Evening star., 1922-07-30

TINE first time l ever heard the
threadbare saying about
square peg In round hole was
when my father used 1t in an at
tempt to excuse Aunt Emily. Up to that
time I had never heard any one say
anything of her except that she was a
detestable. woman. with the most In
rernal capacity for being perfectly
wretched herself and making everybody
else so. What a home shel made for
poor mild Uncle Charlie. and for their
three nervous, scrawny. rabbit-faced
children.
You are not to think she neglected
her home or her children. Indeed, no!
She housekept with fanatical COM
petence and expended on the upbringing
of her children an extravagant energy
which filled the house to its remotest.
as sawmilI is filled by the strident
energy of the saw Never were three
children so brought up as my poor little
cousins Aunt Emily was determined
that she should do her whole duty by
them, that they should be perfect, and
do everything exactly right or course,
she knew much better than they what
was right, ana lltu iiCsSA oh III
slant of repose from her labor OF push
ing and showing them into the way they
should so.
Oh, how we hated to be sent on an
errand to Aunt Enily's house. 1 spare
YOU the description of what meal at
Aunt Emily'S table was. with Aunt
Emily teaching the children table man.
ners There are plenty of intolerable
things in real life. without dragging
into a story what happened when Uncle
Charles spilled gravy on a clean table
cloth.
NOU notice perhaps. that / say, at
Aunt Emily's table," and not at
Uncle Charles -: and that sets me at
another angle of their home life; what
that home life meant to Aunt Ennly's
husband. He was what is known In
America as a man with no head Tor
business and yet there had never been
anything but business in his life He
had been a handsome, dreamy-eyed,
nusical-minded young accountant IN
Emery's Emporium when Aunt Emily.
very young herself. had married him
married him. apparently, for the same
reason that he was in business. because
there seemed to be nothing else to DO
But Uncle Charles was no money-maker,
and imprisoned in grinding round OF
petty economies and unacceptable shah
biness. how Aunt Emily ate her heart
out. and what life Uncle Charles led.
But not even Aunt Enily's terrible ener-
ha- hy1a n gentle
artistic, monumental soul a single gust
of the stormy ambitions which blew like
a tornado in her married heart. Uncle
Charles hated all business desperately
and found the only pleasure In MS lie
in his children.
NV mother always said that those
three Burton children would certainly
inst have wasted away. If 1t had not
been for their father at this time He
had as great gift for calming ana
cheering them as their mother hao lot
damping the very life out Of them. "hen-
ever Aunt Emily was away from nome
for a few hours and Uncle Charles was
there with the children, what gooo
time they had in these short hours OF
respite, Uncle Charles in an easy cslair'
the children piled on top of him. his
arms around them tight. while they had
what they called visit" This meant
A chatter of little voices birdlike and
free, which Aunt Emily had never heard
in her life. Or perhaps they'd all sing
together, for they had inherited Uncle
Charles gift for music.
II he had only hal time he would
have given piano LESSONS to all the chill
dren But. dear me, he had no time
except for that account keeping. and
they had no money to pay a professional
music teacher. Uncle Charles always
looked ten years younger after such a
visit with his children. whereas rainy