Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1922-09-21
The Honeymoon wanes

Shella turned suddenly hard and
lcold and white as marble.
She looked first at Phil and then
at me, as though, from fright, she
had suddenly lost all power tc
speak or even think coherently.
A spasm of pain passed over Phil's
face, but he said nothing. Neither
did he make an attempt to raise
Sheila from where she was. kneeling
by my chair-her terror-stricken
face raised to mine.
81 do not want children" she
exclaimed when she was able to
talk. "At least do not want them
now. Surely, Phil, you are not ready
to take on the responsibility of
children either, are youG Say you do
not want them"
every man-every decent man
who loves a woman looks ahead with
reverence and joy to the child that
he shall see lying on her breast-the
child that will be the visible sign
of his love for her and her love for
him"
Phil faltered over the last words,
and his voice dropped as he came
forward and gently lifted his wife
and almost carried her the few steps
to the divan where he had been sit
ting.
But you know, Phil, that I love
you. You certainly know that it is
not because 1 do not love you that
1 do not want children"
Phil did not answer. He hardly
seemed to have heard her. He just
spoke as though he was continuing
what he had begun.
"T expect there is a great deal of
pride, as well as love, in the desire
of every man to perpetuate his
name. Every man worthy of the
title wishes to hand the name his
father gave him on to his sons. 1t
is an inherent desire as strong as
the desire for the woman you have
claimed for your own. Indeed, it is
stronger than any passion of love.
1t is the universal desire that nature
implants in man to beget that life
which will insure the immortality of
the race"
Phil was speaking almost imper-
Sonally-my heart was beating like
trip-hammer-what was it that
had doomed up so suddenly dark and
forbidding between these two whom
| lovedi
''You too, Sheila, must have had
this same feeling, for it is the one
great law that nature has put upon
everything that lives, and you are
very human. You"-Phil stumbled
you surely must want child,
a child that shall tell to the world
that because two people, have loved
he lives to carry on
Sheila looked up rather wildly.
There, Kay you see what l have
often told you. Men are much more
sentimental and romantic than wom-
en-" Although her voice was hollow
and insineere one look at Phils
hurt face was too much for me. /
turned and fled.
do not know wha' happened af-
ter l left the room, for I did not
see either. of them again that night.
There was still misunderstanding,
but I saw that there had been
kind of working truce agreed upon.
Sheila was pale and Phil rather
stern.
During the weeks that followed
asked myself, many times, had 1
been mistaken in Sheilai As I watch
ed her restlessness day after day /
could think of nothing else.
From not wanting to go out at all,
she was accepting every invitation
where it would be impossible for
Phil TO accompany her. Tennis,
luncheon, afternoon teas and bridge,
she went from one to another in
constant round like a squirrel in a
,age.
Meantime over her eyes was
dropped that intangible mist that
shut not only me, but everyone from
Ter thoughts, her emotions that
mist had grown TO know as tho
langer sign of soul in agony and