Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 269, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 November 1914 — A QUESTION OF PREMONITION [ARTICLE]

A QUESTION OF PREMONITION

The Feminine Point of View Revealed to the Fullest. “The paper says,” remarked Mr. Booth, one evening,- after supper, “that the Saluria got in yesterday. The passage was calm, and eprery one on boArd Iras well.” He paused, and looked tentatively lit his wife’s direction. She kept on with her needle- “ Don't von think that the Coopers were foolish, my dear?" he inquired. "No, I can’t say that i do," she replied- ‘lf Mrs. Cooper felt that the ship was going down, what could she did except refuse to go'?" “That’s one way of putting it,” admitted Mr« Booth, “but here is the Situation: John and his wife and the two girls had all their luggage on boa/SP S -” ' - “Not ail,” -interrupted his wife. •"There was a big trunk which hadn’t cOmc. Be fair, James." “All right, then; they had got themselves on board and most of their luggage. The ship was due to start Vi half an hour. Suddenly Annie clutches John by the arm in that nervous way of hers, and says, ‘John, I’ve just had a premonition that this ship is going down before it gets to Europe. Take me home, John, take me home!'" * “You are perfectly heartless,” interposed his wife. “I don’t think An*nie was quite as foolish as that' She Isn’t well, you know, and she couldn’t help feeling as she did?” “But why didn’t she tell the rest of the passengers, men?” inquired Mr. Booth. “That would have been the humane thing to do. Suppose 1 was in a theatre, and knew that it was about to burn down. Wouldn’t it be my duty to inform the audience? I should rise, and say, ‘Ladies and— ’” “James, don’t treat such a subject in such a frivolous manner. You lack sympathy. You have no tact at all. I almost feel that you’ve said sometning like this to Annie already.” “No, not yet,” he replied, “but I may. It strikes me that she was ' a very heartless woman. Very selfish, too, not to warn the others. I wonder that her husband gave in to her.” “What else could he do?” asked Mrs. Booth. “That’s exactly the point—what? She was prepared to make a scene.” Mrs. Booth nodded. * "You think that she would have made* a scene? Then I am surprised at John—surprised and shocked. I did not realize that he, too, is so thoughtless. If he had let her make a scene, then the pasengers would have known the impending danger, and no one would have gone, and the ship—” “But the ship got in safety,” said Mrs. Booth, carried away by theimaginary narrative. j "So it did," agreed 'ner husband. "But if that had happened, it mightn’t have. You never can prediet, you know!” Mrs. Booth regarded him doubtfully, not quite knowing whether he«was in earnest or not