The herald., 1922-06-15

see il, good and plain. | told them our
divorce was perfectly all right and
genteel and respectable; that Nurse
Sarah said it was. Ours was going to
he 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 /
didn't want TO go t. school any longer,
and told Mother so, and the reason,
too. of course.
But, dear me. | wished right off that
| hadn't. | supposed she was going 10
he superb and naughty and disdainful,
and say things that would put those
girls where they belonged. But, my
stars. How could | know that she
was going to burst into such ii storm
of SlhS and clasp me Ia her bosom, ana
get my face all wet and cry out: "oh,
my baby. my baby--tO think have sub
iccted YOU 10 this. my baby, my baby
And | couldn't say thing To com
: fort her. or make her stop, even when
told her over and over again that l
wasn't Il baby. was almost young
lady: and | wasn't being subjected to
ANYTHING bad. | liked iI-only | didn't
/ like to have those girls hrag 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
a lady come To teach me all by myself.
so | didn't have TO hear those girls
hrag any more. anyway. mat was
better. But she wasn't any happier
herself. | could see that.
There were lots of other ladies there
- beautiful ladies - only she didn
seem to like them any better than
did the girls. l wondered If mayhe
they Dragged too. and | asked her
hut she only began To cry again, ana
moan what have | done, what have
I doneY'-and | had to try all over
again To comfort her. But l couldn't
She got so she Just stayed In heI
room lots and lots. | tried To make
her put on her pretty clothes, ana dc
as the other ladies did, and 20 out ant
walk and sit on the big piazZas, ah'
dance. and eat at the pretty LITTLE
tables. She did, some. when we mrs
came. and took me, and l just loNe'
il. They were such beautiful ladies'
with their bright eyes. and their rec
J checks and Jolly ways; and thel
j : dresses were so perfectly lovely, al
! silks and satins and sparkly spanGles
I and diamonds and rubies and emer
] aids. and silk stockings, and little bit
! of gold and silver slippers.
| And once | saw two of them smoR
| ing. They had the cutest little ciga
| retteS (Mother said they were) In Soi
| holders. and | knew then that | wa
! seeing life-real life; not the Stupl
! kind you get back in country TOW
| like Andersonville. And | said so |
i Mother; and | was going 10 ask ne
If Boston was like that. But ! dion
get the chance. She jumped up
quick | thought something had hun
her. and cried, Good Heavens, Baby
Il OHow | hate To be called Baby
Then she just threw some money Q
| to the table TO pay, the bill and hurrle
me away.
II was after that that she began
stay in her room so much, ana IL
A take me anywhere except for wall
at the other end Of the town whel
4 il was all quiet and stupid, and I
| music or lights or anything. Al
4 though leased and teased to go ba'
i 70 the pretty. jolly places, she wouldr
ever take me; not once.
Then by and by, one day we met
Id little black haired woman with whl
m cheeks and very big sad eyes. The
weren't any spangly dresses and go
SINNERS about her, l can tell you! -
y was CRYING on a bench in the par
and Mother told me TO stay back al
VI watch the swans while she went
and smoke to her. (Why do old FOL
g always make us watch swans or re-
books or look into store windows
.. run and play all the time? Don't IN
:" suppose we understand perfectly w
- what it means-that they're going
" say something they don't want us
ne hearO Well, Mother and the lady
!" the bench talked and talked ever
u" long, and then Mother called me
and the lady cried little over II
- and said. Now, perhaps, If I'd mad
- little girl like that" Then
=, stopped and cried some more.
We saw this lady real often af'
-. that She was nice and pretty a
sweet and / liked her; but she
.oo always awfully sad. and don't belle
~, II was half SO good for Mother to
with her as it would have been for
-, to be with those jolly, laughing lad
that were always having such &c
~, times. But / couldn't make Mott
90 see II that way at all. There
"a times when 1t seems as if mother J
go couldn't see things the way do. ii
ma estly. It seems sometimes almost as
- she was the cross-current and cont
- diction instead of me. 1t does.
mn Well as | said before, / didn't !
we II very we'll out there. and l don't
ere lieye Mother did. either. But it's
,ne over now, and we're back home pa
=, an | ,rr 49,, m On m BOSTON.