The Holbrook news., 1922-04-21

liAts SVl up ohh "tht t"os
 without seeing me. And all of sud den 1 felt almost sorry, for 1 wanted them to see me. l wanted them to see that knew my mother could take care of herself. too. and that I was proud of it. If they had turned I'd have said so. But they didn't turn.
 I shouldn't like MT. Harlow for a
 father. I know l shouldn't. But then, there's no danger. of course, even if he and Mother were lovers once. Hes got wife now, and even if he got q divorce, I don't believe Mother would choose him.
 But of course there's no telling which one she will take. As l said before, I don't know. It's too soon, anyway, to tell 1 suspect it isn't any more proper to hurry up about getting married again when you've been un- married by a divorce than it is when you've been unmarried by your hus- bands dying. l asked Peter one day how soon folks did get married after a divorce, but he didn't seem to know. Anyway. all he said was to stammer: ''Er-yes. miss-no. miss, mean. I don't know, miss
 Peter is awfully funny. But he's nice. like him, oniy cant find out much by him. He's very good-looking- though he's quite old. He's almost thirty. He told me. 1 asked him. He fakes me back and forth to school ev- cry day, so l see quite a lot of him And. really, he's about the only one can ask questions of here, anyway. There isn't anybody like Nurse Sarah used to be. Olga, the cook, talks SC funny I cant understand word she says, hardly. Besides, the only two times I've been down to the kitchen Aunt Hattie sent for me, and she told me the last time not to go any more She didn't say why. Aunt Hat tie never says why not to do things. She just says, Don't" Sometimes il seems to me as if my whole life had been made up of "don'ts." If they'd only tell us Sart of the time things to do" maybe we wouldn't have so much time to do the "don'ts." CThat sounds funny. bus guess folks'll know what l mean.)
 We'll, what was I saying? Oh, l know-about asking questions. As l said. there isn't anybody like Nurse Sarah here. I cant understand Olga. and Theresa, the other maid, is just about as bad. Aunt Hattie's lovely, but I can't ask questions of her. She isn't the kind. Besides, Lester's al- ways there, too; and you can't discuss family affairs before children. Of course there's Mother and Grandpa Desmond But questions like when it's proper for Mother to have lovers can't ask of them, of course. So there's no one but Peter left to ask. Peters all right and very nice, but he doesn't seem to know anything that want to know. So he doesn't amount to so very much, after all.
 I'm not sure, anyway, that Mother'll want to get married again. From lit tie things she says I rather guess she doesn't think much of marriage, any way. One day I heard her say tC Aunt Hattie that it was a very pretty theory that marriages were made iii heaven. but that the real facts of the case were that they were made on earth. And another day l heard her say that one trouble with marriage was that the husband and wife didn't know how to play together and to rest together. And lots of times I've heard her say little things Co Aunt Hattie that showed how unhappy her mar. riage had been.
 But last night funny thing hap pened. We were all in the library reading after dinner, and Grandpa looked up from his paper and said something about q woman that was sentenced to be hanged and how whole lot of men were writing letters protesting against having woman hanged: but there were only one or two letters from women. And Grand pa said that only went to prove how much more lacking in a sense of fit ness of things women were than men. aIlti He htS Just SplhS lO Say AuuIt when Aunt Hattie bristled up and tossed her chin, and said, real indig. lantly:
 "A sense of fitness of things, in- deed! Oh, yes. that's all very well to say. There are plenty of men, no doubt who are shocked beyond any in l,n ilar of hnn m hut those same men will think rOth- ing of going straight home and nak- ing life for some other woman so ab- solutely miserable that she'd tbink hanging would be a lucky escape from worse"
 Harriet :" exclaimed Grandpa in a voice.
 "Well. mean it declared Aunt Hattie emphatically. Look at poor Madge here, and that wretch of hus- band of hersr'
 And just here is where the funny thing happened. Mother bristled up Mother .-and even more than Aunt Hattie had. She turned red and then white, and her eyes blazed.
 "That will do. Hattie, please. in my presence" she said, very cold, like ice. ''Dr. Anderson is not a wretch at all. He is an honorable, scholarly gentle man. Without doubt he meant to be kind and conSiderate. He simply did not understand me. We weren't suited to each other. That's all"
 And she got up and swept out of the room.
 Now, wasn't that funny? But I just loved it. all the same. I always love Mother when she's superb and