The Raymer enterprise., 1922-09-28
Mrs. Maxfeld
Disposes
BY WILL T. AMES

Letitla Maxfieid smiled the small
est Of amused little smiles over her
knitting US she stole covert glance
/ at Albert Crafts across the living
room center table. The center table,
survival Of a period when there
must be center table quite as
necessarily as q roof. was exhibit b
In the evidence that Letiua Max
field was not the ruler Of that
household Exhibit A consisted OF
Mrs. Maxfeh, who did rule 1t. No
4 one, no matter how great stranger,
could spend an hour In the pres
? ence Of Letitia Maxfield and her moth
er without becoming aware that the
latter tyrannlzed over her daughter
unremittingly, shamelessly. by the
device Of exaggerated self-renuncia-
tlon. The center table presented q
case In point. Albert Crafts, now be-
slowed uncomfortably in the cane
seated rocker with the curved back,
wishing to goodness that Mrs. Maxfield
would 10 to bed, or at least get p
from that distressing wretched white
enamebed chair IN which she was por-
traylns martyrlom, was another.
Mother" Letitia had said a long
time ago lets Danish this dreadful
table and shift things around In this
room SO as to make 1t just the least
bit like home"
VERY well, my dear" Mrs. Max
fell had answered, with all the woes
J Of ta whole generation OF mankind reg
ishered In her long suffering coun-
ter,ance, whatever you see fit to do,
do, Of course. II Is not to be expected
that 1t would make any great differ
ence to you that this Is the way your
poor dear father knew our home. You
were quite young" Letitia, as mat
ter of fact, was In her fourth year
when Mr.. Maxfield went to his reward
-"and changing fashions naturally are
more important to you than his meln-
ory. Do what you like with the room,
but please. do not ask me to use 1t aft.
erward."
So. Of course, Letltia being Letitia,
the room remained as 1t was, center
table and all, an entirely dreadful lat
ter-Vlctor IAN mess.
Likewis Z In the case OF Albert
Crafts. fen years ago, when Letitia
was slg hter and prettier-lf not so
handsom e-Mrs. Maxfeld discerned
the INN iinent likelihood Of Albert's
suit car .ing the girl off her feet So
she be, nm to be unspeakably sad
dened / 3 the inevitable prospect that
some d. IL, of course, her one eve lamb
would be going away out OF Ter lie
and lie; wing everything all barren and
empty and cold. and so on. All OF
which, being actuated by no suspicion
In the world that such disaster imme-
dately impended, so far as the eve
lamb kr ew, served to make tender
hearted .etitia feel like something that
deserved to be shot at sunrise.
And 80 II had been. With the re-
suit that Letitia Maxtield. In the course
of time, came to hold the creed that
to think Of herself in the very least,
or to fan to put her mother NOT only
first bu. second and third, and al! the
way dc w to about tenth, was to be
an UNIV for .hy, miserable creature.
This Is the road that runs through
the Ii nd Of Spinsterhood TO the de-
sertet | vilL age of Lonely Old Age In
nine cases out of every ten. II just
hapl ened, however, that the love Of
Abb ut Craft for his self.sacrlhcing
sws e,heart was not mere calf love.
He was man. this slow-moving young
fel low, and he never gave up. Year
af ter year he kept up the steady, un'
d. Spairlng though not over hopeful
3 arsuit OF the particular brand Of hap
I tpess on which he had set his heart In
I he beginning.
ats no use, Albert" Ledtia would
say, "a shall not marry. Will not
leave mother"
But Eve told you hundred times,
ldiear." Albert would protest. that
there need be no separation"
Always Lstitia shook her head at
Il this point. She would not formulate
words even to herself, the realization
that somehow it would be unfair to
subject another life to the same cark-
ing influence that had so manacled her
| own This was because Letiiia's brain
knew that her mother was selfish ty.
rant, the very while her heart kept
insisting that that mother was rare
and tender plant which needed every
bit Of the daughters generous young
soul for Its spiritual sustenance. "She
has always missed father so. the poor
dear !" Letitia said to herself over and
over again.
And so Letitia had come 10 the point
where she could find just wee bit
Of amusement in the awkwardly con
sasad wish of Albert Crafts that Mrs.
taSfed would go to bed, and in the
neoncealed determination Of Mrs.
rGfts to do nothing OF the kind. She
ha d an uncanny way of knowing, had
tn; u lady, when one Of the occasions
ha, ,anrived upon which Albert just
nat Ually had to propose TO Letitia
agai n. Only that very day. with her
IL. at. xf 80, Ipn tt,,,