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Show ly laiiifii im iiwiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiigwa II Josephine's : II -Independence m X i M J By ELIZABETH HARMAN (Copyright.) M There waii a woman once, and she m loved a man. The first part of the fllatetnieut makes the second super-1 super-1 ', Huous. Tho man was Btllson Adsms, jt; captain of the Fourteenth United ' utates cavalry, and tho woman was .losophlne, his wife. And tho man i loved his vlre. but sho would not on 1 Heve It. She thought that loto could t only oxlst between people who were s ) financially Independent of each other, f nnd financially she was absolutely do- pondcnt on Capt. Adams. ., "Of course you say you love me, I . Stllson," Bho said one morning after m a hentcd discussion, "but how can you f . provo It? If I woro rich, It would be 'i different then you could leave me If , -, o wanted to but I haven't even I f a cent! I know that you are lovely 1 1 to nie, but that doesn't mean any- , thing except that you pity me. You , stvo me everything you have, because you have such a high sense of honor and of duty and of nlcenoss for you nro nice, Btllsonl I wish yoti were , not It makes such a slave of me! ' t And what good does the devotion of n penniless demure, like mo do? You probably think that I 'devote' to get , more out of you. And as for your sense of duty, I wish you hadn't any! I wish that you were only good to me bccauso you loved me that I knew i that. If you didn't love me, you would i ' pound mo black nnd blue every day, f but If you had married the Old 1 ' Scratch's grandmother, you would be ( JUBt as sweet to her as you are to ' me, and since I understand your noble I character, how can I tell whether you J Jvo mo or not? And I don't believe i that you do! And I don't believe that T you believe that I love you! I am j going away. Stllson! Of course you i know that I am not, for I hiv noth- ,nB to go on; but I am going to live nil by myself In the little dressing-room, dressing-room, and you must live In one room, AJ tho room that has been ours here- J I torore. I will not Just live with you I because I am poor and have to I I love you too much! I will stay alone 1 until I nm a self-supporting Individ- I ual not a supported 'good and chat- !tel. Aro jou thinking 'bad and chattel?' chat-tel?' Don't, Stllson! I am not bad And don't try to dlssaude me!" And thereupon Mn,. Adams went up to tho little dressing-room, and sat down at her desk, and wrote, nnd wrote, nnd wroto Writing was not a now thing with her. For several years she had been trying, spasmodic spasmod-ic . .-Ically, to win her way In literature 39" with a story or a poem; but "pipe she ,4- high or pipe she low," she could not strlko tho key-note at whose sound the walla around the sacred precincts of editors fall down, opening the way for the piper. "Hut this will be accepted, I am sure," sho said to herself as she fold u cd up that particular story, and put it, j with Its stamp accompaniment. Into an envelope and started It off. Sho wroto all that week, and then I her story camo back. She stamped i her foot, toro the printed slip of j thanks and regrets Into Infinitesimal j fragments, and said things. JJ "Poor old lady!" said Capt Adams It tonderly. And she wept on his IT breast. j. Then sho went upstairs and wrote f another story and In due time It also came back. y Then Mrs. Adams became desperate nnd enraged, and broke her pen-holder i nnd threw her Ink-bottle out of the window, whore It knocked the colo- f , nel's cap off, nnd made spatter work i on his new blouse, and caused a stiff and Indignant lottor of inquiry to be written to Capt Adams, to which Cl Capt. Adams replied that ho had noth I ing to say In explanation, and as sonu I I ns ho had gone to the troop, Mrs I X, Adams hied herself to the colonel's olllco nnd explained, and the colonel Wt forgave her freely and with a charm B Ing courtesy, hut with a suspicion of S' annulment in his eye that made Mrs H. Adnms feel thnt she hated him. H "I will be Independent'" she said B aloud when she was home again In B the dressing-room, and sho empha-W' empha-W' sized her nords by pounding on the dres'slng-tablo with her brush, and m Capt. Adams in tho next room hoard B her, and knew that she was in trou-f,' trou-f,' bio; so he went to the locked door and V) - said: H "What's the matter, dear?? V "I'm so miserable!" walled Mrs 9 Adams. "Go into the hall I want to II ory." So Capt. Adams went into the hall, and on that neutral ground Mrs l Adams met him, and wept In his ,w arms; and that afternoon Capt. Adams (H went to the post exchange and bought iH Uer a now ink-bottle, nnd Mrs. Adams 'H began a novel. jJR vi think I can finish It in six weeks, oM dear, for I shall work day and night," H hIio said to her husband. "Maybe it F will be successful," and she looked at IS him with vory wistful eyes, that failed 1 In their effort to look nrave. ap "Hut, dear, you do mo such an in- fn Justice!" said Capt AdamB. "I love K youl and it Is not being dependent to m tnko what I give you." gt "Then why do you use the word fflpt 'give?'" said Mrs. Adams supercll- lously. SL "Oh, if you are going to pick me up K on every comma. Hut you know what 9 I moan. You know that I lore you, Bk Junk), and you treat mo like a dog." , "1 don't, I only won't be treated K llku. & bound slave, I must bo Inde- pendent. All tho unhapplnoss of marriage mar-riage comes from tho vile, Independent position or women They have- noth. Ing except whnt their husbands glvo give, forsooth! 1 hato your old money! ! wouldn't touch a cent of It if 1 didn't ha to, and If I respected mvRelf ns I should. 1 wouldn t over speak to you until I could support myself! my-self! Don't look that wny! I can see that you are thinking It would bo a long t..no for mo to keep quiet. And I can seo that I grieve jou and hurt your feelings all the time. 8(11-son. 8(11-son. but I can't help It. This Isn't Just a craok It Is a principle!" The novol was finished nnd sent off, and one morning ton days later, while Capt. and Mrs. Adams were nt break-fart, break-fart, tho maid brought in tho mall. Mrs. Adams' oyo Instantly caught the Import of tho large envelope with many stamps. She took It mechanically mechan-ically and told tho maid that she could go. Then sho looned her hend on her hnnds, and did not strugglo against tho torrent of misery that broke over her. "Dear, dear old lady!" snld Capt. Adams, putting his nrm around her. -a surged herself to be diawn against him and be kissed. "Come-back to me, .losle," he whispered. whis-pered. "I can't bear to see you woik-Ing' woik-Ing' It Ib both my duty and my pleasure lo work for you." For a moment she waverod. Then she drew away from him ( "No. Stilton," she said mournfully. "I must not bo so weak," nnd Hho forced herself to take nnother. letter let-ter that had come for hor. "Stllson!" she exclaimed, excitedly. "What?" said Capt. Adams "Aunt Maria has died and has lft mo all of h-r money! I am Independent Independ-ent at last!" Her face fairly glowed with happiness. happi-ness. Hut there was no answering glow In his. "I congratulate you," ho said, "Stllson! You're not glad at nil! You don't reallxo It!" sho cried. "Wo aro rich." "No, dear; you are," Bald Capt. Adams. "Oh, how can jou treat me so?" cried Mrs. dams. "How could I do otherwise, dear? I never knew tho moaning of 'mine' "What Do You Mean?" and 'thine' until you taught It to me' Everything that I had has always bern 'ours' with me and always will be, but you look on things differently " "What do you mean?" demanded Mrs. Adams. "I mean that you are now Independent Independ-ent of me, as you have long wanted to be, and that your fortune Is yours alone;" and with tho only cold kiss he had ever given -her. Capt. Adams left the house. Days passed. Capt. Adams said nothing to his wife nbout hor leaving the little room. Ho looked depressed and he felt so. One morning when he came homo from the troop he mot the carpentar at the gate, and when he went upstairs he found Mrs Adama standing In tho middle of the big room over the drawing-room that had been theirs. "Stllsorv" she said, holding ctit hor hends to htm, "I I had the carpenter take down this wretched door Into the dressing-room, and I've hung the Bagdad Bag-dad curtain there and I've changed this room into ours again and. Stllson, Stll-son, Stllson, take me backl I hate being independent!" |