The Portland daily press., 1875-09-11

lent a1d ivory calm.
OF course we were all enthusiastic, all ex-
cited. War was yet only splendid senti-
ment; its blood and dirt and agony were I'M
known to those who should endure them be-
fore the year rolled round again. Tent life
in the home camps had been an agreeable
picnic, drill and amusement. Patriotism
1amed high, and patriots-some OF them
drank deep. Half the officers there were re-
oolent OF evil spirits in the literal sense;
few showed their influence decidedly. But
when men are going to die for their country,
and wear uniforms, who is going to find fault
with minor lapses? Because we stay at
home, shall there be no cakes and ale for
those who go to war? Did anybody blame
the army that swore terribly in Flanders We
should all have been shocked to see such a
state of things at an ordinary reception in
our respectable town, but now nobody no.
ticed it. l was talking with Milesan lieu
tenant, who had evidently fortified his cour-
age Tor the evening, and we were in an eager
discourse about the woes and wrongs of his
country as well as mine, when 1 felt a ner-
vous and stringent clutch on my arm.
| turned round, and beheld Nanny, her face
white even to the lips, and her eyes dull.
Take me up stairs p she gasped.
But before could get her to the hall she
sank dead weight on my arm. opened
| the front door, put her in veranda chair,
| and sent a passing servant for some water;
but the fresh, keen breath of the west wind
| revived her before the water came.
"What is the matter, Nan:" inquired
| anxiously, when her eyes at last opened
brightly and the bloom came back to her lips
and cheeks.
"Tuberose and whiskey !-u.g-hr' she an
swered with shudder. ''Take me right
home, Jack. 1 can't bear it minnie"
Here was the irrepressible nose! I made
such apologies as could, and took her home,
inwardly thanking heaven that my own olfac-
tories were of the usual sort.
The next unaccountable thing she did
and did the next day too-was to pull me
down to bed of English strawberries in
friends garden, that might smell the deli
| cious odor OF the leaves. In vain l snufed,
and rubbed my nose, and tried TO think I
perceived pleasant smell; but nothing an
swered Nanon looked at me amazed. was
sorry, but 1 really smeiled nothing at all;
while she inhaled delicate perfume, she as
ured ME, like no other to be described.
| have since heard it was a sign of good
birth to perceive this odor Mans must have
been very good. By-and-bye our house was
built. We moved into it year from our
| wedding day. l must say my little woman
proved herself deft and dainty housekeeper.
| Our small cottage was neat as bees cell, but
not painfully so. 1t was all lived in, all home
| llke-no shut-up rooms, no overtime uphol-
| stery too good to use. The carpets were not
Brussels, or the chairs rosewood, but every
thing harmonized in tint in every room, and
| all the ornaments were good of their kind
hate room filled with fancy work, like
the show counter of an agricultural fair or a
| worsted shop; neither tortured crewels nor
denominations in canvas or paper Uttered up
| our bright rooms; there were no tides on the
| chairs, no linen covers on the sofas. An in
| describable breat of purity and freshness
| filled the house. I think this was owing to
| her nose. l confess; though I had to smile
when saw her daily tours through the pre-
misses with that dilate high feature
high in air, delicately smelling at the door of
every closet and chamer, and bouncing upon
| any breath of evil as a hawk on its prey.
Thore was no musty nook in our houses the
first faint scent of damp earthiness was de-
| tected; the corner, the crock, the bottle that
| generated it was scalded, soaped, scraped,
dried and summed on the instant; neither was
there any sour bread endured an hour;
no meat outlived its usefulness or its pleasant
| ness in larder or refrigerator; no pickles went
beyond the verge of pickledness; our eggs
were always fresh, for Nan averred that
fresh egg had it's own clean odor. Heavens
what nose was that which could pierce an
| egg-shell!
| My life was somewhat harassed no boubt,
fsr my wife developed turn for locating
smells
"Jack, where have you been?" she would
| say, repulsing me suddenly after the first kiss
with which she always received me coming
| from the office at night, and which politeness
1 was always expected to return-"where
haze you been?" with keen flash and quiv-
er of eye and eyeid.
'Why, Nan?"
| HRecausa Won smell of m achinarv,
"By George" (dear reader, forgive the ex-
pletive. l never swear, but a man must have
some safety valve), wouldn't have your
your nose, Nan, for five hundred dollarsp'
"And 1 wouldn't be without it for five
thousand. Tell me, now, haven't you been
somewhere?"
"Yes, have been to several somewheres.
l reluctantly admit, Mrs. Gardiner, that
went to Smiths printing office to see about
| some bill-heads, land spent half an hour study
ing out their new press"
| 81 thought So" was her satisfied reioinder
81 knew the smell of machine oil very WELL"
Another time am greeted with another
| shudder.
"WLat is it now, Nan ?" 1 inquire in abject
tones of dsniay.
81 smell cigars in your whiskers."
"Surprisingp' reply. 81 do not remem-
Der having hidde many there"
''Nonsense! mean smoke, of course"
"Nan, believe in Darwin now and for
ever. Your great-grandfather must have
been pointer. stood on the platform of a
crowded car, coming up town, by man who
smoked all the way, and the wind was fair
to smoke me too"
SIT is bad to have nose sometimes" says
my wife relatively.
"But it would be worse to have none.''
| "Jackr'
must confess that at times Nan, like most
other warm-hearted, bright, and sensitive
women, was the least bit jealous; not that
she ever thought really loved anybody else,
but she wanted to be first in my thoughts al
ways. Like every woman too who is jealous
and ezacting, she always inveighed against
| those traits as the very worst woman could
possess, and thanked the Lord, with Pharis-
aic fervor, that she never INDUCED in either.
Now like women generally; their society is
agreeable, their dainty ways pretty to behold,
their tricks and their manners infinitely
amusing; and think beautiful girl is the
most beautiful thing in the world. love to
study the pictures these sweet creatures pre-
| sent; the wavy gloss or golden fuffiness of
| their hair, the softly rounded and tinted
| cheeks, the white forehead, the smiling GRIM
son lips, the lovely eyes, the delicate dress
and shining adornments-they are like flow
ers with souls delight to study them; but
| love my wife, ana Sne is ms vile, winch
means great deal to decent man. would
see the whole race Of pretty girls drowned
rather than have my wife hurt in any way,
and sometimes 1 feel as if she ought to know
it; but you can't expect everything of wom-
an, any more than of man; so I did not
notice Nanon's small freaks OF this sort much.
Among our acquaintance she chiefly reviled
and abused little woman whom I had
known several years-a pretty child always,
hut SO very pretty!that you forgave her being
a.fool when you looked at the clear eyes, the
red, white, gold, and blue of Nelly Rivers
baby face, and heard her good-natured gigge.
Nan always held her up as pattern OF ''the
sort of women men always admire-a pretty
foolp adding, ''even my husband adores
her." And never contradicted these state
ments, for what is the use? One excellent
recipe for family peace is, ':Never argue with
your wife,"
But enc Sunday Nan was too i'll or too idle
to go to church. She talked vaguely about a
headache. 1 knew very well what that
meant; her new bonnet had not come home
the day before, and it was hot Sunday in
May. 1 left her on the lounge with new
book and salts bottle, boxing very lovely in
| ber dalicatn rose and white wrannpr and not