Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-08-28


Clarence looked up in surprise.
Ell carry it ?"
"Ave-you have the burden in you
heart, and you mean to carry it home
Remember, my boy, have been there, AM
know all about it, | have been very fool
ish in my lifetime. and | have suffered.
suffered until l discovered my folly, ant
then l resolved that l would suffer NJ
more Upon looking the matter squalely
and honestly in the face, found that the
burdens which had so CALLED me had beer
self-imposed. Ofcourse such burdens ca:
be thrown off Now you have resolved
that you will go home to dinner with
heavy heart and dark face You have
no hope that your wife will meet you with
a smile And why? Because you know
that she has no particular cause for smll
ing. You know that her heart is burden
. ed with the affection which gives you sc
much unrest And so you are fully assur-
ed that you are to find your home shroud-
ed in gloom. And, Furthermore, you don't
/ know when that gloom will depart, and
when the blessed sunshine of love will
burst in again. And why don 'tyou know
Because it is not in your heart to sweep
the cloud away. You say to yourself,
| can bear it.as long as she can! Am |
not right ~
Clarence did not answer in words.
II know I am right" pursued the mer-
chant; land very likely your wife is saying
| to herself the same thing. So your hope
Of sunshine does not rest upon the willing
ness to forgive, but upon the Inability to
bear the burden. By-and-by it will hap
pen, as it has happened before, that one Of
! the twain will surrender from exhaustion;
and it will be likely be the weaker party.
Then there will be a collapse, ard a recon-
Citation. Generally the wife fails first be-
I meath the CALLING burden because her love
is keenest and most sensitive. The hus-
band in such case, acts the coward. When
| he might, with breath, blow the cloud
away, he cringes and covers, until his
wife is forced to let the sunlight i'll through
her breaking heart.n
Clarence listened, and was troubled. He
saw the truth and felt the weight~ He
was not fool nor was he a liar. During
the silence that followed he reflected upon
the past, and he called to his mind scenes
just such as Mr.. Wardle had predicted
And this brought him to the remembrance
of how he had seen his wife weep when she
had failed and sank beneath the heavy
burden, and how often she had sobbed up
on his bosom in grief for the error.
The merchant read the young mans
thoughts; and after time he arose and
touched him upon the arm.
"Clarence, suppose you were to put on
your hat and go home now. Suppose you
should think, on the way, only of the love
and blessing that might be; and, with this
thought, you should enter your abode with
q smile upon your face; and you shcad
put your arms round your wifes neck,
and kiss her, and softly say to her, my dar-
ling, | have come home to throw down the
burden I took away with me this morning.
It is greater than | can bear. Suppose you
were to do this, would your wife 'repulse
you ~
"Repulse me? p
''Ah, my boy, you echo nay words with
amazement which shows that you under
stand me. Now, sir, have you the courage
to try the experiment Dare you be so
much of a man Or, do you fear to let
your dear wife know how much you love
her? Do oufear she would respect and
esteem you less for the deed ? Tell me-do
you think the cloud of unhappiness might
thus be banished? Oh, Clarence, it you
would but Try It'll"
Sarah Spencer hal finished her work in
the kitchen, and in the bed-chamber, and
had sat down with her work in her lap
But she could not ply her needle. Her
heart was heavy and sad, and tears were in
her eyes.
Presently she heard the front door open,
and step in the passage. Certainly she
knew that step! Yes--her husband en-
tered And q smile upon his face. She
saw it through her gathering tears, and
her heavy heart leaped up. And he came
and put his arms around her neck, and
kissed her and he said to her, in broken
accents. Darling, 1 have come home to
throw down the burden | took away with
me this morning. It is greater than | can
| bear ~
And she, trying to speak, pillowed her
head upon his bosom, and sobbed and Wept
like a child. Oh could he forgive her?
His coming with the blessed Offering had
thrown the burden of reproach back upon
herself. She saw him noble and generous,
and she worshipped him.
!. But Clarence. would notallow her to take
all the blame. He must share that.
Eve will share it so evenly" said she,
chat it's weight shall be felt no moAe.-
And now, my darling, we will be happy"
'Alwaysn'
MI. Wardle had no need, when Clarence
returned to the counting house, to ask the
result. He could read it in the young
mans trimming eye, and in his joy-inspir-
ed face.
1t was year after this-and Clarence
Spencer had become q partner in the house
that Mr.. Wardle, by accident, referred
| to the events of that gloomy morning.
"Ah!" said Clarence, with a swelling
bosom, ''that was the most blessed lesson
I ever received. My wife knows who gave
it to me-
"And it serves you yet, my boy 20
faye; and it will serve us while we live.
We have none of those old burdens of an
ger to bear now. They cannot find lodg-
ment with us. The flash and jar may
come, as in other days-for we are but
human, you know-but the heart, which
has firmly resolved not to give an abiding
place to the ill-feeling, will not be called
upon to entertain it, Sometimes we are