News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1922-06-07

grantee as some KIND or decree Of
degree, and we're going to Boston mex
Monday.
It's been awful, though--this las
year First we had to go to that hor
rid place out west and stay ages anC
ages. And l hated it, Mother did too
/ know she did. i went to school,, an(
there were quite lot of girls my age
and some boys; but l didn't care much
for them. l couldn't even have the fun
of surprising them with the divorce we
were going to have. | fond they were
going to have one, toO-every last one
of them. And when everybody has a
thing, you know there's no particular
fun in having it yourself. Besides,
they were very unkind and disagree
able, and Dragged lot about their
divorces. They said mine was tame,
and had no sort of snap to it, when
they found Mother didn't have a lover
waiting in the next town. or Father
hadn't run off with his stenographer.
or nobody had shot anybody, or any
thing.
That made me mad, and | let them
see it, good and plain. l told them our
divorce was perfectly all right and
genteel and respectable; that Nurse
Sarah said it was. Ours was going to
be incOmpatibility, for one thing,
which meant that you got on each
others nerves, and just naturally
didn't care for each other any more.
But they only laughed, and said even
more disagreeable things, so that l
didn't want to go to school any longer,
and I told Mother so, and the reason,
too, of course.
But, dear me, | wished right off that
! hadn't. l supposed she was going to
be superb and naughty and disdainful,
and say things that would put those
girls where they belonged But, my
stars How could l know that she
was going to burst into such a storm
of sObs and clasp me to her bosom, and
get my face all wet and cry out: "Oh,
my baby, my baby-tO think | have sub
jected you to this, my baby, my baby"
And l couldn't say thing to com
fort her, or make her stop, even when
! told her over and over again that |
wasn't a baby. / was almost a young
lady; and l wasn't being subjected to
anything bad. l liked it-Only didn't
like to have those girls brag so, when
our divorce was away ahead of theirs,
anyway.
But she only cried more and more,
and held me tighter and tighter, rock
ing back and forth in her chair. She
took me out of school, though, and had
lady come to teach me all by myself
so l didn't have to hear those girls
brag any more, anyway. That was
better. But she wasn't any happier
herself. ] could see that.
There were lots of other ladies there
- beautiful ladies - only she didn't |
seem TO like them any better than |
did the girls. ] wondered if maybe
they Dragged, too, and | asked her;
but she only began to cry again, and
moan, What have | done, what have |
doneY'-and | had to try all over |
again to comfort her But / couldn't. /
She got so she just stayed in her |
room lots and lots. / tried to make |
her put on her pretty clothes, and do |
as the other ladies did, and go out and i
walk and sit on the big pazzas, and
dance, and eat at the pretty little |
tables. She did, some, when we first
came, and took me, and | just loved
II. They were such beautiful ladies',
with their bright eyes, and their red
cheeks and jolly ways; and their
dresses were so perfectly lovely, all
silks and satins and sparkly spangles,
and diamonds and rubies and emer-
aids, and silk stockings, and little bits
Of gold and silver slippers.
And once / saw two of them smok-
ing. They had the cutest little ciga-
rettes (Mother said they were) in gold
holders, and knew then that / was
seeing life-real life; not the stupid
kind you get back in a country town
like Andersonville. And / said so to
Mother; and | was going to ask her
If Boston was like that But | didn't |
get the chance. She jumped up so
quick l thought something had hurt
her, and cried, Good Heavens, Baby"
(HOw / hate to be called "Baby"D
Then she Just threw some money on
TO the table to pay the bill and hurried |
me away.
II was after that that she began to
stay in her room so much, and not
lake me anywhere except for walks
At the other end Of the town where
i was all quiet and stupid, and no
music or lights or anything And ,
.hough / teased and teased to go back
% the pretty. jolly places. she wouldn't
sveT take me; not once. IN
Then by and by, one day we met 8
little black-haired woman with white
,heeks and very big sad eyes. There I
weren't any spangly dresses and gold
clippers about her, can tell you, She I
vas crying on a bench in the park.
md Mother told me to stay back and I
yatcn the swahs while she went up
md spoke to her. (Why DO old folks .
A