Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1931-11-27
THREE
DAUGHTERS OF
! MARTIN DUKE
BY FANNIE HURST 1

T1vERYONE agreed that although
~ Martin Duke. might have been
L. unlucky in love his wife was
- said to have died of alcoholism
one year after the birth of Jeanne,
fate had apparently attempted to
atone by way Of the unanimous love
illness of body, mind, and spirit of his
three daughters.
They were all blond, and Of GER
tain quality of reckless beauty that
had distinguished their father in his
youth, but each and every one of
them endowed with the SATELLITES as
love of home and desire for family,
which at first blush seemed paradox
ical to their brilliant kind of youth.
Marian, the middle one of the trio,
married first, when she was nineteen.
Olga. the youngest, went next. And
finally Jeanne, who had exerted her
prerogative of eldest daughter by as
suming q sort of maternallsm over
her father. -.
Jeanne's marriage to an important
surgeon in neighboring town; Mar
IONS to promising engineer who was
engaged on a piece Of important bridge
building near the capital city of an
adjoining state; and Olga's to a New
York stock broker, left Martin Duke
to the somewhat vast solitude Of the
old stone house to which 25 years
ago he had brought a famous beauty
for a wife, and in which the three
equally beautiful offsprings had been
born.
OF course the obvious happened. 1t
was unthinkable that Martin should
continue to live imprisoned with, his
memories, in the huge and silent
house. He was slender, active man,
gray, but by no means an elderly
father to his daughters, and while
his problems were not exactly those of
an old man retired from his business
and bereft Of interests, nevertheless
rheumatism was upon him and you
had to reckon in terms Of a man well
past his prime.
The difficulty here was that Martin
protested almost too loudly Of his
youth. Crippled with a cruel form
of Inflammation which knotted his
knuckles, he nevertheless persisted in
such activities as golf in damp wealth
er, shOveling snow off the stoop, and
walking, regardless of rain, down to
the Chess club in the center of the
town where he was known as d crack
player. 8&4 EEaA SO 81
Three girls did not marry out of
such q home and away from such a
father, without carrying with them a
deep sense Of the responsibility of
adjusting the life they had left be-
hind. At least the three Duke girls
did not. 1t was all very well and good
for father to protest loudly that he
was still ION the carpet" as he put
1t. OF course he was. That was not
the point. The point was, that it looked
bad before the community and doubt
less was bad, for man well along in
his sixties, to be living alone in a vast
old house, while each and every one
of his daughters was well able to pro-
vide him an ample and luxurious
: home in her own.
It was the argument of public opin-
ion that won. Probably his girls we're
right Did not look well for him to
remain on his own. Heaven knows
It was not true that his daughters
were negligent Of him. On the con-
trary they were all too solicitious,
but lust the same ways would wae.
"There is a new-fangled old-age,
Just the same as there is new
tangled YOUTH" he kept protesting
however. "Men and women don't grow
old as they used to. You can force
me to break up the home, but don't
think you are going to succeed in
thrusting me into carpet slippers"
"Who wants to cast you into car
pet slippersl OF course not, father.
You can accompany Ed on his hospi-
tai rounds; or Leonard down to Wall
street or go with Stacey to watch
the bridge construction"
Haven't the slightest intention of
doing any Of those things Don't
need to tag onto anybody's interests.
Have plenty Of my own."1
aIsn't he priceless 7" exclaimed the
GIRLS among themselves, unconscious
Iy drenching him IN the enormous
patronage of youth .cyvbv n "a all
I'D. or Leonard or stacey can do. m
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