Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-02-12
But She danced and sumo al

from the parlors, and was smoking
and talking in the dressing-rOOm.
He was a little out of sorts. Hetty,
conscious of her duties as hostess,
insisted on being public property,
and could not be turned over into
tete a tete, and the women who
were ready to be talked to ne did
not care about. Engaged men are
generally known for their boorlsh
conduct to ladies generally. Roke-
wood, although not engaged, be-
lieved himself, far enough upon the
road to forget his suavity, and fell
back upon cigars and his masculine
friends whenever his lady-love
could not be whispered or gazed at.
Consequently damsels who
thought Rokewood charming were
wondering what had become of him,
when Biddy, the waiter, mysteri-
ously beckoned her mistress into the
hall, and, in an awful whisper, said
more spoons are needed for the
crame.'
Of course there must be, said Mrs.
Armstrong. Where was my poor
head to so forget it? I'll get poor
Aunt Martha's set from my up
stairs china closet. Please wait on
the stairs until come to you.'
And away ran Mrs. Armstrong to
the second floor, where she plunged
into long, old-fashioned closet, and
brought forth a legacy of silver
ware left her by maiden aunt
Counting the spoons over, a murmur
OF voices from the next room fell
upon her ear. At the same time
she caught the perfume of cigar.
She knew that Charles Rokewood
had the richest voice and smoked
the best cigars of any man in his
set.
You dear old fellow, she whis-
pered to herself, I have been so
cross to you tonight that some day
I'll be as kind to you as l can to
make up for it.
Then, with loving woman's wish
to see the face that is so dear to her,
she stepped forward and peeped
through the crack in the door of the
china closet opening into the little
sewing-room, devoted. this evning to
the gentlemen's toilet. Every word
was plainly audible when her pretty
ear approached so closely to the
crevice, and the first word riveted
her attention. The men were talk
ing of matrimony.
It's a deuced bore, said his friend.
You are tied to a woman's apron
strings for life. You can't say your
soul your own. Take my advice and
keep out Of it altogether, Charley.
Look here, old fellow, said
Charles, taking his cigar from be-
tween his lips, that sort of thing
is all mans fault. Now, when l
marry, my first act will be to prove
myself master. AS you begin, so
you go on, and before the honey
moon is over, the woman who takes
my name shall know that my word
is law, and that hers must yield to it.
The spoons in Mrs. Armstrong;
hands tinkled together, just then,
but no one heard them. Charles
went on.
My wife, if 1 have one, shall have
no chance to show her temper. If
she does not like my orders, she
must obey without liking. I'll break
her in just as I would horse-bring g
her down at once to the frame OF
mind I mean to keep her in; pur-
posely thwart her for awhile; con-
tradict her; object to her style of
dress; make ner alter her way of
doing her hair; refuse to dance; at
tendance at church; make her send
regrets to party invitations when
she wants to accept them; show her
at once what she may expect. After
a while 1 might yield little more:
but because, you understand, not to
release her.
Ye-e-e-s, said the friend, doubt.
fully; but you cant think how hard
you'll find it; and if you stay out
late they make such a row-sit up
for you in nightcap, and cry when
you come in.
I'd manage that, said Rokewood
by staying out every night until
daylight. The one rule I should put
in practice would be-neyer let a
woman have her own way.
The spoons tinkled a little more,
and Mrs. Armstrong; face was ter
ribly flushed, but she listened still.
"Of course you yield a great deal
to the woman you are in love with, u
said Mr.. Rokewood, evidently brush
ing the ashes from his cigar; ''but
that's because of the romance and
all that sort of nonsense, which dies
out with the honeymoon. You can
find women enough to write poetry
to, and to talk sentiment with, mar.
ried or single. AS for your wife she's
the woman that keeps house for you,
and the sooner you make her aware
of the fact the better. When 1 mar
ry, Jones, my dear fellow, it will be
with no idiotic idea of perpetual
courtship in my mind. Tll begin as
l intend to go on, and be master, de-
pend upon it,"
''But not my MASTER" whispered
pretty Mrs. Armstrong, "not mine. u
''Mrs. Armstrong, them spoons .
whispered Biddy, at the stairs just
then.
Hetty Armstrong gathered up the
spoons which had slipped down into
her lap. She looked at them as she
did-so. They were solid and ele-
giant, as was all her silver. Her
eyes glanced about the room, which
wealth and taste had made the per-
fection of elegance and comfort.
Her room She heard down stairs
the merry chat of her guests, the
sound of music and dancing. She
remembered that in the kitchen her
servants were making ready a sup
per fit for king. She turned to
the mirror; handsome woman, still
young, and elegantly dressed, looked
proudly back. An hour before, all
this, the woman included, she would
have given to Charles Rokewood
had he been beggar. Just twinge
of pain went through her heart.
| One tear stole down her GLOWING