Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-06-11

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that he should be miserable all that
day-he always was wretched when
there had been fuss at home.
He always had visions of Mary
taken suddenly Ill, and of the house
filled with neighbors trying to help
her or of johnnie terribly hurt, or
of the baby sick with Group. All
such days be trembled and turned
pale, whenever q strange head APP
peared at the top Of the open stair
way land he would catch himself
listening to any strange voice In
the shop below, dreading lest q
messenger had come TO summon
him, on account Of some dreadful
calamity.
The shop was too far of for him
to 60 home to his dinner ; he always
took that meal with him in q tin
pail /; and when he had gone to his
work in a pleasant mood, he and
half q dozen fellow workmen sat
down together, talking over the
news, comparing notes Of family
expenses or, when the boys were
away, telling stories Of their chill
dren's progress in walking, talking,
etc.
When, as 1t often happened,
things went wrong in the morning,
Mr.. Symonds found that he must
do errands at noon then, after hur.
rying down q few mOuthfuls, he
went and walked all the rest Of the
hour. He could not bear laughing
and talking freely with his compan.
ions, while his wife was unhappy.
Many q time be would gladly
have gone all the way to his house
just to see that Mary and the chill
dren were all right, only he was
ashamed 10 show her how troubled
and anxious he was /; and he could
no more have put into words his
sorrow for i'll temper $50 he thought)
than he could have changed TO a
real angel, then and there.
Mary, for her part, would have
died, sooner than have helped him
on with any such confession. She
always shut her lips fast together,
and went about her work with the
air of a martyr, while her husband
was In the house.
The forenoon was always passed
N recounting to herself the wrongs
i injustices Of which she was the
victim the number OF things
which she had to do, cooking,
waehing, ironing, sweeping, mend.
ing, with two troublesome children
always to look after ;-one Just run.
ming about, the other in its cradle
how could any woman see to but
tons, and get meals to a minute,
when her hands were tied half the
time!
So at home Mrs. Symonds dwelt
on her troubles, and worked her
husbands unkindness into the
dishwashing, the cleaning up gener.
ally, even into the washing and
dressing of the little ones. The
sense Of injustice met her in all the
familiar objects in her little kitch-
en- and when she carried Johnnie
up stairs, and set him in a high chair
out of harms way, while she made
the beds, her enemy had gone up
before her, aud meeting, tortured
her there. She wondered how it
would be II she were 10 die, whether
James would then be sorry ;
whether he would learn how much
she had 10 do, and if he would NOT
feel that he had been all 10 blame ?
But by and by, when the house
work was done UP, her hair combed
and her dress changed, as the after
noon grew on, she thought less of
herself and her troubles, aud more
Of Johnnie's little speeches, what
pain 1t gave her to think how little
she had noticed them at the time of
the way baby was beginning to
hold things aud she longed to tell
James these small marYels. she
knew herself TOO well to presume
that she 'coald do anything OF the
sort.
Had not her husband been cruel
and unjust; was 1t not his place 10
make advances? He should at
least sal that he had been wrong,
just that, and she would overlook
all. But she would like TO have
one talk with him, and show him
how things really were: she
did not think he ought to see
that now he only thought
of late breakfasts and missing
buttons, never Of her thou.
sand duties and cares.
Perhaps, after all, It would be
better if she OF one Of the children
should die then these miserable
troubles would come to an end
she shuddered as she said this about
the children, and didn't mean Il at
all. Mary, too, had really her fears
about something dreadful happen.
ing to James or the little ones, but
she kept 1t farther away, and pre-.
tended that she was courageous.
Late that afternoon, James, going
near the front shop windows, saw
a man in a chaise below, leaning
and talking eagerly to one
of the firm. He could not be mis-
he saw his master point
straight up to the window where
his own bench stood, and he dis
tinctly heard the question:
What does the doctor say p
The answer did not reach him.
but James turned deadly pale and
sick; he staggered shudderingly
back TO his little corner, his whole
body resolved into the act of listen.
.ng. He knew that the strange man
was coming to find him, ahd he
jnly waited to hear the dreaded
itep upon the stairs, and to sec one
IF the hOva nOint ont himaalI "a n