Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-11-01
at never suits me, !" be added As be brot.
open hot biscuit. ''VAe
UNever suits vou 1p

the broken biscuit upon the plate 'SSal,ra.
tus" again.
What is the matter with the biscu;,
John asked Mrs. Psley, amazed at th.
| singular conduct Of her husband
"There are great junks Of saleratus n it,"
Ii there is anything detest it lie the taste Of
saleratus in bread
Mary took the broken biscuit and examined
| seen in it
There is one little place; L will cut il cut
Pray take another, john ?"
John did take another and broke IL open
but perceived another speck of the offensive
substance scarcely bigger than the head Of a
| pin.
Haven { you any cold bread 2' he asked
as be threw il back upon the plate.
There is none in the house" replied poor
Mary. ready to burst into tears with grief and
vexation.
.'Give me piece Of pie, then"
Mary gave him piece.
"Sour as swill :" exclaimed he m he rr,h.s
| his plate from him.
Mary brought a mince pie.
strong enough Of cloves TO strangle a fel-
low, said he. Strange that 1 can't get any
The poor wife could bear no more Her
eyes filled with tears and she sobbed aloud.
John was not disposed to carry the lesson auy
further. Mary, as much as she found fault
herself, was extremely sensitive, and she
could not endure the slightest censure
Mary, my desr, do net Weep" said be,
gong to her, and inprinting q kiss on her
"What is the matter With You, John-vou
never behaved like this before ,''
81 was only holding up Q mirror 10 YOU
fou can tell how feel, when you find fault
! with every thing L dos
Il never will again 4"
MY own Mary! Forgive me if caused
you pain"
"YOu are too bad, John y
"But no worse than you are almost every
day"
Mary thought great deal that night,
Iu-rHIRD DAY
The battle had been fought ard the victorv
won. Mrs. Paley's heart was full of tender
ness and sympathy. She could have realized
how much pain her ceaseless and useles, gum
bling caused her sfectionate husband. or she
never would have INDUCED in the habit. She
would not make him unhappy for the world,
and now when the lesson had opened her ewes
she set guard upon her tongue.
Almost always q habitual grumbIer is an
indolent person. A man or woman whose
mind is occupied has no time to be discop.
tented. But Mrs PsIey's a Kind Of moral
Incidence. She permitted her noble faculties
TO sleep for the time, and discomfort stole in
while the sentinel was off guard. She had
chosen q new course Of action, but she had TO
watch with ceaseless vigilance just TO curb the
disposition to complain. To be indolent was
to lose the battle, and to lose the battle was,
perhaps, to ALLEVIATE the affections Of her bus.
band
But her best Efforts were not wholly success
ful. She would forget herself and grumble
before she thought; but John perseTered in
his attempt TO effect the cure
"There, my dear, have bought you a nice
pair of chickens, said John, one night just
before Thanksgiving, when he came hons
from his daily labor.
They are too-they are very nice ones.
John, replied she. I" But do you think we
can afford to have chicks is, of course
you know best what We can afford "
Once in while, my dear we hsvnt had
"They are VERY nice "
" And cost me only ten cents pound"
Very cheap"
John sa; down to tea. Unfortunately the
biscuit were sadly diseased With sslerstus:
indeed they were as yellow as saffron.
That saleratus you got yesterday is mis-
cradle stuff. 1t is not fit to put into bread
"Humph' you put In four times as much
az was necessary" replied John, resorting to
his former tactics. Your tea, too, is a. fst
as dishwater, and the
Forgive me, john"
II won't say another word, my dear"
added John with a smile that turned il all
into sunshine.
al was careless about the biscuit"
Never mind, Mary We can make it do
very well Accidents will happen in the best
regulated families"
pot 7'I ''-'O '-0 'ea
No, only said that; the tea i. very
good" WY
"Ah L see what you mean
at is all right; you have done pobly, nv
dear, and by-snd-by you will forget how to
complain I"
hope so, John, for your sake
And eventually Mary did overcome the hs-
pit. She had all that heart Of woman needed
70 make her happy-a good home, a good and
kind husband-so that her life might have
boen perpetual sunshine, il she chose 70 have
it so.
Patience and perseverance overcome all
things, and they will overcome the vilest ha-
bit that ever clung to SHINING mortal With
her the palm Of victory was disputed inch by
inch, and occasionally the husband had to
tell her the tea was diShwster, that the cakes
tasted Of saleratus, or something Of this kind;
but the cure at last was completed. She
learned to look on the bright side and TO ig-
more the dark side
To John Paley belonged the credit Of the
cure. Another might have become disguised
with matrimony. pronounced the whole thing
humbug, and gone from his homo to seek
soiace in the company of the abandoned and
dissolute. To him the remembrance of his
wife's devotion in his sickness was like an
oasis in the desert Ii is true, il was her duty
10 take care Of him in sickness but her de-
votion was not bounded by the mandate Of
duty, it was the offspring Of love. IL was
the heart's tribute, and her husband saw that
her grumbiing was only dark shadow that
obscured the brightness Of her character, and
he chased the cloud away y.-1rHs Flag
LOST Books or TIE BIBLE following
books are referred TO in the Bible, but are now
lost-the number is greater than is generally
supposed:
Thu propyecu NJ Enooh sss Rn;stl. a. Id.