Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1868-01-17

She just stood up there by the fire
place, as proud as Queen Victoryr-I
don't blame her, Johnny,-O no, !
don't blame her; she had the right of
it there. l ought to have been ash
amed of myself; but a man never
likes to hear that from other folks, and
I put my pipe down on the chimney
shelf so hard heard it snap like ice,
and | stood up, too, and said-but no
matter what | said, | guess. A maa's
quarrels with his wife always makes
me think of what the Scripture says
about other folks not intermeddling.
They're things, in my opinion, that
don't concern anybody else as gen
eral thing, and l couldn't tell what |
said without telling what she said, and
| d rather not do that. Your mother
was as good and patient tempered a
woman as ever lived, Johnny, and she
didn't mean it, and it was | that set
her on. Besides, my words were
worst Of the two. Well, well, I'll
hurry along just here, for it's not a
time l like to think about; but we
had it back and forth there for half
an hour, till we had angered each 9th
er up so | couldn't stand it, and | lift
ed up my hand,-I would have struck
her if she hadn't been woman.
"Well," says |, Nancy Hollis, I'm
sorry for the day l married you, and
that's the truth, if ever | spoke true
word in my life"
wouldn't have told you that now
if you could understand the rest with
out. I'd give the world, Johnny,-Td
give the world and all those coupon
bonds Jedediah invested for me if
could any way forget it; but said it,
and | can't.
Well, I've seen your mother look
most all sorts Of ways In the course
of her life, but | never saw her before,
and | never saw her since, look as she
looked that minute. All the blaze
went out in her cheeks, as if somebody
had thrown cold water on it, and she
stood there stock still, SO white tho't
she would drop.
Aaron" she began, and stopped
to catch her breath, " Aaron" but
she couldn't get any farther; she just
caught hold of a little shawl she had
on with both her hands, as if she tho't
she could hold herself up by it, and
walked right out of the room. knew
she had gone to bed, for | heard her
90 up and shut the door. | stood
there few minutes with my hands in
my pockets, whiStling Yankee Doodle
! Your mother used to say men were
queer folks, Johnny; they always
whlstled mp the gayest when they felt
the wust. Then | went to the closet
and got another pipe, and | didn't &C
up stairs till it was smoked out
When | was a young man, Johnny,
used to be that sort of a fellow that
couldn't bear to give up beat. I'd act
ed like brute, and l knew it, but
was too spunky to say so. So | says
to myself, :" If she won t make up first
| won't, and that's the end ont" We
ry likely she said the same thing, fol
your mother was a spirited sort of
woman when her temper aoas up; SC
there we were, more like enemies
sworn against each other than man
and wife who had loved each other
true tor fifteen years,-a whole win
ter, and danger, and death perhaps
coming betweeS US, too. .l- g- .
1t may seem very queer to you, John
ny,-it did to me when was your age
and diln't know any more than you
do,-how folks can work themselves
up into great quarrels ont of such lit
tie things; but they do, and into worse
p il it's man who likes his own way
and woman that knows how to talk
It's my opinion, two thirds of all the
Aivorce cases in the lazy books jusr
grow up out of things 10 bigger thar
that lamp wick. .l-.f
But how people that ever loved
each other could come to. hard words
like that, you don't see? Well, ha
ha !! Johnny, that amuses me, that real
ly does amuse me, for | never saw &
young man nor a young woman eth
er,-and young men and young wo
? men in general are very much like
fresh hatched chickens, to my mind
and know just about as much of the
, world, Johnny,-well, | never saw
one yet who didn't say that very thing
And what's more, | never saw one
who could get it into his head tha
! old folks knew better.
But say | had loved your mother
, true, Johnny, and she had loved me
true, for more than fifteen years anc
Z | loved her more the fifteenth yeaI
, than did the first, and we couldn't
have got along without each other
any more than you could get along if
somebody cut your heart right out
We had laughed together and criec
together; we had been sick, and wee
been well together; we'd had oul
hard times and our pleasant time,
} right along, side by side; we'd christ
ened the babies, and we'd buried EN-
, holding on to each others hand WI
) had grown along year after year
through ups and downs and down
: and ups, just like one person, ant
= there WASH t any more dividing of us
| But for all that we'd been put out
and we'd had our two ways, and We
. had spoken our sharp words like an,
N hnr fxuo fol b, anJ ,,o,a3+