Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-11


without my husband : consent. for the
operation could be postponed no
I3nger | was operated upon on Tues
day. on Thursday | received A note
from my husband, saying that he was
taking a position on a Fort " Worth
paper, and bidding Elizabeth and me
good. by forever.
That was all The prophecies of
disaster made by older and wiser peo.
ple at the time of our youthful mar
rage had come true lie was so
Young. And he loved freedom. | can t
ind il in my heart 10 blame him very
severely. but then il seemed that the
end Of the world had come.
Ny mother took care of Eliza be II
for the short time | was in the hospi-
'al. and paid the hospital and sur
geon'S bill out of q small amount OF
money left her by my grandfather.
But there was not enough to take
are of Elizabeth and myself. even for
a short time Three weeks from the
day | was operated on | began the
heart breaking search for work. which
was almost an unknown quantity dur
ing those early days of the European
War-l916
Eight Dollars Week.
took the only job | could hnd 49,
StenoSra phiC work at IS Il week. L
found a room for 81 a week with
kitchen privileges thrown in, and In
trusted Elizabeth during the day 10
a<soCial settlement day nursery IN the
neiehborhood. The only charge there
was 10 cents day. for wholesome
lunch Of well cooked vegetables, bread.
butter and milk.
Without the help Of the EVansella
DAY Nursery. | don't see how could
possibly have managed on IS
q week As il was. my break
fasts and suppers usually consisted
of tea and toast and my noon meal,
eaten at A boarding house near my
place of work. cost 20 cents
dav. And how | did stuff at lunch
time
am afraid my boarding house
hostess made very little profit on
hat % cents Elizabeth had her
daily quart of Grade y certified milk,
of course. with all the bread and but
te, and fruit that she could eat. |
sometimes had hard time convinc-
ing her that | did not like oranges
and apples and stewed prunes. but
any sacrifice that | made AZ that
Time was more than justified by her
blooming health. and her unfagglnS
jovousnesS
My strength had not fully returned.
AZ il vas necessary 10 have the
washing and ironing done, but
managed to make her simple dlmtY,
cingham and perCale dresses during
the long Summer evenings. She was
growing so fast that she was always
in need OF new underwear. dresses
and shoes ! used TO accuse the
stores of selling me paper-soled shoes
for her. and. considering the price
paid for them. they probably did.
Wealthy on S45 a Month.
Later in the Summer comparative
af7uence came when | secured a
srenographic position that paid S45 a
month I remember distinctly the
thrill that | got out Of the first ready
made dress I had been able 10 AFFORD
for more than q year.
In September | went to Moody,
Ton. TO teach. at salary of 500 a
month. Moody was only 80 miles
from Waco, and could come home
10 see my mother and sister. on an
occasional week end
+ had secured divorce from my
husband IN July. and in SeptembeF
he married again. My last hope or
= reconciliation vanished and II II
had not been for Elizabeth's exceed
,nylv demonStratiNe love for me and
our ever-increasing Companionship, !
am afraid | should have succumbed
to melancholia.
For the way seemed very hard
and long: college was definitely in
the past. though | needed wear 10
graduate But | had my baby. and
7 did not for a moment regret that
T had married and mortgaSed my
r1rlhood 70 motherhood.
We arrived in Moody on September
"a Elizabeth's third birthday We
settled ourselves in private home.
where the kindly Old couple were glad
to have the companionship OF the
baby. while l was at school. That
first day in Moody. Elizabeth startled
US by spelling out the big letters on
the back of a magazine-The Ladies
Home Journal Only the ] puzzled
her, because II was drawn fancifully.
with a veerv long tail. | had fire.
uuently told her, at her request. what
q certain letter was, but I could not
believe that she had mastered the en-
tire alphabet in that hapha Zard fash
tAn. But she had-every last letter
Of g.
Spells at Three.
For Christmas She received a spell
ing board the kind which is operated
bv sliding little ooden letters into
xrooVee. One day she met me AZ the
leog en- my return from school with