Page:The Art of Helping People Out of Trouble (1924).pdf/116

 woman assured her that the gossip was without foundation Mrs. Gordon was glad to be able to believe her.

Then, Mr. Gordon's sales began to decrease and the finances of the household went from bad to worse. Mr. Gordon suggested that he go to a neighboring city and see whether business would not be better there. As soon as he had saved some money, he would send for his wife and children and they would reëstablish their home. That was two years before. The rest of their experiences the social worker knew.

The story as related here was not the story that Mrs. Gordon told. Hers was simply a chronological recital of events. She did not attempt to evaluate her history. This the social worker now undertook to do for her. She began by taking Mrs. Gordon back over the story which she had just told.

She explained the connection between Mrs. Gordon's loveless childhood, her ignorance about sex, and her seduction by Mr. Gordon. She showed her the part her aunt's insistence had played in Mr. Gordon's willingness to marry her, the insincerity of her husband's absences from home while he was still nominally living with his