Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1932-02-12
No. %.

hs would put me in my
plaee way she used to when |
was.Dchlld II only she wouldn't
break my heart and madden me by
Standing for 1t all. Why did I walk
ON and slam the door on her just
nowf Dear darling, she would go
through fire for me, and am beast
70 her. Why was rude to her In
front Of her frlends2 How crushed
she looked. Oh Mother, how can
treat you som
q And yet, somehow. the daughter Of
this mother could and did until, In
their circle Of friends, II was not I'M
usual to hear an exasperated parent
exciaim to child, Don't be rude
about 1t. You'll soon have the reputa.
ton Of treating me az the mother Of
Theresa Is treated by her daughter"
Inevitably. It got about. this tyranny
Of daughter over parent, and the stu
alton became pretty well unbearable
an the way around. Except, strangely.
the mother Of Theresa. even while her
daughter wllted and agonlzed over
what was happening. seemed fasclnat-
ed by the change. There was some
thing actually saddlstic about the way
she barred herself for the blows of her
child, asking questions that she must
have known would bring wrath upon
her head.
daughter, why do you wear your
skirts SO short, They're ugly"
"For the reason that It pleases me
to, and II you don't like them, don't
look"
Daughter, where are you golng"
when l want to announce every
move make, I'll post bulletin"
Daughter, you look little pale to-
night. Are you tiredT
Mother, If you ask me that again,
I'll go mad"
1t was shocking, It was terrible, It
was embarrassing even to have to
hear, and 1t seemed to the daughter
that sometimes she actually went
about that home with little needles
and pins Of irritation popping out all
over her. Every move of her moth
er's seemed a source Of irritation. To
hear her crack nuts; see her spill a
bit of coffee over into her saucer;
have to listen to the rasp In her voice
when she telephoned, were such
anathema to her that she would rush
upstairs into her rom, sammlng the
door, locking 1t, crying there.
At sixty-two, after years of this
domination which had reduced her to
some one little and gray, the mother
Of Theresa died, quietly, one night in
her sleep, and It was to linger with
her daughter forever after that her
last words to her had been;
For goodness sakes, Mother, II you
don't stop cracking those nuts, I'll go
mad. Haven't you any regard for the
nerves Of othersT
That memory in itself seemed to
the girl sufficient punishment; the
recollection of those words dancing
in fire before her as the still form, IN
its small-slzed bier. was borne tilted
from the house. But her actual
scourging lay In the years to come.
Why had she treated her sol The
dead, cowed footsteps of her parent
seemed everywhere about the house.
Her voice. almost with a lodging
note in It, as II fearful Of rebuke, lin.
gered on the stiffness Of the halls and
rooms Here was girl who, after
her mothers death, had everything to
reproach herself for. She had heard
people say Of others after death,
swell. she has nothing to reproach
herself for"
The daughter Of this dead woman
had And down through the years
she went reproachlng. Down through
the years she went unforgettlng and
yearnlng with that most terrible OF
all utilities, for the opportunity to
live her life with her mother over
again.
Yes, she had much to reproach her.
self for
When she was thirty, a bachelor
from a nelghboring town, In love with
a certain wlstful quality he saw in
her. came woOlng her for marriage.
II is doubtful II his offer. any more
than his personality. would have meant
anything, except that in his plea for
his case, he mentioned apologetIcalIy
the need for his aged mother TO live
with him after marriage.
"Shes old, gets on my nerves
good bit. but there's nothing else 10
do but have her with u.s. dear. the
few years she has left"
There was her chance, and she
grasped 1t, to baby and Indulge and
protect, from the possible curtness OF
her son, a mOther-in-law.
In the name Of mother who. alas
had not been babled and INDUCED and
protected from the curtness Of a
daughter she married the son IN order
TO gain q mother-in-law. And her hus.
band maryels at the happiness that
her patient sweetness is giving to an
old mothers sunset days.