, 1874-09-20
THAT MQTHEQ-IN-LAW.

THAT M0THEl-IN-LAW.
For some time past, the office OF mother-in-
law has not been enyiablo one. As long Us
young men and. nlaidcns will marry, however, 1t
| is difficult to SEQ how the mothe,-in-law can be
dispensed with. It is fact therefore which
must be recognized. but it has not been recog-
nized in some cases without vigorous protest,
pnlnful as the asset ton may be, for there are
many good mother5-in-law. and even the wild
| aud willful Poe has immortalized his in one Of
| his choicest etauzas. Tho humorists have inya-
rlably singled her out rs the target OF their jokes
| The satiris:s have made her tho butt OF their
| ridicule. Even some Of the 1noralists dish her
up well spiccd and seasoned, - to point moral
and 2dorn tale" It is hard, but it seems to be
one of those cruel necessities which beloug to
the eternal fitness OF things that there should
be sometimes an antipathy between the daugh-
tel's husband and mother. especially when they
happen to be domcllel under the game
proach each other without ut once organizing
Tumpus. The husband ouly sees in tho mother
in-aw mischicf-1nascr Ill interferer in such
little discipline he may think it best to estab-
lish for the regulation OF the partner Of his
bosom q general fermenter Of discord in the do
mestc economy. The wife only sees i'll her
strong tower and buttre5s OF defeuse, into
which she can retreat tor shelter at any time
when the household gale begins to blow. As
lLere is no moderator, no mutual friend between
the two. tue fight must always be personally ag-
gressiyc. direct, and face to face, and sometimes
with the odds of two to one.
Whatever has been said in the past, however,
about the weaknesses 4nl failings OF mothers
in-law: however much trouble they may have oc-
casonsl; and however subtle ard desperate they
may hive been in undermining their sons-in-law,
none OF them seem to have cqualed tho Hon.
Mrs. n. 3, Morse in the capacity to make
house warm and lively for 3 man, md no one
has drawn such picture as that furnished
by the graphic pen of 1lr. Tilton, who in
one sitting has taken his revenge for years OF
misery, and holds that 1nother-iu-law upon his
pen-poil.t wrigsiing like bectlo on pin. We
have 1irst Airs Morse i'll her little practical dem
onstrations. The venerable Judge, her husband,
seems to have been the earliest victim. He en-
du1ed the discipline with commendnblo patience,
until she took him by the throat one day aud
choked hin, until be wns black in the face 1t
then occur ed to the old gentleman that he had
better resiga before he WAS made to step down
and out, or get on come ragged edge from which
eecape would DO impossible. So he called his
family togethsr and enacted q legal separation,
which he has trer eince Loyalty maintained. De-
nriycd Of tho Judge, Mira Morse looked about
for another victim, and soon found one in Tilton
Hardly daring to tako the young and vigorous
son-in-law by the throat, her fayorite mode of
attack seemed to be desperate parasol-thrusts
at him, resulting III the loss of several
sun-shadcs at odd times. These nttacks wcro
not dangerous, and: as Mr. Ti]ton paid ittlo at
teution to them. she adopted q more violently
suggestive policy by seizins the carving knife,
striking warlilc attitudes, nnd expressing the
cheerful desire to cut his heart out. This feat
Of surgery not imnressiug Dir. Tilton with much
admiration. lie ordered her out Of tho house.
At this point We have the motIer-in-law as
the plotter. No longer able to charge upon him
Will her parasol, OF hover over him with cary
ing-knife in hand, she weayes subtle plot to
prevent Tilton from getting divorce from his
wife (as she imagined he would do), the ofenuc
being known to her and all concerned. For this
purpose she utilized Bessic,-that interesting
half-idiot, az Susan B. Anthony afrcctonate-
ly terms her. In this, however, ehe
had not calculated well, for others were
dragged in. Mr.. Noulton began to take
an interest. and ur. Beechez very
lively interest. She was plotting against
three instead Of one, and tic odds thwarted her,
She now had no resource left but 1otter-writing.
and here her abilities shine resplepdenty. She
begins in quiet way, intending to work up q
crescendo OF epithct Tlton is at first oply an in
fernal villain. whose tongue ought to be taken
out BY the roots. Having struck the keynote.
she rapidly runs the whole gamut,-" SHINY"
polluted curse" D." Uriah Heep," and "your
rotten house," 81 diabolcal cur,' Having eaaed
her mind ir detail, she proceeds to do it in gen.
eral By writing to Bowen: II congratulate you
upon being rid OF an InfdeI. Liar, Hypocrite,
Unbeliever, Free-Lover. Tyrant, Knare, and
FOOL" This choice collection of epithets |
being Of little avail, she begins to throw Mr.. |
Eeecher in his face, not stopping TO think in her
blind fury that by so doing she was accumulatinp
evidence for Tiiton. At one time she Gays:
Ny poor, dexr child never answered. your bestis1 |
waat-too religious by nature and grace for such a.
!ou; aud this want he answered. TIL tn1s hour |
th2s thc Only cauatoz hava ksu naa bean