Evening star., 1936-10-18
BY SALLY SALNIINEN.

the counter of a sort of delicateSsen
store in Lnkoping for short while
longer, and then started out for a
land which was not so much the land
of my dreams, but the land in which
my sister and her friends worked and
a land whose major city Is cross
roads of the earth. arrived in 1880,
"a years old, my purse thin, my mind
teeming. A week later had my first
Job at $50 a month in the home OF
high public official in New York
suburb.
4 That was an extraordinary home.
The husband drank steadily, his wife
erratically but in the grand man
ner. When they had party, she
entered into both the spirit and spirits
of all occasions. At the end of the
party, she would go off to bed. Her
husband would stay up and finish
whatever liquor was left over He
had a passion against putting away
half-empty bottles. Then he would
pass out exactly where he had found
the last one. He was a gentleman
and his wife and he seemed to be on
friendly terms.
Witnessed "Wild Party"
saw there my first American wild
party. They all drank SO much before
dinner that the lady of the house for
got her manners and served cram
berry sauce with her hands. Wild
ness beyond that I did not see.
After five and one-half months, I
left. The incessant raids by the guests
on the kitchen made my work too
difficult. I found another situation
nearby for Sos month in the home
of a lawyer, and here I learned to
respect the American household. They
were magnificently kind people. In
this house, the man was the head,
but he was no boss. The woman and
her children did what he wished be-
cause they loved him.
However, there was one drawback.
The lady belonged to bridge club
whose members seemed to pride them
selves on how many people they could
entertain with one servant. A COM
petition started and my mistress won
first prize with Is at lunch. After 10
4
was somewhat too great strain on
me. I was sorry to go. The lady had
been good TO me- She had lent me
books to read-"Giants in the Earth"
Daddy Longlegs" and The Trail Of
the Lonesome Pine"
I liked Giants in the Earth" best,
but "Dady Longlegs" was the book
that changed my life. In this book,
the heroine is an orphan who wants
to write I wanted to write. She want
ed to write about the grand things
of life, but she could not. I. too, want
ed to write about the grand things, but
what grand things can there be in a
mind whose sole training has been in
an elementary school? So the heroine
of the book wrote about what she
knew-an orphan asylum-and was
successful. And I, too, decided to write
about what 'knew-a woman's life
on farm at the edge of the sea that
claims her men.
Theatrical Home Tempestuous.
But I did not start to write them.
That was something yet to ripen in
my mind. I went to work in New York
for a theatrical family. At least, the
man was theatrical producer. His
wife was an unstable creature who
blew now hot and now cold, but al
ways a gale. When she stormed into
the kitchen, you did not know whether
1t was to say you had ruined her life
with too much salt in the soup or
that she "adored" VOL
The tempestuous nature of my mis-
tress made life little difficult at last
and moved on to my next job in the
home of a wealthy lawyer. 1t was
like moving from a hurricane into a
typhoon and We all in that house
stood in the exact dead, soundless CEN
ter of a typhoon each time the master
became angry. The master became
angry often.
stayed there two and one-half
years, longer than have stayed any
where else, and at the end I left
sadly and only because I wanted to
see new faces and taste new life. The
day arrived, the child's nurse warned
me that meals must be ready exactly
on time and that, if they were as
much as a minute late, the master
would put on his hat and coat and
60 out to restaurant. And warned
me, too, that I was to make no I'M
necessary sound when he became
angry. We all knew when he was
angry. The house instantly became
dark as a thundercloud. He would
60, sometimes for days, without utter
ing single word, and we walked about
on tiptoe while his wife perched
silently on the edge of her chair,
huddled within herself like fright
ened bird. She was afraid to death
, Of him.
Becomes Angry at Delay.
Once. in the country, breakfast was
late. He had no set time for breakfast /
on Sunday. Sometimes he would come
down at 7, sometimes at noon. To
insure that everything would be await
ing him on the instant OF his arrival,
his wife would go upstairs frequently
to see what stage of dressing he had
reached and report to me. This morn
ing she forgot. I heard his step on
the stairs and flew to place the butter
fruit and toast on the table. He saw
me in the act Of doing it, glowered
Mt me and stalked out into the garden
without word.
When I had finished setting the
table, followed him and told him his
breakfast was ready. Il don't want
any," he said. turned on my heel
without a word and removed the
dishes from the table. That made
him even angrier and he stamped up
stairs and locked himself in his room
But in the end, he had to melt
Guests were coming for lunch and
he knew ice cream would be served
Ice cream was his, as they say. devour-
ing passion. He arrived at the table
tust in time to eat two helpings OF
dessert.
R..1i. IL