New Britain herald., 1922-04-26
The Admission Madee Was Forced to
 Make io Herself.

Make to Herself
 My mothersin-law' sudden on slaught Of words hewildered me have become so used io her caustiC comments upon everything surround ing her that in these later years have developed against them men tai barrier whose polished surface lets them slip off Into oblivion. almost un, needed,
 But there was something about her present attack which evidently found a crevice in the polished hard barrier, for when she had finished l found myself da2ed, hurt, quiyerine with anger at her injustice.
 That she should have twisted my housewfely efforts to have az pleas ant luncheon as possible for young Tom Chester to whom we owed so much. into . firtatiaus desire to at tract his admiration bit my lips 10 the bleeding point in the effort 10 keep back tho stormy words rising to them.
 She was my husbands mother, an old woman, infirm, especially weak on account of her injured arm. l kept telling myself these things 10 help keep down the rising tide of anger threatening 10 overflow into speech, angry, unforgetablc, which should un- do all that my forbearance of years had accomplished in good feeling be- tween us.
 Madge's Reply.
 Speech of some sort she evidently expected, however, for she paused at the end of her little trade, and looked toward me expectantly. I struggled with my temper, and final ly found words
 T don't think you realize how un- just you arc. Mother l said slowly. trying to keep the quaver out of my voice. You surely remember how much young Mr. Chester did for Us in that awful time when Junior was kid- mapped. l think you, yourself, would have ordered as nice luncheon as possible, and as for the flowers we always have them on the table, and I generally change my gown for guests"
 My mother-in-law had been look ing me up and down with her lor- gnette while I talked She had risen when l began, and her indignation had strengthened her somewhat bent figure. so that she loomed tall and forbidding to my excited imagination. My voice faltered--ran down. Her age and infirmity forbade my answer ing her as she deserved, and any other answer was futile.
 The Grain of Truth.
 You may fool yourself Margaret, | but you cant fool me. nor anybody else with eyes in their head for that matter. Flowers are one thing, and fussing as if you were preparing a 1 decoration for wedding or funeral is something else again. And l haven't lost all my memory or my eyesight yet. I remember hearing that young snip tell you blue was his favoritc color last spring, so you needn't try to put anything over on me about dressing yourself up in the blue linen gown. It's most unsuitable, anyway, so late in the fall"
 She moved majestcal1y toward the door, and ], more crushed than she knew, hoped she had finished But she had still another arrow in her culver, which she waited until her hand was on the latch to send out
 Eve always heard" she said loftily, that when a woman gets just about your age you want to look out for foolish symptoms. To do you justice, I've thought you were going along very sensibly, but 1 guess you're like all the rest-let some boy almost young enough to be your own son come along and make a few eyes, and tell you what color becomes you, and you lose your head"
 She was strategic enough to get out of the room with this little speech, leaving me no opportunity to reply even had l wished to answer her
 But l was past speech. Choking with rage, sobs tearing at my throat, l sat silent, still, battling with the impulse to shriek aloud my wrath at this unjust indictment
 Queerly enough. the whitest heat Of my anger was directed against my own soul For cruel, unjust as was my mother-in-aw' $ attack, there yet had been the tiny grain of truth in it which always gives the most virulcnt sting to any criticism.
 The luncheon, the foWcrs-my con- science acquitted me there. l would have taken the same pains for any guest whom I wished to honor
 But 1 could not disguise from my own soul that l had remembered young MT, Chester's Carelessly- spoken preference for blue when l had donned the gown, that l had put away from me the thought of the gown being a trihe unreasonable, and that consciously or sub b-consciously-- my vanity had fed upon the look of ,