The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1871-12-07

like 4 hurrah's nest: if any one knows
what that isl don't; but I suppose it
= is the perfection Of disorder. No one
= could love such a looking creature.
l. That was simply impossible.
: Nobody but John - I looked at
8 the bright handsome young man and
wondered. He ate his dinner almost
in silence, and then went back to his
Z work. l had never seen him 50
= moody.
whats come over John % I asked,
as he went out.
''Oh, don't know" his wife an
swered. Something wrong at the
: shop, l suppose. He's had trouble
= with one Of the men. He's foreman,
! you know"
z "Are you sure its only that 80 1
$ asked, looking serious.
= THAT, or something about his
: work. There's nothing else to worry
him."
was silent for a while, debating
with myself, whether good or harm
. would come of a little plain talk with
= Johns wife. She was rather quick
tempered, knew, and easy to take
: Offense. At last ventured the re-
= mark,
"May be things are not just to his
liking at home"
"At home" Maggy turned on ME
with a dash of surprise in her face.
"What do you mean ~
"Men like beauty, taste and neat
ness in their wives as well as in their
sweethearts," l said.
The crimson mounted to her nair.
At the same moment / saw her glance
at a looking glass that hung opposite
to her on the wall. She sat very still,
yet with startled look i'm her eyes,
until the flush faded, and her face be-
came almost pale.
"Maggy," said I,rising and drawing
my arm around her, "come up stairs.
l have something very serious to say
to you"
We walked from the little dining
room and to her chamber in silence. /
l then said:
"Maggy, 1 want to tell you ola dear
friend of mine who made shipwreck
of happiness and life. 1t is a sad
story, but am sure it will interest
you deeply. She was my cousin; and
her name was"
Maggy bent forward, listening at
tentively. "What ," she asked as 1
neSltated on the name.
"Helen."
'Not Helen White, who married /.
John Harding, and was afterward de- |
serted by her husband ,"
"Yes, my poor dear cousin Helen. /
1t is of her 1 am going to tell you.r
81 never knew why her husband /
went off as he did," said Maggy. |
'Some said he was to blame and |
some put all the fault on her. How |
was it?u
''BOth were to blame; but she most"
! | replied, "JOhn Harding, like your
| husband, was one of the neatest and /
most orderly of men. Anything I'M
tidy in his home, or in the person of
his wife, annoyed and often put him
out of humor; but he did not, as he
should have done, speak plainly to his
wife and let her see exactly how he
! felt, and in what he would like a
change. If he had done so, Helen
would have tried-as every good wife
shOuld--tO conform herself more to
! his tastes and wishes. But he was a
silent, moody sort of a man, when
! things did not go just to suit him; and
/ instead of speaking out plainly, brood
| ed over Helen's faults, and worried
| himself into fits of i'll humOr. And
what was worse than all, grew at
| length Indifferent to his home and
sought pleasanter surroundings and
more attractive company abroad"
Every man thus estranged from his
home is in danger, and Harding was
no exception to the rule. Tempta-
ton lay at his feet-and that com
mOnest temptation of all, the elegant
ly fitted up billiard and drinking {
saloon.
They had been married just about
as long as you and John had been
when the sad catastrophe of their lives
| took place. had called to spend the
day with Helen and found her in her
usual condition of personal untidiness
and disorder. When her husband /:
came home at dinner time l noticed,
with painful concern, that he had been
drinking-nOt very freely, but just
enough to show itself in captiOus i'll
humor. Helen had not dressed for
dinner, but presented herself at the
table without even q clean collar, and
with an old faded shawl drawn about
her shoulders. She looked any thing
but attractive.
saw her husbands eyes glance to-
wards her across the table with an f,
expression that chilled me. 1t was
hard, angry expression. He was
scarcely civil to me, and snapped his
wife sharply two or three times during :
the meal. At its close, he left the
table without q word, and went up |
stairs.
"What is the matter with John ~ 1
asked.
"Dear above knowsn' replied Hell
en-; "He's been acting queer for
good while. I can't imagine what's {
come over him. ~
"Does he come home in this way .
often?" Iasked.
ayes, he's moody and disagreeable
most of the time. Pm getting dread /
fully worried about it."
AS we talked we heard John NOV :
ing about the with heavy footballs in /
the rooms above. Presently he came [
down, and stood for a little while in
the hall at the foot of the stairs as if {
in hesitation. Then he went to the
street door, passed out, shut it hard
after him.
Helen caught her breath with a
start, and turned little pale.
"Whats the matter?' I asked, :
seeing the strangeness of her look.
81 don't know" she replied in a
choking voice, laying her hand at the
same time on her breast, "but feel
as if something dreadful was going to
happen" j
she got up from the table, and
drew my arm around her. l felt [
sudden depression of spirits. We {
went slowly up to her chambe where j
we spent the afternoon and then took
upon myself the office of a friend, and 1
talked seriously to my cousin about
her neglect of personal neatness, hint
ing that her husbands estrangement ,
from his home, and altered manner
towards herself, might all spring from
this cause. She was little angry
with me at first, but I pressed the sub
ject home with tender seriousness
that did the work of conviction and
as the evening drew on, she dressed
with care and neatness. With a
fresh ribbon tied on her head, and col
or little raised by excitement she
looked charming and lOvable Iwait-
ed with interest to see the impression
she would make on her husband. He
could not help being charmed back in
to the lover l was sure. But he did
not come home to tea. We waited for
him a whole hour after the usual time,
and then sat down to the table alone;
but neither of us could do more than
sip little tea.
I went home soon after, with a
pressure of concern at my heart for