho fast
JarkeIiiup room reviewing her ire Sne
had not married Alfred for money. She
iah
,nist generous little man. with an un-
SniinR good disposition, whom any one
must love. What more could she right
,,II" ask in a husband than she hau
t,,,,,d in him? IL was not his fault that
LoJ" iLocr ~ initiative was part Of his dispo-
sItion. that the rut In which he labored
81 the store was the fruit of his dute,
sobriety. It., so,,,, ,o, anal, - -
mic sense of resentment. If only AL
red would be different occasionally.
She shook her head he1plessly. There
vas no use. The glowing fabric OF hop.
had faded. as doubtless it must for
IiSr mind flashed back over. the years
,o the perfumed summer evenings when
.hc waited at the gate In the twilight
eagerly awaiting Alfred in his neat
darI, suit and prodigiously high collar,
aSInsing sSTn ing his stick smartiy. It was usu-
aIiv dark when he arrived-with no re-
rrSts for that They had not been
married then, of course.
She thought Of her wedding. She had
made her bridal gown herself Their
honeymoon had been spent at q little
"Vmnsr resort only a few miles from
bsr home by trolley. She smiled to
,hink Of those few days and how quickly
they had slipped away.
10 the bleak present. Alfred would be
cominr in presently. Then he would
.sV; "Helo, dear" make some formal
inquiry as to her occupation during the
dav and sometimes about the children.
Incr supper he would submerge him.
self in the rocker and go 10 sleep. Some.
times he would kiss her or permit nm
self to be kissed.
Thus the days had ended foT mof~
Years than she could remember.
lust at this stage of thinking she
heard voices on the porch outside where
she was sitting. Evelyn, the Oldest o.
her girls and most like herself, was
t..
clouded wistfully. Evelyn was adorable
tear rolled saltily down her cheek
as she glmpscd the box OF candy in
her daughters hand. Once upon time
Alfred had brought sweets to her. too
not so long ago But now It became
extraagant not to say foolish. IL was
not practical, he had explained, wheh
she craved for sweets. But, then, he
never did understand.
More than once she had struggled to
make Alfred comprehend why sh.
craved a caress. Always she had exas-
perated him. brought him as near wrath
as 1t was possible to bring him, Hc
had said in so many words-quite blunt
h--that such Establishments were foi
,oungsters still idealizing life and love.
Why could she not take something for
granted?
everything for granted" Life had be-
come a habit, his life the most common
place factor in ii. 1t brought a lump
in her throat. Then Alfred suddenly
| underwent a kind of DELEGATION. in her
ninda For all his weakness he was far
above any other man she knew.
Hearing him coming up the front
steps. she went to greet him with a
.rrangc new feeling of gladness She
fanCicd that he seemed trine nervous,
that he was holding back something
from her. -
Supper is ready she said, for want
Of something else 10 say.
LET the children eat it," be replied
briefly: we are going out tonight"
"Out?" she repeated. amazed.
Yep" he smiled mysteriously. Hurry
up, dear; get dressed.
She turned and faced him.
Aired Crawford Whatever are you
~ to? she demanded.
lie looked comically sheepish and
said:
"Why--cr-I thought we'd have a lit
rlc dinner in town and then go TO the
theatre. Remember how we used 10 go
dear"
"Uf course, remember :" she cried
But, Alfred, we cant afford It.
"Qh, hang the expense he ssld
chnC fully. Guess you don't remember
what day this Is, dear"
Well s'l" remembered that, too,
Thoroughly 1nystifed, she went up and
dressed. She could hear her husband
Nofty singing one Of her favorite songs
Silver Threads Among the Gold.
'Bv gracious, you're a better looking
gIr than any OF our daughters ~ he
declared with conviction as he looked
At her
Then trying to change the subject
What in the world has got into you?'