St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-06-09
Plural BIessedness.
A COMMON EPISODE IN MORMON HOUSE
HOLDS.

From Mrs Paddock's Fate OF Madame La Tour. ~
Before the glass, as usual. do be-
lieve, Ruth, that you are vainer than
ever"
The person addressed pirOuetted
across the room, shook her ringlets,
smoothed out her d aperies, and settled
herself gracefully i'll chair before re-
plying.
Don't be cross, Myra, there's IA dear.
| have to take little pains with my
looks when people are dropping III al
most every hour in the day TO see the
BRIDE"
"The bride Oh, yes | beg your
pardon | had almost forgotten that
your honeymoon is not over. And
now, seeing that we are alone, tell me,
is it honeymoon altogether n
at would be, only for one thing.
Philip is just as sweet as he can be,
but then he is so awfully religious.
You know they will pretend that it is
Il mans religious duty to treat all his
wives just alike, and Philip actually
believes that ! The first week after
we were married he stayed here, of
course but the second week he told
me it was his duty to go hOme-just
think of it-home-and every blessed
day of that week he stayed with his
first wife. Last week he was here
again, and now he is away. That's
something that | didn't bargain for,
and don't mean to stand it,"
IL confess | don't quite see how you
are going to help yourself"
"Just wait little and you will see.
| How is it i'll other families Don't the
last wife get all the petting and all the
attention ? How is it in President
Young's familyq When Emmeline was
the favOrite he stayed with her right
along and now since he has taken
Amelia, how many times do you sup
pose he has spoken to any of his other
wives ~
''NOt very often, perhaps but with
YOU the question is, not what other
men do, but what course your own
husband is going to take"
"Oh, I'll manage him, never you fear.
by the way, how ugly his first wife is
growing. She has changed so within
month that | declare when | met her
on the street yesterday hardly knew
her and | suppose now she will go
and tell Philip that | wouldn't speak to
her-the spiteful thing! ~
"You ought not to talk in that way,
Ruth. The poor woman sees trouble
enough, have no doubt"
"Well, | can't help it, and Pm sure
it isn't my fault. If she didn't want
| Philip to marry me, why did she give
her consent People ought to know
their own minds, and not agree to a
thing one day and make a fuss about
it the next. And if she is growing old
and ugly, am not to blame for that,
and Philip is not to blame either for
wanting a wife that doesn't look like Il
grandmother"
"Ruth, how old are you ~
81 shall be Ii next birthday"
"My poor child pity you"
"Now, Myra, that is Just like you
always trying to spoil my good times.
| | don't know, Pm sure, why | should
he pitied, unless it is because Philip
insists on taking rooms right here at
fathers instead of giving me ii house of
my own but I'll have different AZ
rangements in six months, as you'll
see. If don't manage to be the mis-
tress of his house by that time my
name is not Ruth
''Indeed And what will you do
with Jessie ?"
"Oh, she can have the old house.
It's comfortable enough, and she don't
care anything about style. She looks
like dOwdy lately. Why, the dress
she had on yesterday was ii perfect
fright"
"Perhaps she has too much on her
mind just now to care about dress"
"If she knows anything at all, she
ought to know that dress goes great
ways when you want to please ii man.
Last week when Philip came over here,
he looked as if he had just been to Il
funeral-l dare say Jessie had been
giving him some awful lectures but
had studied what to do, and | was
ready to meet him. | had the new silk
he gave me made up lovely, and wore
tea-rose ribbOns-iust my color every
body sayS-and Jane Taylor came over
and dressed my hair. She said look
ed like Il picture, and believe Philip
thought SO too, for he frightened up
wonderfully after | came down stairs. "
"Well, Ruth, | am sure | want you
to take all the comfort you can though,
if | were you, am afraid should look
forward sometimes to the day when
would be obliged to step aside and give
place to some one else and you know
you have just said it is the last wife
who gets all the attention"
"Now, Myra, you are really too bad
don't think there is another person in
the world who would say such things
to me-and in my honeymoon, too"
Here an embroidered handkerchief
was produced, and the bride buried
her face in its folds.
| c,,- R,rth 1il NOT
to make you feel bad"
The face came up again from its hid
ing-place.
am going down to the store, and want
Philip to think | look lovely. | know
he'll think it, though he won't say it
the provoking man. How is my dress
l. And do you suppose my hair would
look better if | should loop these curl.
] back-sO7 Did you ever hear of Phil
: ip's oldest sister They say she wa,
so lovely that she couldn't walk the
= street without people stopping to loob
: at her. Well, Aunt Margaret, who
used to know her, says have her style
! of beauty, and she says, too, it's my
own fault if | don't make Philip wor
ship me. She says he's worth a dea
n Oh money now anu making more every
f year, and if | manage right | can have
II such house and furniture and sucl
dresses as I've never dreamed Of"
II ''If those things will make you happy
q | hope you will get them. For my
> part, if | ever marry, want husband
Z who will not belong to any one but me
n and then | think ! can he contenteC
with a crust of bread"
Its no wonder, Myra, that you arr
. an old maid, with such notions. How
S are you going to get a husband wh'
: | uriIl NOT halon0 70 anvhO6y else