The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1880-03-26
A rHREATENEn DIVORCE.
The Gem Puzzle, and the Wreck and
Ruin it Wrought in a Happy House
hnI

Ruin it Wrought in a Happy House
hold.
New York Mail
The gem puzzle, or the boss puzzle, or
the boss nuisance, whichever it is, has
played serious part in the history of
my family and of my friends. In an
unfortunate moment, some days ago,
(maledictions be on iD [ invested ten
cents in the fifteen" puzzle. | thought
l had obtained my moneys worth, but
alas had purchased ten nights wake
fulness and fifteen times more family
feud than l had rcckoned on. l thought
as | carried the wretched little instru-
ment of torture home in my pocket how
happy | was to have it, and instead of
that, have not known what it is to be
happy since its shadow darkened my
doors On the first night | worked hard
over it until l a. m, although the hard
est work | had was to keep my wife and
oldest daughter from seizing it. | went
to bed with headache, disappointed
and mad, but determined. / awoke in
the morning with a headache and found
my daughter of fifteen at fifteen She
was late at school that day and | reached
my office two hours behind time. 1t was
the 10th OF the month, but | dated all
my letters the 18th, and one of them
after the old style, "13-1j-14." That
evening was forced TO use paternal and
marital authority TO keep the peace
and the pieces, may add. 1t never oc-
CURED to us to buy another puzzle.
| worked all the evening hard, aud got
! pretty mad, not because | couldn't do it,
| but because that busybody of u wife per-
| sisted IN telling me how to move the
! blOcks-as if she knew better than | did.
The next evening my mother-in law
come to tea with US. She said she had
| done the Fifteen" puzzle several times.
Not with 11-1O," l said, "nor with Ii
IA" "Oh, yes" she replied. "Well,
there must have been some of the other
numbers out of sequence, too" l said.
No." she still insisted, nothing but IL
IA" "And you are sure you didn't lift
one out ~ continued /, skeptically.. sol
course I didn't" she retOrted with as
perity; "do you think 1 cheat and tell
falsehoods ?" Whereupon 1 gulped
down my sneaking suspicious on that
subject, and replied very blandly (be.
cause she has money, and my wife, Fan
ME, has Only one sister. Certainly not
mother dear but then thought per
haps it was accidental" "WeH, Mr.. c.
she said excitedly, and rising from the
table, you must take me for an idiot, tC
think that | could lift block by acci
dent" "Can you do the puzzle again =
/ asked, moved by satanic instinct tC
prove to her that she was wrong, and ut
terly unmindful of her limitless bank &c
count. Il don't know" she replied curt
ly, as she swept out of the room with
that dignity which is born alone of til,
consciousness of possessing cords of L
S. registered As, or other truck of SINH
lar nature. Fannie came down VEN
cross and said, Edward, l think vol
were extremely rude" Possibly" sait
l I -I,a 10
Nothing more was said, and Fanny wen
off to bed early. did not.
Truthfulness runs in my wife's family
and consequently I WIS tortured Will
the belief that my mother-in-law hac
done "i5-14," and if she had done it, i
was possible, and If it was possible,
would do it; so | worked until halfpas
twelve. When I went up stairs Fanny
was awake, but an awkward silence
reigned supreme That was the frs
night for sixteen years that / had faileC
to kiss her good night, except when W,
were not together. The next evenin:
my daughter declared she could do I'll
TO- or "15-14," so after tea we went at i
"a et a7-Blfs, or in other words determin
ed TO vie without arms She foole(
around over those blocks for an hou
until got so nervous and so provokeI
with the stupid way She moved them
would have Slapped her had she onl,
been younger. A circle of five or sevel
is the only legitimate way to move; ant
instead of that she Travelled all over tn
board Finally she changed the loca
ton of the vacant square and declares
she had done it. | sent her TO bed
The next day was Sunday, and reall,
: for me day of rest. Throughout tn
LitanY, when the congregation marmuT
ed Good Lord. deliver u.s. | silentI
J added, from the puzzle of f1fteen.' Ba
our climax came on the following even
! ing, when my wife asserted, and insisic
that she herself with her mother ha
, done s'15-14." / said she hadn't; tina
it couldn't be done without some trich
and that / didn't believe it. We ha
been cool and hadn't kissed since tn
row. She replied that / was insulting
and / answered that if her mother sal
she could do @15-14," fair and squarl
i she said what was not true, and that sh
knew it wasn't true when she said 81
Fanny, thereat, SAID that she never coul
: have believed that could so far forge
myself replied to the effect that he
mother had told lie. and that perhap
! IL was not the first one.
The next morRing Fanny went to bs
9 mOrther's, and sent notessaying that III
:. til / knew how treat her and her motht
= with respect she would not return, an
f she never viii if have to acknowledg
that mother can do s'f5-l4,p becaus
! she can't and there's the end of II