The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1940-04-18

the thrill of a secret love affair, she
has made nothing of Lens rights
and Lens dignity, and now she ex-
poets to be extricated from it in
few minutesl The mischief has
been far too long in building for
that.
Her only way out is one Of hui
initiation and courage and risk.
Joan has been stuff1ng greedily on
poisonous sweets for II whole
months. Now for emetics and cas-
tor oil and general wretchedness.
For she will have to tell the whole
story to her husband at once, and
have him get in touch with some
friend in Trenton, or some city
authority, who can find out exactly
what the engaging Bily's marital
status is. If he really is married,
then Van, Joan's husband, might
write him, remind him that he has
some letters from Joan, and ask
their return. This may work, in
asmuch as Billy may not want
trouble with his wife over them,
should Joan turn the tables and in
form her of anything that has been
going on. If Billy isn't married,
the matter is comparatively simple.
Joan's husband may ask for the
letters, thus showing Billy that he
knows of their existence, and so
spiking Billy's guns on blackmal.
Then forget the whole thing.
Joan Must Confess.
Whatever the outcome, Joan's
complete confession to her husband
must be the next step.
'..And is it crime to write to
man when you're married to an
other?" many young wife who is
playing with the same sort Of fire
may Indignantly demand. No, but
the advice of Joan's mother was
good advice. Put your husband
first. Don't do anything that you
wouldn't like him to do. Keep your
men friends, of course. But keep
them as a wife, not a fiirt. Act like
a woman embarked upon a serious
business, not a free lance still In
the market for affairs. There's no
law against writing letters, affec-
tionate, romantic, emotional, to a
married man. There's no law
against making a complete fool of
yourself. There's no law against
living on chocolate cake and sleep
ing In a bathtub.
Terrible Alternative.
For a longtime after this scald-
ing experience Joan will be a very
meek and devoted little wife. She'll
have to be. The alternative, d.
vorce, and the surrender of her
child, as being an unfit mother, is
too expensive. A few of those
little wife that-should- have been"
letters would convince any court of
domestic relations that Joan was
pretty Eighty parent She's now put
strong weapon into Vans hands.
For months, perhaps for years, he
won't believe anything she says. If
she demonstrates affection for him,
if she Guides the small boy, praises
her home, expresses herself as hap
by, Van may look on with a cold
and unconvinced eye.
So don't despise mothers sugges-
tons, you younger girls. They have
been won from that same hard
school of experience that you have
to face. They form that most vaIu-
able possession that a wife or any
other woman can have. The i'm
palpable, undefnable, indispensable
thing called CODE.
I know of one case in which a
marriage has lasted, for the sake
of two daughters, for 80 years. The
couple are proud grandparents now,
and approaching old age. But the
young wife's infdelity in the third
year of her marriage destroyed
something of love and trust-some-
thing fine and high and dignifed,
q years ago, and it has never been
wholly restored. The difficulty of
restoring it lies in the perfectly
natural fact that none of us can
really forget such a hurt. Just want
ing to forget isn't the answer. We
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