Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1867-11-21
1t seemed to Andrew as if this sentence


ther, for thought came too busy and in a
new direction. Memory was conyicting
him of injustice to his wife. She had al
ways made his home as comfortable for
him as her hands could make it, and had
he offered the light return of praise Or COM
mendation Had he ever told her of the
satisfaction he had known, or the comfort
he had experienced He was not able to
recall the time or occasion. AS he thought
thus Mrs Lee came in from the kitchen,
and, taking the work basket from the clos
eft, placed it on the table, and sitting down
without speaking, began to sew Mrs. Lee
glanced almost stea lthily at the work in
her hands. and 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 eye 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 ill-nature for
which he had no patience. His face fell
upon the newspaper which lay spread out
before him, and he read the sentence "A
kind cheerful word spoken in a gloomy
house, is the little rift in the cloud that
lets the sunshine through
Lee struggled with himself while lon
ger. His Miniature had to be conquered
first; his moody, accusing spirit had to be
subdued. He thought Of many things to
say, yet ne feared to say them lest his wife
should meet his address with cold rebuff
At last, leaning toward her and taking
hold Of the shirt bosom upon which
she was at work, he said in voice
carefully modulated with kindness:
You are doing the work beautifully,
Mary
Mrs. Lee made no reply; but her hus-
band did not fail to notice 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 and whittier
than those Of any other man in the shop,
said Lee, encouraged to 60 on.
Are they?
Mrs. Lees voice was low and had in it
a slight huskiress She did not turn her
face, but her husband saw she leaned
little toward him. He had broken the ice
Of reserve and all was easy now. His
hands was among the clouds and feeble
ray was already struggling through the
rift it had made
Yes, Mary he answered softly and
wal II hat
wife Andrew Lee must have.
Mrs Lee turned her face toward her
husband. There was light in it, and
light in her eye. But there was something
in the expression Of the countenance that
a little puzzled him,
DO you think so !? she asked, quite So
berry.
What a question ? calculated Andrew
Lee, startling up and going round to the
side of the table where his wife was sit
ting. What a question, Mary he repeat
ed, as he stood before her.
DO you? 1t was all she said.
yes, darlng,' was bis warmly spoken
answer, and he stopped down and kissed
her. How strange that you should ask
NE such question =
If you would only tell me so now and
then, Andrew it would do me good Mrs.
Lee arose, and leaning her face against
the manly breast OF her husband, stood
and wept.
What strong light broke in upon the
mind OF Andrew Lee. He had never Civ
en- his wife even the small reward Of praise
for the loving interest she had manifested
daily, until doubt Of his love had entered
her soul, and made the light all around her
thick darkness. No wonder that her face
grew clouded, nor what be considered
moodiness and Miniature, took possession
Of her heart
You are good and true, Mary, my own
dear wife; | am proud of you'll love
you, and my first desire is for your hap
piness. O, if [ could always see your
face in sunshide, my home would be the
dearest place on earth.
How precious to me are your words
Of love and praise, Andrew said Mrs.
Lee, smiling up through her tears into his
face. With them in my ears, my heart
can never lie IN shadow.
How easy had been the work for
Andrew Lee. He had swept his hand
across the cloudy horizon, and now the
bright sunshine was streaming down, and
flooding that home with JOY and beauty.
At certain college the senior class was
under examination for degrees. The pro-
fessor of natural philosophy was badgeling
in optics, and the point under Illustration
was that, strio'ly and scientifically speak
ing, we see no objects, but their images
depicted on the retina. In order to make
the matter palmer the professor asked the
wag Of the class, Mr. jackson, did you
ever actually see your father?', ''No. sir"
was the prompt reply. "Pleas e to explain
why you never saw your father p ''Be-
cause" said Mr.. Jackson, very gravely,
she died before [ was born, sir p
Aunt Betsy was trying to persuade lit
tie Jack to retire at sunset, using an argu-
ment that all the little chickens went to
roost at that time. EYES," said little John
ny, 'tbut the old hen always goes with
them" Aunty tried no more arguments