The Red Cloud chief., 1879-10-16
NJ FRIENDS HUSBAND.

Not mine-no, indeed; my husband il
50 different hat I may write n paper
some time just to-tell how good he l..
but this article j. about another woman's
husband. John and | have just return
ed from n visit 10 some dear friends 81
mine. and their experience 81 lfe's lit
tie trials has been If such a kind, and
vet - unlike one Ia the other, that ]
have a great desire Ia tell some one all
about IL.
But why not tell every body?" said
John. when | told him my desire. And
so ! send this to the Christian Union,
with the hope that there may be- some
among il. readers still young and clear
sighted enough Ia profit by a bad exam
pie. | do mol mean that there j. NO pos
sibility II improvement in those who
have reached middle life. Surely !
would not thus cut off my own posi-
bilities for daily growth in the knowledge
Of good. but il remains true that If "a
man or oma has lived la the age Of
40 years in the unconscious indulgence
Of petty sclfishness. the probabilities are
against sufficient clearness and range of
mental vision to take i'm ones entire self.
Or, il such vision l. granted by divine
inspiration, the sight If "A soul encr1lstet
with neglected opportunities for a daily
giving Of ones self away, after the pat
tern Of the Great Master, must be- full
of pain.
The friend Of whom | wish to speak
like many another loving wife. palliates
all her husbands shortcomings with the
oft-repeated excuse, 40, il is just his
way" an excuse against which ! wish
vehcmently To protest. A. if any n
had a right To make himself disagreed
BILE Ia all around him simply because he
was indulging in his own particular dis
agreeableness. and not another's.
But his way" in this case meant
nothing unpleasant in Ii was
simply that kind of sclfiShnesS which,
through inability or unwillingncss To put
itself in the place of another, always
Judges from its WI standpoint.
OF my friend herself, | will only say
that she has been married % years, and
that she went. at her marriage, from a
home in this city to a large farm in the
country. Though her city home had
been a humble one, yet certain things
had seemed so much a matter of course
and so entirely a necessity that it never
occurred to her To doubt their continu-
ance after marriage.
Among these, | NAV mention her at
tendance at church, her ability, in a
small way, To assist others, and, e>pcci-
ally, her love of cleanliness and order in
all her household arrangements. have
often wondered if the grace that con
quered resentment when she found that
il was "stoo much trouble" tn harness
the horse and take her Ia church on
Sunday mornings was not a better gift
to her than she could have obtained in
the public worship which she So much
enioved. The distance IA SO great a. TO
prevent her walking over the rough roads
except in the very best of weather. and
yet the desire to bring up her children
i'm the church often induced her 10 lead
the little oneS the whole distance, though
the weary feet Of the mother would
gladly have found their rest n home. |
do not say that her husband always re-
used to accompany her. He did refuse
o attend church, but the horses were ut
her service when there happened To he
one gentle enough To trust tn her driv-
n.y., or when the s.hired ian" could
spare his valuable time, or he himself
would drive if ne .felt like it, but her
feelings were rarely consulted.
Ii was the same with regard To mon
ey. If it had happened to he perfectly
convenient for him, he would have been
glad To supply her with all she could
spend. But he was what, in common
parlance, is called .land poor His
large farm was far from bringing him in
a large income; and, i'm the constant en-
deavor tn enrich the land, he found no
time To cultivate the mind or soul, and
neither time nor money to give Ia those
who were poorer than himself. That his
pigs should be the latest i'm the market,
he would spend all that was necessary /;
but to pay his wife's pew rent seemed a
burden too great To be borne. No fruits
were to be found upon his table. because
it "did not pay" To raise them, the
health and pleasure of wife and children
not being considered Il profitable invest
mcnt.
His horses must have rest but a holt
day, or any social recreation, for HIM
self or his wife was quite unnecessary.
But even these things were more eN-
CtStblt tudli the ntSlttt vi III 'oiiiHi'i-
est comforts of the household. For the
first 10 years of her married life my
friend managed Ia possess her soul in
patience without a drain 4 her Kitchen
sink. Barns were built with fine cellars
and ciSterns, but every drop of water
that came to the house for the supply of
a large family must he brought from Il
distance. and, after it had passed through
the waSh-tub and the sink, it must be
poured. beneath the kitchen windows,
there To give back its fragrance in the
heat of summer. and To form Il mound
of ice i'm the cold of winter.
But when, at length, prosperity had
SO far attended them As Ia warrant the
building of Il fine new house, the days of
such trials seemed over to my friend.
the very same condition of things, with
a slight difference in w particulars:
The supply of water was several rods
farther from the house, and underneath
the kitchen windows was a tub tn receive
the drainage, to be emptied when ii WAS
entirely convenient fof the men of the
household, and otherwise To overflow
and cauS 4 running stream of foul WA
ter around the doors.
And then-well, l don't know what
happened then, but that is ID years ago,
and a tub is there still! For, rs my
friend merrily said, m may come
and men may go, but tubs stay there
forever" Men of all trades have been
called to the farm to keep barns in re-
pair, and cattle well housed, and Labor
erS are always at hand, Yet. in ID years.
one days work could not be spared TO
dig a drain and lay a pipe "A few rods!
And this is the last half of the nineteenth
century, when every paper one takes up
is full of sanitary measures relating Ia
this very thing. But what a he eN-
pected of 4 man who is too poor even TO
subscribe for a weekly paper, while a
daily would be quite out of the question?
As his wife argues, he is too poor not TO
take n in these days of great improve
ments.
will say nothing of broken door-bells
left unhunp for four wears, or latcheS off