The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1870-10-01
A Story for Married Folks.

self, as he turned his eyes from the cloudeC
face of Mrs. Lee and sat down with knit
ted brows and moody aspects. Not a wore
was spoken by either. Mrs. Lee was get.
ting supper, and she moved about with q
weary step.
Come said she at last, with 4 side
/ glance at her husband.
Andrew arose and went to his table. lie
/ was tempted to speak an angry word. but
controlled himself and kept silent. He
could find no fault with the chop, and home
made bread, nor the fragrant tea. They
would have cheered his inward man, if
/ there had been CLEAN of sunshine on the
| face of his wife. He noticed she did not
/ eat.
Are you not WE'LL Mary?'
! These words were on his lips, but he did
not utter them, for the face of his wife
looked so repellant, that he feared an irri.
tating reply.
| And so, in moody silence, the twain sal
| together, until 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 him.
| self, as he commenced walking the floor of
their little breakfast room. With his hands
thrust into his trowser- pockets, and his
chin almost touching his breast.
After removing and taking the things
into the kitchen, Mrs. Lee spread green
cover over the table, and, placing a freshly
trimmed lamp thereon, went out and shut
the door after her, leaving her husband
alone with his unpleasant feelings. He
took long, deep breath, and as he 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. Singu-
larry enough, the words upon which his
eyes rested were "Praise your wife. -
| They rather tended to increase the disturb
ance of mind from which he was suffering
81 should like to have some occasion for
praising NINE How quickly his thoughts
expressed that ill-natured sentiment But
his eyes were on the paper before him and
he read on:
Praise your wife, man for PHYS sake
give her little encouragement. 1t won't
hurt her.
Andrew Lee raised his eyes and muttered
sob yes, that's all very well-praise is
cheap enough. But praise her for what p
His eyes fell again to the paper.
"She has made your home comfortable
your hearth bright and shining, your food
agreeable; for PHYS sake tell her you
thank her, if nothing more. She don't
expect it. 1t will make her eyes wider
than they have been for ten years, but it
will do her good, Tor all that, and you too. -
1t seemed to Andrew as if this sentence
was written expressly for him, and j;.st for
the occasion. 1t was a complete answer to
the question, " Praise her for what and
he felt it, also, as rebuke. He read no
further, for thoughts came too busy and in
n new direction. Memory was convincing
him of injustice to his wife. She had al
ways made lis home as comfortable as she
could make it, and had he offered the
slightest return of praise or commentator
Had he ever told her of the satisfaction he
had known, or the comfort he had expert
enccd? He WAS not able to recall the time
or occasion. AS he thought thus, Mrs.
Lee came in from the kitchen, and, taking
her work from the closet, placed it on the
table, and sitting down without speaking,
began to sew. Mr.. Lee glanced almost
stcalthily at the work in her hands. and saw
that it was a bosom of a shirt, which she
was stitching neatly. He knew that it was
for him she was at work.
"Praise your wife, These words were
before 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
face he interpreted to mean Immature, for
which he had no patience. His eyes fell
upon the newspaper that was spread out
before him, and he read the sentence
ga kind, cheerful word spoken in a gloomy
house is the little rift in the cloud that lets
the sunshine through"
Lee struggled with himself a little while
longer.
His own Immature was to be conquered
first, his moody, accusing spirit had to be
subdued.
He thought of many things to say, and
yet he feared to say them, lest his wife
should meet his address with a rebuff. At
last leaning toward her, and taking hold of
the shirt bosom at which she was at work,
he said in voice that was carefully modu-
lated with kindness:
You are doing the work beautifully,
Mary"
Mrs. Lee made no reply. But the husband
did not fail to notice that she lost, almost
instantly, the rigid erectness with which
she had been sitting nor that the motion Of
the needle had ceased
"My shirts are better made and winter
than those of any other man in the shop
said Lee, encouraged to go on.
care 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 toward him. He
had broken the ice of reserve, and all was
now easy. His hands were among the
clouds, and a feeble ray was already strug-
Cling through the rift it had made.
"Yes, Mary" he answered softly, "and
I've heard it more than once what a good
wife Andrew Lee must have
did you?' was all she said.
eyes darling was his warmly spoken
answer; and he stopped down and kissed
her. &c How strange that you should ask
me such a question -
''If you would 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 a strong light broke in on the mind
of Andrew Lee? He had never given his
wife even the small reward of praise for
the loving interest she had manifested dali
ly, until doubt of his love had entered her
soul and made the light around her, thick
darkness. No wonder her face grew cloud
ed, OF that what he considered moodiness
and Miniature took possession of her spirits.
q" You are good and true, Mary, my own
dear wife. l am proud of you, and my
first desire is for your happiness. Oh, if |
could always see your face in sunshine, my
home would be the dearest place on earth"
GLOW 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
be in shadow.
How easy had been the work for Andrew
Lee. He had swept his hand across the
cloudy horizon, and now the bright sun
shine was cleaning down and flooding that
home with joy and beauty.
. BARBARIsM IN KENTUCKY.-The spirit
of barbarism has not yet died out in Ken
lucky. A gentleman of Nirginan birth, a
Shareholder until the manumission of his
slaves, took charge of a freedmen's school
in Belleview, Christian county, Ky. The
school building also served as place of
worship for the colored people. His own
residence was few yards distant, and the
space between was fenced. He was re-
Gently absent for a few days in attendance
as delegate to a Baptist Convention, and
left his wife in charge of affairs Shortly
after his departure, at night, while the wind
was blowing toward his house, some mis-
creants set fire to the school-house. The
lady was restrained by the colored people