The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-02-02
The Story Of Julia Page Kathleen Norris

: ! , when interviews were afoot, but she never lost her air of calm.
 we are as good they are," said Julia, but how hard it is to remem- Der it when you are talking to themi' Presently Foo Ting was esta blished
 supreme in the kitchen, Lizzie secured
 as a waitress, and Ellie, Lizzie's sister. engaged to do upstairs work. Chad
 wick, Jirn's chauffeur, was accustom- ed occasionally to enact also the part of valet, so that it was with a real
 luxury of service that the young Stud affords settled down for the winter. | Julia had anticipated this settling as preceding time of quiet, when she
 and Jim should loiter over their snug little dinners, should come to know | the comforts of their own chairs, at
 each side of the library fire, and laugh
 and cry over some old book or talk and dream while they stared into the
 coals. The months were racing about | to her first wedding anniversary, yet
 she felt that she really knew Jim only
 in a certain superficial, holiday sense she knew what cocktail he liked | best of course, and what seats in the | theatre; she was quite sure of the eff | feet of her own beauty upon him.
 But she 1onged for the real Jim. the l soul that was hidden somewhere
 
 clean-shaven, smiling face. When there was less confusion, less laugh ing and interrupting and going about, 1 then she would find her husband, Ju- lia thought, and they would have long silent hours together in which to
 build the foundation of their life. Her beautiful earnest face came to have somewhat strained and wistful look, the weeks fled past without hr-ir1 r1erir tIn iaf 0fyr fnr
 she longed. All about her now stretched the glittering spokes of the city's great social wheel, every mail
 brought her a flood of notes, every quarter hour summoned her to the telephone every fraction of the day
 had it's appointed pleasure. Julia must swiftly eliminate from her life much of the rich feminine tradition of housewifery; it was not for her to darn her husbands hose, to set ex- quisite patches in thinning table linen, to gather flowers for jars and vases. Julia never saw Jims clothing except when he was wearing it, the table linen was E1iie's affair, and Lizzie had the entire lower floor bright and frag | rant with fresh flowers before Jim l and Julia came down to breakfast. l Young Mrs. Studdiford found herself l readily assuming the society woman's | dry, brief mannerisms. Jim used to ! grin sometimes when he heard her at | the telephone:
 "Oh, that would be charming, Mrs. | Babcock," Julia would say, "if you'll | let me run away at three, for I must | positively keep an appointment with Carroll at three, if I'm to have my gown for dear Mrs. Morton's bal mas que Friday night. And if I'm just a tiny bit late you won't be cross? For rUa Sn dn a fNUa know, and it will run over the hour! Oh, you're very sweet Oh; no. Mrs. Talcott spoke to me about it, but we can't we're both sorry, but this week seems to be just full-no, she said that, but I told her that next week was just as bad, so she's to let | me know about the week after. Oh, I know she is. And I did want to give her a. little tea, but htere doesn't seem to be a moment! I think per- haps I'll ask Mrs. Castle to let us dine with her some other time, and give Betty a little dinner Monday-
 And so on and on, fin the quick har- assed voice of one who must meet 
 "You're a great social success, Ju," Jim said, smiling, one morning.
 Julia made a little grimace over her leters.
 ooh, come off, nowi" her husband -ailed good-natured1y. "You know you love 1t. You know you like to , lress up and trot about with me and oe admired!'
 "I like to trot about with you" Julia conceded, signing in spite of her mile. 'But I get very tired of din- ,ers. Some other woman gets you, | | md some other woman's husband $ ,ets me, and we say such flat things, tha9frP- lothing friendly or intimate or inter I sttngi'
 Wait until you know them all bet I CT, Ju. Besides, you couldn't get in innate at dinner, very well. Besides Jim defended the institutions of his & lass-"you didn't look very gay vhen young Jo Coutts seemed in z lined to get very friendly at dinner T. he other nighti''
 ''Jo Coutts was drunk" Julia as- erted briefly. "As they very often re-" she added severely Not raging runk, but just silly, or sentimental . nd important, you know"
 "I know" Jim laughed. c
 And it makes me furious!" Julia s aid. "As for knowing them better a hey aren't one bit more interesting F then they're old friends. They're O 1ore familiar I admit that but all A us CISekN ySluuS odCh ana 1oTlI 1 S ,n't interesting-it' just tiresomel e I'm holding your husbands hand, u lice!' All right, then I'm going to D iss your husbandr" Her voice rose st mimicry. And then Kenneth Rob- O rts tells some little shady story, and d very one screams, and every one O oes on telling it over and over! Why, W lat little silly four-line verse Con- il Id Kent had last night-every one Hx-h haa rf - nd say it six hundred times before \, e were done with it!" Il You're a cynic, woman" Jim said, st issing his wife, who by this time had i, ome around to his chair. "1t'S all s- DO easy for you. that's the trouble! CT hey've accepted you with open SC rms; you're the ragei You ought to ct ave been kept for while on the Ia nxious seat like the poor Groves, and a