River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-07-17
THE WIFE'S DREAM.


plump Angora cat on the velvet rug be-
fore the fine, a wise-looklno pug stretched
laz.Iy on the flowing skirts of pretts
woman's pretty dress. Truly, sweet,
domestic picture But stop! Surely that
is fro between those prettily arc ed
brows, and the full swell of the under
lip is very like a pout. And, as | live,
there are two great tears on the long
black lashesl And now she breaks out
into torrent of petulant, impatient
words:
''The same tiresome things day after
day-first breakfast, then kiss Charley
good-by, then directions to look for the
six o'clock dinner, and after the needle
work-how | hate it -or calls, made or
received. in which one is treated to full
account of Mrs. Blanks extravaganza, of
Miss Honiton's fiirtations, of that horrid
Colonel st. Cyr, so awfully fast my dear,
and SO distressingly good-looking.' How
tired am of it all And there is Char
lev. Who would have believed he could
change so in so short time! He no
| longer cares for ball, theatre or opera,
but dons dressing gown, smoking-cap and
slippers directly after he has swallowed
his dinner, lights that horrid meerschaum,
and passes the evening behind news
paper, enveloped in smoke-clouds. o,
| dear | wish had not been in quite such
hurry to get hurried. 0, 90 away, BIZ
Jour and with her slippered foot
she thrusts the teasing pug from her.
A rap at the door, and to her sharp
Come in servant appears, bearing a
card Madam looks, flushes, says II will
be dow directly" and flies to her dress
| groom, brushes her flushed Chez with
cooling powdeT-puff, pats the brown
waves of her hair with two pretty dimpled
hands, glances at herself in the glass,
smiles, and descends to the drawing
room
A tall, gentlemanly-looking man rises
and comes forward as she enters.
Mrs. Thornton"
That is all he says, but the tone and
the manner are most impressive, and
thrills through the heart of the wife as
CharIeys words and tones used to before
he took to neglccting her for dressing
gowns, sleepy-hollows and meerschaums.
Well, they talk of the weather, the last
new opera, etc, etc. Commonplace sub
jects enough. But WY should his eyes
cause hers to WAIVER and droop, glad to
shelter themselves behind the white lids.
Why, at parting, is the little white hand so
hastily Withdrawn from the close, warm
pressure of his2 Why,after he has gone,
does she gaze so tenderly at the hand she
had so hastily withdrawn, raise 1t almost
to her lips, and then suddenly let it drop
at her side2 Whyl can tell you that
She loves her husband with her whole
warm, passionate heart. And for ii year
or more has been living on husks He
considers his whole duty done when the
table is beautifully supplied, the wife
we'll dressed, and he does not waver in
his allegiance to her Possession has
dimmed the bright lustre of his love,
and so, the wife's heart is hungry for it,
and this old admircr whom she gladly
tire over for Charley, is welcome to- day
for the sake of the ripple he makes on
this dead-sea monotony, down which she
is slowly drifting. And his eyes cause
hers to d cop, and his hand pressure
causes her heart TO thrOb, because there
is love in the eyes and tenderness in the
hand pressure.
She does not care one Iota for this RAY
Remm ngton. Still, she has hungered
so long. that this crust is not so unpala-
table to her as it would once have been.
There, sir or madam, you have the expla-
nation. As TOR you, Mr.. Jones or Robin
son, is there so mvch difference between
your conduct and this Charles Thornton
of whom | write, that you can afford to
pass the lesson by, as hot applicable to
you? If so, Mrs Jones or Robinson Is to
be congratulated. She is happy nom
an, and God bless you, sir, say /, and l
wish there were more like you.
Now | am not going to make of this
handsome Ray Remington a iend in
arnate. No, he was simply what would
be termed a genuinely good fellow
which means he was Witty, generous,
warm friend, nobody's enemy, and lit
tie, Just little weak, and impulsive
enough to follow up his own desires and
inclinations, recklng little Of the cost or
consequences to himself or others.
He had been very much In love with
pretty Mrs Thornton before she became
Mrs Thornton-when she was pretty
Lou Tremaine-and had asked her to
change her name for that of Remming-
ton. But pretty Miss TTemaIne was very
much in love with some one else, and "A
few months thereafter made herself and
that other supremacy happy by going
through a certain ceremony in Grace
Church, respondent in white satin and
Brussels lace. And Ray Remington,
with dull, gnawing pain at his heart,
acted as grooms-man, and there was not
a tremor in his voice, though the brave
face was colorless when he congratulated |
bride and groom and wished them bon
goyage.
He had met Mrs. Trornton several times |
since her return from her tour, but never |
alone, as to-day, and he found it danger |
ously sweet to sit there gazing into the
lovely eyes and at the dear tender little |
mouth of his early love
But let us return to Mrs Thornton |
She stands there, in the centre of that |
pretty room, with white, white face, /
and a wild, frightened look in the sweet /
blue eyes, then burst into passionate |
flood of tears, throws herself on the near
est chair, drops her face in her hands, |
and her hands on the table before her |
minutes pass. The sobs
grow fainter and fainter. At length silence /
reigns, save for an occasional chirp from
the canaries and the ticking of the pref
" Frencn clock ON the mantle. A rap
1t the dooI.arouses her, and James enters
with a cluster of violets. There is no
,ard-nothing to tell from whom they
came; but she knows only too well. In
he dear old days, when she was Miss
rremaine, two such clusters were left
.very day at her door, one bearing Ray
card, and the other
Charles Thornton's
How long ago 1t seems, and how
changed the violets are As fragrant as
If old, and as quantity pretty, their dear
title faces all awry, but somehow they
almost make her ENGLAND she iikens
hem to little, fearful blue eyes, and kisses
hem tenderly, pityingly, and then
TRUSTS them hurridly into the open draw
r of the table, closes it, and turns to
yree. her husband, whose step had an
lounced his coming.
A moment later she IS excessively pro-
'oked at herself for thrustng the yiolets