Evening star., 1925-11-08


~ you feel acquainted with
IL everybody else who is mar
ried. AT first this Is not so
true. The first couple of months you
see married women breaking away
from afternoon parties the very second
refreshments are over, because their
husbands like supper ready at sharp
6, or being simply insulted by their
husbands because they have merely
forgotten to take out the cuff links
before they sent their shirts to the
laundry. and think with gratitude to
heaven that you have married a man
like Win and will never have such
things to worry you.
Then little things begin to come up.
The first one with me was about read
ting the Sunday morning paper. We
get the Chicago paper on Sunday
and / simply love it.
"win you let me have the first news
section, WIFI" 1 asked the second il
came.
VIII passed it over, and while was
reading 1t he read the funny page
and the sporting page and then began
to f1dget- At first I didn't notice so
much, was so deep In the news of the
day. l told VIII bits of 1t from time
to time as he started to clear off the
breakfast dishes-he always helps me
with them Sunday morning.
You can get a bridge lamp with a
parchment shade for only s6.25 in Chi
cago." l said, and Mr.. Henderson is
charging SO apiece for both of those
he has"
Zat so?" VIII asked, politely.
They're having a special sale on
eeoreette at Marshall Fields" I went
on. do you suppose I'd dare take
a chance on the shade and just order
yards of rose color by mai1?"
Steve Brody took a chance" said
Will, f1ippantly
I could see his mind wasn't on it at
all. Pretty soon he said in a plaintive
way.
Don't you want to see the dramatic
section as soon as you get through
with the news"
I nodded and read on.
Does 1t say anything new about
the striker" he asked after another
little while.
What striker" 1 asked, absently.
IF 1t takes yards of stuff 40 inches
wide, l should think 3l2 when it's
64-"
For the love of Pete" Wills tone
was simply outraged. Are YOU sit
ting there with the first news sec
ton reading nothing but the ads?'
Well, that was the beginning of my
discovering that all husbands-even
Will-are something alike. For when
! mentioned the matter to DuIcie, she
said Roger was just the same. that
nobody would think, to hear him talk,
that it was his money she was trying
to save; and Rosemary Merton said
Howard was the same, too, only
worse.
1T makes him simply wild" Rose
mary said, IF 1 ask him to do a
single thing or say hardly anything
to him when he's reading the paper"
so does 1t Roger" said Dulcie
"Anybody'd think it was an hour Of
silent prayer"
1 suddenly recalled now, that same
Sunday, after 1 had given Will the
first news section, he had scarcely
glanced up from it at my occasional
comments about how funny that ging-
ham should be fashionable for cur
tains, or didn't he think it would be
a good idea to screen in our upstairs
porch and use 1t for a sleeping porch
this Summer? And when I asked him
to see if he could bulge the window
that had been stuck for a week he did
so with an air of forced politeness.
X +
THAT. as say. was the first matter
L, a
points, even VIII was q husband
This, and a few other similar things
made me feel awfully well acquainted
with Dulcie and Rosemary on account
Of their both being young and married:
but l never dreamed that any expert
enCe would make me feel acquainted
in a deep sort of way, mean-with
people like old Mrs. Long who quar-
rels so terribly with her husband But
rJo T
married women, and particularly those
who don't get along well with their
husba ndS.
1 didn't use to understand; it used
to just hewilder me. Mother and
father never quarrel and VIII was
always SO sweet to me that / couldn't
understand how Mr.. and Mrs. Long
could say such terrible things to each
other. I understand now.
Mr.. and Mrs. Long Quarreled terri
bly, the night of our housewarming.
Dulcie got up the housewarmiug as
a surprise on us and almost every
body brought us presents. Mrs. West
erly brought us a clock. Her husband
was our minister before he died and
she is about the sweetest old lady
I have ever known in my life. 1t was
a lovely little mahogany clock and
she set 1t on our mantel between the
and Dulcie gave us. Howard Merton
started TO wind 1t up, but Mrs. West
erly stopped him.
The bride always starts the clock
in her new home" she said. She had
written on her card:
o fortunate. o happy day,
When a new household finds its place
Among the nyraid homes of earth,
''I think I'll wait till everybody has
gone. to start it, I said.
Mrs. Westerly squeezed my hand.
'"That's right, my dear" she said.
You and VIII start your clock alone
together. I hope it will keep time
for you many years after I'm gone.
And If it does, remember that a friend
Of your grandmother's and Wills has
put a wish on it." She laid a thin,
wrinlxled old hand on the clock. May
YOU always tick in a happy home"' she
said. 1t takes an old person to say
anything like that without anybody
laughing, but from Mrs. Westerly it
seemed very sweet and solemn.