The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1940-04-18
By KATHLEEN NORRIS
Z IHEN the mother of a 16 or
NJ 18-year-old girl advises her

NJ 4 hEN the nOtnef OF a 10 OF
Nv 18-year-old girl advises her
W against doing something, or
warns her about it, she is usually
actuated by pure affection and 10y
atty to her daughter.
She knows that the years between
16 and Is are the years when a
woman who is indiscreet, reckless,
inexperienced, can throw away all
the happiness of her later years.
Thousands of girls do, and live to
regret it for the rest of their lives.
But somehow they never will be-
ieve that their mothers are right.
Mother OId-Fashioned.'
my mother hasn't the least idea
Of how things are today" they write
me. Mama is so old-fashioned
that it's perfectly maddening.
Mama thinks the most innocent
things are dangerous. Mother
doesn't want me to have any fun.
My mother is always afraid Of what
the neighbors will think
Any explanation of her anXieties
will do, except that she is your
mother, and loves you, and wants
you to grow safely to honorable and
happy womanhood, and not make
mistakes.
MY mother talked to me the
night before I was married." writes
a Pennsylvania woman, land if I'd
taken her advice seriously might
have spared myself the misery I'm
IN today. But / always thought Of
Mother as straightlaced and fussy,
and I didn't pay much attention.
She told me always to put Len first
in everything, and like all brides,
I did make a great fuss over him
at first. We had a dear little boy
and were very happy for the first
few years.
Knew Billy as Girl.
'Then a man I will call Billy
turned up. I had known him as
girl, and we had had a pretty ex-
citing love affair, of which I had
told Len. Nothing wrong, but we
had been engaged, and I thought
Len ought to know.
Mother had never liked Billy,
partly because he is divorced, part
ly because he is quite a sport. But
he is very attractive to women, and
when he showed that he still ad-
mired me didn't mind making Van
a little jealous. This worried Moth
er terribly, for she adores Van.
''When Billy went away after a
short visit he asked me to CORE
spond with him. He sent me books
and articles, once beautiful hand
kerchief, and once perfume. His
letters were amusing and admiring
and I answered them, saying good
deal more than I really felt. This
was about a year ago. We wrote
each other about every 10 days, so
l suppose he has at least 80 of my
letters.
BilFs Lawyer Appears.
Yesterday a>lawyer from Bills
town called on me with a great deal
of discretion and secrecy that drove
me nearly mad. He says that Bills
wife has gotten possession of these
letters. Never having dreamed
that he was married at all, I was
shocked beyond words. / said that
I had not known that Mr.. D. was
married, whereupon this horrible
man said, But you knew you were,
didn't your She wants 81, 500 for
the letters or she will sue for di-
vorce, naming me. Some of these
letters l signed 'Your-little-wife-
that-should-have-been,' and others
the pet names he had given me in
his letters. Our actual relationship
was always strictly within the bonds
of morality, of course.
"I did not close my eyes last
night and I am half frantic today.
At first this lawyer said he would
be here until I decided what to do,
but he telephoned this morning to
say he is going back to Trenton,
and will wait to hear from me. What
maddens me was that I have never
been in love with Bill, but only
enjoyed this correspondence as a
sort of romance. My husband and
child are my very likelihood, and any
thought of trouble at home breaks
my heart. I do not even know
that Bill is married; it may be that
he needs money and trusts he will
get it this way. For the sake of a
home, a good husband and an limo
cent baby do, do help me find some
way outi''
Thrills at an End.
Poor Joan, she has had whole
year of fattery and excitement and