Maryland free press., 1867-04-04
A Rift in the C.Oua.
A STORY FoR MARRIED FOLKS.

"' oPuno camo uohe W HE vi Z, WI"
was also tired and cut of spirits.
- 10 "A smiling wife and cheerful home
a para lise it would be !" said Andrew to
himself, as he turned bis eyes from the
sloudrd face Of Mrs. Lee. and sat down
.vih knitted brows and moody aspect.
a. Not a word was spoken by either. Mrs.
Loe was getting supper. and she moved
about with,a weary step. a., 7rs.
'a."''Colne. "she said at last. with Pile
glance at her husband. - II EOS" .' ~
ii AndreF arose a.l yent to the table.
He wssa tempted u SPEAK an angry word,
but controlled himself and kept silent.
Hs could find no fault with the chJp nor
the home Ha9s bread, nor the fragrrnt
,tea, sThey,wssll hare ohccrsd his inward
man, il there had BEEN CLEAN of sun
shine on tie face of his wife. lie noticed
she did not eat. .a a...l lr ul
Are you not we'll, Mary z" The
words were on his lips, but he did not ut
Ter them, for the face of his wife looked so
repellant, that he feared an;rri;ating reply.
And SO in moody silence, the twain sat
togethe: until Andrew had finished his
supper. It o..
AS he rushel his chair back. his wifo
arose and commenced clearing of the
table. t.o.tt ....
Willis is purgatory said Lee to him
self as he commenced walking the floor of
their little breakfas. room, with his hands
'hiast desperately away down into his
'rowsers pockets, and his chin alnos.
tdrching his breast. u 1 ''..'
after removing all tho dishes and taking
them into the kitchen; Mrs Lee Spread
green cover on the table, aud placing a
1fresf' trimmed lamp thereon, went out and
shut the door after her. leaving her hus-
band al6ne with his unpleasant feelings.
Ile'took long deep breath as she did SO,
paused in his walk, stood still for s,me
moments anl when drawing a paper from
hIs pocket, sat down by the table, opeped
!il.ss sheet, and commenced reading. Sin.
gqlaFly enough. the w"r Is upon whict. his
eyes rested were Praise your wife:
They rather tended to increase the dis snr-
bancc Of mind frsm which lie was suffer.
Ing. VI
II shoaid like to find some OCCASION f,,
pFaslns mine" How quickly his thoughts
, expressed that ilI-naturel sentiment
~. his eyes wsro on the page before him,
and he read on. .s.r1r,., r. - 49,
~ PRAISE raise your wife, man for pity's; sake
give her little encouragement. Il Won't
hurt her." .. .,.. ...'.,.i@.. '.,, ~ ..a'.
Androw a.ntiw Lee raised his eyes from the
paper &nd mqtte.ed, 20. yes, th,t's a,lI
very we'll. Praise is cheap enough. BIZ,
praseaheraforii-what? For being sullen,
ani making her home the n, IS. Idisagrcss.
0ie place in the world?' His eyes fell a.
gain to tho ,paRcr. ~s,....
She has made your home comfortable
your heart bright and shining. your food
agreeable for PHYS sake tell her Won
thank her. if nothing more. She don't
expect it; it will make her eyes open wiler
than they have for ten years; BUTT will
Ito her good for all that. and you, too"
u seemed to Andrew as if this sentence
was written just for him, aud just for the
occasion. 1t was complete answer to his
question, Praise her for what ?" and he
felt i alse rcbuke. lie read no further
for thought came too busy and in new
direction. Memory was convicting him
OF injustice to his aife. She had always
made his home as comfortable for him as
her hands could make it, and had he of.
fered the light return of praise or COM
iaendation?s Had he ever told her of the
satisfaction he had known, or th, comfort
ho had experienced? He was not BILE to
r ecall the time or occasion. As he thought
4Af. Mrs. Lee came in from the kitchen
and taking her work basket from the closet
placed it on the table, and, sitting down
without speaking, began to sew. Mr..
! zee glanced almost stealthily at the work
in her hands, and saw that it was the
bosom Of shirt, which she was stitching
neatly. O., ,Ho knew that it was for him 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 wa.
not ready for this yet. lie still felt moody
and unforgiving. The expression of bis
wifs's face he interpreted to mean ill., ma.
turo for which he had no patience. His
eyes fell upon the newspaper that lay
spread OFT before him, and he read the
sentence: a,.nH
'"A kind, cheerful word, spoken in
Rlooms house, is the little rift in the cloud