Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-10-01
MISCELLANEOUS.
THE wIFE'S SECRET.

If pride myself upon any mental en-
dowment whatever, it is upon that hum
BILE one of Common-Sense. live what is
called by the intellectual people a conven-
tional life. | have my pew in the neigh
boring church, and SIT in it twice every
Sunday. l know one captain in the army
just such person as he should be-pol-
ished, and yet ferocious, gentle to ladies,
but rather insolent to civilian males, boast
full of his clubs, and giving all his leisure
time, which is considerable, to the cultiva-
tion of his mustaches but otherwise
am ignorant of the fashionable world and
all its gay doings. 1 have made no en-
deavor to break through the gilded pale
that separates it from the steady-going
middle class to which | belong. l do not
understand the feeling which prompts my
superiors to be ashamed of being seen in
an omnibus Once every day return from
the city in one; and if it is wet use the
same conveyance in the morning to reach
my Office pay my tradesmen weekly.
My best sherry is 48s. dozen; and when
the captain talks of vintage wines (as he
will do by the hour at my table,, | often
wonder what he thinks he is drinking
However, with true good breeding, he inn
bibes it in great quantities, as though it
were the best do not keep man-ser-
want Our cook cannot compass an ONE
Iette S0ot6lee My wife trims her own bon
nets. We have eight children, who all
know the Church Catechism by heart, ex-
cept the baby and the last but one. In
short, more respectable and unfashion-
able family than our own does not exist in
all Bayswater.,
Under these circumstances, it may be
easily imagined that we are as free from
the vices of the great as we are without
their nriyilpupc and tbic / hnnpctIV
believe, the case until within very recent
period. When l used to read in the
papers that the Lady Day Coltay (of Nor
man ancestry and bluest blood) had left
her husbands roof, and fled with Major
Flutterby of the Life Guards; or that it
was rumored among well-informed circles
that the gentleman of the long robe would
sos ind employment in the domestic af-
fairs # his Grace the Duke of Belgravia,
used to give prolonged whistle, and re-
mark: "Here they are again" in general
reference to the habits of the hdW ton.
knew that our hereditary aristocracy were
given to these escapadss, which in my own
rank of life would certainly be crimes, and
l perused such details as the press could
furnish with an avidity unalloyed, | am
afraid, without much reprobation. Iseem-
ed to be reading of class of persons
whose way of life was too far removed
from my own to affect me, except as a
spectator; ; Just as when went to the play
found myself in an atmosphere of in
trigue, and misunderstanding, and jealousy
altogether unreal, and with which | had
not the ghost of an experience in common
Jealousy Why, [ had been married
sixteen years without entertaining that
passion, so that it was not very likely
however well acted, that that passion
should entertain Hs. misunderstanding
The thing was impossible, for whenever
there promised to be " a row in the pan
try"-and every married man will under
stand me when make use of that meta
phorical eXpression-I brought it to O
head, and had it out, and OIL we started
again (speaking for self and Mrs. R,
on the smooth current of our lives with
the little fracas buried forever in it'
depths. AS for the mother of eight fall
ing in love with another man--it is al
very well in a stage-play, and particularly
where the husband is black man, and, a:
l have said, BETTING enough among per
sons of quality; but upon the Noting
Hill side of Bayswater any such mis-
chance would, telt, be out of place an(
ridiculous-a social presumption, as wei
as a grave domestic crime. Imagine
therefore, my establishment when my Op
posite neighbor, Peabody who also call
lliulSCll lily lIlCuO9 NlOl ulC llC uOIOI u
call upon me few weeks ago, to speak, il
confidence of the alarming conduct of m,
wife. Having demanded and obtained
private interview, this scandalous old per
son, who was once an indigo-merchant
and yet retains the trace ofhis calling upol
his nose, set before me in detail numbe
of curious circumstances connected wit
the "goings on,n as he was pleased to cal
them, of my wife, which he was not, in
deed, prepared to say, might not possibl
be only condolences, after all, but whic
helfelt it is his duty as a fellow creature
and one who had been husband in hi
time--here his lips made a dumb motto
of gratitude-to let me know. Even as
neighbor, and an inhabitant of commo
Crescent, hitherto remarkable for its rC
spectabilIty and which, as / doubtless II
membered, had declined to permit Mr.
Jones to put up Apartments in her wiz
dow, lest we should be confounded wit
the lodging house localities nay, whicl
by the mere force of its public opinion
had prevented No. 484 from being let to
playaetor-even in this character, sal
Peabody, he would have felt it his duty
make me aware of what was being saiC
ai though doubtless falsely, respecting the b
locked the door, and informed Peabod
that his last hour was certainly arrives
and that he had better make his peaS
with Providence before cut his throat
but from Ignorance of the proper condu
to be adopted in such exceptional circun
stances, and perhaps from the knowlede
that there was nothing but paper kni
i'm the room with which to effect tn
righteous punishment, l only burst oV
laughing, and called him meddling an
impertinent old fool. a-.T -.r
al " Il L. L.
makes use of that form of words" yel
true but still the facts are worth invest
eating, even from their singularitY, L
,,,, yon, know, for instance, that at elevt
O'Clock, three days a week, your wife so
out in cab by herselfg" HE
s,.s," mo- said l, IL do not; thoug
il she does, it is surely better than If 81
80 had any ineligible companion. AS ma
Her of fact however, She does not do !
for have offered to so shopping with b
twice this week. and she has declined
accompany me on the ground Of haYil
s sore throat" ta.,..
s59.is'" Upon what days did she give this {
.,ensey" inquired Peabody, taking out
Z p0chetrbOok ., ......
Last Monday and last Thursday"
:, turned l. ~
-srt. iWeIl, here's a memorandum; Mond,
- 4tk 'hhso Mrs r. start, as usual, at
=, Thursday, 7tb, ditto, ditto. She could u
be going to morning concert, becau
she had no white gloves on"
81 will grant that much,h quoth !, $
dOnicaliy, and yet not by any means u
s's moved by this unexpected Intelligent
My vile does NOT go 10 morning c,
certs"
-1+s' Very true" observed Peabody eth
the question arises, where does she go I
Now, as an inhabitant of the Crescent