The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-10-01
Mary's Dream
Comes True =
BY DORA NOLAN.

nineteen hOnQreu anu twenty ti"s
business depression spread over the
land. Caused by word Of three let
certain often quoten
Of Civil war fame pre-
ferred to spell it with four-lts con-
sequences could not be enumerated
were all the letters of the alphabet
utilized in every possible combination.
But to quote just two.
John Smith, who, with the help OF
friendly pull. had climbed INTO
snug little SIS berth in that fairy
land called FINLAND soon after his MS
charge from the service, found MN
self gently but none the less hrmiy
kicked out with the cushion or an
extra weeks pay to ease the jolt. De
Gliding that sixty week might have 10
do while the depression lasted, John
ended by accepting fOrty-and being
nightly glad to get II.
Mary Brown was the other victim
in whom we are interested. Mary
found herself unceremOniously showed
off the $50 rung of the salary ladder
and with difficulty caught on to the
one numbered %. But Mary was
sunny-souled person with liking for
budgets. She set aside little sums FOR
this and for that and kept track or
them after her own. fashion.
So 1t did notstake weeks Of trying
on Mary's part to make so 90 the
| work of SSH vain. She moved at
once to a cheaper neighbOrhood ana a
| cheaper room. Mary could no more
resist making home of any place
where she happened to hang her NAT
than a bird can withstand building
nest in the spring. So 1t was 'l2ht
housekeeping" room, of course, and II
cost Mary a sum which her budget
| instinct told her was out of all pro-
portion to her income, but if one must
have a home in these days of prof
i iteering pirates, why one must pay the
price.
John Smith, on the other hand, came
down by stages. Being by inclination
q stranger to personal accounts ana
by nature an optimist, he gave up MS
two rooms at $75 a month for one at
$50 and considered his reorganization
on a smaller capital completed. VI
course John had it to do over again !;
and finding himself one Thursday with
5O-cent piece to last till Saturday
convinced him Of that. So 1t hap
pened that he took the six-dollar non
housekeeping room next TO Marys
some three weeks after she had moved
In.
They had been busy three weeks
for Marx For after business hours
she had arranged and rearranged hel
few lares and penates, made over hel
curtains to fit the windows and de-
signed and carried out various camou
fiaces which transformed her owl
room into four with imaginary chaif
marks in lieu of walls.
Mary arose promptly every morning
at six, prepared herself a daint!
breakfast, a neatly wrapped-in-the
wallpaper lunch for the midday re
past and set her home in order for tn
day. At night she FASTENED back car
rying bags of various sizes. From
| their contents she concocted meal
| which no hundred-a-week chef cOui'
| improve upon were he given the sam
| materials to work with. If Mar
| sometimes wished that she might ex
| pertinent with twice the quantity Q
foodstuffs and, perhaps, receive CON
/ pliment, verbal or otherwise, upon ne
culinary skill from someone VIII
i might Just naturally belong on tn
Il opposite side Of the little table-wel
II It would only go to show that she wa
II the very human. normal sort OF gu
she looked to be.
II AS for John Smith, he ate in resta.
II rants. Twenty per week. John had u
II cided, would cover meals, but 1t dion
II And. at that, he was indifferently we
fed. There was door between Mary
/ room and Johns, a typical. betweel
/ occupied-rooms rooming house doo
/ locked on both sides and all the ere
ices stuffed with denim or somethin
i Whatever It was, it did not keep o.
| delicious odors Of boiling coffee an
| broiling chops. To John these arom'
| | seemed a sort of intangible. and In Il
end disappointing, cocktail. creatir
an appetite which restaurant mea
III could not satisfy.
Ill OF course John and Mary met Q
casionally as they passed In and OF
and, of course, they took health
interest in each other, for they we
vi Young. ePd like that girl; she's Il
sort good pals are made Of" Jol
confided to his pipe. He allowed hi
self to dream bit before his SOD
Judgment made an answer. "On for
per? You poor nut y
Then came a day when 1t raine
rained, rained. John came hor
rather wet, and after changing c
cided that he would not go out aga
in such a downpour. even II
starved. So he sat down with mas
zine, thinking, perhaps, to substlt1
flood for thought" for the more ma
rial variety.
BY chance he opened to the adv
tisements. So 1t happened that I
first thing his eye lit upon was
triumph of realism in art, steamll
Juicy steak, over which white ja'
eted chef was in the act Of pouri