News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1883-01-25
THE JEALOUS MAN.
How Jones Discovered His Christmas Pres.
cnt' and the G:OOd it Did Him.

Peace, like white-winged dove. has
lately brOOded over the Jones family,
but one day last week the demon of dis
cord entered most unexpectedly. Jones
was getting ready to go down town in
the morning, and in looking for a hand
kerchief in the family bureau found a
drawer that resisted him-in fact it was
locked, a most unhcard-of thing in that
family.
At first it only made Jones mad, be-
cause the resistance threw him across
the room, and bounced him up against a
chitfonier on the other side, but when he
regained consciousness he called Maria
and asked her with white, calm lips,
where the key was.
She said it was in her pocket. He de
manded it. She refused to give it to
him; and then ensued one of those pain
full domestic siIences which are 50 much
more narrowing than words or blows.
Jones went out and came in for three
days, and sUllhed during the whole time,
for an awful suspicion had taken possess
sion Of him. He remembered that
Maria had been distraught and mys-
terious lately, with CLASSY look in her
| eyes. He recalled the fact that several
times the door-bell had rung III the even
ing and she had evaded his inquiry as to
who was there. He knew the evil ten
dency Of the age and shuddered at the
! idea that Maria had met a handsOmer
man than he.
Green-eyod jealousy took possession
of his soul and ate and ate into his heart
like a canker.
But all things come to an end. One
night Mrs. Jones went out, and as she
trippod past the parlor door she looked
in and said: ''Jeptha, if you hear the
| baby g1rgle wish you'd look at him. -
That was his opportunity-now or
never. He crept softly upstairs and en-
tered the peaceful room where their
child was sleeping and turned the gas
down to the merest glimmer; then he
stealthily produced a key and fitted it into
the lock OF that drawer and pulled it
silently open, and there lay before him
the picture of that other man-Oh, no
but a pair Of slippers embroidered in
red, green, and yellow with teTa-cot-
ia %. j. in & wreath of eglantine on
each toe and ''Nerry Christmas" card
tackled to the pair. Poor Jones this
was even worse than he expected. It is
enough to break up any man to thrust a
pair Of embroidered slippers upon him,
and as he stood and looked and shivered
and realized that the things were four
inches too short, and had soft heels, he
saw a paper sticking up curiously on one
side. 1t was addressed i'll mans hand
writing to Mrs. Jones' Ha ha this,
then, was a clew
1t was it was the bill from the man
who sold the shoes, and it included one
for the velvet and another for the en-
broidery, and Jones was trying to foot
the matter up to his satisfaction when a
tremendous blow fell on his head and a
fearful howl rent the air as Bridget
shieked:
COW, ye mizzable, thieven, maraudin'
blaggard, I'll tache ye to stale into
decent peoples houses-oh, howly
Moses it's the master himself, bad cess
to him. How was to tell him from en-
ny other thafe?"
Jones patched up peace with Bridget,
who promised not to say ''divil a wurrd"
to Mrs. j., but oh, with what weary
heart does the unhappy man wait for the
coming Christmas !-DGtfOit Post.