Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-05-23

grief and bewiderment
The pile of mendlng had not been all
completed, and the many missing but
tons made ii very inconvenient for him
to dress the children properly for Sab
bath school,
The breakfast was a complete failure.
The children could not eat his primitive
cooking. and the baby's wailing cries
racked his nerves-stropg and healthy
as he was-till he was desperate enough
to almost strangle it.
Dinner was more perplexing meal
for him to prepare than breakfast. He
whipped Ben and Billy to make them
wash the dishes, and whipped them even
harder when they broke half of them in
to shapeless mass by letting the dish
pan fall. .a ....
Monday came at last, and after
sleepless night with the wailing baby,
Harry Harcourt went once more through
the perplexing work of the morning in
the kitchen.
And then came the washing.
A wearier, crosser man than Harry
Harcourt never sat down to cold din
ner. ...
The children skulked in the corners
and fairly forgot to play at tandem team
ing. In few days their clothes wore
out again, and he could not patch them,
nor could he get away from the house to
earn or even buy new ones. His own
garments grew buttonless and his food
was unexpectedly indigestible.
When Harry Harcourt looked in the
glass, he found himself growing pale,
like his vanished wife. emo wonder
she grew white and thin, poor thing"
he sighed sadly. 81 shall die before
many days if 1 have to carry all this re-
sponsibility on my shoulders without
assistance"
Nobody ever helped mamma, " said
Billy, and he lodged behind the cradle
to avoid being buffeted for his temerity.
That is true, " thought Harry Har-
court.
And then his health began to fail, and
his rength forsook him, and his head
ached, and his temples throbted, and his
feet grew sore and weary, and he felt
himself sinking, sinking, sinking into
the grave.
"What will become of the poor chill
dren when [ am gone ?" he thought next
Saturday evening. as he YEARLY stitched,
stitched, stitched till midnight. "But
[ deserve no better fate than my present
lot, and ha e no reason to complain if
L do suffer. Inever appreciated Fanny.
Poor thing If only had her back I'd
give her the free and equal possession
| and use Of everything on the plantation.
She should have help-plenty of it-and
all the money she needed to spend or
save, as her own sense would dictate,
and I'd never call myself the responsible
head, proyider and supporter of the
family, nor accuse her of having nothing
TO do-no, never. But It's too late now.
She's gone, and I'm left to carry the
was load when she had to carry it.
The baby had cried harder and louder
than ever, and Harry Harcourt felt him
self sinking lower and lower in health
and strength, till finally he fell sprawl
ing upon the floor, from which he arose
at last, rubbing the "crazy- bone of
his right elbow, and staring around the
room in a state of semi consciousness.
What Ia the worlds the matter,
Harry Harcourt ?" asked his pale-faced
wife IN alarm.
care you really there, Fanny ?" he
asked, eagerly. {" [ thought you were
dead, darIing!"
"No, Harry, I'm not dead yet, but [
shall be before long at this rate, was
the reply. "I've been mending the chill
dren's clothes for three hours while
you've been snoring"
"And you haven't been away at all ?''
81 been away? Why, Harry, you
must be crpzy! How could I get away,
I'd like to know? With all these backs
to clothe and all these mouths to feed,
to sey nothing of washing, ironing,
churning, scrubbing and taking care of
the baby. I've too many responsible
ties here to think of going away, unless
death calls me. And, to tell you the
truth, Harry, don't think it will be
very long before I am called, for my
strength is falling rapidly and have
frequent sinking spells. | have felt a
halt-dCzen times tonight as if [ would
sink through the floor. But then it isn't
any matter, Maybe when I'm gone you
can get wife who can manage better
and spare you the humiliation of seeing
your children out at the knees and ell
bows"
Wife, your husband has been a con.
founded selfish, short-s1ghted idiot, and
you've been silent, suffering angelo
exclaimed Harry Harcourt, clasping her
in his strong arms, and seating himself
in her rocking chair with her head rest
ing on his bosom! ''I've had a dream,
dear, and I've lived through whole
week of your daily life in the last three
hours. and [ swear to you, by all that's
holy, that if I live till Monday morning
there will be strong help provided for
you in the kitchen, and you shall have
all the money you want to buy clothes
for you and the children. And I'll new
er say again that you have nothing to
do. Why, there isn't man in America
who could live as long as on have and
do the work that you have done for the
last ten years, or ever since we've been
married"
:" The work is the very smallest part
Of my trials, Harry. I've been mother
to all these children in that time, you
know"
Harry HGrcourt hadn't thought of that
before; but he considered it now. And
he became at once strong and earnest