The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1859-03-16
The Magic Of w ords.
BY r. 3. ARTHUR.

BY r. 0. ARTHUR.
Peter Crandall was not an ill-natured, cap-
tious or fault finding man, and vet the home
Of Peter Crandall was not happy. Very lit
tie sunshine streamed in across the threshold.
Was it his wife's fault? A visitor, who saw
her in her usual mood, might, il conclusions
were made from first impressions, lead to
this opinion. She inclined to fretfulness and
Impotence; and often scolded the children
when her husband could see little in them to
blame.
The Crandalls were poor. Mr.. Crandall
was mechanic and earned only mechanics
wages. Mrs. Crandall was the mother of
five children, the oldest Of them thirteen
years old but their narrow income left moth
ing to spare for the hire Of domestic, so all
the work fell upon her. She was toil-worn
and toil.weary at the dying Of each day and
the same, though not TO an equal extent,
might be said of her husband. He had more
strength for his work, and therefore he could
endure greater fatigue. He had the advan-
tage, which was most important one-of
freedom from causes Of nervous excitement,
and the inevitable exhaustion that followed.
He labored on at one kind of work, uninter-
rupted all day long, while she was subject to
perpetual and annoying Interruptions, Incl
dent to her position of mother and house.
keeper.
Between Peter Crandall and his wife there
did not seem to exist much affection. They
never spoke loving words, nor manifested
except on rare occasions, any pleasures at
meeting or any mutual interest. The little
courtesies of life was something unknown in
their cheerless dwelling. Rude, boisterous,
quarrelsome the children grew up, bringing
discord into the house that was uncomfor ia
bic enough, without that disagreeable inmate.
The mother scolded and punished 10 anger !;
but saw no good results Of her discipline
The father scolded in concert but always left
an unpleasant sensation afterward as if be
had been doing something wrong.
| And 80 the years went on, and the sun
beams came not across the threshold into
their dwelling. Occasionally MIR. Crandall
obtained brief glance into some other homes,
and as the pleasant visions passed, a sigh
would disturb his bosom, light and warmth
were there.
Something was wrong in his own home
that he had felt for great while and he did
not wholly blame his wife. But the exact
location of the wrong he could never clearly
perceive. In the beginning it was different.
sunshine in the face of his wife. But it was
in bis memory, marked day after day as a
dial records the advancing shadow how the
| brightness OF her face diminished steadily
until all was collapsed. All /! if he had dreamed
Of the cause! But Mr.. Grandall was not tho
man who looked inward upon his own life
| not man who considered his actions in their
effect upon others. lie was, moreover, a si
lent, undemonstrative man, rarely expressing
his feelings. He gave few outward signs by
which any one could read his heart. Here
lay the origin Of his trouble at home-the be
ginning Of the eclipse that left this world al
most in total darkness, when it should have
been MONDAY. II was enough for Mrs. Gran.
dali, in the earlier years of their welded life
to know, that her husband loved her. Hel
heart asked more. She wanted loving words
and loving looks also and for lack OF these
ito green things withered, and it's blossom
faded. Having told her in the beginning
that he loved her; having afterwards mar
ried in proof Of his declaration and worked
ever since for the sustaining Of his home,
and keeping her as far above want as it was
possible for him to do---Mr Crandall saw no
reason why he should be oil the time passing
compliments. He couldn't do it. II wasn't
in him. He would have felt ashamed Of it az
a weakness.
And so, almost from the beginning, be
failed to give those little outward signs OF
affection, those pleasant tokens Of Kindness
30 grateful to all. When his wife said, as
was often the case, during the first year tina,
succeeded their marriage, "Thank you, Pc
ter" and smiled gratefully in return for some
little act OF kindness--or expressed pleasure
when. he came home from his work at even
ing, drawing her arm around his neck and
kissing him-or told him how lonesome SHE
felt all day, and what light his cominc
brought into their home, Peter Crandall fell
glow OF pleasure in his heart. But il did
not come within the range Of his Imagination
dull at best-to conceive that like world
from him would be to the spirit OF his vif,
like dew to the thirsty ground. So be neve
expressed pleasure ct meeting, b.. -.ttc- .e
fected, from kind OF false pride. certa;,
GOODNESS, as though it were an action OF man
illness to net indifferently. No matter HOY
many attentions his wife might show him
no matter what she prepared for his return
; nor with what dainty skill she cooked tn
evening or MONDAY meals, he never praised
and rarely gave even tho meagre reward o
, expressed qualification. But if things ver
wrong-f the coffee was bad, or the breat
sour, or the meat burnt cooking, he was sur,
TO speak out, and not always in over choic,
words.
As Mrs. Crandal began to fail in outward
signs OF affection, Peter perceived their with.
drawal on the gradual fading OF sunshine
when clouds gather over the tlimsy wells thai
deepen into obscuring curtains. But the
cause TO him was mystery. He felt 90 oil
old to his wife, and worked as cheerfully as
in the beginning. The home feeling was as
strong as ever and, after withdrawing from
the outer world, when the night shadows fell,
he had not the beginning OF desire to 20