Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-11-26
A Rlfl in the cloud.


ed, and out OF spirits came home to his
wife, who was also tired and ont Of spirits.
"A smiling wife, cheerful home-what
paradise it would be i said Andrew to
himself, as he he turned his eyes from the
clouded face of Mrs. Lee, and sat down,
with Knitted brows and moody aspect.
Not a word was spoken by either. Mrs.
Lee was getting supper, aud she moved
about with a weary step.
Come, she said at last with a side glance
at her husband.
There was invitation in the word only,
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 fault with the chop nor
the sweet-home-made bread, nor the fra
grant tea. They would have cheered his
inward man, if there had only been CLEAN
of sunshine on the face Of his wife. He
noticed that she did not eat.
Are you not well, Mary p The words
were on his lips but he did not utter them,
for the face Of his wife looked so repelant,
that he feared an irritating reply. And so,
in moody silence the twain sat together un-
til Andrew 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 oil the dishes, and TAX
ing them into the kitchen, Mrs. Lee spread
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 unpleasant feelings. He took
a long, deep, breath, as she did so, paused
in his walk stood still for some moments,
and then drawing paper from his pocket,
sat down by the table, opened the sheet,
and commenced reading. Singularly e.
nough the words upon which his eyes rest
ed were, Praise your wife They rather
tended to increase the disturbance of mind
from which he was suffering.
i should like to fud some occasion for
praiSing mine How quickly his thoughts
expressed that ill-natured sentiment. But
his eyes were on the page before him, and
he read on.
Praise your wife, man for PHYS sake
give her little encouragement it won't
hurt her.
Andrew Lee raised his eyes from the pa
per, and muttered, 'oh, yes. That's all,
very well. Praise is cheap enough. But
praise her for what For being sulen,
and q kinrr bopoo bo
able place in the world p His eyes fell
again to the paper.
She has made your home comfortable,
your heart bright and shining, your food
agreeable for pity'S sake, tell her you
thank her, if nothing more. She don't ex-
pect it ; it will make her eyes open wider
than they have for ten years but it will
do her good for all that, and yon too
1t seemed to Andrew as if this sentence
were written just to him, and just for the
occasion. 1t was the complete answer to
his question, praise her for what |? and he
felt it also as rebuke. He read no fur
ther, for thought came to busy, and in a
new direction. Memory was convicting
him of injustice toward his wife, She had
always made his home as comfortable for
him as hands could make it, and had he Of
tered the light return of commendation?-
Had he ever told her Of the satisfaction he
had known or the comfort experienced? He
was not able to recall the time or the oc-
casion. As he thought. thus, Mrs Lee
came in from the kitchen, and taking her
work basket from the closet placed it on
the table asl sitting down, without speak
ing, began to sew. Mr. Lee glanced al
most s'ealthily at the work in her hands,
and saw that it was the bosom of shirt,
which she was stitching neatly. He knew
that it was for him that she was at work
Praise your wife, The words were be-
fore 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 interpreted to mean i'll nature, and
with i'll nature he had no patience. His
eyes fell upon the newspaper that lay spread
out before him, and he read the sentence
"A kind, cheerful word, spoken in
gloomy home, is like the rift in cloud that
lets the sunshine through
Lee struggled with himself while long
Gle Ills OhH Ill nature udu 10 D6 conquer
ed first; his moody accusing spirit had to
be subdued. But he was coming right, and
at last got right as to will. Next came the
question as to how he should begin. He
thought of many things to say, yet feared
to say them, lest his wife should meet his
advances with a cold rebuff. At last, lean
ing toward her, and taking hold of the lin.
en- bosom upon which she was at work, he
said, in voice carefully modulated with
kindness.
You are doing that work very beauti-
fully, Mary"
Mrs Lee made no reply. But her hns.
band did not fail to observe that she lost, al
most instantly, that rigid erectness with
which she had been sitting, nor that the
motion Of her needle had ceased.
My shirts are better made, aud whittier
than those of any other man iu our shop
said Lee encouraged to go on.
Are they?" Mrs Lees voice was low,
and had in it slight huskiness. She did
not turn her face, but her husband saw that
she leaned little towards him. He had
broken the ice of reserve, and all was easy
now. His hand was among the clouds, aud