The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1871-05-18
EyLOCKENG A HEA EF
FROM A LADY's SCRAP BOOK,


At the age Of thirty, Allan Moore
married, taking for his wife pretty Mary
Graham. He had been waiting until he
might commence the new life fairly and
independently and when he said ''inde
pendently," he meant that he would not
be dependent upon lodging house keep
ers for home.-He did not hope to be
independent of toll and fatigue; but he
had planned that he and Mary would
work together, and, perhaps, in the COM
ing years, find a competency upon which
to enjoy healthful repose. Allan was
a lawyer, with a fair practice; and he had
promised himself that when Mary had
become his wife she would help him in
his labors-not that she would delye for
him into the mysteries of law, oSdo the
drudgery Of copying; but he loekedfor
sympathy and love-for a love that
should make his labors light, and for a
sympathy upon which he could rest his
confidence.
It is said that ''lovc is blind; but
true love is not so blind as it is often rep
resented. The good qualities which have
awakened the heart to love are not want
ing; and even the imperfections were
seen and noted at the outset. The good
seed was in the soil. and so were the
tares. The trouble is, that love is apt to
be Qyerhopeful. 1t is not blind, but it
looks through sunny glass; and the
future, thus viewed, presents only
pleasant prospect. Love is not so blind
that it cannot see faults, but it is so
kind and forbearing that it overlooks
them; and thus it often happens that
the tares are suffered to thrive, and final
~ to outgroW the better seed.
Allan Moore had known that Mary
had her faults; but he had also known
that her heart was good aud true, and in
his great love he found the assurance of
peace and joy. But season of disap-
polntment was to come.
They had been married three years.
and cloud was upon the household. And
whose was the fault? Allan examined
himself very closely, but he could not
discover that he had done wrong. And
yet Mary was neither happy herself, nor
did she try to make him happy. His
business had increased until he had as
much upon his hands as he could posi-
bly, attend to; he labored early and late;
he toiled without ceasing; but the SYM
pathy which he had expected at home
was not his. The result was that he
often wore cloud upon his brow. Ex-
pectlng GOODNESS when be entered his
home, he came with compressed lips
and fearing he could find no sympathy,
he did not seek it.
Allan Moore wondered whether lie had
been mistaken in his estimate of Mary
had he given her credit for good that she
did not possess? Certainly there was
little of the good now to bless him but
evil continually. In short, his home was
very far from being happy one, and
open rupture was frequent. Mary had
become fretful and faultfnding, and in
stead OF sympathizing with her husband
In his engrosslng and oft-times perplex-
ing business, she would not permit him
to mention his business in the house.
Mary was growing to have sharp fea-
tues, and the old look of beauty was
disappearing. But upon Allan the change
was working with deeper effect. He was
growing thin and pale, and there were
shoots of pain and mysterious tbrobbinps
at the heart and the pain was growing
deeper.
Why was it? Was the good all gone,
or the tares only come up and outerown
the good-tares that might have been
rooted out long ago, if prudence and
skill had been applied? Had the heart
oeen locked up, and all its good hidden
fola the beautifying light? If so. wbv
could not some kind power unlock the
closed heart, and set the blessings free ?
The good genius was at hand.
DIR. Ralph Graham. Mary's uncle, had
seen the gathering cloud and had mark
ed the progress Of the darkening gloom.
He had known both the husband and
the wife from their Infancy and he mad
loved them both ]; and when he saw them
thus unhappy. he wondered if he could
hot help them. He knew that the great
er fault was Mary's; and he knew, too.
that she yet had preponderance of good
In her heart. He knew that she had in
her heart the keenest of sympathies. the
noblest of impulses. and the fouut of y
true and enduring love. He knew be-
cause, in the other years, he had seen
them; and he knew that the good Of the
human heart connot wholly die. It may
be choked up; it may w;ther and shrink:
and it may be crushed down beneath the