American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-12-07
TWENTY-FIVE POUND WEIGHT,

There, Christian. is tiny Fatherland.
A TWENTY-FIVE POUND WEIGHT,
Sooner or later in every marriage occurs
a crisis. Either love is triumphant over
the errors and selfishness of each, and
man and wife are united in what might
De called new marriage, and are one, in
deed, past the power of death and time
to separate them, or the process of assim-
AatiOn is failure. Observing all the out
ward decencies, man and wife are in heart
divorced, SO that it is always ssG'' with
each, and not 'we.', Or worse vet.
the re is a moral battle, and from that day
society hears with disgust the stronger
VIII, husband o. wife, as it may be- de-
clare continually, Y GU must, you shall. -
To this sharp turn in their road, John
Mediark, and Jessie, his wife, were fast
approaching.
Nobody suspected it. Only here and
there fs one found daring enough to hint
that, with marriage the curtain rises, and
the drama really begins. The majority
are of opinion that, leaving out Certain
exceptional cases, the play is over. And
where there is good husband, as John
was pronounced by everybody flor once
that addie-headed abstraction was right),
ana a COED, pretty, dainty, dear little wife
ike Jessie, loving and beloved, what an
could have cast doubt on their future!
And yet John and Jessie Medlark were
coming to a crisis in their united lives,
and coming under evil auspices.
How it commenced, Jessie herself could
hardly have told you. Perhaps from a
few idle words. When we talk of grow
ing, we are apt to think only of corn and
wheat acorn and roses, although in every
year doings, Is crop sown by some
Dody's words. But, however, it came !;
there it was, in Jessie's mind-a persistent.
EVIL thought; a thorn for ranking, burr
for clinging. This daughter of Eve, like
her first grandmother, was restless in
Eden. John loved her. - OF course in one
way Mrs. Jessie admitted to herself
with little toss of the head. that signi-
fled how could he help it, But she sus-
pected-grievously suspected-that he re-
garded her as child; that she was
not allowed her due weight i'm the fam
ly councils, that she had not q proper
hold on his respect that he valued her as
blind to her lOftier qualities. The Sus-
picion being encouraged. had taken en-
tire possession of her, anil perverted all
that was best and dearest in her life. And
such suspicion in such a woman i'm
pied bitter resentment, of which it
would be difficult to bring her to repent
ance. 1t is easier to convince ten sinners
lie
was both proud and selfrighteous. A
: high stepping little womanSI dare say
you may have seen her. If you have
you would certainly note her. With
a certain consciousness OF superiority in
the very daintiness with which her skirts
fell about her, and her cuffs settled Them
selves about her white wrists; with no
heroic hues, nothing very large hearted
or liberal in her pretty face, but ssgood
iittle dots and dimples.'' touch Of CO.
quetry, spice OF wiifulness,-just the
woman to dOfe on her house and husband
TO rule the first admiral and make it
cOmfoi table, to try and rule the second,
ana occasionally to make him little UNI
comfortable. There YOU have her.
There can be no doubt we are COMING
to the time when there will be recognized
physicians and systems of treatment for
moral ailments. Grave doctors will then
listen profoundly to symptoms of weak
ening affection and dying love! In that
day, when physician shall hear from a
husband that he is troubled with a chron-
&c uncertainty about the temper in which
tic shall find his wife. and is often silent
where he would be sociable, if it were not
for the dread of Introducing some dis
pleasing topic, that physician will make
the entry at once: ''Active remedies re-
quired, ana no time to be lost.''
John had reach this chronic uncertainty.
John Medlark was busy man. In the
firm OF Bobbin, Medlark & Co.. he was
the working partner; the one who urged
large ventures, and engineered them i;
who made the most important sales who
drove the establishment (partners in
cluded), and two hobbies besides-geology
and pet inyenti' n. He was urged, not
only by the honorable ambition Of an ac-
tive and clever young man, but by two
images, precious images, shrined deep
in very faithful heart-his wife, and a
large-eyed little girl, whose white fingers
every morning dropped the lump OF sugar
in papa's coffee, or else it would not have
been properly sweeIened. Such MIN
not apt to suspect them in others. There
fore, on the sixth anniversary OF their
wedding day, John met it with huge
basket Of flowers, pair of solitaire ear
rings, and kiss of extra heartiness for
Mrs. Jessie, and then, dinner being over,
straightway launched the discourse on
geology. Great rivers have to thank lit
tie drops of water. The ROthschilds owe
their first million to the fact that Meyer
Rothschild happened in on royal game
of chess. No doubt we, the common
people, should all use steel forks to-day
at dinner. if Galvani on a certain day had
turned his back Instead of his face. So,
to Johns choice of a subject was due the
great event, the first quarrel.
What was there offensive i'm geology
Nothing. On the contrary it implied a
compliment. When man brings out
his hobby for a gentle prance, it is as
sure a symptom of content with his CON-
pany, as Towers luxurious abandon of
stretching on the hearth rug. John in
nocently thought he had done his duty
by the day. He was thoroughly content.
A man with as sweet wife, with that
little girl on his knee, in that coy drawing
room, everything from the outside world
shut out, except the comfortable sense
that all went well there. with BObbin,
Medlark & Co., basking luxIIriously in
that bright seclusion-he considered him.
self "a very happy fellow.
But oh! the difference between a
straightforward John, bent on large aims.
and self-tOrmenting Jessie who had
not yet learned to look outside herself.
The flowers were sweet-thc solitaires
had been the wish of her heart. Some
wives might have thought the kiss better
than all. But it was always the same
story. Kisses and gifts are for children.
John behaved to her very much as he
might toward Maude on Christmas day,
anI that done hasfeDed hack tn tho stlt,.