Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1883-06-05

seen.
When Mrs. Hartsey discovered that her
husband was nowhere in the house. she in
dulged in most satisfactory amount of
weeping, complaining and raving. Having
thus readjusted her equilibrium she was
compelled to endure some painful inter-
views with her conscience; she tried to
make light of them, but conscience in Mrs
Hartsey had lain dormant so long that it
was untiring when aroused, and the wretch
ed woman was compelled to tell herself the
truth about her conduct during most of her
married life She consulted the police how
to find her husband; in the meantime she
astonished her children beyond measure by
making herself companionable instead of
fretting at them. She confessed her fault
to many of her feminine acquaintances,
and warned several wives to avoid the errors
she had committed. She wept, she prayed
she imposed hard penances upon herself,
but still her husband was not to be found
Jas for Hartsey, he started to take train
for Washington; but his strength failed him
before he could reach Car or omnibus
Then an odd Thought struck him; he re-
membered having heard his wife talk tire
somely for an hour or two about the board
1ng-house across the street having changed
hands within a day or two, and wondering
what sort of people the landlady, who was
a stranger to the neghborhood, would have
Hartsey leaned against lamp-post to rest
himself; then, gathering all his strength,
he crossed the street, rang the bell of the
boarding house, and asked if any front
rooms were vacant. There were; he en-
gagged one at once, paid for months lodg-
ing to avoid giving references, and fell up
on lounge as soon as the landlady left the
room.
The entire quiet he enjoyed for several
days was an experience so unusal that his
physical condition improved daily, but his
mind was in so much worse a condition
than his body that he was utterlyapathetic
about his family. Although he was strong
enough to move about his room, he scarce
ly ever looked across the street at his own
house. He informed himself that his wife
was always happiest when she had most to
fret about, his children had heard him
scolded SO much that all but the baby held
him in contempt, there was plenty of
money in the savings bank to his wife's
credit, so why should he make haste to go
home9 Relief from abuse was very de-
lightful, and liberty, although he had not
known it for so long that he did not know
what to do with it, was rather pleasing as
sensation. In thet two or three times he had
been away from home during his married
life he had found that absence caused him
to think more tenderly of his wife and to
see her good qua tiles more clearly; per-
hapS now, unless the feminine mind was
not entirely unlike that of man, his wife
might be forced to recall some of her hus-
bands traits that she had long ceased to
recognize.
But as the worn-out man began to re-
cover, thanks to entire peace and rest, the
family across the way came to his mind
more and more; so, occasionally, from behind
the lace curtains of his room. he peeped at
his house; gradually he came to sit by
the hour where he could see al that passed
IN and out. He saw some of his wife's S
familiars, all weak-minded gossips, call at
| his house, and he amused himself by devils
ing imaginary conversations. He saw his
children go to school and return; they did
not seem to be.suffering. Occasionally he
caught glimpses Of his wife, but only for an
instant, as she moved about in front of the
house, and he thought he knew, by her ap-
pearance and the hour of the day, just
whom she was fretting at and what was
her imaginary trouble. On Sunday he saw
her going to church; there was nothing un-
usual about her appearance, that he could
|
closely to her Oldest son who walked be-
side her and whom she usually had wanted
as far from her as possible.
''It's good sign" muttered Hartsey to
himself; II guess I won't disturb her re-
| formation by hurrying home''
| Days passed, and Hartsey became impa-
tient to get out of doors; his business part
ner could be trusted, but man must do
something to kill time. He threw open his
windows after dark ans paced the floor by
the hour merely for exercise, but by daylight
he could only read, which he did not much
| like to do, and look across the street. One
| day he saw his wife standing in her chamber
window and looking wistfully down the
street. His heart gave little jump and he
murmured:
lido believe she's wishing I'd come home
Let her wish; she can stand great deal of
it without suffering much"
| Time Went on, until one day Hartsey saw
his Oldest daughter, who had always been
most exasperatingly impertinent to him,
standing in the front doorway looking as if
she expected some one, and wiping her eyes
from time to time. The spectacle caused
Hartsey to say to himself:
''It's good that left home, if that child
is being reformed"
| One evening as he paced the floor he heard
something that compelled him to spring to
the window. 1t was only the music of a
ballad that his wife used to sing and play
for him before they were married. He had
not heard it in years, except from hand-or-
gans, and even then it awakened wonderful
reflections, but now it really seemed as if his
wife must be playing it. Yes, she was; the
windows of his own parlor were open, the
| frO1 han l,o
ger hthOusand dollars to a cent that his
wife was at the piano; could he ever be mis-
taken about her touch?
''She is thinking about the old days. Let
her think, God bless her-'twill do her
good.'
| Then Hartsey began to want to go home.
| He told himself not to be in too much of
hurry, or everything would be spoiled; he
had seen many previous promises of refor-
nation come to naught. But morning Oh
two after he had heard the long neglected
piano he saw his wife, standing near her
chamber window, take something from her
bosom, look at it intently and kiss it repeat
edly. He knew it at sight; it was locket,
| containing his picture, that he had given
her during their engagement; Mrs. Hartsey
had worn it night and day for a year; then
she put it on occasionally, but finally she
had laid it aside entirely, saying that it was
old-fashioned, and, besides, it made her
nervous.
Hartsey's spirits had fallen many time
at seeing the locket in drawer full of hair
brushes, crimping pins, and superannuated
| gloves, for the mate to that same locket had
| always been over his own heart. But now
she was wearing it again; what could it
mean? Nothing but that
At this point of his reflections Hartsey
seized his hat, dashed out of the house,
across the street, entered his own door by
a latch-key, and flew up to his wife's room.
Mrs. Hartsey was ready to faint when she
saw who the invader was, but her husband
prevented her, After the couple found
their tongues, which Mrs. Hartsey was the
first to do, there was much questioning by
the wife and unlimited lying by the husband,
who had previously been serupulously
truthful. He did not know where he had
been; why he had not written; how sick he
had been, or anything else, but when his
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