The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1884-09-27
SILENT PARTNERS.

DON'T you ever speak TO me again,
said Mrs. Benton, "and l win never
speak to you from this hour on"
There was something positively
alarming in this united command and
promise, as the tones in which 1t was
uttered were impressively earnest, and
the manner of the speaker was very far
from trifling; and they fell upon the
startled ears of her worse half in a
way that caused MIR. Benton to quail a
little, for he knew enough of the
temperament of the angered woman
who spoke to feel that this was no idle
threat.
John Benton and his wife Mary bad
been married nearly quarter of
century at the time of this violent out
break, and had hitherto been active
and talkative matrimonial partners.
They lived in the country upon their
own little farm, and though they had
not always held the most absolute
harmony of opinion their devotion to
each other and their unity upon all the
essential matters of life were undis-
puted. 1t was only in the infnitesimal
objects Of life that they clashed. They
had, together, met and surmounted
great obstacles in their common path,
but they removed rocks only to stumble
over a pebble. They had, united,
hewn their way through an almost
interminable forest of difficulties, to
be stopped in their onward career by
some insignificant bramble of conten-
ton. They had safely stemmed the
floods Of adversely, yet were OCCASION
ally almost overcome by some petty
stream of wrangling that flowed from
the lips Of either. And finally the con-
temptible little rlvulets that had been
constantly trickling for so many years
in so many different ways had seeming
ly met to form great vortex in which
they were doomed to be swallowed up.
Those hitherto active and voluble
tongues were about to rust in idleness,
at least an hour. They were resolved
to become henceforth Silent Partners.
John Benton accepted the situations
without replying, for what was there
TO be said2 Had he not been command
ed to refrain forever from speaking tO
his wife?
Gallantry forbids US to cast any
great share of the odium Of this scene
upon Mrs. Benton. Besides, had moi
John, just before the last volcanic
eruption of speech upon the part of his
wife, insituated that her "unruly
member was as long as fence raIl"i
Could female flesh and blood endure
such base simile as this when applied
to herself? And had he not asserted
that her words were legion, and that
her tones were thunderp Should wife
pass over such insulting persona
metaphors as these2 Mrs. Benton
either wisely or unwisely, decided II
the negative.
The first night of the self.enforced
silence in the Benton cottage was awk'
ward. The usual curtain lecture was
omitted, and such death like, desc
late stiffness prevailed that sleep was
out of the question. About midnight
the awful silence had so worked upoI
the nerves Of John Benton that, unable
to endure it longer, he arose, and going
down stairs, soon returned with the ole
clock, which was not only loud ticker
but also a cheerful striker. He mus
have something for company that would
appeal to his sense of hearing, or persl
with loneliness. John started ant
stopped as he was about to place hi
new companion upon the bureau; h,
thought lie heard a sound proceed from
under the bed coverings not unlike ;
smothered laugh. But his imagination
had to supply the place of his senses, a
no explanation could be asked. The
clock, though a feeble and imperfec
substitute for the human voice, wa
better by far than the absence of al
sounds, and he fell asleep. The morrow
brought its tribulations, following on
another in close and annoying success
sion. Mrs. Benton, finding the posi-
tion too irksome to be borne withou
some new excitement to replace tn
lost art of speech. determined upon
revolution of the whole household-th
grand safety valve for the pent up feel
r.. r 4,