Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-10-07
A RIFT IN THE CLOUD.
BY T.. S. ARTHUR.


and out Of spirits.
GA smiling wife and a cheerful home
what paradise it would be-" said
Andrew to himself, as he turned his
eyes from the clouded face of Mrs. Lee,
md sat down with knitted brows and q
moody aspect.
Not word was spoken by either.
Mrs. Lee was getting supper, and she
moved about with weary step.
"Come," she said at last, with a
side glance at her husband.
There was invitation in the word, but
none in the voice Of Mrs. Lee.
Andrew arose and went to the table.
He was tempted to speak an angry
word, but controlled himself and kept
silence. He could find no fanlt with
the chop, nor the sweet homemade
bread, nor the fragrant tea. They
would have cheered his inward man, if
there had only been CLEAN of sun
shine on the face Of his wife. He no.
ticed that she did not eat.
care you not well, Mary :" The
words were on his lips but he did not
utter them, for the face of his wife
looked so repellant, that he feared an
irritating reply. And SO in moody ST.
lence, the twain sat together until An
drew had finished his supper. As he
pushed his chair back his wife arose
and commenced clearing off the table.
"This is purgatory.." said Lee to
himself, as he commenced walking the
floor of their little breakfast room, with
his hands thrust desperately away down
into his trousers pockets, and his chin
almost touching his breast.
After removing all the dishes and tax
ing them into the kitchen, Mrs. Lee
spread a green cover on the table and
placing a fresh trimmed lamp thereon,
went out and shut the door after her,
leaving her husband alone with his I'M
pleasant feelings. He took long
deep breath, as he did so, paused in
his walk, stood still for some moments,
and then drawing a paper from his
pocket, sat down by the table, opened
the sheet and commenced reading. Sim
gularly enough the words upon which
his eyes rested were, 'Praise your
wife" They rather tended to increase
the disturbance of mind from which he
was suffering.
II should like to find some occasion
for praising mine.'' How quickly his
thoughts expressed that ill-natured sem
timent. But his eyes were on the
page before him, and he read on.
''Praise your wife, man for PHYS
sake, give her little encourag cement ;
it won't hurt her.''
Andrew Lee raised his eyes from the
paper and muttered, ooh, yes. That's
all very well. Praise is cheap enough.
But praise her for what?'' For being
sullen and making your home the most
disagreeable place in the world ?" His
eyes fell again on the paper.
"She made your home comfortable,
your hearth bright and shining, your
food agreeable for PHYS sake tell
her you thank her, if nothing more.
She don't expect it; it will make her
eyes open wider than they have been
for ten years but it will do her good
for all that, and you, too.''
1t seemed to Andrew as if this SEN
tence we're written just for him and just
for the occasion. 1t was the complete
answer to his question. "Praise her
for what ?" and he felt it also as re-
buke. He read no further, for though,
came too busy and in a rev direction.
Memory was convicting him Of injus-
tice towards his wife. She had always
made his home as comfortable for him
as hands could make it, and had he Of
fered the light return of praise or COM
mendation Had he ever told her of
the satisfaction ne had known, or the
comfort experienced? He was not
able to recall the time or the occasion.
AS he thought thus, Mrs. Lee came in
from the kitchen and taking her work.
basket from closet, placed it on the
table and sitting down without speak
ing, began to sew. Mr.. Lee glanced
almost stealthily at the work in her
hands and saw that it was the bosom of
a shirt which she was stitching neatly.
He knew that it was for himself that
she was at work.
."Praise your wife - The words
were before The eyes Of his mind and
he could not look away from them.
But he was not ready for this yet. He
still felt moody and unforgiving. The
expression Of his wife's face he inter-
preted to mean Miniature, and with ILL.,
nature he had no patience. His eyes
fell upon the newspaper that lay spread
out before him, and he read the SEN
tence.
ga kind cheerful word, spoken in a
gloomy home, is like the rift in cloud
that lets the sunshine through
Lee struggled with himself a while
longer. His own ill-nature had to be
conquered first his moody, accusing
spirit had to be subdued. But he was
coming right as to will. Next came
the question as to how he should begin.
He thought Of many things to say, yet
he feared to say them lest his wife
should meet his advance with a cold re-
buff. Atlast, leaning towards her, and
taking hold of the linen bosom upon
which she was at work he said in a
voice carefully modulated with kind
ness i:
"You are doing that work very beau
tifully, Mary"
L. ~ ro~11, d.