COMMUTER'S WIFE 297 



Equinoxes and the Chief Engineer of the Earth's 

 Orbit, and persuade them to alter its grade, especially 

 on the curves, so that all the long days might be 

 bunched between May first and October, and thus 

 some hours of light be stolen from March and April 

 for the benefit of August and September. 



The dark mornings and evenings of early fall and 

 winter are one of the trials of the commuter and his 

 wife that can only be overcome by a large supply of 

 "sweetness and light." 



The garden of books, to be sure, mitigates and con- 

 soles the evening end, but as for the morning from 

 November to March, even the always questionable 

 consolation of the fact that the " early bird catches 

 the worm" is quite valueless. The commuter 

 who lives at a reasonable distance can only 

 console himself with knowing that he has had at 

 least an hour more sleep than if he lived in town, 

 and his wife's reward lies in her power to keep her 

 promise of sending him off well nourished and trim, 

 no list of errands in his pocket, no egg on his mus- 

 tache, and no crumb, but merely an invisible kiss on 

 his chin. 



Alack that this short time between seven and eight 

 A.M. should be the downfall of so many well-ordered 

 lives ! Last winter after the great storm Evan 



