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+Project Gutenberg's How to Cook Husbands, by Elizabeth Strong Worthington
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: How to Cook Husbands
+
+Author: Elizabeth Strong Worthington
+
+Release Date: August 7, 2008 [EBook #26210]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO COOK HUSBANDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Irma Spehar, Markus Brenner and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                      _“They are really delicious
+                       —when properly treated.”_
+
+
+                              How To Cook
+                               Husbands
+
+
+                    By ELIZABETH STRONG WORTHINGTON
+
+                            Author of “The
+                           Little Brown Dog”
+                           “The Biddy Club”
+
+
+               Published at 220 East 23rd St., New York
+                    by the Dodge Publishing Company
+
+
+
+                         COPYRIGHT IN THE YEAR
+                         EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND
+                         NINETY-EIGHT BY DODGE
+                          STATIONERY COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+                              Dedication
+
+                  To a dear little girl who will some
+                day, I hope, be skilled in all branches
+                        of matrimonial cookery.
+
+
+
+
+                                   I
+
+
+A while ago I came across a newspaper clipping—a recipe written by a
+Baltimore lady—that had long lain dormant in my desk. It ran as follows:
+
+“A great many husbands are spoiled by mismanagement. Some women go about
+it as if their husbands were bladders, and blow them up; others keep
+them constantly in hot water; others let them freeze, by their
+carelessness and indifference. Some keep them in a stew, by irritating
+ways and words; others roast them; some keep them in pickle all their
+lives. Now it is not to be supposed that any husband will be good,
+managed in this way—turnips wouldn’t; onions wouldn’t; cabbage-heads
+wouldn’t, and husbands won’t; but they are really delicious when
+properly treated.
+
+“In selecting your husband you should not be guided by the silvery
+appearance, as in buying mackerel, or by the golden tint, as if you
+wanted salmon. Be sure to select him yourself, as taste differs. And by
+the way, don’t go to market for him, as the best are always brought to
+your door.
+
+“It is far better to have none, unless you patiently learn to cook him.
+A preserving kettle of the finest porcelain is the best, but if you have
+nothing but an earthenware pipkin, it will do, with care.
+
+“See that the linen, in which you wrap him, is nicely washed and mended,
+with the required amount of buttons and strings, nicely sewed on. Tie
+him in the kettle with a strong cord called Comfort, as the one called
+Duty is apt to be weak. They sometimes fly out of the kettle, and become
+burned and crusty on the edges, since, like crabs and oysters, you have
+to cook them alive.
+
+“Make a clear, strong, steady fire out of Love, Neatness, and
+Cheerfulness. Set him as near this as seems to agree with him. If he
+sputters and fizzles, don’t be anxious; some husbands do this till they
+are quite done. Add a little sugar, in the form of what confectioners
+call Kisses, but no vinegar or pepper on any account. A little spice
+improves them, but it must be used with judgment.
+
+“Don’t stick any sharp instrument into him, to see if he is becoming
+tender. Stir him gently; watching the while lest he should lie too close
+to the kettle, and so become inert and useless.
+
+“You cannot fail to know when he is done. If thus treated, you will find
+him very digestible, agreeing nicely with you and the children.”
+
+“So they are better cooked,” I said to myself, “that is why we hear of
+such numbers of cases of marital indigestion—the husbands are served
+raw—fresh—unprepared.”
+
+“They are really delicious when properly treated,”—I wonder if that is
+so.
+
+But I must pause here to tell you a bit about myself. I am not an old
+maid, but, at the time this occurs, I am unmarried, and I am thirty-four
+years old—not quite beyond the pale of hope. Men and women never do pass
+beyond that—not those of sanguine temperament at any rate. I am neither
+rich nor poor, but repose in a comfortable stratum betwixt and between.
+I keep house, or rather it keeps me, and a respectable woman who, with
+her husband, manages my domestic affairs, lends the odor of sanctity and
+propriety to my single existence. I am of medium height, between blond
+and brunette, and am said to have a modicum of both brains and good
+looks.
+
+The recipe I read set me a-thinking. I was in my library, before a big
+log fire. The room was comfortable; glowing with rich, warm firelight
+at that moment, but it was lonesome, and I was lonely.
+
+Supposing, I said to myself, I really had a husband; how should I cook
+him?
+
+The words of an old lady came into my mind. She had listened to this
+particular recipe, and after a moment’s silence had leaned over, and
+whispered in my ear:
+
+“First catch your fish.”
+
+But supposing he were now caught, and seated in that rocker across from
+me, before this blazing fire.
+
+I walked to the window—to one side of me lives a little thrush, at least
+she is trim and comely, and always dresses in brown. Just now she is
+without her door, stooping over her baby, who is sitting like a tiny
+queen in her chariot, just returned from an airing.
+
+It isn’t the question of husband alone—he might be managed—roasted,
+stewed, or parboiled, but it’s the whole family—a household. Take the
+children, for instance; if they could be set up on shelves in glass
+cases, as fast as they came, all might be well, but they _will_ run
+around, and Heaven only knows what they will run into. Why, had I
+children, I should plug both ears with cotton, for fear I should hear
+the door-bell. I know it would ring constantly, and such messages as
+these would be hurled in:
+
+“Several of them have been arrested for blowing up the neighbors with
+dynamite firecrackers.”
+
+“Half a dozen of them have tumbled from off the roof of the house. They
+escaped injury, but have thrown a nervous lady, over the way, into
+spasms.”
+
+“One or two of them have just been dragged from beneath the electric
+cars. They seem to be as well as ever, but three of the passengers died
+of fright.”
+
+Just think of that! What should I do?
+
+Keep an extra maid to answer the bell, I suppose, and two or three
+thousand dollars by me continually, to pay damages.
+
+What a time poor Job had of it answering his door bell, and how very
+unpleasant it must have been to receive so many pieces of news of that
+sort, in one morning!
+
+Clearly I am better off in my childless condition, and yet——
+
+Little Mrs. Thrush is just kissing her soft, round-faced cherub. I wish
+she would do that out of sight.
+
+Now as to husbands again, if I had one, what should I do with him?
+
+I might say, Sit down.
+
+Supposing he wouldn’t. What then?
+
+Cudgels are out of date. Were he an alderman, I might take a Woman’s
+Club to him, but a husband has been known to laugh this instrument to
+scorn.
+
+But supposing he sat down. What then? He might be a gentleman of
+irascible, nasty temper, and in walking about my room, I might step on
+his feet. These irritable folk have such large feet, at least they are
+always in the way, and always being stepped on no matter how careful one
+tries to be.
+
+What then?
+
+I decline to contemplate the scene.
+
+Plainly I am better off single.
+
+I walk to my front window, and stretch my arms above my head. There is a
+light fall of snow upon the ground. This late snow is trying: in its
+season, it is beautiful; but out of season, it breeds a cheerlessness
+that emphasises one’s loneliness. I look out through the leafless trees
+toward the lake, but it is hidden by the whirling, eddying snowflakes. I
+see Mr. Thrush hurrying home to his little nest.
+
+“Yes,” I say to myself, repeating my last thought with a certain
+obstinacy, “yes, I am better off without a husband, and yet I wish I had
+one—one would answer, on a pinch—one at a time, at least. A husband is
+like a world in that respect; one at a time, is the proper proportion.”
+
+“It’s far better to have none, unless you learn to cook him.” These
+words recurred to me, just as I was on the point of taking a life
+partner, in a figurative sense.
+
+The woman that deliberates is lost; consequently, as it won’t do to
+think the matter over, I plunge in.
+
+My spouse is now pacing up and down the room in a rampant manner,
+complaining of his dinner, the world in general, and _me_ in particular.
+
+What am I to do?
+
+Charles Reade has written a recipe that applies very well just here. It
+is briefly expressed:
+
+“Put yourself in his place.”
+
+I could not have done this a few years ago, but now I can. Never, until
+I undertook the management of my business affairs—never until I had some
+knowledge of business cares and anxieties, the weight of notes falling
+due; the charge of business honor to keep; the excited hope of fortunate
+prospects; and the depression following hard upon failure and
+disappointment—never until I learned all this, did I realize what home
+should mean to a man, and how far wide of the mark many women shoot,
+when they aim to establish a restful retreat for their husbands.
+
+I have returned to my domicile, after a fatiguing day up town, with a
+feeling of exhaustion that lies far deeper than the mere physical
+structure—a spent feeling as if I have given my all, and must be
+replenished before I can make another move. I once had a housekeeper
+whose very face I dreaded at such times. She always took advantage of my
+silence and my limp condition, to relate the day’s disasters. She had no
+knowledge of what a good dinner meant, and no tact in falling in with my
+tastes or needs. On the contrary; if there was a dish I disliked, it was
+sure to appear on those most weary evenings. In brief, from the very
+moment I reached home, she did nothing but brush my fur up, instead of
+down, and I did nothing but spit at her.
+
+Now, many women are like this housekeeper. I wonder their husbands don’t
+slay them. If you would look out in my back yard, I fear you would see
+the bones of several of these tactless, exasperating housekeepers,
+bleaching in the wind and rain.
+
+I marvel that other back yards are not filled with the bones of stupid,
+tactless, irritating wives. The fact that no such horror has as yet been
+unearthed, bears eloquent testimony to the noble self-control and
+patience of many of the sterner sex.
+
+“Oh, that sounds well,” said my neighbor, over the way, “but then you
+forget we women have our trials too.”
+
+“Is it going to diminish those trials to make a raging lion out of your
+husband?”
+
+“No, but he ought to understand that we are tired, and that our work is
+hard.”
+
+“Certainly,” I said, “by all means; and by the time he thoroughly
+understands, you generally have occasion to be still more tired.”
+
+“Well, what would you do?”
+
+“I’ll tell you what I’d do; follow the advice of a sensible little
+friend of mine, who has four children all of an age, and has
+incompetent service to rely on, when she has any at all.”
+
+“And what is that, pray?”
+
+“She says that come rain, hail, or fiery vapor, she takes a nap every
+day.”
+
+“I don’t know how she manages it; I can’t, and I have one less child
+than she, and a fairly good maid.”
+
+“Her children are trained, as children should be; the three younger ones
+take long naps after luncheon, and while they are sleeping, she gives
+the oldest child some picture book to look at, and simple stories to
+read, and she herself goes to sleep in the same room with him. The
+little fellow keeps as still as a mouse.”
+
+“I think that is a cruel shame.”
+
+“So do I. It would be far kinder if she let him have his liberty, and
+stayed up to take care of him, and then became so tired out that, by the
+time her husband came home she would be unable to keep her mouth (closed
+for it is only a well rested woman who can maintain a cheerful
+silence), and avoid a family quarrel.”
+
+“No, I think it’s better not to quarrel, but I can’t take a nap, and
+often I’m so tired when Fred comes home, that, if he happens to be tired
+too, it’s just like putting fire to gunpowder.”
+
+I knew that, for I had heard the explosions from across the street. You
+know in our climate, in the summer, people practically live in the
+street, with every window and door open; your neighbor has full
+possession of all remarks above E. And most of Mr. and Mrs. Purblind’s
+notes on the tired nights, are above E.
+
+I have no patience with that woman, anyhow. She hasn’t the first idea of
+comfort and good cheer. Her rooms are always in disorder, and there is
+no suggestion of harmony in the furniture (on the contrary every article
+seems, as the French say, to be swearing at every other article); all
+her lights are high—why, I’ve run in there of an evening and found that
+man wandering around like an uneasy ghost, trying to find some easy
+spot in which he could sit down, and read his paper comfortably. He
+didn’t know what was the matter—the poor wretches don’t, but he was like
+a cat on an unswept hearth.
+
+In contrast to this woman’s stupidity, I have the natural loveliness of
+the little brown thrush, on my one side, and the hoary-headed wisdom of
+Mrs. Owl, on my other side.
+
+Look at the latter a moment. Not worth looking at, you say; angular,
+without beauty of form or feature. Nothing but the humorous curve to her
+lips, and the twinkle in her eye, to attract one; nothing, unless it
+were a general air of neatness, intelligence, and good humor.
+
+But I assure you that woman’s worth living with if she is not worth
+looking at!
+
+Now her spouse is one of those lowering fellows, the kind that seems to
+be at outs with mankind. Just the material to become sulky in any but
+the most skillful hands, the sort to degenerate into a positive brute,
+in such blundering hands as Mrs. Purblind’s over the way.
+
+I had a chance to watch this man one evening last summer. Having no
+domestic affairs of my own, as a matter of course I feel myself entitled
+to share my neighbors’. And this particular evening I was lonely. It was
+a nasty night, the fog blown in from the lake slapped one rudely in the
+face every time one looked out, and the air was as raw as a new wound—it
+went clear to the bone.
+
+Now on such a night as this I have known Mrs. Purblind to serve her lord
+cold veal and lettuce, simple because it was July, and a suitable time
+for heat. And I assure you that sufficient heat was generated before
+this cold supper was consumed. But to return to Mrs. Owl, on that
+particular night. I saw her watching at door and window, for her partner
+was late. I peeped into the parlor, and it was as cosy and inviting as a
+glowing fire, a shaded lamp, and a comfortable sofa wheeled near the
+table, could make it.
+
+By and by, he came glowering along. What will she say, I asked myself.
+Will it be:
+
+“Oh, how late you are! What’s the matter? What kept you? Well, come in,
+you must be cold. Lie down on the sofa while I get supper, but don’t put
+your feet up till I get a paper for them to rest on.”
+
+All this would have answered well enough with a decent sort of a man,
+but this homo required peculiar treatment.
+
+It was what she didn’t say that was most remarkable.
+
+After a cheerful “How-de-do” she didn’t speak a word for some time, but
+walked into the house humming a lively air, and busied herself with his
+supper. She didn’t set this in the dining room, but right before that
+open fire. Without any fuss or commotion she broiled a piece of steak
+over those glowing coals, while over her big lamp she made a cup of
+coffee, and in her chafing dish prepared some creamed potatoes. She had
+bread and butter ready, and some little dessert, and so with a wave of a
+fairy wand, as it seemed, there was the cosiest, most tempting little
+supper you ever saw on the table at his side.
+
+Meanwhile he had found the sofa, the fire, and the lamp, and was reading
+his paper. He threw the latter down when supper was announced, and she
+joined him at the table; poured his coffee, ate a bit now and then for
+company, and talked—why, how that woman did talk! I couldn’t hear a word
+that she said, but I knew by the expression of her face it was humorous;
+and laugh, how she laughed! and erelong he joined in—why, once he leaned
+back, and actually ha-haed.
+
+When supper was over, she left him to his paper again, while she cleared
+everything away. Later on she joined him, and the next I knew they were
+playing chess, and still later, talking and reading aloud.
+
+This is but a sample of her life with him—in everything she consults
+his mood, his comfort, his tastes. She never jars him—never rubs him the
+wrong way, and meanwhile she has all she wants, for she can do anything
+with him, and he thinks the sun rises and sets with her.
+
+It is a good cook that makes an appetizing dish out of poor material,
+and when a woman makes a delicious husband out of little or nothing she
+may rank as a _chef_.
+
+
+
+
+                                  II
+
+
+You may say all I have been describing belongs more properly to little
+Mrs. Thrush, on my right. Bless you! that woman doesn’t have to think
+and plan to make things comfortable. Were she set down in the desert of
+Sahara, she would sweep it up, spread a rug; hang a few draperies, and
+lo! it would be cosy and home-like. She can’t help being and doing just
+right, wherever she is put, and her husband is just like her, as good as
+gold. Why, that man would bore a woman of ingenuity—a woman who had a
+genius for contriving and managing. He doesn’t need any cooking; he’s
+ready to serve just as he is, couldn’t be improved. There’s absolutely
+nothing to be done. Mrs. Owl would get a divorce from him inside of a
+month, on the ground of insipidity. Her fine capabilities for making
+much out of nothing, would turn saffron for lack of use. Mr. Owl is the
+mate for her. To every man according to his taste; to every woman
+according to her need.
+
+I am lying in the hammock, under the soft maple tree in my side yard,
+speculating on all these matters. Summer is now upon us, for we are in
+the midst of June. Yesterday was one of Lowell’s rare days, but this
+morning the thermometer took offense, and rose in fury. I can see the
+quivering air as it radiates from the dusty, sun-beaten road, and a
+certain drowsy hum in the atmosphere, palpable only to the trained ear,
+tells of the great heat. Some of my neighbors are sitting on their
+galleries, reading or sewing; some, like myself, are lolling in
+hammocks; even the voices of the children have a certain monotonous
+tone, in harmony with the stupid heaviness of the day. Only the birds
+and squirrels show any life or spirit; the former are twittering above
+my head, courting, it may be, or possibly discussing some detail of
+household economy. They hop from bough to bough, touch up their plumage,
+and chirp in a cheerful, happy sort of fashion, as if this was their
+especial weather, as indeed it is. Up yonder tree, a squirrel is racing
+about, in the exuberance of his glee. He has done up his work, no doubt,
+and now is off for a frolic. I lie here, not a stone’s throw from him,
+watching his merry antics, and rejoicing to think how free from fear he
+is, when all at once the leaves of his tree are cut by a flying missile,
+and the next second I see my gay fellow tumble headlong from the bough,
+and fall in a helpless little heap on the grass. I start up in affright,
+and hear a passing boy call out to another, over the way,
+
+“I brought him down, Jim.”
+
+Involuntarily I clinch my hands.
+
+“You little coward!” I exclaim, “it is _you_ who should be brought down!
+You are too mean to live.”
+
+He laughs brutally, and goes on, whistling indifferently, while I pick
+up the dead squirrel lying at my feet.
+
+I find myself crying, before I know it. Not alone with pity for the
+squirrel; something else is hurting me.
+
+“Is this the masculine nature?” I ask some one—I don’t know whom.
+
+Perhaps it is one of those questions which are flung upward, in a blind
+kind of way, and which God sometimes catches and answers.
+
+“Are they made this way? Was it meant that they should be brutal?”
+
+I am still holding the squirrel and thinking, when I hear my name, and
+turning see my neighbor over the way, Mrs. Purblind’s brother, standing
+near me.
+
+“Good morning, Mr. Chance,” I say, rather coldly.
+
+All men are hateful to me at that moment; to my mind they all have that
+boy’s nature, though they keep it under cover until they know you well,
+or have you in their power.
+
+“The little fellow is dead, I suppose,” he said.
+
+“Yes,” I answer with a sob which I turn away to conceal. I don’t wish to
+excite his mirth. Of course he would only see something laughable in my
+grief, and he couldn’t dream what I am thinking about.
+
+“You mustn’t be too hard on the boy, Miss Leigh,” he says quietly; “it
+was a brutal act, but that same aggressiveness will one day give him
+power to battle in life against difficulties and temptations as well. It
+will make him able to protect those whom a kind Providence may put in
+his charge. Just now he doesn’t know what to do with the force, and
+evidently has not had good teaching. I’m sorry he did this; it hurts me
+to see an innocent creature harmed, and still more I am sorry because
+it has hurt you.”
+
+He is standing near me now, and as I raise my eyes, I find him looking
+at me with a sweet earnestness, that wins me not only to forgive him for
+being a man, but to feel that perhaps men are noble, after all.
+
+His look and tone linger with me long after he has gone, as a cadence of
+music may vibrate through the soul when both musician and instrument are
+mute.
+
+The day after this of which I have been telling, I went to a picnic
+gotten up by Mrs. Purblind, for the entertainment and delectation of Mr.
+Purblind’s cousin, now visiting her, a frivolous young thing, between
+whom and myself there was not even the weather in common, for she would
+label “simply horrid” a lovely gray day, containing all sorts of
+possibilities for the imagination behind its mists and clouds.
+
+I didn’t care for this picnic, and didn’t see why I was invited as most
+of the guests were younger than myself. But it was one of those cases
+where a refusal might be misconstrued, and so I went. We sat around the
+white tablecloth _en masse_, for dinner; and in the course of the
+passing of viands, Miss Sprig was asked to help herself to olives that
+happened to be near her.
+
+“Yes, do, while you have opportunity,” said Mrs. Purblind.
+
+“I always embrace opportunity,” replied Miss Sprig with a simper.
+Whereat Mr. Chance, sitting next her, suggested that, as a synonym of
+opportunity, possibly he might stand in its stead.
+
+I detest such speeches, they are properly termed soft, for they
+certainly are mushy—lacking in stamina—fiber of any sort. But I could
+have endured it, as I had endured much else of the same sort that day,
+had it not come from Mr. Chance. It may be foolish of me, but his tone
+and his words of the day before were still with me. They were so
+dignified, so sensible, so manly, that I respected and admired him. Up
+to that time I had not felt that I knew him, but after he spoke in that
+way, it seemed as if we were acquainted. Now I saw how utterly mistaken
+I had been, and I was mortified and disgusted.
+
+The silly little speech I have quoted was not all, by any means; there
+were more of the same kind, and actions that corresponded. Evidently he
+was one of those instruments which are played upon at will by the
+passing zephyr. With a self-respecting woman, he was manly; with a
+vapid, bold girl, he was silly and familiar. I decided that I liked
+something more stable, something that could be depended upon.
+
+I was placed in a difficult position just then. Had I acted upon my
+impulse, I should have risen and walked off—such conduct is an affront
+to womanhood, I think; but I was held in my place by a fear—foolish, yet
+grounded, that my action would be regarded as an expression of
+jealousy, the jealousy of an old maid, of a woman much younger and
+prettier than herself. This is but one of the many instances of the
+injustice of the world. I don’t think that I am addicted to jealousy,
+but I may not know myself. Possibly I might have felt jealous had I been
+eclipsed by a beautiful or gifted woman, but it would be impossible for
+me to experience any such emotion on seeing a man with whom I have but a
+slight acquaintance, devote himself to a girl whom I should regard as
+not only my mental inferior, but also as beneath me morally and socially
+as well. The only sensation of which I was cognizant was a disgust
+toward the man, and mortification over the mistaken estimate of his
+character, that had led me, the day before, to suppose him on a footing
+with myself.
+
+As soon as possible after dinner I slipped away for a stroll. The place
+was very lovely, and I felt that if I could creep off with Mother
+Nature, she would smooth some cross-grained, fretful wrinkles that were
+gathering in my mind, and were saddening my soul. So when the folly and
+jesting were at their height I dipped into the thicket near at hand, and
+dodging here and there, jumping fallen logs, and untangling my way among
+the vines which embraced the stern old woods like seductive sirens, I at
+last struck a shaded path, which erelong led me down through a ravine to
+the waters of the big old lake. It too had dined, but instead of
+yielding itself to folly, was taking its siesta. Across its tranquil
+bosom the zephyrs played, stirring ripples and tiny eddies, as dreams
+may stir lights and shadows on the sleeping face.
+
+I had not walked along the beach, with the waves sighing at my feet, and
+whispering all sorts of soothing nothings, for a great distance, before
+I began to experience that uncomfortable reaction which sometimes arises
+from splitting in two, as it were, standing off at a distance and
+looking oneself in the face. I realized that I had been something of a
+prig and considerable of a Pharisee. My late discomfort was not caused
+by the fact that a young girl had cheapened herself, but by the fact
+that a man had demeaned himself and in a manner involved me, inasmuch as
+I had been led the day before by a false estimate of his character to
+regard him as my social equal. After all it was this last that hurt
+most; it was my little self and not my brother about whom I was chiefly
+concerned.
+
+I am not naturally sentimental or morbid, so I merely decided that
+internally I had made a goose of myself and not shown any surplus of
+nobility; and with a little sigh of satisfaction that I had given the
+small world about me no sign of my folly, I dismissed the subject and
+betook myself to an eager enjoyment of the day.
+
+The soft June breeze played with my hair and gently and affectionately
+touched my face; the lake quivering and rippling with passing emotions
+stretched away from me toward that other shore which it kept secreted
+somewhere on its farther side. The very sight of it, with its shimmering
+greens, turquoise blue, and tawny yellow, cooled and soothed me, and ere
+I knew it, I had slipped into a pleasant, active speculation on matters
+of larger interest than the petty subjects which had lined my brow a
+moment before. I was walking directly toward one of my families, and it
+occurred to me that I might run in and make a call, while I was near at
+hand. I had first become interested in them at church. I was impressed
+by their cleanliness and regularity of attendance, and by a certain
+judicious arrangement of their children—the parents always sitting so as
+to separate the latter by their authority and order.
+
+Another point that claimed my attention was that the children were
+changed each Sunday—a fresh three succeeding the first bunch, and on
+the third Sunday, one of the first three being added to a fresh two, to
+make up the proper complement. Both parents had a self-respecting,
+self-sacrificing look, as of people who had learned to help themselves
+cautiously from the family dish, and to “put their knives to their
+throats” before time; but kept all this to themselves, asking nothing
+from anyone, and making their little answer without murmur or complaint.
+I had, for some time, realized that the child who was now getting more
+than his share of sermons, by reappearing on the third Sunday, would
+soon be reduced to the level of his brethren, and a new relative would
+take the place which he had been filling as a matter of accommodation. I
+sought occasion to make the acquaintance of the mother of this fine
+brood, on the pretext of some church work, and after that became a
+regular visitor at their little home. The perfect equality of the
+parents; the deference with which they treated one another; and their
+quiet happiness, in spite of all labor and privation, made me realize
+that they might well extend a pitying thought to some of the apparently
+wealthy members of the church. We may yet live to see the day when a new
+scale shall come in vogue, and some Crœsus who now stands in an enviable
+light, shall then pass into his true position, and become an object of
+pity. Mere dollars and cents are a misleading criterion of poverty and
+wealth.
+
+I had seen my friends, and found that the mother and her new nestling
+were in comparative comfort, and I was on the homeward stretch along the
+beach, when I saw Mr. Chance walking toward me.
+
+“I was commissioned to look you up,” he said.
+
+“Thank you,” I replied, “I have been of age for some years.”
+
+Of course he noticed the coolness in my voice, and in some way I divined
+that he knew the cause.
+
+We went aboard our homeward-bound train about 5 o’clock.
+
+Mr. Chance helped me on, and evidently expected to sit with me, but I
+thwarted him by dropping down beside an elderly lady, an acquaintance
+who happened to be in that coach. I felt no grudge against him, but I
+didn’t care to have him pass from such a girl as Miss Sprig to me; his
+conduct with her impaired his value somewhat in my eyes. My elderly
+friend saw and recognized the situation, I am sure, and governed her
+later remarks accordingly.
+
+Mr. Chance passed on, and took a seat with one of the superfluous men,
+for contrary to the rule on most such occasions, the male gender was in
+excess of the female. I had not expected him to return to Miss Sprig;
+men always become satiated with such girls, soon or late.
+
+My elderly acquaintance entered upon an animated conversation, that
+became more and more personal, and finally reached a climax when she
+leaned over, and said in a semi-whisper:
+
+“My dear Miss Leigh, you ought to marry.”
+
+I had been told this a number of times; any one would suppose, to listen
+to some of these women, that I had but to put out my hand, and pluck a
+man from the nearest bush.
+
+“I don’t doubt you will marry some day, but I’m afraid you may not
+choose wisely”—here she lowered her voice again—“after a man reaches
+thirty-five he becomes very fixed in his ways, and I don’t think it’s
+safe for a maiden lady to try to manage him; it needs some one of more
+experience.”
+
+I knew she had Mr. Chance in mind, and I was so indignant at being
+warned against a man who had never shown the first symptom of any such
+folly as addressing me, that the blood mounted to my hair.
+
+Observing this, my elderly companion whispered:
+
+“I wasn’t thinking of any one, in particular, my dear;” upon which I
+grew more enraged, and the color in my face deepened until I must have
+resembled an irate old turkey gobbler—“not of any one in particular, my
+dear; but on general principles, I shouldn’t advise such a match. A
+widower would be just the thing for you, and there always are widowers,
+and every year the list grows—death makes inroads, you know.”
+
+This idea, this hope of a second crop, as I had passed beyond the first
+picking, was comforting. I knew perfectly well whom she had in mind for
+me—a nice fat little widower, about fifty years old, who had been held
+on the marital spit, until he was done to a turn.
+
+
+
+
+                                  III
+
+
+The summer was ended, and I was not married. I am speaking now from the
+standpoint of my neighbors; to my mind life did not swing on this hinge.
+I had my occupations—there were a goodly number of needy folk to be
+looked after; there was my reading; my music; my friends, and other
+pleasures, and altogether I felt I was very well off. Not that I was
+cynically opposed to marriage; I intended to marry, if the right man
+called, but if he did not I was content to end life as I had begun it—in
+single blessedness.
+
+My neighbors, however, were of another mind—I must marry; and they kept
+making efforts to find some one who would fit, trying on one man after
+another, without his consent or mine, something as one would attempt to
+force clothes on a savage.
+
+But in spite of all such friendly offices the summer was ended, and I
+was not married. I was thinking of it on this particular day, as I stood
+gazing from the window—thinking of it with a sort of quiet wonder, for
+with an entire neighborhood intent upon this end, it was rather
+surprising that I was not double by this time. Had they succeeded I
+should now occupy a very different attitude. It is only old bachelors
+and old maids who speculate and theorize on marriage; when people are
+really about it, they say little, and (it would often appear) think
+less.
+
+It was a day for speculation—this particular one; the dead leaves were
+scurrying up the street as people ran for a train; a gusty wind was
+carrying all before it for the time being, like an overbearing debater.
+The trees shook and groaned, recoiled and shuddered, like human
+creatures in the blast; in their agitation dropping hosts of leaves that
+immediately slipped under covert, or else joined their fellows in the
+race up town. The sky was non-committal, and the lake looked dark and
+secretive, as if it meditated wreck and disaster.
+
+It was only the middle of September, but there had been several of these
+days—a hint, perchance, of what was to come by and by, as a gay waltz
+strain sometimes dips into real life, and makes one look inward for a
+moment.
+
+The house did not invite me just at this time, and the elements did; at
+least I felt that rising within me which tempted me forth to have a bout
+with them.
+
+I was walking at a goodly pace along the Boulevard—for I love the lake
+in all its moods—when two men with anxious faces overtook, and hurried
+past me.
+
+“There’s been a wreck, miss,” one of them—a man I knew—called back.
+
+I quickened my pace, trying to peer through the sullen fog, as I ran.
+The occasional dull boom of a gun called “Help,” from out the grayness,
+with pathetic persistency. Soon another sound caught my ear, or rather
+vibrated through my frame, for the ground beneath me seemed to tremble,
+and I turned to see the swift oncoming of the life-saving crew from a
+station below us.
+
+I had barely time to jump one side, before the huge wagon, bearing the
+boat and its men, swept past me, every one of those splendid horses with
+his head lowered, and his fine muscles set for the race.
+
+It was all done with the celerity and ease with which things are
+accomplished in dreams. The sudden halting of the big wagon; the
+swinging of the boat to the ground; the swift donning of the yellow
+oilskin suits by the crew; the launch, and before one had time to wink,
+the strong strokes in perfect time, that bore the boat up and down, and
+up again, on those tumultuous waves.
+
+There were other spectators beside myself, standing with strained sight
+and hearing, and throbbing hearts, upon the strip of beach. And there
+were other workers beside the crew. I had thought we were a small
+community out there in the little suburb, and I gazed with wonder that
+morning at the crowd which seemed to have dropped from the sky, or come
+up from below.
+
+The men were chiefly from the middle and laboring classes, for the
+others go in on early trains, but Randolph Chance was there, his
+newspaper work giving him his mornings. We spoke to one another, but
+entered into no conversation. My thought was with the doomed ship, and
+so was his.
+
+“Will any of you boys join me in taking off some of those people?” he
+asked the men at hand.
+
+“It’s a rough sea, Mr. Chance.”
+
+“I know it, but I understand boating; I guess we can manage it.”
+
+“Don’t you think the life-saving crew can do the work?” I asked.
+
+“No,” he answered shortly, “there won’t be time for them to make enough
+trips. Come, boys, here she goes! Jump in, a half dozen of you that can
+pull oars.”
+
+There were boats enough, and soon there were men enough, for the human
+heart is kind and brave, and under a good leader men will walk up to
+Death himself without flinching.
+
+Randolph Chance was big and strong, alert, and self controlled—a good
+leader. I realized all this just now, as I had not before, and I thought
+how strange it was that so much goodness should be bound up with so much
+folly. It was the old story of the wheat and the tares; and I said: “An
+enemy hath done this,” and then I thought of Miss Sprig.
+
+I don’t like to dwell on that morning; the experience was new to me, and
+I can’t forget it; I can’t rid myself of the sound of those shrieks when
+the ship went down. She struggled like a human creature under a sudden
+blow—rocked, tottered, quivered, and then collapsed.
+
+The little boats made five trips and brought ashore almost all the
+passengers and crew—all but one woman, and a little child.
+
+I was one of the many who received the chilled and frightened victims of
+the storm, and indeed, as soon as we were able to dispose of the more
+delicate and needy ones, we turned our thought to the brave crews of the
+little boats, for their exertions had been almost superhuman, and they
+were well-nigh exhausted.
+
+I bent over Randolph Chance, and begged him to take a little brandy some
+one had brought.
+
+“Give it to the women,” he said feebly.
+
+“They are all cared for; I’m going to look out for you now, Mr. Chance.”
+
+“I wouldn’t feel so done up,” he said, “if it weren’t for that woman.
+She begged me to save her, and she had a little child in her arms,” and
+his voice broke.
+
+“You mustn’t think of her,” I said, “you did all you could.”
+
+“Yes, I did my best to reach her, but before I could get there, she went
+down. I can never forget her face. Oh, at such a time a fellow can’t
+help wishing he were just a little quicker, and just a little stronger.”
+
+He had risen from the beach where he had flung himself or fallen, on
+leaving the boat, but he fell again. I could plainly see that the
+exhaustion from which he suffered was due as much to mental distress as
+to physical effort, and I thought no less of him for that.
+
+He was finally prevailed upon to get into the wagon which had brought
+the life-saving crew, and which was now loaded down with the other
+boatmen, and many of the passengers from the wreck, and so he was taken
+home. And I walked back alone, with a queer little feeling somewhere in
+the region of my heart.
+
+Man, after all, is a harp, I said to myself; a good player—the right
+woman can draw forth wonderful music, but the wrong woman will call out
+nothing but discords.
+
+Materials don’t count for everything; there’s a deal in the cooking.
+
+I was on my way home, when I met two of my neighbors hurrying toward the
+scene—Mr. and Mrs. Daemon.
+
+“You’re too late,” I said, “it’s all over.”
+
+“I only heard of it a little while ago;” said Mrs. Daemon; “I was in the
+city, and I met Mr. Daemon who had just been told there was a wreck off
+this shore, and was coming out to see it, so we both took the first
+train.”
+
+They hurried on, wishing to see what they could, and I walked homeward.
+
+Their appearance had slipped into my reflections as neatly as a good
+illustration slips into a discourse. I must tell you their story, and
+then see if you dare say man is not a harp, and woman not a harpist.
+
+Years ago, when I was a child, I used to see my mother wax indignant
+over the wrongs inflicted upon one of her neighbors—a gentle little
+woman whose backbone evidently needed restarching. She was the mother of
+three children, and should have been a most happy wife, for her tastes
+were domestic—her devotion to her family unbounded. Unhappily, she was
+wedded to a man of overbearing, tyrannical temper—one of those ugly
+natures in which meanness is generated by devotion. The more he realized
+his power over his poor little wife, the more he bullied her, and
+beneath this treatment she faded, day by day, until finally she closed
+her tired, pathetic eyes forever. My mother used to say she had no doubt
+the man was overwhelmed by her death, and would have suffered from
+remorse, but for the injudicious zeal of some of the neighbors, who were
+so wrought up by this culmination of years of injustice and cruelty,
+that they attacked him fore and aft, as it were, creating a scandalous
+scene over the little woman’s remains, accusing him of being her
+murderer, and assigning him to the warmest quarters in the nether world.
+As a result of this outbreak of public opinion the man hardened, and
+assumed a defiant attitude which he continued to maintain toward the
+neighbors for some years. In the midst of all this furor, the sister of
+the departed wife walked calm and still. The power of the silent woman
+has often been dwelt upon, but I really do not think that half enough
+has been said, although I am aware of committing an absurdity when I
+recommend voluble speech on the subject of silence. Jesting and
+paradoxes aside, however, the silent woman wields a power known only to
+the man toward whom her silence is directed.
+
+In this particular case the power was all for the best. Erelong the
+sister-in-law obtained such mastery over the forlorn household that she
+held not only the fate of the little ones, but that of the father as
+well, in the hollow of her hand.
+
+Two years slipped by, and then the neighborhood that had dozed off, as
+it were, awoke to hear that the sister was going to marry that awful
+man.
+
+At once the vigilance committee arose, and took the case in hand.
+
+“It can’t be possible,” it cried to the woman.
+
+“Yes, it is true,” she said.
+
+“Why, don’t you know that he killed your sister?”
+
+“I know he did.”
+
+“And you are going to marry him, in face of that?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Well, he’ll kill you.”
+
+“Oh, no, he won’t kill me”—there was a peculiar light in her eyes that
+puzzled them.
+
+“What can you want to marry such a man for?” they cried, coming back to
+the original question.
+
+“To keep the children. If I don’t marry him, some one else will, and
+those children will go out of my hands.”
+
+Her devotion to the motherless brood had been past praise. There was
+nothing more to be said, and if there had been it would have availed
+nothing, for the sister had a mind of her own. She was one of those
+handsome women, who walk this earth like queens, and to whom lesser folk
+defer.
+
+She married, and lo! the neighborhood was agog once more, for strange
+stories came floating from out that handsome house, and it appeared for
+a time that instead of his killing her she was like to kill him.
+
+I remember one tale in particular, which my mother who, by the way, was
+no gossip, and was as peaceable as a barnyard fowl, was in the habit of
+rehearsing before a chosen few, occasionally, with a quiet relish that
+was amusing, considering the fact that ordinarily any comment on her
+neighbors’ affairs was alien to her. It appeared that after a short
+wedding trip, during which the bridegroom had several times shown the
+cloven foot, the couple returned to their domicile. Probably the maids
+who had lived there for some years and were devoted to the new wife, had
+been warned of what was coming. At all events, they accepted everything
+as a matter of course.
+
+Upon the evening of the married pair’s return, a handsome dinner was
+served. The train was a trifle behind time; the day had been cold, and
+several other untoward circumstances had conspired to let loose the
+bridegroom’s natural depravity. An overdone roast served to touch off
+this inflammable material.
+
+“—— these servants!” he exclaimed; “I’ll kick every one of them through
+the front window! Look at that roast!”
+
+The doors being now open, a perfect storm of ugly, evil tempers poured
+forth.
+
+At such times as these it was the custom of wife number one to shiver,
+shrink, implore—weep, then take the offending roast from the room, and
+replace it by something else which most likely was hurled at her, in
+the end.
+
+The present Mrs. Daemon neither shivered nor shrank. She knew what to
+expect when she married this man, and she was ready. The guns were
+loaded and aimed, and they went off, and presto! the enemy lay dead on
+the dining room floor.
+
+Instead of a roast beef solo, there was a duet, Mrs. Daemon’s feminine
+soprano rising above her husband’s masculine roar. She agreed with what
+he said as to the disposition of the servants, only adding that she
+intended to hang them all, before he put them through the front window.
+
+“To insult us during our honeymoon with such a roast,” she cried; “and
+look at this gravy! It’s even worse!”
+
+And with one swift stroke of her hand she sent the gravy bowl flying
+from off the table on to the handsome carpet.
+
+“In Heaven’s name, what are you about?” he bawled.
+
+“Do you suppose I’d offer you such gravy; it ought to be flung in their
+faces.”
+
+He gasped and stammered; thought of the recent wedding and regretted it;
+but he was married now, and to an awful shrew!
+
+Soon after dinner they repaired to the drawing room. In turning from the
+fireplace he stumbled against a large, elegant vase.
+
+“Confound that thing!” he exclaimed, “I always did hate those vases that
+set on the floor.”
+
+“So do I!” she chimed in, and putting out her foot with an expressive
+jerk, she kicked it over, and broke it into a hundred fragments.
+
+“Do you see what you’ve done?” he cried, “have you forgotten that that
+vase was a present from me?”
+
+“No, I haven’t, but we both hate it, and what’s the use of keeping it?”
+
+This was but the beginning; from that time on, let him but murmur
+against a dish, and it was flung on to the floor; torrents of abuse
+were poured upon the head of a maid with whom he found fault; some of
+the handsomest furniture in the house was broken, the moment it gave
+offense to him. In no vehemence was he alone—his wife’s anathemas and
+abuse joined and exceeded his, until—he had enough of it—an overdose, in
+fact, and erelong he turned a corner—came out of Hurricane Gulch into
+Peaceful Lane, and he hoped the latter would know no turning. The
+servants whispered of times when he would tell his wife of guests
+invited to the house, and entreat her not to make a scene while they
+were there.
+
+Sixteen years have gone by, and this woman is still above ground;
+stranger still the man is alive as well; and strangest of all, they are
+still under the same roof. Indeed, if report and appearance are to be
+trusted, Mr. Daemon is a model husband, and Mrs. Daemon’s sudden and
+amazing temper has spent itself and left her a person of spirit indeed,
+but in nowise unamiable, and least of all, an ugly character.
+
+No one who saw them walk past me, arm in arm, that morning, on their way
+to the wreck, would have dreamed of their past.
+
+Truly, man _is_ a harp, and truly, woman does the harping.
+
+
+
+
+                                  IV
+
+
+I have been wandering about to-day in an apparently aimless fashion, but
+in reality “musing upon many things.” Our horror of shiftlessness, and
+our realization of the responsibilities of life, and of the important
+work Providence has kept saving up for us, or perhaps “growing up” for
+us, like Dick Swiviller’s future mate, is expressed in the fact that if
+we take an hour’s leisure, anywhere betwixt sunrise and sunset, we feel
+under bonds to explain the matter not only to our own souls, but also to
+those other souls who live adjacent, and take an everlasting interest in
+ours.
+
+Consequently, I told myself this day that I was not well—that I had
+been overdoing, and that I had best “go easy for a spell.” After which
+concession to my interior governor, I proceeded to apologize to my
+neighbors; to call my dogs—not to apologize to them, but to solicit
+their company—and then to hie me away to the lake, remembering to walk
+feebly as long as I was in sight.
+
+I didn’t go down to the beach, but plunged into the cool, comforting
+heart of a ravine; fathomed its depths, with a feeling of delightful
+seclusion, and came out on the thither side, to find myself in the
+glowing October woods.
+
+Ill? I never felt better in my life! Good, rich streams of blood coursed
+through my veins, and painted a warm tint in my cheeks. At that moment I
+hope I looked a trifle like Nature, who was in the height of her being;
+in a sort of tropical luxuriance, like a beautiful woman at the very
+summit of maturity and perfection.
+
+I put out my hands toward a clump of sumach—I was not cold, but its
+brilliant warmth lured me as does a glowing fire. It permeated my very
+being, and set my soul a-throbbing.
+
+There had been rain, and then warmth, and October had caught all the
+prismatic colors of the drops of water, and was giving them forth with
+Southern prodigality. The birds bent over the swaying daisies, and sang
+soft love-notes into their great, dark eyes, while I looked on in an
+ecstasy of wonder and delight—the gold of the daisies, the gold of the
+sunlight, and the glow in my heart, seeming in a way all one—part and
+parcel of the munificence and cheering love of the Father. It is a
+glorious world, and it is glorious to live therein. The very air about
+me—the air I was breathing in, seemed to palpitate color and brilliant
+beauty.
+
+I talked to Duke about it, and he looked around him with a certain air
+of admiration depicted on his noble, fond old face. Fanchon was
+frivolous, as usual, and wanted to be running giddily about, hunting
+rabbits and the like; but I made her sit beside me, for it seemed a
+desecration every time the October silence of those woods was broken by
+aught save the dropping of a ripened nut, or the whirr of a homing bird.
+
+It was at the close of this mellow day that I sat in my library alone,
+before a hickory fire. Alone, did I say? Nay, Mrs. Simpson sat before me
+in the opposite rocker. You could not have seen her, or heard her, but
+she was there, and was complaining of Mr. Simpson, saying he rarely ever
+invited her to go anywhere; and as she talked I recalled a certain
+evening when I had been her guest—included in an invitation to attend a
+spectacular entertainment given by the country club, at a spot some
+distance from our homes, and I said:
+
+“Mrs. Simpson, I can offer you some recipes which I warrant you will
+work infallibly; but they are like the recipe for determining the
+interior condition of eggs, which says, put them in water; if they are
+bad they will either sink or swim—I have forgotten which. Now try this
+recipe I am about to give you, and it will either make Mr. Simpson
+unwilling to take a step in the way of recreation without you, or it
+will make him stalk forth by himself, as lonely as a crocus in early
+March—I have forgotten which; but try it often enough, and you will
+learn.”
+
+
+                               _Recipe._
+
+“Fail to be ready at the appointed time, and keep him waiting until he
+is either raging or sullen; cudgel or dragoon the children until their
+tempers are well on edge. Then complain of the gait taken by Mr. Simpson
+in order to catch the train; declare frequently when aboard that you are
+tired out, and are sorry you came. After you reach the place, remark
+every now and then that you don’t think the entertainment amounts to
+much, and that you do think it was a piece of extravagance to have
+given such a price for tickets to so-inferior an exhibition. Next,
+declare that you feel a draft, and are catching your ‘death of cold;’
+interlard all this with frequent directions to the children—admonitions
+and complaints, and derogatory remarks about Mr. Simpson’s appearance,
+and wonder—oft-expressed and reiterated, and put in the form of
+questions which you insist upon his answering, as to why he didn’t wear
+his other suit of clothes. Finally, wind up the whole affair, by wishing
+you were in bed, and announcing your opinion that the trip didn’t pay,
+and you are sure it will make you and the children ill.
+
+“Try this faithfully, and it won’t fail to accomplish something
+decided.”
+
+One more recipe.
+
+I was talking to Mrs. Purblind now; Mrs. Simpson had had her fill, and
+gone home; and Mrs. Purblind had taken her place.
+
+You couldn’t have seen her—but that doesn’t matter.
+
+
+                               _Recipe._
+
+“This is for making a man love to stay at home with you, and inducing
+him to be cheerful and companionable, or for making him flee your
+presence as one would flee a plague-stricken city: I’ve forgotten which,
+but you will soon discover, if you try it persistently.
+
+“Talk on disagreeable themes, talk persistently and ceaselessly; never
+let up; the more tired he may be the more steadily you must talk, and
+the more irritating your theme must be. Go to the gadfly; consider her
+ways and be wise. Buzz, buzz, buzz; sting, sting, sting.
+
+“On his worst nights, always select his relatives for your theme; harp
+upon their faults; their failures in life; their humiliations; the
+unpleasant things people say of them. Then if he waxes irritable,
+express surprise; remind him how he used to talk against these same
+relatives, and how much trouble he gave them when he lived at home; add
+that it’s plain now that he has combined with his relatives against you,
+and that you should be surprised if he and they didn’t effect a
+separation. If he is still in earshot, pass on to what he once told you,
+beginning each remark with:
+
+“You said that——
+
+“And then proceed to point out wherein and howin he has utterly failed
+to make good his promises. Further, if he is still in the house, enlarge
+upon the change you have noted in his conduct toward you—how devoted he
+used to be, and how selfish he has become. Next, tell him how
+well-dressed other women are, and how little you have on.
+
+“By this time, if not sooner, he will remember that he has night work
+clamoring for him at the office, or that his presence at the club is
+absolutely necessary, and it would be well for you to conclude your
+remarks by observing that if he bangs the front door so hard every time
+he goes out, he will loosen the hinges.”
+
+“Well now,” said Mrs. Purblind—the invisible Mrs. Purblind (she always
+would listen to reason, which is more than could be said for the visible
+creature of that name), “well now, I know well enough when I go on that
+way, that it isn’t best to do it; but the Evil One seems to enter me,
+and I get going, and I couldn’t stop unless I bit my tongue off.”
+
+“Bite it then,” I said, “and after that, jump into the lake; were you
+once there, your virtues would float, and your husband would love them;
+but alive, your virtues are beneath water, and your nagging is always on
+top.”
+
+“But what is one to do? Supposing all these things are true—supposing
+you suffer from all these wrongs.”
+
+“Did you ever right a wrong by setting it before your husband in this
+way, and at these times?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“Did you ever improve your condition?”
+
+“No. But what would you do?”
+
+“Shut up. Dip deep into silence. In the first place, when you find you
+have poor material, take extra care in the cooking; study the art; use
+all the skill you can acquire, and finally, if that won’t do, if it
+_positively_ won’t—if you can’t make a decent dish out of him, open the
+kitchen door, and heave him into the ash-barrel, and the ash-man will
+cart him away.”
+
+I have traveled a little in my life, and have been entertained in
+various households. I have seen wives who deserve crowns of laurel, to
+compensate for the crown of thorns they have worn for years; but I have
+seen others, who had thorns about them indeed, but they themselves were
+not on the sharp end. Some of these stupid, ignorant women fancied they
+were doing everything possible to make home pleasant, and wondered at
+their failure. There they sat, prodding their husbands with hat-pins,
+and grieved over the poor wretches’ irritability.
+
+I recall a conversation I once overheard. The husband arrived just at
+dinner time. The wife heard him come in, and called to him in a faint,
+dying voice, from the top of the stairway—
+
+“George, is that you?”
+
+The answer was spiritless.
+
+“Yes.”
+
+The wife came downstairs.
+
+“Well, then, we can have dinner. I don’t know that it’s ready, though;
+Bridget has had a toothache all day, and she’s just good-for-nothing.”
+
+All this in the same faded tone of voice.
+
+The husband passed into the parlor, and began to read the paper.
+
+The weary tongue of his feminine partner wagged on, in a dreary sort of
+way.
+
+“I think these girls are so foolish; they haven’t a bit of pluck. I’ve
+been trying to persuade her to go to the dentist’s and have her teeth
+out, but she won’t. I’m just tired to death to-night, and there’s no
+end to the work; Bridget has been moaning around all day—why her
+teeth——”
+
+“Oh, bother her teeth!”
+
+“Why, don’t you care to hear anything that goes on at home, George?”
+
+“I don’t care to hear about teeth that go on at home; Bridget’s teeth
+especially. I don’t care a rap for the whole set.”
+
+“How cross you are to-night, George! when I’m so tired, too. Johnnie,
+your face is dirty, go and wash it; be quick now, for it’s time for
+dinner. I don’t know that Bridget will ever call us. She’s probably
+sitting out in the kitchen, nursing her teeth; why she has five roots
+there, and all of them so inflamed that——”
+
+“Bother her roots, I say!”
+
+“George, you are extremely irascible, but that’s the way; I get no
+sympathy at all.”
+
+“Not when you want it by the wholesale for Bridget’s roots.”
+
+“Well, what should we talk about? I don’t see how we can ever have
+conversation in the home, if you won’t listen to anything.”
+
+And so they went on—the tired husband, moody and irritable, and the
+tired wife, loquacious about matters of no interest. I felt sorry for
+her who spake, and him who heard.
+
+A husband worn out with the cares and worries of an unsatisfactory
+business day, and a wife harrassed and fretted by overwork and petty
+annoyances, could succeed in talking pleasantly together only by the use
+of will-power and principle. It would require a big effort, but the
+effort would pay. It would be one of the best investments a married pair
+could make. The returns would be quick and large. I wonder more don’t
+deposit in this bank.
+
+
+
+
+                                   V
+
+
+I had not forgotten Mr. Chance. This fact annoyed me excessively, since
+I saw that he had forgotten me. A forgotten man may remember a woman,
+and preserve his self-respect, if not his merriment; but when a
+forgotten woman remembers a man, that is quite another thing. Not that I
+was brooding over Mr. Chance—far from it; I thought very little of him,
+in one way, for I frequently saw him with Miss Sprig; but in spite of
+all that, I could not quite forget the impression he made upon me the
+day those boys killed the gay little squirrel, and again the day the
+poor mother went down into the deep, dark water with her child held
+close to her agonized heart. The feeling I experienced for him on that
+awful day, was unique in my history. I had never been an impressionable
+girl as far as men were concerned—I was not an impressionable woman. For
+me to carry the thought of a man home with me—for me to dwell upon this
+thought, and above all to take pleasure in dwelling upon it, meant more
+than it would have meant for some women. That was as far as the matter
+had gone, but it was far enough—too far, considering his evident
+indifference, and I was humiliated, for the first time in my life, over
+my attitude toward a man. This mortification induced me to treat Mr.
+Chance even more coldly than I should have done ordinarily, though his
+trifling with Miss Sprig would have called forth some coolness of
+conduct under any circumstances.
+
+I had abundant opportunity to express myself in this way, for Mr.
+Chance’s night work necessitated late rising, and I saw him to speak to
+him almost every morning. Indeed, I took some pains to be in my garden
+during the forenoon, and from this vantage ground I could not only see
+much that took place between himself and Miss Sprig, but I also had
+opportunity to speak with him as he passed my house, on his way to the
+train.
+
+Sometimes Miss Sprig walked to the station with him. He evidently
+absorbed much of her time and thought, and she evidently regarded him as
+her latest victim, for she made him a common subject of talk, and her
+entire acquaintance had the pleasure of hearing the foolish things he
+did and said. She always represented him as deeply in love with her; I
+have no doubt she really thought that he was.
+
+For my own part, I cared very little whether he was in love, as it is
+called, or not. If he had succumbed to such a shallow-pated, bold,
+common girl, I felt contempt for him, and this contempt was deepened
+when I realized that he might be trifling with her. In any event it
+mortified and angered me to think he had been seen with me; (he had
+often called upon me and we had been out together several times), and
+that the old neighborhood gossips had coupled our names. Now it would be
+reported that Miss Sprig had cut me out; if I was pleasant toward him,
+they would wag their foolish old heads, and whisper about my efforts to
+win him back; if I was cool, they would shake these same empty pates,
+and prattle about my wounded affections. It was one of those cases where
+you can’t possibly do the right thing—I mean the thing that will silence
+the clacking tongue: consequently, as luck would have it, I plunged into
+the worst possible course I could have taken, for when Mrs. Catlin, who
+lived catacorner from me, and who watched me as a cat watches a mouse,
+said something one day about Mr. Chance’s feeling bound to pay attention
+to Mr. Purblind’s cousin, as long as she was visiting there, and that
+she knew such a girl wasn’t to his taste, and she was sure he would
+come to his senses soon, I was so angry that I lost control of my
+temper, and all control of my wits, and blazed out with:
+
+“It’s none of my business or concern whom he pays attention to, and for
+my part I think they’re well mated.”
+
+Whereupon, realizing I had made a perfect fool of myself, and that this
+speech of mine would go the rounds of the suburb, and I could never
+erase it from the village mind—not if I lived a hundred sensible years,
+I had much ado to withhold myself from seizing a pot of bachelors’
+buttons that stood near, and breaking the whole thing over Mrs. Catlin’s
+idiotic skull.
+
+It was on top of this pleasant interview with Mrs. Catlin, that Mr.
+Chance came over, and asked me to attend a concert that evening with
+himself and Miss Sprig, and he very narrowly avoided receiving the
+bachelors’ buttons that Mrs. Catlin had but just escaped.
+
+I strode indoors, and began packing some of my effects, for I was
+resolved to move that day, or the next. Not because I had discovered I
+had such fools for neighbors—I had always known that—but because I had
+just discovered that they had a fool for a neighbor.
+
+Worldly considerations prevailed with me, and I took out the Penates
+that I had slammed into a trunk, mended their broken noses, and set them
+in place once more; but I hid myself away for several days, much as
+Moses was hidden, but for a less dignified reason.
+
+After a time, I cooled off, and decided to accept the world as it stood,
+and not to rage because the millennium did not come before I was fitted
+to enjoy it.
+
+Mrs. Purblind ran over one afternoon, and I could see that she was far
+from happy. I had noticed for some weeks various changes in the
+direction of improvement, in her care of her husband and household. I
+had also noticed that Mr. Purblind’s conduct did not keep pace with
+these improvements, but I fancied Mrs. Purblind was not sharp enough to
+see or sensitive enough to care. In this it seems I erred, as I have in
+one, or perhaps two, other directions during my life.
+
+As Mrs. Purblind, for the first time since I have known her, didn’t seem
+to care to talk, I took up a book at random, and began reading aloud. As
+luck would have it, I stumbled into some passages descriptive of the
+ideal home, and before I could stumble out again, the poor woman burst
+into tears. I suppose that tender little sentence served as the key that
+unlocked the floodgates. As soon as her grief had spent itself, she
+apologized, and ascribed her tears to bad news in a letter or something,
+and shortly afterward left. I watched her walking down the street, until
+my eyes were too dim to see her. It grieved me sorely that the cause of
+her sorrow was so deep, and so delicate that I could not offer her my
+sympathy. Her tears were piteous to me, and I wanted to take her to my
+heart, and tell her how sorry I was for her; but to do that would have
+been to take advantage of her moment of weakness, and that I could
+not—must not do. So I let her go from me with merely a few commonplace
+expressions of regret that she had received disturbing news, while all
+the time my heart was aching in unison with hers, and I kept her with me
+in thought, all day.
+
+I went down to the lake directly after dinner; several things were
+troubling me, and I wanted to lay my puzzled head on Mother Nature’s
+bosom.
+
+My run down the steep sides of the bluff set the blood to coursing
+smartly through my veins, and a new and more cheerful stream of thought
+to flowing.
+
+I was tired that night, and it was a luxury to lie flat upon my back on
+the beach, listening to the rhythmical thud of the big, long wave at my
+feet, and the song of the stars overhead. There is something unspeakably
+tranquillizing in the studded dome of heaven; there is also something
+unspeakably sad. It bends over the struggling, yearning, aching human
+heart, as a mother, who has attained that peace which is the outgrowth
+of suffering, bends over the passion, the sobbing, and the despair of
+her child.
+
+“Hush, hush, it is all for the best.”
+
+“I cannot—will not bear it!”
+
+“Hush, you know not what you say. God’s hand is in it all.”
+
+“There is no God in this, or if there is, He hates me!”
+
+“Ah, my child, He loves you with unutterable love, and pities with
+unutterable pity. Yet a little while, and the day shall shine upon you;
+then you will know—a little while.”
+
+I turned from the great vault above me, and looked out upon the restive
+waters, and as I turned I saw a shadowy Mrs. Purblind sitting beside me
+on the beach, and questioning with sad eyes and heart, the stars that
+bent to listen.
+
+“I have tried,” she said; her face, usually so thoughtless,
+tear-stained, and quivering.
+
+“Yes, I know you have tried,” I answered; “I have seen that!”
+
+“But he is just the same.”
+
+“Yes, and will be for a long time, and you will have to go on trying for
+years, if you want to carry him back to the old days,” I said.
+
+“That’s one of the hardest things in all the world!” she cried
+passionately, “if we stop doing right—the right stops with us, but if we
+stop doing wrong and begin to do right, the wrong goes on.”
+
+“Not for always,” I said, looking up to the stars.
+
+“Oh, for so long!”
+
+The great dome rich with gems, and deep with peace, bent over her, and
+by and by her sobs ceased.
+
+“You are trying, I know,” I reiterated, “but you don’t understand—you
+can’t, for you have only a woman’s nature.”
+
+“What should I have, pray?”
+
+“A woman’s, and a man’s, and a child’s, to be a perfect wife and mother;
+that is, you must be able to comprehend them all. Your husband came home
+cross to-night.”
+
+“Yes, irritable toward us all, and I so hoped to have everything
+pleasant this evening.”
+
+“He, too, had his hopes to-day, and they were flung to the ground, and
+broken before his eyes.”
+
+“What do you mean?”
+
+“The special agent of a company that he has for a year been working to
+get, has been in town.”
+
+“Yes, I know.”
+
+“Yesterday this agent led him to suppose he was to be the favored one.
+All to-day he has been working toward that end, and near night he heard
+that this man had gone, without even saying good-by. You remember that
+Mr. Purblind left home in a hurry this morning, with scarcely a bite of
+breakfast; he took very little luncheon, and——”
+
+“Well, we had dinner at the usual time, if he’d said he was hungry, I’d
+have hurried it.”
+
+“He was not hungry—he was much more than that. Did you ever see a vessel
+whose fuel is well-nigh exhausted drag herself into port? What is the
+first thing to be done?”
+
+“I don’t know—replenish her?”
+
+“Yes, put coal on board. Now when I saw your husband walk up to his
+front door, I said to myself, he needs coaling. A good home should be a
+good coaling station; remember that.”
+
+“But what of me?” she asked with some impatience, “I, too, have my
+worries and exertions—do I never need coaling?”
+
+“Frequently,” I answered.
+
+“Well, who is to coal me, I should like to know?”
+
+“Yourself.”
+
+“That’s rather one-sided, I think. Why shouldn’t my husband look to
+that?”
+
+“My dear,” I said earnestly, “I never knew but one man who saw when his
+wife needed coaling, and attended to her wants. When he died (for the
+gods loved him), it was found that his shoulder-blades were abnormally
+large—at least so the doctors said, but I knew all the time that his
+wings had budded.”
+
+“Well, this life is too much for me,” murmured Mrs. Purblind drearily.
+
+“Then don’t attempt the next.”
+
+“I shan’t, if I can help it, and yet I’m like to soon, for Mr.
+Purblind’s mother is coming on a visit to us, and I know she’ll worry
+the breath out of me.”
+
+“Don’t let her.”
+
+“How can I help it?”
+
+“By keeping the peace with her.”
+
+“Oh, I’ve tried that before; I’ve done everything I could for her, and
+deferred to her, and ignored myself until I seemed to fade out of
+existence, but it didn’t work.”
+
+“Oh, yes, it did, for it made her ten times as troublesome as before.”
+
+“It certainly did, but what do you mean?”
+
+“I mean that a mother-in-law is like a child, in that she is spoiled by
+having her own way.”
+
+“But what can I do?”
+
+“Walk calmly on, doing the best you can, but recognizing your own
+authority and dignity, and finally she will come to recognize it. Be
+mistress of your own household, and director of your own children—all
+this quietly and pleasantly, but without wavering, and in the end she
+will respect and probably admire you, though she will never think you do
+just right, or are just the woman who ought to have married her son.”
+
+“But I’ve always been in hopes of making her love me as she loves her
+own daughter.”
+
+“That is what every romantic woman starts out with, but by and by, in
+the storm and stress of domestic life, that ideal is cast overboard, as
+a struggling ship throws its extra cargo over the rail.”
+
+“Why is it, I wonder, a man never fights with his father-in-law. Men
+are said to be naturally pugnacious.”
+
+“That’s a mistake, my dear; a man would go several miles any day to
+avoid a fuss; it is we women who delight in scraps. A man occasionally
+has a little set-to with the girl’s father, before he gains his consent
+to the engagement, but once he’s married, it’s the old lady he has to
+train for, or I should say who trains for him, because as a general
+thing it is she who gives battle, not he. The real conflict, however,
+takes place between the two women—the wife and her mother-in-law. If you
+want to see ‘de fur fly,’ as the darkies say, you must always come over
+to the feminine side of the house. Then you’ll have your fill of
+explanations, expostulations, and recriminations.”
+
+“Well, certainly I never had any trouble with my father-in-law.”
+
+“Trouble! Do you know what I’d do, if I had a troublesome
+father-in-law?”
+
+“No—murder him?”
+
+“Murder him, indeed! Woman, have you no mercantile instinct? That would
+be like killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Why, the first
+showman would take the old gentleman off my hands, and pay me a handsome
+price for him. You must know that a troublesome father-in-law is so rare
+that the public would flock to see him. But you couldn’t get anything
+for a troublesome mother-in-law. There are too many families trying to
+get rid of them, at any price. The sale of parents-in-law is governed by
+the same laws as other commodities, and these interfering,
+mischief-making mothers-in-law have become a drug in the market.”
+
+“Well, there is Mrs. Earnest, her mother-in-law is a jewel.”
+
+“Ah, now you mention a most valuable piece of property, for a woman like
+that—who models her conduct on the pattern of Aunt Betsey Trotwood, in
+David Copperfield’s household, is a jewel of such magnitude and
+brilliancy, that she will some day be seen sparkling in Abraham’s bosom,
+from a distance of millions of miles.”
+
+“Well, how would you cook mothers-in-law?”
+
+“Make a delicious dish of your husband and then take a pinch—a good
+pinch—of mother-in-law, and throw her in as ‘sass.’ Speaking of this,
+remember that too many cooks spoil the broth, and wife and mother-in-law
+combined generally make a pretty mess of the husband.”
+
+
+
+
+                                  VI
+
+
+I was feeling a trifle dull and heavy one afternoon, and after several
+vain efforts to do good work, decided that a vigorous tramp would set my
+blood to flowing, and the wheels of my thinking mill to revolving. So
+out I started toward the lake, as usual. There had been a storm off the
+Michigan shore, and we were just beginning to get evidence of it, in the
+big waves that were tumbling on the beach, I like the lake in this
+mood—in any mood, indeed, but especially when it is rough and wild.
+
+After quite a brisk tramp along, or near the beach, I turned back; but
+before going home again, I wished to come in closer contact with the
+tumultuous waters. At risk of being wet by the spray, which the waves
+were tossing on high, much as an excited horse tosses the foam from his
+chafing mouth, I climbed around the little bathing house, set on the
+shore end of the pier, and then boldly walked out, and took my seat in
+the midst of the tumult.
+
+The passion of the lake was magnificent; far out—as far as eye could
+stretch—there were oncoming waves; the clan was gathering, and all in
+battle array. What an overwhelming charge they made! Surely no one could
+resist that onslaught. There was no deliberation, as was usual with a
+moderately heavy sea; no calm, inevitable heaving of the water; no
+steady rising, ever higher and higher, until it crested, curved, and
+fell with a boom. There was nothing of this to-day; no preparation;
+everything was ready; the warriors, armed and mounted, were already
+making the attack.
+
+For a time I gloried in it all; even the anger of the waves was more
+admirable than terrific in my sight. It seemed as though they
+interpreted my boldness as defiance, and accepted the challenge. From
+near, from far, they were coming, and all upon me, or if that is taking
+too much to myself, they were making their attack upon the shore,
+meaning to claim it for their own, and incidentally to sweep me, a poor,
+insignificant atom, from their sight.
+
+By and by I found myself oppressed with the desolation of the scene. As
+the day waned, and the chill that foreshadows night fell upon me, or
+rather rose upon me, from the cold waters, I began to feel lonely and
+unprotected. The waves looked so hungry, so cruel; they reached out and
+up toward me; they encircled with the inevitable, as with a relentless
+fate. I began to be afraid of them, and I rose to go back to shore.
+
+Unlike the ocean, the lake is fixed; but that day the increase of the
+waves, in height and fury, had the effect of a rising tide. I realized
+that it would be very difficult for me to get off the pier alone, and I
+was more than relieved to see Randolph Chance, who had come down for a
+look at the lake before taking his train to the city. He joined me
+without trouble; a man can perform those feats so easily, whereas a
+woman is physically hampered.
+
+“You’re in rather a bleak place, Miss Leigh,” he said.
+
+“Yes, I have just begun to realize that.”
+
+“Oh, well, we’ll manage to get off safely; but you mustn’t mind a little
+wetting. Just give yourself to me, and we’ll be on shore in a minute.”
+
+I gladly did as he bade me; it was luxury just then to have some one as
+strong and capable as he take the reins. He led me around the bathing
+house, and then lifted me from the pier. As he set me safely on the
+shore, his eyes met mine, and his look was a revelation to me. I was,
+for a moment, too startled to think, and the strangest sensation I ever
+experienced crept over me. If a look could speak, Randolph Chance—but I
+did not put it into words—not then, at least, but it was all very
+strange to me—most inexplicable.
+
+We walked on quietly, both, I dare say, feeling our silence to be a
+trifle awkward. It was for this reason that I decided to shorten the
+time of our being together, by stopping at the house of a friend. The
+wetting I had received from the waves did not amount to anything for one
+so hardy as myself, so I was not deterred on that account.
+
+The house where I stopped was a pleasant resort for me. Both Mr. and
+Mrs. Bachelor were interesting people. I had known Mr. Bachelor for
+fifteen years. He had once been one of our young men, as the saying is,
+young merely in the sense of being single, not in actual years, for at
+the time I met him he was nearer the forty than the thirty line. Nature
+seemed to have marked him for single—cussedness, I had almost said,
+from the first. He was no favorite with any set, being grumpy, fussy,
+and peculiar. But five years after he rose into sight above my horizon
+he married a most sensible, lovely woman; not a child, by the way, for
+she was almost forty; and in less than no time, it seemed to us, had a
+family of four children about him, one following the other so closely
+that the predecessor was all but overtaken. At first we said among
+ourselves that he must have borrowed these infants, and stuck them up in
+his home for appearance’s sake, in some such manner as the proprietor of
+a summer hotel once stuck a number of trees in his grounds, to make a
+sandy, barren spot seem fertile and enticing. But by and by we became
+convinced that these little human shoots were his very own, not alone
+because they evinced some disagreeable crotchets similar to his, but
+also because of the love he bore them, and the change they wrought in
+his character and life. Even around court the man was regarded
+differently; warmth and esteem being extended him now in place of the
+dislike he had formerly aroused. He had never ceased to be a study to
+me, and a certain flavor of romance hung about his home—a delightful
+flavor, that made it an attractive visiting spot. So it was with
+considerable pleasure that I called upon this particular day.
+
+I was shown into the parlor—a comfortable room, back of which was a most
+home-like apartment, called the study. As I sat there, awaiting Mrs.
+Bachelor’s coming, I noticed that her husband’s desk, which stood in the
+center of the study, was strewn with dolls, and paraphernalia closely
+related thereto. My observations were interrupted by the entrance of
+Mrs. Bachelor, who welcomed me in her cordial, cheery way. A minute
+later Mr. Bachelor came in, and gave me what was for him, a most
+friendly greeting. He excused himself in a little while, and went into
+his study. He had, so his wife explained, been ill with a cold for a
+day or two, and had been working at home the while, to make ready for
+the approaching trial of an important case.
+
+Upon his entering the study, a scene occurred which I shall endeavor to
+give you as near to the life as possible. As a matter of course he
+steered directly for his desk, and his eye immediately fell upon a
+quantity of grandchildren, variously disposed thereon.
+
+“Well, I declare!” he exclaimed; “if this isn’t outrageous!” and he
+gathered up the whole crop—there were fully a dozen dolls, in all stages
+of development, and much doll furniture, and toggery of all kinds.
+
+After dumping the obnoxious elements on to a divan, he returned to his
+desk, and with much grumbling sorted out his law-papers, and went to
+work. But soon after he had cleared his visage, as it were, his small
+daughter—a pretty child, four years old—ran into the room hugging two
+puggy puppies, and two kittens of tender age. It did not take her long
+to grasp the situation. Running to the divan, she uttered a series of
+cries, indicative both of alarm and displeasure.
+
+“What—what—what is the matter?” said Mr. Bachelor, who had probably
+forgotten his offense by this time.
+
+“You naughty papa!” cried the child; “what did you disturve my dollies
+for?”
+
+“What did you put them on my desk for?” queried her father indignantly;
+“the idea! I haven’t a spot on earth I can call my own.”
+
+“You’ve just mussed their best frocks all up,” continued the child, who,
+without paying the slightest attention to her father’s vigorous protest,
+was rapidly replacing her family, puppies, kittens, and all, on the
+desk.
+
+“I tell you I can’t have them here! I have important papers around, and
+I must be allowed to work in peace. Take them off!”
+
+He started to sweep them on to the floor, but the little girl uttered a
+shriek.
+
+“Papa, papa, don’t,” she screamed. Then, as he desisted, she added,
+“They’ve just _dot_ to be here—it’s the bestest, highest table, and the
+little doggies and kitties can’t jump off, and I’m doing to have a
+tea-party with Mamie Williams. You must put your nasty old papers
+somewhere else.”
+
+“This is an outrage!” he exclaimed, standing up and declaiming as if he
+were in court; “this is imposition run riot; it has reached a climax,
+and I’ll endure it no longer. Evidently I have no rights that even the
+smallest and youngest in the household is bound to respect. It is a
+notorious fact that I am ruled with a rod of iron, and that even this
+baby of the family flouts me. I say I will stand it no longer. I have
+been held with a tight rein, and a curb bit, but I will turn at last.”
+
+In his excitement, his metaphors became confused, horses and worms
+being all mixed up in a heap.
+
+“Take the desk, take the whole of it, and to-morrow I shall leave the
+house! I shall go back to my bachelor quarters, where I once lived in
+peace.”
+
+The child regarded him seriously, from out her great, brown eyes.
+
+“Don’t go away, papa,” she said at last, “you may have a little of your
+desk, if you won’t take too much. I didn’t mean to be cross at you,” she
+added, with a pathetic quiver of her lip.
+
+“Well, well!” exclaimed the father hastily, “there, there!” and he laid
+his hand softly on her curly little head, “I guess we’ll get on somehow;
+if I can have a part of the desk, that’ll answer. It’s big enough for
+two, I guess.”
+
+And he began moving his papers around.
+
+“Not there, papa,” said the little tyrant; “no, that’s the sunny side,
+and little bowwow must be there, ’cause he’s dot the badest cold, and
+the kitties haven’t dot but little weeny eyes yet, and they _must_ be
+where it’s most lightest.”
+
+“Well, well, well, where _may_ I sit? I must get to work.”
+
+“You may sit right there, and you mustn’t fiddet, ’cause you’ll upset
+dolly’s crib, if you do.”
+
+Soon he was safely bestowed, off on one side, and as he obediently kept
+to his limitations, all proceeded happily.
+
+During this domestic scrimmage, Mrs. Bachelor went on chatting in her
+lively, pleasant fashion with me, never betraying, in any way, that she
+overheard the scene in the study. I was so occupied with it, that I
+could pay no heed to her remarks; but she was a wise woman, and knew
+that her husband was being cooked to a delicious turn, and that any
+interference on her part, would spoil the dish. I have since learned
+that occasionally, when she sees that the fire is really too hot for
+him, she comes to his rescue.
+
+“If he sputters and fizzes, don’t be anxious; some husbands do this
+till they are quite done.”
+
+Evidently Mrs. Bachelor has studied her cook-book.
+
+
+
+
+                                  VII
+
+
+The little touch of sentiment that flashed, as it were, from Randolph
+Chance as he lifted me off the pier, was presently blotted, as far as
+effect upon me was concerned, by the return of Miss Sprig to the
+Purblind household, and the renewal of his attentions to her. At least I
+regarded them as renewed, and I coldly turned my back upon him, and let
+him go his way, without further thought or speculation.
+
+I was daily becoming more interested in another acquaintance—Mr.
+Gregory, a man of years, whom I had known for some time. He had been a
+visitor at our house when my parents were living, and had, from time to
+time, shown me friendly attentions since their death. He frequently
+invited me to places of entertainment, something Randolph Chance seldom
+did, and in many ways contributed to my comfort and happiness. Single
+women are very dependent upon their men friends for pleasures of this
+sort; few of them care to go out at night alone, and even when they go
+in company with each other, the occasion lacks a zest which belongs to
+it when a woman has an escort. It is strange that many men—many of those
+who believe in the dependence of women, fall into the selfish habit of
+going alone to theater, concert, and lecture, and so force the women of
+their acquaintance into a position which their sentiments would seem to
+deprecate.
+
+While in no way obtrusive, or gushing in his attentions, Mr. Gregory was
+most thoughtful and kind, and few women are without appreciation of
+conduct of this type.
+
+Life flowed on with me with a quiet current. I was not a woman to make
+scenes with myself or others, and my circumstances were such as to
+permit of an undisturbed tenor of way.
+
+One bright afternoon, just as I returned from a long walk, Mrs. Purblind
+ran over to see me, and soon afterward, Mrs. Cynic dropped in. I never
+could bear this latter woman; something malevolent seems to emanate from
+her; something that is more or less unhealthful to the moral nature of
+all who come in contact with it, just as the miasma from a swamp is
+poisonous to the physical being.
+
+It chanced that I had just finished writing a little story, drawn from
+the life-page of my domestic experience; it was so endeared to my memory
+that I was not like to forget it, and yet, in the course of years, its
+outlines would probably fade a trifle if I did not take care to preserve
+their distinctness; for that reason I had written it out.
+
+I ought to have had better sense than to read anything of this kind to
+Mrs. Cynic. In the presence of such people, that which is fresh,
+beautiful, and holy withers, as a cluster of dewy wild flowers is
+parched and killed by the hot, sterile breath of a furnace.
+
+Usually I have some judgment in such matters, but that day all
+discretion seemed to take wings.
+
+A remark of Mrs. Purblind’s led up to the subject. This little woman can
+say ugly things at times, but they are stung out of her, as it were, by
+some particular hurt, and are not the expression of her real nature. She
+has a kind, good heart, though her judgment and tact are somewhat
+lacking.
+
+We happened to be speaking of men, and something was said about their
+capacity for devotion, when Mrs. Purblind exclaimed:
+
+“Devotion! the masculine nature doesn’t know the meaning of the word,
+unless it is devotion to self.”
+
+“I must read you a little story I’ve written to-day. It’s a true one,
+remember—I think I shall call it, ‘Devotion’.”
+
+I went to my desk, took out the manuscript, and read as follows:
+
+“A few years ago I owned a pair of foxhounds. Duke was the gentleman of
+the family, and Lady was his consort, and a lady she was indeed. I can
+hardly imagine a human creature of greater intelligence and refinement
+than this dumb beast. The attachment between herself and Duke was unique
+in its strength, and in its demonstration. He was fully as noble and as
+intelligent as she, but of a less lively, cheerful temperament. The
+arrival of six little Dukes was an occasion of anxiety and excitement
+for us all, and we were much relieved when the event was safely over,
+and we saw Lady and her beautiful family established in peace and
+comfort. Matters had run smoothly for about four or five weeks, when one
+day I was startled by a series of sharp yelps, which I knew came from
+Lady. I ran to the window, and saw the poor creature rolling in the
+middle of the street, in the greatest pain. By her side was Duke, and
+his outcries mingled with hers. The hard-hearted teamster, whose wagon
+had done the mischief, had driven off, but I ran to the rescue, and
+finally got her into the stable, where her little ones were awaiting
+her. She only lived a few hours, and her last act was an effort to nurse
+her clamorous doggies, while with her great, sad eyes she seemed to say
+good-by to Duke! The grief of this noble fellow was so great that we
+thought he would go mad. For a time he refused to let us come near her.
+He stood over her, licking her senseless form, pushing her gently once
+in a while with his head and paws, and then uttering lamentable cries
+when he saw that she did not move, or in any way respond; and meanwhile
+the tiny dogs were crawling over her, and mingling their voices with
+their father’s deep notes of distress. It was a most pitiable sight,
+and we all breathed a sigh of relief when the dear old fellow permitted
+us to lead him off into the house, and we had an opportunity to dispose
+of poor Lady. I’ll not try to tell of Duke’s excitement and distress
+when he missed her; of his frantic search all over the place, and of how
+we followed him about, and talked to him, and tried to divert him; or
+how we all—Duke, and the rest of us, finally sat down in the stable,
+beside the motherless little family, and wept together.
+
+“The morning after Lady died, I went out to the stable with a cup of
+warm milk. I had not been able to do anything with the puggy little dogs
+the evening before, but I thought that their sharp hunger, after several
+hours of abstinence, would lead them to make an effort to drink. I
+carried a spoon with me, also a rag to suck, and a bottle, with a
+nipple—all kinds of appliances, in fact.
+
+“What was my surprise upon entering the stable, to find Duke occupying
+Lady’s place. He was evidently trying to answer the small dogs’
+clamorous demand for breakfast, and it was also plain that his failure
+in this respect amazed and bewildered him. He lay down just as he had
+seen Lady do, and when this did not suffice he tried another position;
+failing again, he withdrew a few paces, and sat for a moment in an
+attitude of profound thought; returning soon, and trying another device.
+This resulting unfavorably, he made still another, and then another
+attempt, and finally, grieved to the heart, and worried by the hungry
+cries of the small dogs, he withdrew once more, and lifting his nose
+high in air, deliberately yowled.
+
+“At this point I obtruded myself upon the scene and went up to the dear
+old dog, took his distressed head in my arms, and talked to him. I
+explained to him the difficulty of the situation; how, owing to
+circumstances quite beyond his control, he could not take Lady’s place.
+I urged upon him that he must yield gracefully to his limitations;
+showed him my appliances, and then when I had soothed and interested
+him, and he had consented to desist, and let me try, I made my essay.
+
+“It was a study for an artist—my appealing, pitying, impatient, scolding
+efforts to induce those unreasonable little creatures to accept a rag,
+or a bottle in place of a mother. I shouldn’t have cared so much, that
+is, I could have taken longer without minding it, had it not been for
+Duke. His anxiety was so great, and his distress over their cries so
+keen, that I was quite unnerved, and as is often the case, I showed my
+concern by scolding and abusing the objects in whose behalf I was
+exerting myself.
+
+“I was all but ready to give up, when one of the smallest and liveliest
+of the puppies (a feminine creature, of course) suddenly seized upon the
+nipple of the bottle with a lusty grip, and sucked away till she was all
+but strangled with milk. Her example was speedily followed by the
+others, but before I had gone the rounds Duke comprehended that our
+trials were ended, and then—well, the dignified, sad-faced old doggie
+took leave of his wits, temporarily, as well as his dignity. He capered,
+he rolled on the ground, he barked, he bayed, he played leap-frog over
+my head, did everything but stand on end, and very nearly that, in his
+joy.
+
+“From that time on he never failed to be present when his infants were
+fed, and when I weaned them, and taught them to drink, he was an
+interested spectator; helpful too, for one time when a small dog was
+obdurate, he took him by the nape of the neck, and shook him thoroughly,
+before turning him over to me for another trial. On another occasion,
+the pig of the family drank too deep, as it were, from the flowing bowl,
+and might have been drowned had it not been for his watchful parent.
+Duke noticed that the small fore-quarters were plunged into the liquid
+dinner; he also observed that the hind quarters were slowly rising in
+midair. He watched all this, with his accustomed, kindly gravity, until
+the equilibrium was lost, and Master Pup plunged into the pearly sea.
+Then the startled father leaped to his feet, snatched his offspring from
+a milky grave, and laid him, sneezing and choking, sadder and wiser, on
+the sunny grass-plat to dry.
+
+“In due time Duke recovered, in a measure, from his grief over Lady’s
+death, and took unto himself another partner. As is usual in the case of
+widowers, his second choice was injudicious, for Fanchon was a giddy,
+young thing, that didn’t have sense enough to come in out of the rain.
+
+“But Duke saw no defects; he was all tenderness and attention.
+
+“It was early winter, but the weather was intensely cold, and we had
+taken Duke and Fanchon in from the stable, and had housed them
+comfortably in the cellar.
+
+“One night I was wakened out of a sound sleep by cries of distress. I
+called my sister and her husband, who were visiting me, and in various
+costumes, all hands went below. Fanchon was running about, crying and
+moaning, and Duke was alternately making frantic efforts to soothe her,
+and kiyiying in a manner that was fearful to hear. We succeeded at last
+in getting Fanchon to heed us, and coaxed her to settle down in a
+comfortable bed we made for her on the far side of the cellar, where she
+would have the benefit of the warmth from the furnace, and would be out
+of the way of the cold air which came in through a window, broken the
+day before.
+
+“As soon as she was pacified, Duke was again happy, and he cheerfully
+lay down to rest. We retired to our rooms, and being very weary, with
+much sightseeing during the day, dropped into a sound sleep. The next
+morning I hurried down into the cellar, wondering whether I should see
+two dogs, or a dozen. To my surprise and dismay, I saw none at all. The
+cellar was silent and deserted. I opened the outer door, and with a
+failing heart, stepped into the clear, bitter cold of a temperature
+something like fifteen degrees below zero. Just around the corner of the
+house, in a nook slightly sheltered from the biting air, I came upon the
+family. Fanchon lay upon the ground, the snow carefully pushed up around
+her, and her clinging little ones, who were taking their breakfast. Over
+all—Fanchon and her puppies—covering them with his faithful
+body—shielding them with his never-failing love and devotion, was my
+noble hound—as noble, as faithful a dog, as ever man or woman loved. I
+called to him, and rubbed him, but all in vain, and meanwhile stupid,
+silly Fanchon, that had foolishly left her warm bed in the cellar,
+looked on with cheerful indifference, and wagged her tail.”
+
+“Well,” said Mrs. Cynic, when I had concluded the reading, “that story
+seems to me to prove but one thing.”
+
+“And what is that, pray?” I asked, realizing I had been foolish to read
+such a tale to such an auditor.
+
+“Why, the truth of Madame de Staël’s remark: ‘The more I see of men, the
+more I admire dogs.’”
+
+That hateful woman! She always leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I
+know she springs from some corrupt ancestry. She has all the marks of
+inward decay upon her.
+
+When she had gone, Mrs. Purblind and I breathed more freely.
+
+“She doesn’t believe in anything good,” said Mrs. Purblind.
+
+“No,” I answered in a tone of disgust, “she has nothing within her to
+answer to it.”
+
+“How different she is from Mrs. Earnest,” continued Mrs. Purblind; “why,
+you can hardly convince that woman that anyone is really mean, and
+goodness knows she has trouble enough to make her bitter. What a husband
+she’s got! That man makes me so mad! He’s ugly from sheer badness.”
+
+I thought for a moment, and then I assented. I really do believe that
+man is ugly without cause. He and his wife live at some distance from
+us, and I’ve often visited them. I should like to give you a scene to
+which I was witness one evening when I was a trifle ill, and lay on a
+divan just out of their dining room.
+
+Mrs. Earnest is like a delicate flower that lifts its pretty face and
+smiles in the sunlight of love, but is bowed and broken ’neath the
+thunder-cloud and storm. She longs to make her home attractive, but her
+husband has no sympathy with this desire; to him home is merely the
+place where he finds food and lodging, and a safety valve for such moods
+and tempers as he is obliged to keep under control in the business
+world.
+
+The efforts that this poor little wife makes, in her timid way, to start
+up pleasant subjects of conversation would move a rock to tears.
+
+This is the scene, as I recall it—a specimen scene.
+
+The family—husband, wife, and three little children were at dinner, as I
+said.
+
+“What’s been happening to-day? anything of interest?” asked the little
+wife.
+
+“Not that I know of,” was the gruff reply.
+
+Silence, broken by the occasional sound of eating implements, ensued.
+
+“Pass the bread, will you?” he said in a short tone, directly.
+
+“See how you like this bread; we are trying the entire wheat flour. I
+think it’s very nice tasting, and they claim it’s rich in nutrition.
+It’s warranted to make blood, bone, and muscle—brain, too, I believe.
+I’m going to eat several pounds a day; I may astonish the world yet.”
+
+This feeble joke was received in stolid silence, and the poor little
+wife crept into her shell.
+
+After a time she peeped out again, and made another effort.
+
+“I went to the womans’ club this afternoon; Mrs. Pierson invited me.
+They had a very interesting meeting; they brought up the subject of
+smoke consumers. I never realized before how much property is ruined
+yearly by the smoke. It does seem as if manufacturers ought to use
+consumers.”
+
+At this point Bruin openly yawned, and the little wife again retired.
+But with astonishing elasticity of courage she issued from her shell
+once more, this time with the hope that a more masculine theme would
+meet with some response.
+
+“They brought a petition around here to-day for us to sign. It seems
+there is some talk of flooring the reservoir and using it as a beer
+garden this coming summer, and the neighborhood has been called upon to
+protest against it.”
+
+“I know all about that,” he growled.
+
+“Have you signed it?”
+
+“I have.”
+
+Again silence fell as a wet cloak upon them, and the little woman sat
+there racking her brains, almost depleted by this time, for the
+atmosphere which such a man as that creates is warranted to dry up all
+the intellectual juices.
+
+One more despairing effort. The children had now left the table, so
+anecdotes of them were in order. Probably the poor little wife thought
+that this man could be wakened into attention by a story about one of
+his children.
+
+“Mamie asked me where cats went to when they died. ‘They don’t go
+anywhere,’ I said; ‘when they die, that’s the end of them.’
+
+“‘Do they turn to dust?’ she asked.
+
+“‘Yes, just turn to dust,’ I said.
+
+“‘Why, then,’ she exclaimed, and her eyes grew as big as saucers, ‘when
+horses run ’long the streets, are they kicking up cats?’”
+
+All the man said was, “Umph,” and the little wife’s peal of merry
+laughter was checked, and the ha ha’s grew fainter and spread farther
+and farther apart, until they died away altogether, and I felt like
+charging upon that burly, surly demon, and butting him out of the
+window.
+
+“How would you serve such a man, if you were his wife?” asked Mrs.
+Purblind.
+
+“_Roasted!_”
+
+
+
+
+                                 VIII
+
+
+Mr. Gregory’s attentions had become an accepted fact in my life. They
+were dignified and steadfast, and I received them with a certain calm
+pleasure. They had not, as yet, reached the point of declaration, but it
+was clear to me, and to everyone else, who knew anything about the
+matter, that they were tending thither, and my own thought had reached
+the point of acceptance. I had the greatest respect for him as a man; we
+were congenial in our tastes, and personally agreeable to one another.
+The position he had to offer me was a most dignified, desirable one, as
+he was not only a man of sterling integrity, but also a man of wealth;
+there was, in short, everything in favor of the alliance, and I looked
+upon it quietly, but with a sense of substantial, and steadfast comfort.
+
+Such an event as a marriage cannot even in prospect, face a thoughtful
+woman without making a great change in her life. Mr. Gregory was that
+type of man who ought not to be allowed to offer himself in a direction
+where there was no intention of acceptance, for his character and age—he
+was fifty or more—forbade all thought of lightness or trifling, and gave
+one the assurance that any marked attention he might show, was
+significant. My acquaintance with him had extended over several years,
+and during this period there had been abundant opportunity, on both
+sides, for study of character.
+
+In a quiet way, I had been arranging my affairs, preparatory to my
+expected change in manner of life. I had, as a matter of course, done
+considerable thinking during this time. I had experienced none of the
+rapture always associated with a romantic attachment, but I was quietly
+happy, and this condition was a far more natural one for me, with my
+cool, matter-of-fact temperament—a far more promising one, in respect to
+future enjoyment, I felt, than something more ecstatic.
+
+I had seen but little of Mr. Chance for some weeks. He had called
+several times, but on each of these occasions, we had passed a somewhat
+constrained, and I thought, a rather dull evening. Just why this
+constraint should have crept into our intercourse when we seemed to be
+coming to a better understanding than heretofore, and were beginning to
+enjoy a warmer degree of friendship than we had known, I could not
+understand; but its presence was undeniable, and it spoiled everything
+for me, as far as he was concerned, causing me to look upon his calls in
+the light of a bore, rather than as a pleasure, as I once had done.
+Occasionally a memory of that evening when he came to my rescue, as the
+hungry, cruel waves gathered like wolves about me, would flit across my
+mind, as a shadow may flit across a sunlit hill. Once in a long while I
+found myself dwelling upon the look he gave me that night, and this, and
+the memory of his touch, as he lifted me off the pier, would dim the
+sunshine of my cheerfulness. I could not have explained this to myself,
+and I never dwelt upon the thought; whether from disinclination, or from
+fear, I could not tell. I only knew that I always turned from it
+abruptly, and passed on to my plans affecting my life with Mr. Gregory.
+It was quite easy to plan in this direction, for there was nothing
+uncertain, as there might have been in the case of a younger man. Mr.
+Gregory was fixed in his tastes, and way of life; I, too, at my age, had
+formed settled habits, and this he knew; but, fortunately, in most
+directions, we were in harmony, and where we were not, we had fallen
+into a way of making certain concessions.
+
+So I had matters pretty well laid out; all my theories, born of years
+of close observation of affairs domestic, were now brought to bear on my
+own future. Secretly I esteemed myself a competent cook, when a husband
+was the dish under discussion. Mr. Gregory was not one to require any
+very complicated wisdom in the culinary art. A little gentle stewing; no
+strong seasoning; no violent changes or methods of any sort; but
+regularity, evenness; quiet affection; respect; comfort, and general
+conformance to taste and nature would be necessary, and I felt myself
+fully equal to it all.
+
+Matters had well-nigh culminated, for I had received a note from Mr.
+Gregory asking when I would be at home to him, and saying that he had a
+matter of great moment to both of us, to lay before me. I set an
+evening, and then awaited his coming without the slightest quickening of
+my pulse, but with a serenity and cheerfulness that appealed to my
+common sense as the surest forecast of happiness.
+
+Just at this juncture, a swift turn of the wind-cock, or some
+imprudence of diet, resulted in my taking cold—a most unusual procedure
+for me, and at the time of Mr. Gregory’s call I was unable to see him,
+being confined to my bed, in the care of a doctor, who was fighting a
+case of threatened pneumonia.
+
+Mr. Gregory expressed his sincere regret, and the next day called again,
+and left flowers. These attentions were repeated daily, and soon after
+hearing of my improvement, he wrote me a letter in which he said that
+which he had intended to say on the evening of the day I fell ill. He
+did not request a reply; in fact, he asked me to withhold my answer
+until I should be able to see him in person. It would have been wiser,
+perhaps, he said, to have postponed any word on the subject until I had
+recovered, but he had found it difficult to delay the expression of his
+feeling toward me, and hence had written.
+
+This last rather surprised me, for Mr. Gregory had always seemed so
+unlikely to be swayed by impulse, or carried, in the slightest degree,
+beyond a point indicated by his judgment. It simply went to prove that
+the most regularly and smoothly laid-out man, if one may so express it,
+has unsuspected crooks and turns.
+
+I had no desire to answer the letter, being perfectly able and willing
+to wait until I should see him. In fact, instead of hastening the time
+for my acceptance, I rather delayed it, for I reached a point in my
+convalescence, when I was able to go down to the parlor, had I so
+wished, and still did not.
+
+Each day of my illness, a lovely bouquet of flowers had been left at my
+door. They came direct from the greenhouse, and were left without card,
+or sign of the giver. I had an eccentric little friend who was quite
+devoted to me, and was fond of keeping her left hand in darkest
+ignorance of the performances of its counterpart—the right hand—and I
+attributed this delicate and beautiful token of sympathy and affection
+to her; but, for some inexplicable reason, every morning when the
+flowers were brought to my room, and I took them in my hand, a strange
+feeling came over me—a feeling I had never had toward my little friend.
+
+Over two weeks had passed, and I was downstairs in the study. My nurse
+had gone out, my housekeeper was busy, and I was very lonely. I was
+standing at the window, looking westward. The sun had gone down in regal
+splendor. Some fête was in progression in the sky, for the attendants of
+the god of day were resplendent in attire. They had been marshalled from
+all quarters of the heavens, and their stately and solemn procession,
+brilliant with the most gorgeous red, royal purple, and dazzling gold,
+had caused my heart to dilate with awe and reverential admiration.
+
+The lake, stirred by the wonderful pageant, caught the many hues as they
+dropped from heaven, and tossed them on high in joyous, iridescent
+waves.
+
+The climax of majesty and beauty was reached, and then the convocation
+broke up—not suddenly, but slowly, and with gracious dignity. The sun
+sank into the waiting arms of the unknown; the lights of heaven faded,
+and the clouds slowly melted into dusk.
+
+The scene had stirred me as I am seldom stirred, and with the oncoming
+of night new thoughts and feelings rose from their lair, as strange and
+beautiful wild animals step from their caves into the deep mystery of
+darkness.
+
+My neighbor next door—Mrs. Thrush, sat on her broad, vine-clad gallery,
+rocking her little child in her arms. By her side sat her husband, with
+one arm thrown across her lap. He had laid his paper down, for the
+daylight was fading, and perhaps his thought was too happy to stoop to
+daily news. Softly the little wife and mother sang; she had a sweet home
+voice, and no music of orchestra ever moved me as did her lullaby.
+
+I was at that moment an intensely lonely woman. I thought of Mr.
+Gregory and my future, and still I was lonely.
+
+Far away to the east there was a low, long bank of clouds like a
+mountain range, and as the poetry and melody of the lullaby rose from
+the little nest on my left, and stole into my thought, I saw a faint
+light above this line; then a group of mist-like clouds that moved
+toward me. Slowly the gray haze, tinged with soft light, began to
+resolve itself into shadowy forms, and my heart stood still as, in some
+vague way, I traced a connection between the lullaby and the vision, and
+realized that a message was coming to me.
+
+I was perfectly calm, but with the calmness which is the outgrowth of an
+excitement so tense that it is still. As the vision floated nearer, I
+heard soft music—a crooning, yearning, soul-satisfying lullaby; I saw a
+little child, a mother, and a father. The child was as beautiful as an
+angel, and there was that in its face which made my eyes flood with
+tears, and my heart ache with yearning; the faces of the parents were
+too vague for me to recognize at first; then slowly, that of the mother
+became more distinct, and I saw _myself_ before me—myself, a wife and
+mother; the visible answer to my heart’s deepest, most secret cry. Still
+the father’s face was hidden, but as the vision floated by, he turned
+and looked at me—the vision wife—with a look I had seen before, and I
+uttered a cry as I recognized _Randolph Chance_.
+
+
+
+
+                                  IX
+
+
+As I cried out, I turned slightly and, for a moment, lost the picture.
+It was changed when again I saw it; Randolph Chance was still there, but
+he no longer advanced toward the vision wife—she had faded into mist; he
+came slowly toward me. There was a beautiful look on his face—I cannot
+describe it—it was too holy to translate into language; but I could feel
+it vibrate through my being until it set my very soul a-quivering. I had
+no power of resistance—no wish to resist. I almost think I went toward
+him, and he was as real to me as if he were in the flesh. I could feel
+him as he put his arm around my waist, and his face touched mine. The
+vision child had melted away; and we two were alone; I knew my heart
+then; I knew I loved this man.
+
+It was all over in a few moments, but such moments as make an eternity,
+for they wipe out the past, even as death blots out a life, and they
+open a door to the future. Up to that time I had never thought that,
+without my knowledge or intent, my heart could slip from me—had never
+dreamed that I, whose life had always been most commonplace—I, who had
+had my share of wooing, but had never felt an extra heart-beat because
+of it—no, never dreamed that I, this _I_, so practical and sensible,
+could be carried off my feet by a vision. A vision, was it? Yes, and yet
+real, too real in some ways, since it revealed my innermost thought. A
+vision! And yet, even now that it had melted into air, I was clinging to
+it, and instead of resenting its startling revelation of self, was
+dwelling upon it, and in it, with a delight beyond words.
+
+I sat there in my study, my head bent, and my hands loosely clasped in
+my lap, living it over and over again. Out of doors, the soft gray dusk
+had hushed the tired world in its arms. Within, the stillness of night
+had settled down upon the room. By and by the moon rose above the great
+waters of the lake, and on shore the trees were casting silent, solemn
+shadows, made visible by the soft, hazy light that lay between them.
+Once in a while a bird uttered its night cry, or some little brooding
+note, and over on the vine-clad gallery, Mrs. Thrush still crooned a
+lullaby to her little child, who lay asleep—soft and warm, on her
+mother-breast.
+
+I was no longer lonely, no longer shut out from it all—there was the
+bird on its nest; the little wife and mother in her home; and I—I was
+very near them—akin to them. I had seen myself in _my_ home, with my
+child, and my husband; I had felt his dear arms about me, and his dear
+face close to mine. I was no longer an alien. I, too, had a place in
+the heart of another.
+
+Still I sat and dreamed, and even the ringing of my door-bell failed to
+rouse me: but when I heard the maid say to someone:
+
+“She has been downstairs to-night, but I think she has gone up now, and
+I don’t like to call her.”
+
+I started forward, saying quickly:
+
+“No, I am here—I will see any one.”
+
+And so he came in, but it was not the one I expected. It was Mr.
+Gregory.
+
+I think that he found my embarrassment on greeting him both gratifying
+and encouraging, but its cause was alien to his thought. I was brought
+back from another world, as it were, with a rude shock, and in my
+enfeebled condition, consequent upon a severe illness could not control
+myself. Indeed I did not feel that I was mistress of myself at any time
+during the evening.
+
+After a word or two, which I cannot recall, I stammered out:
+
+“I was not expecting you this evening—I had not sent for you.”
+
+“I know that you have not,” he answered—then dropping his voice a
+trifle, he added, “I could not wait any longer—I found it difficult to
+wait so long as this. I hardly dared hope that I might see you this
+evening, but I felt I must try.”
+
+Intent upon sparing him the pain of a spoken declaration, I exclaimed:
+
+“Oh, Mr. Gregory, don’t! please don’t say anything more. I am not
+deserving of your esteem and kindness.”
+
+He came nearer me, and his voice was at once tender and reverent, as he
+said:
+
+“You are more than worthy of what I have to offer, which is myself, and
+all that I have.”
+
+“Don’t!” I cried again; “don’t say anything more! Let us imagine this
+unsaid!”
+
+“Such words can never be recalled,” he said gravely.
+
+“They must be,” I persisted; “I cannot accept! I have nothing to give in
+return!”
+
+A look of disappointment came over his face, and if I mistake not, it
+was shaded with displeasure. “I hardly expected this, Miss Leigh, I have
+hardly been led to expect this.”
+
+“I know what you mean, Mr. Gregory,” I replied, more calmly than I had
+spoken before; “I know that I have accepted your attentions—you have had
+every reason to expect a different answer. I’ll not try to deceive you,
+or keep anything from you. I’ll tell you that I have not been trifling.
+I have understood you for some time——”
+
+He interrupted me here.
+
+“Yes, you must have done so; my attentions to you could have but one
+interpretation, if I were a man of honor, and you knew I was that.”
+
+“I did, indeed,” I exclaimed. And then my mind went, with a flash like
+lightning, to Randolph Chance, and I felt a sudden resentment. Had not
+he shown me attentions that no man of honor can bestow upon a woman,
+unless he wishes to make her his wife? Why had he left me in this
+strait? Why had he not spoken out? Why had he not claimed before the
+world that which he had taken such pains to win? I was uncertain about
+Randolph Chance; I had never been uncertain about Mr. Gregory. Why?
+Because I had perfect confidence in his honor. Was he not the better
+man—the more trustworthy? Why could I not marry him? I loved another
+man. A wave of shame and anger swept my face.
+
+“I have all along been expecting to marry you. I have not been
+trifling,” I cried out.
+
+He stepped forward, and took my hand. It was as cold as ice.
+
+“What is it then, Constance, that has changed you? Have I done anything
+since your illness to make you think less of me?”
+
+I trembled from head to foot, and my lips were so stiff and dry that
+they scarce would do my bidding. I must have spoken very indistinctly.
+
+“No—no,” I said slowly; “I will tell you everything—I have done you a
+wrong, an unintentional wrong, but I will do penance—I have seen myself
+to-night—” I paused here; Mr. Gregory was a practical man; had I told
+him that a vision had changed my attitude, he would have thought me
+insane. I myself had begun to entertain doubts as to my sanity. “I know
+myself now,” I faltered, “I know my heart—I love another man.”
+
+Mr. Gregory rose, and began pacing the floor.
+
+“This surprises me greatly,” he said at length; “there must have been
+another courtship—it would seem that you must have known something of
+how matters were tending.”
+
+“I have known nothing until to-night. There has been no courtship, in
+the ordinary acceptation of that word—I’ll tell you all, even if it
+humbles me completely, as a penalty for what I have done to you. The
+man I love—” I could feel the blood mantling my face and neck, “has
+never addressed me.”
+
+Mr. Gregory paused, and looked at me.
+
+“This is extraordinary,” he said.
+
+“It is—I know it is—it is most of all so to me, for it is wholly unlike
+what I have been all my life.”
+
+“Let us not talk of this any more to-night, Miss Leigh,” he said, with
+evident relief; “I have been wrong to press this matter now, when you
+are hardly recovered. You are not yourself. This is something
+transitory, no doubt. Later on, you may feel differently.”
+
+“No, no!” I exclaimed eagerly, “now that we have begun, let us say it
+all. Don’t—I beg of you, don’t go away with a feeling that I don’t know
+my mind. I am weak and miserable to-night—” here the tears choked my
+voice, and I all but broke down, “but I am miserable because I have
+learned my true feeling, and know that I must disappoint——”
+
+I could not go on, and again he sat down beside me and took my hand.
+
+“I cannot understand you,” he said simply.
+
+“I can’t understand myself,” I replied; “but all this is none the less
+real for that. I have learned of it to-night, but it has existed before;
+it explains many things in the past year.”
+
+“If that is the case, then I must accept your decision as final.”
+
+“It is, indeed,” I answered briefly.
+
+He rose, and walked the room in silence again; then pausing once more,
+he said calmly, and with no trace of anger.
+
+“This is the disappointment of my life.”
+
+I said nothing. What could I say? To utter any platitudes about being
+sorry, would have been to insult him.
+
+“A man cannot live to my age—I am fifty-two, Miss Leigh—without
+experiencing disappointment, but I have known nothing equal to this.”
+
+He paced the room a few moments, and then said:
+
+“This interview must be distressing to you. I am very sorry I brought
+it about before you were strong and well.”
+
+“Say one thing before you go, Mr. Gregory,” I cried, “only say that you
+don’t think I have willfully misled you—say that you respect me still.”
+
+His face was stirred by a slight quiver, as a placid lake is stirred by
+an impulse of the evening air.
+
+“You have had, and you always will have my deepest respect, and my
+deepest affection.”
+
+He took my hand silently, and then quietly left the room.
+
+And I sat there until I heard the front door close. Then I went
+upstairs, but I remember nothing after reaching the first landing.
+
+They found me lying there. They said I must have fainted.
+
+
+
+
+                                   X
+
+
+I was badly upset for several days. For a time I resolutely put all
+thought of what had occurred from my mind, but as soon as I felt able, I
+sat down, with the whole matter before me, as it were, and deliberately
+looked it in the face. I think I never felt more inane in my life than
+when I remembered my folly, as I now regarded it. All that saved me from
+utter self-abasement was the fact that it had occurred at a time when I
+was at such a low ebb physically, by reason of illness. I determined to
+try to forget it, as speedily as possible. But, however keenly I felt
+the humiliation and folly of my emotion upon that strange night, it
+never occurred to me to waver, when recalling my decision to bring
+matters between Mr. Gregory and myself to an end. My refusal of him had
+been brought about by one cause, and only one—that I fully realized; and
+now that I had repudiated the cause, I might have been expected to
+reconsider the refusal. But I did not.
+
+Soon after I was up and about once more, I learned that my little friend
+had not sent the flowers. I thought—no, I did not think! but I cherished
+secretly a—well, no! I cherished _nothing_ in secret or in public!
+
+I learned something else, soon after getting up, and this was that a
+story was going the rounds to the effect that Mr. Gregory had broken our
+engagement—and my disappointment had well-nigh occasioned me a relapse.
+But in a twinkling, almost before I had time to get indignant, Mrs.
+Catlin was running about, telling everybody that Mr. Gregory had
+confided in her, in strictest confidence, the truth of the matter,
+which was that I had ended the affair, and not he.
+
+I was much moved by this manly act on Mr. Gregory’s part. He showed his
+shrewdness, too; he could not announce this in public, or go to people
+one by one, so he confided it to Mrs. Catlin, and told her not to tell.
+
+One Sabbath evening about ten o’clock, I began to lock up the house.
+Early retirement is something all but unknown to me, but that night,
+having no particular reason for sitting up, I was about to indulge in it
+as a novelty.
+
+I raised the shade of one of the study windows, with intent to draw the
+bolt, but my hand paused in the act, for my eyes were captured by a
+scene of surpassing beauty. Fall had lately swept her gorgeous leaves
+one side, and closed her doors for the season, and we were now standing
+on the threshold of winter. The early snows are apt to be soft and
+clinging; it is later on, usually, when the thermometer takes a plunge
+downward, that they become crisp and hard. It is seldom, however, at any
+time of year that the atmospheric conditions are favorable to such a
+creation as I beheld that night. I hardly know just what is necessary to
+make it all—a still, moderate cold, and a very humid air are among the
+most important conditions, I believe.
+
+When I stepped outside my door early in the evening, the air all about
+me seemed to be snow, not separated into flakes, but diffused evenly.
+Altogether it had the effect of a heavy white fog, and I could see even
+then, that it was settling in visible, palpable, feathery forms, not
+only upon the ground, but upon every bush and tree as well. It was a
+most unusual scene, and I gazed at it long and admiringly; but having no
+fondness for walking through soft, clinging snow, I was not enticed to
+sally forth, as I always am when the snow is firm and sparkling.
+
+But by ten o’clock the temperature had changed, and in the cooler air
+the almost imperceptible melting of the snow had been stayed.
+
+The white carpet that had slowly been sinking, was now stationary, and
+was covered by a firm crust that gleamed in the moonlight. There was no
+sparkle on the trees, but the feathery tufts and pinions had ceased
+floating to the ground, and melting into air. The scene, in all its
+matchless beauty, was arrested—held upon nature’s canvas for a few
+hours, by the Master hand.
+
+Stay in doors that night! Would I be so wicked as to turn my back, or
+close my eyes upon one of the most delectable scenes that ever a kind
+Providence spread before the soul of human creature! Would I
+deliberately slight such an exhibition of love and marvelous skill? Not
+I!
+
+It didn’t take me long to catch up hat and jacket, and with a heart that
+beat high, slip from my house, as a greyhound slips the leash, and hie
+me away.
+
+What mattered it that the neighborhood lights were raised—a story, at
+least—and that the owners of all the villas near at hand, were preparing
+for decorous, temporary retirement. I merely pitied them for their
+stupidity, and went my way. I had long been a law unto myself, and while
+I did not believe in flaunting my independence in their faces, I none
+the less continued to enjoy it.
+
+There are nights when to sleep would be the sin of an ingrate; ’twould
+be like gathering up the good things of Providence, and hurling them
+from out the window, in reckless waste. And this night was such a one.
+
+The keen air, and the entrancing beauty about me, seemed to run in a
+subtle, fascinating torrent through my veins, and lend me wings. I felt
+as though I were buoyed up by magic hands; I hardly think I set foot on
+ground the whole way, and yet I must, for I was conscious of a crisp
+crackle of the snow at every step.
+
+Oh, is there any sound just like it! Could our poor invalids but pitch
+their nostrums over the wall, and take this tonic instead!
+
+Some friends of mine moved a while ago and drove their family stake in a
+spot far off from here. They are continually writing me of a region of
+perpetual sunshine and summer. I thought of them on this glorious night,
+and pitied them from the depths of my heart, as I often have, indeed,
+since they went out there. Theirs is the place for the extremely
+indigent, no doubt, but for any one who can command a dollar or so for
+fuel, this—this is the land of delight.
+
+I was at no loss as to direction; our suburb was beautiful throughout,
+especially all along by the lake, but there was one place in particular,
+where art and nature had joined hands, with a result indescribable.
+Toward these grounds I hastened, on this particular night.
+
+Oh, the glory of that moon! the glory of the lake! an undulating sea of
+waves, each crested with a feather, as soft, as snowy in the moonlight,
+as the tinier ones that hung upon the trees.
+
+I ran down the winding avenue—the white fog still lingered in the deep
+places, but above, all was clear and glorious. Erelong I entered the
+Dunham’s grounds. At a certain point, unmarked to the stranger’s eye, a
+rustic flight of stairs, now strewn with dead leaves—padded with snow as
+well, to-night, dips down from the broad driveway. Quickly I made my way
+by this path, and erelong, stood upon one of the little rustic bridges
+spanning the ravine, and connecting with a similar flight of ascending
+stairs upon the other side. There I paused, and well I might. It were a
+dull, plodding creature indeed, who would not be spellbound by such a
+scene! On either hand were the sloping wooded sides of the ravine whose
+depths were shrouded in the mysterious whiteness of the fog; above me, a
+short distance in front, was the arch of the broad, picturesque bridge
+with which the driveway spans the hollow. The little rustic bridge on
+which I stood was much lower than the larger one; hence, from my
+position, I looked through the archway, beyond, down, and far along the
+ravine. Can you call up fairyland to your mental eye? It would pale
+before this scene—those feathery trees! that enchanting vista! I stood
+there drinking it in, and pitying the sleeping world. I could not, even
+in thought, express my delight and gratitude for being permitted to
+behold such beauty, but finally a familiar line leaped from my lips:
+
+    “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”
+
+I can never forget that night; it kindled and warmed my heart with a
+reverential fire. If, in the course of years, my way should be overcast;
+if, for a time, I should let the artificial—the ignoble, clog the path,
+and shut me out from the light of heaven, even then I shall be saved
+from doubt, which is always engendered by our stupidity—the things of
+our own manufacture—I shall be saved from doubt by the sweet, pure,
+radiant memory of that winter, moonlight scene. Only a beneficent God
+could create such beauty.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XI
+
+
+On my way back—at what dissipated hour I firmly decline to state—I
+passed a home with an interesting history tacked thereto.
+
+The leading events were brought me by one of those active, inquisitive
+little birds that find out all sorts of things, and often fetch from
+great distances.
+
+The couple who live there, though Americans, once lived in Winnipeg,
+Manitoba, and it was in that place that the husband fell to drinking.
+The little bird above alluded to—the bird that acts as a kind of
+domestic ferret—told me that, in the early years of their married life,
+the wife was of an excitable, hysterical temperament, and given to
+making scenes. Just here let me digress a moment to erect a warning
+signboard. I have a friend who is busy mixing and administering a deadly
+draught to her domestic happiness, and yet does not know it. She has
+only been married a year, and she uses tears and scenes, in general, as
+instruments to pull from her husband the attention, affection, and
+devotion she craves. The tug waxes increasingly hard, but she has not,
+as yet, sense enough to see that, and desist. She cannot realize that
+the success attained by such methods is but the temporary and external
+beauty, which, in reality, covers a failure of the most hopeless type,
+just as the flush on the consumptive’s cheek is but a pitiable
+counterfeit, and covers a fatal disease.
+
+Whether in this particular story, the report of the wife’s early
+blunders be true or false, there seems to be no doubt that presently the
+husband grew careless and indifferent; that scene followed scene
+between them, until at last he went to drinking. Then the little wife
+waxed sober, thoughtful, and studied much within herself. This awful
+sorrow, following so closely upon the heels of her wedding-day joy,
+matured her judgment—her womanhood, and she began to use every skillful
+device to call back her husband from the dark paths he had chosen, to
+the light. All in vain, however; and when she realized this, after
+several years of heroic effort, she made one last scene, and told him
+she was going to leave him. Then his old-time tenderness returned—if you
+can compare a tenderness which was blurred and cringing, with that which
+was clear and manly. He begged and promised in vain, however, for she
+had lost faith, and a lost faith is not found again for many a day.
+
+So she went off, and she covered all traces and signs so carefully that
+no anxious, heartbroken effort of his could find her. Meanwhile she
+wrote him frequently and regularly, and although he knew not where to
+send reply, it is quite likely she had word of him from some one to whom
+she had given her confidence in this dreary time.
+
+And so five years passed, and at their close she walked into her home
+one day, and her husband—a man once more, took her in his arms, and
+looked his love and joy with clear, honest eyes.
+
+They came to our city, or rather this little suburb of our city, soon
+afterward, and although it is well-nigh ten years now that they have
+been among us, there has never been a hint of trouble. Hers was a unique
+method, but it brought about the desired end.
+
+Verily it would seem that for some dinners, it is best for the cook to
+vanish, and leave the dishes to get themselves.
+
+I was meditating on this as I walked home that night, and the next
+morning, stirred by the recollection of all I had seen and felt, was
+moved to write out a story given me by a young man—a friend of mine, who
+lives at a great distance from here, on an olive ranch out of Los Gatos,
+California.
+
+I wish I could give you this little tale just as he told it. I can’t, I
+know, but I’ll do my best in trying.
+
+Mrs. Purblind dropped in just as I was reading it over to myself, before
+my study fire.
+
+“Do you remember my story about Duke?” I asked.
+
+“Yes, I liked it,” she said, “though I’m not very partial to dogs.”
+
+“I have one here about horses. I’ve written it out as nearly as possible
+as my friend told it to me, but so much flavor is lost when these things
+change hands. Here it is, and I think that the lamentation David sang
+over Saul, might head it.
+
+“A while ago we owned a couple of horses—work horses, and yet, by reason
+of the strength of their affections, they were lifted from out the
+commonplace, and enveloped with an atmosphere of romance that gave them
+the flavor of a story book, plumb full of princes and heroes. And by the
+way, Prince was the name of one of them, and he was a genuine hero, as
+you will see. His mate was called Nelly, and albeit she was as awkward
+and as angular as the ideal old maid, vastly inferior to Prince, who was
+a fine-looking chap, yet his admiration for her was unbounded. She cared
+for him, I’m sure, but she was less demonstrative; more coquettish, I
+would say, if she hadn’t been too homely a beast to think of, in
+connection with such a word.
+
+“They were brought up together; were taught by the same master; sat on
+the same bench, in a figurative sense; were lovers from the very first.
+Prince certainly had the most elegant manners; Nelly was his first
+thought, at all times, and his courtesy to her savored of the old
+school. He wouldn’t go into the shed of a cold, rainy day and leave
+Nelly outside; but if she went in, he was more than content to follow.
+When it was necessary to separate them—we couldn’t always work them
+together—we had to tie Prince with ropes and cables, as it were, to hold
+him fast. Nelly was less difficult to manage; at least, she would let
+him go out of sight without fretting, and yet, after all, she seemed
+easier if he were at hand. I remember, one day, he was tied in front of
+the house, and she was loose, grazing near by. As long as he could see
+her, all went well enough, but the moment she sauntered around the
+fence, he began first to fidget, then to paw and neigh, and finally to
+struggle, until in the end, he broke loose and rushed after his
+inamorata. And what a time he made over her! whinnying, and
+demonstrating his delight in a dozen different ways. She? oh, she took
+it coolly, but that was all feminine bosh, or coquetry on her part. She
+liked to have him near her well enough.
+
+“There was an amusing thing happened one day, down in the field. Father
+and I were plowing with Nell. We had tied Prince to a tree, the other
+side of the knoll we were working on, and supposed he was fast, but to
+our surprise, just as we turned, after finishing a long furrow, we
+confronted the gentleman, tree and all, standing before us in a weak and
+fainting condition. He had struggled until he had uprooted the whole
+business, and was so used up in consequence, that he could hardly
+stagger, much less go into his usual hysterics over Nell. She looked as
+amazed as we did, and I’ve no doubt gave him a sound curtain lecture on
+his folly that night.
+
+“One day father and Ned took Prince down into the field. Steve and I
+stayed up near the house, working around the vineyard. Nelly was in the
+stable.
+
+“The morning was half gone, when all at once Steve happened to turn
+around, and look down the hill.
+
+“‘Gosh, Jack!’ he exclaimed, ‘the barn’s afire.’
+
+“I gave one startled look, and then ran for the hose.
+
+“‘Get Nelly out!’ I cried to Steve; but after a second look, I called,
+‘No, don’t you do it! Let her go! it’s too late!’
+
+“‘I won’t let her go!’ he shouted; ‘do you think I’ll stand by and see
+Nelly burned to death!’
+
+“‘You’d be a fool to go in now! Look at that stable! Here! Stand back!
+Have you lost your wits?’
+
+“‘Let me go!’ he cried; ‘Jack, get out of the way!’
+
+“But I threw him down and held him. I was bigger than he; older, and
+cooler-headed too.
+
+“‘There, I give in,’ he said in a moment; ‘it’s wicked to lose time this
+way. Let me up, Jack, and we’ll get the hose. I promise you I won’t go
+in.’
+
+“We ran for the hose, and turned on all the water we could command, and
+by this time mother and the servant girl had come from the house, and
+were helping us.
+
+“We could hear Nelly struggling in her stall, and I tell you it made us
+sick! Unluckily we had chained her, in anticipation of her trying to get
+loose, and go after Prince. She’d never been left at home this way
+before, and we’d taken extra pains to secure her.
+
+“The stable doors were fastened by a heavy bolt; again and again I tried
+to push it back, but it was so fiery hot I couldn’t touch it, and when I
+tried to hammer it, the flames drove me off.
+
+“There was nothing for it but to leave poor Nelly to her fate. It seemed
+as if she divined our intent, for, as we turned away, she uttered a
+piercing scream. Mother burst into tears.
+
+“‘I can’t stand it,’ she said, covering her ears.
+
+“Again and again Nelly’s voice rang out. Steve stood there, his face
+drawn and white. All at once he took out his watch.
+
+“‘It’s twelve o’clock!’ he cried; ‘father’ll be home in a moment, and
+if Prince hears Nelly he’ll go mad. Head ’em off, Jack!’
+
+“I didn’t wait for another word, but ran with all my might down the road
+by which they always came.
+
+“As fate would have it, they had chosen the other one that day, and were
+well along, before I caught sight of them. Father had taken Prince out
+of the plow, and harnessed him to a little single-seated gig we had. He
+was driving him, and Ned was walking behind. I saw Steve running toward
+them, but he was still at a distance.
+
+“‘Father,’ I yelled at the top of my voice, ‘stop! father! the stable’s
+on fire. Turn Prince back. Nelly is burning!’
+
+“Father didn’t seem to understand, for although he listened, he kept
+driving slowly on.
+
+“I shouted again, running toward them, and gesticulating frantically.
+All at once Ned caught my meaning, and bounding like a deer in front of
+the gig, grabbed Prince by the head to turn him, but at that very moment
+a terrible scream from poor Nelly split our ears, and in less time than
+it takes to tell there was a maddened horse plunging in midair, with
+four strong men clinging to him, trying to hold him back.
+
+“‘Let him go, boys! Let him go!’ shouted father; ‘it’s no use! Let him
+go, I tell you! He’ll kill us all!’
+
+“‘Oh, God! I can’t let the old fellow burn up!’ sobbed Steve.
+
+“But Prince had begun to lay about him with his teeth, and father
+knocked Steve down to get him out of the way.
+
+“I believe we all sobbed, as we watched the old hero go up that hill and
+into the stable; Nelly was quiet now, and the doors were down.
+
+“We heard him groan once or twice, and then mother came to meet us, and
+took us all into the house.
+
+“It’s out yonder—the monument we put up. It’s over both of them.”
+
+“Well, what has that horse story to do with men?” asked a sneering
+voice, when I had finished my little tale, and Mrs. Purblind and I were
+sitting silent.
+
+I turned, and to my astonishment and disgust saw Mrs. Cynic, who had
+come in quietly, unobserved by me, as I was reading.
+
+I should not have answered her a word, but Mrs. Purblind thought to
+avert an awkward situation, so she said:
+
+“It illustrates the devotion of the masculine nature, I suppose.”
+
+“In horses? Yes; it’s a pity that it hasn’t been evoluted into men.”
+
+“It has,” I answered curtly, “for those who are capable of seeing and
+appreciating it.”
+
+This probably made her angry, for she turned on me with her most evil
+expression:
+
+“It’s a mystery to me why, with your overweening admiration for the
+other sex, you haven’t married, Miss Leigh. You must have had countless
+opportunities; child-like faith, such as yours, must be very attractive
+to them.”
+
+I stared at her a moment in silence; her insolence stupefied me. Then I
+think I opened the nearest window, and pitched her out. Mrs. Purblind
+insists I did not do that, exactly, but that I got rid of her. As she
+hasn’t been in since, a desirable result was obtained, and I don’t much
+care what the method may have been.
+
+I aired my house the rest of the day, having a wish to cleanse it, and
+protect my moral nature, much as one would rid a place of sewer gas, to
+protect the physical being.
+
+I was not in a very good temper after all this, and it annoyed me to see
+Randolph Chance coming in before taking his train. He had been calling
+oftener than usual of late, but he didn’t seem to have much to say, and
+so his coming gave no especial pleasure.
+
+To-day what talk we had ran on flowers for a time, when Mr. Chance,
+awkwardly and out-of-placedly, asked me how I liked the _Reve d’or_
+rose. This was the kind of rose I had received every morning, during my
+illness.
+
+I looked at him inquiringly. I confess my heart was beating faster.
+
+He flushed, and said abruptly:
+
+“You must have known I sent you those.”
+
+“I did not,” I answered rather coldly; “there was no card or note with
+them.”
+
+“I thought you’d know,” he said with increasing embarrassment; and then
+he added, almost desperately, “you must know, Constance, that I love
+you.”
+
+“I know nothing,” I replied, drawing myself up haughtily; “I take
+nothing of this kind for granted. If you want me to understand, you must
+come out openly.”
+
+“I have done enough, surely,” he said, “enough to lead you to guess the
+truth.”
+
+“I guess nothing of this sort!” I reiterated; “what right have you to
+place me in this position? What right have you, or any other man to
+deprive a woman of one of her dearest privileges—that of being wooed?”
+
+“Constance!” he cried, and all his embarrassment was gone, “aren’t there
+a thousand ways of saying ‘I love you?’ and haven’t I said it in every
+way but one?”
+
+“That one was the most important of all,” I answered; “I would have
+given more to hear those words than to receive every other token.”
+
+His face lighted up with a sudden flash, and he started impulsively
+toward me.
+
+“Then you _do_ love me, my darling—I have hardly dared to hope.”
+
+But I drew back, and answered passionately,
+
+“No, I do not! I love no man who can trifle with a young girl, or any
+woman—no man who has the effrontery to expect some one to take for
+granted a courtship that has never existed!”
+
+“For Heaven’s sake, what _do_ you mean?”
+
+“Go to Miss Sprig and inquire; she has more reason to take your love
+for granted than I.”
+
+“I’ll not go to her, but I shall leave you,” he said, with a white face.
+“You certainly don’t care for me, or you would never deal me such an
+unjust thrust as this.”
+
+And then I heard him close the front door. I think the neighborhood
+heard him.
+
+I walked to the window. He was gone.
+
+I told myself I was glad of it—that a good lesson had been taught.
+
+Which of us was teacher remained somewhat obscure.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XII
+
+
+It might reasonably be supposed that the event last narrated disturbed
+my life. It did in a measure, and for a time, but I was not very long in
+bringing it back to its accustomed channel.
+
+Strange as it may seem, although we lived across the street from one
+another, I saw nothing of Mr. Chance for many weeks. Perhaps it is not
+strange though, after all, since each of us was taking pains to avoid
+the other, and we knew each other’s habits of life pretty well by this
+time.
+
+But if I didn’t see him, I heard of him frequently enough, for Mrs.
+Purblind rarely ever met me without saying something about “Dolph,” as
+she called him. She was exceedingly fond of him, and with good cause,
+for he was a most affectionate, thoughtful, unselfish brother. He was
+very different from her, and they were not confidential friends, when
+serious matters were concerned, but they were companionable,
+nevertheless.
+
+It is not likely Mrs. Purblind realized that she was shut out from
+something that deeply concerned her brother; but she worried about him.
+She was certain he was ill—he had little appetite, and was in no way
+like himself, she said. Miss Sprig wondered what had come over him.
+
+I believe Mrs. Purblind must have been deaf as well as blind, otherwise
+the neighborhood gossip regarding Mr. Chance and myself, which was rife
+a year ago, would certainly have reached her. Evidently she had heard
+nothing, and she continued to keep my innermost breast in a secret
+ferment, by pouring her fears and speculations into my ear. She even
+confided in me that she had for a long time suspected the existence of
+an affair between Miss Sprig and her brother, but this young woman
+declared that he never paid her the slightest attention of a matrimonial
+character; that he’d been very kind to her, very jolly, and friendly,
+but that was all.
+
+I think that if Mount Vesuvius had leaped out of me, and taken its
+departure, I could scarce have felt more relieved. I really had been
+harboring a volcano for some time, and it was a hot tenant.
+
+Shortly after hearing this latter piece of Mrs. Purblind’s news, another
+bit was added.
+
+“Dolph has gone away,” she said, one day; “left suddenly, this morning.
+He confessed to being played out, and I’m sure he looks it. He’s gone on
+to Buffalo, to brother Dave’s.”
+
+That night I sat down and wrote a letter; when one has done wrong, his
+first conscious act should be to confess.
+
+I was in a trying position; one is at such a time. Two months had
+elapsed, and Mr. Chance might have changed his mind and intent. Men do,
+occasionally; women, too. And indeed he never had asked me to marry him.
+True, that is the supposition when a man, with any real manhood about
+him, tells a woman he loves her—when he shows her marked attentions, in
+fact; but, as I said to Mr. Chance, I did not intend to take such things
+for granted. I had not changed in that respect. I had, however, become
+convinced that I was harsh and unjust to him. It is a blundering teacher
+who takes badness in a child for granted—does not wait for proof. It is
+an inspired teacher who ignores the bad sometimes, even after it has
+been proven. To think the worst, so some of the psychologists tell us,
+will often create the worst. Even a cook does well to make the most of
+her materials. Her dishes will be likely to turn out ill, if she treats
+the ingredients with disrespect. It would seem that I, who had in a
+manner made a specialty of matrimonial cookery, had something yet to
+learn. Randolph Chance had given me a lesson.
+
+In my letter, I said that time and thought had shown me I had done him a
+wrong, and that I was very sorry; that, no doubt, he had changed in some
+feelings, and it was, perhaps, not likely we should meet very soon; but
+that I wished him to know I realized my mistake, and that I was still
+his friend.
+
+The second day after I had written, I heard from him; our letters were
+penned the same night, and must have crossed each other. In his he said
+he had held off as long as he could, but was coming right back from
+Buffalo to see me. He was certain he could explain everything; he had
+nothing to hide, and he hoped I would let him tell me what was in his
+heart; that for months he had known but one real wish, one real
+aspiration—to win me for his wife. He begged me to let him begin anew,
+and make an effort to attain this great end.
+
+That evening, in the gloaming, I was at my study window. I could look
+into the parlor of the Thrush home. A shadow had fallen upon that dear
+nest; one of the little birdies had flown away, but it was now forever
+sheltered from all storms in the dear Christ’s bosom, so all was well.
+The gentle little mother was nearly crushed at first, even more so than
+the father, though he felt the loss deeply; but erelong she lifted her
+sweet face, and smiled through her tears. And now, at the end of two
+weeks, she was to her husband, at least, as cheerful as ever, even more
+tender, and she made the home as bright as before. So many women are
+selfish in their grief, unwise too. They act as if their husbands were
+aliens, and did not share the sorrow. It is true the man usually
+recovers sooner than the woman from such a blow, but no one should blame
+him for that. His nature is different, necessarily different; not in
+kind, but in degree. It has to be; his is the outside battle; he must
+needs be rugged. But “a man’s a man for a’ that,” and the woman who
+shuts him out in the hour of bereavement, or who darkens the home
+continuously, and overcasts its good cheer, is both selfish and foolish.
+In such cases husband and wife are parted, instead of being brought
+nearer to one another, as they should be when they have a little
+ambassador in the court of Heaven.
+
+My heart was very tender that evening, and as I sat beside the glowing
+fire, before the lamps were lighted, my thoughts ran to Mrs. Purblind.
+The poor little woman had seemed sad of late, and I guessed, without
+word from her, that it was because her husband was going out so much at
+night. I did wish she could see some things as they really were.
+
+She sat there with me that evening—in spirit, at least, on the opposite
+side of the fireplace, and her mournful face touched me deeply.
+
+“He doesn’t seem to care for his home,” she said sadly.
+
+“Make him care for it. Man is a domestic animal. If he doesn’t stay at
+home, something is wrong.”
+
+“I do all I can,” she answered in a dull tone.
+
+“No doubt you do now,” I said; “but learn more, and then you will
+improve.”
+
+“I was looking over some trunks in the attic to-day, and I came across
+my wedding gown. It called up so much! I can’t get over it—” and she
+sobbed aloud.
+
+I couldn’t speak just then. The tears were too near.
+
+“Oh, when first I wore that gown, how happy I was, and how I looked
+forward to the future! Everything was bright then, but now it’s so
+changed that I’d hardly know it was the same—it isn’t the same—I’m not
+the same, either——”
+
+Here she broke down again.
+
+I leaned over, and laid my hand on hers. You know she wasn’t really
+there; the real Mrs. Purblind seldom talked over her affairs with me,
+but I could feel what she was suffering, none the less.
+
+“I want to tell you something, if I may,” I said.
+
+She assented in a dumb sort of fashion, and I leaned a little nearer.
+
+The firelight gleamed on the walls, and in its glow the pictures looked
+down kindly upon us. Soft shadows rested in the corners of the room, and
+an air of peace and comfort brooded throughout, as a bird upon her nest.
+
+“Think a little while,” I said gently; “think of his side. Is he quite
+the same as he was when he married?”
+
+“Oh, no!” she exclaimed; “he was so loving and attentive then.”
+
+“Had he any hopes and plans? Enthusiasm? Did life look bright to him?”
+
+A serious look traversed her face, as though she were entertaining a new
+thought.
+
+“Look at him as he used to be,” I continued.
+
+And as I spoke, she saw that a young man with a fresh, sunny face—a
+healthy, happy, care-free face—was sitting in the ruddy firelight.
+
+She gave a start.
+
+“That is Joe as he used to be!” she said. “Oh, how he’s changed!”
+
+Even as she spoke, the young man faded away, and an older man—much
+older, apparently, careworn, and unhappy-looking—took his place.
+
+The coals in the glowing grate sank, and the bright light suddenly died.
+A deep shadow rested upon the figure beside us; he was with us, and yet
+seemed so alone.
+
+“Who would think a man could change that way in ten years!” exclaimed
+Mrs. Purblind; “would you believe it possible?”
+
+“Not unless he had known many disappointments, and borne loads and cares
+beyond his years.”
+
+“I have never thought of that,” she murmured, “I believe poor Joe has
+been disappointed too.”
+
+“He certainly has.”
+
+“It’s too bad, and there’s no help for it now,” she added with a sob.
+
+“Don’t say that,” I urged, laying my hand on hers again; “you close the
+gate of heaven when you say ‘no hope.’ There is always hope as long as
+there is a spark of life—any physician will tell you that. If you can be
+patient—be strong to bear, and wait—if you can make home bright, and not
+care, or not seem to care if he slights it and you, for weeks—months,
+maybe years—it takes so much longer to undo, than to do—there is _every_
+hope. He couldn’t do this, but a woman—a real woman, is strong enough,
+with God on her side.”
+
+The dullness left her face, and an unselfish light dawned in its place.
+As she rose to go, she leaned over the other figure, and he looked up at
+her, with something of the old-time love.
+
+I replenished the fire after they had gone—they went out together—and as
+I sat there thinking of it all, I heard a sudden rushing sound in the
+street.
+
+I ran to the door, just in time to see a farm wagon, drawn by two strong
+horses, go pell-mell past my house, and overturn, as the frightened
+animals dashed around the corner. The neighborhood was agog in a moment,
+and I joined the rest in trying to help the occupants of the broken
+vehicle. We brought them into the house—the man and woman and a little
+child.
+
+As soon as they were in the light, I knew them; they were some of my
+people—a German family, by the name of Abraham, who lived on a little
+farm just outside our suburb. They had been to me typical
+representatives of a stupid class, who have all the hardships of life,
+and none of its soft lights and shades. They were the kind that plant
+their pig-sty on the lake side of their house—put the pig-sty betwixt
+them and every other beauty, it seemed to me. What can life hold for
+such people? They know nothing of love, or any other joy. Merely an
+animal existence is theirs.
+
+We fetched a doctor as speedily as possible—the parents were merely
+bruised, but the little child was badly hurt. At first we feared she was
+dying, and it was a relief to be told that she would probably live.
+
+I went out of the room to get some bandages, and the doctor followed me.
+Returning suddenly, I ran upon an unexpected scene; up to that time,
+before us all, the parents had seemed perfectly stolid; but just as I
+opened the door, the wife and mother rose from her knees by the bed, and
+I have seldom seen a look more expressive of tender love than that with
+which her husband took her in his arms.
+
+We have many things to learn in the next world; one of these, I am sure,
+will be, not to judge by the life upon the surface. There is a deep
+fount of feeling beneath, and often it is those whom we least suspect,
+who dip down into it.
+
+I was still busy with these people, when Randolph Chance walked in upon
+me. His kind heart needed no prompting to join in our little attentions,
+and he was of especial use in getting a vehicle to take the family home.
+
+After they had gone, and we found ourselves alone, a great embarrassment
+seemed to seize him in a fatal grasp.
+
+By and by I realized that I was really getting incensed, and I was
+afraid I should soon be in the position of the man who went to another,
+whom he had ill-treated, to apologize for his bad conduct, and, “By
+Jove, sir”—to use his own phrase, “I hit him again.”
+
+I tried to keep my letter before my eyes. I didn’t want to be forced by
+that inexorable tyrant—conscience—to write another. And I should, if I
+didn’t hold on to myself, and this man didn’t behave differently.
+
+To avoid a clash, I set to work to clear away some of the confusion
+consequent upon the accident, and he helped me in this.
+
+One would suppose that might serve to cool him, and it did indeed, to
+such an extent that, upon our settling down again, he began the most
+commonplace conversation, giving me some incidents of his trip;
+discussing the scenery; weather; population, and general aspects of
+Buffalo; with much more of the dryest, most disagreeable stuff, that a
+man ever had the temerity to use, as a means of wasting a woman’s
+evening.
+
+To employ a childish phrase—it best fits the occasion—I grew madder and
+madder, until at last matters within me rose to such a height, that when
+he began to tell of his brother’s house in Buffalo, and to dwell upon
+the peculiarities of its furniture, I felt peculiar enough to hurl all
+of mine at him.
+
+The number of things I thought of that evening would form a library of
+energetic literature. Among other resolves, I determined from that day
+on, if I lived till my hair whitened—lived till I raised my third or
+fourth crop of teeth, never, _never_, to give Randolph Chance another
+thought. There was one comfort: he did not know, nor did any one else,
+what a complete goose I had made of myself; but, though I _had_ been
+most foolish, thanks to a sober, Puritanic ancestry, I still had myself
+in hand; my hysterics had been occasional and secluded, and I was not
+wholly gone daft. I could recover; I would! and then, if ever he came to
+my feet, he would learn that some things don’t rise, after once they are
+cold.
+
+I was calm enough when he at last decided to go, and instead of running
+on excitedly, as I had been vaguely conscious of doing part of the
+evening, I really conversed. Indeed, to speak modestly, I think I was
+rather interesting. I had forgotten what he had called for. So had
+he—apparently.
+
+All I hoped was that he did not intend to bore me with frequent
+repetitions of this call. I had better use for my evenings than such
+waste of time as chatting with him. I cast about me for some suitable
+excuse to shut off future inflictions, and at last hit upon one that I
+thought might answer.
+
+“I suppose I must sacrifice myself for a while,” I said cheerfully; “I
+have had a deal of business swoop down upon me, and in order to dispatch
+it, must shut myself up for a time, and forego the joys of society.”
+
+Instantly his old embarrassment came back upon him, as a small boy’s
+enemy—supposed to be vanquished—darts around the corner, and renews the
+attack.
+
+He started to go; came back; returned to the door; again came back;
+colored vividly—looked at me imploringly. And as I looked at him my
+anger, my coldness—all vanished, and I exclaimed:
+
+“Randolph Chance, why _don’t_ you say it!”
+
+“Some things are awfully hard to say. I can write—— Oh Constance! you
+might have mercy on me!”
+
+“Well,” I said, laughing—I could almost see the light upon my face—“I
+suppose you want me to marry you.”
+
+“You can’t get away now!” he cried, a second later.
+
+The walls heard a much-smothered voice—
+
+“I don’t want to.”
+
+Now this little scene, I suppose, is what makes Randolph always say I
+proposed to him. This remark, oft repeated, sometimes under very trying
+circumstances, is his one disagreeableness. But I let it pass without
+comment, for I realize it is the spout to the kettle, and I am thankful
+that the steam has so safe and harmless an outlet. If I were to boil him
+too hard, he would probably overflow, and dim the fire; but I am _very
+cautious_, and love still burns with a clear, bright flame.
+
+
+                               THE END.
+
+
+
+[Transcriber’s Note: The table below lists all corrections applied to
+the original text.
+
+p. 032: [removed stray quote] “I didn’t care for this picnic
+p. 050: [normalized] they were wellnigh exhausted -> well-nigh
+p. 056: [extra comma] any comment on her neighbors’ affairs, was alien to her.
+p. 152: Their’s is the place -> Theirs
+p. 182: [added speaker change] beyond his years. I have never thought
+p. 187: [normalized] most common-place conversation -> commonplace
+p. 189: [changed to long dash] I can write—— Oh Constance! ]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Cook Husbands, by 
+Elizabeth Strong Worthington
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diff --git a/26210-0.zip b/26210-0.zip
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+Project Gutenberg's How to Cook Husbands, by Elizabeth Strong Worthington
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: How to Cook Husbands
+
+Author: Elizabeth Strong Worthington
+
+Release Date: August 7, 2008 [EBook #26210]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO COOK HUSBANDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Irma Spehar, Markus Brenner and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                      _"They are really delicious
+                       --when properly treated."_
+
+
+                              How To Cook
+                               Husbands
+
+
+                    By ELIZABETH STRONG WORTHINGTON
+
+                            Author of "The
+                           Little Brown Dog"
+                           "The Biddy Club"
+
+
+               Published at 220 East 23rd St., New York
+                    by the Dodge Publishing Company
+
+
+
+                         COPYRIGHT IN THE YEAR
+                         EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND
+                         NINETY-EIGHT BY DODGE
+                          STATIONERY COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+                              Dedication
+
+                  To a dear little girl who will some
+                day, I hope, be skilled in all branches
+                        of matrimonial cookery.
+
+
+
+
+                                   I
+
+
+A while ago I came across a newspaper clipping--a recipe written by a
+Baltimore lady--that had long lain dormant in my desk. It ran as follows:
+
+"A great many husbands are spoiled by mismanagement. Some women go about
+it as if their husbands were bladders, and blow them up; others keep
+them constantly in hot water; others let them freeze, by their
+carelessness and indifference. Some keep them in a stew, by irritating
+ways and words; others roast them; some keep them in pickle all their
+lives. Now it is not to be supposed that any husband will be good,
+managed in this way--turnips wouldn't; onions wouldn't; cabbage-heads
+wouldn't, and husbands won't; but they are really delicious when
+properly treated.
+
+"In selecting your husband you should not be guided by the silvery
+appearance, as in buying mackerel, or by the golden tint, as if you
+wanted salmon. Be sure to select him yourself, as taste differs. And by
+the way, don't go to market for him, as the best are always brought to
+your door.
+
+"It is far better to have none, unless you patiently learn to cook him.
+A preserving kettle of the finest porcelain is the best, but if you have
+nothing but an earthenware pipkin, it will do, with care.
+
+"See that the linen, in which you wrap him, is nicely washed and mended,
+with the required amount of buttons and strings, nicely sewed on. Tie
+him in the kettle with a strong cord called Comfort, as the one called
+Duty is apt to be weak. They sometimes fly out of the kettle, and become
+burned and crusty on the edges, since, like crabs and oysters, you have
+to cook them alive.
+
+"Make a clear, strong, steady fire out of Love, Neatness, and
+Cheerfulness. Set him as near this as seems to agree with him. If he
+sputters and fizzles, don't be anxious; some husbands do this till they
+are quite done. Add a little sugar, in the form of what confectioners
+call Kisses, but no vinegar or pepper on any account. A little spice
+improves them, but it must be used with judgment.
+
+"Don't stick any sharp instrument into him, to see if he is becoming
+tender. Stir him gently; watching the while lest he should lie too close
+to the kettle, and so become inert and useless.
+
+"You cannot fail to know when he is done. If thus treated, you will find
+him very digestible, agreeing nicely with you and the children."
+
+"So they are better cooked," I said to myself, "that is why we hear of
+such numbers of cases of marital indigestion--the husbands are served
+raw--fresh--unprepared."
+
+"They are really delicious when properly treated,"--I wonder if that is
+so.
+
+But I must pause here to tell you a bit about myself. I am not an old
+maid, but, at the time this occurs, I am unmarried, and I am thirty-four
+years old--not quite beyond the pale of hope. Men and women never do pass
+beyond that--not those of sanguine temperament at any rate. I am neither
+rich nor poor, but repose in a comfortable stratum betwixt and between.
+I keep house, or rather it keeps me, and a respectable woman who, with
+her husband, manages my domestic affairs, lends the odor of sanctity and
+propriety to my single existence. I am of medium height, between blond
+and brunette, and am said to have a modicum of both brains and good
+looks.
+
+The recipe I read set me a-thinking. I was in my library, before a big
+log fire. The room was comfortable; glowing with rich, warm firelight
+at that moment, but it was lonesome, and I was lonely.
+
+Supposing, I said to myself, I really had a husband; how should I cook
+him?
+
+The words of an old lady came into my mind. She had listened to this
+particular recipe, and after a moment's silence had leaned over, and
+whispered in my ear:
+
+"First catch your fish."
+
+But supposing he were now caught, and seated in that rocker across from
+me, before this blazing fire.
+
+I walked to the window--to one side of me lives a little thrush, at least
+she is trim and comely, and always dresses in brown. Just now she is
+without her door, stooping over her baby, who is sitting like a tiny
+queen in her chariot, just returned from an airing.
+
+It isn't the question of husband alone--he might be managed--roasted,
+stewed, or parboiled, but it's the whole family--a household. Take the
+children, for instance; if they could be set up on shelves in glass
+cases, as fast as they came, all might be well, but they _will_ run
+around, and Heaven only knows what they will run into. Why, had I
+children, I should plug both ears with cotton, for fear I should hear
+the door-bell. I know it would ring constantly, and such messages as
+these would be hurled in:
+
+"Several of them have been arrested for blowing up the neighbors with
+dynamite firecrackers."
+
+"Half a dozen of them have tumbled from off the roof of the house. They
+escaped injury, but have thrown a nervous lady, over the way, into
+spasms."
+
+"One or two of them have just been dragged from beneath the electric
+cars. They seem to be as well as ever, but three of the passengers died
+of fright."
+
+Just think of that! What should I do?
+
+Keep an extra maid to answer the bell, I suppose, and two or three
+thousand dollars by me continually, to pay damages.
+
+What a time poor Job had of it answering his door bell, and how very
+unpleasant it must have been to receive so many pieces of news of that
+sort, in one morning!
+
+Clearly I am better off in my childless condition, and yet----
+
+Little Mrs. Thrush is just kissing her soft, round-faced cherub. I wish
+she would do that out of sight.
+
+Now as to husbands again, if I had one, what should I do with him?
+
+I might say, Sit down.
+
+Supposing he wouldn't. What then?
+
+Cudgels are out of date. Were he an alderman, I might take a Woman's
+Club to him, but a husband has been known to laugh this instrument to
+scorn.
+
+But supposing he sat down. What then? He might be a gentleman of
+irascible, nasty temper, and in walking about my room, I might step on
+his feet. These irritable folk have such large feet, at least they are
+always in the way, and always being stepped on no matter how careful one
+tries to be.
+
+What then?
+
+I decline to contemplate the scene.
+
+Plainly I am better off single.
+
+I walk to my front window, and stretch my arms above my head. There is a
+light fall of snow upon the ground. This late snow is trying: in its
+season, it is beautiful; but out of season, it breeds a cheerlessness
+that emphasises one's loneliness. I look out through the leafless trees
+toward the lake, but it is hidden by the whirling, eddying snowflakes. I
+see Mr. Thrush hurrying home to his little nest.
+
+"Yes," I say to myself, repeating my last thought with a certain
+obstinacy, "yes, I am better off without a husband, and yet I wish I had
+one--one would answer, on a pinch--one at a time, at least. A husband is
+like a world in that respect; one at a time, is the proper proportion."
+
+"It's far better to have none, unless you learn to cook him." These
+words recurred to me, just as I was on the point of taking a life
+partner, in a figurative sense.
+
+The woman that deliberates is lost; consequently, as it won't do to
+think the matter over, I plunge in.
+
+My spouse is now pacing up and down the room in a rampant manner,
+complaining of his dinner, the world in general, and _me_ in particular.
+
+What am I to do?
+
+Charles Reade has written a recipe that applies very well just here. It
+is briefly expressed:
+
+"Put yourself in his place."
+
+I could not have done this a few years ago, but now I can. Never, until
+I undertook the management of my business affairs--never until I had some
+knowledge of business cares and anxieties, the weight of notes falling
+due; the charge of business honor to keep; the excited hope of fortunate
+prospects; and the depression following hard upon failure and
+disappointment--never until I learned all this, did I realize what home
+should mean to a man, and how far wide of the mark many women shoot,
+when they aim to establish a restful retreat for their husbands.
+
+I have returned to my domicile, after a fatiguing day up town, with a
+feeling of exhaustion that lies far deeper than the mere physical
+structure--a spent feeling as if I have given my all, and must be
+replenished before I can make another move. I once had a housekeeper
+whose very face I dreaded at such times. She always took advantage of my
+silence and my limp condition, to relate the day's disasters. She had no
+knowledge of what a good dinner meant, and no tact in falling in with my
+tastes or needs. On the contrary; if there was a dish I disliked, it was
+sure to appear on those most weary evenings. In brief, from the very
+moment I reached home, she did nothing but brush my fur up, instead of
+down, and I did nothing but spit at her.
+
+Now, many women are like this housekeeper. I wonder their husbands don't
+slay them. If you would look out in my back yard, I fear you would see
+the bones of several of these tactless, exasperating housekeepers,
+bleaching in the wind and rain.
+
+I marvel that other back yards are not filled with the bones of stupid,
+tactless, irritating wives. The fact that no such horror has as yet been
+unearthed, bears eloquent testimony to the noble self-control and
+patience of many of the sterner sex.
+
+"Oh, that sounds well," said my neighbor, over the way, "but then you
+forget we women have our trials too."
+
+"Is it going to diminish those trials to make a raging lion out of your
+husband?"
+
+"No, but he ought to understand that we are tired, and that our work is
+hard."
+
+"Certainly," I said, "by all means; and by the time he thoroughly
+understands, you generally have occasion to be still more tired."
+
+"Well, what would you do?"
+
+"I'll tell you what I'd do; follow the advice of a sensible little
+friend of mine, who has four children all of an age, and has
+incompetent service to rely on, when she has any at all."
+
+"And what is that, pray?"
+
+"She says that come rain, hail, or fiery vapor, she takes a nap every
+day."
+
+"I don't know how she manages it; I can't, and I have one less child
+than she, and a fairly good maid."
+
+"Her children are trained, as children should be; the three younger ones
+take long naps after luncheon, and while they are sleeping, she gives
+the oldest child some picture book to look at, and simple stories to
+read, and she herself goes to sleep in the same room with him. The
+little fellow keeps as still as a mouse."
+
+"I think that is a cruel shame."
+
+"So do I. It would be far kinder if she let him have his liberty, and
+stayed up to take care of him, and then became so tired out that, by the
+time her husband came home she would be unable to keep her mouth (closed
+for it is only a well rested woman who can maintain a cheerful
+silence), and avoid a family quarrel."
+
+"No, I think it's better not to quarrel, but I can't take a nap, and
+often I'm so tired when Fred comes home, that, if he happens to be tired
+too, it's just like putting fire to gunpowder."
+
+I knew that, for I had heard the explosions from across the street. You
+know in our climate, in the summer, people practically live in the
+street, with every window and door open; your neighbor has full
+possession of all remarks above E. And most of Mr. and Mrs. Purblind's
+notes on the tired nights, are above E.
+
+I have no patience with that woman, anyhow. She hasn't the first idea of
+comfort and good cheer. Her rooms are always in disorder, and there is
+no suggestion of harmony in the furniture (on the contrary every article
+seems, as the French say, to be swearing at every other article); all
+her lights are high--why, I've run in there of an evening and found that
+man wandering around like an uneasy ghost, trying to find some easy
+spot in which he could sit down, and read his paper comfortably. He
+didn't know what was the matter--the poor wretches don't, but he was like
+a cat on an unswept hearth.
+
+In contrast to this woman's stupidity, I have the natural loveliness of
+the little brown thrush, on my one side, and the hoary-headed wisdom of
+Mrs. Owl, on my other side.
+
+Look at the latter a moment. Not worth looking at, you say; angular,
+without beauty of form or feature. Nothing but the humorous curve to her
+lips, and the twinkle in her eye, to attract one; nothing, unless it
+were a general air of neatness, intelligence, and good humor.
+
+But I assure you that woman's worth living with if she is not worth
+looking at!
+
+Now her spouse is one of those lowering fellows, the kind that seems to
+be at outs with mankind. Just the material to become sulky in any but
+the most skillful hands, the sort to degenerate into a positive brute,
+in such blundering hands as Mrs. Purblind's over the way.
+
+I had a chance to watch this man one evening last summer. Having no
+domestic affairs of my own, as a matter of course I feel myself entitled
+to share my neighbors'. And this particular evening I was lonely. It was
+a nasty night, the fog blown in from the lake slapped one rudely in the
+face every time one looked out, and the air was as raw as a new wound--it
+went clear to the bone.
+
+Now on such a night as this I have known Mrs. Purblind to serve her lord
+cold veal and lettuce, simple because it was July, and a suitable time
+for heat. And I assure you that sufficient heat was generated before
+this cold supper was consumed. But to return to Mrs. Owl, on that
+particular night. I saw her watching at door and window, for her partner
+was late. I peeped into the parlor, and it was as cosy and inviting as a
+glowing fire, a shaded lamp, and a comfortable sofa wheeled near the
+table, could make it.
+
+By and by, he came glowering along. What will she say, I asked myself.
+Will it be:
+
+"Oh, how late you are! What's the matter? What kept you? Well, come in,
+you must be cold. Lie down on the sofa while I get supper, but don't put
+your feet up till I get a paper for them to rest on."
+
+All this would have answered well enough with a decent sort of a man,
+but this homo required peculiar treatment.
+
+It was what she didn't say that was most remarkable.
+
+After a cheerful "How-de-do" she didn't speak a word for some time, but
+walked into the house humming a lively air, and busied herself with his
+supper. She didn't set this in the dining room, but right before that
+open fire. Without any fuss or commotion she broiled a piece of steak
+over those glowing coals, while over her big lamp she made a cup of
+coffee, and in her chafing dish prepared some creamed potatoes. She had
+bread and butter ready, and some little dessert, and so with a wave of a
+fairy wand, as it seemed, there was the cosiest, most tempting little
+supper you ever saw on the table at his side.
+
+Meanwhile he had found the sofa, the fire, and the lamp, and was reading
+his paper. He threw the latter down when supper was announced, and she
+joined him at the table; poured his coffee, ate a bit now and then for
+company, and talked--why, how that woman did talk! I couldn't hear a word
+that she said, but I knew by the expression of her face it was humorous;
+and laugh, how she laughed! and erelong he joined in--why, once he leaned
+back, and actually ha-haed.
+
+When supper was over, she left him to his paper again, while she cleared
+everything away. Later on she joined him, and the next I knew they were
+playing chess, and still later, talking and reading aloud.
+
+This is but a sample of her life with him--in everything she consults
+his mood, his comfort, his tastes. She never jars him--never rubs him the
+wrong way, and meanwhile she has all she wants, for she can do anything
+with him, and he thinks the sun rises and sets with her.
+
+It is a good cook that makes an appetizing dish out of poor material,
+and when a woman makes a delicious husband out of little or nothing she
+may rank as a _chef_.
+
+
+
+
+                                  II
+
+
+You may say all I have been describing belongs more properly to little
+Mrs. Thrush, on my right. Bless you! that woman doesn't have to think
+and plan to make things comfortable. Were she set down in the desert of
+Sahara, she would sweep it up, spread a rug; hang a few draperies, and
+lo! it would be cosy and home-like. She can't help being and doing just
+right, wherever she is put, and her husband is just like her, as good as
+gold. Why, that man would bore a woman of ingenuity--a woman who had a
+genius for contriving and managing. He doesn't need any cooking; he's
+ready to serve just as he is, couldn't be improved. There's absolutely
+nothing to be done. Mrs. Owl would get a divorce from him inside of a
+month, on the ground of insipidity. Her fine capabilities for making
+much out of nothing, would turn saffron for lack of use. Mr. Owl is the
+mate for her. To every man according to his taste; to every woman
+according to her need.
+
+I am lying in the hammock, under the soft maple tree in my side yard,
+speculating on all these matters. Summer is now upon us, for we are in
+the midst of June. Yesterday was one of Lowell's rare days, but this
+morning the thermometer took offense, and rose in fury. I can see the
+quivering air as it radiates from the dusty, sun-beaten road, and a
+certain drowsy hum in the atmosphere, palpable only to the trained ear,
+tells of the great heat. Some of my neighbors are sitting on their
+galleries, reading or sewing; some, like myself, are lolling in
+hammocks; even the voices of the children have a certain monotonous
+tone, in harmony with the stupid heaviness of the day. Only the birds
+and squirrels show any life or spirit; the former are twittering above
+my head, courting, it may be, or possibly discussing some detail of
+household economy. They hop from bough to bough, touch up their plumage,
+and chirp in a cheerful, happy sort of fashion, as if this was their
+especial weather, as indeed it is. Up yonder tree, a squirrel is racing
+about, in the exuberance of his glee. He has done up his work, no doubt,
+and now is off for a frolic. I lie here, not a stone's throw from him,
+watching his merry antics, and rejoicing to think how free from fear he
+is, when all at once the leaves of his tree are cut by a flying missile,
+and the next second I see my gay fellow tumble headlong from the bough,
+and fall in a helpless little heap on the grass. I start up in affright,
+and hear a passing boy call out to another, over the way,
+
+"I brought him down, Jim."
+
+Involuntarily I clinch my hands.
+
+"You little coward!" I exclaim, "it is _you_ who should be brought down!
+You are too mean to live."
+
+He laughs brutally, and goes on, whistling indifferently, while I pick
+up the dead squirrel lying at my feet.
+
+I find myself crying, before I know it. Not alone with pity for the
+squirrel; something else is hurting me.
+
+"Is this the masculine nature?" I ask some one--I don't know whom.
+
+Perhaps it is one of those questions which are flung upward, in a blind
+kind of way, and which God sometimes catches and answers.
+
+"Are they made this way? Was it meant that they should be brutal?"
+
+I am still holding the squirrel and thinking, when I hear my name, and
+turning see my neighbor over the way, Mrs. Purblind's brother, standing
+near me.
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Chance," I say, rather coldly.
+
+All men are hateful to me at that moment; to my mind they all have that
+boy's nature, though they keep it under cover until they know you well,
+or have you in their power.
+
+"The little fellow is dead, I suppose," he said.
+
+"Yes," I answer with a sob which I turn away to conceal. I don't wish to
+excite his mirth. Of course he would only see something laughable in my
+grief, and he couldn't dream what I am thinking about.
+
+"You mustn't be too hard on the boy, Miss Leigh," he says quietly; "it
+was a brutal act, but that same aggressiveness will one day give him
+power to battle in life against difficulties and temptations as well. It
+will make him able to protect those whom a kind Providence may put in
+his charge. Just now he doesn't know what to do with the force, and
+evidently has not had good teaching. I'm sorry he did this; it hurts me
+to see an innocent creature harmed, and still more I am sorry because
+it has hurt you."
+
+He is standing near me now, and as I raise my eyes, I find him looking
+at me with a sweet earnestness, that wins me not only to forgive him for
+being a man, but to feel that perhaps men are noble, after all.
+
+His look and tone linger with me long after he has gone, as a cadence of
+music may vibrate through the soul when both musician and instrument are
+mute.
+
+The day after this of which I have been telling, I went to a picnic
+gotten up by Mrs. Purblind, for the entertainment and delectation of Mr.
+Purblind's cousin, now visiting her, a frivolous young thing, between
+whom and myself there was not even the weather in common, for she would
+label "simply horrid" a lovely gray day, containing all sorts of
+possibilities for the imagination behind its mists and clouds.
+
+I didn't care for this picnic, and didn't see why I was invited as most
+of the guests were younger than myself. But it was one of those cases
+where a refusal might be misconstrued, and so I went. We sat around the
+white tablecloth _en masse_, for dinner; and in the course of the
+passing of viands, Miss Sprig was asked to help herself to olives that
+happened to be near her.
+
+"Yes, do, while you have opportunity," said Mrs. Purblind.
+
+"I always embrace opportunity," replied Miss Sprig with a simper.
+Whereat Mr. Chance, sitting next her, suggested that, as a synonym of
+opportunity, possibly he might stand in its stead.
+
+I detest such speeches, they are properly termed soft, for they
+certainly are mushy--lacking in stamina--fiber of any sort. But I could
+have endured it, as I had endured much else of the same sort that day,
+had it not come from Mr. Chance. It may be foolish of me, but his tone
+and his words of the day before were still with me. They were so
+dignified, so sensible, so manly, that I respected and admired him. Up
+to that time I had not felt that I knew him, but after he spoke in that
+way, it seemed as if we were acquainted. Now I saw how utterly mistaken
+I had been, and I was mortified and disgusted.
+
+The silly little speech I have quoted was not all, by any means; there
+were more of the same kind, and actions that corresponded. Evidently he
+was one of those instruments which are played upon at will by the
+passing zephyr. With a self-respecting woman, he was manly; with a
+vapid, bold girl, he was silly and familiar. I decided that I liked
+something more stable, something that could be depended upon.
+
+I was placed in a difficult position just then. Had I acted upon my
+impulse, I should have risen and walked off--such conduct is an affront
+to womanhood, I think; but I was held in my place by a fear--foolish, yet
+grounded, that my action would be regarded as an expression of
+jealousy, the jealousy of an old maid, of a woman much younger and
+prettier than herself. This is but one of the many instances of the
+injustice of the world. I don't think that I am addicted to jealousy,
+but I may not know myself. Possibly I might have felt jealous had I been
+eclipsed by a beautiful or gifted woman, but it would be impossible for
+me to experience any such emotion on seeing a man with whom I have but a
+slight acquaintance, devote himself to a girl whom I should regard as
+not only my mental inferior, but also as beneath me morally and socially
+as well. The only sensation of which I was cognizant was a disgust
+toward the man, and mortification over the mistaken estimate of his
+character, that had led me, the day before, to suppose him on a footing
+with myself.
+
+As soon as possible after dinner I slipped away for a stroll. The place
+was very lovely, and I felt that if I could creep off with Mother
+Nature, she would smooth some cross-grained, fretful wrinkles that were
+gathering in my mind, and were saddening my soul. So when the folly and
+jesting were at their height I dipped into the thicket near at hand, and
+dodging here and there, jumping fallen logs, and untangling my way among
+the vines which embraced the stern old woods like seductive sirens, I at
+last struck a shaded path, which erelong led me down through a ravine to
+the waters of the big old lake. It too had dined, but instead of
+yielding itself to folly, was taking its siesta. Across its tranquil
+bosom the zephyrs played, stirring ripples and tiny eddies, as dreams
+may stir lights and shadows on the sleeping face.
+
+I had not walked along the beach, with the waves sighing at my feet, and
+whispering all sorts of soothing nothings, for a great distance, before
+I began to experience that uncomfortable reaction which sometimes arises
+from splitting in two, as it were, standing off at a distance and
+looking oneself in the face. I realized that I had been something of a
+prig and considerable of a Pharisee. My late discomfort was not caused
+by the fact that a young girl had cheapened herself, but by the fact
+that a man had demeaned himself and in a manner involved me, inasmuch as
+I had been led the day before by a false estimate of his character to
+regard him as my social equal. After all it was this last that hurt
+most; it was my little self and not my brother about whom I was chiefly
+concerned.
+
+I am not naturally sentimental or morbid, so I merely decided that
+internally I had made a goose of myself and not shown any surplus of
+nobility; and with a little sigh of satisfaction that I had given the
+small world about me no sign of my folly, I dismissed the subject and
+betook myself to an eager enjoyment of the day.
+
+The soft June breeze played with my hair and gently and affectionately
+touched my face; the lake quivering and rippling with passing emotions
+stretched away from me toward that other shore which it kept secreted
+somewhere on its farther side. The very sight of it, with its shimmering
+greens, turquoise blue, and tawny yellow, cooled and soothed me, and ere
+I knew it, I had slipped into a pleasant, active speculation on matters
+of larger interest than the petty subjects which had lined my brow a
+moment before. I was walking directly toward one of my families, and it
+occurred to me that I might run in and make a call, while I was near at
+hand. I had first become interested in them at church. I was impressed
+by their cleanliness and regularity of attendance, and by a certain
+judicious arrangement of their children--the parents always sitting so as
+to separate the latter by their authority and order.
+
+Another point that claimed my attention was that the children were
+changed each Sunday--a fresh three succeeding the first bunch, and on
+the third Sunday, one of the first three being added to a fresh two, to
+make up the proper complement. Both parents had a self-respecting,
+self-sacrificing look, as of people who had learned to help themselves
+cautiously from the family dish, and to "put their knives to their
+throats" before time; but kept all this to themselves, asking nothing
+from anyone, and making their little answer without murmur or complaint.
+I had, for some time, realized that the child who was now getting more
+than his share of sermons, by reappearing on the third Sunday, would
+soon be reduced to the level of his brethren, and a new relative would
+take the place which he had been filling as a matter of accommodation. I
+sought occasion to make the acquaintance of the mother of this fine
+brood, on the pretext of some church work, and after that became a
+regular visitor at their little home. The perfect equality of the
+parents; the deference with which they treated one another; and their
+quiet happiness, in spite of all labor and privation, made me realize
+that they might well extend a pitying thought to some of the apparently
+wealthy members of the church. We may yet live to see the day when a new
+scale shall come in vogue, and some Croesus who now stands in an enviable
+light, shall then pass into his true position, and become an object of
+pity. Mere dollars and cents are a misleading criterion of poverty and
+wealth.
+
+I had seen my friends, and found that the mother and her new nestling
+were in comparative comfort, and I was on the homeward stretch along the
+beach, when I saw Mr. Chance walking toward me.
+
+"I was commissioned to look you up," he said.
+
+"Thank you," I replied, "I have been of age for some years."
+
+Of course he noticed the coolness in my voice, and in some way I divined
+that he knew the cause.
+
+We went aboard our homeward-bound train about 5 o'clock.
+
+Mr. Chance helped me on, and evidently expected to sit with me, but I
+thwarted him by dropping down beside an elderly lady, an acquaintance
+who happened to be in that coach. I felt no grudge against him, but I
+didn't care to have him pass from such a girl as Miss Sprig to me; his
+conduct with her impaired his value somewhat in my eyes. My elderly
+friend saw and recognized the situation, I am sure, and governed her
+later remarks accordingly.
+
+Mr. Chance passed on, and took a seat with one of the superfluous men,
+for contrary to the rule on most such occasions, the male gender was in
+excess of the female. I had not expected him to return to Miss Sprig;
+men always become satiated with such girls, soon or late.
+
+My elderly acquaintance entered upon an animated conversation, that
+became more and more personal, and finally reached a climax when she
+leaned over, and said in a semi-whisper:
+
+"My dear Miss Leigh, you ought to marry."
+
+I had been told this a number of times; any one would suppose, to listen
+to some of these women, that I had but to put out my hand, and pluck a
+man from the nearest bush.
+
+"I don't doubt you will marry some day, but I'm afraid you may not
+choose wisely"--here she lowered her voice again--"after a man reaches
+thirty-five he becomes very fixed in his ways, and I don't think it's
+safe for a maiden lady to try to manage him; it needs some one of more
+experience."
+
+I knew she had Mr. Chance in mind, and I was so indignant at being
+warned against a man who had never shown the first symptom of any such
+folly as addressing me, that the blood mounted to my hair.
+
+Observing this, my elderly companion whispered:
+
+"I wasn't thinking of any one, in particular, my dear;" upon which I
+grew more enraged, and the color in my face deepened until I must have
+resembled an irate old turkey gobbler--"not of any one in particular, my
+dear; but on general principles, I shouldn't advise such a match. A
+widower would be just the thing for you, and there always are widowers,
+and every year the list grows--death makes inroads, you know."
+
+This idea, this hope of a second crop, as I had passed beyond the first
+picking, was comforting. I knew perfectly well whom she had in mind for
+me--a nice fat little widower, about fifty years old, who had been held
+on the marital spit, until he was done to a turn.
+
+
+
+
+                                  III
+
+
+The summer was ended, and I was not married. I am speaking now from the
+standpoint of my neighbors; to my mind life did not swing on this hinge.
+I had my occupations--there were a goodly number of needy folk to be
+looked after; there was my reading; my music; my friends, and other
+pleasures, and altogether I felt I was very well off. Not that I was
+cynically opposed to marriage; I intended to marry, if the right man
+called, but if he did not I was content to end life as I had begun it--in
+single blessedness.
+
+My neighbors, however, were of another mind--I must marry; and they kept
+making efforts to find some one who would fit, trying on one man after
+another, without his consent or mine, something as one would attempt to
+force clothes on a savage.
+
+But in spite of all such friendly offices the summer was ended, and I
+was not married. I was thinking of it on this particular day, as I stood
+gazing from the window--thinking of it with a sort of quiet wonder, for
+with an entire neighborhood intent upon this end, it was rather
+surprising that I was not double by this time. Had they succeeded I
+should now occupy a very different attitude. It is only old bachelors
+and old maids who speculate and theorize on marriage; when people are
+really about it, they say little, and (it would often appear) think
+less.
+
+It was a day for speculation--this particular one; the dead leaves were
+scurrying up the street as people ran for a train; a gusty wind was
+carrying all before it for the time being, like an overbearing debater.
+The trees shook and groaned, recoiled and shuddered, like human
+creatures in the blast; in their agitation dropping hosts of leaves that
+immediately slipped under covert, or else joined their fellows in the
+race up town. The sky was non-committal, and the lake looked dark and
+secretive, as if it meditated wreck and disaster.
+
+It was only the middle of September, but there had been several of these
+days--a hint, perchance, of what was to come by and by, as a gay waltz
+strain sometimes dips into real life, and makes one look inward for a
+moment.
+
+The house did not invite me just at this time, and the elements did; at
+least I felt that rising within me which tempted me forth to have a bout
+with them.
+
+I was walking at a goodly pace along the Boulevard--for I love the lake
+in all its moods--when two men with anxious faces overtook, and hurried
+past me.
+
+"There's been a wreck, miss," one of them--a man I knew--called back.
+
+I quickened my pace, trying to peer through the sullen fog, as I ran.
+The occasional dull boom of a gun called "Help," from out the grayness,
+with pathetic persistency. Soon another sound caught my ear, or rather
+vibrated through my frame, for the ground beneath me seemed to tremble,
+and I turned to see the swift oncoming of the life-saving crew from a
+station below us.
+
+I had barely time to jump one side, before the huge wagon, bearing the
+boat and its men, swept past me, every one of those splendid horses with
+his head lowered, and his fine muscles set for the race.
+
+It was all done with the celerity and ease with which things are
+accomplished in dreams. The sudden halting of the big wagon; the
+swinging of the boat to the ground; the swift donning of the yellow
+oilskin suits by the crew; the launch, and before one had time to wink,
+the strong strokes in perfect time, that bore the boat up and down, and
+up again, on those tumultuous waves.
+
+There were other spectators beside myself, standing with strained sight
+and hearing, and throbbing hearts, upon the strip of beach. And there
+were other workers beside the crew. I had thought we were a small
+community out there in the little suburb, and I gazed with wonder that
+morning at the crowd which seemed to have dropped from the sky, or come
+up from below.
+
+The men were chiefly from the middle and laboring classes, for the
+others go in on early trains, but Randolph Chance was there, his
+newspaper work giving him his mornings. We spoke to one another, but
+entered into no conversation. My thought was with the doomed ship, and
+so was his.
+
+"Will any of you boys join me in taking off some of those people?" he
+asked the men at hand.
+
+"It's a rough sea, Mr. Chance."
+
+"I know it, but I understand boating; I guess we can manage it."
+
+"Don't you think the life-saving crew can do the work?" I asked.
+
+"No," he answered shortly, "there won't be time for them to make enough
+trips. Come, boys, here she goes! Jump in, a half dozen of you that can
+pull oars."
+
+There were boats enough, and soon there were men enough, for the human
+heart is kind and brave, and under a good leader men will walk up to
+Death himself without flinching.
+
+Randolph Chance was big and strong, alert, and self controlled--a good
+leader. I realized all this just now, as I had not before, and I thought
+how strange it was that so much goodness should be bound up with so much
+folly. It was the old story of the wheat and the tares; and I said: "An
+enemy hath done this," and then I thought of Miss Sprig.
+
+I don't like to dwell on that morning; the experience was new to me, and
+I can't forget it; I can't rid myself of the sound of those shrieks when
+the ship went down. She struggled like a human creature under a sudden
+blow--rocked, tottered, quivered, and then collapsed.
+
+The little boats made five trips and brought ashore almost all the
+passengers and crew--all but one woman, and a little child.
+
+I was one of the many who received the chilled and frightened victims of
+the storm, and indeed, as soon as we were able to dispose of the more
+delicate and needy ones, we turned our thought to the brave crews of the
+little boats, for their exertions had been almost superhuman, and they
+were well-nigh exhausted.
+
+I bent over Randolph Chance, and begged him to take a little brandy some
+one had brought.
+
+"Give it to the women," he said feebly.
+
+"They are all cared for; I'm going to look out for you now, Mr. Chance."
+
+"I wouldn't feel so done up," he said, "if it weren't for that woman.
+She begged me to save her, and she had a little child in her arms," and
+his voice broke.
+
+"You mustn't think of her," I said, "you did all you could."
+
+"Yes, I did my best to reach her, but before I could get there, she went
+down. I can never forget her face. Oh, at such a time a fellow can't
+help wishing he were just a little quicker, and just a little stronger."
+
+He had risen from the beach where he had flung himself or fallen, on
+leaving the boat, but he fell again. I could plainly see that the
+exhaustion from which he suffered was due as much to mental distress as
+to physical effort, and I thought no less of him for that.
+
+He was finally prevailed upon to get into the wagon which had brought
+the life-saving crew, and which was now loaded down with the other
+boatmen, and many of the passengers from the wreck, and so he was taken
+home. And I walked back alone, with a queer little feeling somewhere in
+the region of my heart.
+
+Man, after all, is a harp, I said to myself; a good player--the right
+woman can draw forth wonderful music, but the wrong woman will call out
+nothing but discords.
+
+Materials don't count for everything; there's a deal in the cooking.
+
+I was on my way home, when I met two of my neighbors hurrying toward the
+scene--Mr. and Mrs. Daemon.
+
+"You're too late," I said, "it's all over."
+
+"I only heard of it a little while ago;" said Mrs. Daemon; "I was in the
+city, and I met Mr. Daemon who had just been told there was a wreck off
+this shore, and was coming out to see it, so we both took the first
+train."
+
+They hurried on, wishing to see what they could, and I walked homeward.
+
+Their appearance had slipped into my reflections as neatly as a good
+illustration slips into a discourse. I must tell you their story, and
+then see if you dare say man is not a harp, and woman not a harpist.
+
+Years ago, when I was a child, I used to see my mother wax indignant
+over the wrongs inflicted upon one of her neighbors--a gentle little
+woman whose backbone evidently needed restarching. She was the mother of
+three children, and should have been a most happy wife, for her tastes
+were domestic--her devotion to her family unbounded. Unhappily, she was
+wedded to a man of overbearing, tyrannical temper--one of those ugly
+natures in which meanness is generated by devotion. The more he realized
+his power over his poor little wife, the more he bullied her, and
+beneath this treatment she faded, day by day, until finally she closed
+her tired, pathetic eyes forever. My mother used to say she had no doubt
+the man was overwhelmed by her death, and would have suffered from
+remorse, but for the injudicious zeal of some of the neighbors, who were
+so wrought up by this culmination of years of injustice and cruelty,
+that they attacked him fore and aft, as it were, creating a scandalous
+scene over the little woman's remains, accusing him of being her
+murderer, and assigning him to the warmest quarters in the nether world.
+As a result of this outbreak of public opinion the man hardened, and
+assumed a defiant attitude which he continued to maintain toward the
+neighbors for some years. In the midst of all this furor, the sister of
+the departed wife walked calm and still. The power of the silent woman
+has often been dwelt upon, but I really do not think that half enough
+has been said, although I am aware of committing an absurdity when I
+recommend voluble speech on the subject of silence. Jesting and
+paradoxes aside, however, the silent woman wields a power known only to
+the man toward whom her silence is directed.
+
+In this particular case the power was all for the best. Erelong the
+sister-in-law obtained such mastery over the forlorn household that she
+held not only the fate of the little ones, but that of the father as
+well, in the hollow of her hand.
+
+Two years slipped by, and then the neighborhood that had dozed off, as
+it were, awoke to hear that the sister was going to marry that awful
+man.
+
+At once the vigilance committee arose, and took the case in hand.
+
+"It can't be possible," it cried to the woman.
+
+"Yes, it is true," she said.
+
+"Why, don't you know that he killed your sister?"
+
+"I know he did."
+
+"And you are going to marry him, in face of that?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, he'll kill you."
+
+"Oh, no, he won't kill me"--there was a peculiar light in her eyes that
+puzzled them.
+
+"What can you want to marry such a man for?" they cried, coming back to
+the original question.
+
+"To keep the children. If I don't marry him, some one else will, and
+those children will go out of my hands."
+
+Her devotion to the motherless brood had been past praise. There was
+nothing more to be said, and if there had been it would have availed
+nothing, for the sister had a mind of her own. She was one of those
+handsome women, who walk this earth like queens, and to whom lesser folk
+defer.
+
+She married, and lo! the neighborhood was agog once more, for strange
+stories came floating from out that handsome house, and it appeared for
+a time that instead of his killing her she was like to kill him.
+
+I remember one tale in particular, which my mother who, by the way, was
+no gossip, and was as peaceable as a barnyard fowl, was in the habit of
+rehearsing before a chosen few, occasionally, with a quiet relish that
+was amusing, considering the fact that ordinarily any comment on her
+neighbors' affairs was alien to her. It appeared that after a short
+wedding trip, during which the bridegroom had several times shown the
+cloven foot, the couple returned to their domicile. Probably the maids
+who had lived there for some years and were devoted to the new wife, had
+been warned of what was coming. At all events, they accepted everything
+as a matter of course.
+
+Upon the evening of the married pair's return, a handsome dinner was
+served. The train was a trifle behind time; the day had been cold, and
+several other untoward circumstances had conspired to let loose the
+bridegroom's natural depravity. An overdone roast served to touch off
+this inflammable material.
+
+"---- these servants!" he exclaimed; "I'll kick every one of them through
+the front window! Look at that roast!"
+
+The doors being now open, a perfect storm of ugly, evil tempers poured
+forth.
+
+At such times as these it was the custom of wife number one to shiver,
+shrink, implore--weep, then take the offending roast from the room, and
+replace it by something else which most likely was hurled at her, in
+the end.
+
+The present Mrs. Daemon neither shivered nor shrank. She knew what to
+expect when she married this man, and she was ready. The guns were
+loaded and aimed, and they went off, and presto! the enemy lay dead on
+the dining room floor.
+
+Instead of a roast beef solo, there was a duet, Mrs. Daemon's feminine
+soprano rising above her husband's masculine roar. She agreed with what
+he said as to the disposition of the servants, only adding that she
+intended to hang them all, before he put them through the front window.
+
+"To insult us during our honeymoon with such a roast," she cried; "and
+look at this gravy! It's even worse!"
+
+And with one swift stroke of her hand she sent the gravy bowl flying
+from off the table on to the handsome carpet.
+
+"In Heaven's name, what are you about?" he bawled.
+
+"Do you suppose I'd offer you such gravy; it ought to be flung in their
+faces."
+
+He gasped and stammered; thought of the recent wedding and regretted it;
+but he was married now, and to an awful shrew!
+
+Soon after dinner they repaired to the drawing room. In turning from the
+fireplace he stumbled against a large, elegant vase.
+
+"Confound that thing!" he exclaimed, "I always did hate those vases that
+set on the floor."
+
+"So do I!" she chimed in, and putting out her foot with an expressive
+jerk, she kicked it over, and broke it into a hundred fragments.
+
+"Do you see what you've done?" he cried, "have you forgotten that that
+vase was a present from me?"
+
+"No, I haven't, but we both hate it, and what's the use of keeping it?"
+
+This was but the beginning; from that time on, let him but murmur
+against a dish, and it was flung on to the floor; torrents of abuse
+were poured upon the head of a maid with whom he found fault; some of
+the handsomest furniture in the house was broken, the moment it gave
+offense to him. In no vehemence was he alone--his wife's anathemas and
+abuse joined and exceeded his, until--he had enough of it--an overdose, in
+fact, and erelong he turned a corner--came out of Hurricane Gulch into
+Peaceful Lane, and he hoped the latter would know no turning. The
+servants whispered of times when he would tell his wife of guests
+invited to the house, and entreat her not to make a scene while they
+were there.
+
+Sixteen years have gone by, and this woman is still above ground;
+stranger still the man is alive as well; and strangest of all, they are
+still under the same roof. Indeed, if report and appearance are to be
+trusted, Mr. Daemon is a model husband, and Mrs. Daemon's sudden and
+amazing temper has spent itself and left her a person of spirit indeed,
+but in nowise unamiable, and least of all, an ugly character.
+
+No one who saw them walk past me, arm in arm, that morning, on their way
+to the wreck, would have dreamed of their past.
+
+Truly, man _is_ a harp, and truly, woman does the harping.
+
+
+
+
+                                  IV
+
+
+I have been wandering about to-day in an apparently aimless fashion, but
+in reality "musing upon many things." Our horror of shiftlessness, and
+our realization of the responsibilities of life, and of the important
+work Providence has kept saving up for us, or perhaps "growing up" for
+us, like Dick Swiviller's future mate, is expressed in the fact that if
+we take an hour's leisure, anywhere betwixt sunrise and sunset, we feel
+under bonds to explain the matter not only to our own souls, but also to
+those other souls who live adjacent, and take an everlasting interest in
+ours.
+
+Consequently, I told myself this day that I was not well--that I had
+been overdoing, and that I had best "go easy for a spell." After which
+concession to my interior governor, I proceeded to apologize to my
+neighbors; to call my dogs--not to apologize to them, but to solicit
+their company--and then to hie me away to the lake, remembering to walk
+feebly as long as I was in sight.
+
+I didn't go down to the beach, but plunged into the cool, comforting
+heart of a ravine; fathomed its depths, with a feeling of delightful
+seclusion, and came out on the thither side, to find myself in the
+glowing October woods.
+
+Ill? I never felt better in my life! Good, rich streams of blood coursed
+through my veins, and painted a warm tint in my cheeks. At that moment I
+hope I looked a trifle like Nature, who was in the height of her being;
+in a sort of tropical luxuriance, like a beautiful woman at the very
+summit of maturity and perfection.
+
+I put out my hands toward a clump of sumach--I was not cold, but its
+brilliant warmth lured me as does a glowing fire. It permeated my very
+being, and set my soul a-throbbing.
+
+There had been rain, and then warmth, and October had caught all the
+prismatic colors of the drops of water, and was giving them forth with
+Southern prodigality. The birds bent over the swaying daisies, and sang
+soft love-notes into their great, dark eyes, while I looked on in an
+ecstasy of wonder and delight--the gold of the daisies, the gold of the
+sunlight, and the glow in my heart, seeming in a way all one--part and
+parcel of the munificence and cheering love of the Father. It is a
+glorious world, and it is glorious to live therein. The very air about
+me--the air I was breathing in, seemed to palpitate color and brilliant
+beauty.
+
+I talked to Duke about it, and he looked around him with a certain air
+of admiration depicted on his noble, fond old face. Fanchon was
+frivolous, as usual, and wanted to be running giddily about, hunting
+rabbits and the like; but I made her sit beside me, for it seemed a
+desecration every time the October silence of those woods was broken by
+aught save the dropping of a ripened nut, or the whirr of a homing bird.
+
+It was at the close of this mellow day that I sat in my library alone,
+before a hickory fire. Alone, did I say? Nay, Mrs. Simpson sat before me
+in the opposite rocker. You could not have seen her, or heard her, but
+she was there, and was complaining of Mr. Simpson, saying he rarely ever
+invited her to go anywhere; and as she talked I recalled a certain
+evening when I had been her guest--included in an invitation to attend a
+spectacular entertainment given by the country club, at a spot some
+distance from our homes, and I said:
+
+"Mrs. Simpson, I can offer you some recipes which I warrant you will
+work infallibly; but they are like the recipe for determining the
+interior condition of eggs, which says, put them in water; if they are
+bad they will either sink or swim--I have forgotten which. Now try this
+recipe I am about to give you, and it will either make Mr. Simpson
+unwilling to take a step in the way of recreation without you, or it
+will make him stalk forth by himself, as lonely as a crocus in early
+March--I have forgotten which; but try it often enough, and you will
+learn."
+
+
+                               _Recipe._
+
+"Fail to be ready at the appointed time, and keep him waiting until he
+is either raging or sullen; cudgel or dragoon the children until their
+tempers are well on edge. Then complain of the gait taken by Mr. Simpson
+in order to catch the train; declare frequently when aboard that you are
+tired out, and are sorry you came. After you reach the place, remark
+every now and then that you don't think the entertainment amounts to
+much, and that you do think it was a piece of extravagance to have
+given such a price for tickets to so-inferior an exhibition. Next,
+declare that you feel a draft, and are catching your 'death of cold;'
+interlard all this with frequent directions to the children--admonitions
+and complaints, and derogatory remarks about Mr. Simpson's appearance,
+and wonder--oft-expressed and reiterated, and put in the form of
+questions which you insist upon his answering, as to why he didn't wear
+his other suit of clothes. Finally, wind up the whole affair, by wishing
+you were in bed, and announcing your opinion that the trip didn't pay,
+and you are sure it will make you and the children ill.
+
+"Try this faithfully, and it won't fail to accomplish something
+decided."
+
+One more recipe.
+
+I was talking to Mrs. Purblind now; Mrs. Simpson had had her fill, and
+gone home; and Mrs. Purblind had taken her place.
+
+You couldn't have seen her--but that doesn't matter.
+
+
+                               _Recipe._
+
+"This is for making a man love to stay at home with you, and inducing
+him to be cheerful and companionable, or for making him flee your
+presence as one would flee a plague-stricken city: I've forgotten which,
+but you will soon discover, if you try it persistently.
+
+"Talk on disagreeable themes, talk persistently and ceaselessly; never
+let up; the more tired he may be the more steadily you must talk, and
+the more irritating your theme must be. Go to the gadfly; consider her
+ways and be wise. Buzz, buzz, buzz; sting, sting, sting.
+
+"On his worst nights, always select his relatives for your theme; harp
+upon their faults; their failures in life; their humiliations; the
+unpleasant things people say of them. Then if he waxes irritable,
+express surprise; remind him how he used to talk against these same
+relatives, and how much trouble he gave them when he lived at home; add
+that it's plain now that he has combined with his relatives against you,
+and that you should be surprised if he and they didn't effect a
+separation. If he is still in earshot, pass on to what he once told you,
+beginning each remark with:
+
+"You said that----
+
+"And then proceed to point out wherein and howin he has utterly failed
+to make good his promises. Further, if he is still in the house, enlarge
+upon the change you have noted in his conduct toward you--how devoted he
+used to be, and how selfish he has become. Next, tell him how
+well-dressed other women are, and how little you have on.
+
+"By this time, if not sooner, he will remember that he has night work
+clamoring for him at the office, or that his presence at the club is
+absolutely necessary, and it would be well for you to conclude your
+remarks by observing that if he bangs the front door so hard every time
+he goes out, he will loosen the hinges."
+
+"Well now," said Mrs. Purblind--the invisible Mrs. Purblind (she always
+would listen to reason, which is more than could be said for the visible
+creature of that name), "well now, I know well enough when I go on that
+way, that it isn't best to do it; but the Evil One seems to enter me,
+and I get going, and I couldn't stop unless I bit my tongue off."
+
+"Bite it then," I said, "and after that, jump into the lake; were you
+once there, your virtues would float, and your husband would love them;
+but alive, your virtues are beneath water, and your nagging is always on
+top."
+
+"But what is one to do? Supposing all these things are true--supposing
+you suffer from all these wrongs."
+
+"Did you ever right a wrong by setting it before your husband in this
+way, and at these times?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Did you ever improve your condition?"
+
+"No. But what would you do?"
+
+"Shut up. Dip deep into silence. In the first place, when you find you
+have poor material, take extra care in the cooking; study the art; use
+all the skill you can acquire, and finally, if that won't do, if it
+_positively_ won't--if you can't make a decent dish out of him, open the
+kitchen door, and heave him into the ash-barrel, and the ash-man will
+cart him away."
+
+I have traveled a little in my life, and have been entertained in
+various households. I have seen wives who deserve crowns of laurel, to
+compensate for the crown of thorns they have worn for years; but I have
+seen others, who had thorns about them indeed, but they themselves were
+not on the sharp end. Some of these stupid, ignorant women fancied they
+were doing everything possible to make home pleasant, and wondered at
+their failure. There they sat, prodding their husbands with hat-pins,
+and grieved over the poor wretches' irritability.
+
+I recall a conversation I once overheard. The husband arrived just at
+dinner time. The wife heard him come in, and called to him in a faint,
+dying voice, from the top of the stairway--
+
+"George, is that you?"
+
+The answer was spiritless.
+
+"Yes."
+
+The wife came downstairs.
+
+"Well, then, we can have dinner. I don't know that it's ready, though;
+Bridget has had a toothache all day, and she's just good-for-nothing."
+
+All this in the same faded tone of voice.
+
+The husband passed into the parlor, and began to read the paper.
+
+The weary tongue of his feminine partner wagged on, in a dreary sort of
+way.
+
+"I think these girls are so foolish; they haven't a bit of pluck. I've
+been trying to persuade her to go to the dentist's and have her teeth
+out, but she won't. I'm just tired to death to-night, and there's no
+end to the work; Bridget has been moaning around all day--why her
+teeth----"
+
+"Oh, bother her teeth!"
+
+"Why, don't you care to hear anything that goes on at home, George?"
+
+"I don't care to hear about teeth that go on at home; Bridget's teeth
+especially. I don't care a rap for the whole set."
+
+"How cross you are to-night, George! when I'm so tired, too. Johnnie,
+your face is dirty, go and wash it; be quick now, for it's time for
+dinner. I don't know that Bridget will ever call us. She's probably
+sitting out in the kitchen, nursing her teeth; why she has five roots
+there, and all of them so inflamed that----"
+
+"Bother her roots, I say!"
+
+"George, you are extremely irascible, but that's the way; I get no
+sympathy at all."
+
+"Not when you want it by the wholesale for Bridget's roots."
+
+"Well, what should we talk about? I don't see how we can ever have
+conversation in the home, if you won't listen to anything."
+
+And so they went on--the tired husband, moody and irritable, and the
+tired wife, loquacious about matters of no interest. I felt sorry for
+her who spake, and him who heard.
+
+A husband worn out with the cares and worries of an unsatisfactory
+business day, and a wife harrassed and fretted by overwork and petty
+annoyances, could succeed in talking pleasantly together only by the use
+of will-power and principle. It would require a big effort, but the
+effort would pay. It would be one of the best investments a married pair
+could make. The returns would be quick and large. I wonder more don't
+deposit in this bank.
+
+
+
+
+                                   V
+
+
+I had not forgotten Mr. Chance. This fact annoyed me excessively, since
+I saw that he had forgotten me. A forgotten man may remember a woman,
+and preserve his self-respect, if not his merriment; but when a
+forgotten woman remembers a man, that is quite another thing. Not that I
+was brooding over Mr. Chance--far from it; I thought very little of him,
+in one way, for I frequently saw him with Miss Sprig; but in spite of
+all that, I could not quite forget the impression he made upon me the
+day those boys killed the gay little squirrel, and again the day the
+poor mother went down into the deep, dark water with her child held
+close to her agonized heart. The feeling I experienced for him on that
+awful day, was unique in my history. I had never been an impressionable
+girl as far as men were concerned--I was not an impressionable woman. For
+me to carry the thought of a man home with me--for me to dwell upon this
+thought, and above all to take pleasure in dwelling upon it, meant more
+than it would have meant for some women. That was as far as the matter
+had gone, but it was far enough--too far, considering his evident
+indifference, and I was humiliated, for the first time in my life, over
+my attitude toward a man. This mortification induced me to treat Mr.
+Chance even more coldly than I should have done ordinarily, though his
+trifling with Miss Sprig would have called forth some coolness of
+conduct under any circumstances.
+
+I had abundant opportunity to express myself in this way, for Mr.
+Chance's night work necessitated late rising, and I saw him to speak to
+him almost every morning. Indeed, I took some pains to be in my garden
+during the forenoon, and from this vantage ground I could not only see
+much that took place between himself and Miss Sprig, but I also had
+opportunity to speak with him as he passed my house, on his way to the
+train.
+
+Sometimes Miss Sprig walked to the station with him. He evidently
+absorbed much of her time and thought, and she evidently regarded him as
+her latest victim, for she made him a common subject of talk, and her
+entire acquaintance had the pleasure of hearing the foolish things he
+did and said. She always represented him as deeply in love with her; I
+have no doubt she really thought that he was.
+
+For my own part, I cared very little whether he was in love, as it is
+called, or not. If he had succumbed to such a shallow-pated, bold,
+common girl, I felt contempt for him, and this contempt was deepened
+when I realized that he might be trifling with her. In any event it
+mortified and angered me to think he had been seen with me; (he had
+often called upon me and we had been out together several times), and
+that the old neighborhood gossips had coupled our names. Now it would be
+reported that Miss Sprig had cut me out; if I was pleasant toward him,
+they would wag their foolish old heads, and whisper about my efforts to
+win him back; if I was cool, they would shake these same empty pates,
+and prattle about my wounded affections. It was one of those cases where
+you can't possibly do the right thing--I mean the thing that will silence
+the clacking tongue: consequently, as luck would have it, I plunged into
+the worst possible course I could have taken, for when Mrs. Catlin, who
+lived catacorner from me, and who watched me as a cat watches a mouse,
+said something one day about Mr. Chance's feeling bound to pay attention
+to Mr. Purblind's cousin, as long as she was visiting there, and that
+she knew such a girl wasn't to his taste, and she was sure he would
+come to his senses soon, I was so angry that I lost control of my
+temper, and all control of my wits, and blazed out with:
+
+"It's none of my business or concern whom he pays attention to, and for
+my part I think they're well mated."
+
+Whereupon, realizing I had made a perfect fool of myself, and that this
+speech of mine would go the rounds of the suburb, and I could never
+erase it from the village mind--not if I lived a hundred sensible years,
+I had much ado to withhold myself from seizing a pot of bachelors'
+buttons that stood near, and breaking the whole thing over Mrs. Catlin's
+idiotic skull.
+
+It was on top of this pleasant interview with Mrs. Catlin, that Mr.
+Chance came over, and asked me to attend a concert that evening with
+himself and Miss Sprig, and he very narrowly avoided receiving the
+bachelors' buttons that Mrs. Catlin had but just escaped.
+
+I strode indoors, and began packing some of my effects, for I was
+resolved to move that day, or the next. Not because I had discovered I
+had such fools for neighbors--I had always known that--but because I had
+just discovered that they had a fool for a neighbor.
+
+Worldly considerations prevailed with me, and I took out the Penates
+that I had slammed into a trunk, mended their broken noses, and set them
+in place once more; but I hid myself away for several days, much as
+Moses was hidden, but for a less dignified reason.
+
+After a time, I cooled off, and decided to accept the world as it stood,
+and not to rage because the millennium did not come before I was fitted
+to enjoy it.
+
+Mrs. Purblind ran over one afternoon, and I could see that she was far
+from happy. I had noticed for some weeks various changes in the
+direction of improvement, in her care of her husband and household. I
+had also noticed that Mr. Purblind's conduct did not keep pace with
+these improvements, but I fancied Mrs. Purblind was not sharp enough to
+see or sensitive enough to care. In this it seems I erred, as I have in
+one, or perhaps two, other directions during my life.
+
+As Mrs. Purblind, for the first time since I have known her, didn't seem
+to care to talk, I took up a book at random, and began reading aloud. As
+luck would have it, I stumbled into some passages descriptive of the
+ideal home, and before I could stumble out again, the poor woman burst
+into tears. I suppose that tender little sentence served as the key that
+unlocked the floodgates. As soon as her grief had spent itself, she
+apologized, and ascribed her tears to bad news in a letter or something,
+and shortly afterward left. I watched her walking down the street, until
+my eyes were too dim to see her. It grieved me sorely that the cause of
+her sorrow was so deep, and so delicate that I could not offer her my
+sympathy. Her tears were piteous to me, and I wanted to take her to my
+heart, and tell her how sorry I was for her; but to do that would have
+been to take advantage of her moment of weakness, and that I could
+not--must not do. So I let her go from me with merely a few commonplace
+expressions of regret that she had received disturbing news, while all
+the time my heart was aching in unison with hers, and I kept her with me
+in thought, all day.
+
+I went down to the lake directly after dinner; several things were
+troubling me, and I wanted to lay my puzzled head on Mother Nature's
+bosom.
+
+My run down the steep sides of the bluff set the blood to coursing
+smartly through my veins, and a new and more cheerful stream of thought
+to flowing.
+
+I was tired that night, and it was a luxury to lie flat upon my back on
+the beach, listening to the rhythmical thud of the big, long wave at my
+feet, and the song of the stars overhead. There is something unspeakably
+tranquillizing in the studded dome of heaven; there is also something
+unspeakably sad. It bends over the struggling, yearning, aching human
+heart, as a mother, who has attained that peace which is the outgrowth
+of suffering, bends over the passion, the sobbing, and the despair of
+her child.
+
+"Hush, hush, it is all for the best."
+
+"I cannot--will not bear it!"
+
+"Hush, you know not what you say. God's hand is in it all."
+
+"There is no God in this, or if there is, He hates me!"
+
+"Ah, my child, He loves you with unutterable love, and pities with
+unutterable pity. Yet a little while, and the day shall shine upon you;
+then you will know--a little while."
+
+I turned from the great vault above me, and looked out upon the restive
+waters, and as I turned I saw a shadowy Mrs. Purblind sitting beside me
+on the beach, and questioning with sad eyes and heart, the stars that
+bent to listen.
+
+"I have tried," she said; her face, usually so thoughtless,
+tear-stained, and quivering.
+
+"Yes, I know you have tried," I answered; "I have seen that!"
+
+"But he is just the same."
+
+"Yes, and will be for a long time, and you will have to go on trying for
+years, if you want to carry him back to the old days," I said.
+
+"That's one of the hardest things in all the world!" she cried
+passionately, "if we stop doing right--the right stops with us, but if we
+stop doing wrong and begin to do right, the wrong goes on."
+
+"Not for always," I said, looking up to the stars.
+
+"Oh, for so long!"
+
+The great dome rich with gems, and deep with peace, bent over her, and
+by and by her sobs ceased.
+
+"You are trying, I know," I reiterated, "but you don't understand--you
+can't, for you have only a woman's nature."
+
+"What should I have, pray?"
+
+"A woman's, and a man's, and a child's, to be a perfect wife and mother;
+that is, you must be able to comprehend them all. Your husband came home
+cross to-night."
+
+"Yes, irritable toward us all, and I so hoped to have everything
+pleasant this evening."
+
+"He, too, had his hopes to-day, and they were flung to the ground, and
+broken before his eyes."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"The special agent of a company that he has for a year been working to
+get, has been in town."
+
+"Yes, I know."
+
+"Yesterday this agent led him to suppose he was to be the favored one.
+All to-day he has been working toward that end, and near night he heard
+that this man had gone, without even saying good-by. You remember that
+Mr. Purblind left home in a hurry this morning, with scarcely a bite of
+breakfast; he took very little luncheon, and----"
+
+"Well, we had dinner at the usual time, if he'd said he was hungry, I'd
+have hurried it."
+
+"He was not hungry--he was much more than that. Did you ever see a vessel
+whose fuel is well-nigh exhausted drag herself into port? What is the
+first thing to be done?"
+
+"I don't know--replenish her?"
+
+"Yes, put coal on board. Now when I saw your husband walk up to his
+front door, I said to myself, he needs coaling. A good home should be a
+good coaling station; remember that."
+
+"But what of me?" she asked with some impatience, "I, too, have my
+worries and exertions--do I never need coaling?"
+
+"Frequently," I answered.
+
+"Well, who is to coal me, I should like to know?"
+
+"Yourself."
+
+"That's rather one-sided, I think. Why shouldn't my husband look to
+that?"
+
+"My dear," I said earnestly, "I never knew but one man who saw when his
+wife needed coaling, and attended to her wants. When he died (for the
+gods loved him), it was found that his shoulder-blades were abnormally
+large--at least so the doctors said, but I knew all the time that his
+wings had budded."
+
+"Well, this life is too much for me," murmured Mrs. Purblind drearily.
+
+"Then don't attempt the next."
+
+"I shan't, if I can help it, and yet I'm like to soon, for Mr.
+Purblind's mother is coming on a visit to us, and I know she'll worry
+the breath out of me."
+
+"Don't let her."
+
+"How can I help it?"
+
+"By keeping the peace with her."
+
+"Oh, I've tried that before; I've done everything I could for her, and
+deferred to her, and ignored myself until I seemed to fade out of
+existence, but it didn't work."
+
+"Oh, yes, it did, for it made her ten times as troublesome as before."
+
+"It certainly did, but what do you mean?"
+
+"I mean that a mother-in-law is like a child, in that she is spoiled by
+having her own way."
+
+"But what can I do?"
+
+"Walk calmly on, doing the best you can, but recognizing your own
+authority and dignity, and finally she will come to recognize it. Be
+mistress of your own household, and director of your own children--all
+this quietly and pleasantly, but without wavering, and in the end she
+will respect and probably admire you, though she will never think you do
+just right, or are just the woman who ought to have married her son."
+
+"But I've always been in hopes of making her love me as she loves her
+own daughter."
+
+"That is what every romantic woman starts out with, but by and by, in
+the storm and stress of domestic life, that ideal is cast overboard, as
+a struggling ship throws its extra cargo over the rail."
+
+"Why is it, I wonder, a man never fights with his father-in-law. Men
+are said to be naturally pugnacious."
+
+"That's a mistake, my dear; a man would go several miles any day to
+avoid a fuss; it is we women who delight in scraps. A man occasionally
+has a little set-to with the girl's father, before he gains his consent
+to the engagement, but once he's married, it's the old lady he has to
+train for, or I should say who trains for him, because as a general
+thing it is she who gives battle, not he. The real conflict, however,
+takes place between the two women--the wife and her mother-in-law. If you
+want to see 'de fur fly,' as the darkies say, you must always come over
+to the feminine side of the house. Then you'll have your fill of
+explanations, expostulations, and recriminations."
+
+"Well, certainly I never had any trouble with my father-in-law."
+
+"Trouble! Do you know what I'd do, if I had a troublesome
+father-in-law?"
+
+"No--murder him?"
+
+"Murder him, indeed! Woman, have you no mercantile instinct? That would
+be like killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Why, the first
+showman would take the old gentleman off my hands, and pay me a handsome
+price for him. You must know that a troublesome father-in-law is so rare
+that the public would flock to see him. But you couldn't get anything
+for a troublesome mother-in-law. There are too many families trying to
+get rid of them, at any price. The sale of parents-in-law is governed by
+the same laws as other commodities, and these interfering,
+mischief-making mothers-in-law have become a drug in the market."
+
+"Well, there is Mrs. Earnest, her mother-in-law is a jewel."
+
+"Ah, now you mention a most valuable piece of property, for a woman like
+that--who models her conduct on the pattern of Aunt Betsey Trotwood, in
+David Copperfield's household, is a jewel of such magnitude and
+brilliancy, that she will some day be seen sparkling in Abraham's bosom,
+from a distance of millions of miles."
+
+"Well, how would you cook mothers-in-law?"
+
+"Make a delicious dish of your husband and then take a pinch--a good
+pinch--of mother-in-law, and throw her in as 'sass.' Speaking of this,
+remember that too many cooks spoil the broth, and wife and mother-in-law
+combined generally make a pretty mess of the husband."
+
+
+
+
+                                  VI
+
+
+I was feeling a trifle dull and heavy one afternoon, and after several
+vain efforts to do good work, decided that a vigorous tramp would set my
+blood to flowing, and the wheels of my thinking mill to revolving. So
+out I started toward the lake, as usual. There had been a storm off the
+Michigan shore, and we were just beginning to get evidence of it, in the
+big waves that were tumbling on the beach, I like the lake in this
+mood--in any mood, indeed, but especially when it is rough and wild.
+
+After quite a brisk tramp along, or near the beach, I turned back; but
+before going home again, I wished to come in closer contact with the
+tumultuous waters. At risk of being wet by the spray, which the waves
+were tossing on high, much as an excited horse tosses the foam from his
+chafing mouth, I climbed around the little bathing house, set on the
+shore end of the pier, and then boldly walked out, and took my seat in
+the midst of the tumult.
+
+The passion of the lake was magnificent; far out--as far as eye could
+stretch--there were oncoming waves; the clan was gathering, and all in
+battle array. What an overwhelming charge they made! Surely no one could
+resist that onslaught. There was no deliberation, as was usual with a
+moderately heavy sea; no calm, inevitable heaving of the water; no
+steady rising, ever higher and higher, until it crested, curved, and
+fell with a boom. There was nothing of this to-day; no preparation;
+everything was ready; the warriors, armed and mounted, were already
+making the attack.
+
+For a time I gloried in it all; even the anger of the waves was more
+admirable than terrific in my sight. It seemed as though they
+interpreted my boldness as defiance, and accepted the challenge. From
+near, from far, they were coming, and all upon me, or if that is taking
+too much to myself, they were making their attack upon the shore,
+meaning to claim it for their own, and incidentally to sweep me, a poor,
+insignificant atom, from their sight.
+
+By and by I found myself oppressed with the desolation of the scene. As
+the day waned, and the chill that foreshadows night fell upon me, or
+rather rose upon me, from the cold waters, I began to feel lonely and
+unprotected. The waves looked so hungry, so cruel; they reached out and
+up toward me; they encircled with the inevitable, as with a relentless
+fate. I began to be afraid of them, and I rose to go back to shore.
+
+Unlike the ocean, the lake is fixed; but that day the increase of the
+waves, in height and fury, had the effect of a rising tide. I realized
+that it would be very difficult for me to get off the pier alone, and I
+was more than relieved to see Randolph Chance, who had come down for a
+look at the lake before taking his train to the city. He joined me
+without trouble; a man can perform those feats so easily, whereas a
+woman is physically hampered.
+
+"You're in rather a bleak place, Miss Leigh," he said.
+
+"Yes, I have just begun to realize that."
+
+"Oh, well, we'll manage to get off safely; but you mustn't mind a little
+wetting. Just give yourself to me, and we'll be on shore in a minute."
+
+I gladly did as he bade me; it was luxury just then to have some one as
+strong and capable as he take the reins. He led me around the bathing
+house, and then lifted me from the pier. As he set me safely on the
+shore, his eyes met mine, and his look was a revelation to me. I was,
+for a moment, too startled to think, and the strangest sensation I ever
+experienced crept over me. If a look could speak, Randolph Chance--but I
+did not put it into words--not then, at least, but it was all very
+strange to me--most inexplicable.
+
+We walked on quietly, both, I dare say, feeling our silence to be a
+trifle awkward. It was for this reason that I decided to shorten the
+time of our being together, by stopping at the house of a friend. The
+wetting I had received from the waves did not amount to anything for one
+so hardy as myself, so I was not deterred on that account.
+
+The house where I stopped was a pleasant resort for me. Both Mr. and
+Mrs. Bachelor were interesting people. I had known Mr. Bachelor for
+fifteen years. He had once been one of our young men, as the saying is,
+young merely in the sense of being single, not in actual years, for at
+the time I met him he was nearer the forty than the thirty line. Nature
+seemed to have marked him for single--cussedness, I had almost said,
+from the first. He was no favorite with any set, being grumpy, fussy,
+and peculiar. But five years after he rose into sight above my horizon
+he married a most sensible, lovely woman; not a child, by the way, for
+she was almost forty; and in less than no time, it seemed to us, had a
+family of four children about him, one following the other so closely
+that the predecessor was all but overtaken. At first we said among
+ourselves that he must have borrowed these infants, and stuck them up in
+his home for appearance's sake, in some such manner as the proprietor of
+a summer hotel once stuck a number of trees in his grounds, to make a
+sandy, barren spot seem fertile and enticing. But by and by we became
+convinced that these little human shoots were his very own, not alone
+because they evinced some disagreeable crotchets similar to his, but
+also because of the love he bore them, and the change they wrought in
+his character and life. Even around court the man was regarded
+differently; warmth and esteem being extended him now in place of the
+dislike he had formerly aroused. He had never ceased to be a study to
+me, and a certain flavor of romance hung about his home--a delightful
+flavor, that made it an attractive visiting spot. So it was with
+considerable pleasure that I called upon this particular day.
+
+I was shown into the parlor--a comfortable room, back of which was a most
+home-like apartment, called the study. As I sat there, awaiting Mrs.
+Bachelor's coming, I noticed that her husband's desk, which stood in the
+center of the study, was strewn with dolls, and paraphernalia closely
+related thereto. My observations were interrupted by the entrance of
+Mrs. Bachelor, who welcomed me in her cordial, cheery way. A minute
+later Mr. Bachelor came in, and gave me what was for him, a most
+friendly greeting. He excused himself in a little while, and went into
+his study. He had, so his wife explained, been ill with a cold for a
+day or two, and had been working at home the while, to make ready for
+the approaching trial of an important case.
+
+Upon his entering the study, a scene occurred which I shall endeavor to
+give you as near to the life as possible. As a matter of course he
+steered directly for his desk, and his eye immediately fell upon a
+quantity of grandchildren, variously disposed thereon.
+
+"Well, I declare!" he exclaimed; "if this isn't outrageous!" and he
+gathered up the whole crop--there were fully a dozen dolls, in all stages
+of development, and much doll furniture, and toggery of all kinds.
+
+After dumping the obnoxious elements on to a divan, he returned to his
+desk, and with much grumbling sorted out his law-papers, and went to
+work. But soon after he had cleared his visage, as it were, his small
+daughter--a pretty child, four years old--ran into the room hugging two
+puggy puppies, and two kittens of tender age. It did not take her long
+to grasp the situation. Running to the divan, she uttered a series of
+cries, indicative both of alarm and displeasure.
+
+"What--what--what is the matter?" said Mr. Bachelor, who had probably
+forgotten his offense by this time.
+
+"You naughty papa!" cried the child; "what did you disturve my dollies
+for?"
+
+"What did you put them on my desk for?" queried her father indignantly;
+"the idea! I haven't a spot on earth I can call my own."
+
+"You've just mussed their best frocks all up," continued the child, who,
+without paying the slightest attention to her father's vigorous protest,
+was rapidly replacing her family, puppies, kittens, and all, on the
+desk.
+
+"I tell you I can't have them here! I have important papers around, and
+I must be allowed to work in peace. Take them off!"
+
+He started to sweep them on to the floor, but the little girl uttered a
+shriek.
+
+"Papa, papa, don't," she screamed. Then, as he desisted, she added,
+"They've just _dot_ to be here--it's the bestest, highest table, and the
+little doggies and kitties can't jump off, and I'm doing to have a
+tea-party with Mamie Williams. You must put your nasty old papers
+somewhere else."
+
+"This is an outrage!" he exclaimed, standing up and declaiming as if he
+were in court; "this is imposition run riot; it has reached a climax,
+and I'll endure it no longer. Evidently I have no rights that even the
+smallest and youngest in the household is bound to respect. It is a
+notorious fact that I am ruled with a rod of iron, and that even this
+baby of the family flouts me. I say I will stand it no longer. I have
+been held with a tight rein, and a curb bit, but I will turn at last."
+
+In his excitement, his metaphors became confused, horses and worms
+being all mixed up in a heap.
+
+"Take the desk, take the whole of it, and to-morrow I shall leave the
+house! I shall go back to my bachelor quarters, where I once lived in
+peace."
+
+The child regarded him seriously, from out her great, brown eyes.
+
+"Don't go away, papa," she said at last, "you may have a little of your
+desk, if you won't take too much. I didn't mean to be cross at you," she
+added, with a pathetic quiver of her lip.
+
+"Well, well!" exclaimed the father hastily, "there, there!" and he laid
+his hand softly on her curly little head, "I guess we'll get on somehow;
+if I can have a part of the desk, that'll answer. It's big enough for
+two, I guess."
+
+And he began moving his papers around.
+
+"Not there, papa," said the little tyrant; "no, that's the sunny side,
+and little bowwow must be there, 'cause he's dot the badest cold, and
+the kitties haven't dot but little weeny eyes yet, and they _must_ be
+where it's most lightest."
+
+"Well, well, well, where _may_ I sit? I must get to work."
+
+"You may sit right there, and you mustn't fiddet, 'cause you'll upset
+dolly's crib, if you do."
+
+Soon he was safely bestowed, off on one side, and as he obediently kept
+to his limitations, all proceeded happily.
+
+During this domestic scrimmage, Mrs. Bachelor went on chatting in her
+lively, pleasant fashion with me, never betraying, in any way, that she
+overheard the scene in the study. I was so occupied with it, that I
+could pay no heed to her remarks; but she was a wise woman, and knew
+that her husband was being cooked to a delicious turn, and that any
+interference on her part, would spoil the dish. I have since learned
+that occasionally, when she sees that the fire is really too hot for
+him, she comes to his rescue.
+
+"If he sputters and fizzes, don't be anxious; some husbands do this
+till they are quite done."
+
+Evidently Mrs. Bachelor has studied her cook-book.
+
+
+
+
+                                  VII
+
+
+The little touch of sentiment that flashed, as it were, from Randolph
+Chance as he lifted me off the pier, was presently blotted, as far as
+effect upon me was concerned, by the return of Miss Sprig to the
+Purblind household, and the renewal of his attentions to her. At least I
+regarded them as renewed, and I coldly turned my back upon him, and let
+him go his way, without further thought or speculation.
+
+I was daily becoming more interested in another acquaintance--Mr.
+Gregory, a man of years, whom I had known for some time. He had been a
+visitor at our house when my parents were living, and had, from time to
+time, shown me friendly attentions since their death. He frequently
+invited me to places of entertainment, something Randolph Chance seldom
+did, and in many ways contributed to my comfort and happiness. Single
+women are very dependent upon their men friends for pleasures of this
+sort; few of them care to go out at night alone, and even when they go
+in company with each other, the occasion lacks a zest which belongs to
+it when a woman has an escort. It is strange that many men--many of those
+who believe in the dependence of women, fall into the selfish habit of
+going alone to theater, concert, and lecture, and so force the women of
+their acquaintance into a position which their sentiments would seem to
+deprecate.
+
+While in no way obtrusive, or gushing in his attentions, Mr. Gregory was
+most thoughtful and kind, and few women are without appreciation of
+conduct of this type.
+
+Life flowed on with me with a quiet current. I was not a woman to make
+scenes with myself or others, and my circumstances were such as to
+permit of an undisturbed tenor of way.
+
+One bright afternoon, just as I returned from a long walk, Mrs. Purblind
+ran over to see me, and soon afterward, Mrs. Cynic dropped in. I never
+could bear this latter woman; something malevolent seems to emanate from
+her; something that is more or less unhealthful to the moral nature of
+all who come in contact with it, just as the miasma from a swamp is
+poisonous to the physical being.
+
+It chanced that I had just finished writing a little story, drawn from
+the life-page of my domestic experience; it was so endeared to my memory
+that I was not like to forget it, and yet, in the course of years, its
+outlines would probably fade a trifle if I did not take care to preserve
+their distinctness; for that reason I had written it out.
+
+I ought to have had better sense than to read anything of this kind to
+Mrs. Cynic. In the presence of such people, that which is fresh,
+beautiful, and holy withers, as a cluster of dewy wild flowers is
+parched and killed by the hot, sterile breath of a furnace.
+
+Usually I have some judgment in such matters, but that day all
+discretion seemed to take wings.
+
+A remark of Mrs. Purblind's led up to the subject. This little woman can
+say ugly things at times, but they are stung out of her, as it were, by
+some particular hurt, and are not the expression of her real nature. She
+has a kind, good heart, though her judgment and tact are somewhat
+lacking.
+
+We happened to be speaking of men, and something was said about their
+capacity for devotion, when Mrs. Purblind exclaimed:
+
+"Devotion! the masculine nature doesn't know the meaning of the word,
+unless it is devotion to self."
+
+"I must read you a little story I've written to-day. It's a true one,
+remember--I think I shall call it, 'Devotion'."
+
+I went to my desk, took out the manuscript, and read as follows:
+
+"A few years ago I owned a pair of foxhounds. Duke was the gentleman of
+the family, and Lady was his consort, and a lady she was indeed. I can
+hardly imagine a human creature of greater intelligence and refinement
+than this dumb beast. The attachment between herself and Duke was unique
+in its strength, and in its demonstration. He was fully as noble and as
+intelligent as she, but of a less lively, cheerful temperament. The
+arrival of six little Dukes was an occasion of anxiety and excitement
+for us all, and we were much relieved when the event was safely over,
+and we saw Lady and her beautiful family established in peace and
+comfort. Matters had run smoothly for about four or five weeks, when one
+day I was startled by a series of sharp yelps, which I knew came from
+Lady. I ran to the window, and saw the poor creature rolling in the
+middle of the street, in the greatest pain. By her side was Duke, and
+his outcries mingled with hers. The hard-hearted teamster, whose wagon
+had done the mischief, had driven off, but I ran to the rescue, and
+finally got her into the stable, where her little ones were awaiting
+her. She only lived a few hours, and her last act was an effort to nurse
+her clamorous doggies, while with her great, sad eyes she seemed to say
+good-by to Duke! The grief of this noble fellow was so great that we
+thought he would go mad. For a time he refused to let us come near her.
+He stood over her, licking her senseless form, pushing her gently once
+in a while with his head and paws, and then uttering lamentable cries
+when he saw that she did not move, or in any way respond; and meanwhile
+the tiny dogs were crawling over her, and mingling their voices with
+their father's deep notes of distress. It was a most pitiable sight,
+and we all breathed a sigh of relief when the dear old fellow permitted
+us to lead him off into the house, and we had an opportunity to dispose
+of poor Lady. I'll not try to tell of Duke's excitement and distress
+when he missed her; of his frantic search all over the place, and of how
+we followed him about, and talked to him, and tried to divert him; or
+how we all--Duke, and the rest of us, finally sat down in the stable,
+beside the motherless little family, and wept together.
+
+"The morning after Lady died, I went out to the stable with a cup of
+warm milk. I had not been able to do anything with the puggy little dogs
+the evening before, but I thought that their sharp hunger, after several
+hours of abstinence, would lead them to make an effort to drink. I
+carried a spoon with me, also a rag to suck, and a bottle, with a
+nipple--all kinds of appliances, in fact.
+
+"What was my surprise upon entering the stable, to find Duke occupying
+Lady's place. He was evidently trying to answer the small dogs'
+clamorous demand for breakfast, and it was also plain that his failure
+in this respect amazed and bewildered him. He lay down just as he had
+seen Lady do, and when this did not suffice he tried another position;
+failing again, he withdrew a few paces, and sat for a moment in an
+attitude of profound thought; returning soon, and trying another device.
+This resulting unfavorably, he made still another, and then another
+attempt, and finally, grieved to the heart, and worried by the hungry
+cries of the small dogs, he withdrew once more, and lifting his nose
+high in air, deliberately yowled.
+
+"At this point I obtruded myself upon the scene and went up to the dear
+old dog, took his distressed head in my arms, and talked to him. I
+explained to him the difficulty of the situation; how, owing to
+circumstances quite beyond his control, he could not take Lady's place.
+I urged upon him that he must yield gracefully to his limitations;
+showed him my appliances, and then when I had soothed and interested
+him, and he had consented to desist, and let me try, I made my essay.
+
+"It was a study for an artist--my appealing, pitying, impatient, scolding
+efforts to induce those unreasonable little creatures to accept a rag,
+or a bottle in place of a mother. I shouldn't have cared so much, that
+is, I could have taken longer without minding it, had it not been for
+Duke. His anxiety was so great, and his distress over their cries so
+keen, that I was quite unnerved, and as is often the case, I showed my
+concern by scolding and abusing the objects in whose behalf I was
+exerting myself.
+
+"I was all but ready to give up, when one of the smallest and liveliest
+of the puppies (a feminine creature, of course) suddenly seized upon the
+nipple of the bottle with a lusty grip, and sucked away till she was all
+but strangled with milk. Her example was speedily followed by the
+others, but before I had gone the rounds Duke comprehended that our
+trials were ended, and then--well, the dignified, sad-faced old doggie
+took leave of his wits, temporarily, as well as his dignity. He capered,
+he rolled on the ground, he barked, he bayed, he played leap-frog over
+my head, did everything but stand on end, and very nearly that, in his
+joy.
+
+"From that time on he never failed to be present when his infants were
+fed, and when I weaned them, and taught them to drink, he was an
+interested spectator; helpful too, for one time when a small dog was
+obdurate, he took him by the nape of the neck, and shook him thoroughly,
+before turning him over to me for another trial. On another occasion,
+the pig of the family drank too deep, as it were, from the flowing bowl,
+and might have been drowned had it not been for his watchful parent.
+Duke noticed that the small fore-quarters were plunged into the liquid
+dinner; he also observed that the hind quarters were slowly rising in
+midair. He watched all this, with his accustomed, kindly gravity, until
+the equilibrium was lost, and Master Pup plunged into the pearly sea.
+Then the startled father leaped to his feet, snatched his offspring from
+a milky grave, and laid him, sneezing and choking, sadder and wiser, on
+the sunny grass-plat to dry.
+
+"In due time Duke recovered, in a measure, from his grief over Lady's
+death, and took unto himself another partner. As is usual in the case of
+widowers, his second choice was injudicious, for Fanchon was a giddy,
+young thing, that didn't have sense enough to come in out of the rain.
+
+"But Duke saw no defects; he was all tenderness and attention.
+
+"It was early winter, but the weather was intensely cold, and we had
+taken Duke and Fanchon in from the stable, and had housed them
+comfortably in the cellar.
+
+"One night I was wakened out of a sound sleep by cries of distress. I
+called my sister and her husband, who were visiting me, and in various
+costumes, all hands went below. Fanchon was running about, crying and
+moaning, and Duke was alternately making frantic efforts to soothe her,
+and kiyiying in a manner that was fearful to hear. We succeeded at last
+in getting Fanchon to heed us, and coaxed her to settle down in a
+comfortable bed we made for her on the far side of the cellar, where she
+would have the benefit of the warmth from the furnace, and would be out
+of the way of the cold air which came in through a window, broken the
+day before.
+
+"As soon as she was pacified, Duke was again happy, and he cheerfully
+lay down to rest. We retired to our rooms, and being very weary, with
+much sightseeing during the day, dropped into a sound sleep. The next
+morning I hurried down into the cellar, wondering whether I should see
+two dogs, or a dozen. To my surprise and dismay, I saw none at all. The
+cellar was silent and deserted. I opened the outer door, and with a
+failing heart, stepped into the clear, bitter cold of a temperature
+something like fifteen degrees below zero. Just around the corner of the
+house, in a nook slightly sheltered from the biting air, I came upon the
+family. Fanchon lay upon the ground, the snow carefully pushed up around
+her, and her clinging little ones, who were taking their breakfast. Over
+all--Fanchon and her puppies--covering them with his faithful
+body--shielding them with his never-failing love and devotion, was my
+noble hound--as noble, as faithful a dog, as ever man or woman loved. I
+called to him, and rubbed him, but all in vain, and meanwhile stupid,
+silly Fanchon, that had foolishly left her warm bed in the cellar,
+looked on with cheerful indifference, and wagged her tail."
+
+"Well," said Mrs. Cynic, when I had concluded the reading, "that story
+seems to me to prove but one thing."
+
+"And what is that, pray?" I asked, realizing I had been foolish to read
+such a tale to such an auditor.
+
+"Why, the truth of Madame de Sta�l's remark: 'The more I see of men, the
+more I admire dogs.'"
+
+That hateful woman! She always leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I
+know she springs from some corrupt ancestry. She has all the marks of
+inward decay upon her.
+
+When she had gone, Mrs. Purblind and I breathed more freely.
+
+"She doesn't believe in anything good," said Mrs. Purblind.
+
+"No," I answered in a tone of disgust, "she has nothing within her to
+answer to it."
+
+"How different she is from Mrs. Earnest," continued Mrs. Purblind; "why,
+you can hardly convince that woman that anyone is really mean, and
+goodness knows she has trouble enough to make her bitter. What a husband
+she's got! That man makes me so mad! He's ugly from sheer badness."
+
+I thought for a moment, and then I assented. I really do believe that
+man is ugly without cause. He and his wife live at some distance from
+us, and I've often visited them. I should like to give you a scene to
+which I was witness one evening when I was a trifle ill, and lay on a
+divan just out of their dining room.
+
+Mrs. Earnest is like a delicate flower that lifts its pretty face and
+smiles in the sunlight of love, but is bowed and broken 'neath the
+thunder-cloud and storm. She longs to make her home attractive, but her
+husband has no sympathy with this desire; to him home is merely the
+place where he finds food and lodging, and a safety valve for such moods
+and tempers as he is obliged to keep under control in the business
+world.
+
+The efforts that this poor little wife makes, in her timid way, to start
+up pleasant subjects of conversation would move a rock to tears.
+
+This is the scene, as I recall it--a specimen scene.
+
+The family--husband, wife, and three little children were at dinner, as I
+said.
+
+"What's been happening to-day? anything of interest?" asked the little
+wife.
+
+"Not that I know of," was the gruff reply.
+
+Silence, broken by the occasional sound of eating implements, ensued.
+
+"Pass the bread, will you?" he said in a short tone, directly.
+
+"See how you like this bread; we are trying the entire wheat flour. I
+think it's very nice tasting, and they claim it's rich in nutrition.
+It's warranted to make blood, bone, and muscle--brain, too, I believe.
+I'm going to eat several pounds a day; I may astonish the world yet."
+
+This feeble joke was received in stolid silence, and the poor little
+wife crept into her shell.
+
+After a time she peeped out again, and made another effort.
+
+"I went to the womans' club this afternoon; Mrs. Pierson invited me.
+They had a very interesting meeting; they brought up the subject of
+smoke consumers. I never realized before how much property is ruined
+yearly by the smoke. It does seem as if manufacturers ought to use
+consumers."
+
+At this point Bruin openly yawned, and the little wife again retired.
+But with astonishing elasticity of courage she issued from her shell
+once more, this time with the hope that a more masculine theme would
+meet with some response.
+
+"They brought a petition around here to-day for us to sign. It seems
+there is some talk of flooring the reservoir and using it as a beer
+garden this coming summer, and the neighborhood has been called upon to
+protest against it."
+
+"I know all about that," he growled.
+
+"Have you signed it?"
+
+"I have."
+
+Again silence fell as a wet cloak upon them, and the little woman sat
+there racking her brains, almost depleted by this time, for the
+atmosphere which such a man as that creates is warranted to dry up all
+the intellectual juices.
+
+One more despairing effort. The children had now left the table, so
+anecdotes of them were in order. Probably the poor little wife thought
+that this man could be wakened into attention by a story about one of
+his children.
+
+"Mamie asked me where cats went to when they died. 'They don't go
+anywhere,' I said; 'when they die, that's the end of them.'
+
+"'Do they turn to dust?' she asked.
+
+"'Yes, just turn to dust,' I said.
+
+"'Why, then,' she exclaimed, and her eyes grew as big as saucers, 'when
+horses run 'long the streets, are they kicking up cats?'"
+
+All the man said was, "Umph," and the little wife's peal of merry
+laughter was checked, and the ha ha's grew fainter and spread farther
+and farther apart, until they died away altogether, and I felt like
+charging upon that burly, surly demon, and butting him out of the
+window.
+
+"How would you serve such a man, if you were his wife?" asked Mrs.
+Purblind.
+
+"_Roasted!_"
+
+
+
+
+                                 VIII
+
+
+Mr. Gregory's attentions had become an accepted fact in my life. They
+were dignified and steadfast, and I received them with a certain calm
+pleasure. They had not, as yet, reached the point of declaration, but it
+was clear to me, and to everyone else, who knew anything about the
+matter, that they were tending thither, and my own thought had reached
+the point of acceptance. I had the greatest respect for him as a man; we
+were congenial in our tastes, and personally agreeable to one another.
+The position he had to offer me was a most dignified, desirable one, as
+he was not only a man of sterling integrity, but also a man of wealth;
+there was, in short, everything in favor of the alliance, and I looked
+upon it quietly, but with a sense of substantial, and steadfast comfort.
+
+Such an event as a marriage cannot even in prospect, face a thoughtful
+woman without making a great change in her life. Mr. Gregory was that
+type of man who ought not to be allowed to offer himself in a direction
+where there was no intention of acceptance, for his character and age--he
+was fifty or more--forbade all thought of lightness or trifling, and gave
+one the assurance that any marked attention he might show, was
+significant. My acquaintance with him had extended over several years,
+and during this period there had been abundant opportunity, on both
+sides, for study of character.
+
+In a quiet way, I had been arranging my affairs, preparatory to my
+expected change in manner of life. I had, as a matter of course, done
+considerable thinking during this time. I had experienced none of the
+rapture always associated with a romantic attachment, but I was quietly
+happy, and this condition was a far more natural one for me, with my
+cool, matter-of-fact temperament--a far more promising one, in respect to
+future enjoyment, I felt, than something more ecstatic.
+
+I had seen but little of Mr. Chance for some weeks. He had called
+several times, but on each of these occasions, we had passed a somewhat
+constrained, and I thought, a rather dull evening. Just why this
+constraint should have crept into our intercourse when we seemed to be
+coming to a better understanding than heretofore, and were beginning to
+enjoy a warmer degree of friendship than we had known, I could not
+understand; but its presence was undeniable, and it spoiled everything
+for me, as far as he was concerned, causing me to look upon his calls in
+the light of a bore, rather than as a pleasure, as I once had done.
+Occasionally a memory of that evening when he came to my rescue, as the
+hungry, cruel waves gathered like wolves about me, would flit across my
+mind, as a shadow may flit across a sunlit hill. Once in a long while I
+found myself dwelling upon the look he gave me that night, and this, and
+the memory of his touch, as he lifted me off the pier, would dim the
+sunshine of my cheerfulness. I could not have explained this to myself,
+and I never dwelt upon the thought; whether from disinclination, or from
+fear, I could not tell. I only knew that I always turned from it
+abruptly, and passed on to my plans affecting my life with Mr. Gregory.
+It was quite easy to plan in this direction, for there was nothing
+uncertain, as there might have been in the case of a younger man. Mr.
+Gregory was fixed in his tastes, and way of life; I, too, at my age, had
+formed settled habits, and this he knew; but, fortunately, in most
+directions, we were in harmony, and where we were not, we had fallen
+into a way of making certain concessions.
+
+So I had matters pretty well laid out; all my theories, born of years
+of close observation of affairs domestic, were now brought to bear on my
+own future. Secretly I esteemed myself a competent cook, when a husband
+was the dish under discussion. Mr. Gregory was not one to require any
+very complicated wisdom in the culinary art. A little gentle stewing; no
+strong seasoning; no violent changes or methods of any sort; but
+regularity, evenness; quiet affection; respect; comfort, and general
+conformance to taste and nature would be necessary, and I felt myself
+fully equal to it all.
+
+Matters had well-nigh culminated, for I had received a note from Mr.
+Gregory asking when I would be at home to him, and saying that he had a
+matter of great moment to both of us, to lay before me. I set an
+evening, and then awaited his coming without the slightest quickening of
+my pulse, but with a serenity and cheerfulness that appealed to my
+common sense as the surest forecast of happiness.
+
+Just at this juncture, a swift turn of the wind-cock, or some
+imprudence of diet, resulted in my taking cold--a most unusual procedure
+for me, and at the time of Mr. Gregory's call I was unable to see him,
+being confined to my bed, in the care of a doctor, who was fighting a
+case of threatened pneumonia.
+
+Mr. Gregory expressed his sincere regret, and the next day called again,
+and left flowers. These attentions were repeated daily, and soon after
+hearing of my improvement, he wrote me a letter in which he said that
+which he had intended to say on the evening of the day I fell ill. He
+did not request a reply; in fact, he asked me to withhold my answer
+until I should be able to see him in person. It would have been wiser,
+perhaps, he said, to have postponed any word on the subject until I had
+recovered, but he had found it difficult to delay the expression of his
+feeling toward me, and hence had written.
+
+This last rather surprised me, for Mr. Gregory had always seemed so
+unlikely to be swayed by impulse, or carried, in the slightest degree,
+beyond a point indicated by his judgment. It simply went to prove that
+the most regularly and smoothly laid-out man, if one may so express it,
+has unsuspected crooks and turns.
+
+I had no desire to answer the letter, being perfectly able and willing
+to wait until I should see him. In fact, instead of hastening the time
+for my acceptance, I rather delayed it, for I reached a point in my
+convalescence, when I was able to go down to the parlor, had I so
+wished, and still did not.
+
+Each day of my illness, a lovely bouquet of flowers had been left at my
+door. They came direct from the greenhouse, and were left without card,
+or sign of the giver. I had an eccentric little friend who was quite
+devoted to me, and was fond of keeping her left hand in darkest
+ignorance of the performances of its counterpart--the right hand--and I
+attributed this delicate and beautiful token of sympathy and affection
+to her; but, for some inexplicable reason, every morning when the
+flowers were brought to my room, and I took them in my hand, a strange
+feeling came over me--a feeling I had never had toward my little friend.
+
+Over two weeks had passed, and I was downstairs in the study. My nurse
+had gone out, my housekeeper was busy, and I was very lonely. I was
+standing at the window, looking westward. The sun had gone down in regal
+splendor. Some f�te was in progression in the sky, for the attendants of
+the god of day were resplendent in attire. They had been marshalled from
+all quarters of the heavens, and their stately and solemn procession,
+brilliant with the most gorgeous red, royal purple, and dazzling gold,
+had caused my heart to dilate with awe and reverential admiration.
+
+The lake, stirred by the wonderful pageant, caught the many hues as they
+dropped from heaven, and tossed them on high in joyous, iridescent
+waves.
+
+The climax of majesty and beauty was reached, and then the convocation
+broke up--not suddenly, but slowly, and with gracious dignity. The sun
+sank into the waiting arms of the unknown; the lights of heaven faded,
+and the clouds slowly melted into dusk.
+
+The scene had stirred me as I am seldom stirred, and with the oncoming
+of night new thoughts and feelings rose from their lair, as strange and
+beautiful wild animals step from their caves into the deep mystery of
+darkness.
+
+My neighbor next door--Mrs. Thrush, sat on her broad, vine-clad gallery,
+rocking her little child in her arms. By her side sat her husband, with
+one arm thrown across her lap. He had laid his paper down, for the
+daylight was fading, and perhaps his thought was too happy to stoop to
+daily news. Softly the little wife and mother sang; she had a sweet home
+voice, and no music of orchestra ever moved me as did her lullaby.
+
+I was at that moment an intensely lonely woman. I thought of Mr.
+Gregory and my future, and still I was lonely.
+
+Far away to the east there was a low, long bank of clouds like a
+mountain range, and as the poetry and melody of the lullaby rose from
+the little nest on my left, and stole into my thought, I saw a faint
+light above this line; then a group of mist-like clouds that moved
+toward me. Slowly the gray haze, tinged with soft light, began to
+resolve itself into shadowy forms, and my heart stood still as, in some
+vague way, I traced a connection between the lullaby and the vision, and
+realized that a message was coming to me.
+
+I was perfectly calm, but with the calmness which is the outgrowth of an
+excitement so tense that it is still. As the vision floated nearer, I
+heard soft music--a crooning, yearning, soul-satisfying lullaby; I saw a
+little child, a mother, and a father. The child was as beautiful as an
+angel, and there was that in its face which made my eyes flood with
+tears, and my heart ache with yearning; the faces of the parents were
+too vague for me to recognize at first; then slowly, that of the mother
+became more distinct, and I saw _myself_ before me--myself, a wife and
+mother; the visible answer to my heart's deepest, most secret cry. Still
+the father's face was hidden, but as the vision floated by, he turned
+and looked at me--the vision wife--with a look I had seen before, and I
+uttered a cry as I recognized _Randolph Chance_.
+
+
+
+
+                                  IX
+
+
+As I cried out, I turned slightly and, for a moment, lost the picture.
+It was changed when again I saw it; Randolph Chance was still there, but
+he no longer advanced toward the vision wife--she had faded into mist; he
+came slowly toward me. There was a beautiful look on his face--I cannot
+describe it--it was too holy to translate into language; but I could feel
+it vibrate through my being until it set my very soul a-quivering. I had
+no power of resistance--no wish to resist. I almost think I went toward
+him, and he was as real to me as if he were in the flesh. I could feel
+him as he put his arm around my waist, and his face touched mine. The
+vision child had melted away; and we two were alone; I knew my heart
+then; I knew I loved this man.
+
+It was all over in a few moments, but such moments as make an eternity,
+for they wipe out the past, even as death blots out a life, and they
+open a door to the future. Up to that time I had never thought that,
+without my knowledge or intent, my heart could slip from me--had never
+dreamed that I, whose life had always been most commonplace--I, who had
+had my share of wooing, but had never felt an extra heart-beat because
+of it--no, never dreamed that I, this _I_, so practical and sensible,
+could be carried off my feet by a vision. A vision, was it? Yes, and yet
+real, too real in some ways, since it revealed my innermost thought. A
+vision! And yet, even now that it had melted into air, I was clinging to
+it, and instead of resenting its startling revelation of self, was
+dwelling upon it, and in it, with a delight beyond words.
+
+I sat there in my study, my head bent, and my hands loosely clasped in
+my lap, living it over and over again. Out of doors, the soft gray dusk
+had hushed the tired world in its arms. Within, the stillness of night
+had settled down upon the room. By and by the moon rose above the great
+waters of the lake, and on shore the trees were casting silent, solemn
+shadows, made visible by the soft, hazy light that lay between them.
+Once in a while a bird uttered its night cry, or some little brooding
+note, and over on the vine-clad gallery, Mrs. Thrush still crooned a
+lullaby to her little child, who lay asleep--soft and warm, on her
+mother-breast.
+
+I was no longer lonely, no longer shut out from it all--there was the
+bird on its nest; the little wife and mother in her home; and I--I was
+very near them--akin to them. I had seen myself in _my_ home, with my
+child, and my husband; I had felt his dear arms about me, and his dear
+face close to mine. I was no longer an alien. I, too, had a place in
+the heart of another.
+
+Still I sat and dreamed, and even the ringing of my door-bell failed to
+rouse me: but when I heard the maid say to someone:
+
+"She has been downstairs to-night, but I think she has gone up now, and
+I don't like to call her."
+
+I started forward, saying quickly:
+
+"No, I am here--I will see any one."
+
+And so he came in, but it was not the one I expected. It was Mr.
+Gregory.
+
+I think that he found my embarrassment on greeting him both gratifying
+and encouraging, but its cause was alien to his thought. I was brought
+back from another world, as it were, with a rude shock, and in my
+enfeebled condition, consequent upon a severe illness could not control
+myself. Indeed I did not feel that I was mistress of myself at any time
+during the evening.
+
+After a word or two, which I cannot recall, I stammered out:
+
+"I was not expecting you this evening--I had not sent for you."
+
+"I know that you have not," he answered--then dropping his voice a
+trifle, he added, "I could not wait any longer--I found it difficult to
+wait so long as this. I hardly dared hope that I might see you this
+evening, but I felt I must try."
+
+Intent upon sparing him the pain of a spoken declaration, I exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, Mr. Gregory, don't! please don't say anything more. I am not
+deserving of your esteem and kindness."
+
+He came nearer me, and his voice was at once tender and reverent, as he
+said:
+
+"You are more than worthy of what I have to offer, which is myself, and
+all that I have."
+
+"Don't!" I cried again; "don't say anything more! Let us imagine this
+unsaid!"
+
+"Such words can never be recalled," he said gravely.
+
+"They must be," I persisted; "I cannot accept! I have nothing to give in
+return!"
+
+A look of disappointment came over his face, and if I mistake not, it
+was shaded with displeasure. "I hardly expected this, Miss Leigh, I have
+hardly been led to expect this."
+
+"I know what you mean, Mr. Gregory," I replied, more calmly than I had
+spoken before; "I know that I have accepted your attentions--you have had
+every reason to expect a different answer. I'll not try to deceive you,
+or keep anything from you. I'll tell you that I have not been trifling.
+I have understood you for some time----"
+
+He interrupted me here.
+
+"Yes, you must have done so; my attentions to you could have but one
+interpretation, if I were a man of honor, and you knew I was that."
+
+"I did, indeed," I exclaimed. And then my mind went, with a flash like
+lightning, to Randolph Chance, and I felt a sudden resentment. Had not
+he shown me attentions that no man of honor can bestow upon a woman,
+unless he wishes to make her his wife? Why had he left me in this
+strait? Why had he not spoken out? Why had he not claimed before the
+world that which he had taken such pains to win? I was uncertain about
+Randolph Chance; I had never been uncertain about Mr. Gregory. Why?
+Because I had perfect confidence in his honor. Was he not the better
+man--the more trustworthy? Why could I not marry him? I loved another
+man. A wave of shame and anger swept my face.
+
+"I have all along been expecting to marry you. I have not been
+trifling," I cried out.
+
+He stepped forward, and took my hand. It was as cold as ice.
+
+"What is it then, Constance, that has changed you? Have I done anything
+since your illness to make you think less of me?"
+
+I trembled from head to foot, and my lips were so stiff and dry that
+they scarce would do my bidding. I must have spoken very indistinctly.
+
+"No--no," I said slowly; "I will tell you everything--I have done you a
+wrong, an unintentional wrong, but I will do penance--I have seen myself
+to-night--" I paused here; Mr. Gregory was a practical man; had I told
+him that a vision had changed my attitude, he would have thought me
+insane. I myself had begun to entertain doubts as to my sanity. "I know
+myself now," I faltered, "I know my heart--I love another man."
+
+Mr. Gregory rose, and began pacing the floor.
+
+"This surprises me greatly," he said at length; "there must have been
+another courtship--it would seem that you must have known something of
+how matters were tending."
+
+"I have known nothing until to-night. There has been no courtship, in
+the ordinary acceptation of that word--I'll tell you all, even if it
+humbles me completely, as a penalty for what I have done to you. The
+man I love--" I could feel the blood mantling my face and neck, "has
+never addressed me."
+
+Mr. Gregory paused, and looked at me.
+
+"This is extraordinary," he said.
+
+"It is--I know it is--it is most of all so to me, for it is wholly unlike
+what I have been all my life."
+
+"Let us not talk of this any more to-night, Miss Leigh," he said, with
+evident relief; "I have been wrong to press this matter now, when you
+are hardly recovered. You are not yourself. This is something
+transitory, no doubt. Later on, you may feel differently."
+
+"No, no!" I exclaimed eagerly, "now that we have begun, let us say it
+all. Don't--I beg of you, don't go away with a feeling that I don't know
+my mind. I am weak and miserable to-night--" here the tears choked my
+voice, and I all but broke down, "but I am miserable because I have
+learned my true feeling, and know that I must disappoint----"
+
+I could not go on, and again he sat down beside me and took my hand.
+
+"I cannot understand you," he said simply.
+
+"I can't understand myself," I replied; "but all this is none the less
+real for that. I have learned of it to-night, but it has existed before;
+it explains many things in the past year."
+
+"If that is the case, then I must accept your decision as final."
+
+"It is, indeed," I answered briefly.
+
+He rose, and walked the room in silence again; then pausing once more,
+he said calmly, and with no trace of anger.
+
+"This is the disappointment of my life."
+
+I said nothing. What could I say? To utter any platitudes about being
+sorry, would have been to insult him.
+
+"A man cannot live to my age--I am fifty-two, Miss Leigh--without
+experiencing disappointment, but I have known nothing equal to this."
+
+He paced the room a few moments, and then said:
+
+"This interview must be distressing to you. I am very sorry I brought
+it about before you were strong and well."
+
+"Say one thing before you go, Mr. Gregory," I cried, "only say that you
+don't think I have willfully misled you--say that you respect me still."
+
+His face was stirred by a slight quiver, as a placid lake is stirred by
+an impulse of the evening air.
+
+"You have had, and you always will have my deepest respect, and my
+deepest affection."
+
+He took my hand silently, and then quietly left the room.
+
+And I sat there until I heard the front door close. Then I went
+upstairs, but I remember nothing after reaching the first landing.
+
+They found me lying there. They said I must have fainted.
+
+
+
+
+                                   X
+
+
+I was badly upset for several days. For a time I resolutely put all
+thought of what had occurred from my mind, but as soon as I felt able, I
+sat down, with the whole matter before me, as it were, and deliberately
+looked it in the face. I think I never felt more inane in my life than
+when I remembered my folly, as I now regarded it. All that saved me from
+utter self-abasement was the fact that it had occurred at a time when I
+was at such a low ebb physically, by reason of illness. I determined to
+try to forget it, as speedily as possible. But, however keenly I felt
+the humiliation and folly of my emotion upon that strange night, it
+never occurred to me to waver, when recalling my decision to bring
+matters between Mr. Gregory and myself to an end. My refusal of him had
+been brought about by one cause, and only one--that I fully realized; and
+now that I had repudiated the cause, I might have been expected to
+reconsider the refusal. But I did not.
+
+Soon after I was up and about once more, I learned that my little friend
+had not sent the flowers. I thought--no, I did not think! but I cherished
+secretly a--well, no! I cherished _nothing_ in secret or in public!
+
+I learned something else, soon after getting up, and this was that a
+story was going the rounds to the effect that Mr. Gregory had broken our
+engagement--and my disappointment had well-nigh occasioned me a relapse.
+But in a twinkling, almost before I had time to get indignant, Mrs.
+Catlin was running about, telling everybody that Mr. Gregory had
+confided in her, in strictest confidence, the truth of the matter,
+which was that I had ended the affair, and not he.
+
+I was much moved by this manly act on Mr. Gregory's part. He showed his
+shrewdness, too; he could not announce this in public, or go to people
+one by one, so he confided it to Mrs. Catlin, and told her not to tell.
+
+One Sabbath evening about ten o'clock, I began to lock up the house.
+Early retirement is something all but unknown to me, but that night,
+having no particular reason for sitting up, I was about to indulge in it
+as a novelty.
+
+I raised the shade of one of the study windows, with intent to draw the
+bolt, but my hand paused in the act, for my eyes were captured by a
+scene of surpassing beauty. Fall had lately swept her gorgeous leaves
+one side, and closed her doors for the season, and we were now standing
+on the threshold of winter. The early snows are apt to be soft and
+clinging; it is later on, usually, when the thermometer takes a plunge
+downward, that they become crisp and hard. It is seldom, however, at any
+time of year that the atmospheric conditions are favorable to such a
+creation as I beheld that night. I hardly know just what is necessary to
+make it all--a still, moderate cold, and a very humid air are among the
+most important conditions, I believe.
+
+When I stepped outside my door early in the evening, the air all about
+me seemed to be snow, not separated into flakes, but diffused evenly.
+Altogether it had the effect of a heavy white fog, and I could see even
+then, that it was settling in visible, palpable, feathery forms, not
+only upon the ground, but upon every bush and tree as well. It was a
+most unusual scene, and I gazed at it long and admiringly; but having no
+fondness for walking through soft, clinging snow, I was not enticed to
+sally forth, as I always am when the snow is firm and sparkling.
+
+But by ten o'clock the temperature had changed, and in the cooler air
+the almost imperceptible melting of the snow had been stayed.
+
+The white carpet that had slowly been sinking, was now stationary, and
+was covered by a firm crust that gleamed in the moonlight. There was no
+sparkle on the trees, but the feathery tufts and pinions had ceased
+floating to the ground, and melting into air. The scene, in all its
+matchless beauty, was arrested--held upon nature's canvas for a few
+hours, by the Master hand.
+
+Stay in doors that night! Would I be so wicked as to turn my back, or
+close my eyes upon one of the most delectable scenes that ever a kind
+Providence spread before the soul of human creature! Would I
+deliberately slight such an exhibition of love and marvelous skill? Not
+I!
+
+It didn't take me long to catch up hat and jacket, and with a heart that
+beat high, slip from my house, as a greyhound slips the leash, and hie
+me away.
+
+What mattered it that the neighborhood lights were raised--a story, at
+least--and that the owners of all the villas near at hand, were preparing
+for decorous, temporary retirement. I merely pitied them for their
+stupidity, and went my way. I had long been a law unto myself, and while
+I did not believe in flaunting my independence in their faces, I none
+the less continued to enjoy it.
+
+There are nights when to sleep would be the sin of an ingrate; 'twould
+be like gathering up the good things of Providence, and hurling them
+from out the window, in reckless waste. And this night was such a one.
+
+The keen air, and the entrancing beauty about me, seemed to run in a
+subtle, fascinating torrent through my veins, and lend me wings. I felt
+as though I were buoyed up by magic hands; I hardly think I set foot on
+ground the whole way, and yet I must, for I was conscious of a crisp
+crackle of the snow at every step.
+
+Oh, is there any sound just like it! Could our poor invalids but pitch
+their nostrums over the wall, and take this tonic instead!
+
+Some friends of mine moved a while ago and drove their family stake in a
+spot far off from here. They are continually writing me of a region of
+perpetual sunshine and summer. I thought of them on this glorious night,
+and pitied them from the depths of my heart, as I often have, indeed,
+since they went out there. Theirs is the place for the extremely
+indigent, no doubt, but for any one who can command a dollar or so for
+fuel, this--this is the land of delight.
+
+I was at no loss as to direction; our suburb was beautiful throughout,
+especially all along by the lake, but there was one place in particular,
+where art and nature had joined hands, with a result indescribable.
+Toward these grounds I hastened, on this particular night.
+
+Oh, the glory of that moon! the glory of the lake! an undulating sea of
+waves, each crested with a feather, as soft, as snowy in the moonlight,
+as the tinier ones that hung upon the trees.
+
+I ran down the winding avenue--the white fog still lingered in the deep
+places, but above, all was clear and glorious. Erelong I entered the
+Dunham's grounds. At a certain point, unmarked to the stranger's eye, a
+rustic flight of stairs, now strewn with dead leaves--padded with snow as
+well, to-night, dips down from the broad driveway. Quickly I made my way
+by this path, and erelong, stood upon one of the little rustic bridges
+spanning the ravine, and connecting with a similar flight of ascending
+stairs upon the other side. There I paused, and well I might. It were a
+dull, plodding creature indeed, who would not be spellbound by such a
+scene! On either hand were the sloping wooded sides of the ravine whose
+depths were shrouded in the mysterious whiteness of the fog; above me, a
+short distance in front, was the arch of the broad, picturesque bridge
+with which the driveway spans the hollow. The little rustic bridge on
+which I stood was much lower than the larger one; hence, from my
+position, I looked through the archway, beyond, down, and far along the
+ravine. Can you call up fairyland to your mental eye? It would pale
+before this scene--those feathery trees! that enchanting vista! I stood
+there drinking it in, and pitying the sleeping world. I could not, even
+in thought, express my delight and gratitude for being permitted to
+behold such beauty, but finally a familiar line leaped from my lips:
+
+    "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
+
+I can never forget that night; it kindled and warmed my heart with a
+reverential fire. If, in the course of years, my way should be overcast;
+if, for a time, I should let the artificial--the ignoble, clog the path,
+and shut me out from the light of heaven, even then I shall be saved
+from doubt, which is always engendered by our stupidity--the things of
+our own manufacture--I shall be saved from doubt by the sweet, pure,
+radiant memory of that winter, moonlight scene. Only a beneficent God
+could create such beauty.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XI
+
+
+On my way back--at what dissipated hour I firmly decline to state--I
+passed a home with an interesting history tacked thereto.
+
+The leading events were brought me by one of those active, inquisitive
+little birds that find out all sorts of things, and often fetch from
+great distances.
+
+The couple who live there, though Americans, once lived in Winnipeg,
+Manitoba, and it was in that place that the husband fell to drinking.
+The little bird above alluded to--the bird that acts as a kind of
+domestic ferret--told me that, in the early years of their married life,
+the wife was of an excitable, hysterical temperament, and given to
+making scenes. Just here let me digress a moment to erect a warning
+signboard. I have a friend who is busy mixing and administering a deadly
+draught to her domestic happiness, and yet does not know it. She has
+only been married a year, and she uses tears and scenes, in general, as
+instruments to pull from her husband the attention, affection, and
+devotion she craves. The tug waxes increasingly hard, but she has not,
+as yet, sense enough to see that, and desist. She cannot realize that
+the success attained by such methods is but the temporary and external
+beauty, which, in reality, covers a failure of the most hopeless type,
+just as the flush on the consumptive's cheek is but a pitiable
+counterfeit, and covers a fatal disease.
+
+Whether in this particular story, the report of the wife's early
+blunders be true or false, there seems to be no doubt that presently the
+husband grew careless and indifferent; that scene followed scene
+between them, until at last he went to drinking. Then the little wife
+waxed sober, thoughtful, and studied much within herself. This awful
+sorrow, following so closely upon the heels of her wedding-day joy,
+matured her judgment--her womanhood, and she began to use every skillful
+device to call back her husband from the dark paths he had chosen, to
+the light. All in vain, however; and when she realized this, after
+several years of heroic effort, she made one last scene, and told him
+she was going to leave him. Then his old-time tenderness returned--if you
+can compare a tenderness which was blurred and cringing, with that which
+was clear and manly. He begged and promised in vain, however, for she
+had lost faith, and a lost faith is not found again for many a day.
+
+So she went off, and she covered all traces and signs so carefully that
+no anxious, heartbroken effort of his could find her. Meanwhile she
+wrote him frequently and regularly, and although he knew not where to
+send reply, it is quite likely she had word of him from some one to whom
+she had given her confidence in this dreary time.
+
+And so five years passed, and at their close she walked into her home
+one day, and her husband--a man once more, took her in his arms, and
+looked his love and joy with clear, honest eyes.
+
+They came to our city, or rather this little suburb of our city, soon
+afterward, and although it is well-nigh ten years now that they have
+been among us, there has never been a hint of trouble. Hers was a unique
+method, but it brought about the desired end.
+
+Verily it would seem that for some dinners, it is best for the cook to
+vanish, and leave the dishes to get themselves.
+
+I was meditating on this as I walked home that night, and the next
+morning, stirred by the recollection of all I had seen and felt, was
+moved to write out a story given me by a young man--a friend of mine, who
+lives at a great distance from here, on an olive ranch out of Los Gatos,
+California.
+
+I wish I could give you this little tale just as he told it. I can't, I
+know, but I'll do my best in trying.
+
+Mrs. Purblind dropped in just as I was reading it over to myself, before
+my study fire.
+
+"Do you remember my story about Duke?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, I liked it," she said, "though I'm not very partial to dogs."
+
+"I have one here about horses. I've written it out as nearly as possible
+as my friend told it to me, but so much flavor is lost when these things
+change hands. Here it is, and I think that the lamentation David sang
+over Saul, might head it.
+
+"A while ago we owned a couple of horses--work horses, and yet, by reason
+of the strength of their affections, they were lifted from out the
+commonplace, and enveloped with an atmosphere of romance that gave them
+the flavor of a story book, plumb full of princes and heroes. And by the
+way, Prince was the name of one of them, and he was a genuine hero, as
+you will see. His mate was called Nelly, and albeit she was as awkward
+and as angular as the ideal old maid, vastly inferior to Prince, who was
+a fine-looking chap, yet his admiration for her was unbounded. She cared
+for him, I'm sure, but she was less demonstrative; more coquettish, I
+would say, if she hadn't been too homely a beast to think of, in
+connection with such a word.
+
+"They were brought up together; were taught by the same master; sat on
+the same bench, in a figurative sense; were lovers from the very first.
+Prince certainly had the most elegant manners; Nelly was his first
+thought, at all times, and his courtesy to her savored of the old
+school. He wouldn't go into the shed of a cold, rainy day and leave
+Nelly outside; but if she went in, he was more than content to follow.
+When it was necessary to separate them--we couldn't always work them
+together--we had to tie Prince with ropes and cables, as it were, to hold
+him fast. Nelly was less difficult to manage; at least, she would let
+him go out of sight without fretting, and yet, after all, she seemed
+easier if he were at hand. I remember, one day, he was tied in front of
+the house, and she was loose, grazing near by. As long as he could see
+her, all went well enough, but the moment she sauntered around the
+fence, he began first to fidget, then to paw and neigh, and finally to
+struggle, until in the end, he broke loose and rushed after his
+inamorata. And what a time he made over her! whinnying, and
+demonstrating his delight in a dozen different ways. She? oh, she took
+it coolly, but that was all feminine bosh, or coquetry on her part. She
+liked to have him near her well enough.
+
+"There was an amusing thing happened one day, down in the field. Father
+and I were plowing with Nell. We had tied Prince to a tree, the other
+side of the knoll we were working on, and supposed he was fast, but to
+our surprise, just as we turned, after finishing a long furrow, we
+confronted the gentleman, tree and all, standing before us in a weak and
+fainting condition. He had struggled until he had uprooted the whole
+business, and was so used up in consequence, that he could hardly
+stagger, much less go into his usual hysterics over Nell. She looked as
+amazed as we did, and I've no doubt gave him a sound curtain lecture on
+his folly that night.
+
+"One day father and Ned took Prince down into the field. Steve and I
+stayed up near the house, working around the vineyard. Nelly was in the
+stable.
+
+"The morning was half gone, when all at once Steve happened to turn
+around, and look down the hill.
+
+"'Gosh, Jack!' he exclaimed, 'the barn's afire.'
+
+"I gave one startled look, and then ran for the hose.
+
+"'Get Nelly out!' I cried to Steve; but after a second look, I called,
+'No, don't you do it! Let her go! it's too late!'
+
+"'I won't let her go!' he shouted; 'do you think I'll stand by and see
+Nelly burned to death!'
+
+"'You'd be a fool to go in now! Look at that stable! Here! Stand back!
+Have you lost your wits?'
+
+"'Let me go!' he cried; 'Jack, get out of the way!'
+
+"But I threw him down and held him. I was bigger than he; older, and
+cooler-headed too.
+
+"'There, I give in,' he said in a moment; 'it's wicked to lose time this
+way. Let me up, Jack, and we'll get the hose. I promise you I won't go
+in.'
+
+"We ran for the hose, and turned on all the water we could command, and
+by this time mother and the servant girl had come from the house, and
+were helping us.
+
+"We could hear Nelly struggling in her stall, and I tell you it made us
+sick! Unluckily we had chained her, in anticipation of her trying to get
+loose, and go after Prince. She'd never been left at home this way
+before, and we'd taken extra pains to secure her.
+
+"The stable doors were fastened by a heavy bolt; again and again I tried
+to push it back, but it was so fiery hot I couldn't touch it, and when I
+tried to hammer it, the flames drove me off.
+
+"There was nothing for it but to leave poor Nelly to her fate. It seemed
+as if she divined our intent, for, as we turned away, she uttered a
+piercing scream. Mother burst into tears.
+
+"'I can't stand it,' she said, covering her ears.
+
+"Again and again Nelly's voice rang out. Steve stood there, his face
+drawn and white. All at once he took out his watch.
+
+"'It's twelve o'clock!' he cried; 'father'll be home in a moment, and
+if Prince hears Nelly he'll go mad. Head 'em off, Jack!'
+
+"I didn't wait for another word, but ran with all my might down the road
+by which they always came.
+
+"As fate would have it, they had chosen the other one that day, and were
+well along, before I caught sight of them. Father had taken Prince out
+of the plow, and harnessed him to a little single-seated gig we had. He
+was driving him, and Ned was walking behind. I saw Steve running toward
+them, but he was still at a distance.
+
+"'Father,' I yelled at the top of my voice, 'stop! father! the stable's
+on fire. Turn Prince back. Nelly is burning!'
+
+"Father didn't seem to understand, for although he listened, he kept
+driving slowly on.
+
+"I shouted again, running toward them, and gesticulating frantically.
+All at once Ned caught my meaning, and bounding like a deer in front of
+the gig, grabbed Prince by the head to turn him, but at that very moment
+a terrible scream from poor Nelly split our ears, and in less time than
+it takes to tell there was a maddened horse plunging in midair, with
+four strong men clinging to him, trying to hold him back.
+
+"'Let him go, boys! Let him go!' shouted father; 'it's no use! Let him
+go, I tell you! He'll kill us all!'
+
+"'Oh, God! I can't let the old fellow burn up!' sobbed Steve.
+
+"But Prince had begun to lay about him with his teeth, and father
+knocked Steve down to get him out of the way.
+
+"I believe we all sobbed, as we watched the old hero go up that hill and
+into the stable; Nelly was quiet now, and the doors were down.
+
+"We heard him groan once or twice, and then mother came to meet us, and
+took us all into the house.
+
+"It's out yonder--the monument we put up. It's over both of them."
+
+"Well, what has that horse story to do with men?" asked a sneering
+voice, when I had finished my little tale, and Mrs. Purblind and I were
+sitting silent.
+
+I turned, and to my astonishment and disgust saw Mrs. Cynic, who had
+come in quietly, unobserved by me, as I was reading.
+
+I should not have answered her a word, but Mrs. Purblind thought to
+avert an awkward situation, so she said:
+
+"It illustrates the devotion of the masculine nature, I suppose."
+
+"In horses? Yes; it's a pity that it hasn't been evoluted into men."
+
+"It has," I answered curtly, "for those who are capable of seeing and
+appreciating it."
+
+This probably made her angry, for she turned on me with her most evil
+expression:
+
+"It's a mystery to me why, with your overweening admiration for the
+other sex, you haven't married, Miss Leigh. You must have had countless
+opportunities; child-like faith, such as yours, must be very attractive
+to them."
+
+I stared at her a moment in silence; her insolence stupefied me. Then I
+think I opened the nearest window, and pitched her out. Mrs. Purblind
+insists I did not do that, exactly, but that I got rid of her. As she
+hasn't been in since, a desirable result was obtained, and I don't much
+care what the method may have been.
+
+I aired my house the rest of the day, having a wish to cleanse it, and
+protect my moral nature, much as one would rid a place of sewer gas, to
+protect the physical being.
+
+I was not in a very good temper after all this, and it annoyed me to see
+Randolph Chance coming in before taking his train. He had been calling
+oftener than usual of late, but he didn't seem to have much to say, and
+so his coming gave no especial pleasure.
+
+To-day what talk we had ran on flowers for a time, when Mr. Chance,
+awkwardly and out-of-placedly, asked me how I liked the _Reve d'or_
+rose. This was the kind of rose I had received every morning, during my
+illness.
+
+I looked at him inquiringly. I confess my heart was beating faster.
+
+He flushed, and said abruptly:
+
+"You must have known I sent you those."
+
+"I did not," I answered rather coldly; "there was no card or note with
+them."
+
+"I thought you'd know," he said with increasing embarrassment; and then
+he added, almost desperately, "you must know, Constance, that I love
+you."
+
+"I know nothing," I replied, drawing myself up haughtily; "I take
+nothing of this kind for granted. If you want me to understand, you must
+come out openly."
+
+"I have done enough, surely," he said, "enough to lead you to guess the
+truth."
+
+"I guess nothing of this sort!" I reiterated; "what right have you to
+place me in this position? What right have you, or any other man to
+deprive a woman of one of her dearest privileges--that of being wooed?"
+
+"Constance!" he cried, and all his embarrassment was gone, "aren't there
+a thousand ways of saying 'I love you?' and haven't I said it in every
+way but one?"
+
+"That one was the most important of all," I answered; "I would have
+given more to hear those words than to receive every other token."
+
+His face lighted up with a sudden flash, and he started impulsively
+toward me.
+
+"Then you _do_ love me, my darling--I have hardly dared to hope."
+
+But I drew back, and answered passionately,
+
+"No, I do not! I love no man who can trifle with a young girl, or any
+woman--no man who has the effrontery to expect some one to take for
+granted a courtship that has never existed!"
+
+"For Heaven's sake, what _do_ you mean?"
+
+"Go to Miss Sprig and inquire; she has more reason to take your love
+for granted than I."
+
+"I'll not go to her, but I shall leave you," he said, with a white face.
+"You certainly don't care for me, or you would never deal me such an
+unjust thrust as this."
+
+And then I heard him close the front door. I think the neighborhood
+heard him.
+
+I walked to the window. He was gone.
+
+I told myself I was glad of it--that a good lesson had been taught.
+
+Which of us was teacher remained somewhat obscure.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XII
+
+
+It might reasonably be supposed that the event last narrated disturbed
+my life. It did in a measure, and for a time, but I was not very long in
+bringing it back to its accustomed channel.
+
+Strange as it may seem, although we lived across the street from one
+another, I saw nothing of Mr. Chance for many weeks. Perhaps it is not
+strange though, after all, since each of us was taking pains to avoid
+the other, and we knew each other's habits of life pretty well by this
+time.
+
+But if I didn't see him, I heard of him frequently enough, for Mrs.
+Purblind rarely ever met me without saying something about "Dolph," as
+she called him. She was exceedingly fond of him, and with good cause,
+for he was a most affectionate, thoughtful, unselfish brother. He was
+very different from her, and they were not confidential friends, when
+serious matters were concerned, but they were companionable,
+nevertheless.
+
+It is not likely Mrs. Purblind realized that she was shut out from
+something that deeply concerned her brother; but she worried about him.
+She was certain he was ill--he had little appetite, and was in no way
+like himself, she said. Miss Sprig wondered what had come over him.
+
+I believe Mrs. Purblind must have been deaf as well as blind, otherwise
+the neighborhood gossip regarding Mr. Chance and myself, which was rife
+a year ago, would certainly have reached her. Evidently she had heard
+nothing, and she continued to keep my innermost breast in a secret
+ferment, by pouring her fears and speculations into my ear. She even
+confided in me that she had for a long time suspected the existence of
+an affair between Miss Sprig and her brother, but this young woman
+declared that he never paid her the slightest attention of a matrimonial
+character; that he'd been very kind to her, very jolly, and friendly,
+but that was all.
+
+I think that if Mount Vesuvius had leaped out of me, and taken its
+departure, I could scarce have felt more relieved. I really had been
+harboring a volcano for some time, and it was a hot tenant.
+
+Shortly after hearing this latter piece of Mrs. Purblind's news, another
+bit was added.
+
+"Dolph has gone away," she said, one day; "left suddenly, this morning.
+He confessed to being played out, and I'm sure he looks it. He's gone on
+to Buffalo, to brother Dave's."
+
+That night I sat down and wrote a letter; when one has done wrong, his
+first conscious act should be to confess.
+
+I was in a trying position; one is at such a time. Two months had
+elapsed, and Mr. Chance might have changed his mind and intent. Men do,
+occasionally; women, too. And indeed he never had asked me to marry him.
+True, that is the supposition when a man, with any real manhood about
+him, tells a woman he loves her--when he shows her marked attentions, in
+fact; but, as I said to Mr. Chance, I did not intend to take such things
+for granted. I had not changed in that respect. I had, however, become
+convinced that I was harsh and unjust to him. It is a blundering teacher
+who takes badness in a child for granted--does not wait for proof. It is
+an inspired teacher who ignores the bad sometimes, even after it has
+been proven. To think the worst, so some of the psychologists tell us,
+will often create the worst. Even a cook does well to make the most of
+her materials. Her dishes will be likely to turn out ill, if she treats
+the ingredients with disrespect. It would seem that I, who had in a
+manner made a specialty of matrimonial cookery, had something yet to
+learn. Randolph Chance had given me a lesson.
+
+In my letter, I said that time and thought had shown me I had done him a
+wrong, and that I was very sorry; that, no doubt, he had changed in some
+feelings, and it was, perhaps, not likely we should meet very soon; but
+that I wished him to know I realized my mistake, and that I was still
+his friend.
+
+The second day after I had written, I heard from him; our letters were
+penned the same night, and must have crossed each other. In his he said
+he had held off as long as he could, but was coming right back from
+Buffalo to see me. He was certain he could explain everything; he had
+nothing to hide, and he hoped I would let him tell me what was in his
+heart; that for months he had known but one real wish, one real
+aspiration--to win me for his wife. He begged me to let him begin anew,
+and make an effort to attain this great end.
+
+That evening, in the gloaming, I was at my study window. I could look
+into the parlor of the Thrush home. A shadow had fallen upon that dear
+nest; one of the little birdies had flown away, but it was now forever
+sheltered from all storms in the dear Christ's bosom, so all was well.
+The gentle little mother was nearly crushed at first, even more so than
+the father, though he felt the loss deeply; but erelong she lifted her
+sweet face, and smiled through her tears. And now, at the end of two
+weeks, she was to her husband, at least, as cheerful as ever, even more
+tender, and she made the home as bright as before. So many women are
+selfish in their grief, unwise too. They act as if their husbands were
+aliens, and did not share the sorrow. It is true the man usually
+recovers sooner than the woman from such a blow, but no one should blame
+him for that. His nature is different, necessarily different; not in
+kind, but in degree. It has to be; his is the outside battle; he must
+needs be rugged. But "a man's a man for a' that," and the woman who
+shuts him out in the hour of bereavement, or who darkens the home
+continuously, and overcasts its good cheer, is both selfish and foolish.
+In such cases husband and wife are parted, instead of being brought
+nearer to one another, as they should be when they have a little
+ambassador in the court of Heaven.
+
+My heart was very tender that evening, and as I sat beside the glowing
+fire, before the lamps were lighted, my thoughts ran to Mrs. Purblind.
+The poor little woman had seemed sad of late, and I guessed, without
+word from her, that it was because her husband was going out so much at
+night. I did wish she could see some things as they really were.
+
+She sat there with me that evening--in spirit, at least, on the opposite
+side of the fireplace, and her mournful face touched me deeply.
+
+"He doesn't seem to care for his home," she said sadly.
+
+"Make him care for it. Man is a domestic animal. If he doesn't stay at
+home, something is wrong."
+
+"I do all I can," she answered in a dull tone.
+
+"No doubt you do now," I said; "but learn more, and then you will
+improve."
+
+"I was looking over some trunks in the attic to-day, and I came across
+my wedding gown. It called up so much! I can't get over it--" and she
+sobbed aloud.
+
+I couldn't speak just then. The tears were too near.
+
+"Oh, when first I wore that gown, how happy I was, and how I looked
+forward to the future! Everything was bright then, but now it's so
+changed that I'd hardly know it was the same--it isn't the same--I'm not
+the same, either----"
+
+Here she broke down again.
+
+I leaned over, and laid my hand on hers. You know she wasn't really
+there; the real Mrs. Purblind seldom talked over her affairs with me,
+but I could feel what she was suffering, none the less.
+
+"I want to tell you something, if I may," I said.
+
+She assented in a dumb sort of fashion, and I leaned a little nearer.
+
+The firelight gleamed on the walls, and in its glow the pictures looked
+down kindly upon us. Soft shadows rested in the corners of the room, and
+an air of peace and comfort brooded throughout, as a bird upon her nest.
+
+"Think a little while," I said gently; "think of his side. Is he quite
+the same as he was when he married?"
+
+"Oh, no!" she exclaimed; "he was so loving and attentive then."
+
+"Had he any hopes and plans? Enthusiasm? Did life look bright to him?"
+
+A serious look traversed her face, as though she were entertaining a new
+thought.
+
+"Look at him as he used to be," I continued.
+
+And as I spoke, she saw that a young man with a fresh, sunny face--a
+healthy, happy, care-free face--was sitting in the ruddy firelight.
+
+She gave a start.
+
+"That is Joe as he used to be!" she said. "Oh, how he's changed!"
+
+Even as she spoke, the young man faded away, and an older man--much
+older, apparently, careworn, and unhappy-looking--took his place.
+
+The coals in the glowing grate sank, and the bright light suddenly died.
+A deep shadow rested upon the figure beside us; he was with us, and yet
+seemed so alone.
+
+"Who would think a man could change that way in ten years!" exclaimed
+Mrs. Purblind; "would you believe it possible?"
+
+"Not unless he had known many disappointments, and borne loads and cares
+beyond his years."
+
+"I have never thought of that," she murmured, "I believe poor Joe has
+been disappointed too."
+
+"He certainly has."
+
+"It's too bad, and there's no help for it now," she added with a sob.
+
+"Don't say that," I urged, laying my hand on hers again; "you close the
+gate of heaven when you say 'no hope.' There is always hope as long as
+there is a spark of life--any physician will tell you that. If you can be
+patient--be strong to bear, and wait--if you can make home bright, and not
+care, or not seem to care if he slights it and you, for weeks--months,
+maybe years--it takes so much longer to undo, than to do--there is _every_
+hope. He couldn't do this, but a woman--a real woman, is strong enough,
+with God on her side."
+
+The dullness left her face, and an unselfish light dawned in its place.
+As she rose to go, she leaned over the other figure, and he looked up at
+her, with something of the old-time love.
+
+I replenished the fire after they had gone--they went out together--and as
+I sat there thinking of it all, I heard a sudden rushing sound in the
+street.
+
+I ran to the door, just in time to see a farm wagon, drawn by two strong
+horses, go pell-mell past my house, and overturn, as the frightened
+animals dashed around the corner. The neighborhood was agog in a moment,
+and I joined the rest in trying to help the occupants of the broken
+vehicle. We brought them into the house--the man and woman and a little
+child.
+
+As soon as they were in the light, I knew them; they were some of my
+people--a German family, by the name of Abraham, who lived on a little
+farm just outside our suburb. They had been to me typical
+representatives of a stupid class, who have all the hardships of life,
+and none of its soft lights and shades. They were the kind that plant
+their pig-sty on the lake side of their house--put the pig-sty betwixt
+them and every other beauty, it seemed to me. What can life hold for
+such people? They know nothing of love, or any other joy. Merely an
+animal existence is theirs.
+
+We fetched a doctor as speedily as possible--the parents were merely
+bruised, but the little child was badly hurt. At first we feared she was
+dying, and it was a relief to be told that she would probably live.
+
+I went out of the room to get some bandages, and the doctor followed me.
+Returning suddenly, I ran upon an unexpected scene; up to that time,
+before us all, the parents had seemed perfectly stolid; but just as I
+opened the door, the wife and mother rose from her knees by the bed, and
+I have seldom seen a look more expressive of tender love than that with
+which her husband took her in his arms.
+
+We have many things to learn in the next world; one of these, I am sure,
+will be, not to judge by the life upon the surface. There is a deep
+fount of feeling beneath, and often it is those whom we least suspect,
+who dip down into it.
+
+I was still busy with these people, when Randolph Chance walked in upon
+me. His kind heart needed no prompting to join in our little attentions,
+and he was of especial use in getting a vehicle to take the family home.
+
+After they had gone, and we found ourselves alone, a great embarrassment
+seemed to seize him in a fatal grasp.
+
+By and by I realized that I was really getting incensed, and I was
+afraid I should soon be in the position of the man who went to another,
+whom he had ill-treated, to apologize for his bad conduct, and, "By
+Jove, sir"--to use his own phrase, "I hit him again."
+
+I tried to keep my letter before my eyes. I didn't want to be forced by
+that inexorable tyrant--conscience--to write another. And I should, if I
+didn't hold on to myself, and this man didn't behave differently.
+
+To avoid a clash, I set to work to clear away some of the confusion
+consequent upon the accident, and he helped me in this.
+
+One would suppose that might serve to cool him, and it did indeed, to
+such an extent that, upon our settling down again, he began the most
+commonplace conversation, giving me some incidents of his trip;
+discussing the scenery; weather; population, and general aspects of
+Buffalo; with much more of the dryest, most disagreeable stuff, that a
+man ever had the temerity to use, as a means of wasting a woman's
+evening.
+
+To employ a childish phrase--it best fits the occasion--I grew madder and
+madder, until at last matters within me rose to such a height, that when
+he began to tell of his brother's house in Buffalo, and to dwell upon
+the peculiarities of its furniture, I felt peculiar enough to hurl all
+of mine at him.
+
+The number of things I thought of that evening would form a library of
+energetic literature. Among other resolves, I determined from that day
+on, if I lived till my hair whitened--lived till I raised my third or
+fourth crop of teeth, never, _never_, to give Randolph Chance another
+thought. There was one comfort: he did not know, nor did any one else,
+what a complete goose I had made of myself; but, though I _had_ been
+most foolish, thanks to a sober, Puritanic ancestry, I still had myself
+in hand; my hysterics had been occasional and secluded, and I was not
+wholly gone daft. I could recover; I would! and then, if ever he came to
+my feet, he would learn that some things don't rise, after once they are
+cold.
+
+I was calm enough when he at last decided to go, and instead of running
+on excitedly, as I had been vaguely conscious of doing part of the
+evening, I really conversed. Indeed, to speak modestly, I think I was
+rather interesting. I had forgotten what he had called for. So had
+he--apparently.
+
+All I hoped was that he did not intend to bore me with frequent
+repetitions of this call. I had better use for my evenings than such
+waste of time as chatting with him. I cast about me for some suitable
+excuse to shut off future inflictions, and at last hit upon one that I
+thought might answer.
+
+"I suppose I must sacrifice myself for a while," I said cheerfully; "I
+have had a deal of business swoop down upon me, and in order to dispatch
+it, must shut myself up for a time, and forego the joys of society."
+
+Instantly his old embarrassment came back upon him, as a small boy's
+enemy--supposed to be vanquished--darts around the corner, and renews the
+attack.
+
+He started to go; came back; returned to the door; again came back;
+colored vividly--looked at me imploringly. And as I looked at him my
+anger, my coldness--all vanished, and I exclaimed:
+
+"Randolph Chance, why _don't_ you say it!"
+
+"Some things are awfully hard to say. I can write---- Oh Constance! you
+might have mercy on me!"
+
+"Well," I said, laughing--I could almost see the light upon my face--"I
+suppose you want me to marry you."
+
+"You can't get away now!" he cried, a second later.
+
+The walls heard a much-smothered voice--
+
+"I don't want to."
+
+Now this little scene, I suppose, is what makes Randolph always say I
+proposed to him. This remark, oft repeated, sometimes under very trying
+circumstances, is his one disagreeableness. But I let it pass without
+comment, for I realize it is the spout to the kettle, and I am thankful
+that the steam has so safe and harmless an outlet. If I were to boil him
+too hard, he would probably overflow, and dim the fire; but I am _very
+cautious_, and love still burns with a clear, bright flame.
+
+
+                               THE END.
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's Note: The table below lists all corrections applied to
+the original text.
+
+p. 032: [removed stray quote] "I didn't care for this picnic
+p. 050: [normalized] they were wellnigh exhausted -> well-nigh
+p. 056: [extra comma] any comment on her neighbors' affairs, was alien to her.
+p. 152: Their's is the place -> Theirs
+p. 182: [added speaker change] beyond his years. I have never thought
+p. 187: [normalized] most common-place conversation -> commonplace
+p. 189: [changed to long dash] I can write---- Oh Constance! ]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Cook Husbands, by 
+Elizabeth Strong Worthington
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+Project Gutenberg's How to Cook Husbands, by Elizabeth Strong Worthington
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: How to Cook Husbands
+
+Author: Elizabeth Strong Worthington
+
+Release Date: August 7, 2008 [EBook #26210]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO COOK HUSBANDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Irma Spehar, Markus Brenner and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
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+</pre>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 204px;">
+<a href="images/cover.jpg">
+<img src="images/cover_th.jpg" width="204" height="397" alt="" title="" /></a>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="bbox">
+<p class="center gesperrt bb"><i>&#8220;They are really delicious<br />
+&mdash;when properly treated.&#8221;</i></p>
+
+
+<h1>How To Cook<br />
+Husbands</h1>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 30px;">
+<img src="images/title_ornament.jpg" width="30" height="30" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="author">By ELIZABETH STRONG WORTHINGTON<br /><br />
+
+Author of &#8220;The<br />
+Little Brown Dog&#8221;<br />
+&#8220;The Biddy Club&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p class="publisher bt">Published at 220 East 23rd St., New York<br />
+by the Dodge Publishing Company
+</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<p class="copyright"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
+COPYRIGHT IN THE YEAR<br />
+EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND<br />
+NINETY-EIGHT BY DODGE<br />
+STATIONERY COMPANY<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<div style="margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 4em;">
+<p class="dedication"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>Dedication</p>
+
+<p class="center">To a dear little girl who will some<br />
+day, I hope, be skilled in all branches<br />
+of matrimonial cookery.</p>
+</div>
+
+<!-- <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>[Blank Page]</p> -->
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+<a name="I" id="I"></a>I</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">A while</span> ago I came across a newspaper
+clipping&mdash;a recipe written by a Baltimore
+lady&mdash;that had long lain dormant
+in my desk. It ran as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A great many husbands are spoiled by
+mismanagement. Some women go about
+it as if their husbands were bladders, and
+blow them up; others keep them constantly
+in hot water; others let them freeze, by
+their carelessness and indifference. Some
+keep them in a stew, by irritating ways and
+words; others roast them; some keep them
+in pickle all their lives. Now it is not to
+be supposed that any husband will be good,
+managed in this way&mdash;turnips wouldn&#8217;t;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>onions wouldn&#8217;t; cabbage-heads wouldn&#8217;t,
+and husbands won&#8217;t; but they are really
+delicious when properly treated.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In selecting your husband you should
+not be guided by the silvery appearance,
+as in buying mackerel, or by the golden
+tint, as if you wanted salmon. Be sure to
+select him yourself, as taste differs. And
+by the way, don&#8217;t go to market for him,
+as the best are always brought to your
+door.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is far better to have none, unless
+you patiently learn to cook him. A preserving
+kettle of the finest porcelain is the
+best, but if you have nothing but an
+earthenware pipkin, it will do, with care.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;See that the linen, in which you wrap
+him, is nicely washed and mended, with
+the required amount of buttons and strings,
+nicely sewed on. Tie him in the kettle
+with a strong cord called Comfort, as the
+one called Duty is apt to be weak. They
+sometimes fly out of the kettle, and become
+burned and crusty on the edges, since, like
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>crabs and oysters, you have to cook them
+alive.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Make a clear, strong, steady fire out of
+Love, Neatness, and Cheerfulness. Set
+him as near this as seems to agree with him.
+If he sputters and fizzles, don&#8217;t be anxious;
+some husbands do this till they are quite
+done. Add a little sugar, in the form of
+what confectioners call Kisses, but no vinegar
+or pepper on any account. A little
+spice improves them, but it must be used
+with judgment.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t stick any sharp instrument into
+him, to see if he is becoming tender. Stir
+him gently; watching the while lest he
+should lie too close to the kettle, and so become
+inert and useless.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You cannot fail to know when he is
+done. If thus treated, you will find him
+very digestible, agreeing nicely with you
+and the children.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;So they are better cooked,&#8221; I said to
+myself, &#8220;that is why we hear of such
+numbers of cases of marital indigestion&mdash;the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>husbands are served raw&mdash;fresh&mdash;unprepared.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They are really delicious when properly
+treated,&#8221;&mdash;I wonder if that is so.</p>
+
+<p>But I must pause here to tell you a bit
+about myself. I am not an old maid, but,
+at the time this occurs, I am unmarried,
+and I am thirty-four years old&mdash;not
+quite beyond the pale of hope. Men and
+women never do pass beyond that&mdash;not
+those of sanguine temperament at any rate.
+I am neither rich nor poor, but repose in a
+comfortable stratum betwixt and between.
+I keep house, or rather it keeps me, and a
+respectable woman who, with her husband,
+manages my domestic affairs, lends
+the odor of sanctity and propriety to my
+single existence. I am of medium height,
+between blond and brunette, and am said to
+have a modicum of both brains and good
+looks.</p>
+
+<p>The recipe I read set me a-thinking.
+I was in my library, before a big log fire.
+The room was comfortable; glowing with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>rich, warm firelight at that moment, but
+it was lonesome, and I was lonely.</p>
+
+<p>Supposing, I said to myself, I really had
+a husband; how should I cook him?</p>
+
+<p>The words of an old lady came into my
+mind. She had listened to this particular
+recipe, and after a moment&#8217;s silence had
+leaned over, and whispered in my ear:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;First catch your fish.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>But supposing he were now caught, and
+seated in that rocker across from me, before
+this blazing fire.</p>
+
+<p>I walked to the window&mdash;to one side of
+me lives a little thrush, at least she is trim
+and comely, and always dresses in brown.
+Just now she is without her door, stooping
+over her baby, who is sitting like a tiny
+queen in her chariot, just returned from
+an airing.</p>
+
+<p>It isn&#8217;t the question of husband alone&mdash;he
+might be managed&mdash;roasted, stewed, or
+parboiled, but it&#8217;s the whole family&mdash;a
+household. Take the children, for instance;
+if they could be set up on shelves in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>glass cases, as fast as they came, all might
+be well, but they <i>will</i> run around, and
+Heaven only knows what they will run
+into. Why, had I children, I should plug
+both ears with cotton, for fear I should
+hear the door-bell. I know it would ring
+constantly, and such messages as these
+would be hurled in:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Several of them have been arrested for
+blowing up the neighbors with dynamite
+firecrackers.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Half a dozen of them have tumbled from
+off the roof of the house. They escaped
+injury, but have thrown a nervous lady,
+over the way, into spasms.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;One or two of them have just been
+dragged from beneath the electric cars.
+They seem to be as well as ever, but three
+of the passengers died of fright.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Just think of that! What should I do?</p>
+
+<p>Keep an extra maid to answer the bell,
+I suppose, and two or three thousand dollars
+by me continually, to pay damages.</p>
+
+<p>What a time poor Job had of it answering
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>his door bell, and how very unpleasant
+it must have been to receive so many pieces
+of news of that sort, in one morning!</p>
+
+<p>Clearly I am better off in my childless
+condition, and yet&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Little Mrs. Thrush is just kissing her
+soft, round-faced cherub. I wish she
+would do that out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>Now as to husbands again, if I had one,
+what should I do with him?</p>
+
+<p>I might say, Sit down.</p>
+
+<p>Supposing he wouldn&#8217;t. What then?</p>
+
+<p>Cudgels are out of date. Were he an
+alderman, I might take a Woman&#8217;s Club
+to him, but a husband has been known to
+laugh this instrument to scorn.</p>
+
+<p>But supposing he sat down. What
+then? He might be a gentleman of irascible,
+nasty temper, and in walking about
+my room, I might step on his feet. These
+irritable folk have such large feet, at least
+they are always in the way, and always
+being stepped on no matter how careful
+one tries to be.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>What then?</p>
+
+<p>I decline to contemplate the scene.</p>
+
+<p>Plainly I am better off single.</p>
+
+<p>I walk to my front window, and stretch
+my arms above my head. There is a
+light fall of snow upon the ground. This
+late snow is trying: in its season, it is
+beautiful; but out of season, it breeds a
+cheerlessness that emphasises one&#8217;s loneliness.
+I look out through the leafless trees
+toward the lake, but it is hidden by the
+whirling, eddying snowflakes. I see Mr.
+Thrush hurrying home to his little nest.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; I say to myself, repeating my
+last thought with a certain obstinacy,
+&#8220;yes, I am better off without a husband,
+and yet I wish I had one&mdash;one would answer,
+on a pinch&mdash;one at a time, at least.
+A husband is like a world in that respect;
+one at a time, is the proper proportion.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s far better to have none, unless you
+learn to cook him.&#8221; These words recurred
+to me, just as I was on the point of
+taking a life partner, in a figurative sense.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>The woman that deliberates is lost; consequently,
+as it won&#8217;t do to think the matter
+over, I plunge in.</p>
+
+<p>My spouse is now pacing up and down
+the room in a rampant manner, complaining
+of his dinner, the world in general,
+and <i>me</i> in particular.</p>
+
+<p>What am I to do?</p>
+
+<p>Charles Reade has written a recipe that
+applies very well just here. It is briefly
+expressed:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Put yourself in his place.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I could not have done this a few years
+ago, but now I can. Never, until I undertook
+the management of my business
+affairs&mdash;never until I had some knowledge
+of business cares and anxieties, the weight
+of notes falling due; the charge of business
+honor to keep; the excited hope of
+fortunate prospects; and the depression
+following hard upon failure and disappointment&mdash;never
+until I learned all this,
+did I realize what home should mean to a
+man, and how far wide of the mark many
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>women shoot, when they aim to establish
+a restful retreat for their husbands.</p>
+
+<p>I have returned to my domicile, after a
+fatiguing day up town, with a feeling of
+exhaustion that lies far deeper than the
+mere physical structure&mdash;a spent feeling
+as if I have given my all, and must be replenished
+before I can make another
+move. I once had a housekeeper whose
+very face I dreaded at such times. She
+always took advantage of my silence and
+my limp condition, to relate the day&#8217;s disasters.
+She had no knowledge of what a
+good dinner meant, and no tact in falling
+in with my tastes or needs. On the contrary;
+if there was a dish I disliked, it was
+sure to appear on those most weary evenings.
+In brief, from the very moment I
+reached home, she did nothing but brush
+my fur up, instead of down, and I did
+nothing but spit at her.</p>
+
+<p>Now, many women are like this housekeeper.
+I wonder their husbands don&#8217;t
+slay them. If you would look out in my
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>back yard, I fear you would see the bones
+of several of these tactless, exasperating
+housekeepers, bleaching in the wind and
+rain.</p>
+
+<p>I marvel that other back yards are not
+filled with the bones of stupid, tactless,
+irritating wives. The fact that no such
+horror has as yet been unearthed, bears
+eloquent testimony to the noble self-control
+and patience of many of the sterner sex.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, that sounds well,&#8221; said my neighbor,
+over the way, &#8220;but then you forget
+we women have our trials too.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Is it going to diminish those trials to
+make a raging lion out of your husband?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, but he ought to understand that
+we are tired, and that our work is hard.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Certainly,&#8221; I said, &#8220;by all means; and
+by the time he thoroughly understands,
+you generally have occasion to be still
+more tired.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, what would you do?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what I&#8217;d do; follow the
+advice of a sensible little friend of mine,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>who has four children all of an age, and
+has incompetent service to rely on, when
+she has any at all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And what is that, pray?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;She says that come rain, hail, or fiery
+vapor, she takes a nap every day.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know how she manages it; I
+can&#8217;t, and I have one less child than she,
+and a fairly good maid.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Her children are trained, as children
+should be; the three younger ones take
+long naps after luncheon, and while they
+are sleeping, she gives the oldest child
+some picture book to look at, and simple
+stories to read, and she herself goes to
+sleep in the same room with him. The
+little fellow keeps as still as a mouse.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I think that is a cruel shame.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;So do I. It would be far kinder if she
+let him have his liberty, and stayed up to
+take care of him, and then became so tired
+out that, by the time her husband came
+home she would be unable to keep her
+mouth (closed for it is only a well rested
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>woman who can maintain a cheerful
+silence), and avoid a family quarrel.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I think it&#8217;s better not to quarrel,
+but I can&#8217;t take a nap, and often I&#8217;m so
+tired when Fred comes home, that, if he
+happens to be tired too, it&#8217;s just like putting
+fire to gunpowder.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I knew that, for I had heard the explosions
+from across the street. You know
+in our climate, in the summer, people
+practically live in the street, with every
+window and door open; your neighbor has
+full possession of all remarks above E.
+And most of Mr. and Mrs. Purblind&#8217;s
+notes on the tired nights, are above E.</p>
+
+<p>I have no patience with that woman,
+anyhow. She hasn&#8217;t the first idea of comfort
+and good cheer. Her rooms are always
+in disorder, and there is no suggestion
+of harmony in the furniture (on the
+contrary every article seems, as the French
+say, to be swearing at every other article);
+all her lights are high&mdash;why, I&#8217;ve run in
+there of an evening and found that man
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>wandering around like an uneasy ghost,
+trying to find some easy spot in which he
+could sit down, and read his paper comfortably.
+He didn&#8217;t know what was the
+matter&mdash;the poor wretches don&#8217;t, but he
+was like a cat on an unswept hearth.</p>
+
+<p>In contrast to this woman&#8217;s stupidity,
+I have the natural loveliness of the little
+brown thrush, on my one side, and the
+hoary-headed wisdom of Mrs. Owl, on my
+other side.</p>
+
+<p>Look at the latter a moment. Not
+worth looking at, you say; angular, without
+beauty of form or feature. Nothing
+but the humorous curve to her lips, and
+the twinkle in her eye, to attract one;
+nothing, unless it were a general air of
+neatness, intelligence, and good humor.</p>
+
+<p>But I assure you that woman&#8217;s worth
+living with if she is not worth looking at!</p>
+
+<p>Now her spouse is one of those lowering
+fellows, the kind that seems to be at outs
+with mankind. Just the material to become
+sulky in any but the most skillful
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>hands, the sort to degenerate into a positive
+brute, in such blundering hands as
+Mrs. Purblind&#8217;s over the way.</p>
+
+<p>I had a chance to watch this man one
+evening last summer. Having no domestic
+affairs of my own, as a matter of course I
+feel myself entitled to share my neighbors&#8217;.
+And this particular evening I was lonely.
+It was a nasty night, the fog blown in from
+the lake slapped one rudely in the face
+every time one looked out, and the air was
+as raw as a new wound&mdash;it went clear to
+the bone.</p>
+
+<p>Now on such a night as this I have
+known Mrs. Purblind to serve her lord
+cold veal and lettuce, simple because it was
+July, and a suitable time for heat. And
+I assure you that sufficient heat was generated
+before this cold supper was consumed.
+But to return to Mrs. Owl, on
+that particular night. I saw her watching
+at door and window, for her partner was
+late. I peeped into the parlor, and it was
+as cosy and inviting as a glowing fire, a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>shaded lamp, and a comfortable sofa
+wheeled near the table, could make it.</p>
+
+<p>By and by, he came glowering along.
+What will she say, I asked myself. Will
+it be:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, how late you are! What&#8217;s the
+matter? What kept you? Well, come in,
+you must be cold. Lie down on the sofa
+while I get supper, but don&#8217;t put your feet
+up till I get a paper for them to rest on.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>All this would have answered well
+enough with a decent sort of a man, but
+this homo required peculiar treatment.</p>
+
+<p>It was what she didn&#8217;t say that was
+most remarkable.</p>
+
+<p>After a cheerful &#8220;How-de-do&#8221; she didn&#8217;t
+speak a word for some time, but walked
+into the house humming a lively air, and
+busied herself with his supper. She didn&#8217;t
+set this in the dining room, but right before
+that open fire. Without any fuss or
+commotion she broiled a piece of steak
+over those glowing coals, while over her
+big lamp she made a cup of coffee, and in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>her chafing dish prepared some creamed
+potatoes. She had bread and butter ready,
+and some little dessert, and so with a wave
+of a fairy wand, as it seemed, there was
+the cosiest, most tempting little supper you
+ever saw on the table at his side.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile he had found the sofa,
+the fire, and the lamp, and was reading
+his paper. He threw the latter down
+when supper was announced, and she
+joined him at the table; poured his coffee,
+ate a bit now and then for company,
+and talked&mdash;why, how that woman did
+talk! I couldn&#8217;t hear a word that she said,
+but I knew by the expression of her face it
+was humorous; and laugh, how she
+laughed! and erelong he joined in&mdash;why,
+once he leaned back, and actually ha-haed.</p>
+
+<p>When supper was over, she left him to
+his paper again, while she cleared everything
+away. Later on she joined him,
+and the next I knew they were playing
+chess, and still later, talking and reading
+aloud.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>This is but a sample of her life with him&mdash;in
+everything she consults his mood, his
+comfort, his tastes. She never jars him&mdash;never
+rubs him the wrong way, and meanwhile
+she has all she wants, for she can do
+anything with him, and he thinks the sun
+rises and sets with her.</p>
+
+<p>It is a good cook that makes an appetizing
+dish out of poor material, and when a
+woman makes a delicious husband out of
+little or nothing she may rank as a <i>chef</i>.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+<a name="II" id="II"></a>II</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">You</span> may say all I have been describing
+belongs more properly to little Mrs.
+Thrush, on my right. Bless you! that
+woman doesn&#8217;t have to think and plan to
+make things comfortable. Were she set
+down in the desert of Sahara, she would
+sweep it up, spread a rug; hang a few
+draperies, and lo! it would be cosy and
+home-like. She can&#8217;t help being and doing
+just right, wherever she is put, and her
+husband is just like her, as good as gold.
+Why, that man would bore a woman of
+ingenuity&mdash;a woman who had a genius for
+contriving and managing. He doesn&#8217;t
+need any cooking; he&#8217;s ready to serve just
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>as he is, couldn&#8217;t be improved. There&#8217;s
+absolutely nothing to be done. Mrs. Owl
+would get a divorce from him inside of a
+month, on the ground of insipidity. Her
+fine capabilities for making much out of
+nothing, would turn saffron for lack of
+use. Mr. Owl is the mate for her. To
+every man according to his taste; to every
+woman according to her need.</p>
+
+<p>I am lying in the hammock, under the
+soft maple tree in my side yard, speculating
+on all these matters. Summer is now
+upon us, for we are in the midst of June.
+Yesterday was one of Lowell&#8217;s rare days,
+but this morning the thermometer took
+offense, and rose in fury. I can see the
+quivering air as it radiates from the dusty,
+sun-beaten road, and a certain drowsy
+hum in the atmosphere, palpable only to
+the trained ear, tells of the great heat.
+Some of my neighbors are sitting on their
+galleries, reading or sewing; some, like
+myself, are lolling in hammocks; even the
+voices of the children have a certain monotonous
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>tone, in harmony with the stupid
+heaviness of the day. Only the birds and
+squirrels show any life or spirit; the former
+are twittering above my head, courting, it
+may be, or possibly discussing some detail
+of household economy. They hop from
+bough to bough, touch up their plumage,
+and chirp in a cheerful, happy sort of
+fashion, as if this was their especial
+weather, as indeed it is. Up yonder tree,
+a squirrel is racing about, in the exuberance
+of his glee. He has done up his
+work, no doubt, and now is off for a frolic.
+I lie here, not a stone&#8217;s throw from him,
+watching his merry antics, and rejoicing
+to think how free from fear he is, when all
+at once the leaves of his tree are cut by a
+flying missile, and the next second I see my
+gay fellow tumble headlong from the
+bough, and fall in a helpless little heap on
+the grass. I start up in affright, and hear
+a passing boy call out to another, over the
+way,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I brought him down, Jim.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>Involuntarily I clinch my hands.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You little coward!&#8221; I exclaim, &#8220;it is
+<i>you</i> who should be brought down! You
+are too mean to live.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He laughs brutally, and goes on, whistling
+indifferently, while I pick up the dead
+squirrel lying at my feet.</p>
+
+<p>I find myself crying, before I know it.
+Not alone with pity for the squirrel; something
+else is hurting me.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Is this the masculine nature?&#8221; I ask
+some one&mdash;I don&#8217;t know whom.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps it is one of those questions
+which are flung upward, in a blind kind of
+way, and which God sometimes catches
+and answers.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Are they made this way? Was it
+meant that they should be brutal?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I am still holding the squirrel and thinking,
+when I hear my name, and turning
+see my neighbor over the way, Mrs. Purblind&#8217;s
+brother, standing near me.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Good morning, Mr. Chance,&#8221; I say,
+rather coldly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>All men are hateful to me at that moment;
+to my mind they all have that boy&#8217;s
+nature, though they keep it under cover
+until they know you well, or have you in
+their power.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The little fellow is dead, I suppose,&#8221;
+he said.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; I answer with a sob which I
+turn away to conceal. I don&#8217;t wish to excite
+his mirth. Of course he would only
+see something laughable in my grief, and
+he couldn&#8217;t dream what I am thinking
+about.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You mustn&#8217;t be too hard on the boy,
+Miss Leigh,&#8221; he says quietly; &#8220;it was a
+brutal act, but that same aggressiveness
+will one day give him power to battle in
+life against difficulties and temptations as
+well. It will make him able to protect
+those whom a kind Providence may put in
+his charge. Just now he doesn&#8217;t know
+what to do with the force, and evidently
+has not had good teaching. I&#8217;m sorry he
+did this; it hurts me to see an innocent
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>creature harmed, and still more I am sorry
+because it has hurt you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He is standing near me now, and as I
+raise my eyes, I find him looking at me
+with a sweet earnestness, that wins me not
+only to forgive him for being a man, but
+to feel that perhaps men are noble, after
+all.</p>
+
+<p>His look and tone linger with me long
+after he has gone, as a cadence of music
+may vibrate through the soul when both
+musician and instrument are mute.</p>
+
+<p>The day after this of which I have been
+telling, I went to a picnic gotten up by
+Mrs. Purblind, for the entertainment and
+delectation of Mr. Purblind&#8217;s cousin, now
+visiting her, a frivolous young thing, between
+whom and myself there was not
+even the weather in common, for she
+would label &#8220;simply horrid&#8221; a lovely gray
+day, containing all sorts of possibilities for
+the imagination behind its mists and
+clouds.</p>
+
+<p>I didn&#8217;t care for this picnic, and didn&#8217;t
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>see why I was invited as most of the
+guests were younger than myself. But it
+was one of those cases where a refusal
+might be misconstrued, and so I went.
+We sat around the white tablecloth <i>en
+masse</i>, for dinner; and in the course of the
+passing of viands, Miss Sprig was asked
+to help herself to olives that happened to
+be near her.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, do, while you have opportunity,&#8221;
+said Mrs. Purblind.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I always embrace opportunity,&#8221; replied
+Miss Sprig with a simper. Whereat Mr.
+Chance, sitting next her, suggested that,
+as a synonym of opportunity, possibly he
+might stand in its stead.</p>
+
+<p>I detest such speeches, they are properly
+termed soft, for they certainly are mushy&mdash;lacking
+in stamina&mdash;fiber of any sort.
+But I could have endured it, as I had endured
+much else of the same sort that day,
+had it not come from Mr. Chance. It
+may be foolish of me, but his tone and his
+words of the day before were still with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>me. They were so dignified, so sensible,
+so manly, that I respected and admired
+him. Up to that time I had not felt that
+I knew him, but after he spoke in that
+way, it seemed as if we were acquainted.
+Now I saw how utterly mistaken I had
+been, and I was mortified and disgusted.</p>
+
+<p>The silly little speech I have quoted
+was not all, by any means; there were
+more of the same kind, and actions that
+corresponded. Evidently he was one of
+those instruments which are played upon at
+will by the passing zephyr. With a self-respecting
+woman, he was manly; with a
+vapid, bold girl, he was silly and familiar.
+I decided that I liked something more
+stable, something that could be depended
+upon.</p>
+
+<p>I was placed in a difficult position just
+then. Had I acted upon my impulse, I
+should have risen and walked off&mdash;such
+conduct is an affront to womanhood, I
+think; but I was held in my place by a
+fear&mdash;foolish, yet grounded, that my action
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>would be regarded as an expression of
+jealousy, the jealousy of an old maid, of a
+woman much younger and prettier than
+herself. This is but one of the many instances
+of the injustice of the world. I
+don&#8217;t think that I am addicted to jealousy,
+but I may not know myself. Possibly I
+might have felt jealous had I been eclipsed
+by a beautiful or gifted woman, but it
+would be impossible for me to experience
+any such emotion on seeing a man with
+whom I have but a slight acquaintance,
+devote himself to a girl whom I should
+regard as not only my mental inferior, but
+also as beneath me morally and socially as
+well. The only sensation of which I was
+cognizant was a disgust toward the man,
+and mortification over the mistaken estimate
+of his character, that had led me, the
+day before, to suppose him on a footing
+with myself.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as possible after dinner I
+slipped away for a stroll. The place was
+very lovely, and I felt that if I could creep
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>off with Mother Nature, she would smooth
+some cross-grained, fretful wrinkles that
+were gathering in my mind, and were saddening
+my soul. So when the folly and
+jesting were at their height I dipped into
+the thicket near at hand, and dodging here
+and there, jumping fallen logs, and untangling
+my way among the vines which
+embraced the stern old woods like seductive
+sirens, I at last struck a shaded path,
+which erelong led me down through a
+ravine to the waters of the big old lake.
+It too had dined, but instead of yielding
+itself to folly, was taking its siesta.
+Across its tranquil bosom the zephyrs
+played, stirring ripples and tiny eddies, as
+dreams may stir lights and shadows on the
+sleeping face.</p>
+
+<p>I had not walked along the beach, with
+the waves sighing at my feet, and whispering
+all sorts of soothing nothings, for a
+great distance, before I began to experience
+that uncomfortable reaction which sometimes
+arises from splitting in two, as it
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>were, standing off at a distance and looking
+oneself in the face. I realized that I
+had been something of a prig and considerable
+of a Pharisee. My late discomfort
+was not caused by the fact that a young
+girl had cheapened herself, but by the fact
+that a man had demeaned himself and in
+a manner involved me, inasmuch as I had
+been led the day before by a false estimate
+of his character to regard him as my social
+equal. After all it was this last that hurt
+most; it was my little self and not my
+brother about whom I was chiefly concerned.</p>
+
+<p>I am not naturally sentimental or morbid,
+so I merely decided that internally I
+had made a goose of myself and not shown
+any surplus of nobility; and with a little
+sigh of satisfaction that I had given the
+small world about me no sign of my folly,
+I dismissed the subject and betook myself
+to an eager enjoyment of the day.</p>
+
+<p>The soft June breeze played with my
+hair and gently and affectionately touched
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>my face; the lake quivering and rippling
+with passing emotions stretched away from
+me toward that other shore which it kept
+secreted somewhere on its farther side.
+The very sight of it, with its shimmering
+greens, turquoise blue, and tawny yellow,
+cooled and soothed me, and ere I knew it,
+I had slipped into a pleasant, active speculation
+on matters of larger interest than
+the petty subjects which had lined my
+brow a moment before. I was walking
+directly toward one of my families, and it
+occurred to me that I might run in and
+make a call, while I was near at hand. I
+had first become interested in them at
+church. I was impressed by their cleanliness
+and regularity of attendance, and by
+a certain judicious arrangement of their
+children&mdash;the parents always sitting so as
+to separate the latter by their authority
+and order.</p>
+
+<p>Another point that claimed my attention
+was that the children were changed
+each Sunday&mdash;a fresh three succeeding the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>first bunch, and on the third Sunday, one
+of the first three being added to a fresh
+two, to make up the proper complement.
+Both parents had a self-respecting, self-sacrificing
+look, as of people who had
+learned to help themselves cautiously from
+the family dish, and to &#8220;put their knives
+to their throats&#8221; before time; but kept all
+this to themselves, asking nothing from
+anyone, and making their little answer
+without murmur or complaint. I had,
+for some time, realized that the child who
+was now getting more than his share of
+sermons, by reappearing on the third Sunday,
+would soon be reduced to the level of
+his brethren, and a new relative would
+take the place which he had been filling as
+a matter of accommodation. I sought
+occasion to make the acquaintance of the
+mother of this fine brood, on the pretext of
+some church work, and after that became
+a regular visitor at their little home. The
+perfect equality of the parents; the deference
+with which they treated one another;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>and their quiet happiness, in spite of all
+labor and privation, made me realize that
+they might well extend a pitying thought
+to some of the apparently wealthy members
+of the church. We may yet live to
+see the day when a new scale shall come in
+vogue, and some Cr[oe]sus who now stands
+in an enviable light, shall then pass into his
+true position, and become an object of pity.
+Mere dollars and cents are a misleading
+criterion of poverty and wealth.</p>
+
+<p>I had seen my friends, and found that
+the mother and her new nestling were in
+comparative comfort, and I was on the
+homeward stretch along the beach, when I
+saw Mr. Chance walking toward me.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I was commissioned to look you up,&#8221;
+he said.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Thank you,&#8221; I replied, &#8220;I have been
+of age for some years.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Of course he noticed the coolness in my
+voice, and in some way I divined that he
+knew the cause.</p>
+
+<p>We went aboard our homeward-bound
+train about 5 o&#8217;clock.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>Mr. Chance helped me on, and evidently
+expected to sit with me, but I thwarted
+him by dropping down beside an elderly
+lady, an acquaintance who happened to be
+in that coach. I felt no grudge against
+him, but I didn&#8217;t care to have him pass
+from such a girl as Miss Sprig to me; his
+conduct with her impaired his value somewhat
+in my eyes. My elderly friend saw
+and recognized the situation, I am sure,
+and governed her later remarks accordingly.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Chance passed on, and took a seat
+with one of the superfluous men, for contrary
+to the rule on most such occasions,
+the male gender was in excess of the
+female. I had not expected him to return
+to Miss Sprig; men always become satiated
+with such girls, soon or late.</p>
+
+<p>My elderly acquaintance entered upon
+an animated conversation, that became
+more and more personal, and finally
+reached a climax when she leaned over,
+and said in a semi-whisper:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>&#8220;My dear Miss Leigh, you ought to
+marry.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I had been told this a number of times;
+any one would suppose, to listen to some
+of these women, that I had but to put out
+my hand, and pluck a man from the nearest
+bush.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t doubt you will marry some day,
+but I&#8217;m afraid you may not choose wisely&#8221;&mdash;here
+she lowered her voice again&mdash;&#8220;after
+a man reaches thirty-five he becomes very
+fixed in his ways, and I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s
+safe for a maiden lady to try to manage
+him; it needs some one of more experience.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I knew she had Mr. Chance in mind,
+and I was so indignant at being warned
+against a man who had never shown the
+first symptom of any such folly as addressing
+me, that the blood mounted to my
+hair.</p>
+
+<p>Observing this, my elderly companion
+whispered:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I wasn&#8217;t thinking of any one, in particular,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>my dear;&#8221; upon which I grew more
+enraged, and the color in my face deepened
+until I must have resembled an irate old
+turkey gobbler&mdash;&#8220;not of any one in particular,
+my dear; but on general principles,
+I shouldn&#8217;t advise such a match. A widower
+would be just the thing for you, and there
+always are widowers, and every year the
+list grows&mdash;death makes inroads, you
+know.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This idea, this hope of a second crop, as
+I had passed beyond the first picking, was
+comforting. I knew perfectly well whom
+she had in mind for me&mdash;a nice fat little
+widower, about fifty years old, who had
+been held on the marital spit, until he was
+done to a turn.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+<a name="III" id="III"></a>III</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> summer was ended, and I was not
+married. I am speaking now from the
+standpoint of my neighbors; to my mind
+life did not swing on this hinge. I had
+my occupations&mdash;there were a goodly number
+of needy folk to be looked after; there
+was my reading; my music; my friends,
+and other pleasures, and altogether I felt I
+was very well off. Not that I was cynically
+opposed to marriage; I intended to
+marry, if the right man called, but if he
+did not I was content to end life as I had
+begun it&mdash;in single blessedness.</p>
+
+<p>My neighbors, however, were of another
+mind&mdash;I must marry; and they kept making
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>efforts to find some one who would
+fit, trying on one man after another, without
+his consent or mine, something as one
+would attempt to force clothes on a savage.</p>
+
+<p>But in spite of all such friendly offices
+the summer was ended, and I was not
+married. I was thinking of it on this particular
+day, as I stood gazing from the
+window&mdash;thinking of it with a sort of
+quiet wonder, for with an entire neighborhood
+intent upon this end, it was rather
+surprising that I was not double by this
+time. Had they succeeded I should now
+occupy a very different attitude. It is
+only old bachelors and old maids who
+speculate and theorize on marriage; when
+people are really about it, they say little,
+and (it would often appear) think less.</p>
+
+<p>It was a day for speculation&mdash;this particular
+one; the dead leaves were scurrying
+up the street as people ran for a
+train; a gusty wind was carrying all before
+it for the time being, like an overbearing
+debater. The trees shook and groaned,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>recoiled and shuddered, like human creatures
+in the blast; in their agitation dropping
+hosts of leaves that immediately
+slipped under covert, or else joined their
+fellows in the race up town. The sky was
+non-committal, and the lake looked dark
+and secretive, as if it meditated wreck and
+disaster.</p>
+
+<p>It was only the middle of September,
+but there had been several of these days&mdash;a
+hint, perchance, of what was to come by
+and by, as a gay waltz strain sometimes
+dips into real life, and makes one look inward
+for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>The house did not invite me just at this
+time, and the elements did; at least I felt
+that rising within me which tempted me
+forth to have a bout with them.</p>
+
+<p>I was walking at a goodly pace along
+the Boulevard&mdash;for I love the lake in
+all its moods&mdash;when two men with anxious
+faces overtook, and hurried past me.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s been a wreck, miss,&#8221; one of
+them&mdash;a man I knew&mdash;called back.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>I quickened my pace, trying to peer
+through the sullen fog, as I ran. The
+occasional dull boom of a gun called
+&#8220;Help,&#8221; from out the grayness, with
+pathetic persistency. Soon another sound
+caught my ear, or rather vibrated through
+my frame, for the ground beneath me
+seemed to tremble, and I turned to see the
+swift oncoming of the life-saving crew
+from a station below us.</p>
+
+<p>I had barely time to jump one side, before
+the huge wagon, bearing the boat and
+its men, swept past me, every one of those
+splendid horses with his head lowered, and
+his fine muscles set for the race.</p>
+
+<p>It was all done with the celerity and
+ease with which things are accomplished
+in dreams. The sudden halting of the big
+wagon; the swinging of the boat to the
+ground; the swift donning of the yellow
+oilskin suits by the crew; the launch, and
+before one had time to wink, the strong
+strokes in perfect time, that bore the boat
+up and down, and up again, on those
+tumultuous waves.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>There were other spectators beside myself,
+standing with strained sight and
+hearing, and throbbing hearts, upon the
+strip of beach. And there were other
+workers beside the crew. I had thought
+we were a small community out there in
+the little suburb, and I gazed with wonder
+that morning at the crowd which seemed
+to have dropped from the sky, or come up
+from below.</p>
+
+<p>The men were chiefly from the middle
+and laboring classes, for the others go in
+on early trains, but Randolph Chance was
+there, his newspaper work giving him his
+mornings. We spoke to one another, but
+entered into no conversation. My thought
+was with the doomed ship, and so was
+his.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Will any of you boys join me in taking
+off some of those people?&#8221; he asked the
+men at hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a rough sea, Mr. Chance.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I know it, but I understand boating;
+I guess we can manage it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you think the life-saving crew
+can do the work?&#8221; I asked.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he answered shortly, &#8220;there won&#8217;t
+be time for them to make enough trips.
+Come, boys, here she goes! Jump in, a half
+dozen of you that can pull oars.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>There were boats enough, and soon
+there were men enough, for the human
+heart is kind and brave, and under a good
+leader men will walk up to Death himself
+without flinching.</p>
+
+<p>Randolph Chance was big and strong,
+alert, and self controlled&mdash;a good leader.
+I realized all this just now, as I had not
+before, and I thought how strange it was
+that so much goodness should be bound up
+with so much folly. It was the old story
+of the wheat and the tares; and I said:
+&#8220;An enemy hath done this,&#8221; and then I
+thought of Miss Sprig.</p>
+
+<p>I don&#8217;t like to dwell on that morning;
+the experience was new to me, and I can&#8217;t
+forget it; I can&#8217;t rid myself of the sound
+of those shrieks when the ship went down.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>She struggled like a human creature under
+a sudden blow&mdash;rocked, tottered, quivered,
+and then collapsed.</p>
+
+<p>The little boats made five trips and
+brought ashore almost all the passengers
+and crew&mdash;all but one woman, and a little
+child.</p>
+
+<p>I was one of the many who received the
+chilled and frightened victims of the storm,
+and indeed, as soon as we were able to dispose
+of the more delicate and needy ones,
+we turned our thought to the brave crews
+of the little boats, for their exertions had
+been almost superhuman, and they were
+well-nigh exhausted.</p>
+
+<p>I bent over Randolph Chance, and
+begged him to take a little brandy some
+one had brought.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Give it to the women,&#8221; he said feebly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They are all cared for; I&#8217;m going to
+look out for you now, Mr. Chance.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t feel so done up,&#8221; he said,
+&#8220;if it weren&#8217;t for that woman. She
+begged me to save her, and she had a little
+child in her arms,&#8221; and his voice broke.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>&#8220;You mustn&#8217;t think of her,&#8221; I said,
+&#8220;you did all you could.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I did my best to reach her, but
+before I could get there, she went down.
+I can never forget her face. Oh, at such
+a time a fellow can&#8217;t help wishing he were
+just a little quicker, and just a little
+stronger.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He had risen from the beach where he
+had flung himself or fallen, on leaving the
+boat, but he fell again. I could plainly
+see that the exhaustion from which he
+suffered was due as much to mental distress
+as to physical effort, and I thought
+no less of him for that.</p>
+
+<p>He was finally prevailed upon to get into
+the wagon which had brought the life-saving
+crew, and which was now loaded down
+with the other boatmen, and many of the
+passengers from the wreck, and so he was
+taken home. And I walked back alone,
+with a queer little feeling somewhere in
+the region of my heart.</p>
+
+<p>Man, after all, is a harp, I said to myself;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>a good player&mdash;the right woman can
+draw forth wonderful music, but the
+wrong woman will call out nothing but
+discords.</p>
+
+<p>Materials don&#8217;t count for everything;
+there&#8217;s a deal in the cooking.</p>
+
+<p>I was on my way home, when I met
+two of my neighbors hurrying toward the
+scene&mdash;Mr. and Mrs. Daemon.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re too late,&#8221; I said, &#8220;it&#8217;s all over.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I only heard of it a little while ago;&#8221;
+said Mrs. Daemon; &#8220;I was in the city, and
+I met Mr. Daemon who had just been told
+there was a wreck off this shore, and was
+coming out to see it, so we both took the
+first train.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>They hurried on, wishing to see what
+they could, and I walked homeward.</p>
+
+<p>Their appearance had slipped into my
+reflections as neatly as a good illustration
+slips into a discourse. I must tell you
+their story, and then see if you dare say
+man is not a harp, and woman not a
+harpist.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>Years ago, when I was a child, I used
+to see my mother wax indignant over the
+wrongs inflicted upon one of her neighbors&mdash;a
+gentle little woman whose backbone
+evidently needed restarching. She was
+the mother of three children, and should
+have been a most happy wife, for her tastes
+were domestic&mdash;her devotion to her family
+unbounded. Unhappily, she was wedded
+to a man of overbearing, tyrannical temper&mdash;one
+of those ugly natures in which
+meanness is generated by devotion. The
+more he realized his power over his poor
+little wife, the more he bullied her, and
+beneath this treatment she faded, day by
+day, until finally she closed her tired,
+pathetic eyes forever. My mother used to
+say she had no doubt the man was overwhelmed
+by her death, and would have
+suffered from remorse, but for the injudicious
+zeal of some of the neighbors, who
+were so wrought up by this culmination of
+years of injustice and cruelty, that they
+attacked him fore and aft, as it were,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>creating a scandalous scene over the little
+woman&#8217;s remains, accusing him of being
+her murderer, and assigning him to the
+warmest quarters in the nether world.
+As a result of this outbreak of public opinion
+the man hardened, and assumed a defiant
+attitude which he continued to maintain
+toward the neighbors for some years.
+In the midst of all this furor, the sister of
+the departed wife walked calm and still.
+The power of the silent woman has often
+been dwelt upon, but I really do not think
+that half enough has been said, although I
+am aware of committing an absurdity
+when I recommend voluble speech on the
+subject of silence. Jesting and paradoxes
+aside, however, the silent woman wields a
+power known only to the man toward
+whom her silence is directed.</p>
+
+<p>In this particular case the power was all
+for the best. Erelong the sister-in-law
+obtained such mastery over the forlorn
+household that she held not only the fate
+of the little ones, but that of the father as
+well, in the hollow of her hand.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>Two years slipped by, and then the
+neighborhood that had dozed off, as it
+were, awoke to hear that the sister was
+going to marry that awful man.</p>
+
+<p>At once the vigilance committee arose,
+and took the case in hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It can&#8217;t be possible,&#8221; it cried to the
+woman.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, it is true,&#8221; she said.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, don&#8217;t you know that he killed
+your sister?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I know he did.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And you are going to marry him, in
+face of that?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, he&#8217;ll kill you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no, he won&#8217;t kill me&#8221;&mdash;there was a
+peculiar light in her eyes that puzzled them.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What can you want to marry such a
+man for?&#8221; they cried, coming back to the
+original question.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;To keep the children. If I don&#8217;t marry
+him, some one else will, and those children
+will go out of my hands.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>Her devotion to the motherless brood
+had been past praise. There was nothing
+more to be said, and if there had been it
+would have availed nothing, for the sister
+had a mind of her own. She was one of
+those handsome women, who walk this
+earth like queens, and to whom lesser folk
+defer.</p>
+
+<p>She married, and lo! the neighborhood
+was agog once more, for strange stories
+came floating from out that handsome
+house, and it appeared for a time that instead
+of his killing her she was like to kill
+him.</p>
+
+<p>I remember one tale in particular, which
+my mother who, by the way, was no gossip,
+and was as peaceable as a barnyard
+fowl, was in the habit of rehearsing before
+a chosen few, occasionally, with a quiet
+relish that was amusing, considering the
+fact that ordinarily any comment on her
+neighbors&#8217; affairs was alien to her. It appeared
+that after a short wedding trip,
+during which the bridegroom had several
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>times shown the cloven foot, the couple
+returned to their domicile. Probably the
+maids who had lived there for some years
+and were devoted to the new wife, had
+been warned of what was coming. At all
+events, they accepted everything as a matter
+of course.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the evening of the married pair&#8217;s
+return, a handsome dinner was served.
+The train was a trifle behind time; the
+day had been cold, and several other untoward
+circumstances had conspired to let
+loose the bridegroom&#8217;s natural depravity.
+An overdone roast served to touch off this
+inflammable material.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&mdash;&mdash; these servants!&#8221; he exclaimed; &#8220;I&#8217;ll
+kick every one of them through the front
+window! Look at that roast!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The doors being now open, a perfect
+storm of ugly, evil tempers poured forth.</p>
+
+<p>At such times as these it was the custom
+of wife number one to shiver, shrink,
+implore&mdash;weep, then take the offending
+roast from the room, and replace it by
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>something else which most likely was
+hurled at her, in the end.</p>
+
+<p>The present Mrs. Daemon neither shivered
+nor shrank. She knew what to expect
+when she married this man, and she
+was ready. The guns were loaded and
+aimed, and they went off, and presto! the
+enemy lay dead on the dining room floor.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of a roast beef solo, there was a
+duet, Mrs. Daemon&#8217;s feminine soprano rising
+above her husband&#8217;s masculine roar.
+She agreed with what he said as to the disposition
+of the servants, only adding that
+she intended to hang them all, before he
+put them through the front window.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;To insult us during our honeymoon
+with such a roast,&#8221; she cried; &#8220;and look
+at this gravy! It&#8217;s even worse!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>And with one swift stroke of her hand
+she sent the gravy bowl flying from off
+the table on to the handsome carpet.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In Heaven&#8217;s name, what are you
+about?&#8221; he bawled.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you suppose I&#8217;d offer you such
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>gravy; it ought to be flung in their
+faces.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He gasped and stammered; thought of
+the recent wedding and regretted it; but
+he was married now, and to an awful
+shrew!</p>
+
+<p>Soon after dinner they repaired to the
+drawing room. In turning from the fireplace
+he stumbled against a large, elegant
+vase.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Confound that thing!&#8221; he exclaimed,
+&#8220;I always did hate those vases that set on
+the floor.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;So do I!&#8221; she chimed in, and putting
+out her foot with an expressive jerk, she
+kicked it over, and broke it into a hundred
+fragments.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you see what you&#8217;ve done?&#8221; he
+cried, &#8220;have you forgotten that that vase
+was a present from me?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I haven&#8217;t, but we both hate it, and
+what&#8217;s the use of keeping it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This was but the beginning; from that
+time on, let him but murmur against a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>dish, and it was flung on to the floor; torrents
+of abuse were poured upon the head
+of a maid with whom he found fault;
+some of the handsomest furniture in the
+house was broken, the moment it gave
+offense to him. In no vehemence was he
+alone&mdash;his wife&#8217;s anathemas and abuse
+joined and exceeded his, until&mdash;he had
+enough of it&mdash;an overdose, in fact, and erelong
+he turned a corner&mdash;came out of Hurricane
+Gulch into Peaceful Lane, and he
+hoped the latter would know no turning.
+The servants whispered of times when he
+would tell his wife of guests invited to the
+house, and entreat her not to make a scene
+while they were there.</p>
+
+<p>Sixteen years have gone by, and this
+woman is still above ground; stranger still
+the man is alive as well; and strangest of
+all, they are still under the same roof.
+Indeed, if report and appearance are to be
+trusted, Mr. Daemon is a model husband,
+and Mrs. Daemon&#8217;s sudden and
+amazing temper has spent itself and left
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>her a person of spirit indeed, but in nowise
+unamiable, and least of all, an ugly character.</p>
+
+<p>No one who saw them walk past me,
+arm in arm, that morning, on their way to
+the wreck, would have dreamed of their
+past.</p>
+
+<p>Truly, man <i>is</i> a harp, and truly, woman
+does the harping.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+<a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">I have</span> been wandering about to-day
+in an apparently aimless fashion, but in
+reality &#8220;musing upon many things.&#8221; Our
+horror of shiftlessness, and our realization
+of the responsibilities of life, and of the important
+work Providence has kept saving
+up for us, or perhaps &#8220;growing up&#8221; for us,
+like Dick Swiviller&#8217;s future mate, is expressed
+in the fact that if we take an hour&#8217;s
+leisure, anywhere betwixt sunrise and sunset,
+we feel under bonds to explain the
+matter not only to our own souls, but also
+to those other souls who live adjacent, and
+take an everlasting interest in ours.</p>
+
+<p>Consequently, I told myself this day
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>that I was not well&mdash;that I had been overdoing,
+and that I had best &#8220;go easy for
+a spell.&#8221; After which concession to my
+interior governor, I proceeded to apologize
+to my neighbors; to call my dogs&mdash;not to
+apologize to them, but to solicit their company&mdash;and
+then to hie me away to the
+lake, remembering to walk feebly as long
+as I was in sight.</p>
+
+<p>I didn&#8217;t go down to the beach, but
+plunged into the cool, comforting heart of
+a ravine; fathomed its depths, with a feeling
+of delightful seclusion, and came out
+on the thither side, to find myself in the
+glowing October woods.</p>
+
+<p>Ill? I never felt better in my life!
+Good, rich streams of blood coursed
+through my veins, and painted a warm
+tint in my cheeks. At that moment I hope
+I looked a trifle like Nature, who was in
+the height of her being; in a sort of tropical
+luxuriance, like a beautiful woman at
+the very summit of maturity and perfection.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>I put out my hands toward a clump of
+sumach&mdash;I was not cold, but its brilliant
+warmth lured me as does a glowing fire.
+It permeated my very being, and set my
+soul a-throbbing.</p>
+
+<p>There had been rain, and then warmth,
+and October had caught all the prismatic
+colors of the drops of water, and was giving
+them forth with Southern prodigality.
+The birds bent over the swaying daisies,
+and sang soft love-notes into their great,
+dark eyes, while I looked on in an ecstasy
+of wonder and delight&mdash;the gold of the
+daisies, the gold of the sunlight, and the
+glow in my heart, seeming in a way all
+one&mdash;part and parcel of the munificence
+and cheering love of the Father. It is a
+glorious world, and it is glorious to live
+therein. The very air about me&mdash;the air
+I was breathing in, seemed to palpitate
+color and brilliant beauty.</p>
+
+<p>I talked to Duke about it, and he looked
+around him with a certain air of admiration
+depicted on his noble, fond old face.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>Fanchon was frivolous, as usual, and
+wanted to be running giddily about, hunting
+rabbits and the like; but I made her sit
+beside me, for it seemed a desecration
+every time the October silence of those
+woods was broken by aught save the
+dropping of a ripened nut, or the whirr of
+a homing bird.</p>
+
+<p>It was at the close of this mellow day
+that I sat in my library alone, before a
+hickory fire. Alone, did I say? Nay,
+Mrs. Simpson sat before me in the opposite
+rocker. You could not have seen her, or
+heard her, but she was there, and was
+complaining of Mr. Simpson, saying he
+rarely ever invited her to go anywhere;
+and as she talked I recalled a certain
+evening when I had been her guest&mdash;included
+in an invitation to attend a spectacular
+entertainment given by the country
+club, at a spot some distance from our
+homes, and I said:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Mrs. Simpson, I can offer you some recipes
+which I warrant you will work infallibly;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>but they are like the recipe for
+determining the interior condition of eggs,
+which says, put them in water; if they are
+bad they will either sink or swim&mdash;I have
+forgotten which. Now try this recipe I
+am about to give you, and it will either
+make Mr. Simpson unwilling to take a
+step in the way of recreation without you,
+or it will make him stalk forth by himself,
+as lonely as a crocus in early March&mdash;I
+have forgotten which; but try it often
+enough, and you will learn.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p class="recipe"><i>Recipe.</i></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Fail to be ready at the appointed time,
+and keep him waiting until he is either
+raging or sullen; cudgel or dragoon the
+children until their tempers are well on
+edge. Then complain of the gait taken by
+Mr. Simpson in order to catch the train;
+declare frequently when aboard that you
+are tired out, and are sorry you came.
+After you reach the place, remark every
+now and then that you don&#8217;t think the
+entertainment amounts to much, and that
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>you do think it was a piece of extravagance
+to have given such a price for tickets to so-inferior
+an exhibition. Next, declare that
+you feel a draft, and are catching your
+&#8216;death of cold;&#8217; interlard all this with frequent
+directions to the children&mdash;admonitions
+and complaints, and derogatory remarks
+about Mr. Simpson&#8217;s appearance,
+and wonder&mdash;oft-expressed and reiterated,
+and put in the form of questions which
+you insist upon his answering, as to why
+he didn&#8217;t wear his other suit of clothes.
+Finally, wind up the whole affair, by wishing
+you were in bed, and announcing your
+opinion that the trip didn&#8217;t pay, and you
+are sure it will make you and the children
+ill.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Try this faithfully, and it won&#8217;t fail to
+accomplish something decided.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>One more recipe.</p>
+
+<p>I was talking to Mrs. Purblind now;
+Mrs. Simpson had had her fill, and gone
+home; and Mrs. Purblind had taken her
+place.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>You couldn&#8217;t have seen her&mdash;but that
+doesn&#8217;t matter.</p>
+
+
+<p class="recipe"><i>Recipe.</i></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;This is for making a man love to stay at
+home with you, and inducing him to be
+cheerful and companionable, or for making
+him flee your presence as one would
+flee a plague-stricken city: I&#8217;ve forgotten
+which, but you will soon discover, if you
+try it persistently.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Talk on disagreeable themes, talk persistently
+and ceaselessly; never let up; the
+more tired he may be the more steadily
+you must talk, and the more irritating
+your theme must be. Go to the gadfly;
+consider her ways and be wise. Buzz,
+buzz, buzz; sting, sting, sting.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;On his worst nights, always select his
+relatives for your theme; harp upon their
+faults; their failures in life; their humiliations;
+the unpleasant things people say of
+them. Then if he waxes irritable, express
+surprise; remind him how he used to talk
+against these same relatives, and how
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>much trouble he gave them when he lived
+at home; add that it&#8217;s plain now that he
+has combined with his relatives against
+you, and that you should be surprised if
+he and they didn&#8217;t effect a separation. If
+he is still in earshot, pass on to what he
+once told you, beginning each remark
+with:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You said that&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And then proceed to point out wherein
+and howin he has utterly failed to make
+good his promises. Further, if he is still
+in the house, enlarge upon the change you
+have noted in his conduct toward you&mdash;how
+devoted he used to be, and how selfish
+he has become. Next, tell him how well-dressed
+other women are, and how little
+you have on.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;By this time, if not sooner, he will remember
+that he has night work clamoring
+for him at the office, or that his presence
+at the club is absolutely necessary, and it
+would be well for you to conclude your
+remarks by observing that if he bangs the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>front door so hard every time he goes out,
+he will loosen the hinges.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well now,&#8221; said Mrs. Purblind&mdash;the
+invisible Mrs. Purblind (she always would
+listen to reason, which is more than could
+be said for the visible creature of that
+name), &#8220;well now, I know well enough
+when I go on that way, that it isn&#8217;t best
+to do it; but the Evil One seems to enter
+me, and I get going, and I couldn&#8217;t stop
+unless I bit my tongue off.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Bite it then,&#8221; I said, &#8220;and after that,
+jump into the lake; were you once there,
+your virtues would float, and your husband
+would love them; but alive, your
+virtues are beneath water, and your nagging
+is always on top.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But what is one to do? Supposing all
+these things are true&mdash;supposing you suffer
+from all these wrongs.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Did you ever right a wrong by setting
+it before your husband in this way, and
+at these times?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>&#8220;Did you ever improve your condition?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No. But what would you do?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Shut up. Dip deep into silence. In
+the first place, when you find you have
+poor material, take extra care in the cooking;
+study the art; use all the skill you
+can acquire, and finally, if that won&#8217;t do,
+if it <i>positively</i> won&#8217;t&mdash;if you can&#8217;t make a
+decent dish out of him, open the kitchen
+door, and heave him into the ash-barrel,
+and the ash-man will cart him away.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I have traveled a little in my life, and
+have been entertained in various households.
+I have seen wives who deserve
+crowns of laurel, to compensate for the
+crown of thorns they have worn for years;
+but I have seen others, who had thorns
+about them indeed, but they themselves
+were not on the sharp end. Some
+of these stupid, ignorant women fancied
+they were doing everything possible to
+make home pleasant, and wondered at
+their failure. There they sat, prodding
+their husbands with hat-pins, and grieved
+over the poor wretches&#8217; irritability.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>I recall a conversation I once overheard.
+The husband arrived just at dinner time.
+The wife heard him come in, and called to
+him in a faint, dying voice, from the top
+of the stairway&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;George, is that you?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The answer was spiritless.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The wife came downstairs.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, then, we can have dinner. I
+don&#8217;t know that it&#8217;s ready, though; Bridget
+has had a toothache all day, and she&#8217;s just
+good-for-nothing.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>All this in the same faded tone of
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>The husband passed into the parlor, and
+began to read the paper.</p>
+
+<p>The weary tongue of his feminine partner
+wagged on, in a dreary sort of way.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I think these girls are so foolish; they
+haven&#8217;t a bit of pluck. I&#8217;ve been trying to
+persuade her to go to the dentist&#8217;s and
+have her teeth out, but she won&#8217;t. I&#8217;m
+just tired to death to-night, and there&#8217;s no
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>end to the work; Bridget has been moaning
+around all day&mdash;why her teeth&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, bother her teeth!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, don&#8217;t you care to hear anything
+that goes on at home, George?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t care to hear about teeth that go
+on at home; Bridget&#8217;s teeth especially. I
+don&#8217;t care a rap for the whole set.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How cross you are to-night, George!
+when I&#8217;m so tired, too. Johnnie, your
+face is dirty, go and wash it; be quick
+now, for it&#8217;s time for dinner. I don&#8217;t
+know that Bridget will ever call us. She&#8217;s
+probably sitting out in the kitchen, nursing
+her teeth; why she has five roots there,
+and all of them so inflamed that&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Bother her roots, I say!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;George, you are extremely irascible,
+but that&#8217;s the way; I get no sympathy at
+all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not when you want it by the wholesale
+for Bridget&#8217;s roots.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, what should we talk about? I
+don&#8217;t see how we can ever have conversation
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>in the home, if you won&#8217;t listen to
+anything.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>And so they went on&mdash;the tired husband,
+moody and irritable, and the tired wife,
+loquacious about matters of no interest.
+I felt sorry for her who spake, and him
+who heard.</p>
+
+<p>A husband worn out with the cares and
+worries of an unsatisfactory business day,
+and a wife harrassed and fretted by overwork
+and petty annoyances, could succeed in
+talking pleasantly together only by the use
+of will-power and principle. It would require
+a big effort, but the effort would pay.
+It would be one of the best investments a
+married pair could make. The returns
+would be quick and large. I wonder more
+don&#8217;t deposit in this bank.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+<a name="V" id="V"></a>V</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">I had</span> not forgotten Mr. Chance. This
+fact annoyed me excessively, since I saw
+that he had forgotten me. A forgotten
+man may remember a woman, and preserve
+his self-respect, if not his merriment;
+but when a forgotten woman remembers a
+man, that is quite another thing. Not that
+I was brooding over Mr. Chance&mdash;far from
+it; I thought very little of him, in one way,
+for I frequently saw him with Miss Sprig;
+but in spite of all that, I could not quite
+forget the impression he made upon me
+the day those boys killed the gay little
+squirrel, and again the day the poor mother
+went down into the deep, dark water with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>her child held close to her agonized heart.
+The feeling I experienced for him on that
+awful day, was unique in my history. I
+had never been an impressionable girl as
+far as men were concerned&mdash;I was not an
+impressionable woman. For me to carry
+the thought of a man home with me&mdash;for
+me to dwell upon this thought, and above
+all to take pleasure in dwelling upon it,
+meant more than it would have meant for
+some women. That was as far as the
+matter had gone, but it was far enough&mdash;too
+far, considering his evident indifference,
+and I was humiliated, for the first
+time in my life, over my attitude toward a
+man. This mortification induced me to
+treat Mr. Chance even more coldly than I
+should have done ordinarily, though his
+trifling with Miss Sprig would have called
+forth some coolness of conduct under any
+circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>I had abundant opportunity to express
+myself in this way, for Mr. Chance&#8217;s night
+work necessitated late rising, and I saw
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>him to speak to him almost every morning.
+Indeed, I took some pains to be in
+my garden during the forenoon, and from
+this vantage ground I could not only see
+much that took place between himself and
+Miss Sprig, but I also had opportunity to
+speak with him as he passed my house, on
+his way to the train.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes Miss Sprig walked to the
+station with him. He evidently absorbed
+much of her time and thought, and she
+evidently regarded him as her latest victim,
+for she made him a common subject
+of talk, and her entire acquaintance had
+the pleasure of hearing the foolish things
+he did and said. She always represented
+him as deeply in love with her; I have no
+doubt she really thought that he was.</p>
+
+<p>For my own part, I cared very little
+whether he was in love, as it is called, or
+not. If he had succumbed to such a shallow-pated,
+bold, common girl, I felt contempt
+for him, and this contempt was
+deepened when I realized that he might be
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>trifling with her. In any event it mortified
+and angered me to think he had
+been seen with me; (he had often called
+upon me and we had been out together
+several times), and that the old neighborhood
+gossips had coupled our names. Now it
+would be reported that Miss Sprig had cut
+me out; if I was pleasant toward him,
+they would wag their foolish old heads,
+and whisper about my efforts to win him
+back; if I was cool, they would shake
+these same empty pates, and prattle about
+my wounded affections. It was one of those
+cases where you can&#8217;t possibly do the right
+thing&mdash;I mean the thing that will silence
+the clacking tongue: consequently, as luck
+would have it, I plunged into the worst
+possible course I could have taken, for
+when Mrs. Catlin, who lived catacorner
+from me, and who watched me as a cat
+watches a mouse, said something one day
+about Mr. Chance&#8217;s feeling bound to pay
+attention to Mr. Purblind&#8217;s cousin, as long
+as she was visiting there, and that she
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>knew such a girl wasn&#8217;t to his taste, and
+she was sure he would come to his senses
+soon, I was so angry that I lost control of
+my temper, and all control of my wits,
+and blazed out with:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s none of my business or concern
+whom he pays attention to, and for my part
+I think they&#8217;re well mated.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Whereupon, realizing I had made a
+perfect fool of myself, and that this speech
+of mine would go the rounds of the suburb,
+and I could never erase it from the village
+mind&mdash;not if I lived a hundred sensible
+years, I had much ado to withhold myself
+from seizing a pot of bachelors&#8217; buttons
+that stood near, and breaking the whole
+thing over Mrs. Catlin&#8217;s idiotic skull.</p>
+
+<p>It was on top of this pleasant interview
+with Mrs. Catlin, that Mr. Chance came
+over, and asked me to attend a concert
+that evening with himself and Miss Sprig,
+and he very narrowly avoided receiving
+the bachelors&#8217; buttons that Mrs. Catlin
+had but just escaped.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>I strode indoors, and began packing
+some of my effects, for I was resolved to
+move that day, or the next. Not because
+I had discovered I had such fools for
+neighbors&mdash;I had always known that&mdash;but
+because I had just discovered that they
+had a fool for a neighbor.</p>
+
+<p>Worldly considerations prevailed with
+me, and I took out the Penates that I had
+slammed into a trunk, mended their
+broken noses, and set them in place once
+more; but I hid myself away for several
+days, much as Moses was hidden, but for
+a less dignified reason.</p>
+
+<p>After a time, I cooled off, and decided
+to accept the world as it stood, and not to
+rage because the millennium did not come
+before I was fitted to enjoy it.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Purblind ran over one afternoon,
+and I could see that she was far from
+happy. I had noticed for some weeks
+various changes in the direction of improvement,
+in her care of her husband and
+household. I had also noticed that Mr.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>Purblind&#8217;s conduct did not keep pace with
+these improvements, but I fancied Mrs.
+Purblind was not sharp enough to see or
+sensitive enough to care. In this it seems
+I erred, as I have in one, or perhaps two,
+other directions during my life.</p>
+
+<p>As Mrs. Purblind, for the first time
+since I have known her, didn&#8217;t seem to
+care to talk, I took up a book at random,
+and began reading aloud. As luck would
+have it, I stumbled into some passages
+descriptive of the ideal home, and before I
+could stumble out again, the poor woman
+burst into tears. I suppose that tender
+little sentence served as the key that unlocked
+the floodgates. As soon as her
+grief had spent itself, she apologized, and
+ascribed her tears to bad news in a letter
+or something, and shortly afterward left.
+I watched her walking down the street,
+until my eyes were too dim to see her. It
+grieved me sorely that the cause of her
+sorrow was so deep, and so delicate that I
+could not offer her my sympathy. Her tears
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>were piteous to me, and I wanted to take her
+to my heart, and tell her how sorry I was
+for her; but to do that would have been to
+take advantage of her moment of weakness,
+and that I could not&mdash;must not do.
+So I let her go from me with merely a few
+commonplace expressions of regret that
+she had received disturbing news, while
+all the time my heart was aching in unison
+with hers, and I kept her with me in
+thought, all day.</p>
+
+<p>I went down to the lake directly after
+dinner; several things were troubling me,
+and I wanted to lay my puzzled head on
+Mother Nature&#8217;s bosom.</p>
+
+<p>My run down the steep sides of the bluff
+set the blood to coursing smartly through
+my veins, and a new and more cheerful
+stream of thought to flowing.</p>
+
+<p>I was tired that night, and it was a luxury
+to lie flat upon my back on the beach, listening
+to the rhythmical thud of the big, long
+wave at my feet, and the song of the stars
+overhead. There is something unspeakably
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>tranquillizing in the studded dome of
+heaven; there is also something unspeakably
+sad. It bends over the struggling,
+yearning, aching human heart, as a
+mother, who has attained that peace which
+is the outgrowth of suffering, bends over
+the passion, the sobbing, and the despair
+of her child.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Hush, hush, it is all for the best.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I cannot&mdash;will not bear it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Hush, you know not what you say.
+God&#8217;s hand is in it all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There is no God in this, or if there is,
+He hates me!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah, my child, He loves you with unutterable
+love, and pities with unutterable
+pity. Yet a little while, and the day shall
+shine upon you; then you will know&mdash;a
+little while.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I turned from the great vault above me,
+and looked out upon the restive waters,
+and as I turned I saw a shadowy Mrs.
+Purblind sitting beside me on the beach,
+and questioning with sad eyes and heart,
+the stars that bent to listen.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>&#8220;I have tried,&#8221; she said; her face, usually
+so thoughtless, tear-stained, and quivering.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know you have tried,&#8221; I answered;
+&#8220;I have seen that!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But he is just the same.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and will be for a long time, and
+you will have to go on trying for years, if
+you want to carry him back to the old
+days,&#8221; I said.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s one of the hardest things in all
+the world!&#8221; she cried passionately, &#8220;if we
+stop doing right&mdash;the right stops with us,
+but if we stop doing wrong and begin to
+do right, the wrong goes on.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not for always,&#8221; I said, looking up to
+the stars.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, for so long!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The great dome rich with gems, and
+deep with peace, bent over her, and by
+and by her sobs ceased.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You are trying, I know,&#8221; I reiterated,
+&#8220;but you don&#8217;t understand&mdash;you can&#8217;t, for
+you have only a woman&#8217;s nature.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>&#8220;What should I have, pray?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A woman&#8217;s, and a man&#8217;s, and a child&#8217;s,
+to be a perfect wife and mother; that is,
+you must be able to comprehend them all.
+Your husband came home cross to-night.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, irritable toward us all, and I so
+hoped to have everything pleasant this
+evening.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He, too, had his hopes to-day, and they
+were flung to the ground, and broken before
+his eyes.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The special agent of a company that
+he has for a year been working to get,
+has been in town.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yesterday this agent led him to suppose
+he was to be the favored one. All to-day
+he has been working toward that end,
+and near night he heard that this man had
+gone, without even saying good-by. You
+remember that Mr. Purblind left home in
+a hurry this morning, with scarcely a bite
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>of breakfast; he took very little luncheon,
+and&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, we had dinner at the usual time,
+if he&#8217;d said he was hungry, I&#8217;d have hurried
+it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He was not hungry&mdash;he was much
+more than that. Did you ever see a vessel
+whose fuel is well-nigh exhausted drag
+herself into port? What is the first thing
+to be done?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know&mdash;replenish her?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, put coal on board. Now when I
+saw your husband walk up to his front
+door, I said to myself, he needs coaling.
+A good home should be a good coaling
+station; remember that.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But what of me?&#8221; she asked with some
+impatience, &#8220;I, too, have my worries and
+exertions&mdash;do I never need coaling?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Frequently,&#8221; I answered.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, who is to coal me, I should like
+to know?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yourself.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s rather one-sided, I think. Why
+shouldn&#8217;t my husband look to that?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>&#8220;My dear,&#8221; I said earnestly, &#8220;I never
+knew but one man who saw when his wife
+needed coaling, and attended to her wants.
+When he died (for the gods loved him), it
+was found that his shoulder-blades were
+abnormally large&mdash;at least so the doctors
+said, but I knew all the time that his wings
+had budded.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, this life is too much for me,&#8221;
+murmured Mrs. Purblind drearily.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Then don&#8217;t attempt the next.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I shan&#8217;t, if I can help it, and yet I&#8217;m
+like to soon, for Mr. Purblind&#8217;s mother is
+coming on a visit to us, and I know she&#8217;ll
+worry the breath out of me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t let her.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How can I help it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;By keeping the peace with her.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;ve tried that before; I&#8217;ve done
+everything I could for her, and deferred to
+her, and ignored myself until I seemed to
+fade out of existence, but it didn&#8217;t work.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, it did, for it made her ten
+times as troublesome as before.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>&#8220;It certainly did, but what do you
+mean?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I mean that a mother-in-law is like a
+child, in that she is spoiled by having her
+own way.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But what can I do?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Walk calmly on, doing the best you
+can, but recognizing your own authority
+and dignity, and finally she will come to
+recognize it. Be mistress of your own
+household, and director of your own children&mdash;all
+this quietly and pleasantly, but
+without wavering, and in the end she will
+respect and probably admire you, though
+she will never think you do just right, or
+are just the woman who ought to have
+married her son.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But I&#8217;ve always been in hopes of making
+her love me as she loves her own
+daughter.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That is what every romantic woman
+starts out with, but by and by, in the
+storm and stress of domestic life, that ideal
+is cast overboard, as a struggling ship
+throws its extra cargo over the rail.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>&#8220;Why is it, I wonder, a man never
+fights with his father-in-law. Men are
+said to be naturally pugnacious.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a mistake, my dear; a man
+would go several miles any day to
+avoid a fuss; it is we women who delight
+in scraps. A man occasionally has a little
+set-to with the girl&#8217;s father, before he gains
+his consent to the engagement, but once
+he&#8217;s married, it&#8217;s the old lady he has to
+train for, or I should say who trains for
+him, because as a general thing it is she who
+gives battle, not he. The real conflict,
+however, takes place between the two
+women&mdash;the wife and her mother-in-law.
+If you want to see &#8216;de fur fly,&#8217; as the
+darkies say, you must always come over
+to the feminine side of the house. Then
+you&#8217;ll have your fill of explanations, expostulations,
+and recriminations.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, certainly I never had any trouble
+with my father-in-law.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Trouble! Do you know what I&#8217;d do, if
+I had a troublesome father-in-law?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>&#8220;No&mdash;murder him?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Murder him, indeed! Woman, have
+you no mercantile instinct? That would
+be like killing the goose that lays the
+golden egg. Why, the first showman
+would take the old gentleman off my
+hands, and pay me a handsome price for
+him. You must know that a troublesome
+father-in-law is so rare that the public
+would flock to see him. But you couldn&#8217;t
+get anything for a troublesome mother-in-law.
+There are too many families trying
+to get rid of them, at any price. The sale
+of parents-in-law is governed by the same
+laws as other commodities, and these interfering,
+mischief-making mothers-in-law
+have become a drug in the market.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, there is Mrs. Earnest, her
+mother-in-law is a jewel.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah, now you mention a most valuable
+piece of property, for a woman like that&mdash;who
+models her conduct on the pattern of
+Aunt Betsey Trotwood, in David Copperfield&#8217;s
+household, is a jewel of such magnitude
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>and brilliancy, that she will some day
+be seen sparkling in Abraham&#8217;s bosom,
+from a distance of millions of miles.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, how would you cook mothers-in-law?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Make a delicious dish of your husband
+and then take a pinch&mdash;a good pinch&mdash;of
+mother-in-law, and throw her in as &#8216;sass.&#8217;
+Speaking of this, remember that too many
+cooks spoil the broth, and wife and mother-in-law
+combined generally make a pretty
+mess of the husband.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+<a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">I was</span> feeling a trifle dull and heavy one
+afternoon, and after several vain efforts to
+do good work, decided that a vigorous
+tramp would set my blood to flowing, and
+the wheels of my thinking mill to revolving.
+So out I started toward the lake, as
+usual. There had been a storm off the
+Michigan shore, and we were just beginning
+to get evidence of it, in the big
+waves that were tumbling on the beach,
+I like the lake in this mood&mdash;in any mood,
+indeed, but especially when it is rough and
+wild.</p>
+
+<p>After quite a brisk tramp along, or near
+the beach, I turned back; but before going
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>home again, I wished to come in closer
+contact with the tumultuous waters. At
+risk of being wet by the spray, which the
+waves were tossing on high, much as an
+excited horse tosses the foam from his
+chafing mouth, I climbed around the little
+bathing house, set on the shore end of the
+pier, and then boldly walked out, and took
+my seat in the midst of the tumult.</p>
+
+<p>The passion of the lake was magnificent;
+far out&mdash;as far as eye could stretch&mdash;there
+were oncoming waves; the clan was gathering,
+and all in battle array. What an
+overwhelming charge they made! Surely
+no one could resist that onslaught. There
+was no deliberation, as was usual with a
+moderately heavy sea; no calm, inevitable
+heaving of the water; no steady rising,
+ever higher and higher, until it crested,
+curved, and fell with a boom. There was
+nothing of this to-day; no preparation;
+everything was ready; the warriors,
+armed and mounted, were already making
+the attack.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>For a time I gloried in it all; even the
+anger of the waves was more admirable
+than terrific in my sight. It seemed as
+though they interpreted my boldness as defiance,
+and accepted the challenge. From
+near, from far, they were coming, and all
+upon me, or if that is taking too much to
+myself, they were making their attack
+upon the shore, meaning to claim it for
+their own, and incidentally to sweep me,
+a poor, insignificant atom, from their sight.</p>
+
+<p>By and by I found myself oppressed with
+the desolation of the scene. As the day
+waned, and the chill that foreshadows
+night fell upon me, or rather rose upon me,
+from the cold waters, I began to feel
+lonely and unprotected. The waves
+looked so hungry, so cruel; they reached
+out and up toward me; they encircled
+with the inevitable, as with a relentless
+fate. I began to be afraid of them, and I
+rose to go back to shore.</p>
+
+<p>Unlike the ocean, the lake is fixed; but
+that day the increase of the waves, in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>height and fury, had the effect of a rising
+tide. I realized that it would be very difficult
+for me to get off the pier alone, and I
+was more than relieved to see Randolph
+Chance, who had come down for a look at
+the lake before taking his train to the city.
+He joined me without trouble; a man can
+perform those feats so easily, whereas a
+woman is physically hampered.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re in rather a bleak place, Miss
+Leigh,&#8221; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I have just begun to realize that.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, well, we&#8217;ll manage to get off safely;
+but you mustn&#8217;t mind a little wetting.
+Just give yourself to me, and we&#8217;ll be on
+shore in a minute.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I gladly did as he bade me; it was
+luxury just then to have some one as
+strong and capable as he take the reins.
+He led me around the bathing house, and
+then lifted me from the pier. As he set
+me safely on the shore, his eyes met mine,
+and his look was a revelation to me. I
+was, for a moment, too startled to think,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>and the strangest sensation I ever experienced
+crept over me. If a look could
+speak, Randolph Chance&mdash;but I did not
+put it into words&mdash;not then, at least, but it
+was all very strange to me&mdash;most inexplicable.</p>
+
+<p>We walked on quietly, both, I dare say,
+feeling our silence to be a trifle awkward.
+It was for this reason that I decided to
+shorten the time of our being together, by
+stopping at the house of a friend. The
+wetting I had received from the waves
+did not amount to anything for one so
+hardy as myself, so I was not deterred on
+that account.</p>
+
+<p>The house where I stopped was a pleasant
+resort for me. Both Mr. and Mrs.
+Bachelor were interesting people. I had
+known Mr. Bachelor for fifteen years. He
+had once been one of our young men, as
+the saying is, young merely in the sense
+of being single, not in actual years, for at
+the time I met him he was nearer the forty
+than the thirty line. Nature seemed to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>have marked him for single&mdash;cussedness, I
+had almost said, from the first. He was
+no favorite with any set, being grumpy,
+fussy, and peculiar. But five years after he
+rose into sight above my horizon he married
+a most sensible, lovely woman; not a
+child, by the way, for she was almost
+forty; and in less than no time, it
+seemed to us, had a family of four children
+about him, one following the other so
+closely that the predecessor was all but
+overtaken. At first we said among ourselves
+that he must have borrowed these
+infants, and stuck them up in his home for
+appearance&#8217;s sake, in some such manner as
+the proprietor of a summer hotel once
+stuck a number of trees in his grounds, to
+make a sandy, barren spot seem fertile
+and enticing. But by and by we became
+convinced that these little human shoots
+were his very own, not alone because they
+evinced some disagreeable crotchets similar
+to his, but also because of the love he bore
+them, and the change they wrought in his
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>character and life. Even around court
+the man was regarded differently; warmth
+and esteem being extended him now in
+place of the dislike he had formerly
+aroused. He had never ceased to be a
+study to me, and a certain flavor of
+romance hung about his home&mdash;a delightful
+flavor, that made it an attractive visiting
+spot. So it was with considerable pleasure
+that I called upon this particular day.</p>
+
+<p>I was shown into the parlor&mdash;a comfortable
+room, back of which was a most home-like
+apartment, called the study. As I sat
+there, awaiting Mrs. Bachelor&#8217;s coming, I
+noticed that her husband&#8217;s desk, which
+stood in the center of the study, was
+strewn with dolls, and paraphernalia closely
+related thereto. My observations were interrupted
+by the entrance of Mrs. Bachelor,
+who welcomed me in her cordial,
+cheery way. A minute later Mr. Bachelor
+came in, and gave me what was for him,
+a most friendly greeting. He excused
+himself in a little while, and went into his
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>study. He had, so his wife explained,
+been ill with a cold for a day or two, and
+had been working at home the while, to
+make ready for the approaching trial of an
+important case.</p>
+
+<p>Upon his entering the study, a scene
+occurred which I shall endeavor to give you
+as near to the life as possible. As a matter
+of course he steered directly for his
+desk, and his eye immediately fell upon a
+quantity of grandchildren, variously disposed
+thereon.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I declare!&#8221; he exclaimed; &#8220;if
+this isn&#8217;t outrageous!&#8221; and he gathered up
+the whole crop&mdash;there were fully a dozen
+dolls, in all stages of development, and
+much doll furniture, and toggery of all
+kinds.</p>
+
+<p>After dumping the obnoxious elements
+on to a divan, he returned to his desk, and
+with much grumbling sorted out his law-papers,
+and went to work. But soon after
+he had cleared his visage, as it were, his
+small daughter&mdash;a pretty child, four years
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>old&mdash;ran into the room hugging two puggy
+puppies, and two kittens of tender age.
+It did not take her long to grasp the situation.
+Running to the divan, she uttered a
+series of cries, indicative both of alarm and
+displeasure.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What&mdash;what&mdash;what is the matter?&#8221;
+said Mr. Bachelor, who had probably forgotten
+his offense by this time.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You naughty papa!&#8221; cried the child;
+&#8220;what did you disturve my dollies for?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What did you put them on my desk
+for?&#8221; queried her father indignantly;
+&#8220;the idea! I haven&#8217;t a spot on earth I can
+call my own.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve just mussed their best frocks
+all up,&#8221; continued the child, who, without
+paying the slightest attention to her father&#8217;s
+vigorous protest, was rapidly replacing her
+family, puppies, kittens, and all, on the
+desk.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I tell you I can&#8217;t have them here! I
+have important papers around, and I must
+be allowed to work in peace. Take them
+off!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>He started to sweep them on to the floor,
+but the little girl uttered a shriek.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Papa, papa, don&#8217;t,&#8221; she screamed.
+Then, as he desisted, she added, &#8220;They&#8217;ve
+just <i>dot</i> to be here&mdash;it&#8217;s the bestest, highest
+table, and the little doggies and kitties
+can&#8217;t jump off, and I&#8217;m doing to have a
+tea-party with Mamie Williams. You
+must put your nasty old papers somewhere
+else.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;This is an outrage!&#8221; he exclaimed,
+standing up and declaiming as if he were
+in court; &#8220;this is imposition run riot; it
+has reached a climax, and I&#8217;ll endure it no
+longer. Evidently I have no rights that
+even the smallest and youngest in the
+household is bound to respect. It is a
+notorious fact that I am ruled with a rod
+of iron, and that even this baby of the
+family flouts me. I say I will stand it no
+longer. I have been held with a tight
+rein, and a curb bit, but I will turn at
+last.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In his excitement, his metaphors became
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>confused, horses and worms being all
+mixed up in a heap.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Take the desk, take the whole of it,
+and to-morrow I shall leave the house! I
+shall go back to my bachelor quarters,
+where I once lived in peace.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The child regarded him seriously, from
+out her great, brown eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t go away, papa,&#8221; she said at
+last, &#8220;you may have a little of your desk,
+if you won&#8217;t take too much. I didn&#8217;t
+mean to be cross at you,&#8221; she added, with
+a pathetic quiver of her lip.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, well!&#8221; exclaimed the father hastily,
+&#8220;there, there!&#8221; and he laid his hand
+softly on her curly little head, &#8220;I guess
+we&#8217;ll get on somehow; if I can have a part
+of the desk, that&#8217;ll answer. It&#8217;s big enough
+for two, I guess.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>And he began moving his papers around.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not there, papa,&#8221; said the little tyrant;
+&#8220;no, that&#8217;s the sunny side, and little
+bowwow must be there, &#8217;cause he&#8217;s dot the
+badest cold, and the kitties haven&#8217;t dot but
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>little weeny eyes yet, and they <i>must</i> be
+where it&#8217;s most lightest.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, well, well, where <i>may</i> I sit? I
+must get to work.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You may sit right there, and you
+mustn&#8217;t fiddet, &#8217;cause you&#8217;ll upset dolly&#8217;s
+crib, if you do.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Soon he was safely bestowed, off on one
+side, and as he obediently kept to his limitations,
+all proceeded happily.</p>
+
+<p>During this domestic scrimmage, Mrs.
+Bachelor went on chatting in her lively,
+pleasant fashion with me, never betraying,
+in any way, that she overheard the scene
+in the study. I was so occupied with it,
+that I could pay no heed to her remarks;
+but she was a wise woman, and knew that
+her husband was being cooked to a delicious
+turn, and that any interference on her
+part, would spoil the dish. I have since
+learned that occasionally, when she sees
+that the fire is really too hot for him, she
+comes to his rescue.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If he sputters and fizzes, don&#8217;t be anxious;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>some husbands do this till they are
+quite done.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Evidently Mrs. Bachelor has studied her
+cook-book.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+<a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> little touch of sentiment that
+flashed, as it were, from Randolph Chance
+as he lifted me off the pier, was presently
+blotted, as far as effect upon me was concerned,
+by the return of Miss Sprig to the
+Purblind household, and the renewal of
+his attentions to her. At least I regarded
+them as renewed, and I coldly turned my
+back upon him, and let him go his way,
+without further thought or speculation.</p>
+
+<p>I was daily becoming more interested in
+another acquaintance&mdash;Mr. Gregory, a
+man of years, whom I had known for
+some time. He had been a visitor at our
+house when my parents were living, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>had, from time to time, shown me friendly
+attentions since their death. He frequently
+invited me to places of entertainment, something
+Randolph Chance seldom did, and in
+many ways contributed to my comfort and
+happiness. Single women are very dependent
+upon their men friends for pleasures
+of this sort; few of them care to go out at
+night alone, and even when they go in
+company with each other, the occasion
+lacks a zest which belongs to it when a
+woman has an escort. It is strange that
+many men&mdash;many of those who believe in
+the dependence of women, fall into the selfish
+habit of going alone to theater, concert,
+and lecture, and so force the women
+of their acquaintance into a position which
+their sentiments would seem to deprecate.</p>
+
+<p>While in no way obtrusive, or gushing
+in his attentions, Mr. Gregory was most
+thoughtful and kind, and few women are
+without appreciation of conduct of this
+type.</p>
+
+<p>Life flowed on with me with a quiet current.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>I was not a woman to make scenes
+with myself or others, and my circumstances
+were such as to permit of an undisturbed
+tenor of way.</p>
+
+<p>One bright afternoon, just as I returned
+from a long walk, Mrs. Purblind ran over
+to see me, and soon afterward, Mrs. Cynic
+dropped in. I never could bear this latter
+woman; something malevolent seems to
+emanate from her; something that is more
+or less unhealthful to the moral nature of
+all who come in contact with it, just as the
+miasma from a swamp is poisonous to the
+physical being.</p>
+
+<p>It chanced that I had just finished writing
+a little story, drawn from the life-page
+of my domestic experience; it was so endeared
+to my memory that I was not like
+to forget it, and yet, in the course of years,
+its outlines would probably fade a trifle if
+I did not take care to preserve their distinctness;
+for that reason I had written it
+out.</p>
+
+<p>I ought to have had better sense than to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>read anything of this kind to Mrs. Cynic.
+In the presence of such people, that which
+is fresh, beautiful, and holy withers, as a
+cluster of dewy wild flowers is parched
+and killed by the hot, sterile breath of a
+furnace.</p>
+
+<p>Usually I have some judgment in such
+matters, but that day all discretion seemed
+to take wings.</p>
+
+<p>A remark of Mrs. Purblind&#8217;s led up to
+the subject. This little woman can say
+ugly things at times, but they are stung
+out of her, as it were, by some particular
+hurt, and are not the expression of her real
+nature. She has a kind, good heart,
+though her judgment and tact are somewhat
+lacking.</p>
+
+<p>We happened to be speaking of men,
+and something was said about their capacity
+for devotion, when Mrs. Purblind exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Devotion! the masculine nature doesn&#8217;t
+know the meaning of the word, unless it
+is devotion to self.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>&#8220;I must read you a little story I&#8217;ve written
+to-day. It&#8217;s a true one, remember&mdash;I
+think I shall call it, &#8216;Devotion&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I went to my desk, took out the manuscript,
+and read as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A few years ago I owned a pair of foxhounds.
+Duke was the gentleman of the
+family, and Lady was his consort, and a
+lady she was indeed. I can hardly imagine
+a human creature of greater intelligence
+and refinement than this dumb
+beast. The attachment between herself
+and Duke was unique in its strength, and
+in its demonstration. He was fully as
+noble and as intelligent as she, but of a
+less lively, cheerful temperament. The
+arrival of six little Dukes was an occasion
+of anxiety and excitement for us all, and
+we were much relieved when the event
+was safely over, and we saw Lady and her
+beautiful family established in peace and
+comfort. Matters had run smoothly for
+about four or five weeks, when one day I
+was startled by a series of sharp yelps,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>which I knew came from Lady. I ran to
+the window, and saw the poor creature
+rolling in the middle of the street, in the
+greatest pain. By her side was Duke, and
+his outcries mingled with hers. The hard-hearted
+teamster, whose wagon had done
+the mischief, had driven off, but I ran to
+the rescue, and finally got her into the
+stable, where her little ones were awaiting
+her. She only lived a few hours, and her
+last act was an effort to nurse her clamorous
+doggies, while with her great, sad eyes
+she seemed to say good-by to Duke! The
+grief of this noble fellow was so great that
+we thought he would go mad. For a time
+he refused to let us come near her. He
+stood over her, licking her senseless form,
+pushing her gently once in a while with his
+head and paws, and then uttering lamentable
+cries when he saw that she did not
+move, or in any way respond; and meanwhile
+the tiny dogs were crawling over
+her, and mingling their voices with their
+father&#8217;s deep notes of distress. It was a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>most pitiable sight, and we all breathed a
+sigh of relief when the dear old fellow permitted
+us to lead him off into the house,
+and we had an opportunity to dispose of
+poor Lady. I&#8217;ll not try to tell of Duke&#8217;s
+excitement and distress when he missed
+her; of his frantic search all over the place,
+and of how we followed him about,
+and talked to him, and tried to divert him;
+or how we all&mdash;Duke, and the rest of us,
+finally sat down in the stable, beside the
+motherless little family, and wept together.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The morning after Lady died, I went
+out to the stable with a cup of warm milk.
+I had not been able to do anything with
+the puggy little dogs the evening before,
+but I thought that their sharp hunger,
+after several hours of abstinence, would
+lead them to make an effort to drink. I
+carried a spoon with me, also a rag to suck,
+and a bottle, with a nipple&mdash;all kinds of
+appliances, in fact.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What was my surprise upon entering
+the stable, to find Duke occupying Lady&#8217;s
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>place. He was evidently trying to answer
+the small dogs&#8217; clamorous demand for
+breakfast, and it was also plain that his
+failure in this respect amazed and bewildered
+him. He lay down just as he had
+seen Lady do, and when this did not
+suffice he tried another position; failing
+again, he withdrew a few paces, and sat
+for a moment in an attitude of profound
+thought; returning soon, and trying another
+device. This resulting unfavorably,
+he made still another, and then another
+attempt, and finally, grieved to the heart,
+and worried by the hungry cries of the
+small dogs, he withdrew once more, and
+lifting his nose high in air, deliberately
+yowled.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;At this point I obtruded myself upon
+the scene and went up to the dear old
+dog, took his distressed head in my arms,
+and talked to him. I explained to him the
+difficulty of the situation; how, owing to
+circumstances quite beyond his control, he
+could not take Lady&#8217;s place. I urged
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>upon him that he must yield gracefully to
+his limitations; showed him my appliances,
+and then when I had soothed and interested
+him, and he had consented to desist,
+and let me try, I made my essay.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It was a study for an artist&mdash;my appealing,
+pitying, impatient, scolding efforts to
+induce those unreasonable little creatures
+to accept a rag, or a bottle in place of a
+mother. I shouldn&#8217;t have cared so much,
+that is, I could have taken longer without
+minding it, had it not been for Duke. His
+anxiety was so great, and his distress over
+their cries so keen, that I was quite unnerved,
+and as is often the case, I showed
+my concern by scolding and abusing the
+objects in whose behalf I was exerting
+myself.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I was all but ready to give up, when
+one of the smallest and liveliest of the puppies
+(a feminine creature, of course) suddenly
+seized upon the nipple of the bottle
+with a lusty grip, and sucked away till she
+was all but strangled with milk. Her
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>example was speedily followed by the
+others, but before I had gone the rounds
+Duke comprehended that our trials were
+ended, and then&mdash;well, the dignified, sad-faced
+old doggie took leave of his wits,
+temporarily, as well as his dignity. He capered,
+he rolled on the ground, he barked,
+he bayed, he played leap-frog over my
+head, did everything but stand on end,
+and very nearly that, in his joy.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;From that time on he never failed to be
+present when his infants were fed, and
+when I weaned them, and taught them to
+drink, he was an interested spectator;
+helpful too, for one time when a small dog
+was obdurate, he took him by the nape of
+the neck, and shook him thoroughly, before
+turning him over to me for another
+trial. On another occasion, the pig of the
+family drank too deep, as it were, from
+the flowing bowl, and might have been
+drowned had it not been for his watchful
+parent. Duke noticed that the small fore-quarters
+were plunged into the liquid dinner;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>he also observed that the hind quarters
+were slowly rising in midair. He watched
+all this, with his accustomed, kindly gravity,
+until the equilibrium was lost, and
+Master Pup plunged into the pearly sea.
+Then the startled father leaped to his feet,
+snatched his offspring from a milky grave,
+and laid him, sneezing and choking, sadder
+and wiser, on the sunny grass-plat to
+dry.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In due time Duke recovered, in a measure,
+from his grief over Lady&#8217;s death, and
+took unto himself another partner. As is
+usual in the case of widowers, his second
+choice was injudicious, for Fanchon was a
+giddy, young thing, that didn&#8217;t have sense
+enough to come in out of the rain.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Duke saw no defects; he was all
+tenderness and attention.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It was early winter, but the weather
+was intensely cold, and we had taken
+Duke and Fanchon in from the stable, and
+had housed them comfortably in the cellar.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;One night I was wakened out of a sound
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>sleep by cries of distress. I called my
+sister and her husband, who were visiting
+me, and in various costumes, all hands went
+below. Fanchon was running about, crying
+and moaning, and Duke was alternately
+making frantic efforts to soothe her, and
+kiyiying in a manner that was fearful to
+hear. We succeeded at last in getting
+Fanchon to heed us, and coaxed her to
+settle down in a comfortable bed we made
+for her on the far side of the cellar, where
+she would have the benefit of the warmth
+from the furnace, and would be out of the
+way of the cold air which came in through
+a window, broken the day before.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;As soon as she was pacified, Duke was
+again happy, and he cheerfully lay down
+to rest. We retired to our rooms, and
+being very weary, with much sightseeing
+during the day, dropped into a sound sleep.
+The next morning I hurried down into the
+cellar, wondering whether I should see two
+dogs, or a dozen. To my surprise and
+dismay, I saw none at all. The cellar was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>silent and deserted. I opened the outer
+door, and with a failing heart, stepped
+into the clear, bitter cold of a temperature
+something like fifteen degrees below zero.
+Just around the corner of the house, in a
+nook slightly sheltered from the biting air,
+I came upon the family. Fanchon lay
+upon the ground, the snow carefully
+pushed up around her, and her clinging
+little ones, who were taking their breakfast.
+Over all&mdash;Fanchon and her puppies&mdash;covering
+them with his faithful body&mdash;shielding
+them with his never-failing love
+and devotion, was my noble hound&mdash;as
+noble, as faithful a dog, as ever man or
+woman loved. I called to him, and rubbed
+him, but all in vain, and meanwhile
+stupid, silly Fanchon, that had foolishly
+left her warm bed in the cellar, looked on
+with cheerful indifference, and wagged
+her tail.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Mrs. Cynic, when I had
+concluded the reading, &#8220;that story seems
+to me to prove but one thing.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>&#8220;And what is that, pray?&#8221; I asked,
+realizing I had been foolish to read such a
+tale to such an auditor.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, the truth of Madame de Sta&euml;l&#8217;s
+remark: &#8216;The more I see of men, the
+more I admire dogs.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>That hateful woman! She always
+leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.
+I know she springs from some corrupt
+ancestry. She has all the marks of inward
+decay upon her.</p>
+
+<p>When she had gone, Mrs. Purblind and
+I breathed more freely.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;She doesn&#8217;t believe in anything good,&#8221;
+said Mrs. Purblind.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; I answered in a tone of disgust,
+&#8220;she has nothing within her to answer to
+it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How different she is from Mrs. Earnest,&#8221;
+continued Mrs. Purblind; &#8220;why, you
+can hardly convince that woman that anyone
+is really mean, and goodness knows
+she has trouble enough to make her bitter.
+What a husband she&#8217;s got! That man
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>makes me so mad! He&#8217;s ugly from sheer
+badness.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I thought for a moment, and then I assented.
+I really do believe that man is
+ugly without cause. He and his wife live
+at some distance from us, and I&#8217;ve often
+visited them. I should like to give you a
+scene to which I was witness one evening
+when I was a trifle ill, and lay on a divan
+just out of their dining room.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Earnest is like a delicate flower
+that lifts its pretty face and smiles in the
+sunlight of love, but is bowed and broken
+&#8217;neath the thunder-cloud and storm. She
+longs to make her home attractive, but her
+husband has no sympathy with this desire;
+to him home is merely the place
+where he finds food and lodging, and a
+safety valve for such moods and tempers
+as he is obliged to keep under control in
+the business world.</p>
+
+<p>The efforts that this poor little wife
+makes, in her timid way, to start up pleasant
+subjects of conversation would move a
+rock to tears.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>This is the scene, as I recall it&mdash;a specimen
+scene.</p>
+
+<p>The family&mdash;husband, wife, and three
+little children were at dinner, as I said.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s been happening to-day? anything
+of interest?&#8221; asked the little wife.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not that I know of,&#8221; was the gruff
+reply.</p>
+
+<p>Silence, broken by the occasional sound
+of eating implements, ensued.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Pass the bread, will you?&#8221; he said in
+a short tone, directly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;See how you like this bread; we are
+trying the entire wheat flour. I think it&#8217;s
+very nice tasting, and they claim it&#8217;s rich
+in nutrition. It&#8217;s warranted to make
+blood, bone, and muscle&mdash;brain, too, I believe.
+I&#8217;m going to eat several pounds a
+day; I may astonish the world yet.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This feeble joke was received in stolid
+silence, and the poor little wife crept into
+her shell.</p>
+
+<p>After a time she peeped out again, and
+made another effort.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>&#8220;I went to the womans&#8217; club this afternoon;
+Mrs. Pierson invited me. They
+had a very interesting meeting; they
+brought up the subject of smoke consumers.
+I never realized before how much
+property is ruined yearly by the smoke.
+It does seem as if manufacturers ought to
+use consumers.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>At this point Bruin openly yawned, and
+the little wife again retired. But with astonishing
+elasticity of courage she issued
+from her shell once more, this time with
+the hope that a more masculine theme
+would meet with some response.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They brought a petition around here
+to-day for us to sign. It seems there is
+some talk of flooring the reservoir and
+using it as a beer garden this coming summer,
+and the neighborhood has been called
+upon to protest against it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I know all about that,&#8221; he growled.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Have you signed it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Again silence fell as a wet cloak upon
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>them, and the little woman sat there racking
+her brains, almost depleted by this
+time, for the atmosphere which such a
+man as that creates is warranted to dry
+up all the intellectual juices.</p>
+
+<p>One more despairing effort. The children
+had now left the table, so anecdotes
+of them were in order. Probably the poor
+little wife thought that this man could be
+wakened into attention by a story about
+one of his children.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Mamie asked me where cats went to
+when they died. &#8216;They don&#8217;t go anywhere,&#8217;
+I said; &#8216;when they die, that&#8217;s the
+end of them.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Do they turn to dust?&#8217; she asked.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Yes, just turn to dust,&#8217; I said.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Why, then,&#8217; she exclaimed, and her
+eyes grew as big as saucers, &#8216;when horses
+run &#8217;long the streets, are they kicking up
+cats?&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>All the man said was, &#8220;Umph,&#8221; and the
+little wife&#8217;s peal of merry laughter was
+checked, and the ha ha&#8217;s grew fainter and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>spread farther and farther apart, until they
+died away altogether, and I felt like charging
+upon that burly, surly demon, and
+butting him out of the window.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How would you serve such a man, if
+you were his wife?&#8221; asked Mrs. Purblind.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<i>Roasted!</i>&#8221;</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+<a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Gregory&#8217;s</span> attentions had become
+an accepted fact in my life. They were
+dignified and steadfast, and I received
+them with a certain calm pleasure. They
+had not, as yet, reached the point of declaration,
+but it was clear to me, and to everyone
+else, who knew anything about the
+matter, that they were tending thither,
+and my own thought had reached the point
+of acceptance. I had the greatest respect
+for him as a man; we were congenial in our
+tastes, and personally agreeable to one another.
+The position he had to offer me
+was a most dignified, desirable one, as he
+was not only a man of sterling integrity,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>but also a man of wealth; there was, in
+short, everything in favor of the alliance,
+and I looked upon it quietly, but with a
+sense of substantial, and steadfast comfort.</p>
+
+<p>Such an event as a marriage cannot
+even in prospect, face a thoughtful woman
+without making a great change in her life.
+Mr. Gregory was that type of man who
+ought not to be allowed to offer himself in
+a direction where there was no intention
+of acceptance, for his character and age&mdash;he
+was fifty or more&mdash;forbade all thought
+of lightness or trifling, and gave one the
+assurance that any marked attention he
+might show, was significant. My acquaintance
+with him had extended over
+several years, and during this period there
+had been abundant opportunity, on both
+sides, for study of character.</p>
+
+<p>In a quiet way, I had been arranging
+my affairs, preparatory to my expected
+change in manner of life. I had, as a
+matter of course, done considerable thinking
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>during this time. I had experienced
+none of the rapture always associated with
+a romantic attachment, but I was quietly
+happy, and this condition was a far more
+natural one for me, with my cool, matter-of-fact
+temperament&mdash;a far more promising
+one, in respect to future enjoyment, I felt,
+than something more ecstatic.</p>
+
+<p>I had seen but little of Mr. Chance for
+some weeks. He had called several times,
+but on each of these occasions, we had
+passed a somewhat constrained, and I
+thought, a rather dull evening. Just why
+this constraint should have crept into our
+intercourse when we seemed to be coming
+to a better understanding than heretofore,
+and were beginning to enjoy a warmer degree
+of friendship than we had known, I
+could not understand; but its presence was
+undeniable, and it spoiled everything for
+me, as far as he was concerned, causing
+me to look upon his calls in the light of a
+bore, rather than as a pleasure, as I once
+had done. Occasionally a memory of that
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>evening when he came to my rescue, as the
+hungry, cruel waves gathered like wolves
+about me, would flit across my mind, as a
+shadow may flit across a sunlit hill. Once
+in a long while I found myself dwelling
+upon the look he gave me that night, and
+this, and the memory of his touch, as he
+lifted me off the pier, would dim the sunshine
+of my cheerfulness. I could not
+have explained this to myself, and I never
+dwelt upon the thought; whether from disinclination,
+or from fear, I could not tell.
+I only knew that I always turned from it
+abruptly, and passed on to my plans affecting
+my life with Mr. Gregory. It was
+quite easy to plan in this direction, for
+there was nothing uncertain, as there
+might have been in the case of a younger
+man. Mr. Gregory was fixed in his tastes,
+and way of life; I, too, at my age, had
+formed settled habits, and this he knew;
+but, fortunately, in most directions, we
+were in harmony, and where we were not,
+we had fallen into a way of making certain
+concessions.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>So I had matters pretty well laid out;
+all my theories, born of years of close observation
+of affairs domestic, were now
+brought to bear on my own future.
+Secretly I esteemed myself a competent
+cook, when a husband was the dish under
+discussion. Mr. Gregory was not one to
+require any very complicated wisdom in
+the culinary art. A little gentle stewing;
+no strong seasoning; no violent changes or
+methods of any sort; but regularity, evenness;
+quiet affection; respect; comfort,
+and general conformance to taste and nature
+would be necessary, and I felt myself
+fully equal to it all.</p>
+
+<p>Matters had well-nigh culminated, for I
+had received a note from Mr. Gregory asking
+when I would be at home to him, and
+saying that he had a matter of great moment
+to both of us, to lay before me. I set
+an evening, and then awaited his coming
+without the slightest quickening of my
+pulse, but with a serenity and cheerfulness
+that appealed to my common sense as the
+surest forecast of happiness.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>Just at this juncture, a swift turn of the
+wind-cock, or some imprudence of diet,
+resulted in my taking cold&mdash;a most unusual
+procedure for me, and at the time
+of Mr. Gregory&#8217;s call I was unable to see
+him, being confined to my bed, in the care
+of a doctor, who was fighting a case of
+threatened pneumonia.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gregory expressed his sincere regret,
+and the next day called again, and
+left flowers. These attentions were repeated
+daily, and soon after hearing of my
+improvement, he wrote me a letter in
+which he said that which he had intended
+to say on the evening of the day I fell ill.
+He did not request a reply; in fact, he
+asked me to withhold my answer until I
+should be able to see him in person. It
+would have been wiser, perhaps, he said,
+to have postponed any word on the subject
+until I had recovered, but he had found it
+difficult to delay the expression of his feeling
+toward me, and hence had written.</p>
+
+<p>This last rather surprised me, for Mr.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>Gregory had always seemed so unlikely to
+be swayed by impulse, or carried, in the
+slightest degree, beyond a point indicated
+by his judgment. It simply went to prove
+that the most regularly and smoothly laid-out
+man, if one may so express it, has unsuspected
+crooks and turns.</p>
+
+<p>I had no desire to answer the letter,
+being perfectly able and willing to wait
+until I should see him. In fact, instead of
+hastening the time for my acceptance, I
+rather delayed it, for I reached a point in
+my convalescence, when I was able to go
+down to the parlor, had I so wished, and
+still did not.</p>
+
+<p>Each day of my illness, a lovely bouquet
+of flowers had been left at my door. They
+came direct from the greenhouse, and
+were left without card, or sign of the
+giver. I had an eccentric little friend who
+was quite devoted to me, and was fond of
+keeping her left hand in darkest ignorance
+of the performances of its counterpart&mdash;the
+right hand&mdash;and I attributed this delicate
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>and beautiful token of sympathy and affection
+to her; but, for some inexplicable reason,
+every morning when the flowers were
+brought to my room, and I took them in
+my hand, a strange feeling came over me&mdash;a
+feeling I had never had toward my
+little friend.</p>
+
+<p>Over two weeks had passed, and I was
+downstairs in the study. My nurse had
+gone out, my housekeeper was busy, and
+I was very lonely. I was standing at the
+window, looking westward. The sun had
+gone down in regal splendor. Some f&ecirc;te
+was in progression in the sky, for the attendants
+of the god of day were resplendent
+in attire. They had been marshalled from
+all quarters of the heavens, and their stately
+and solemn procession, brilliant with the
+most gorgeous red, royal purple, and dazzling
+gold, had caused my heart to dilate
+with awe and reverential admiration.</p>
+
+<p>The lake, stirred by the wonderful pageant,
+caught the many hues as they dropped
+from heaven, and tossed them on high in
+joyous, iridescent waves.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>The climax of majesty and beauty was
+reached, and then the convocation broke
+up&mdash;not suddenly, but slowly, and with
+gracious dignity. The sun sank into the
+waiting arms of the unknown; the lights
+of heaven faded, and the clouds slowly
+melted into dusk.</p>
+
+<p>The scene had stirred me as I am seldom
+stirred, and with the oncoming of night
+new thoughts and feelings rose from their
+lair, as strange and beautiful wild animals
+step from their caves into the deep mystery
+of darkness.</p>
+
+<p>My neighbor next door&mdash;Mrs. Thrush,
+sat on her broad, vine-clad gallery, rocking
+her little child in her arms. By her
+side sat her husband, with one arm thrown
+across her lap. He had laid his paper
+down, for the daylight was fading, and
+perhaps his thought was too happy to
+stoop to daily news. Softly the little wife
+and mother sang; she had a sweet home
+voice, and no music of orchestra ever
+moved me as did her lullaby.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>I was at that moment an intensely
+lonely woman. I thought of Mr. Gregory
+and my future, and still I was lonely.</p>
+
+<p>Far away to the east there was a low,
+long bank of clouds like a mountain range,
+and as the poetry and melody of the lullaby
+rose from the little nest on my left,
+and stole into my thought, I saw a faint light
+above this line; then a group of mist-like
+clouds that moved toward me. Slowly the
+gray haze, tinged with soft light, began
+to resolve itself into shadowy forms, and
+my heart stood still as, in some vague
+way, I traced a connection between the
+lullaby and the vision, and realized that a
+message was coming to me.</p>
+
+<p>I was perfectly calm, but with the calmness
+which is the outgrowth of an excitement
+so tense that it is still. As the vision
+floated nearer, I heard soft music&mdash;a crooning,
+yearning, soul-satisfying lullaby; I
+saw a little child, a mother, and a father.
+The child was as beautiful as an angel,
+and there was that in its face which
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>made my eyes flood with tears, and my
+heart ache with yearning; the faces of the
+parents were too vague for me to recognize
+at first; then slowly, that of the
+mother became more distinct, and I saw
+<i>myself</i> before me&mdash;myself, a wife and
+mother; the visible answer to my heart&#8217;s
+deepest, most secret cry. Still the father&#8217;s
+face was hidden, but as the vision floated
+by, he turned and looked at me&mdash;the vision
+wife&mdash;with a look I had seen before, and I
+uttered a cry as I recognized <i>Randolph
+Chance</i>.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+<a name="IX" id="IX"></a>IX</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">As</span> I cried out, I turned slightly and, for
+a moment, lost the picture. It was
+changed when again I saw it; Randolph
+Chance was still there, but he no longer
+advanced toward the vision wife&mdash;she had
+faded into mist; he came slowly toward
+me. There was a beautiful look on his
+face&mdash;I cannot describe it&mdash;it was too holy
+to translate into language; but I could feel
+it vibrate through my being until it set my
+very soul a-quivering. I had no power of
+resistance&mdash;no wish to resist. I almost
+think I went toward him, and he was as
+real to me as if he were in the flesh. I
+could feel him as he put his arm around
+my waist, and his face touched mine. The
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>vision child had melted away; and we two
+were alone; I knew my heart then; I knew
+I loved this man.</p>
+
+<p>It was all over in a few moments, but
+such moments as make an eternity, for
+they wipe out the past, even as death blots
+out a life, and they open a door to the
+future. Up to that time I had never
+thought that, without my knowledge or
+intent, my heart could slip from me&mdash;had
+never dreamed that I, whose life had always
+been most commonplace&mdash;I, who had
+had my share of wooing, but had never
+felt an extra heart-beat because of it&mdash;no,
+never dreamed that I, this <i>I</i>, so practical
+and sensible, could be carried off my feet
+by a vision. A vision, was it? Yes, and
+yet real, too real in some ways, since it revealed
+my innermost thought. A vision!
+And yet, even now that it had melted into
+air, I was clinging to it, and instead of
+resenting its startling revelation of self,
+was dwelling upon it, and in it, with a delight
+beyond words.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>I sat there in my study, my head bent,
+and my hands loosely clasped in my lap,
+living it over and over again. Out of
+doors, the soft gray dusk had hushed the
+tired world in its arms. Within, the stillness
+of night had settled down upon the
+room. By and by the moon rose above
+the great waters of the lake, and on shore
+the trees were casting silent, solemn shadows,
+made visible by the soft, hazy light
+that lay between them. Once in a while
+a bird uttered its night cry, or some little
+brooding note, and over on the vine-clad
+gallery, Mrs. Thrush still crooned a lullaby
+to her little child, who lay asleep&mdash;soft and
+warm, on her mother-breast.</p>
+
+<p>I was no longer lonely, no longer shut
+out from it all&mdash;there was the bird on its
+nest; the little wife and mother in her
+home; and I&mdash;I was very near them&mdash;akin
+to them. I had seen myself in <i>my</i> home,
+with my child, and my husband; I had
+felt his dear arms about me, and his dear
+face close to mine. I was no longer an
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>alien. I, too, had a place in the heart of
+another.</p>
+
+<p>Still I sat and dreamed, and even the
+ringing of my door-bell failed to rouse me:
+but when I heard the maid say to someone:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;She has been downstairs to-night, but
+I think she has gone up now, and I don&#8217;t
+like to call her.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I started forward, saying quickly:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I am here&mdash;I will see any one.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>And so he came in, but it was not the
+one I expected. It was Mr. Gregory.</p>
+
+<p>I think that he found my embarrassment
+on greeting him both gratifying and encouraging,
+but its cause was alien to his
+thought. I was brought back from another
+world, as it were, with a rude shock,
+and in my enfeebled condition, consequent
+upon a severe illness could not control myself.
+Indeed I did not feel that I was mistress
+of myself at any time during the
+evening.</p>
+
+<p>After a word or two, which I cannot recall,
+I stammered out:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>&#8220;I was not expecting you this evening&mdash;I
+had not sent for you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I know that you have not,&#8221; he answered&mdash;then
+dropping his voice a trifle,
+he added, &#8220;I could not wait any longer&mdash;I
+found it difficult to wait so long as this. I
+hardly dared hope that I might see you
+this evening, but I felt I must try.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Intent upon sparing him the pain of a
+spoken declaration, I exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Mr. Gregory, don&#8217;t! please don&#8217;t
+say anything more. I am not deserving
+of your esteem and kindness.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He came nearer me, and his voice was
+at once tender and reverent, as he said:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You are more than worthy of what I
+have to offer, which is myself, and all that
+I have.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t!&#8221; I cried again; &#8220;don&#8217;t say anything
+more! Let us imagine this unsaid!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Such words can never be recalled,&#8221; he
+said gravely.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They must be,&#8221; I persisted; &#8220;I cannot
+accept! I have nothing to give in return!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>A look of disappointment came over his
+face, and if I mistake not, it was shaded
+with displeasure. &#8220;I hardly expected
+this, Miss Leigh, I have hardly been led to
+expect this.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I know what you mean, Mr. Gregory,&#8221;
+I replied, more calmly than I had spoken
+before; &#8220;I know that I have accepted your
+attentions&mdash;you have had every reason to
+expect a different answer. I&#8217;ll not try to
+deceive you, or keep anything from
+you. I&#8217;ll tell you that I have not been
+trifling. I have understood you for some
+time&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He interrupted me here.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you must have done so; my attentions
+to you could have but one interpretation,
+if I were a man of honor, and
+you knew I was that.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I did, indeed,&#8221; I exclaimed. And
+then my mind went, with a flash like
+lightning, to Randolph Chance, and I felt
+a sudden resentment. Had not he shown
+me attentions that no man of honor can
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>bestow upon a woman, unless he wishes to
+make her his wife? Why had he left me
+in this strait? Why had he not spoken
+out? Why had he not claimed before the
+world that which he had taken such pains
+to win? I was uncertain about Randolph
+Chance; I had never been uncertain about
+Mr. Gregory. Why? Because I had perfect
+confidence in his honor. Was he not
+the better man&mdash;the more trustworthy?
+Why could I not marry him? I loved another
+man. A wave of shame and anger
+swept my face.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have all along been expecting to
+marry you. I have not been trifling,&#8221; I
+cried out.</p>
+
+<p>He stepped forward, and took my hand.
+It was as cold as ice.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What is it then, Constance, that has
+changed you? Have I done anything
+since your illness to make you think less
+of me?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I trembled from head to foot, and my
+lips were so stiff and dry that they scarce
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>would do my bidding. I must have
+spoken very indistinctly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No&mdash;no,&#8221; I said slowly; &#8220;I will tell
+you everything&mdash;I have done you a wrong,
+an unintentional wrong, but I will do penance&mdash;I
+have seen myself to-night&mdash;&#8221; I
+paused here; Mr. Gregory was a practical
+man; had I told him that a vision had
+changed my attitude, he would have
+thought me insane. I myself had begun
+to entertain doubts as to my sanity. &#8220;I
+know myself now,&#8221; I faltered, &#8220;I know
+my heart&mdash;I love another man.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gregory rose, and began pacing the
+floor.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;This surprises me greatly,&#8221; he said at
+length; &#8220;there must have been another
+courtship&mdash;it would seem that you must
+have known something of how matters
+were tending.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have known nothing until to-night.
+There has been no courtship, in the ordinary
+acceptation of that word&mdash;I&#8217;ll tell you
+all, even if it humbles me completely, as a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>penalty for what I have done to you. The
+man I love&mdash;&#8221; I could feel the blood mantling
+my face and neck, &#8220;has never addressed
+me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gregory paused, and looked at me.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;This is extraordinary,&#8221; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is&mdash;I know it is&mdash;it is most of all so
+to me, for it is wholly unlike what I have
+been all my life.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Let us not talk of this any more to-night,
+Miss Leigh,&#8221; he said, with evident
+relief; &#8220;I have been wrong to press this
+matter now, when you are hardly recovered.
+You are not yourself. This is
+something transitory, no doubt. Later on,
+you may feel differently.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, no!&#8221; I exclaimed eagerly, &#8220;now
+that we have begun, let us say it all.
+Don&#8217;t&mdash;I beg of you, don&#8217;t go away with
+a feeling that I don&#8217;t know my mind. I
+am weak and miserable to-night&mdash;&#8221; here
+the tears choked my voice, and I all but
+broke down, &#8220;but I am miserable because
+I have learned my true feeling, and know
+that I must disappoint&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>I could not go on, and again he sat down
+beside me and took my hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I cannot understand you,&#8221; he said
+simply.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t understand myself,&#8221; I replied;
+&#8220;but all this is none the less real for that.
+I have learned of it to-night, but it has existed
+before; it explains many things in
+the past year.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If that is the case, then I must accept
+your decision as final.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is, indeed,&#8221; I answered briefly.</p>
+
+<p>He rose, and walked the room in silence
+again; then pausing once more, he said
+calmly, and with no trace of anger.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;This is the disappointment of my life.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I said nothing. What could I say? To
+utter any platitudes about being sorry,
+would have been to insult him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A man cannot live to my age&mdash;I am
+fifty-two, Miss Leigh&mdash;without experiencing
+disappointment, but I have known
+nothing equal to this.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He paced the room a few moments, and
+then said:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>&#8220;This interview must be distressing to
+you. I am very sorry I brought it about
+before you were strong and well.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Say one thing before you go, Mr.
+Gregory,&#8221; I cried, &#8220;only say that you
+don&#8217;t think I have willfully misled you&mdash;say
+that you respect me still.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>His face was stirred by a slight quiver,
+as a placid lake is stirred by an impulse of
+the evening air.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You have had, and you always will
+have my deepest respect, and my deepest
+affection.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He took my hand silently, and then
+quietly left the room.</p>
+
+<p>And I sat there until I heard the front
+door close. Then I went upstairs, but I
+remember nothing after reaching the first
+landing.</p>
+
+<p>They found me lying there. They said
+I must have fainted.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>
+<a name="X" id="X"></a>X</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">I was</span> badly upset for several days.
+For a time I resolutely put all thought
+of what had occurred from my mind,
+but as soon as I felt able, I sat down, with
+the whole matter before me, as it were,
+and deliberately looked it in the face. I
+think I never felt more inane in my life
+than when I remembered my folly, as I
+now regarded it. All that saved me from
+utter self-abasement was the fact that it
+had occurred at a time when I was at such
+a low ebb physically, by reason of illness.
+I determined to try to forget it, as speedily
+as possible. But, however keenly I felt
+the humiliation and folly of my emotion
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>upon that strange night, it never occurred
+to me to waver, when recalling my decision
+to bring matters between Mr. Gregory
+and myself to an end. My refusal of him
+had been brought about by one cause, and
+only one&mdash;that I fully realized; and now
+that I had repudiated the cause, I might
+have been expected to reconsider the refusal.
+But I did not.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after I was up and about once
+more, I learned that my little friend had
+not sent the flowers. I thought&mdash;no, I did
+not think! but I cherished secretly a&mdash;well,
+no! I cherished <i>nothing</i> in secret or
+in public!</p>
+
+<p>I learned something else, soon after getting
+up, and this was that a story was going
+the rounds to the effect that Mr. Gregory
+had broken our engagement&mdash;and my
+disappointment had well-nigh occasioned
+me a relapse. But in a twinkling, almost
+before I had time to get indignant, Mrs.
+Catlin was running about, telling everybody
+that Mr. Gregory had confided in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>her, in strictest confidence, the truth of
+the matter, which was that I had ended
+the affair, and not he.</p>
+
+<p>I was much moved by this manly act
+on Mr. Gregory&#8217;s part. He showed his
+shrewdness, too; he could not announce
+this in public, or go to people one by one,
+so he confided it to Mrs. Catlin, and told
+her not to tell.</p>
+
+<p>One Sabbath evening about ten
+o&#8217;clock, I began to lock up the house.
+Early retirement is something all but unknown
+to me, but that night, having no
+particular reason for sitting up, I was
+about to indulge in it as a novelty.</p>
+
+<p>I raised the shade of one of the study
+windows, with intent to draw the bolt, but
+my hand paused in the act, for my eyes
+were captured by a scene of surpassing
+beauty. Fall had lately swept her gorgeous
+leaves one side, and closed her doors
+for the season, and we were now standing
+on the threshold of winter. The early
+snows are apt to be soft and clinging; it is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>later on, usually, when the thermometer
+takes a plunge downward, that they become
+crisp and hard. It is seldom, however,
+at any time of year that the atmospheric
+conditions are favorable to such a
+creation as I beheld that night. I hardly
+know just what is necessary to make it all&mdash;a
+still, moderate cold, and a very humid
+air are among the most important conditions,
+I believe.</p>
+
+<p>When I stepped outside my door early
+in the evening, the air all about me
+seemed to be snow, not separated into
+flakes, but diffused evenly. Altogether it
+had the effect of a heavy white fog, and I
+could see even then, that it was settling in
+visible, palpable, feathery forms, not only
+upon the ground, but upon every bush and
+tree as well. It was a most unusual scene,
+and I gazed at it long and admiringly; but
+having no fondness for walking through
+soft, clinging snow, I was not enticed to
+sally forth, as I always am when the
+snow is firm and sparkling.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>But by ten o&#8217;clock the temperature had
+changed, and in the cooler air the almost
+imperceptible melting of the snow had
+been stayed.</p>
+
+<p>The white carpet that had slowly been
+sinking, was now stationary, and was covered
+by a firm crust that gleamed in the
+moonlight. There was no sparkle on the
+trees, but the feathery tufts and pinions
+had ceased floating to the ground, and
+melting into air. The scene, in all its
+matchless beauty, was arrested&mdash;held upon
+nature&#8217;s canvas for a few hours, by the
+Master hand.</p>
+
+<p>Stay in doors that night! Would I be
+so wicked as to turn my back, or close my
+eyes upon one of the most delectable scenes
+that ever a kind Providence spread before
+the soul of human creature! Would I
+deliberately slight such an exhibition of
+love and marvelous skill? Not I!</p>
+
+<p>It didn&#8217;t take me long to catch up hat
+and jacket, and with a heart that beat
+high, slip from my house, as a greyhound
+slips the leash, and hie me away.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>What mattered it that the neighborhood
+lights were raised&mdash;a story, at least&mdash;and
+that the owners of all the villas near at
+hand, were preparing for decorous, temporary
+retirement. I merely pitied them
+for their stupidity, and went my way. I
+had long been a law unto myself, and
+while I did not believe in flaunting my independence
+in their faces, I none the less
+continued to enjoy it.</p>
+
+<p>There are nights when to sleep would be
+the sin of an ingrate; &#8217;twould be like gathering
+up the good things of Providence,
+and hurling them from out the window, in
+reckless waste. And this night was such
+a one.</p>
+
+<p>The keen air, and the entrancing beauty
+about me, seemed to run in a subtle, fascinating
+torrent through my veins, and
+lend me wings. I felt as though I were
+buoyed up by magic hands; I hardly
+think I set foot on ground the whole way,
+and yet I must, for I was conscious of a
+crisp crackle of the snow at every step.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>Oh, is there any sound just like it! Could
+our poor invalids but pitch their nostrums
+over the wall, and take this tonic instead!</p>
+
+<p>Some friends of mine moved a while
+ago and drove their family stake in a
+spot far off from here. They are continually
+writing me of a region of perpetual
+sunshine and summer. I thought
+of them on this glorious night, and pitied
+them from the depths of my heart, as I
+often have, indeed, since they went
+out there. Theirs is the place for the extremely
+indigent, no doubt, but for any
+one who can command a dollar or so for
+fuel, this&mdash;this is the land of delight.</p>
+
+<p>I was at no loss as to direction; our
+suburb was beautiful throughout, especially
+all along by the lake, but there was
+one place in particular, where art and nature
+had joined hands, with a result indescribable.
+Toward these grounds I hastened,
+on this particular night.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, the glory of that moon! the glory of
+the lake! an undulating sea of waves,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>each crested with a feather, as soft, as
+snowy in the moonlight, as the tinier ones
+that hung upon the trees.</p>
+
+<p>I ran down the winding avenue&mdash;the
+white fog still lingered in the deep places,
+but above, all was clear and glorious.
+Erelong I entered the Dunham&#8217;s grounds.
+At a certain point, unmarked to the
+stranger&#8217;s eye, a rustic flight of stairs, now
+strewn with dead leaves&mdash;padded with
+snow as well, to-night, dips down from
+the broad driveway. Quickly I made my
+way by this path, and erelong, stood
+upon one of the little rustic bridges spanning
+the ravine, and connecting with a
+similar flight of ascending stairs upon the
+other side. There I paused, and well I
+might. It were a dull, plodding creature
+indeed, who would not be spellbound by
+such a scene! On either hand were the
+sloping wooded sides of the ravine whose
+depths were shrouded in the mysterious
+whiteness of the fog; above me, a short
+distance in front, was the arch of the broad,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>picturesque bridge with which the driveway
+spans the hollow. The little rustic
+bridge on which I stood was much lower
+than the larger one; hence, from my position,
+I looked through the archway, beyond,
+down, and far along the ravine. Can
+you call up fairyland to your mental eye? It
+would pale before this scene&mdash;those feathery
+trees! that enchanting vista! I stood
+there drinking it in, and pitying the sleeping
+world. I could not, even in thought,
+express my delight and gratitude for being
+permitted to behold such beauty, but
+finally a familiar line leaped from my lips:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&#8220;Praise God from whom all blessings flow.&#8221;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>I can never forget that night; it kindled
+and warmed my heart with a reverential
+fire. If, in the course of years, my way
+should be overcast; if, for a time, I should
+let the artificial&mdash;the ignoble, clog the path,
+and shut me out from the light of heaven,
+even then I shall be saved from doubt,
+which is always engendered by our stupidity&mdash;the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>things of our own manufacture&mdash;I
+shall be saved from doubt by the sweet,
+pure, radiant memory of that winter,
+moonlight scene. Only a beneficent God
+could create such beauty.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
+<a name="XI" id="XI"></a>XI</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">On</span> my way back&mdash;at what dissipated
+hour I firmly decline to state&mdash;I passed a
+home with an interesting history tacked
+thereto.</p>
+
+<p>The leading events were brought me by
+one of those active, inquisitive little birds
+that find out all sorts of things, and often
+fetch from great distances.</p>
+
+<p>The couple who live there, though
+Americans, once lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
+and it was in that place that the husband
+fell to drinking. The little bird
+above alluded to&mdash;the bird that acts as a
+kind of domestic ferret&mdash;told me that, in
+the early years of their married life, the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>wife was of an excitable, hysterical temperament,
+and given to making scenes.
+Just here let me digress a moment to erect
+a warning signboard. I have a friend
+who is busy mixing and administering a
+deadly draught to her domestic happiness,
+and yet does not know it. She has only
+been married a year, and she uses tears
+and scenes, in general, as instruments to
+pull from her husband the attention, affection,
+and devotion she craves. The tug
+waxes increasingly hard, but she has not,
+as yet, sense enough to see that, and desist.
+She cannot realize that the success
+attained by such methods is but the temporary
+and external beauty, which, in
+reality, covers a failure of the most hopeless
+type, just as the flush on the consumptive&#8217;s
+cheek is but a pitiable counterfeit,
+and covers a fatal disease.</p>
+
+<p>Whether in this particular story, the
+report of the wife&#8217;s early blunders be true
+or false, there seems to be no doubt that
+presently the husband grew careless and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>indifferent; that scene followed scene between
+them, until at last he went to drinking.
+Then the little wife waxed sober,
+thoughtful, and studied much within herself.
+This awful sorrow, following so
+closely upon the heels of her wedding-day
+joy, matured her judgment&mdash;her womanhood,
+and she began to use every skillful
+device to call back her husband from the
+dark paths he had chosen, to the light.
+All in vain, however; and when she realized
+this, after several years of heroic
+effort, she made one last scene, and told
+him she was going to leave him. Then
+his old-time tenderness returned&mdash;if you
+can compare a tenderness which was
+blurred and cringing, with that which was
+clear and manly. He begged and promised
+in vain, however, for she had lost faith,
+and a lost faith is not found again for
+many a day.</p>
+
+<p>So she went off, and she covered all
+traces and signs so carefully that no anxious,
+heartbroken effort of his could find
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>her. Meanwhile she wrote him frequently
+and regularly, and although he knew not
+where to send reply, it is quite likely she
+had word of him from some one to whom
+she had given her confidence in this dreary
+time.</p>
+
+<p>And so five years passed, and at their
+close she walked into her home one day,
+and her husband&mdash;a man once more, took
+her in his arms, and looked his love and
+joy with clear, honest eyes.</p>
+
+<p>They came to our city, or rather this
+little suburb of our city, soon afterward,
+and although it is well-nigh ten years now
+that they have been among us, there has
+never been a hint of trouble. Hers was a
+unique method, but it brought about the
+desired end.</p>
+
+<p>Verily it would seem that for some dinners,
+it is best for the cook to vanish, and
+leave the dishes to get themselves.</p>
+
+<p>I was meditating on this as I walked
+home that night, and the next morning,
+stirred by the recollection of all I had seen
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>and felt, was moved to write out a story
+given me by a young man&mdash;a friend of
+mine, who lives at a great distance from
+here, on an olive ranch out of Los Gatos,
+California.</p>
+
+<p>I wish I could give you this little tale
+just as he told it. I can&#8217;t, I know, but I&#8217;ll
+do my best in trying.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Purblind dropped in just as I was
+reading it over to myself, before my study
+fire.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you remember my story about
+Duke?&#8221; I asked.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I liked it,&#8221; she said, &#8220;though I&#8217;m
+not very partial to dogs.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have one here about horses. I&#8217;ve
+written it out as nearly as possible as my
+friend told it to me, but so much flavor is
+lost when these things change hands.
+Here it is, and I think that the lamentation
+David sang over Saul, might head it.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A while ago we owned a couple of
+horses&mdash;work horses, and yet, by reason
+of the strength of their affections, they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>were lifted from out the commonplace,
+and enveloped with an atmosphere of romance
+that gave them the flavor of a story
+book, plumb full of princes and heroes.
+And by the way, Prince was the name of
+one of them, and he was a genuine hero,
+as you will see. His mate was called
+Nelly, and albeit she was as awkward and
+as angular as the ideal old maid, vastly
+inferior to Prince, who was a fine-looking
+chap, yet his admiration for her was unbounded.
+She cared for him, I&#8217;m sure, but
+she was less demonstrative; more coquettish,
+I would say, if she hadn&#8217;t been too
+homely a beast to think of, in connection
+with such a word.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They were brought up together; were
+taught by the same master; sat on the
+same bench, in a figurative sense; were
+lovers from the very first. Prince certainly
+had the most elegant manners;
+Nelly was his first thought, at all times,
+and his courtesy to her savored of the old
+school. He wouldn&#8217;t go into the shed of a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>cold, rainy day and leave Nelly outside;
+but if she went in, he was more than content
+to follow. When it was necessary to
+separate them&mdash;we couldn&#8217;t always work
+them together&mdash;we had to tie Prince with
+ropes and cables, as it were, to hold him
+fast. Nelly was less difficult to manage;
+at least, she would let him go out of sight
+without fretting, and yet, after all, she
+seemed easier if he were at hand. I remember,
+one day, he was tied in front of
+the house, and she was loose, grazing near
+by. As long as he could see her, all went
+well enough, but the moment she sauntered
+around the fence, he began first to
+fidget, then to paw and neigh, and finally
+to struggle, until in the end, he broke loose
+and rushed after his inamorata. And what
+a time he made over her! whinnying, and
+demonstrating his delight in a dozen different
+ways. She? oh, she took it coolly, but
+that was all feminine bosh, or coquetry on
+her part. She liked to have him near her
+well enough.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>&#8220;There was an amusing thing happened
+one day, down in the field. Father and I
+were plowing with Nell. We had tied
+Prince to a tree, the other side of the knoll
+we were working on, and supposed he
+was fast, but to our surprise, just as we
+turned, after finishing a long furrow, we
+confronted the gentleman, tree and all,
+standing before us in a weak and fainting
+condition. He had struggled until he had
+uprooted the whole business, and was so
+used up in consequence, that he could
+hardly stagger, much less go into his usual
+hysterics over Nell. She looked as amazed
+as we did, and I&#8217;ve no doubt gave him a
+sound curtain lecture on his folly that
+night.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;One day father and Ned took Prince
+down into the field. Steve and I stayed
+up near the house, working around the
+vineyard. Nelly was in the stable.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The morning was half gone, when all
+at once Steve happened to turn around,
+and look down the hill.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>&#8220;&#8216;Gosh, Jack!&#8217; he exclaimed, &#8216;the barn&#8217;s
+afire.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I gave one startled look, and then ran
+for the hose.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Get Nelly out!&#8217; I cried to Steve; but
+after a second look, I called, &#8216;No, don&#8217;t
+you do it! Let her go! it&#8217;s too late!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;I won&#8217;t let her go!&#8217; he shouted; &#8216;do
+you think I&#8217;ll stand by and see Nelly
+burned to death!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;You&#8217;d be a fool to go in now! Look
+at that stable! Here! Stand back! Have
+you lost your wits?&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Let me go!&#8217; he cried; &#8216;Jack, get out
+of the way!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But I threw him down and held him. I
+was bigger than he; older, and cooler-headed
+too.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;There, I give in,&#8217; he said in a moment; &#8216;it&#8217;s
+wicked to lose time this way.
+Let me up, Jack, and we&#8217;ll get the hose.
+I promise you I won&#8217;t go in.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We ran for the hose, and turned on all
+the water we could command, and by this
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>time mother and the servant girl had
+come from the house, and were helping
+us.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We could hear Nelly struggling in her
+stall, and I tell you it made us sick! Unluckily
+we had chained her, in anticipation
+of her trying to get loose, and go after
+Prince. She&#8217;d never been left at home
+this way before, and we&#8217;d taken extra
+pains to secure her.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The stable doors were fastened by a
+heavy bolt; again and again I tried to
+push it back, but it was so fiery hot I
+couldn&#8217;t touch it, and when I tried to hammer
+it, the flames drove me off.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There was nothing for it but to leave
+poor Nelly to her fate. It seemed as if she
+divined our intent, for, as we turned away,
+she uttered a piercing scream. Mother
+burst into tears.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;I can&#8217;t stand it,&#8217; she said, covering
+her ears.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Again and again Nelly&#8217;s voice rang out.
+Steve stood there, his face drawn and
+white. All at once he took out his watch.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>&#8220;&#8216;It&#8217;s twelve o&#8217;clock!&#8217; he cried; &#8216;father&#8217;ll
+be home in a moment, and if Prince hears
+Nelly he&#8217;ll go mad. Head &#8217;em off, Jack!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t wait for another word, but ran
+with all my might down the road by
+which they always came.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;As fate would have it, they had chosen
+the other one that day, and were well
+along, before I caught sight of them.
+Father had taken Prince out of the plow,
+and harnessed him to a little single-seated
+gig we had. He was driving him, and
+Ned was walking behind. I saw Steve
+running toward them, but he was still at
+a distance.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Father,&#8217; I yelled at the top of my
+voice, &#8216;stop! father! the stable&#8217;s on fire.
+Turn Prince back. Nelly is burning!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Father didn&#8217;t seem to understand, for
+although he listened, he kept driving
+slowly on.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I shouted again, running toward them,
+and gesticulating frantically. All at once
+Ned caught my meaning, and bounding
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>like a deer in front of the gig, grabbed
+Prince by the head to turn him, but at
+that very moment a terrible scream from
+poor Nelly split our ears, and in less time
+than it takes to tell there was a maddened
+horse plunging in midair, with four strong
+men clinging to him, trying to hold him
+back.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Let him go, boys! Let him go!&#8217;
+shouted father; &#8216;it&#8217;s no use! Let him go,
+I tell you! He&#8217;ll kill us all!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Oh, God! I can&#8217;t let the old fellow
+burn up!&#8217; sobbed Steve.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Prince had begun to lay about him
+with his teeth, and father knocked Steve
+down to get him out of the way.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I believe we all sobbed, as we watched
+the old hero go up that hill and into the
+stable; Nelly was quiet now, and the doors
+were down.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We heard him groan once or twice, and
+then mother came to meet us, and took us
+all into the house.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s out yonder&mdash;the monument we
+put up. It&#8217;s over both of them.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>&#8220;Well, what has that horse story to do
+with men?&#8221; asked a sneering voice, when I
+had finished my little tale, and Mrs. Purblind
+and I were sitting silent.</p>
+
+<p>I turned, and to my astonishment and
+disgust saw Mrs. Cynic, who had come in
+quietly, unobserved by me, as I was reading.</p>
+
+<p>I should not have answered her a word,
+but Mrs. Purblind thought to avert an
+awkward situation, so she said:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It illustrates the devotion of the masculine
+nature, I suppose.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In horses? Yes; it&#8217;s a pity that it
+hasn&#8217;t been evoluted into men.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It has,&#8221; I answered curtly, &#8220;for those
+who are capable of seeing and appreciating
+it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This probably made her angry, for she
+turned on me with her most evil expression:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a mystery to me why, with your
+overweening admiration for the other sex,
+you haven&#8217;t married, Miss Leigh. You
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>must have had countless opportunities;
+child-like faith, such as yours, must be
+very attractive to them.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I stared at her a moment in silence; her
+insolence stupefied me. Then I think I
+opened the nearest window, and pitched
+her out. Mrs. Purblind insists I did not
+do that, exactly, but that I got rid of her.
+As she hasn&#8217;t been in since, a desirable
+result was obtained, and I don&#8217;t much care
+what the method may have been.</p>
+
+<p>I aired my house the rest of the day,
+having a wish to cleanse it, and protect
+my moral nature, much as one would rid
+a place of sewer gas, to protect the physical
+being.</p>
+
+<p>I was not in a very good temper after
+all this, and it annoyed me to see Randolph
+Chance coming in before taking his
+train. He had been calling oftener than
+usual of late, but he didn&#8217;t seem to have
+much to say, and so his coming gave no
+especial pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>To-day what talk we had ran on flowers
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>for a time, when Mr. Chance, awkwardly
+and out-of-placedly, asked me how I liked
+the <i>Reve d&#8217;or</i> rose. This was the kind of
+rose I had received every morning, during
+my illness.</p>
+
+<p>I looked at him inquiringly. I confess
+my heart was beating faster.</p>
+
+<p>He flushed, and said abruptly:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You must have known I sent you
+those.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I did not,&#8221; I answered rather coldly;
+&#8220;there was no card or note with them.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I thought you&#8217;d know,&#8221; he said with
+increasing embarrassment; and then he
+added, almost desperately, &#8220;you must
+know, Constance, that I love you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I know nothing,&#8221; I replied, drawing
+myself up haughtily; &#8220;I take nothing of
+this kind for granted. If you want me to
+understand, you must come out openly.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have done enough, surely,&#8221; he said,
+&#8220;enough to lead you to guess the truth.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I guess nothing of this sort!&#8221; I reiterated;
+&#8220;what right have you to place me in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>this position? What right have you, or
+any other man to deprive a woman of one
+of her dearest privileges&mdash;that of being
+wooed?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Constance!&#8221; he cried, and all his embarrassment
+was gone, &#8220;aren&#8217;t there a
+thousand ways of saying &#8216;I love you?&#8217; and
+haven&#8217;t I said it in every way but one?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That one was the most important of
+all,&#8221; I answered; &#8220;I would have given
+more to hear those words than to receive
+every other token.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>His face lighted up with a sudden flash,
+and he started impulsively toward me.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Then you <i>do</i> love me, my darling&mdash;I
+have hardly dared to hope.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>But I drew back, and answered passionately,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I do not! I love no man who can
+trifle with a young girl, or any woman&mdash;no
+man who has the effrontery to expect
+some one to take for granted a courtship
+that has never existed!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;For Heaven&#8217;s sake, what <i>do</i> you mean?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>&#8220;Go to Miss Sprig and inquire; she has
+more reason to take your love for granted
+than I.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll not go to her, but I shall leave
+you,&#8221; he said, with a white face. &#8220;You
+certainly don&#8217;t care for me, or you would
+never deal me such an unjust thrust as
+this.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>And then I heard him close the front
+door. I think the neighborhood heard
+him.</p>
+
+<p>I walked to the window. He was gone.</p>
+
+<p>I told myself I was glad of it&mdash;that a
+good lesson had been taught.</p>
+
+<p>Which of us was teacher remained
+somewhat obscure.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
+<a name="XII" id="XII"></a>XII</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">It</span> might reasonably be supposed that
+the event last narrated disturbed my life.
+It did in a measure, and for a time, but I
+was not very long in bringing it back to its
+accustomed channel.</p>
+
+<p>Strange as it may seem, although we
+lived across the street from one another, I
+saw nothing of Mr. Chance for many
+weeks. Perhaps it is not strange though,
+after all, since each of us was taking
+pains to avoid the other, and we knew
+each other&#8217;s habits of life pretty well by
+this time.</p>
+
+<p>But if I didn&#8217;t see him, I heard of him
+frequently enough, for Mrs. Purblind
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>rarely ever met me without saying something
+about &#8220;Dolph,&#8221; as she called him.
+She was exceedingly fond of him, and
+with good cause, for he was a most affectionate,
+thoughtful, unselfish brother. He
+was very different from her, and they
+were not confidential friends, when serious
+matters were concerned, but they were
+companionable, nevertheless.</p>
+
+<p>It is not likely Mrs. Purblind realized
+that she was shut out from something that
+deeply concerned her brother; but she
+worried about him. She was certain he
+was ill&mdash;he had little appetite, and was in
+no way like himself, she said. Miss Sprig
+wondered what had come over him.</p>
+
+<p>I believe Mrs. Purblind must have been
+deaf as well as blind, otherwise the neighborhood
+gossip regarding Mr. Chance and
+myself, which was rife a year ago, would
+certainly have reached her. Evidently she
+had heard nothing, and she continued to
+keep my innermost breast in a secret ferment,
+by pouring her fears and speculations
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>into my ear. She even confided in
+me that she had for a long time suspected
+the existence of an affair between Miss
+Sprig and her brother, but this young
+woman declared that he never paid her the
+slightest attention of a matrimonial character;
+that he&#8217;d been very kind to her,
+very jolly, and friendly, but that was all.</p>
+
+<p>I think that if Mount Vesuvius had
+leaped out of me, and taken its departure,
+I could scarce have felt more relieved. I
+really had been harboring a volcano for
+some time, and it was a hot tenant.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after hearing this latter piece of
+Mrs. Purblind&#8217;s news, another bit was
+added.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Dolph has gone away,&#8221; she said, one
+day; &#8220;left suddenly, this morning. He
+confessed to being played out, and I&#8217;m
+sure he looks it. He&#8217;s gone on to Buffalo,
+to brother Dave&#8217;s.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>That night I sat down and wrote a letter;
+when one has done wrong, his first
+conscious act should be to confess.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>I was in a trying position; one is at such
+a time. Two months had elapsed, and
+Mr. Chance might have changed his mind
+and intent. Men do, occasionally; women,
+too. And indeed he never had asked me
+to marry him. True, that is the supposition
+when a man, with any real manhood
+about him, tells a woman he loves her&mdash;when
+he shows her marked attentions, in
+fact; but, as I said to Mr. Chance, I did not
+intend to take such things for granted. I
+had not changed in that respect. I had,
+however, become convinced that I was
+harsh and unjust to him. It is a blundering
+teacher who takes badness in a child
+for granted&mdash;does not wait for proof. It
+is an inspired teacher who ignores the bad
+sometimes, even after it has been proven.
+To think the worst, so some of the psychologists
+tell us, will often create the worst.
+Even a cook does well to make the most
+of her materials. Her dishes will be likely
+to turn out ill, if she treats the ingredients
+with disrespect. It would seem that I,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>who had in a manner made a specialty of
+matrimonial cookery, had something yet
+to learn. Randolph Chance had given me
+a lesson.</p>
+
+<p>In my letter, I said that time and
+thought had shown me I had done him a
+wrong, and that I was very sorry; that,
+no doubt, he had changed in some feelings,
+and it was, perhaps, not likely we should
+meet very soon; but that I wished him to
+know I realized my mistake, and that I
+was still his friend.</p>
+
+<p>The second day after I had written, I
+heard from him; our letters were penned
+the same night, and must have crossed
+each other. In his he said he had held off
+as long as he could, but was coming right
+back from Buffalo to see me. He was
+certain he could explain everything; he had
+nothing to hide, and he hoped I would let
+him tell me what was in his heart; that
+for months he had known but one real
+wish, one real aspiration&mdash;to win me for
+his wife. He begged me to let him begin
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>anew, and make an effort to attain this
+great end.</p>
+
+<p>That evening, in the gloaming, I was at
+my study window. I could look into the
+parlor of the Thrush home. A shadow
+had fallen upon that dear nest; one of the
+little birdies had flown away, but it was
+now forever sheltered from all storms in
+the dear Christ&#8217;s bosom, so all was well.
+The gentle little mother was nearly crushed
+at first, even more so than the father,
+though he felt the loss deeply; but erelong
+she lifted her sweet face, and smiled
+through her tears. And now, at the end
+of two weeks, she was to her husband, at
+least, as cheerful as ever, even more tender,
+and she made the home as bright as
+before. So many women are selfish in
+their grief, unwise too. They act as if
+their husbands were aliens, and did not
+share the sorrow. It is true the man usually
+recovers sooner than the woman
+from such a blow, but no one should blame
+him for that. His nature is different, necessarily
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>different; not in kind, but in degree.
+It has to be; his is the outside battle;
+he must needs be rugged. But &#8220;a
+man&#8217;s a man for a&#8217; that,&#8221; and the woman
+who shuts him out in the hour of bereavement,
+or who darkens the home continuously,
+and overcasts its good cheer, is both
+selfish and foolish. In such cases husband
+and wife are parted, instead of being
+brought nearer to one another, as they
+should be when they have a little ambassador
+in the court of Heaven.</p>
+
+<p>My heart was very tender that evening,
+and as I sat beside the glowing fire, before
+the lamps were lighted, my thoughts ran
+to Mrs. Purblind. The poor little woman
+had seemed sad of late, and I guessed,
+without word from her, that it was because
+her husband was going out so much
+at night. I did wish she could see some
+things as they really were.</p>
+
+<p>She sat there with me that evening&mdash;in
+spirit, at least, on the opposite side of the
+fireplace, and her mournful face touched
+me deeply.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>&#8220;He doesn&#8217;t seem to care for his home,&#8221;
+she said sadly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Make him care for it. Man is a
+domestic animal. If he doesn&#8217;t stay at
+home, something is wrong.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I do all I can,&#8221; she answered in a dull
+tone.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No doubt you do now,&#8221; I said; &#8220;but
+learn more, and then you will improve.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I was looking over some trunks in the
+attic to-day, and I came across my wedding
+gown. It called up so much! I
+can&#8217;t get over it&mdash;&#8221; and she sobbed aloud.</p>
+
+<p>I couldn&#8217;t speak just then. The tears
+were too near.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, when first I wore that gown, how
+happy I was, and how I looked forward to
+the future! Everything was bright then,
+but now it&#8217;s so changed that I&#8217;d hardly
+know it was the same&mdash;it isn&#8217;t the same&mdash;I&#8217;m
+not the same, either&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Here she broke down again.</p>
+
+<p>I leaned over, and laid my hand on hers.
+You know she wasn&#8217;t really there; the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>real Mrs. Purblind seldom talked over her
+affairs with me, but I could feel what she
+was suffering, none the less.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I want to tell you something, if I
+may,&#8221; I said.</p>
+
+<p>She assented in a dumb sort of fashion,
+and I leaned a little nearer.</p>
+
+<p>The firelight gleamed on the walls, and
+in its glow the pictures looked down
+kindly upon us. Soft shadows rested in
+the corners of the room, and an air of
+peace and comfort brooded throughout, as
+a bird upon her nest.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Think a little while,&#8221; I said gently;
+&#8220;think of his side. Is he quite the same
+as he was when he married?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no!&#8221; she exclaimed; &#8220;he was so
+loving and attentive then.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Had he any hopes and plans? Enthusiasm?
+Did life look bright to him?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A serious look traversed her face, as
+though she were entertaining a new
+thought.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Look at him as he used to be,&#8221; I continued.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>And as I spoke, she saw that a young
+man with a fresh, sunny face&mdash;a healthy,
+happy, care-free face&mdash;was sitting in the
+ruddy firelight.</p>
+
+<p>She gave a start.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That is Joe as he used to be!&#8221; she
+said. &#8220;Oh, how he&#8217;s changed!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Even as she spoke, the young man
+faded away, and an older man&mdash;much
+older, apparently, careworn, and unhappy-looking&mdash;took
+his place.</p>
+
+<p>The coals in the glowing grate sank,
+and the bright light suddenly died. A
+deep shadow rested upon the figure beside
+us; he was with us, and yet seemed so
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who would think a man could change
+that way in ten years!&#8221; exclaimed Mrs.
+Purblind; &#8220;would you believe it possible?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not unless he had known many disappointments,
+and borne loads and cares
+beyond his years.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have never thought
+of that,&#8221; she murmured, &#8220;I believe poor
+Joe has been disappointed too.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>&#8220;He certainly has.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s too bad, and there&#8217;s no help for it
+now,&#8221; she added with a sob.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t say that,&#8221; I urged, laying my
+hand on hers again; &#8220;you close the gate of
+heaven when you say &#8216;no hope.&#8217; There is
+always hope as long as there is a spark of
+life&mdash;any physician will tell you that. If
+you can be patient&mdash;be strong to bear, and
+wait&mdash;if you can make home bright, and
+not care, or not seem to care if he slights
+it and you, for weeks&mdash;months, maybe
+years&mdash;it takes so much longer to undo,
+than to do&mdash;there is <i>every</i> hope. He
+couldn&#8217;t do this, but a woman&mdash;a real
+woman, is strong enough, with God on
+her side.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The dullness left her face, and an unselfish
+light dawned in its place. As she rose
+to go, she leaned over the other figure,
+and he looked up at her, with something
+of the old-time love.</p>
+
+<p>I replenished the fire after they had gone&mdash;they
+went out together&mdash;and as I sat
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>there thinking of it all, I heard a sudden
+rushing sound in the street.</p>
+
+<p>I ran to the door, just in time to see a
+farm wagon, drawn by two strong horses,
+go pell-mell past my house, and overturn,
+as the frightened animals dashed around
+the corner. The neighborhood was agog
+in a moment, and I joined the rest in trying
+to help the occupants of the broken
+vehicle. We brought them into the house&mdash;the
+man and woman and a little
+child.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as they were in the light, I
+knew them; they were some of my people&mdash;a
+German family, by the name of Abraham,
+who lived on a little farm just outside
+our suburb. They had been to me
+typical representatives of a stupid class, who
+have all the hardships of life, and none of
+its soft lights and shades. They were the
+kind that plant their pig-sty on the lake
+side of their house&mdash;put the pig-sty betwixt
+them and every other beauty, it seemed to
+me. What can life hold for such people?
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>They know nothing of love, or any other
+joy. Merely an animal existence is theirs.</p>
+
+<p>We fetched a doctor as speedily as possible&mdash;the
+parents were merely bruised,
+but the little child was badly hurt. At
+first we feared she was dying, and it was
+a relief to be told that she would probably
+live.</p>
+
+<p>I went out of the room to get some bandages,
+and the doctor followed me. Returning
+suddenly, I ran upon an unexpected
+scene; up to that time, before us
+all, the parents had seemed perfectly stolid;
+but just as I opened the door, the wife and
+mother rose from her knees by the bed,
+and I have seldom seen a look more expressive
+of tender love than that with
+which her husband took her in his arms.</p>
+
+<p>We have many things to learn in the
+next world; one of these, I am sure, will
+be, not to judge by the life upon the surface.
+There is a deep fount of feeling beneath,
+and often it is those whom we least
+suspect, who dip down into it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>I was still busy with these people, when
+Randolph Chance walked in upon me.
+His kind heart needed no prompting to
+join in our little attentions, and he was of
+especial use in getting a vehicle to take the
+family home.</p>
+
+<p>After they had gone, and we found ourselves
+alone, a great embarrassment seemed
+to seize him in a fatal grasp.</p>
+
+<p>By and by I realized that I was really
+getting incensed, and I was afraid I should
+soon be in the position of the man who
+went to another, whom he had ill-treated,
+to apologize for his bad conduct, and, &#8220;By
+Jove, sir&#8221;&mdash;to use his own phrase, &#8220;I hit
+him again.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I tried to keep my letter before my eyes.
+I didn&#8217;t want to be forced by that inexorable
+tyrant&mdash;conscience&mdash;to write another.
+And I should, if I didn&#8217;t hold on to myself,
+and this man didn&#8217;t behave differently.</p>
+
+<p>To avoid a clash, I set to work to clear
+away some of the confusion consequent
+upon the accident, and he helped me in
+this.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>One would suppose that might serve to
+cool him, and it did indeed, to such an extent
+that, upon our settling down again, he
+began the most commonplace conversation,
+giving me some incidents of his trip;
+discussing the scenery; weather; population,
+and general aspects of Buffalo; with
+much more of the dryest, most disagreeable
+stuff, that a man ever had the temerity to
+use, as a means of wasting a woman&#8217;s
+evening.</p>
+
+<p>To employ a childish phrase&mdash;it best fits
+the occasion&mdash;I grew madder and madder,
+until at last matters within me rose to
+such a height, that when he began to tell
+of his brother&#8217;s house in Buffalo, and to
+dwell upon the peculiarities of its furniture,
+I felt peculiar enough to hurl all of mine at
+him.</p>
+
+<p>The number of things I thought of that
+evening would form a library of energetic
+literature. Among other resolves, I determined
+from that day on, if I lived till my
+hair whitened&mdash;lived till I raised my third
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>or fourth crop of teeth, never, <i>never</i>, to give
+Randolph Chance another thought. There
+was one comfort: he did not know, nor did
+any one else, what a complete goose I had
+made of myself; but, though I <i>had</i> been
+most foolish, thanks to a sober, Puritanic
+ancestry, I still had myself in hand; my
+hysterics had been occasional and secluded,
+and I was not wholly gone daft. I could
+recover; I would! and then, if ever he
+came to my feet, he would learn that some
+things don&#8217;t rise, after once they are cold.</p>
+
+<p>I was calm enough when he at last decided
+to go, and instead of running on excitedly,
+as I had been vaguely conscious of
+doing part of the evening, I really conversed.
+Indeed, to speak modestly, I
+think I was rather interesting. I had
+forgotten what he had called for. So had
+he&mdash;apparently.</p>
+
+<p>All I hoped was that he did not intend
+to bore me with frequent repetitions of this
+call. I had better use for my evenings
+than such waste of time as chatting with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>him. I cast about me for some suitable
+excuse to shut off future inflictions, and at
+last hit upon one that I thought might
+answer.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I suppose I must sacrifice myself for a
+while,&#8221; I said cheerfully; &#8220;I have had a
+deal of business swoop down upon me, and
+in order to dispatch it, must shut myself
+up for a time, and forego the joys of
+society.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Instantly his old embarrassment came
+back upon him, as a small boy&#8217;s enemy&mdash;supposed
+to be vanquished&mdash;darts around
+the corner, and renews the attack.</p>
+
+<p>He started to go; came back; returned
+to the door; again came back; colored
+vividly&mdash;looked at me imploringly. And
+as I looked at him my anger, my coldness&mdash;all
+vanished, and I exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Randolph Chance, why <i>don&#8217;t</i> you say
+it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Some things are awfully hard to say.
+I can write&mdash;&mdash; Oh Constance! you might
+have mercy on me!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>&#8220;Well,&#8221; I said, laughing&mdash;I could almost
+see the light upon my face&mdash;&#8220;I suppose
+you want me to marry you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t get away now!&#8221; he cried, a
+second later.</p>
+
+<p>The walls heard a much-smothered
+voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Now this little scene, I suppose, is what
+makes Randolph always say I proposed to
+him. This remark, oft repeated, sometimes
+under very trying circumstances, is
+his one disagreeableness. But I let it pass
+without comment, for I realize it is the
+spout to the kettle, and I am thankful that
+the steam has so safe and harmless an outlet.
+If I were to boil him too hard, he
+would probably overflow, and dim the fire;
+but I am <i>very cautious</i>, and love still
+burns with a clear, bright flame.</p>
+
+
+<p class="theend">THE END.</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="note">
+<p><strong>Transcriber&#8217;s Note:</strong> The table below lists all corrections applied to the
+original text.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#Page_32">p. 032</a>: [removed stray quote] &#8220;I didn&#8217;t care for this picnic</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_50">p. 050</a>: [normalized] they were wellnigh exhausted &rarr; well-nigh</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_56">p. 056</a>: [extra comma] any comment on her neighbors&#8217; affairs, was alien to her.</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_152">p. 152</a>: Their&#8217;s is the place &rarr; Theirs</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_182">p. 182</a>: [added speaker change] beyond his years. I have never thought</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_187">p. 187</a>: [normalized] most common-place conversation &rarr; commonplace</li>
+<li><a href="#Page_189">p. 189</a>: [changed to long dash] I can write&mdash;&mdash; Oh Constance!</li>
+</ul>
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Cook Husbands, by 
+Elizabeth Strong Worthington
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,3705 @@
+Project Gutenberg's How to Cook Husbands, by Elizabeth Strong Worthington
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: How to Cook Husbands
+
+Author: Elizabeth Strong Worthington
+
+Release Date: August 7, 2008 [EBook #26210]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO COOK HUSBANDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Irma Spehar, Markus Brenner and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                      _"They are really delicious
+                       --when properly treated."_
+
+
+                              How To Cook
+                               Husbands
+
+
+                    By ELIZABETH STRONG WORTHINGTON
+
+                            Author of "The
+                           Little Brown Dog"
+                           "The Biddy Club"
+
+
+               Published at 220 East 23rd St., New York
+                    by the Dodge Publishing Company
+
+
+
+                         COPYRIGHT IN THE YEAR
+                         EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND
+                         NINETY-EIGHT BY DODGE
+                          STATIONERY COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+                              Dedication
+
+                  To a dear little girl who will some
+                day, I hope, be skilled in all branches
+                        of matrimonial cookery.
+
+
+
+
+                                   I
+
+
+A while ago I came across a newspaper clipping--a recipe written by a
+Baltimore lady--that had long lain dormant in my desk. It ran as follows:
+
+"A great many husbands are spoiled by mismanagement. Some women go about
+it as if their husbands were bladders, and blow them up; others keep
+them constantly in hot water; others let them freeze, by their
+carelessness and indifference. Some keep them in a stew, by irritating
+ways and words; others roast them; some keep them in pickle all their
+lives. Now it is not to be supposed that any husband will be good,
+managed in this way--turnips wouldn't; onions wouldn't; cabbage-heads
+wouldn't, and husbands won't; but they are really delicious when
+properly treated.
+
+"In selecting your husband you should not be guided by the silvery
+appearance, as in buying mackerel, or by the golden tint, as if you
+wanted salmon. Be sure to select him yourself, as taste differs. And by
+the way, don't go to market for him, as the best are always brought to
+your door.
+
+"It is far better to have none, unless you patiently learn to cook him.
+A preserving kettle of the finest porcelain is the best, but if you have
+nothing but an earthenware pipkin, it will do, with care.
+
+"See that the linen, in which you wrap him, is nicely washed and mended,
+with the required amount of buttons and strings, nicely sewed on. Tie
+him in the kettle with a strong cord called Comfort, as the one called
+Duty is apt to be weak. They sometimes fly out of the kettle, and become
+burned and crusty on the edges, since, like crabs and oysters, you have
+to cook them alive.
+
+"Make a clear, strong, steady fire out of Love, Neatness, and
+Cheerfulness. Set him as near this as seems to agree with him. If he
+sputters and fizzles, don't be anxious; some husbands do this till they
+are quite done. Add a little sugar, in the form of what confectioners
+call Kisses, but no vinegar or pepper on any account. A little spice
+improves them, but it must be used with judgment.
+
+"Don't stick any sharp instrument into him, to see if he is becoming
+tender. Stir him gently; watching the while lest he should lie too close
+to the kettle, and so become inert and useless.
+
+"You cannot fail to know when he is done. If thus treated, you will find
+him very digestible, agreeing nicely with you and the children."
+
+"So they are better cooked," I said to myself, "that is why we hear of
+such numbers of cases of marital indigestion--the husbands are served
+raw--fresh--unprepared."
+
+"They are really delicious when properly treated,"--I wonder if that is
+so.
+
+But I must pause here to tell you a bit about myself. I am not an old
+maid, but, at the time this occurs, I am unmarried, and I am thirty-four
+years old--not quite beyond the pale of hope. Men and women never do pass
+beyond that--not those of sanguine temperament at any rate. I am neither
+rich nor poor, but repose in a comfortable stratum betwixt and between.
+I keep house, or rather it keeps me, and a respectable woman who, with
+her husband, manages my domestic affairs, lends the odor of sanctity and
+propriety to my single existence. I am of medium height, between blond
+and brunette, and am said to have a modicum of both brains and good
+looks.
+
+The recipe I read set me a-thinking. I was in my library, before a big
+log fire. The room was comfortable; glowing with rich, warm firelight
+at that moment, but it was lonesome, and I was lonely.
+
+Supposing, I said to myself, I really had a husband; how should I cook
+him?
+
+The words of an old lady came into my mind. She had listened to this
+particular recipe, and after a moment's silence had leaned over, and
+whispered in my ear:
+
+"First catch your fish."
+
+But supposing he were now caught, and seated in that rocker across from
+me, before this blazing fire.
+
+I walked to the window--to one side of me lives a little thrush, at least
+she is trim and comely, and always dresses in brown. Just now she is
+without her door, stooping over her baby, who is sitting like a tiny
+queen in her chariot, just returned from an airing.
+
+It isn't the question of husband alone--he might be managed--roasted,
+stewed, or parboiled, but it's the whole family--a household. Take the
+children, for instance; if they could be set up on shelves in glass
+cases, as fast as they came, all might be well, but they _will_ run
+around, and Heaven only knows what they will run into. Why, had I
+children, I should plug both ears with cotton, for fear I should hear
+the door-bell. I know it would ring constantly, and such messages as
+these would be hurled in:
+
+"Several of them have been arrested for blowing up the neighbors with
+dynamite firecrackers."
+
+"Half a dozen of them have tumbled from off the roof of the house. They
+escaped injury, but have thrown a nervous lady, over the way, into
+spasms."
+
+"One or two of them have just been dragged from beneath the electric
+cars. They seem to be as well as ever, but three of the passengers died
+of fright."
+
+Just think of that! What should I do?
+
+Keep an extra maid to answer the bell, I suppose, and two or three
+thousand dollars by me continually, to pay damages.
+
+What a time poor Job had of it answering his door bell, and how very
+unpleasant it must have been to receive so many pieces of news of that
+sort, in one morning!
+
+Clearly I am better off in my childless condition, and yet----
+
+Little Mrs. Thrush is just kissing her soft, round-faced cherub. I wish
+she would do that out of sight.
+
+Now as to husbands again, if I had one, what should I do with him?
+
+I might say, Sit down.
+
+Supposing he wouldn't. What then?
+
+Cudgels are out of date. Were he an alderman, I might take a Woman's
+Club to him, but a husband has been known to laugh this instrument to
+scorn.
+
+But supposing he sat down. What then? He might be a gentleman of
+irascible, nasty temper, and in walking about my room, I might step on
+his feet. These irritable folk have such large feet, at least they are
+always in the way, and always being stepped on no matter how careful one
+tries to be.
+
+What then?
+
+I decline to contemplate the scene.
+
+Plainly I am better off single.
+
+I walk to my front window, and stretch my arms above my head. There is a
+light fall of snow upon the ground. This late snow is trying: in its
+season, it is beautiful; but out of season, it breeds a cheerlessness
+that emphasises one's loneliness. I look out through the leafless trees
+toward the lake, but it is hidden by the whirling, eddying snowflakes. I
+see Mr. Thrush hurrying home to his little nest.
+
+"Yes," I say to myself, repeating my last thought with a certain
+obstinacy, "yes, I am better off without a husband, and yet I wish I had
+one--one would answer, on a pinch--one at a time, at least. A husband is
+like a world in that respect; one at a time, is the proper proportion."
+
+"It's far better to have none, unless you learn to cook him." These
+words recurred to me, just as I was on the point of taking a life
+partner, in a figurative sense.
+
+The woman that deliberates is lost; consequently, as it won't do to
+think the matter over, I plunge in.
+
+My spouse is now pacing up and down the room in a rampant manner,
+complaining of his dinner, the world in general, and _me_ in particular.
+
+What am I to do?
+
+Charles Reade has written a recipe that applies very well just here. It
+is briefly expressed:
+
+"Put yourself in his place."
+
+I could not have done this a few years ago, but now I can. Never, until
+I undertook the management of my business affairs--never until I had some
+knowledge of business cares and anxieties, the weight of notes falling
+due; the charge of business honor to keep; the excited hope of fortunate
+prospects; and the depression following hard upon failure and
+disappointment--never until I learned all this, did I realize what home
+should mean to a man, and how far wide of the mark many women shoot,
+when they aim to establish a restful retreat for their husbands.
+
+I have returned to my domicile, after a fatiguing day up town, with a
+feeling of exhaustion that lies far deeper than the mere physical
+structure--a spent feeling as if I have given my all, and must be
+replenished before I can make another move. I once had a housekeeper
+whose very face I dreaded at such times. She always took advantage of my
+silence and my limp condition, to relate the day's disasters. She had no
+knowledge of what a good dinner meant, and no tact in falling in with my
+tastes or needs. On the contrary; if there was a dish I disliked, it was
+sure to appear on those most weary evenings. In brief, from the very
+moment I reached home, she did nothing but brush my fur up, instead of
+down, and I did nothing but spit at her.
+
+Now, many women are like this housekeeper. I wonder their husbands don't
+slay them. If you would look out in my back yard, I fear you would see
+the bones of several of these tactless, exasperating housekeepers,
+bleaching in the wind and rain.
+
+I marvel that other back yards are not filled with the bones of stupid,
+tactless, irritating wives. The fact that no such horror has as yet been
+unearthed, bears eloquent testimony to the noble self-control and
+patience of many of the sterner sex.
+
+"Oh, that sounds well," said my neighbor, over the way, "but then you
+forget we women have our trials too."
+
+"Is it going to diminish those trials to make a raging lion out of your
+husband?"
+
+"No, but he ought to understand that we are tired, and that our work is
+hard."
+
+"Certainly," I said, "by all means; and by the time he thoroughly
+understands, you generally have occasion to be still more tired."
+
+"Well, what would you do?"
+
+"I'll tell you what I'd do; follow the advice of a sensible little
+friend of mine, who has four children all of an age, and has
+incompetent service to rely on, when she has any at all."
+
+"And what is that, pray?"
+
+"She says that come rain, hail, or fiery vapor, she takes a nap every
+day."
+
+"I don't know how she manages it; I can't, and I have one less child
+than she, and a fairly good maid."
+
+"Her children are trained, as children should be; the three younger ones
+take long naps after luncheon, and while they are sleeping, she gives
+the oldest child some picture book to look at, and simple stories to
+read, and she herself goes to sleep in the same room with him. The
+little fellow keeps as still as a mouse."
+
+"I think that is a cruel shame."
+
+"So do I. It would be far kinder if she let him have his liberty, and
+stayed up to take care of him, and then became so tired out that, by the
+time her husband came home she would be unable to keep her mouth (closed
+for it is only a well rested woman who can maintain a cheerful
+silence), and avoid a family quarrel."
+
+"No, I think it's better not to quarrel, but I can't take a nap, and
+often I'm so tired when Fred comes home, that, if he happens to be tired
+too, it's just like putting fire to gunpowder."
+
+I knew that, for I had heard the explosions from across the street. You
+know in our climate, in the summer, people practically live in the
+street, with every window and door open; your neighbor has full
+possession of all remarks above E. And most of Mr. and Mrs. Purblind's
+notes on the tired nights, are above E.
+
+I have no patience with that woman, anyhow. She hasn't the first idea of
+comfort and good cheer. Her rooms are always in disorder, and there is
+no suggestion of harmony in the furniture (on the contrary every article
+seems, as the French say, to be swearing at every other article); all
+her lights are high--why, I've run in there of an evening and found that
+man wandering around like an uneasy ghost, trying to find some easy
+spot in which he could sit down, and read his paper comfortably. He
+didn't know what was the matter--the poor wretches don't, but he was like
+a cat on an unswept hearth.
+
+In contrast to this woman's stupidity, I have the natural loveliness of
+the little brown thrush, on my one side, and the hoary-headed wisdom of
+Mrs. Owl, on my other side.
+
+Look at the latter a moment. Not worth looking at, you say; angular,
+without beauty of form or feature. Nothing but the humorous curve to her
+lips, and the twinkle in her eye, to attract one; nothing, unless it
+were a general air of neatness, intelligence, and good humor.
+
+But I assure you that woman's worth living with if she is not worth
+looking at!
+
+Now her spouse is one of those lowering fellows, the kind that seems to
+be at outs with mankind. Just the material to become sulky in any but
+the most skillful hands, the sort to degenerate into a positive brute,
+in such blundering hands as Mrs. Purblind's over the way.
+
+I had a chance to watch this man one evening last summer. Having no
+domestic affairs of my own, as a matter of course I feel myself entitled
+to share my neighbors'. And this particular evening I was lonely. It was
+a nasty night, the fog blown in from the lake slapped one rudely in the
+face every time one looked out, and the air was as raw as a new wound--it
+went clear to the bone.
+
+Now on such a night as this I have known Mrs. Purblind to serve her lord
+cold veal and lettuce, simple because it was July, and a suitable time
+for heat. And I assure you that sufficient heat was generated before
+this cold supper was consumed. But to return to Mrs. Owl, on that
+particular night. I saw her watching at door and window, for her partner
+was late. I peeped into the parlor, and it was as cosy and inviting as a
+glowing fire, a shaded lamp, and a comfortable sofa wheeled near the
+table, could make it.
+
+By and by, he came glowering along. What will she say, I asked myself.
+Will it be:
+
+"Oh, how late you are! What's the matter? What kept you? Well, come in,
+you must be cold. Lie down on the sofa while I get supper, but don't put
+your feet up till I get a paper for them to rest on."
+
+All this would have answered well enough with a decent sort of a man,
+but this homo required peculiar treatment.
+
+It was what she didn't say that was most remarkable.
+
+After a cheerful "How-de-do" she didn't speak a word for some time, but
+walked into the house humming a lively air, and busied herself with his
+supper. She didn't set this in the dining room, but right before that
+open fire. Without any fuss or commotion she broiled a piece of steak
+over those glowing coals, while over her big lamp she made a cup of
+coffee, and in her chafing dish prepared some creamed potatoes. She had
+bread and butter ready, and some little dessert, and so with a wave of a
+fairy wand, as it seemed, there was the cosiest, most tempting little
+supper you ever saw on the table at his side.
+
+Meanwhile he had found the sofa, the fire, and the lamp, and was reading
+his paper. He threw the latter down when supper was announced, and she
+joined him at the table; poured his coffee, ate a bit now and then for
+company, and talked--why, how that woman did talk! I couldn't hear a word
+that she said, but I knew by the expression of her face it was humorous;
+and laugh, how she laughed! and erelong he joined in--why, once he leaned
+back, and actually ha-haed.
+
+When supper was over, she left him to his paper again, while she cleared
+everything away. Later on she joined him, and the next I knew they were
+playing chess, and still later, talking and reading aloud.
+
+This is but a sample of her life with him--in everything she consults
+his mood, his comfort, his tastes. She never jars him--never rubs him the
+wrong way, and meanwhile she has all she wants, for she can do anything
+with him, and he thinks the sun rises and sets with her.
+
+It is a good cook that makes an appetizing dish out of poor material,
+and when a woman makes a delicious husband out of little or nothing she
+may rank as a _chef_.
+
+
+
+
+                                  II
+
+
+You may say all I have been describing belongs more properly to little
+Mrs. Thrush, on my right. Bless you! that woman doesn't have to think
+and plan to make things comfortable. Were she set down in the desert of
+Sahara, she would sweep it up, spread a rug; hang a few draperies, and
+lo! it would be cosy and home-like. She can't help being and doing just
+right, wherever she is put, and her husband is just like her, as good as
+gold. Why, that man would bore a woman of ingenuity--a woman who had a
+genius for contriving and managing. He doesn't need any cooking; he's
+ready to serve just as he is, couldn't be improved. There's absolutely
+nothing to be done. Mrs. Owl would get a divorce from him inside of a
+month, on the ground of insipidity. Her fine capabilities for making
+much out of nothing, would turn saffron for lack of use. Mr. Owl is the
+mate for her. To every man according to his taste; to every woman
+according to her need.
+
+I am lying in the hammock, under the soft maple tree in my side yard,
+speculating on all these matters. Summer is now upon us, for we are in
+the midst of June. Yesterday was one of Lowell's rare days, but this
+morning the thermometer took offense, and rose in fury. I can see the
+quivering air as it radiates from the dusty, sun-beaten road, and a
+certain drowsy hum in the atmosphere, palpable only to the trained ear,
+tells of the great heat. Some of my neighbors are sitting on their
+galleries, reading or sewing; some, like myself, are lolling in
+hammocks; even the voices of the children have a certain monotonous
+tone, in harmony with the stupid heaviness of the day. Only the birds
+and squirrels show any life or spirit; the former are twittering above
+my head, courting, it may be, or possibly discussing some detail of
+household economy. They hop from bough to bough, touch up their plumage,
+and chirp in a cheerful, happy sort of fashion, as if this was their
+especial weather, as indeed it is. Up yonder tree, a squirrel is racing
+about, in the exuberance of his glee. He has done up his work, no doubt,
+and now is off for a frolic. I lie here, not a stone's throw from him,
+watching his merry antics, and rejoicing to think how free from fear he
+is, when all at once the leaves of his tree are cut by a flying missile,
+and the next second I see my gay fellow tumble headlong from the bough,
+and fall in a helpless little heap on the grass. I start up in affright,
+and hear a passing boy call out to another, over the way,
+
+"I brought him down, Jim."
+
+Involuntarily I clinch my hands.
+
+"You little coward!" I exclaim, "it is _you_ who should be brought down!
+You are too mean to live."
+
+He laughs brutally, and goes on, whistling indifferently, while I pick
+up the dead squirrel lying at my feet.
+
+I find myself crying, before I know it. Not alone with pity for the
+squirrel; something else is hurting me.
+
+"Is this the masculine nature?" I ask some one--I don't know whom.
+
+Perhaps it is one of those questions which are flung upward, in a blind
+kind of way, and which God sometimes catches and answers.
+
+"Are they made this way? Was it meant that they should be brutal?"
+
+I am still holding the squirrel and thinking, when I hear my name, and
+turning see my neighbor over the way, Mrs. Purblind's brother, standing
+near me.
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Chance," I say, rather coldly.
+
+All men are hateful to me at that moment; to my mind they all have that
+boy's nature, though they keep it under cover until they know you well,
+or have you in their power.
+
+"The little fellow is dead, I suppose," he said.
+
+"Yes," I answer with a sob which I turn away to conceal. I don't wish to
+excite his mirth. Of course he would only see something laughable in my
+grief, and he couldn't dream what I am thinking about.
+
+"You mustn't be too hard on the boy, Miss Leigh," he says quietly; "it
+was a brutal act, but that same aggressiveness will one day give him
+power to battle in life against difficulties and temptations as well. It
+will make him able to protect those whom a kind Providence may put in
+his charge. Just now he doesn't know what to do with the force, and
+evidently has not had good teaching. I'm sorry he did this; it hurts me
+to see an innocent creature harmed, and still more I am sorry because
+it has hurt you."
+
+He is standing near me now, and as I raise my eyes, I find him looking
+at me with a sweet earnestness, that wins me not only to forgive him for
+being a man, but to feel that perhaps men are noble, after all.
+
+His look and tone linger with me long after he has gone, as a cadence of
+music may vibrate through the soul when both musician and instrument are
+mute.
+
+The day after this of which I have been telling, I went to a picnic
+gotten up by Mrs. Purblind, for the entertainment and delectation of Mr.
+Purblind's cousin, now visiting her, a frivolous young thing, between
+whom and myself there was not even the weather in common, for she would
+label "simply horrid" a lovely gray day, containing all sorts of
+possibilities for the imagination behind its mists and clouds.
+
+I didn't care for this picnic, and didn't see why I was invited as most
+of the guests were younger than myself. But it was one of those cases
+where a refusal might be misconstrued, and so I went. We sat around the
+white tablecloth _en masse_, for dinner; and in the course of the
+passing of viands, Miss Sprig was asked to help herself to olives that
+happened to be near her.
+
+"Yes, do, while you have opportunity," said Mrs. Purblind.
+
+"I always embrace opportunity," replied Miss Sprig with a simper.
+Whereat Mr. Chance, sitting next her, suggested that, as a synonym of
+opportunity, possibly he might stand in its stead.
+
+I detest such speeches, they are properly termed soft, for they
+certainly are mushy--lacking in stamina--fiber of any sort. But I could
+have endured it, as I had endured much else of the same sort that day,
+had it not come from Mr. Chance. It may be foolish of me, but his tone
+and his words of the day before were still with me. They were so
+dignified, so sensible, so manly, that I respected and admired him. Up
+to that time I had not felt that I knew him, but after he spoke in that
+way, it seemed as if we were acquainted. Now I saw how utterly mistaken
+I had been, and I was mortified and disgusted.
+
+The silly little speech I have quoted was not all, by any means; there
+were more of the same kind, and actions that corresponded. Evidently he
+was one of those instruments which are played upon at will by the
+passing zephyr. With a self-respecting woman, he was manly; with a
+vapid, bold girl, he was silly and familiar. I decided that I liked
+something more stable, something that could be depended upon.
+
+I was placed in a difficult position just then. Had I acted upon my
+impulse, I should have risen and walked off--such conduct is an affront
+to womanhood, I think; but I was held in my place by a fear--foolish, yet
+grounded, that my action would be regarded as an expression of
+jealousy, the jealousy of an old maid, of a woman much younger and
+prettier than herself. This is but one of the many instances of the
+injustice of the world. I don't think that I am addicted to jealousy,
+but I may not know myself. Possibly I might have felt jealous had I been
+eclipsed by a beautiful or gifted woman, but it would be impossible for
+me to experience any such emotion on seeing a man with whom I have but a
+slight acquaintance, devote himself to a girl whom I should regard as
+not only my mental inferior, but also as beneath me morally and socially
+as well. The only sensation of which I was cognizant was a disgust
+toward the man, and mortification over the mistaken estimate of his
+character, that had led me, the day before, to suppose him on a footing
+with myself.
+
+As soon as possible after dinner I slipped away for a stroll. The place
+was very lovely, and I felt that if I could creep off with Mother
+Nature, she would smooth some cross-grained, fretful wrinkles that were
+gathering in my mind, and were saddening my soul. So when the folly and
+jesting were at their height I dipped into the thicket near at hand, and
+dodging here and there, jumping fallen logs, and untangling my way among
+the vines which embraced the stern old woods like seductive sirens, I at
+last struck a shaded path, which erelong led me down through a ravine to
+the waters of the big old lake. It too had dined, but instead of
+yielding itself to folly, was taking its siesta. Across its tranquil
+bosom the zephyrs played, stirring ripples and tiny eddies, as dreams
+may stir lights and shadows on the sleeping face.
+
+I had not walked along the beach, with the waves sighing at my feet, and
+whispering all sorts of soothing nothings, for a great distance, before
+I began to experience that uncomfortable reaction which sometimes arises
+from splitting in two, as it were, standing off at a distance and
+looking oneself in the face. I realized that I had been something of a
+prig and considerable of a Pharisee. My late discomfort was not caused
+by the fact that a young girl had cheapened herself, but by the fact
+that a man had demeaned himself and in a manner involved me, inasmuch as
+I had been led the day before by a false estimate of his character to
+regard him as my social equal. After all it was this last that hurt
+most; it was my little self and not my brother about whom I was chiefly
+concerned.
+
+I am not naturally sentimental or morbid, so I merely decided that
+internally I had made a goose of myself and not shown any surplus of
+nobility; and with a little sigh of satisfaction that I had given the
+small world about me no sign of my folly, I dismissed the subject and
+betook myself to an eager enjoyment of the day.
+
+The soft June breeze played with my hair and gently and affectionately
+touched my face; the lake quivering and rippling with passing emotions
+stretched away from me toward that other shore which it kept secreted
+somewhere on its farther side. The very sight of it, with its shimmering
+greens, turquoise blue, and tawny yellow, cooled and soothed me, and ere
+I knew it, I had slipped into a pleasant, active speculation on matters
+of larger interest than the petty subjects which had lined my brow a
+moment before. I was walking directly toward one of my families, and it
+occurred to me that I might run in and make a call, while I was near at
+hand. I had first become interested in them at church. I was impressed
+by their cleanliness and regularity of attendance, and by a certain
+judicious arrangement of their children--the parents always sitting so as
+to separate the latter by their authority and order.
+
+Another point that claimed my attention was that the children were
+changed each Sunday--a fresh three succeeding the first bunch, and on
+the third Sunday, one of the first three being added to a fresh two, to
+make up the proper complement. Both parents had a self-respecting,
+self-sacrificing look, as of people who had learned to help themselves
+cautiously from the family dish, and to "put their knives to their
+throats" before time; but kept all this to themselves, asking nothing
+from anyone, and making their little answer without murmur or complaint.
+I had, for some time, realized that the child who was now getting more
+than his share of sermons, by reappearing on the third Sunday, would
+soon be reduced to the level of his brethren, and a new relative would
+take the place which he had been filling as a matter of accommodation. I
+sought occasion to make the acquaintance of the mother of this fine
+brood, on the pretext of some church work, and after that became a
+regular visitor at their little home. The perfect equality of the
+parents; the deference with which they treated one another; and their
+quiet happiness, in spite of all labor and privation, made me realize
+that they might well extend a pitying thought to some of the apparently
+wealthy members of the church. We may yet live to see the day when a new
+scale shall come in vogue, and some Croesus who now stands in an enviable
+light, shall then pass into his true position, and become an object of
+pity. Mere dollars and cents are a misleading criterion of poverty and
+wealth.
+
+I had seen my friends, and found that the mother and her new nestling
+were in comparative comfort, and I was on the homeward stretch along the
+beach, when I saw Mr. Chance walking toward me.
+
+"I was commissioned to look you up," he said.
+
+"Thank you," I replied, "I have been of age for some years."
+
+Of course he noticed the coolness in my voice, and in some way I divined
+that he knew the cause.
+
+We went aboard our homeward-bound train about 5 o'clock.
+
+Mr. Chance helped me on, and evidently expected to sit with me, but I
+thwarted him by dropping down beside an elderly lady, an acquaintance
+who happened to be in that coach. I felt no grudge against him, but I
+didn't care to have him pass from such a girl as Miss Sprig to me; his
+conduct with her impaired his value somewhat in my eyes. My elderly
+friend saw and recognized the situation, I am sure, and governed her
+later remarks accordingly.
+
+Mr. Chance passed on, and took a seat with one of the superfluous men,
+for contrary to the rule on most such occasions, the male gender was in
+excess of the female. I had not expected him to return to Miss Sprig;
+men always become satiated with such girls, soon or late.
+
+My elderly acquaintance entered upon an animated conversation, that
+became more and more personal, and finally reached a climax when she
+leaned over, and said in a semi-whisper:
+
+"My dear Miss Leigh, you ought to marry."
+
+I had been told this a number of times; any one would suppose, to listen
+to some of these women, that I had but to put out my hand, and pluck a
+man from the nearest bush.
+
+"I don't doubt you will marry some day, but I'm afraid you may not
+choose wisely"--here she lowered her voice again--"after a man reaches
+thirty-five he becomes very fixed in his ways, and I don't think it's
+safe for a maiden lady to try to manage him; it needs some one of more
+experience."
+
+I knew she had Mr. Chance in mind, and I was so indignant at being
+warned against a man who had never shown the first symptom of any such
+folly as addressing me, that the blood mounted to my hair.
+
+Observing this, my elderly companion whispered:
+
+"I wasn't thinking of any one, in particular, my dear;" upon which I
+grew more enraged, and the color in my face deepened until I must have
+resembled an irate old turkey gobbler--"not of any one in particular, my
+dear; but on general principles, I shouldn't advise such a match. A
+widower would be just the thing for you, and there always are widowers,
+and every year the list grows--death makes inroads, you know."
+
+This idea, this hope of a second crop, as I had passed beyond the first
+picking, was comforting. I knew perfectly well whom she had in mind for
+me--a nice fat little widower, about fifty years old, who had been held
+on the marital spit, until he was done to a turn.
+
+
+
+
+                                  III
+
+
+The summer was ended, and I was not married. I am speaking now from the
+standpoint of my neighbors; to my mind life did not swing on this hinge.
+I had my occupations--there were a goodly number of needy folk to be
+looked after; there was my reading; my music; my friends, and other
+pleasures, and altogether I felt I was very well off. Not that I was
+cynically opposed to marriage; I intended to marry, if the right man
+called, but if he did not I was content to end life as I had begun it--in
+single blessedness.
+
+My neighbors, however, were of another mind--I must marry; and they kept
+making efforts to find some one who would fit, trying on one man after
+another, without his consent or mine, something as one would attempt to
+force clothes on a savage.
+
+But in spite of all such friendly offices the summer was ended, and I
+was not married. I was thinking of it on this particular day, as I stood
+gazing from the window--thinking of it with a sort of quiet wonder, for
+with an entire neighborhood intent upon this end, it was rather
+surprising that I was not double by this time. Had they succeeded I
+should now occupy a very different attitude. It is only old bachelors
+and old maids who speculate and theorize on marriage; when people are
+really about it, they say little, and (it would often appear) think
+less.
+
+It was a day for speculation--this particular one; the dead leaves were
+scurrying up the street as people ran for a train; a gusty wind was
+carrying all before it for the time being, like an overbearing debater.
+The trees shook and groaned, recoiled and shuddered, like human
+creatures in the blast; in their agitation dropping hosts of leaves that
+immediately slipped under covert, or else joined their fellows in the
+race up town. The sky was non-committal, and the lake looked dark and
+secretive, as if it meditated wreck and disaster.
+
+It was only the middle of September, but there had been several of these
+days--a hint, perchance, of what was to come by and by, as a gay waltz
+strain sometimes dips into real life, and makes one look inward for a
+moment.
+
+The house did not invite me just at this time, and the elements did; at
+least I felt that rising within me which tempted me forth to have a bout
+with them.
+
+I was walking at a goodly pace along the Boulevard--for I love the lake
+in all its moods--when two men with anxious faces overtook, and hurried
+past me.
+
+"There's been a wreck, miss," one of them--a man I knew--called back.
+
+I quickened my pace, trying to peer through the sullen fog, as I ran.
+The occasional dull boom of a gun called "Help," from out the grayness,
+with pathetic persistency. Soon another sound caught my ear, or rather
+vibrated through my frame, for the ground beneath me seemed to tremble,
+and I turned to see the swift oncoming of the life-saving crew from a
+station below us.
+
+I had barely time to jump one side, before the huge wagon, bearing the
+boat and its men, swept past me, every one of those splendid horses with
+his head lowered, and his fine muscles set for the race.
+
+It was all done with the celerity and ease with which things are
+accomplished in dreams. The sudden halting of the big wagon; the
+swinging of the boat to the ground; the swift donning of the yellow
+oilskin suits by the crew; the launch, and before one had time to wink,
+the strong strokes in perfect time, that bore the boat up and down, and
+up again, on those tumultuous waves.
+
+There were other spectators beside myself, standing with strained sight
+and hearing, and throbbing hearts, upon the strip of beach. And there
+were other workers beside the crew. I had thought we were a small
+community out there in the little suburb, and I gazed with wonder that
+morning at the crowd which seemed to have dropped from the sky, or come
+up from below.
+
+The men were chiefly from the middle and laboring classes, for the
+others go in on early trains, but Randolph Chance was there, his
+newspaper work giving him his mornings. We spoke to one another, but
+entered into no conversation. My thought was with the doomed ship, and
+so was his.
+
+"Will any of you boys join me in taking off some of those people?" he
+asked the men at hand.
+
+"It's a rough sea, Mr. Chance."
+
+"I know it, but I understand boating; I guess we can manage it."
+
+"Don't you think the life-saving crew can do the work?" I asked.
+
+"No," he answered shortly, "there won't be time for them to make enough
+trips. Come, boys, here she goes! Jump in, a half dozen of you that can
+pull oars."
+
+There were boats enough, and soon there were men enough, for the human
+heart is kind and brave, and under a good leader men will walk up to
+Death himself without flinching.
+
+Randolph Chance was big and strong, alert, and self controlled--a good
+leader. I realized all this just now, as I had not before, and I thought
+how strange it was that so much goodness should be bound up with so much
+folly. It was the old story of the wheat and the tares; and I said: "An
+enemy hath done this," and then I thought of Miss Sprig.
+
+I don't like to dwell on that morning; the experience was new to me, and
+I can't forget it; I can't rid myself of the sound of those shrieks when
+the ship went down. She struggled like a human creature under a sudden
+blow--rocked, tottered, quivered, and then collapsed.
+
+The little boats made five trips and brought ashore almost all the
+passengers and crew--all but one woman, and a little child.
+
+I was one of the many who received the chilled and frightened victims of
+the storm, and indeed, as soon as we were able to dispose of the more
+delicate and needy ones, we turned our thought to the brave crews of the
+little boats, for their exertions had been almost superhuman, and they
+were well-nigh exhausted.
+
+I bent over Randolph Chance, and begged him to take a little brandy some
+one had brought.
+
+"Give it to the women," he said feebly.
+
+"They are all cared for; I'm going to look out for you now, Mr. Chance."
+
+"I wouldn't feel so done up," he said, "if it weren't for that woman.
+She begged me to save her, and she had a little child in her arms," and
+his voice broke.
+
+"You mustn't think of her," I said, "you did all you could."
+
+"Yes, I did my best to reach her, but before I could get there, she went
+down. I can never forget her face. Oh, at such a time a fellow can't
+help wishing he were just a little quicker, and just a little stronger."
+
+He had risen from the beach where he had flung himself or fallen, on
+leaving the boat, but he fell again. I could plainly see that the
+exhaustion from which he suffered was due as much to mental distress as
+to physical effort, and I thought no less of him for that.
+
+He was finally prevailed upon to get into the wagon which had brought
+the life-saving crew, and which was now loaded down with the other
+boatmen, and many of the passengers from the wreck, and so he was taken
+home. And I walked back alone, with a queer little feeling somewhere in
+the region of my heart.
+
+Man, after all, is a harp, I said to myself; a good player--the right
+woman can draw forth wonderful music, but the wrong woman will call out
+nothing but discords.
+
+Materials don't count for everything; there's a deal in the cooking.
+
+I was on my way home, when I met two of my neighbors hurrying toward the
+scene--Mr. and Mrs. Daemon.
+
+"You're too late," I said, "it's all over."
+
+"I only heard of it a little while ago;" said Mrs. Daemon; "I was in the
+city, and I met Mr. Daemon who had just been told there was a wreck off
+this shore, and was coming out to see it, so we both took the first
+train."
+
+They hurried on, wishing to see what they could, and I walked homeward.
+
+Their appearance had slipped into my reflections as neatly as a good
+illustration slips into a discourse. I must tell you their story, and
+then see if you dare say man is not a harp, and woman not a harpist.
+
+Years ago, when I was a child, I used to see my mother wax indignant
+over the wrongs inflicted upon one of her neighbors--a gentle little
+woman whose backbone evidently needed restarching. She was the mother of
+three children, and should have been a most happy wife, for her tastes
+were domestic--her devotion to her family unbounded. Unhappily, she was
+wedded to a man of overbearing, tyrannical temper--one of those ugly
+natures in which meanness is generated by devotion. The more he realized
+his power over his poor little wife, the more he bullied her, and
+beneath this treatment she faded, day by day, until finally she closed
+her tired, pathetic eyes forever. My mother used to say she had no doubt
+the man was overwhelmed by her death, and would have suffered from
+remorse, but for the injudicious zeal of some of the neighbors, who were
+so wrought up by this culmination of years of injustice and cruelty,
+that they attacked him fore and aft, as it were, creating a scandalous
+scene over the little woman's remains, accusing him of being her
+murderer, and assigning him to the warmest quarters in the nether world.
+As a result of this outbreak of public opinion the man hardened, and
+assumed a defiant attitude which he continued to maintain toward the
+neighbors for some years. In the midst of all this furor, the sister of
+the departed wife walked calm and still. The power of the silent woman
+has often been dwelt upon, but I really do not think that half enough
+has been said, although I am aware of committing an absurdity when I
+recommend voluble speech on the subject of silence. Jesting and
+paradoxes aside, however, the silent woman wields a power known only to
+the man toward whom her silence is directed.
+
+In this particular case the power was all for the best. Erelong the
+sister-in-law obtained such mastery over the forlorn household that she
+held not only the fate of the little ones, but that of the father as
+well, in the hollow of her hand.
+
+Two years slipped by, and then the neighborhood that had dozed off, as
+it were, awoke to hear that the sister was going to marry that awful
+man.
+
+At once the vigilance committee arose, and took the case in hand.
+
+"It can't be possible," it cried to the woman.
+
+"Yes, it is true," she said.
+
+"Why, don't you know that he killed your sister?"
+
+"I know he did."
+
+"And you are going to marry him, in face of that?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, he'll kill you."
+
+"Oh, no, he won't kill me"--there was a peculiar light in her eyes that
+puzzled them.
+
+"What can you want to marry such a man for?" they cried, coming back to
+the original question.
+
+"To keep the children. If I don't marry him, some one else will, and
+those children will go out of my hands."
+
+Her devotion to the motherless brood had been past praise. There was
+nothing more to be said, and if there had been it would have availed
+nothing, for the sister had a mind of her own. She was one of those
+handsome women, who walk this earth like queens, and to whom lesser folk
+defer.
+
+She married, and lo! the neighborhood was agog once more, for strange
+stories came floating from out that handsome house, and it appeared for
+a time that instead of his killing her she was like to kill him.
+
+I remember one tale in particular, which my mother who, by the way, was
+no gossip, and was as peaceable as a barnyard fowl, was in the habit of
+rehearsing before a chosen few, occasionally, with a quiet relish that
+was amusing, considering the fact that ordinarily any comment on her
+neighbors' affairs was alien to her. It appeared that after a short
+wedding trip, during which the bridegroom had several times shown the
+cloven foot, the couple returned to their domicile. Probably the maids
+who had lived there for some years and were devoted to the new wife, had
+been warned of what was coming. At all events, they accepted everything
+as a matter of course.
+
+Upon the evening of the married pair's return, a handsome dinner was
+served. The train was a trifle behind time; the day had been cold, and
+several other untoward circumstances had conspired to let loose the
+bridegroom's natural depravity. An overdone roast served to touch off
+this inflammable material.
+
+"---- these servants!" he exclaimed; "I'll kick every one of them through
+the front window! Look at that roast!"
+
+The doors being now open, a perfect storm of ugly, evil tempers poured
+forth.
+
+At such times as these it was the custom of wife number one to shiver,
+shrink, implore--weep, then take the offending roast from the room, and
+replace it by something else which most likely was hurled at her, in
+the end.
+
+The present Mrs. Daemon neither shivered nor shrank. She knew what to
+expect when she married this man, and she was ready. The guns were
+loaded and aimed, and they went off, and presto! the enemy lay dead on
+the dining room floor.
+
+Instead of a roast beef solo, there was a duet, Mrs. Daemon's feminine
+soprano rising above her husband's masculine roar. She agreed with what
+he said as to the disposition of the servants, only adding that she
+intended to hang them all, before he put them through the front window.
+
+"To insult us during our honeymoon with such a roast," she cried; "and
+look at this gravy! It's even worse!"
+
+And with one swift stroke of her hand she sent the gravy bowl flying
+from off the table on to the handsome carpet.
+
+"In Heaven's name, what are you about?" he bawled.
+
+"Do you suppose I'd offer you such gravy; it ought to be flung in their
+faces."
+
+He gasped and stammered; thought of the recent wedding and regretted it;
+but he was married now, and to an awful shrew!
+
+Soon after dinner they repaired to the drawing room. In turning from the
+fireplace he stumbled against a large, elegant vase.
+
+"Confound that thing!" he exclaimed, "I always did hate those vases that
+set on the floor."
+
+"So do I!" she chimed in, and putting out her foot with an expressive
+jerk, she kicked it over, and broke it into a hundred fragments.
+
+"Do you see what you've done?" he cried, "have you forgotten that that
+vase was a present from me?"
+
+"No, I haven't, but we both hate it, and what's the use of keeping it?"
+
+This was but the beginning; from that time on, let him but murmur
+against a dish, and it was flung on to the floor; torrents of abuse
+were poured upon the head of a maid with whom he found fault; some of
+the handsomest furniture in the house was broken, the moment it gave
+offense to him. In no vehemence was he alone--his wife's anathemas and
+abuse joined and exceeded his, until--he had enough of it--an overdose, in
+fact, and erelong he turned a corner--came out of Hurricane Gulch into
+Peaceful Lane, and he hoped the latter would know no turning. The
+servants whispered of times when he would tell his wife of guests
+invited to the house, and entreat her not to make a scene while they
+were there.
+
+Sixteen years have gone by, and this woman is still above ground;
+stranger still the man is alive as well; and strangest of all, they are
+still under the same roof. Indeed, if report and appearance are to be
+trusted, Mr. Daemon is a model husband, and Mrs. Daemon's sudden and
+amazing temper has spent itself and left her a person of spirit indeed,
+but in nowise unamiable, and least of all, an ugly character.
+
+No one who saw them walk past me, arm in arm, that morning, on their way
+to the wreck, would have dreamed of their past.
+
+Truly, man _is_ a harp, and truly, woman does the harping.
+
+
+
+
+                                  IV
+
+
+I have been wandering about to-day in an apparently aimless fashion, but
+in reality "musing upon many things." Our horror of shiftlessness, and
+our realization of the responsibilities of life, and of the important
+work Providence has kept saving up for us, or perhaps "growing up" for
+us, like Dick Swiviller's future mate, is expressed in the fact that if
+we take an hour's leisure, anywhere betwixt sunrise and sunset, we feel
+under bonds to explain the matter not only to our own souls, but also to
+those other souls who live adjacent, and take an everlasting interest in
+ours.
+
+Consequently, I told myself this day that I was not well--that I had
+been overdoing, and that I had best "go easy for a spell." After which
+concession to my interior governor, I proceeded to apologize to my
+neighbors; to call my dogs--not to apologize to them, but to solicit
+their company--and then to hie me away to the lake, remembering to walk
+feebly as long as I was in sight.
+
+I didn't go down to the beach, but plunged into the cool, comforting
+heart of a ravine; fathomed its depths, with a feeling of delightful
+seclusion, and came out on the thither side, to find myself in the
+glowing October woods.
+
+Ill? I never felt better in my life! Good, rich streams of blood coursed
+through my veins, and painted a warm tint in my cheeks. At that moment I
+hope I looked a trifle like Nature, who was in the height of her being;
+in a sort of tropical luxuriance, like a beautiful woman at the very
+summit of maturity and perfection.
+
+I put out my hands toward a clump of sumach--I was not cold, but its
+brilliant warmth lured me as does a glowing fire. It permeated my very
+being, and set my soul a-throbbing.
+
+There had been rain, and then warmth, and October had caught all the
+prismatic colors of the drops of water, and was giving them forth with
+Southern prodigality. The birds bent over the swaying daisies, and sang
+soft love-notes into their great, dark eyes, while I looked on in an
+ecstasy of wonder and delight--the gold of the daisies, the gold of the
+sunlight, and the glow in my heart, seeming in a way all one--part and
+parcel of the munificence and cheering love of the Father. It is a
+glorious world, and it is glorious to live therein. The very air about
+me--the air I was breathing in, seemed to palpitate color and brilliant
+beauty.
+
+I talked to Duke about it, and he looked around him with a certain air
+of admiration depicted on his noble, fond old face. Fanchon was
+frivolous, as usual, and wanted to be running giddily about, hunting
+rabbits and the like; but I made her sit beside me, for it seemed a
+desecration every time the October silence of those woods was broken by
+aught save the dropping of a ripened nut, or the whirr of a homing bird.
+
+It was at the close of this mellow day that I sat in my library alone,
+before a hickory fire. Alone, did I say? Nay, Mrs. Simpson sat before me
+in the opposite rocker. You could not have seen her, or heard her, but
+she was there, and was complaining of Mr. Simpson, saying he rarely ever
+invited her to go anywhere; and as she talked I recalled a certain
+evening when I had been her guest--included in an invitation to attend a
+spectacular entertainment given by the country club, at a spot some
+distance from our homes, and I said:
+
+"Mrs. Simpson, I can offer you some recipes which I warrant you will
+work infallibly; but they are like the recipe for determining the
+interior condition of eggs, which says, put them in water; if they are
+bad they will either sink or swim--I have forgotten which. Now try this
+recipe I am about to give you, and it will either make Mr. Simpson
+unwilling to take a step in the way of recreation without you, or it
+will make him stalk forth by himself, as lonely as a crocus in early
+March--I have forgotten which; but try it often enough, and you will
+learn."
+
+
+                               _Recipe._
+
+"Fail to be ready at the appointed time, and keep him waiting until he
+is either raging or sullen; cudgel or dragoon the children until their
+tempers are well on edge. Then complain of the gait taken by Mr. Simpson
+in order to catch the train; declare frequently when aboard that you are
+tired out, and are sorry you came. After you reach the place, remark
+every now and then that you don't think the entertainment amounts to
+much, and that you do think it was a piece of extravagance to have
+given such a price for tickets to so-inferior an exhibition. Next,
+declare that you feel a draft, and are catching your 'death of cold;'
+interlard all this with frequent directions to the children--admonitions
+and complaints, and derogatory remarks about Mr. Simpson's appearance,
+and wonder--oft-expressed and reiterated, and put in the form of
+questions which you insist upon his answering, as to why he didn't wear
+his other suit of clothes. Finally, wind up the whole affair, by wishing
+you were in bed, and announcing your opinion that the trip didn't pay,
+and you are sure it will make you and the children ill.
+
+"Try this faithfully, and it won't fail to accomplish something
+decided."
+
+One more recipe.
+
+I was talking to Mrs. Purblind now; Mrs. Simpson had had her fill, and
+gone home; and Mrs. Purblind had taken her place.
+
+You couldn't have seen her--but that doesn't matter.
+
+
+                               _Recipe._
+
+"This is for making a man love to stay at home with you, and inducing
+him to be cheerful and companionable, or for making him flee your
+presence as one would flee a plague-stricken city: I've forgotten which,
+but you will soon discover, if you try it persistently.
+
+"Talk on disagreeable themes, talk persistently and ceaselessly; never
+let up; the more tired he may be the more steadily you must talk, and
+the more irritating your theme must be. Go to the gadfly; consider her
+ways and be wise. Buzz, buzz, buzz; sting, sting, sting.
+
+"On his worst nights, always select his relatives for your theme; harp
+upon their faults; their failures in life; their humiliations; the
+unpleasant things people say of them. Then if he waxes irritable,
+express surprise; remind him how he used to talk against these same
+relatives, and how much trouble he gave them when he lived at home; add
+that it's plain now that he has combined with his relatives against you,
+and that you should be surprised if he and they didn't effect a
+separation. If he is still in earshot, pass on to what he once told you,
+beginning each remark with:
+
+"You said that----
+
+"And then proceed to point out wherein and howin he has utterly failed
+to make good his promises. Further, if he is still in the house, enlarge
+upon the change you have noted in his conduct toward you--how devoted he
+used to be, and how selfish he has become. Next, tell him how
+well-dressed other women are, and how little you have on.
+
+"By this time, if not sooner, he will remember that he has night work
+clamoring for him at the office, or that his presence at the club is
+absolutely necessary, and it would be well for you to conclude your
+remarks by observing that if he bangs the front door so hard every time
+he goes out, he will loosen the hinges."
+
+"Well now," said Mrs. Purblind--the invisible Mrs. Purblind (she always
+would listen to reason, which is more than could be said for the visible
+creature of that name), "well now, I know well enough when I go on that
+way, that it isn't best to do it; but the Evil One seems to enter me,
+and I get going, and I couldn't stop unless I bit my tongue off."
+
+"Bite it then," I said, "and after that, jump into the lake; were you
+once there, your virtues would float, and your husband would love them;
+but alive, your virtues are beneath water, and your nagging is always on
+top."
+
+"But what is one to do? Supposing all these things are true--supposing
+you suffer from all these wrongs."
+
+"Did you ever right a wrong by setting it before your husband in this
+way, and at these times?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Did you ever improve your condition?"
+
+"No. But what would you do?"
+
+"Shut up. Dip deep into silence. In the first place, when you find you
+have poor material, take extra care in the cooking; study the art; use
+all the skill you can acquire, and finally, if that won't do, if it
+_positively_ won't--if you can't make a decent dish out of him, open the
+kitchen door, and heave him into the ash-barrel, and the ash-man will
+cart him away."
+
+I have traveled a little in my life, and have been entertained in
+various households. I have seen wives who deserve crowns of laurel, to
+compensate for the crown of thorns they have worn for years; but I have
+seen others, who had thorns about them indeed, but they themselves were
+not on the sharp end. Some of these stupid, ignorant women fancied they
+were doing everything possible to make home pleasant, and wondered at
+their failure. There they sat, prodding their husbands with hat-pins,
+and grieved over the poor wretches' irritability.
+
+I recall a conversation I once overheard. The husband arrived just at
+dinner time. The wife heard him come in, and called to him in a faint,
+dying voice, from the top of the stairway--
+
+"George, is that you?"
+
+The answer was spiritless.
+
+"Yes."
+
+The wife came downstairs.
+
+"Well, then, we can have dinner. I don't know that it's ready, though;
+Bridget has had a toothache all day, and she's just good-for-nothing."
+
+All this in the same faded tone of voice.
+
+The husband passed into the parlor, and began to read the paper.
+
+The weary tongue of his feminine partner wagged on, in a dreary sort of
+way.
+
+"I think these girls are so foolish; they haven't a bit of pluck. I've
+been trying to persuade her to go to the dentist's and have her teeth
+out, but she won't. I'm just tired to death to-night, and there's no
+end to the work; Bridget has been moaning around all day--why her
+teeth----"
+
+"Oh, bother her teeth!"
+
+"Why, don't you care to hear anything that goes on at home, George?"
+
+"I don't care to hear about teeth that go on at home; Bridget's teeth
+especially. I don't care a rap for the whole set."
+
+"How cross you are to-night, George! when I'm so tired, too. Johnnie,
+your face is dirty, go and wash it; be quick now, for it's time for
+dinner. I don't know that Bridget will ever call us. She's probably
+sitting out in the kitchen, nursing her teeth; why she has five roots
+there, and all of them so inflamed that----"
+
+"Bother her roots, I say!"
+
+"George, you are extremely irascible, but that's the way; I get no
+sympathy at all."
+
+"Not when you want it by the wholesale for Bridget's roots."
+
+"Well, what should we talk about? I don't see how we can ever have
+conversation in the home, if you won't listen to anything."
+
+And so they went on--the tired husband, moody and irritable, and the
+tired wife, loquacious about matters of no interest. I felt sorry for
+her who spake, and him who heard.
+
+A husband worn out with the cares and worries of an unsatisfactory
+business day, and a wife harrassed and fretted by overwork and petty
+annoyances, could succeed in talking pleasantly together only by the use
+of will-power and principle. It would require a big effort, but the
+effort would pay. It would be one of the best investments a married pair
+could make. The returns would be quick and large. I wonder more don't
+deposit in this bank.
+
+
+
+
+                                   V
+
+
+I had not forgotten Mr. Chance. This fact annoyed me excessively, since
+I saw that he had forgotten me. A forgotten man may remember a woman,
+and preserve his self-respect, if not his merriment; but when a
+forgotten woman remembers a man, that is quite another thing. Not that I
+was brooding over Mr. Chance--far from it; I thought very little of him,
+in one way, for I frequently saw him with Miss Sprig; but in spite of
+all that, I could not quite forget the impression he made upon me the
+day those boys killed the gay little squirrel, and again the day the
+poor mother went down into the deep, dark water with her child held
+close to her agonized heart. The feeling I experienced for him on that
+awful day, was unique in my history. I had never been an impressionable
+girl as far as men were concerned--I was not an impressionable woman. For
+me to carry the thought of a man home with me--for me to dwell upon this
+thought, and above all to take pleasure in dwelling upon it, meant more
+than it would have meant for some women. That was as far as the matter
+had gone, but it was far enough--too far, considering his evident
+indifference, and I was humiliated, for the first time in my life, over
+my attitude toward a man. This mortification induced me to treat Mr.
+Chance even more coldly than I should have done ordinarily, though his
+trifling with Miss Sprig would have called forth some coolness of
+conduct under any circumstances.
+
+I had abundant opportunity to express myself in this way, for Mr.
+Chance's night work necessitated late rising, and I saw him to speak to
+him almost every morning. Indeed, I took some pains to be in my garden
+during the forenoon, and from this vantage ground I could not only see
+much that took place between himself and Miss Sprig, but I also had
+opportunity to speak with him as he passed my house, on his way to the
+train.
+
+Sometimes Miss Sprig walked to the station with him. He evidently
+absorbed much of her time and thought, and she evidently regarded him as
+her latest victim, for she made him a common subject of talk, and her
+entire acquaintance had the pleasure of hearing the foolish things he
+did and said. She always represented him as deeply in love with her; I
+have no doubt she really thought that he was.
+
+For my own part, I cared very little whether he was in love, as it is
+called, or not. If he had succumbed to such a shallow-pated, bold,
+common girl, I felt contempt for him, and this contempt was deepened
+when I realized that he might be trifling with her. In any event it
+mortified and angered me to think he had been seen with me; (he had
+often called upon me and we had been out together several times), and
+that the old neighborhood gossips had coupled our names. Now it would be
+reported that Miss Sprig had cut me out; if I was pleasant toward him,
+they would wag their foolish old heads, and whisper about my efforts to
+win him back; if I was cool, they would shake these same empty pates,
+and prattle about my wounded affections. It was one of those cases where
+you can't possibly do the right thing--I mean the thing that will silence
+the clacking tongue: consequently, as luck would have it, I plunged into
+the worst possible course I could have taken, for when Mrs. Catlin, who
+lived catacorner from me, and who watched me as a cat watches a mouse,
+said something one day about Mr. Chance's feeling bound to pay attention
+to Mr. Purblind's cousin, as long as she was visiting there, and that
+she knew such a girl wasn't to his taste, and she was sure he would
+come to his senses soon, I was so angry that I lost control of my
+temper, and all control of my wits, and blazed out with:
+
+"It's none of my business or concern whom he pays attention to, and for
+my part I think they're well mated."
+
+Whereupon, realizing I had made a perfect fool of myself, and that this
+speech of mine would go the rounds of the suburb, and I could never
+erase it from the village mind--not if I lived a hundred sensible years,
+I had much ado to withhold myself from seizing a pot of bachelors'
+buttons that stood near, and breaking the whole thing over Mrs. Catlin's
+idiotic skull.
+
+It was on top of this pleasant interview with Mrs. Catlin, that Mr.
+Chance came over, and asked me to attend a concert that evening with
+himself and Miss Sprig, and he very narrowly avoided receiving the
+bachelors' buttons that Mrs. Catlin had but just escaped.
+
+I strode indoors, and began packing some of my effects, for I was
+resolved to move that day, or the next. Not because I had discovered I
+had such fools for neighbors--I had always known that--but because I had
+just discovered that they had a fool for a neighbor.
+
+Worldly considerations prevailed with me, and I took out the Penates
+that I had slammed into a trunk, mended their broken noses, and set them
+in place once more; but I hid myself away for several days, much as
+Moses was hidden, but for a less dignified reason.
+
+After a time, I cooled off, and decided to accept the world as it stood,
+and not to rage because the millennium did not come before I was fitted
+to enjoy it.
+
+Mrs. Purblind ran over one afternoon, and I could see that she was far
+from happy. I had noticed for some weeks various changes in the
+direction of improvement, in her care of her husband and household. I
+had also noticed that Mr. Purblind's conduct did not keep pace with
+these improvements, but I fancied Mrs. Purblind was not sharp enough to
+see or sensitive enough to care. In this it seems I erred, as I have in
+one, or perhaps two, other directions during my life.
+
+As Mrs. Purblind, for the first time since I have known her, didn't seem
+to care to talk, I took up a book at random, and began reading aloud. As
+luck would have it, I stumbled into some passages descriptive of the
+ideal home, and before I could stumble out again, the poor woman burst
+into tears. I suppose that tender little sentence served as the key that
+unlocked the floodgates. As soon as her grief had spent itself, she
+apologized, and ascribed her tears to bad news in a letter or something,
+and shortly afterward left. I watched her walking down the street, until
+my eyes were too dim to see her. It grieved me sorely that the cause of
+her sorrow was so deep, and so delicate that I could not offer her my
+sympathy. Her tears were piteous to me, and I wanted to take her to my
+heart, and tell her how sorry I was for her; but to do that would have
+been to take advantage of her moment of weakness, and that I could
+not--must not do. So I let her go from me with merely a few commonplace
+expressions of regret that she had received disturbing news, while all
+the time my heart was aching in unison with hers, and I kept her with me
+in thought, all day.
+
+I went down to the lake directly after dinner; several things were
+troubling me, and I wanted to lay my puzzled head on Mother Nature's
+bosom.
+
+My run down the steep sides of the bluff set the blood to coursing
+smartly through my veins, and a new and more cheerful stream of thought
+to flowing.
+
+I was tired that night, and it was a luxury to lie flat upon my back on
+the beach, listening to the rhythmical thud of the big, long wave at my
+feet, and the song of the stars overhead. There is something unspeakably
+tranquillizing in the studded dome of heaven; there is also something
+unspeakably sad. It bends over the struggling, yearning, aching human
+heart, as a mother, who has attained that peace which is the outgrowth
+of suffering, bends over the passion, the sobbing, and the despair of
+her child.
+
+"Hush, hush, it is all for the best."
+
+"I cannot--will not bear it!"
+
+"Hush, you know not what you say. God's hand is in it all."
+
+"There is no God in this, or if there is, He hates me!"
+
+"Ah, my child, He loves you with unutterable love, and pities with
+unutterable pity. Yet a little while, and the day shall shine upon you;
+then you will know--a little while."
+
+I turned from the great vault above me, and looked out upon the restive
+waters, and as I turned I saw a shadowy Mrs. Purblind sitting beside me
+on the beach, and questioning with sad eyes and heart, the stars that
+bent to listen.
+
+"I have tried," she said; her face, usually so thoughtless,
+tear-stained, and quivering.
+
+"Yes, I know you have tried," I answered; "I have seen that!"
+
+"But he is just the same."
+
+"Yes, and will be for a long time, and you will have to go on trying for
+years, if you want to carry him back to the old days," I said.
+
+"That's one of the hardest things in all the world!" she cried
+passionately, "if we stop doing right--the right stops with us, but if we
+stop doing wrong and begin to do right, the wrong goes on."
+
+"Not for always," I said, looking up to the stars.
+
+"Oh, for so long!"
+
+The great dome rich with gems, and deep with peace, bent over her, and
+by and by her sobs ceased.
+
+"You are trying, I know," I reiterated, "but you don't understand--you
+can't, for you have only a woman's nature."
+
+"What should I have, pray?"
+
+"A woman's, and a man's, and a child's, to be a perfect wife and mother;
+that is, you must be able to comprehend them all. Your husband came home
+cross to-night."
+
+"Yes, irritable toward us all, and I so hoped to have everything
+pleasant this evening."
+
+"He, too, had his hopes to-day, and they were flung to the ground, and
+broken before his eyes."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"The special agent of a company that he has for a year been working to
+get, has been in town."
+
+"Yes, I know."
+
+"Yesterday this agent led him to suppose he was to be the favored one.
+All to-day he has been working toward that end, and near night he heard
+that this man had gone, without even saying good-by. You remember that
+Mr. Purblind left home in a hurry this morning, with scarcely a bite of
+breakfast; he took very little luncheon, and----"
+
+"Well, we had dinner at the usual time, if he'd said he was hungry, I'd
+have hurried it."
+
+"He was not hungry--he was much more than that. Did you ever see a vessel
+whose fuel is well-nigh exhausted drag herself into port? What is the
+first thing to be done?"
+
+"I don't know--replenish her?"
+
+"Yes, put coal on board. Now when I saw your husband walk up to his
+front door, I said to myself, he needs coaling. A good home should be a
+good coaling station; remember that."
+
+"But what of me?" she asked with some impatience, "I, too, have my
+worries and exertions--do I never need coaling?"
+
+"Frequently," I answered.
+
+"Well, who is to coal me, I should like to know?"
+
+"Yourself."
+
+"That's rather one-sided, I think. Why shouldn't my husband look to
+that?"
+
+"My dear," I said earnestly, "I never knew but one man who saw when his
+wife needed coaling, and attended to her wants. When he died (for the
+gods loved him), it was found that his shoulder-blades were abnormally
+large--at least so the doctors said, but I knew all the time that his
+wings had budded."
+
+"Well, this life is too much for me," murmured Mrs. Purblind drearily.
+
+"Then don't attempt the next."
+
+"I shan't, if I can help it, and yet I'm like to soon, for Mr.
+Purblind's mother is coming on a visit to us, and I know she'll worry
+the breath out of me."
+
+"Don't let her."
+
+"How can I help it?"
+
+"By keeping the peace with her."
+
+"Oh, I've tried that before; I've done everything I could for her, and
+deferred to her, and ignored myself until I seemed to fade out of
+existence, but it didn't work."
+
+"Oh, yes, it did, for it made her ten times as troublesome as before."
+
+"It certainly did, but what do you mean?"
+
+"I mean that a mother-in-law is like a child, in that she is spoiled by
+having her own way."
+
+"But what can I do?"
+
+"Walk calmly on, doing the best you can, but recognizing your own
+authority and dignity, and finally she will come to recognize it. Be
+mistress of your own household, and director of your own children--all
+this quietly and pleasantly, but without wavering, and in the end she
+will respect and probably admire you, though she will never think you do
+just right, or are just the woman who ought to have married her son."
+
+"But I've always been in hopes of making her love me as she loves her
+own daughter."
+
+"That is what every romantic woman starts out with, but by and by, in
+the storm and stress of domestic life, that ideal is cast overboard, as
+a struggling ship throws its extra cargo over the rail."
+
+"Why is it, I wonder, a man never fights with his father-in-law. Men
+are said to be naturally pugnacious."
+
+"That's a mistake, my dear; a man would go several miles any day to
+avoid a fuss; it is we women who delight in scraps. A man occasionally
+has a little set-to with the girl's father, before he gains his consent
+to the engagement, but once he's married, it's the old lady he has to
+train for, or I should say who trains for him, because as a general
+thing it is she who gives battle, not he. The real conflict, however,
+takes place between the two women--the wife and her mother-in-law. If you
+want to see 'de fur fly,' as the darkies say, you must always come over
+to the feminine side of the house. Then you'll have your fill of
+explanations, expostulations, and recriminations."
+
+"Well, certainly I never had any trouble with my father-in-law."
+
+"Trouble! Do you know what I'd do, if I had a troublesome
+father-in-law?"
+
+"No--murder him?"
+
+"Murder him, indeed! Woman, have you no mercantile instinct? That would
+be like killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Why, the first
+showman would take the old gentleman off my hands, and pay me a handsome
+price for him. You must know that a troublesome father-in-law is so rare
+that the public would flock to see him. But you couldn't get anything
+for a troublesome mother-in-law. There are too many families trying to
+get rid of them, at any price. The sale of parents-in-law is governed by
+the same laws as other commodities, and these interfering,
+mischief-making mothers-in-law have become a drug in the market."
+
+"Well, there is Mrs. Earnest, her mother-in-law is a jewel."
+
+"Ah, now you mention a most valuable piece of property, for a woman like
+that--who models her conduct on the pattern of Aunt Betsey Trotwood, in
+David Copperfield's household, is a jewel of such magnitude and
+brilliancy, that she will some day be seen sparkling in Abraham's bosom,
+from a distance of millions of miles."
+
+"Well, how would you cook mothers-in-law?"
+
+"Make a delicious dish of your husband and then take a pinch--a good
+pinch--of mother-in-law, and throw her in as 'sass.' Speaking of this,
+remember that too many cooks spoil the broth, and wife and mother-in-law
+combined generally make a pretty mess of the husband."
+
+
+
+
+                                  VI
+
+
+I was feeling a trifle dull and heavy one afternoon, and after several
+vain efforts to do good work, decided that a vigorous tramp would set my
+blood to flowing, and the wheels of my thinking mill to revolving. So
+out I started toward the lake, as usual. There had been a storm off the
+Michigan shore, and we were just beginning to get evidence of it, in the
+big waves that were tumbling on the beach, I like the lake in this
+mood--in any mood, indeed, but especially when it is rough and wild.
+
+After quite a brisk tramp along, or near the beach, I turned back; but
+before going home again, I wished to come in closer contact with the
+tumultuous waters. At risk of being wet by the spray, which the waves
+were tossing on high, much as an excited horse tosses the foam from his
+chafing mouth, I climbed around the little bathing house, set on the
+shore end of the pier, and then boldly walked out, and took my seat in
+the midst of the tumult.
+
+The passion of the lake was magnificent; far out--as far as eye could
+stretch--there were oncoming waves; the clan was gathering, and all in
+battle array. What an overwhelming charge they made! Surely no one could
+resist that onslaught. There was no deliberation, as was usual with a
+moderately heavy sea; no calm, inevitable heaving of the water; no
+steady rising, ever higher and higher, until it crested, curved, and
+fell with a boom. There was nothing of this to-day; no preparation;
+everything was ready; the warriors, armed and mounted, were already
+making the attack.
+
+For a time I gloried in it all; even the anger of the waves was more
+admirable than terrific in my sight. It seemed as though they
+interpreted my boldness as defiance, and accepted the challenge. From
+near, from far, they were coming, and all upon me, or if that is taking
+too much to myself, they were making their attack upon the shore,
+meaning to claim it for their own, and incidentally to sweep me, a poor,
+insignificant atom, from their sight.
+
+By and by I found myself oppressed with the desolation of the scene. As
+the day waned, and the chill that foreshadows night fell upon me, or
+rather rose upon me, from the cold waters, I began to feel lonely and
+unprotected. The waves looked so hungry, so cruel; they reached out and
+up toward me; they encircled with the inevitable, as with a relentless
+fate. I began to be afraid of them, and I rose to go back to shore.
+
+Unlike the ocean, the lake is fixed; but that day the increase of the
+waves, in height and fury, had the effect of a rising tide. I realized
+that it would be very difficult for me to get off the pier alone, and I
+was more than relieved to see Randolph Chance, who had come down for a
+look at the lake before taking his train to the city. He joined me
+without trouble; a man can perform those feats so easily, whereas a
+woman is physically hampered.
+
+"You're in rather a bleak place, Miss Leigh," he said.
+
+"Yes, I have just begun to realize that."
+
+"Oh, well, we'll manage to get off safely; but you mustn't mind a little
+wetting. Just give yourself to me, and we'll be on shore in a minute."
+
+I gladly did as he bade me; it was luxury just then to have some one as
+strong and capable as he take the reins. He led me around the bathing
+house, and then lifted me from the pier. As he set me safely on the
+shore, his eyes met mine, and his look was a revelation to me. I was,
+for a moment, too startled to think, and the strangest sensation I ever
+experienced crept over me. If a look could speak, Randolph Chance--but I
+did not put it into words--not then, at least, but it was all very
+strange to me--most inexplicable.
+
+We walked on quietly, both, I dare say, feeling our silence to be a
+trifle awkward. It was for this reason that I decided to shorten the
+time of our being together, by stopping at the house of a friend. The
+wetting I had received from the waves did not amount to anything for one
+so hardy as myself, so I was not deterred on that account.
+
+The house where I stopped was a pleasant resort for me. Both Mr. and
+Mrs. Bachelor were interesting people. I had known Mr. Bachelor for
+fifteen years. He had once been one of our young men, as the saying is,
+young merely in the sense of being single, not in actual years, for at
+the time I met him he was nearer the forty than the thirty line. Nature
+seemed to have marked him for single--cussedness, I had almost said,
+from the first. He was no favorite with any set, being grumpy, fussy,
+and peculiar. But five years after he rose into sight above my horizon
+he married a most sensible, lovely woman; not a child, by the way, for
+she was almost forty; and in less than no time, it seemed to us, had a
+family of four children about him, one following the other so closely
+that the predecessor was all but overtaken. At first we said among
+ourselves that he must have borrowed these infants, and stuck them up in
+his home for appearance's sake, in some such manner as the proprietor of
+a summer hotel once stuck a number of trees in his grounds, to make a
+sandy, barren spot seem fertile and enticing. But by and by we became
+convinced that these little human shoots were his very own, not alone
+because they evinced some disagreeable crotchets similar to his, but
+also because of the love he bore them, and the change they wrought in
+his character and life. Even around court the man was regarded
+differently; warmth and esteem being extended him now in place of the
+dislike he had formerly aroused. He had never ceased to be a study to
+me, and a certain flavor of romance hung about his home--a delightful
+flavor, that made it an attractive visiting spot. So it was with
+considerable pleasure that I called upon this particular day.
+
+I was shown into the parlor--a comfortable room, back of which was a most
+home-like apartment, called the study. As I sat there, awaiting Mrs.
+Bachelor's coming, I noticed that her husband's desk, which stood in the
+center of the study, was strewn with dolls, and paraphernalia closely
+related thereto. My observations were interrupted by the entrance of
+Mrs. Bachelor, who welcomed me in her cordial, cheery way. A minute
+later Mr. Bachelor came in, and gave me what was for him, a most
+friendly greeting. He excused himself in a little while, and went into
+his study. He had, so his wife explained, been ill with a cold for a
+day or two, and had been working at home the while, to make ready for
+the approaching trial of an important case.
+
+Upon his entering the study, a scene occurred which I shall endeavor to
+give you as near to the life as possible. As a matter of course he
+steered directly for his desk, and his eye immediately fell upon a
+quantity of grandchildren, variously disposed thereon.
+
+"Well, I declare!" he exclaimed; "if this isn't outrageous!" and he
+gathered up the whole crop--there were fully a dozen dolls, in all stages
+of development, and much doll furniture, and toggery of all kinds.
+
+After dumping the obnoxious elements on to a divan, he returned to his
+desk, and with much grumbling sorted out his law-papers, and went to
+work. But soon after he had cleared his visage, as it were, his small
+daughter--a pretty child, four years old--ran into the room hugging two
+puggy puppies, and two kittens of tender age. It did not take her long
+to grasp the situation. Running to the divan, she uttered a series of
+cries, indicative both of alarm and displeasure.
+
+"What--what--what is the matter?" said Mr. Bachelor, who had probably
+forgotten his offense by this time.
+
+"You naughty papa!" cried the child; "what did you disturve my dollies
+for?"
+
+"What did you put them on my desk for?" queried her father indignantly;
+"the idea! I haven't a spot on earth I can call my own."
+
+"You've just mussed their best frocks all up," continued the child, who,
+without paying the slightest attention to her father's vigorous protest,
+was rapidly replacing her family, puppies, kittens, and all, on the
+desk.
+
+"I tell you I can't have them here! I have important papers around, and
+I must be allowed to work in peace. Take them off!"
+
+He started to sweep them on to the floor, but the little girl uttered a
+shriek.
+
+"Papa, papa, don't," she screamed. Then, as he desisted, she added,
+"They've just _dot_ to be here--it's the bestest, highest table, and the
+little doggies and kitties can't jump off, and I'm doing to have a
+tea-party with Mamie Williams. You must put your nasty old papers
+somewhere else."
+
+"This is an outrage!" he exclaimed, standing up and declaiming as if he
+were in court; "this is imposition run riot; it has reached a climax,
+and I'll endure it no longer. Evidently I have no rights that even the
+smallest and youngest in the household is bound to respect. It is a
+notorious fact that I am ruled with a rod of iron, and that even this
+baby of the family flouts me. I say I will stand it no longer. I have
+been held with a tight rein, and a curb bit, but I will turn at last."
+
+In his excitement, his metaphors became confused, horses and worms
+being all mixed up in a heap.
+
+"Take the desk, take the whole of it, and to-morrow I shall leave the
+house! I shall go back to my bachelor quarters, where I once lived in
+peace."
+
+The child regarded him seriously, from out her great, brown eyes.
+
+"Don't go away, papa," she said at last, "you may have a little of your
+desk, if you won't take too much. I didn't mean to be cross at you," she
+added, with a pathetic quiver of her lip.
+
+"Well, well!" exclaimed the father hastily, "there, there!" and he laid
+his hand softly on her curly little head, "I guess we'll get on somehow;
+if I can have a part of the desk, that'll answer. It's big enough for
+two, I guess."
+
+And he began moving his papers around.
+
+"Not there, papa," said the little tyrant; "no, that's the sunny side,
+and little bowwow must be there, 'cause he's dot the badest cold, and
+the kitties haven't dot but little weeny eyes yet, and they _must_ be
+where it's most lightest."
+
+"Well, well, well, where _may_ I sit? I must get to work."
+
+"You may sit right there, and you mustn't fiddet, 'cause you'll upset
+dolly's crib, if you do."
+
+Soon he was safely bestowed, off on one side, and as he obediently kept
+to his limitations, all proceeded happily.
+
+During this domestic scrimmage, Mrs. Bachelor went on chatting in her
+lively, pleasant fashion with me, never betraying, in any way, that she
+overheard the scene in the study. I was so occupied with it, that I
+could pay no heed to her remarks; but she was a wise woman, and knew
+that her husband was being cooked to a delicious turn, and that any
+interference on her part, would spoil the dish. I have since learned
+that occasionally, when she sees that the fire is really too hot for
+him, she comes to his rescue.
+
+"If he sputters and fizzes, don't be anxious; some husbands do this
+till they are quite done."
+
+Evidently Mrs. Bachelor has studied her cook-book.
+
+
+
+
+                                  VII
+
+
+The little touch of sentiment that flashed, as it were, from Randolph
+Chance as he lifted me off the pier, was presently blotted, as far as
+effect upon me was concerned, by the return of Miss Sprig to the
+Purblind household, and the renewal of his attentions to her. At least I
+regarded them as renewed, and I coldly turned my back upon him, and let
+him go his way, without further thought or speculation.
+
+I was daily becoming more interested in another acquaintance--Mr.
+Gregory, a man of years, whom I had known for some time. He had been a
+visitor at our house when my parents were living, and had, from time to
+time, shown me friendly attentions since their death. He frequently
+invited me to places of entertainment, something Randolph Chance seldom
+did, and in many ways contributed to my comfort and happiness. Single
+women are very dependent upon their men friends for pleasures of this
+sort; few of them care to go out at night alone, and even when they go
+in company with each other, the occasion lacks a zest which belongs to
+it when a woman has an escort. It is strange that many men--many of those
+who believe in the dependence of women, fall into the selfish habit of
+going alone to theater, concert, and lecture, and so force the women of
+their acquaintance into a position which their sentiments would seem to
+deprecate.
+
+While in no way obtrusive, or gushing in his attentions, Mr. Gregory was
+most thoughtful and kind, and few women are without appreciation of
+conduct of this type.
+
+Life flowed on with me with a quiet current. I was not a woman to make
+scenes with myself or others, and my circumstances were such as to
+permit of an undisturbed tenor of way.
+
+One bright afternoon, just as I returned from a long walk, Mrs. Purblind
+ran over to see me, and soon afterward, Mrs. Cynic dropped in. I never
+could bear this latter woman; something malevolent seems to emanate from
+her; something that is more or less unhealthful to the moral nature of
+all who come in contact with it, just as the miasma from a swamp is
+poisonous to the physical being.
+
+It chanced that I had just finished writing a little story, drawn from
+the life-page of my domestic experience; it was so endeared to my memory
+that I was not like to forget it, and yet, in the course of years, its
+outlines would probably fade a trifle if I did not take care to preserve
+their distinctness; for that reason I had written it out.
+
+I ought to have had better sense than to read anything of this kind to
+Mrs. Cynic. In the presence of such people, that which is fresh,
+beautiful, and holy withers, as a cluster of dewy wild flowers is
+parched and killed by the hot, sterile breath of a furnace.
+
+Usually I have some judgment in such matters, but that day all
+discretion seemed to take wings.
+
+A remark of Mrs. Purblind's led up to the subject. This little woman can
+say ugly things at times, but they are stung out of her, as it were, by
+some particular hurt, and are not the expression of her real nature. She
+has a kind, good heart, though her judgment and tact are somewhat
+lacking.
+
+We happened to be speaking of men, and something was said about their
+capacity for devotion, when Mrs. Purblind exclaimed:
+
+"Devotion! the masculine nature doesn't know the meaning of the word,
+unless it is devotion to self."
+
+"I must read you a little story I've written to-day. It's a true one,
+remember--I think I shall call it, 'Devotion'."
+
+I went to my desk, took out the manuscript, and read as follows:
+
+"A few years ago I owned a pair of foxhounds. Duke was the gentleman of
+the family, and Lady was his consort, and a lady she was indeed. I can
+hardly imagine a human creature of greater intelligence and refinement
+than this dumb beast. The attachment between herself and Duke was unique
+in its strength, and in its demonstration. He was fully as noble and as
+intelligent as she, but of a less lively, cheerful temperament. The
+arrival of six little Dukes was an occasion of anxiety and excitement
+for us all, and we were much relieved when the event was safely over,
+and we saw Lady and her beautiful family established in peace and
+comfort. Matters had run smoothly for about four or five weeks, when one
+day I was startled by a series of sharp yelps, which I knew came from
+Lady. I ran to the window, and saw the poor creature rolling in the
+middle of the street, in the greatest pain. By her side was Duke, and
+his outcries mingled with hers. The hard-hearted teamster, whose wagon
+had done the mischief, had driven off, but I ran to the rescue, and
+finally got her into the stable, where her little ones were awaiting
+her. She only lived a few hours, and her last act was an effort to nurse
+her clamorous doggies, while with her great, sad eyes she seemed to say
+good-by to Duke! The grief of this noble fellow was so great that we
+thought he would go mad. For a time he refused to let us come near her.
+He stood over her, licking her senseless form, pushing her gently once
+in a while with his head and paws, and then uttering lamentable cries
+when he saw that she did not move, or in any way respond; and meanwhile
+the tiny dogs were crawling over her, and mingling their voices with
+their father's deep notes of distress. It was a most pitiable sight,
+and we all breathed a sigh of relief when the dear old fellow permitted
+us to lead him off into the house, and we had an opportunity to dispose
+of poor Lady. I'll not try to tell of Duke's excitement and distress
+when he missed her; of his frantic search all over the place, and of how
+we followed him about, and talked to him, and tried to divert him; or
+how we all--Duke, and the rest of us, finally sat down in the stable,
+beside the motherless little family, and wept together.
+
+"The morning after Lady died, I went out to the stable with a cup of
+warm milk. I had not been able to do anything with the puggy little dogs
+the evening before, but I thought that their sharp hunger, after several
+hours of abstinence, would lead them to make an effort to drink. I
+carried a spoon with me, also a rag to suck, and a bottle, with a
+nipple--all kinds of appliances, in fact.
+
+"What was my surprise upon entering the stable, to find Duke occupying
+Lady's place. He was evidently trying to answer the small dogs'
+clamorous demand for breakfast, and it was also plain that his failure
+in this respect amazed and bewildered him. He lay down just as he had
+seen Lady do, and when this did not suffice he tried another position;
+failing again, he withdrew a few paces, and sat for a moment in an
+attitude of profound thought; returning soon, and trying another device.
+This resulting unfavorably, he made still another, and then another
+attempt, and finally, grieved to the heart, and worried by the hungry
+cries of the small dogs, he withdrew once more, and lifting his nose
+high in air, deliberately yowled.
+
+"At this point I obtruded myself upon the scene and went up to the dear
+old dog, took his distressed head in my arms, and talked to him. I
+explained to him the difficulty of the situation; how, owing to
+circumstances quite beyond his control, he could not take Lady's place.
+I urged upon him that he must yield gracefully to his limitations;
+showed him my appliances, and then when I had soothed and interested
+him, and he had consented to desist, and let me try, I made my essay.
+
+"It was a study for an artist--my appealing, pitying, impatient, scolding
+efforts to induce those unreasonable little creatures to accept a rag,
+or a bottle in place of a mother. I shouldn't have cared so much, that
+is, I could have taken longer without minding it, had it not been for
+Duke. His anxiety was so great, and his distress over their cries so
+keen, that I was quite unnerved, and as is often the case, I showed my
+concern by scolding and abusing the objects in whose behalf I was
+exerting myself.
+
+"I was all but ready to give up, when one of the smallest and liveliest
+of the puppies (a feminine creature, of course) suddenly seized upon the
+nipple of the bottle with a lusty grip, and sucked away till she was all
+but strangled with milk. Her example was speedily followed by the
+others, but before I had gone the rounds Duke comprehended that our
+trials were ended, and then--well, the dignified, sad-faced old doggie
+took leave of his wits, temporarily, as well as his dignity. He capered,
+he rolled on the ground, he barked, he bayed, he played leap-frog over
+my head, did everything but stand on end, and very nearly that, in his
+joy.
+
+"From that time on he never failed to be present when his infants were
+fed, and when I weaned them, and taught them to drink, he was an
+interested spectator; helpful too, for one time when a small dog was
+obdurate, he took him by the nape of the neck, and shook him thoroughly,
+before turning him over to me for another trial. On another occasion,
+the pig of the family drank too deep, as it were, from the flowing bowl,
+and might have been drowned had it not been for his watchful parent.
+Duke noticed that the small fore-quarters were plunged into the liquid
+dinner; he also observed that the hind quarters were slowly rising in
+midair. He watched all this, with his accustomed, kindly gravity, until
+the equilibrium was lost, and Master Pup plunged into the pearly sea.
+Then the startled father leaped to his feet, snatched his offspring from
+a milky grave, and laid him, sneezing and choking, sadder and wiser, on
+the sunny grass-plat to dry.
+
+"In due time Duke recovered, in a measure, from his grief over Lady's
+death, and took unto himself another partner. As is usual in the case of
+widowers, his second choice was injudicious, for Fanchon was a giddy,
+young thing, that didn't have sense enough to come in out of the rain.
+
+"But Duke saw no defects; he was all tenderness and attention.
+
+"It was early winter, but the weather was intensely cold, and we had
+taken Duke and Fanchon in from the stable, and had housed them
+comfortably in the cellar.
+
+"One night I was wakened out of a sound sleep by cries of distress. I
+called my sister and her husband, who were visiting me, and in various
+costumes, all hands went below. Fanchon was running about, crying and
+moaning, and Duke was alternately making frantic efforts to soothe her,
+and kiyiying in a manner that was fearful to hear. We succeeded at last
+in getting Fanchon to heed us, and coaxed her to settle down in a
+comfortable bed we made for her on the far side of the cellar, where she
+would have the benefit of the warmth from the furnace, and would be out
+of the way of the cold air which came in through a window, broken the
+day before.
+
+"As soon as she was pacified, Duke was again happy, and he cheerfully
+lay down to rest. We retired to our rooms, and being very weary, with
+much sightseeing during the day, dropped into a sound sleep. The next
+morning I hurried down into the cellar, wondering whether I should see
+two dogs, or a dozen. To my surprise and dismay, I saw none at all. The
+cellar was silent and deserted. I opened the outer door, and with a
+failing heart, stepped into the clear, bitter cold of a temperature
+something like fifteen degrees below zero. Just around the corner of the
+house, in a nook slightly sheltered from the biting air, I came upon the
+family. Fanchon lay upon the ground, the snow carefully pushed up around
+her, and her clinging little ones, who were taking their breakfast. Over
+all--Fanchon and her puppies--covering them with his faithful
+body--shielding them with his never-failing love and devotion, was my
+noble hound--as noble, as faithful a dog, as ever man or woman loved. I
+called to him, and rubbed him, but all in vain, and meanwhile stupid,
+silly Fanchon, that had foolishly left her warm bed in the cellar,
+looked on with cheerful indifference, and wagged her tail."
+
+"Well," said Mrs. Cynic, when I had concluded the reading, "that story
+seems to me to prove but one thing."
+
+"And what is that, pray?" I asked, realizing I had been foolish to read
+such a tale to such an auditor.
+
+"Why, the truth of Madame de Stael's remark: 'The more I see of men, the
+more I admire dogs.'"
+
+That hateful woman! She always leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I
+know she springs from some corrupt ancestry. She has all the marks of
+inward decay upon her.
+
+When she had gone, Mrs. Purblind and I breathed more freely.
+
+"She doesn't believe in anything good," said Mrs. Purblind.
+
+"No," I answered in a tone of disgust, "she has nothing within her to
+answer to it."
+
+"How different she is from Mrs. Earnest," continued Mrs. Purblind; "why,
+you can hardly convince that woman that anyone is really mean, and
+goodness knows she has trouble enough to make her bitter. What a husband
+she's got! That man makes me so mad! He's ugly from sheer badness."
+
+I thought for a moment, and then I assented. I really do believe that
+man is ugly without cause. He and his wife live at some distance from
+us, and I've often visited them. I should like to give you a scene to
+which I was witness one evening when I was a trifle ill, and lay on a
+divan just out of their dining room.
+
+Mrs. Earnest is like a delicate flower that lifts its pretty face and
+smiles in the sunlight of love, but is bowed and broken 'neath the
+thunder-cloud and storm. She longs to make her home attractive, but her
+husband has no sympathy with this desire; to him home is merely the
+place where he finds food and lodging, and a safety valve for such moods
+and tempers as he is obliged to keep under control in the business
+world.
+
+The efforts that this poor little wife makes, in her timid way, to start
+up pleasant subjects of conversation would move a rock to tears.
+
+This is the scene, as I recall it--a specimen scene.
+
+The family--husband, wife, and three little children were at dinner, as I
+said.
+
+"What's been happening to-day? anything of interest?" asked the little
+wife.
+
+"Not that I know of," was the gruff reply.
+
+Silence, broken by the occasional sound of eating implements, ensued.
+
+"Pass the bread, will you?" he said in a short tone, directly.
+
+"See how you like this bread; we are trying the entire wheat flour. I
+think it's very nice tasting, and they claim it's rich in nutrition.
+It's warranted to make blood, bone, and muscle--brain, too, I believe.
+I'm going to eat several pounds a day; I may astonish the world yet."
+
+This feeble joke was received in stolid silence, and the poor little
+wife crept into her shell.
+
+After a time she peeped out again, and made another effort.
+
+"I went to the womans' club this afternoon; Mrs. Pierson invited me.
+They had a very interesting meeting; they brought up the subject of
+smoke consumers. I never realized before how much property is ruined
+yearly by the smoke. It does seem as if manufacturers ought to use
+consumers."
+
+At this point Bruin openly yawned, and the little wife again retired.
+But with astonishing elasticity of courage she issued from her shell
+once more, this time with the hope that a more masculine theme would
+meet with some response.
+
+"They brought a petition around here to-day for us to sign. It seems
+there is some talk of flooring the reservoir and using it as a beer
+garden this coming summer, and the neighborhood has been called upon to
+protest against it."
+
+"I know all about that," he growled.
+
+"Have you signed it?"
+
+"I have."
+
+Again silence fell as a wet cloak upon them, and the little woman sat
+there racking her brains, almost depleted by this time, for the
+atmosphere which such a man as that creates is warranted to dry up all
+the intellectual juices.
+
+One more despairing effort. The children had now left the table, so
+anecdotes of them were in order. Probably the poor little wife thought
+that this man could be wakened into attention by a story about one of
+his children.
+
+"Mamie asked me where cats went to when they died. 'They don't go
+anywhere,' I said; 'when they die, that's the end of them.'
+
+"'Do they turn to dust?' she asked.
+
+"'Yes, just turn to dust,' I said.
+
+"'Why, then,' she exclaimed, and her eyes grew as big as saucers, 'when
+horses run 'long the streets, are they kicking up cats?'"
+
+All the man said was, "Umph," and the little wife's peal of merry
+laughter was checked, and the ha ha's grew fainter and spread farther
+and farther apart, until they died away altogether, and I felt like
+charging upon that burly, surly demon, and butting him out of the
+window.
+
+"How would you serve such a man, if you were his wife?" asked Mrs.
+Purblind.
+
+"_Roasted!_"
+
+
+
+
+                                 VIII
+
+
+Mr. Gregory's attentions had become an accepted fact in my life. They
+were dignified and steadfast, and I received them with a certain calm
+pleasure. They had not, as yet, reached the point of declaration, but it
+was clear to me, and to everyone else, who knew anything about the
+matter, that they were tending thither, and my own thought had reached
+the point of acceptance. I had the greatest respect for him as a man; we
+were congenial in our tastes, and personally agreeable to one another.
+The position he had to offer me was a most dignified, desirable one, as
+he was not only a man of sterling integrity, but also a man of wealth;
+there was, in short, everything in favor of the alliance, and I looked
+upon it quietly, but with a sense of substantial, and steadfast comfort.
+
+Such an event as a marriage cannot even in prospect, face a thoughtful
+woman without making a great change in her life. Mr. Gregory was that
+type of man who ought not to be allowed to offer himself in a direction
+where there was no intention of acceptance, for his character and age--he
+was fifty or more--forbade all thought of lightness or trifling, and gave
+one the assurance that any marked attention he might show, was
+significant. My acquaintance with him had extended over several years,
+and during this period there had been abundant opportunity, on both
+sides, for study of character.
+
+In a quiet way, I had been arranging my affairs, preparatory to my
+expected change in manner of life. I had, as a matter of course, done
+considerable thinking during this time. I had experienced none of the
+rapture always associated with a romantic attachment, but I was quietly
+happy, and this condition was a far more natural one for me, with my
+cool, matter-of-fact temperament--a far more promising one, in respect to
+future enjoyment, I felt, than something more ecstatic.
+
+I had seen but little of Mr. Chance for some weeks. He had called
+several times, but on each of these occasions, we had passed a somewhat
+constrained, and I thought, a rather dull evening. Just why this
+constraint should have crept into our intercourse when we seemed to be
+coming to a better understanding than heretofore, and were beginning to
+enjoy a warmer degree of friendship than we had known, I could not
+understand; but its presence was undeniable, and it spoiled everything
+for me, as far as he was concerned, causing me to look upon his calls in
+the light of a bore, rather than as a pleasure, as I once had done.
+Occasionally a memory of that evening when he came to my rescue, as the
+hungry, cruel waves gathered like wolves about me, would flit across my
+mind, as a shadow may flit across a sunlit hill. Once in a long while I
+found myself dwelling upon the look he gave me that night, and this, and
+the memory of his touch, as he lifted me off the pier, would dim the
+sunshine of my cheerfulness. I could not have explained this to myself,
+and I never dwelt upon the thought; whether from disinclination, or from
+fear, I could not tell. I only knew that I always turned from it
+abruptly, and passed on to my plans affecting my life with Mr. Gregory.
+It was quite easy to plan in this direction, for there was nothing
+uncertain, as there might have been in the case of a younger man. Mr.
+Gregory was fixed in his tastes, and way of life; I, too, at my age, had
+formed settled habits, and this he knew; but, fortunately, in most
+directions, we were in harmony, and where we were not, we had fallen
+into a way of making certain concessions.
+
+So I had matters pretty well laid out; all my theories, born of years
+of close observation of affairs domestic, were now brought to bear on my
+own future. Secretly I esteemed myself a competent cook, when a husband
+was the dish under discussion. Mr. Gregory was not one to require any
+very complicated wisdom in the culinary art. A little gentle stewing; no
+strong seasoning; no violent changes or methods of any sort; but
+regularity, evenness; quiet affection; respect; comfort, and general
+conformance to taste and nature would be necessary, and I felt myself
+fully equal to it all.
+
+Matters had well-nigh culminated, for I had received a note from Mr.
+Gregory asking when I would be at home to him, and saying that he had a
+matter of great moment to both of us, to lay before me. I set an
+evening, and then awaited his coming without the slightest quickening of
+my pulse, but with a serenity and cheerfulness that appealed to my
+common sense as the surest forecast of happiness.
+
+Just at this juncture, a swift turn of the wind-cock, or some
+imprudence of diet, resulted in my taking cold--a most unusual procedure
+for me, and at the time of Mr. Gregory's call I was unable to see him,
+being confined to my bed, in the care of a doctor, who was fighting a
+case of threatened pneumonia.
+
+Mr. Gregory expressed his sincere regret, and the next day called again,
+and left flowers. These attentions were repeated daily, and soon after
+hearing of my improvement, he wrote me a letter in which he said that
+which he had intended to say on the evening of the day I fell ill. He
+did not request a reply; in fact, he asked me to withhold my answer
+until I should be able to see him in person. It would have been wiser,
+perhaps, he said, to have postponed any word on the subject until I had
+recovered, but he had found it difficult to delay the expression of his
+feeling toward me, and hence had written.
+
+This last rather surprised me, for Mr. Gregory had always seemed so
+unlikely to be swayed by impulse, or carried, in the slightest degree,
+beyond a point indicated by his judgment. It simply went to prove that
+the most regularly and smoothly laid-out man, if one may so express it,
+has unsuspected crooks and turns.
+
+I had no desire to answer the letter, being perfectly able and willing
+to wait until I should see him. In fact, instead of hastening the time
+for my acceptance, I rather delayed it, for I reached a point in my
+convalescence, when I was able to go down to the parlor, had I so
+wished, and still did not.
+
+Each day of my illness, a lovely bouquet of flowers had been left at my
+door. They came direct from the greenhouse, and were left without card,
+or sign of the giver. I had an eccentric little friend who was quite
+devoted to me, and was fond of keeping her left hand in darkest
+ignorance of the performances of its counterpart--the right hand--and I
+attributed this delicate and beautiful token of sympathy and affection
+to her; but, for some inexplicable reason, every morning when the
+flowers were brought to my room, and I took them in my hand, a strange
+feeling came over me--a feeling I had never had toward my little friend.
+
+Over two weeks had passed, and I was downstairs in the study. My nurse
+had gone out, my housekeeper was busy, and I was very lonely. I was
+standing at the window, looking westward. The sun had gone down in regal
+splendor. Some fete was in progression in the sky, for the attendants of
+the god of day were resplendent in attire. They had been marshalled from
+all quarters of the heavens, and their stately and solemn procession,
+brilliant with the most gorgeous red, royal purple, and dazzling gold,
+had caused my heart to dilate with awe and reverential admiration.
+
+The lake, stirred by the wonderful pageant, caught the many hues as they
+dropped from heaven, and tossed them on high in joyous, iridescent
+waves.
+
+The climax of majesty and beauty was reached, and then the convocation
+broke up--not suddenly, but slowly, and with gracious dignity. The sun
+sank into the waiting arms of the unknown; the lights of heaven faded,
+and the clouds slowly melted into dusk.
+
+The scene had stirred me as I am seldom stirred, and with the oncoming
+of night new thoughts and feelings rose from their lair, as strange and
+beautiful wild animals step from their caves into the deep mystery of
+darkness.
+
+My neighbor next door--Mrs. Thrush, sat on her broad, vine-clad gallery,
+rocking her little child in her arms. By her side sat her husband, with
+one arm thrown across her lap. He had laid his paper down, for the
+daylight was fading, and perhaps his thought was too happy to stoop to
+daily news. Softly the little wife and mother sang; she had a sweet home
+voice, and no music of orchestra ever moved me as did her lullaby.
+
+I was at that moment an intensely lonely woman. I thought of Mr.
+Gregory and my future, and still I was lonely.
+
+Far away to the east there was a low, long bank of clouds like a
+mountain range, and as the poetry and melody of the lullaby rose from
+the little nest on my left, and stole into my thought, I saw a faint
+light above this line; then a group of mist-like clouds that moved
+toward me. Slowly the gray haze, tinged with soft light, began to
+resolve itself into shadowy forms, and my heart stood still as, in some
+vague way, I traced a connection between the lullaby and the vision, and
+realized that a message was coming to me.
+
+I was perfectly calm, but with the calmness which is the outgrowth of an
+excitement so tense that it is still. As the vision floated nearer, I
+heard soft music--a crooning, yearning, soul-satisfying lullaby; I saw a
+little child, a mother, and a father. The child was as beautiful as an
+angel, and there was that in its face which made my eyes flood with
+tears, and my heart ache with yearning; the faces of the parents were
+too vague for me to recognize at first; then slowly, that of the mother
+became more distinct, and I saw _myself_ before me--myself, a wife and
+mother; the visible answer to my heart's deepest, most secret cry. Still
+the father's face was hidden, but as the vision floated by, he turned
+and looked at me--the vision wife--with a look I had seen before, and I
+uttered a cry as I recognized _Randolph Chance_.
+
+
+
+
+                                  IX
+
+
+As I cried out, I turned slightly and, for a moment, lost the picture.
+It was changed when again I saw it; Randolph Chance was still there, but
+he no longer advanced toward the vision wife--she had faded into mist; he
+came slowly toward me. There was a beautiful look on his face--I cannot
+describe it--it was too holy to translate into language; but I could feel
+it vibrate through my being until it set my very soul a-quivering. I had
+no power of resistance--no wish to resist. I almost think I went toward
+him, and he was as real to me as if he were in the flesh. I could feel
+him as he put his arm around my waist, and his face touched mine. The
+vision child had melted away; and we two were alone; I knew my heart
+then; I knew I loved this man.
+
+It was all over in a few moments, but such moments as make an eternity,
+for they wipe out the past, even as death blots out a life, and they
+open a door to the future. Up to that time I had never thought that,
+without my knowledge or intent, my heart could slip from me--had never
+dreamed that I, whose life had always been most commonplace--I, who had
+had my share of wooing, but had never felt an extra heart-beat because
+of it--no, never dreamed that I, this _I_, so practical and sensible,
+could be carried off my feet by a vision. A vision, was it? Yes, and yet
+real, too real in some ways, since it revealed my innermost thought. A
+vision! And yet, even now that it had melted into air, I was clinging to
+it, and instead of resenting its startling revelation of self, was
+dwelling upon it, and in it, with a delight beyond words.
+
+I sat there in my study, my head bent, and my hands loosely clasped in
+my lap, living it over and over again. Out of doors, the soft gray dusk
+had hushed the tired world in its arms. Within, the stillness of night
+had settled down upon the room. By and by the moon rose above the great
+waters of the lake, and on shore the trees were casting silent, solemn
+shadows, made visible by the soft, hazy light that lay between them.
+Once in a while a bird uttered its night cry, or some little brooding
+note, and over on the vine-clad gallery, Mrs. Thrush still crooned a
+lullaby to her little child, who lay asleep--soft and warm, on her
+mother-breast.
+
+I was no longer lonely, no longer shut out from it all--there was the
+bird on its nest; the little wife and mother in her home; and I--I was
+very near them--akin to them. I had seen myself in _my_ home, with my
+child, and my husband; I had felt his dear arms about me, and his dear
+face close to mine. I was no longer an alien. I, too, had a place in
+the heart of another.
+
+Still I sat and dreamed, and even the ringing of my door-bell failed to
+rouse me: but when I heard the maid say to someone:
+
+"She has been downstairs to-night, but I think she has gone up now, and
+I don't like to call her."
+
+I started forward, saying quickly:
+
+"No, I am here--I will see any one."
+
+And so he came in, but it was not the one I expected. It was Mr.
+Gregory.
+
+I think that he found my embarrassment on greeting him both gratifying
+and encouraging, but its cause was alien to his thought. I was brought
+back from another world, as it were, with a rude shock, and in my
+enfeebled condition, consequent upon a severe illness could not control
+myself. Indeed I did not feel that I was mistress of myself at any time
+during the evening.
+
+After a word or two, which I cannot recall, I stammered out:
+
+"I was not expecting you this evening--I had not sent for you."
+
+"I know that you have not," he answered--then dropping his voice a
+trifle, he added, "I could not wait any longer--I found it difficult to
+wait so long as this. I hardly dared hope that I might see you this
+evening, but I felt I must try."
+
+Intent upon sparing him the pain of a spoken declaration, I exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, Mr. Gregory, don't! please don't say anything more. I am not
+deserving of your esteem and kindness."
+
+He came nearer me, and his voice was at once tender and reverent, as he
+said:
+
+"You are more than worthy of what I have to offer, which is myself, and
+all that I have."
+
+"Don't!" I cried again; "don't say anything more! Let us imagine this
+unsaid!"
+
+"Such words can never be recalled," he said gravely.
+
+"They must be," I persisted; "I cannot accept! I have nothing to give in
+return!"
+
+A look of disappointment came over his face, and if I mistake not, it
+was shaded with displeasure. "I hardly expected this, Miss Leigh, I have
+hardly been led to expect this."
+
+"I know what you mean, Mr. Gregory," I replied, more calmly than I had
+spoken before; "I know that I have accepted your attentions--you have had
+every reason to expect a different answer. I'll not try to deceive you,
+or keep anything from you. I'll tell you that I have not been trifling.
+I have understood you for some time----"
+
+He interrupted me here.
+
+"Yes, you must have done so; my attentions to you could have but one
+interpretation, if I were a man of honor, and you knew I was that."
+
+"I did, indeed," I exclaimed. And then my mind went, with a flash like
+lightning, to Randolph Chance, and I felt a sudden resentment. Had not
+he shown me attentions that no man of honor can bestow upon a woman,
+unless he wishes to make her his wife? Why had he left me in this
+strait? Why had he not spoken out? Why had he not claimed before the
+world that which he had taken such pains to win? I was uncertain about
+Randolph Chance; I had never been uncertain about Mr. Gregory. Why?
+Because I had perfect confidence in his honor. Was he not the better
+man--the more trustworthy? Why could I not marry him? I loved another
+man. A wave of shame and anger swept my face.
+
+"I have all along been expecting to marry you. I have not been
+trifling," I cried out.
+
+He stepped forward, and took my hand. It was as cold as ice.
+
+"What is it then, Constance, that has changed you? Have I done anything
+since your illness to make you think less of me?"
+
+I trembled from head to foot, and my lips were so stiff and dry that
+they scarce would do my bidding. I must have spoken very indistinctly.
+
+"No--no," I said slowly; "I will tell you everything--I have done you a
+wrong, an unintentional wrong, but I will do penance--I have seen myself
+to-night--" I paused here; Mr. Gregory was a practical man; had I told
+him that a vision had changed my attitude, he would have thought me
+insane. I myself had begun to entertain doubts as to my sanity. "I know
+myself now," I faltered, "I know my heart--I love another man."
+
+Mr. Gregory rose, and began pacing the floor.
+
+"This surprises me greatly," he said at length; "there must have been
+another courtship--it would seem that you must have known something of
+how matters were tending."
+
+"I have known nothing until to-night. There has been no courtship, in
+the ordinary acceptation of that word--I'll tell you all, even if it
+humbles me completely, as a penalty for what I have done to you. The
+man I love--" I could feel the blood mantling my face and neck, "has
+never addressed me."
+
+Mr. Gregory paused, and looked at me.
+
+"This is extraordinary," he said.
+
+"It is--I know it is--it is most of all so to me, for it is wholly unlike
+what I have been all my life."
+
+"Let us not talk of this any more to-night, Miss Leigh," he said, with
+evident relief; "I have been wrong to press this matter now, when you
+are hardly recovered. You are not yourself. This is something
+transitory, no doubt. Later on, you may feel differently."
+
+"No, no!" I exclaimed eagerly, "now that we have begun, let us say it
+all. Don't--I beg of you, don't go away with a feeling that I don't know
+my mind. I am weak and miserable to-night--" here the tears choked my
+voice, and I all but broke down, "but I am miserable because I have
+learned my true feeling, and know that I must disappoint----"
+
+I could not go on, and again he sat down beside me and took my hand.
+
+"I cannot understand you," he said simply.
+
+"I can't understand myself," I replied; "but all this is none the less
+real for that. I have learned of it to-night, but it has existed before;
+it explains many things in the past year."
+
+"If that is the case, then I must accept your decision as final."
+
+"It is, indeed," I answered briefly.
+
+He rose, and walked the room in silence again; then pausing once more,
+he said calmly, and with no trace of anger.
+
+"This is the disappointment of my life."
+
+I said nothing. What could I say? To utter any platitudes about being
+sorry, would have been to insult him.
+
+"A man cannot live to my age--I am fifty-two, Miss Leigh--without
+experiencing disappointment, but I have known nothing equal to this."
+
+He paced the room a few moments, and then said:
+
+"This interview must be distressing to you. I am very sorry I brought
+it about before you were strong and well."
+
+"Say one thing before you go, Mr. Gregory," I cried, "only say that you
+don't think I have willfully misled you--say that you respect me still."
+
+His face was stirred by a slight quiver, as a placid lake is stirred by
+an impulse of the evening air.
+
+"You have had, and you always will have my deepest respect, and my
+deepest affection."
+
+He took my hand silently, and then quietly left the room.
+
+And I sat there until I heard the front door close. Then I went
+upstairs, but I remember nothing after reaching the first landing.
+
+They found me lying there. They said I must have fainted.
+
+
+
+
+                                   X
+
+
+I was badly upset for several days. For a time I resolutely put all
+thought of what had occurred from my mind, but as soon as I felt able, I
+sat down, with the whole matter before me, as it were, and deliberately
+looked it in the face. I think I never felt more inane in my life than
+when I remembered my folly, as I now regarded it. All that saved me from
+utter self-abasement was the fact that it had occurred at a time when I
+was at such a low ebb physically, by reason of illness. I determined to
+try to forget it, as speedily as possible. But, however keenly I felt
+the humiliation and folly of my emotion upon that strange night, it
+never occurred to me to waver, when recalling my decision to bring
+matters between Mr. Gregory and myself to an end. My refusal of him had
+been brought about by one cause, and only one--that I fully realized; and
+now that I had repudiated the cause, I might have been expected to
+reconsider the refusal. But I did not.
+
+Soon after I was up and about once more, I learned that my little friend
+had not sent the flowers. I thought--no, I did not think! but I cherished
+secretly a--well, no! I cherished _nothing_ in secret or in public!
+
+I learned something else, soon after getting up, and this was that a
+story was going the rounds to the effect that Mr. Gregory had broken our
+engagement--and my disappointment had well-nigh occasioned me a relapse.
+But in a twinkling, almost before I had time to get indignant, Mrs.
+Catlin was running about, telling everybody that Mr. Gregory had
+confided in her, in strictest confidence, the truth of the matter,
+which was that I had ended the affair, and not he.
+
+I was much moved by this manly act on Mr. Gregory's part. He showed his
+shrewdness, too; he could not announce this in public, or go to people
+one by one, so he confided it to Mrs. Catlin, and told her not to tell.
+
+One Sabbath evening about ten o'clock, I began to lock up the house.
+Early retirement is something all but unknown to me, but that night,
+having no particular reason for sitting up, I was about to indulge in it
+as a novelty.
+
+I raised the shade of one of the study windows, with intent to draw the
+bolt, but my hand paused in the act, for my eyes were captured by a
+scene of surpassing beauty. Fall had lately swept her gorgeous leaves
+one side, and closed her doors for the season, and we were now standing
+on the threshold of winter. The early snows are apt to be soft and
+clinging; it is later on, usually, when the thermometer takes a plunge
+downward, that they become crisp and hard. It is seldom, however, at any
+time of year that the atmospheric conditions are favorable to such a
+creation as I beheld that night. I hardly know just what is necessary to
+make it all--a still, moderate cold, and a very humid air are among the
+most important conditions, I believe.
+
+When I stepped outside my door early in the evening, the air all about
+me seemed to be snow, not separated into flakes, but diffused evenly.
+Altogether it had the effect of a heavy white fog, and I could see even
+then, that it was settling in visible, palpable, feathery forms, not
+only upon the ground, but upon every bush and tree as well. It was a
+most unusual scene, and I gazed at it long and admiringly; but having no
+fondness for walking through soft, clinging snow, I was not enticed to
+sally forth, as I always am when the snow is firm and sparkling.
+
+But by ten o'clock the temperature had changed, and in the cooler air
+the almost imperceptible melting of the snow had been stayed.
+
+The white carpet that had slowly been sinking, was now stationary, and
+was covered by a firm crust that gleamed in the moonlight. There was no
+sparkle on the trees, but the feathery tufts and pinions had ceased
+floating to the ground, and melting into air. The scene, in all its
+matchless beauty, was arrested--held upon nature's canvas for a few
+hours, by the Master hand.
+
+Stay in doors that night! Would I be so wicked as to turn my back, or
+close my eyes upon one of the most delectable scenes that ever a kind
+Providence spread before the soul of human creature! Would I
+deliberately slight such an exhibition of love and marvelous skill? Not
+I!
+
+It didn't take me long to catch up hat and jacket, and with a heart that
+beat high, slip from my house, as a greyhound slips the leash, and hie
+me away.
+
+What mattered it that the neighborhood lights were raised--a story, at
+least--and that the owners of all the villas near at hand, were preparing
+for decorous, temporary retirement. I merely pitied them for their
+stupidity, and went my way. I had long been a law unto myself, and while
+I did not believe in flaunting my independence in their faces, I none
+the less continued to enjoy it.
+
+There are nights when to sleep would be the sin of an ingrate; 'twould
+be like gathering up the good things of Providence, and hurling them
+from out the window, in reckless waste. And this night was such a one.
+
+The keen air, and the entrancing beauty about me, seemed to run in a
+subtle, fascinating torrent through my veins, and lend me wings. I felt
+as though I were buoyed up by magic hands; I hardly think I set foot on
+ground the whole way, and yet I must, for I was conscious of a crisp
+crackle of the snow at every step.
+
+Oh, is there any sound just like it! Could our poor invalids but pitch
+their nostrums over the wall, and take this tonic instead!
+
+Some friends of mine moved a while ago and drove their family stake in a
+spot far off from here. They are continually writing me of a region of
+perpetual sunshine and summer. I thought of them on this glorious night,
+and pitied them from the depths of my heart, as I often have, indeed,
+since they went out there. Theirs is the place for the extremely
+indigent, no doubt, but for any one who can command a dollar or so for
+fuel, this--this is the land of delight.
+
+I was at no loss as to direction; our suburb was beautiful throughout,
+especially all along by the lake, but there was one place in particular,
+where art and nature had joined hands, with a result indescribable.
+Toward these grounds I hastened, on this particular night.
+
+Oh, the glory of that moon! the glory of the lake! an undulating sea of
+waves, each crested with a feather, as soft, as snowy in the moonlight,
+as the tinier ones that hung upon the trees.
+
+I ran down the winding avenue--the white fog still lingered in the deep
+places, but above, all was clear and glorious. Erelong I entered the
+Dunham's grounds. At a certain point, unmarked to the stranger's eye, a
+rustic flight of stairs, now strewn with dead leaves--padded with snow as
+well, to-night, dips down from the broad driveway. Quickly I made my way
+by this path, and erelong, stood upon one of the little rustic bridges
+spanning the ravine, and connecting with a similar flight of ascending
+stairs upon the other side. There I paused, and well I might. It were a
+dull, plodding creature indeed, who would not be spellbound by such a
+scene! On either hand were the sloping wooded sides of the ravine whose
+depths were shrouded in the mysterious whiteness of the fog; above me, a
+short distance in front, was the arch of the broad, picturesque bridge
+with which the driveway spans the hollow. The little rustic bridge on
+which I stood was much lower than the larger one; hence, from my
+position, I looked through the archway, beyond, down, and far along the
+ravine. Can you call up fairyland to your mental eye? It would pale
+before this scene--those feathery trees! that enchanting vista! I stood
+there drinking it in, and pitying the sleeping world. I could not, even
+in thought, express my delight and gratitude for being permitted to
+behold such beauty, but finally a familiar line leaped from my lips:
+
+    "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
+
+I can never forget that night; it kindled and warmed my heart with a
+reverential fire. If, in the course of years, my way should be overcast;
+if, for a time, I should let the artificial--the ignoble, clog the path,
+and shut me out from the light of heaven, even then I shall be saved
+from doubt, which is always engendered by our stupidity--the things of
+our own manufacture--I shall be saved from doubt by the sweet, pure,
+radiant memory of that winter, moonlight scene. Only a beneficent God
+could create such beauty.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XI
+
+
+On my way back--at what dissipated hour I firmly decline to state--I
+passed a home with an interesting history tacked thereto.
+
+The leading events were brought me by one of those active, inquisitive
+little birds that find out all sorts of things, and often fetch from
+great distances.
+
+The couple who live there, though Americans, once lived in Winnipeg,
+Manitoba, and it was in that place that the husband fell to drinking.
+The little bird above alluded to--the bird that acts as a kind of
+domestic ferret--told me that, in the early years of their married life,
+the wife was of an excitable, hysterical temperament, and given to
+making scenes. Just here let me digress a moment to erect a warning
+signboard. I have a friend who is busy mixing and administering a deadly
+draught to her domestic happiness, and yet does not know it. She has
+only been married a year, and she uses tears and scenes, in general, as
+instruments to pull from her husband the attention, affection, and
+devotion she craves. The tug waxes increasingly hard, but she has not,
+as yet, sense enough to see that, and desist. She cannot realize that
+the success attained by such methods is but the temporary and external
+beauty, which, in reality, covers a failure of the most hopeless type,
+just as the flush on the consumptive's cheek is but a pitiable
+counterfeit, and covers a fatal disease.
+
+Whether in this particular story, the report of the wife's early
+blunders be true or false, there seems to be no doubt that presently the
+husband grew careless and indifferent; that scene followed scene
+between them, until at last he went to drinking. Then the little wife
+waxed sober, thoughtful, and studied much within herself. This awful
+sorrow, following so closely upon the heels of her wedding-day joy,
+matured her judgment--her womanhood, and she began to use every skillful
+device to call back her husband from the dark paths he had chosen, to
+the light. All in vain, however; and when she realized this, after
+several years of heroic effort, she made one last scene, and told him
+she was going to leave him. Then his old-time tenderness returned--if you
+can compare a tenderness which was blurred and cringing, with that which
+was clear and manly. He begged and promised in vain, however, for she
+had lost faith, and a lost faith is not found again for many a day.
+
+So she went off, and she covered all traces and signs so carefully that
+no anxious, heartbroken effort of his could find her. Meanwhile she
+wrote him frequently and regularly, and although he knew not where to
+send reply, it is quite likely she had word of him from some one to whom
+she had given her confidence in this dreary time.
+
+And so five years passed, and at their close she walked into her home
+one day, and her husband--a man once more, took her in his arms, and
+looked his love and joy with clear, honest eyes.
+
+They came to our city, or rather this little suburb of our city, soon
+afterward, and although it is well-nigh ten years now that they have
+been among us, there has never been a hint of trouble. Hers was a unique
+method, but it brought about the desired end.
+
+Verily it would seem that for some dinners, it is best for the cook to
+vanish, and leave the dishes to get themselves.
+
+I was meditating on this as I walked home that night, and the next
+morning, stirred by the recollection of all I had seen and felt, was
+moved to write out a story given me by a young man--a friend of mine, who
+lives at a great distance from here, on an olive ranch out of Los Gatos,
+California.
+
+I wish I could give you this little tale just as he told it. I can't, I
+know, but I'll do my best in trying.
+
+Mrs. Purblind dropped in just as I was reading it over to myself, before
+my study fire.
+
+"Do you remember my story about Duke?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, I liked it," she said, "though I'm not very partial to dogs."
+
+"I have one here about horses. I've written it out as nearly as possible
+as my friend told it to me, but so much flavor is lost when these things
+change hands. Here it is, and I think that the lamentation David sang
+over Saul, might head it.
+
+"A while ago we owned a couple of horses--work horses, and yet, by reason
+of the strength of their affections, they were lifted from out the
+commonplace, and enveloped with an atmosphere of romance that gave them
+the flavor of a story book, plumb full of princes and heroes. And by the
+way, Prince was the name of one of them, and he was a genuine hero, as
+you will see. His mate was called Nelly, and albeit she was as awkward
+and as angular as the ideal old maid, vastly inferior to Prince, who was
+a fine-looking chap, yet his admiration for her was unbounded. She cared
+for him, I'm sure, but she was less demonstrative; more coquettish, I
+would say, if she hadn't been too homely a beast to think of, in
+connection with such a word.
+
+"They were brought up together; were taught by the same master; sat on
+the same bench, in a figurative sense; were lovers from the very first.
+Prince certainly had the most elegant manners; Nelly was his first
+thought, at all times, and his courtesy to her savored of the old
+school. He wouldn't go into the shed of a cold, rainy day and leave
+Nelly outside; but if she went in, he was more than content to follow.
+When it was necessary to separate them--we couldn't always work them
+together--we had to tie Prince with ropes and cables, as it were, to hold
+him fast. Nelly was less difficult to manage; at least, she would let
+him go out of sight without fretting, and yet, after all, she seemed
+easier if he were at hand. I remember, one day, he was tied in front of
+the house, and she was loose, grazing near by. As long as he could see
+her, all went well enough, but the moment she sauntered around the
+fence, he began first to fidget, then to paw and neigh, and finally to
+struggle, until in the end, he broke loose and rushed after his
+inamorata. And what a time he made over her! whinnying, and
+demonstrating his delight in a dozen different ways. She? oh, she took
+it coolly, but that was all feminine bosh, or coquetry on her part. She
+liked to have him near her well enough.
+
+"There was an amusing thing happened one day, down in the field. Father
+and I were plowing with Nell. We had tied Prince to a tree, the other
+side of the knoll we were working on, and supposed he was fast, but to
+our surprise, just as we turned, after finishing a long furrow, we
+confronted the gentleman, tree and all, standing before us in a weak and
+fainting condition. He had struggled until he had uprooted the whole
+business, and was so used up in consequence, that he could hardly
+stagger, much less go into his usual hysterics over Nell. She looked as
+amazed as we did, and I've no doubt gave him a sound curtain lecture on
+his folly that night.
+
+"One day father and Ned took Prince down into the field. Steve and I
+stayed up near the house, working around the vineyard. Nelly was in the
+stable.
+
+"The morning was half gone, when all at once Steve happened to turn
+around, and look down the hill.
+
+"'Gosh, Jack!' he exclaimed, 'the barn's afire.'
+
+"I gave one startled look, and then ran for the hose.
+
+"'Get Nelly out!' I cried to Steve; but after a second look, I called,
+'No, don't you do it! Let her go! it's too late!'
+
+"'I won't let her go!' he shouted; 'do you think I'll stand by and see
+Nelly burned to death!'
+
+"'You'd be a fool to go in now! Look at that stable! Here! Stand back!
+Have you lost your wits?'
+
+"'Let me go!' he cried; 'Jack, get out of the way!'
+
+"But I threw him down and held him. I was bigger than he; older, and
+cooler-headed too.
+
+"'There, I give in,' he said in a moment; 'it's wicked to lose time this
+way. Let me up, Jack, and we'll get the hose. I promise you I won't go
+in.'
+
+"We ran for the hose, and turned on all the water we could command, and
+by this time mother and the servant girl had come from the house, and
+were helping us.
+
+"We could hear Nelly struggling in her stall, and I tell you it made us
+sick! Unluckily we had chained her, in anticipation of her trying to get
+loose, and go after Prince. She'd never been left at home this way
+before, and we'd taken extra pains to secure her.
+
+"The stable doors were fastened by a heavy bolt; again and again I tried
+to push it back, but it was so fiery hot I couldn't touch it, and when I
+tried to hammer it, the flames drove me off.
+
+"There was nothing for it but to leave poor Nelly to her fate. It seemed
+as if she divined our intent, for, as we turned away, she uttered a
+piercing scream. Mother burst into tears.
+
+"'I can't stand it,' she said, covering her ears.
+
+"Again and again Nelly's voice rang out. Steve stood there, his face
+drawn and white. All at once he took out his watch.
+
+"'It's twelve o'clock!' he cried; 'father'll be home in a moment, and
+if Prince hears Nelly he'll go mad. Head 'em off, Jack!'
+
+"I didn't wait for another word, but ran with all my might down the road
+by which they always came.
+
+"As fate would have it, they had chosen the other one that day, and were
+well along, before I caught sight of them. Father had taken Prince out
+of the plow, and harnessed him to a little single-seated gig we had. He
+was driving him, and Ned was walking behind. I saw Steve running toward
+them, but he was still at a distance.
+
+"'Father,' I yelled at the top of my voice, 'stop! father! the stable's
+on fire. Turn Prince back. Nelly is burning!'
+
+"Father didn't seem to understand, for although he listened, he kept
+driving slowly on.
+
+"I shouted again, running toward them, and gesticulating frantically.
+All at once Ned caught my meaning, and bounding like a deer in front of
+the gig, grabbed Prince by the head to turn him, but at that very moment
+a terrible scream from poor Nelly split our ears, and in less time than
+it takes to tell there was a maddened horse plunging in midair, with
+four strong men clinging to him, trying to hold him back.
+
+"'Let him go, boys! Let him go!' shouted father; 'it's no use! Let him
+go, I tell you! He'll kill us all!'
+
+"'Oh, God! I can't let the old fellow burn up!' sobbed Steve.
+
+"But Prince had begun to lay about him with his teeth, and father
+knocked Steve down to get him out of the way.
+
+"I believe we all sobbed, as we watched the old hero go up that hill and
+into the stable; Nelly was quiet now, and the doors were down.
+
+"We heard him groan once or twice, and then mother came to meet us, and
+took us all into the house.
+
+"It's out yonder--the monument we put up. It's over both of them."
+
+"Well, what has that horse story to do with men?" asked a sneering
+voice, when I had finished my little tale, and Mrs. Purblind and I were
+sitting silent.
+
+I turned, and to my astonishment and disgust saw Mrs. Cynic, who had
+come in quietly, unobserved by me, as I was reading.
+
+I should not have answered her a word, but Mrs. Purblind thought to
+avert an awkward situation, so she said:
+
+"It illustrates the devotion of the masculine nature, I suppose."
+
+"In horses? Yes; it's a pity that it hasn't been evoluted into men."
+
+"It has," I answered curtly, "for those who are capable of seeing and
+appreciating it."
+
+This probably made her angry, for she turned on me with her most evil
+expression:
+
+"It's a mystery to me why, with your overweening admiration for the
+other sex, you haven't married, Miss Leigh. You must have had countless
+opportunities; child-like faith, such as yours, must be very attractive
+to them."
+
+I stared at her a moment in silence; her insolence stupefied me. Then I
+think I opened the nearest window, and pitched her out. Mrs. Purblind
+insists I did not do that, exactly, but that I got rid of her. As she
+hasn't been in since, a desirable result was obtained, and I don't much
+care what the method may have been.
+
+I aired my house the rest of the day, having a wish to cleanse it, and
+protect my moral nature, much as one would rid a place of sewer gas, to
+protect the physical being.
+
+I was not in a very good temper after all this, and it annoyed me to see
+Randolph Chance coming in before taking his train. He had been calling
+oftener than usual of late, but he didn't seem to have much to say, and
+so his coming gave no especial pleasure.
+
+To-day what talk we had ran on flowers for a time, when Mr. Chance,
+awkwardly and out-of-placedly, asked me how I liked the _Reve d'or_
+rose. This was the kind of rose I had received every morning, during my
+illness.
+
+I looked at him inquiringly. I confess my heart was beating faster.
+
+He flushed, and said abruptly:
+
+"You must have known I sent you those."
+
+"I did not," I answered rather coldly; "there was no card or note with
+them."
+
+"I thought you'd know," he said with increasing embarrassment; and then
+he added, almost desperately, "you must know, Constance, that I love
+you."
+
+"I know nothing," I replied, drawing myself up haughtily; "I take
+nothing of this kind for granted. If you want me to understand, you must
+come out openly."
+
+"I have done enough, surely," he said, "enough to lead you to guess the
+truth."
+
+"I guess nothing of this sort!" I reiterated; "what right have you to
+place me in this position? What right have you, or any other man to
+deprive a woman of one of her dearest privileges--that of being wooed?"
+
+"Constance!" he cried, and all his embarrassment was gone, "aren't there
+a thousand ways of saying 'I love you?' and haven't I said it in every
+way but one?"
+
+"That one was the most important of all," I answered; "I would have
+given more to hear those words than to receive every other token."
+
+His face lighted up with a sudden flash, and he started impulsively
+toward me.
+
+"Then you _do_ love me, my darling--I have hardly dared to hope."
+
+But I drew back, and answered passionately,
+
+"No, I do not! I love no man who can trifle with a young girl, or any
+woman--no man who has the effrontery to expect some one to take for
+granted a courtship that has never existed!"
+
+"For Heaven's sake, what _do_ you mean?"
+
+"Go to Miss Sprig and inquire; she has more reason to take your love
+for granted than I."
+
+"I'll not go to her, but I shall leave you," he said, with a white face.
+"You certainly don't care for me, or you would never deal me such an
+unjust thrust as this."
+
+And then I heard him close the front door. I think the neighborhood
+heard him.
+
+I walked to the window. He was gone.
+
+I told myself I was glad of it--that a good lesson had been taught.
+
+Which of us was teacher remained somewhat obscure.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XII
+
+
+It might reasonably be supposed that the event last narrated disturbed
+my life. It did in a measure, and for a time, but I was not very long in
+bringing it back to its accustomed channel.
+
+Strange as it may seem, although we lived across the street from one
+another, I saw nothing of Mr. Chance for many weeks. Perhaps it is not
+strange though, after all, since each of us was taking pains to avoid
+the other, and we knew each other's habits of life pretty well by this
+time.
+
+But if I didn't see him, I heard of him frequently enough, for Mrs.
+Purblind rarely ever met me without saying something about "Dolph," as
+she called him. She was exceedingly fond of him, and with good cause,
+for he was a most affectionate, thoughtful, unselfish brother. He was
+very different from her, and they were not confidential friends, when
+serious matters were concerned, but they were companionable,
+nevertheless.
+
+It is not likely Mrs. Purblind realized that she was shut out from
+something that deeply concerned her brother; but she worried about him.
+She was certain he was ill--he had little appetite, and was in no way
+like himself, she said. Miss Sprig wondered what had come over him.
+
+I believe Mrs. Purblind must have been deaf as well as blind, otherwise
+the neighborhood gossip regarding Mr. Chance and myself, which was rife
+a year ago, would certainly have reached her. Evidently she had heard
+nothing, and she continued to keep my innermost breast in a secret
+ferment, by pouring her fears and speculations into my ear. She even
+confided in me that she had for a long time suspected the existence of
+an affair between Miss Sprig and her brother, but this young woman
+declared that he never paid her the slightest attention of a matrimonial
+character; that he'd been very kind to her, very jolly, and friendly,
+but that was all.
+
+I think that if Mount Vesuvius had leaped out of me, and taken its
+departure, I could scarce have felt more relieved. I really had been
+harboring a volcano for some time, and it was a hot tenant.
+
+Shortly after hearing this latter piece of Mrs. Purblind's news, another
+bit was added.
+
+"Dolph has gone away," she said, one day; "left suddenly, this morning.
+He confessed to being played out, and I'm sure he looks it. He's gone on
+to Buffalo, to brother Dave's."
+
+That night I sat down and wrote a letter; when one has done wrong, his
+first conscious act should be to confess.
+
+I was in a trying position; one is at such a time. Two months had
+elapsed, and Mr. Chance might have changed his mind and intent. Men do,
+occasionally; women, too. And indeed he never had asked me to marry him.
+True, that is the supposition when a man, with any real manhood about
+him, tells a woman he loves her--when he shows her marked attentions, in
+fact; but, as I said to Mr. Chance, I did not intend to take such things
+for granted. I had not changed in that respect. I had, however, become
+convinced that I was harsh and unjust to him. It is a blundering teacher
+who takes badness in a child for granted--does not wait for proof. It is
+an inspired teacher who ignores the bad sometimes, even after it has
+been proven. To think the worst, so some of the psychologists tell us,
+will often create the worst. Even a cook does well to make the most of
+her materials. Her dishes will be likely to turn out ill, if she treats
+the ingredients with disrespect. It would seem that I, who had in a
+manner made a specialty of matrimonial cookery, had something yet to
+learn. Randolph Chance had given me a lesson.
+
+In my letter, I said that time and thought had shown me I had done him a
+wrong, and that I was very sorry; that, no doubt, he had changed in some
+feelings, and it was, perhaps, not likely we should meet very soon; but
+that I wished him to know I realized my mistake, and that I was still
+his friend.
+
+The second day after I had written, I heard from him; our letters were
+penned the same night, and must have crossed each other. In his he said
+he had held off as long as he could, but was coming right back from
+Buffalo to see me. He was certain he could explain everything; he had
+nothing to hide, and he hoped I would let him tell me what was in his
+heart; that for months he had known but one real wish, one real
+aspiration--to win me for his wife. He begged me to let him begin anew,
+and make an effort to attain this great end.
+
+That evening, in the gloaming, I was at my study window. I could look
+into the parlor of the Thrush home. A shadow had fallen upon that dear
+nest; one of the little birdies had flown away, but it was now forever
+sheltered from all storms in the dear Christ's bosom, so all was well.
+The gentle little mother was nearly crushed at first, even more so than
+the father, though he felt the loss deeply; but erelong she lifted her
+sweet face, and smiled through her tears. And now, at the end of two
+weeks, she was to her husband, at least, as cheerful as ever, even more
+tender, and she made the home as bright as before. So many women are
+selfish in their grief, unwise too. They act as if their husbands were
+aliens, and did not share the sorrow. It is true the man usually
+recovers sooner than the woman from such a blow, but no one should blame
+him for that. His nature is different, necessarily different; not in
+kind, but in degree. It has to be; his is the outside battle; he must
+needs be rugged. But "a man's a man for a' that," and the woman who
+shuts him out in the hour of bereavement, or who darkens the home
+continuously, and overcasts its good cheer, is both selfish and foolish.
+In such cases husband and wife are parted, instead of being brought
+nearer to one another, as they should be when they have a little
+ambassador in the court of Heaven.
+
+My heart was very tender that evening, and as I sat beside the glowing
+fire, before the lamps were lighted, my thoughts ran to Mrs. Purblind.
+The poor little woman had seemed sad of late, and I guessed, without
+word from her, that it was because her husband was going out so much at
+night. I did wish she could see some things as they really were.
+
+She sat there with me that evening--in spirit, at least, on the opposite
+side of the fireplace, and her mournful face touched me deeply.
+
+"He doesn't seem to care for his home," she said sadly.
+
+"Make him care for it. Man is a domestic animal. If he doesn't stay at
+home, something is wrong."
+
+"I do all I can," she answered in a dull tone.
+
+"No doubt you do now," I said; "but learn more, and then you will
+improve."
+
+"I was looking over some trunks in the attic to-day, and I came across
+my wedding gown. It called up so much! I can't get over it--" and she
+sobbed aloud.
+
+I couldn't speak just then. The tears were too near.
+
+"Oh, when first I wore that gown, how happy I was, and how I looked
+forward to the future! Everything was bright then, but now it's so
+changed that I'd hardly know it was the same--it isn't the same--I'm not
+the same, either----"
+
+Here she broke down again.
+
+I leaned over, and laid my hand on hers. You know she wasn't really
+there; the real Mrs. Purblind seldom talked over her affairs with me,
+but I could feel what she was suffering, none the less.
+
+"I want to tell you something, if I may," I said.
+
+She assented in a dumb sort of fashion, and I leaned a little nearer.
+
+The firelight gleamed on the walls, and in its glow the pictures looked
+down kindly upon us. Soft shadows rested in the corners of the room, and
+an air of peace and comfort brooded throughout, as a bird upon her nest.
+
+"Think a little while," I said gently; "think of his side. Is he quite
+the same as he was when he married?"
+
+"Oh, no!" she exclaimed; "he was so loving and attentive then."
+
+"Had he any hopes and plans? Enthusiasm? Did life look bright to him?"
+
+A serious look traversed her face, as though she were entertaining a new
+thought.
+
+"Look at him as he used to be," I continued.
+
+And as I spoke, she saw that a young man with a fresh, sunny face--a
+healthy, happy, care-free face--was sitting in the ruddy firelight.
+
+She gave a start.
+
+"That is Joe as he used to be!" she said. "Oh, how he's changed!"
+
+Even as she spoke, the young man faded away, and an older man--much
+older, apparently, careworn, and unhappy-looking--took his place.
+
+The coals in the glowing grate sank, and the bright light suddenly died.
+A deep shadow rested upon the figure beside us; he was with us, and yet
+seemed so alone.
+
+"Who would think a man could change that way in ten years!" exclaimed
+Mrs. Purblind; "would you believe it possible?"
+
+"Not unless he had known many disappointments, and borne loads and cares
+beyond his years."
+
+"I have never thought of that," she murmured, "I believe poor Joe has
+been disappointed too."
+
+"He certainly has."
+
+"It's too bad, and there's no help for it now," she added with a sob.
+
+"Don't say that," I urged, laying my hand on hers again; "you close the
+gate of heaven when you say 'no hope.' There is always hope as long as
+there is a spark of life--any physician will tell you that. If you can be
+patient--be strong to bear, and wait--if you can make home bright, and not
+care, or not seem to care if he slights it and you, for weeks--months,
+maybe years--it takes so much longer to undo, than to do--there is _every_
+hope. He couldn't do this, but a woman--a real woman, is strong enough,
+with God on her side."
+
+The dullness left her face, and an unselfish light dawned in its place.
+As she rose to go, she leaned over the other figure, and he looked up at
+her, with something of the old-time love.
+
+I replenished the fire after they had gone--they went out together--and as
+I sat there thinking of it all, I heard a sudden rushing sound in the
+street.
+
+I ran to the door, just in time to see a farm wagon, drawn by two strong
+horses, go pell-mell past my house, and overturn, as the frightened
+animals dashed around the corner. The neighborhood was agog in a moment,
+and I joined the rest in trying to help the occupants of the broken
+vehicle. We brought them into the house--the man and woman and a little
+child.
+
+As soon as they were in the light, I knew them; they were some of my
+people--a German family, by the name of Abraham, who lived on a little
+farm just outside our suburb. They had been to me typical
+representatives of a stupid class, who have all the hardships of life,
+and none of its soft lights and shades. They were the kind that plant
+their pig-sty on the lake side of their house--put the pig-sty betwixt
+them and every other beauty, it seemed to me. What can life hold for
+such people? They know nothing of love, or any other joy. Merely an
+animal existence is theirs.
+
+We fetched a doctor as speedily as possible--the parents were merely
+bruised, but the little child was badly hurt. At first we feared she was
+dying, and it was a relief to be told that she would probably live.
+
+I went out of the room to get some bandages, and the doctor followed me.
+Returning suddenly, I ran upon an unexpected scene; up to that time,
+before us all, the parents had seemed perfectly stolid; but just as I
+opened the door, the wife and mother rose from her knees by the bed, and
+I have seldom seen a look more expressive of tender love than that with
+which her husband took her in his arms.
+
+We have many things to learn in the next world; one of these, I am sure,
+will be, not to judge by the life upon the surface. There is a deep
+fount of feeling beneath, and often it is those whom we least suspect,
+who dip down into it.
+
+I was still busy with these people, when Randolph Chance walked in upon
+me. His kind heart needed no prompting to join in our little attentions,
+and he was of especial use in getting a vehicle to take the family home.
+
+After they had gone, and we found ourselves alone, a great embarrassment
+seemed to seize him in a fatal grasp.
+
+By and by I realized that I was really getting incensed, and I was
+afraid I should soon be in the position of the man who went to another,
+whom he had ill-treated, to apologize for his bad conduct, and, "By
+Jove, sir"--to use his own phrase, "I hit him again."
+
+I tried to keep my letter before my eyes. I didn't want to be forced by
+that inexorable tyrant--conscience--to write another. And I should, if I
+didn't hold on to myself, and this man didn't behave differently.
+
+To avoid a clash, I set to work to clear away some of the confusion
+consequent upon the accident, and he helped me in this.
+
+One would suppose that might serve to cool him, and it did indeed, to
+such an extent that, upon our settling down again, he began the most
+commonplace conversation, giving me some incidents of his trip;
+discussing the scenery; weather; population, and general aspects of
+Buffalo; with much more of the dryest, most disagreeable stuff, that a
+man ever had the temerity to use, as a means of wasting a woman's
+evening.
+
+To employ a childish phrase--it best fits the occasion--I grew madder and
+madder, until at last matters within me rose to such a height, that when
+he began to tell of his brother's house in Buffalo, and to dwell upon
+the peculiarities of its furniture, I felt peculiar enough to hurl all
+of mine at him.
+
+The number of things I thought of that evening would form a library of
+energetic literature. Among other resolves, I determined from that day
+on, if I lived till my hair whitened--lived till I raised my third or
+fourth crop of teeth, never, _never_, to give Randolph Chance another
+thought. There was one comfort: he did not know, nor did any one else,
+what a complete goose I had made of myself; but, though I _had_ been
+most foolish, thanks to a sober, Puritanic ancestry, I still had myself
+in hand; my hysterics had been occasional and secluded, and I was not
+wholly gone daft. I could recover; I would! and then, if ever he came to
+my feet, he would learn that some things don't rise, after once they are
+cold.
+
+I was calm enough when he at last decided to go, and instead of running
+on excitedly, as I had been vaguely conscious of doing part of the
+evening, I really conversed. Indeed, to speak modestly, I think I was
+rather interesting. I had forgotten what he had called for. So had
+he--apparently.
+
+All I hoped was that he did not intend to bore me with frequent
+repetitions of this call. I had better use for my evenings than such
+waste of time as chatting with him. I cast about me for some suitable
+excuse to shut off future inflictions, and at last hit upon one that I
+thought might answer.
+
+"I suppose I must sacrifice myself for a while," I said cheerfully; "I
+have had a deal of business swoop down upon me, and in order to dispatch
+it, must shut myself up for a time, and forego the joys of society."
+
+Instantly his old embarrassment came back upon him, as a small boy's
+enemy--supposed to be vanquished--darts around the corner, and renews the
+attack.
+
+He started to go; came back; returned to the door; again came back;
+colored vividly--looked at me imploringly. And as I looked at him my
+anger, my coldness--all vanished, and I exclaimed:
+
+"Randolph Chance, why _don't_ you say it!"
+
+"Some things are awfully hard to say. I can write---- Oh Constance! you
+might have mercy on me!"
+
+"Well," I said, laughing--I could almost see the light upon my face--"I
+suppose you want me to marry you."
+
+"You can't get away now!" he cried, a second later.
+
+The walls heard a much-smothered voice--
+
+"I don't want to."
+
+Now this little scene, I suppose, is what makes Randolph always say I
+proposed to him. This remark, oft repeated, sometimes under very trying
+circumstances, is his one disagreeableness. But I let it pass without
+comment, for I realize it is the spout to the kettle, and I am thankful
+that the steam has so safe and harmless an outlet. If I were to boil him
+too hard, he would probably overflow, and dim the fire; but I am _very
+cautious_, and love still burns with a clear, bright flame.
+
+
+                               THE END.
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's Note: The table below lists all corrections applied to
+the original text.
+
+p. 032: [removed stray quote] "I didn't care for this picnic
+p. 050: [normalized] they were wellnigh exhausted -> well-nigh
+p. 056: [extra comma] any comment on her neighbors' affairs, was alien to her.
+p. 152: Their's is the place -> Theirs
+p. 182: [added speaker change] beyond his years. I have never thought
+p. 187: [normalized] most common-place conversation -> commonplace
+p. 189: [changed to long dash] I can write---- Oh Constance! ]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Cook Husbands, by
+Elizabeth Strong Worthington
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