Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1882-06-20
MIS- CELLAREeUs.
STEVE APPLEToN,s WIFE,
tFron, Chamber Journal,


&8hHE EN- Stephen Appleton had lived some
--N 90 years bachelor, he bethought him
that it would be we'll to get married, and ac
cording!y looked about him for wife Had
others looked for him, they would probably
have chosen a self con taincd, dccorous ner.
son past 80. Ho, however, greatly to the
surprise OF everyone, walked up the church
aisle one Sunday morning with q very pre tty
girl upon his arm, and, aftor the service. in
troduced her to his friends as his wife. She
looked great deal more like his daughter.
aud was bushing, smiling, littlo creature,
who must, SO far, have had happy life. to
have broug hit out of it SO many dimplos.
80 she had, indeed aud her half dozen
bright eyed sisters asked themselves what
she could have seen in that odd follow to love
And certainly it seemed mystery that such
solemn wooing should have prospered with
such merry gill-a wooing without many
OF those accessories which women hold SO
dcar, of praises and caresses.
Probably y poor TiIly though. they were oil
to como alter marriage.
She left home and love, and nlunrod ;,,o
the maelstrom of weddod life with man SO
strangely imbued with the idea that woman
was his inferior, that be thought it a waste
OF Intellect aud time to love ono overmuoh
or to study her tastes and fancies for mo-
ment, If they confioted with his own.
She, the inferior, had, on tho contrary.
said to herself, 81 must adapt myserin cvcry
way to Stephen" and had thought she could
never find happiness in anything which did
not give him pleasure, and she loyfullv took
up the dull routine of woman's household
drudgery, and made all sweet and pleasant
fed her genius and hero daintily, and saw To
his stockings and buttons
he hardly knew it. He never woke ont
of his hard nnd cruel self absorption sufi
oentiy to be aware of her constant thought
for him.
Woman's vanity should never be epcour>
aged, was ono Of his theories, and hence he
never praised her beauty nor expressed graf
ifcation for her care for his comfort or thanks
for her lahors to make him happy.
In the morning a mandate was given oon-
eerning the dinner In tho evening he ate
it with her /; and though he had no fault to
ind, he never praised dish. After the
meal he went out, or locked himself in his
study among his books and papers, Onoe at
the very first, she had taken her FANCY work
to the door, and asked to be let in. but was
met by denial.
"Man's work." he said, tremendously, sis
too great to be broken in upon by a woman's
| chat or woman's follics )" and she retired
quietly and never tapped at those panels
| again.
She had some pride in her composition.
She would not WOO her husband for the love
that she felt was her due.
One day he caught her reading certain love
poems, and took the volume from her hands,
pleasantly enough, for he was seldom rude,
and furled the pages over.
"a man wrote this" he said. "Praises
of woman's face! Yearniug for her pres.
euce Why, man should be all sufficient
Tor himself Love makes a man weak, oou-
temptible-love that these poets get such
value on. think you had not bes. read this
thing, child. It is full of folly.
Then he tossed the book upon the table
the treasured volume over which her girls
| eyes had gloated before she ever met this
husband of hers saying, "would that some
man would feel thus to me! talk or write so
to and of me y believing that there was love
life before her in the ecstatic future.
He won't up to his study and laboratorv
where he had been toiling for weeks 70 com.
| Piete an invention which he believed would
be to him the philosophers stone-vould
| bring him fame and immortality.
lilly took the book from the table and laid
it on the fire.
Rest there, rbymcd lies that deluded me +"
she said, almost fercely. "There Is NO such
thing as love. You Knocked me with its false.
hood. 1 believe i: no longer"
AS lilly was watching the flames lick up
the precious volume with their red tongues,
she heard cry that she never forgot
something indescribable rumbIed and shook
the house and rushing by sort of instinct
her husbands study, she found him lying
moDg the debris of his apparatus, sense,