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

| Darius Hartsey came of a family whose
men were noted as affectionate and devoted
husbands and prosperous business men, so
even before he became of age he was angled
for, with more or less skill, by many judi
cious mothers and not a few young women.
He enjoyed the experience, but the distin-
gushing family trait being strong in him
he succumbed soon after he became his
own master, the fortunate woman being as
good and pretty as any of her companions.
Every one told Mrs. Hartsey that she was
very fortunate, and for few months the
young wife believed what she heard.
But her husband was human, and so was
she; there is nothing 50 good but it might
be better, so Mrs. Hartsey soon began to
wish that her husband might be one thing
and another that some other men were,
and she did not hesitate to tell him so.-
Hartsey did his best to be obliging. but the
more he did the more he was expected to
do. In his counting days he told hissweet-
heart that he was her devoted slave; she
took him literally at his word and treated
him accordingly. She never doubted that
she loved him with her whole heart; neither
did Hartsey, but sometimes he was COM
PEELED to admit to himself that some hearts
were far smaller than others, and that his
wife's was not of the largest size. His
wife longed to have him always with her,
but Hartsey could not help at times believ-
| ing that his mate unconsciously regarded
him as trustworthy rubbish heap, upon
which she could cast al the odds and ends
of gossip and temper that she scarcely dared
heap upon anyone else, the quantity of this
worthless mental residuum being so great
| that the patient husband felt, after endur-
ing uncomplainingly foS two or three hours,
as if he had done hard days work, and
all to no purpose, for when Mrs Hartsey's
mind was entire y emptied it was in con-
ditiOn SO unsatisfactory to its owner that
| she herself was sensible of something un-
usual and unpleasant, and invariably de-
! vised some way of blaming her husband for
it.
Hartsey bore all uncomplainingly; he
loved his wife with all his strength, which
was great, and when he was away from her
| he freshened his affections by worshiping
the ideal he had formed of his companion
in their ante-martial days, and although
Mrs. Hartsey was as likely as not to break
the image to fragments when next he met
her he went on living according to his ma
ture, and hoping that some day something
would open the dear little woman's eyes to
the mistake she was making. But Mrs.
Hartsey's eyes did not open; they could see
just enough to perceive the mote in those
of her husband. As the children who came
to the couple grew large enough not to be
treated as lap dogs, Hartsey experienced
some relief that was a thousand times less
endurable than the original trouble, for a
great deal of Mrs. Hartsey petulance was
relieved upon the little ones, SO they chang
ed from cheerful babies to boys and girls by
INNS a and roorOco What ;,,far
sitied the husbands misery was that Mrs.
Hartsey clearly saw the faults of other
women whose temperament was exactly like
her own and held them in utter detesta-
tion, but when Hartsey attempted, as occa-
81 nally he did, to hint to his wife that she
sometimes acted like her detested acquain-
tances, he was rewarded by torrent of
tears and an occasional hysterical fit.
As had been his custom ever since mar
riage, Hartsey asked himself frequently and
honestly whether the fault could be his
He knew that his wife never lacked what
money she needed, that she had plenty of
servants, and that he spent most of his
hours at home in quieting irregularities of
tradesmen, servants, and children. He
stole couple of hours daily and took his
Vie out riding, but the principal result
was that Mrs. Hartsey saw houses that she
liked better than her own; he tried to amuse
his children SO they should not worry their
mother but was soon accused of loving his
children more than he did his wife. He
took Mrs. Hartsey to the theatre, and a
frantic admiration of actors, each for some
assumed look or quality that Hartsey did
not possess, made the poor man very un-
comfortable.
Finally the miserable man broke down
physically. During the first day of bis
sickness, his wife was SO tender and sympa.
thetic that she seemed like her old self or
the second day she was cheerful but no
very attentive; after that she came to hel
husband with each days worries and found