Evening star., 1922-09-03

in school; nc longer were they .nonop-
olizing the attention Of their parents,
and consequently. after all these years.
Jane and Mcdonald had time to think
about themselves.
Jane was not the sort Of person to
think and analyze. but she felt. Her
emotions were headstrong and she was
undiplomatically frank in describing
them. She, knew that some essential
element had gone out Of their marriage.
some element she cEaved. With some
thing Of fear she realized that she did
not love Mcdonald. The urge which
and made their first years together
very sweet and wonderful had. van
ished. This discovery was followed by
period Of active revolt. She worked
herself into a state OF mind in which
she believed her husband had become
actually repulsive to her, and In her
headstrong way she told him in a
storm of tears.
Mcdonald stood aghast. That such
"a thing could have happened to him
was unbelievable. 1t was incredible
until he sorted over his own feelings
toward his wife and found that he
had reached state Of Indifference
toward her. The glow was gone for
ever.
They had reached a point which every
married couple must reach-the mo-
ment of readjustment when they must
rebuild upon a new Foundation or see
their structure swept away by the .ris-
ing storm. They seemed unable to
locate stable foundation upon which
to lay a new corner stone. =:
- *r*
MCDONALD considered the prac-
A'A tical side Of the question. The
thing. he told himself, was fact. Ap-
parently it could not be mendedi so
there was nothing to do but try to
make the best Of it. The children
made any other course impossible. and
finances made this course necessary
1t was all he could*do to support 'one
establishment in comfort. Therefore,
even had he been willing to do so. he
could not have allowed Jane to. leave
him. as she seemed to- wish to do. :. He
had not the money. to allow her to
live separately in indepenasnts-des
pepdence.
James reactions, however were purely
emotional She no longer loved NC
Donald, and to love seemed 40. her the
one essential to life-to love aud to be
loved. She awoke bitterly to the real
ization that the love which ahe loved
had not been present in their home for
years. She craved the uplift Of love.
remembering how she had beeas borne
along blindly upon a warm rushing
wave of love during the first years of
her married life. Size wanted that
again; wanted it to continue. The idea
of the commonplace was abhorrent tc
her. The thought Of continuing to. live
with Mcdonald as his wife was re-
pulsive. She was young, vivid. lovelier
even than she had been ten years ago
and she felt somehow that her love-
illness and her life were going to waste;
that she was being cruelty, bitterly
cheated. Which, If you stop to think
Of it, Is dangerously fertile state Of
mind.
The first sharpness Of realization be-
came somewhat dulled. Life continued,
The household remained intact, but
always it perched upon the brink of
disaster. Everything was commonplace,
habit, hum drum. It was maddening,
wearing. a constant source of irrita-
ton. Chickering'S were inevitable
Mcdonald settled down grimly to the
task of holding his family together. Of
holding his wife. He was essentially
fair minded. He perceived, regretted
and tried to make the best of it-but
it was not easy. A certain testiness
of disposition added to the difficulties
AS for Jane, she went along thinking
Of herself. holding herself more or less
in suspense, craving. always craving
for the return of that which had van
ished forever.
Jane had always done much as she
pleased and Mcdonald had interfered
little with her whims and amusements
She had her friends, both men and
women. but John saw with alarm her
man friends were narrowing down t6
one. She goifed with John Firth. John
Firth took tea with her frequently.
More often than was, perhaps, discreet,
she motored with John Firth Nc
Donald was logical enough to realize
the danger of It, but also had self
restraint not to demonstrate. There