The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1874-10-29

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was fading and losing the charms
: her girlhood Her maternal burden
y and many household cares had so muc
= absorbed her time as to allow her littl
> time to devote to the arts of the toile
and had wrought great changes in he
appearance Indoor confinement ha
re made her sallow, too much care ha
m. wrinkled her brow aud dropped a fey
Iii. touches of gray among her brown tresS
nt.es, and often WEAKNESS and discourage
,Ument would drive the smiles from he
JAlface and the lightness from her feet
N'making her a dull companion for he
when he came home from hi
Ieloffice, weary of business and wishing t.
It be entertained.
ri' Herman was now in his prime, hand
somer, if possible, than at the time o
Fl his marriage. His business, though ar
y duous was not irksomely monotonous
= His office did not require every moment o
= his presence. He wss often on the street
meeting and conversing with acquaintan
ces, hearing the news, and having his
= mind occupied with the various matters
which enter into the every day life of a
k business man.
4 His exercise in the open air kept him
strong and healthy; he mingled in socie
a ty, and thus kept pace with the spirit of
/ the times, his wife went out so seldom
that if she ever had an opportunity to
{ attend social gathering of any kind,
she found herself so far behind the
times and behind the style that she
would often decide in her own mind not
to go again.
Herman would have been glad to have
her accompany him oftener than she did,
but she always had so many excuses to
stay at home that he grew tired of ask
ing her, and often went without her; and
!, though she did not object in words, yet
, this conduct always made her feel un-
| happy.
Thus slight estrangement had been
gradually creeping in between them.
, Herman, in the flush of his manhood
wanted freedom to enjoy society and
. find sympathetic souls among the many
gifted men and women whom he met
and the desire had its foundation among
the purest impulses of his soul His
mistake was in indulging in the recrea-
tions which had tendency to draw him
away from his wife, instead of keeping
her along with him. He might, if he
tried lightened his wifes cares in many
little ways, and interested her more in
the matters which possessed charms for
him, for Mary had more than an ordina-
ry share of intelligence, and might, with
half the advantages of her girlhood,
have made herself most pleasing COM
panion. 1t is hard, however, when aper
sons mind has taken to running in
groove, to turn it in other directions
At any rate in this instance, Herman did
not succeed to his satisfaction, and so
ceased trying.
1t would be hard to say when the
thought first occurred to Herman that
h., i h ta or a1
He was young when he was married, and
surely such mistakes were made some
times. Why not in his case He tried
to put away the thought at first, but the
more he went into society, and left Mary
at home, and the more he saw of brilliant
people, and contrasted them with his
wife, pale, detected and uncom munica-
tive, the more persistenty would the
idea thrust itself into his mind By-and-
by another thought came. Perhaps
somewhere in the world was his real soul
companion, one who could brighten his
life instead of casting shadows over it.
1t was true he had not lost all affection
for Mary, but was it not the affection OF
friendship instead Of the holy flame OF
love he had once thought it =? With these
feelings in his heart he began to look
upon himself as a man to be pitied, Il
sort of martyr, and forgot to sympathize
with his long-suffering wife, neglectlng to
use means for tanning the smouldering
Goals of the old affection into new life
again.
Meanwhile his home began to grow
irksome to him. He was fond OF his |
children, but their boisterous plays often
ANNOYED him, and he was seldom in the |
mood to enjoy their society. He began |
to form habit of going out directly at |
ter supper and calling on friend or at
tending some lecture. His tastes were
not low; he never frequented drinking
saloons, or allowed himself to mingle in
anv society that was not considered high |
ly respectable.
His wife had, at first, offered some pro
test against his going out SO much
"Why do you go out this evening, |
Herman ~ she said to him once, Il don't
know but you are losing all interest for
home, you are absent so much
If Mary words had been spoken in a
loving, pleading tone, they might have
had more effect upon her husband, but
they were uttered with the injured, com
planning air which always tried his pa
tience, so he said, hastily,
Il do not see why you need to com
plain, as long as provide for your com
fort if I 20 accocasionally where | can
find pleasant company.
He was sorry the moment the words
were spoken, but he little knew how
deeply they had hurt The sarcastic re-
tort that followed did not enlighten him,
nor did it improve matters in the least.
''Bv all means, was Mary's answer, go
where you can find agreeable company
1t would be a pity for your wife and
children to interfere with your enjoy
ment."
He went and shut the door hard after
him as he left the room. He did not
know that Mary cried herself almost
into convulsions after he had gone, and
that her dull, hollow yes and listless air
the next morning were the result of the
violent grief in which she had indulged
the night before.
When a.man begins to let 60, one by
one, his home interests, he is not long in
forming others Of different nature. and
so it was with Herman He had allowed
himself to think that possibly there
might be an affinity for him some
where in the world, and although he had
no intention of trying to seek soul
companion or OF accepting one should
such a person be thrown in his way, yet
he began to look upon women with new
interest. to study their dispositions as
far as he could, and compare them with
his own and say to himself, "If | were
free now, with the experience | have
gained in all these years, | might have
an opportunity to realize true happiness
in the marriage relation
All this time Mary was helping to dig
the grave OF her own happiness, when,
instead of Stimulating cheeriulness, study
ino her husbands tastes, and striving to
make herself agreeable, she grew more