The state journal., 1884-11-22
M NOTHER-lN-LAW.

occupied them Why this is so ha
never, SO far as am aware, been satisfaC
torily explained. but the fact is unques
lionable. 4 man, for instance who in al
other relations Of life i uprightness itsel
will cheat his dearest friend in sellin
him a horse \ trooper proverbiall,
swears; dentist, if we may believe The
French adage (m3ntif CONNIE I'm den
tiste), habitually lies To curdle the
milk Of human kindness in a naturally
amiable mans bosom. YOU have only to
make him an come Tux collector. But
the most striking example ofthe prlnclple
| refer TO is IN the case Of mothers ln-laW.
Take (or, rather, let somebody else take)
an amiable, accomplished and agreeable
matron, a lady possessing in herself, as
Mr.. Guppv won d sly, all that is calcu.
lated to charm the eye and allure the
tastc"-make her 'nOther-in- law, and
she ipsO factO hc comes a nuisance OF the
most excruiating desert ytiOn. Her very
virtues seem transformed into prickles,
and to stick up the wrong way. 10 the
rest Of the void she may appear I'M
changed-still sweet still amlable-but
TO the unfortunate son in-laW, or daugh-
ter in law, she has become an incubus,
dweller on the threshold, an awful pres
ence perpetualv overshadowing the
domestic Preside Experto crede, |
speak adyisediy; like the poets, have
learnt in suffering" what am about to
teach in mot exactly song" but in the
best prose at my command. 1 have felt
the dread cloud settling down, to all ap-
pearances permanently, over my spare
bedroom-but, more by good fortune
than any inert Of ny own, | am free.
The subject is delicate one, and al
most HESITATE TO discuss it in print, but,
for the benefit Of other suffering sons-ln-
law, fell that | am bound to proceed.
Ifone singleton, should rather say, one
marricd) reader derives useful hint
from my eXper encc, my story will not
have been tod IN vain.
was young, very young, and walking
the hospitals as a mediCal student, when
| first became acquainted with Mrs. Dim
ply. She was a wi low with five daugh-
tiers, all of them charming, but the third,
Rosa Matilda by name quickly destroyed
all my power Of approaching the attrac-
tiOns of her sisters. | was introduced to
the family by mutual friend, and from
that time became Il constant, too constant
visitor at their house. Once a fortnight
merged into once Il week, and once
week insensibly increased to twice, or
even Of ener It was pleasant house to
visit, and we had remarkably Jolly
evenings. ! was rather a favorite with
the whole family, but the kindness of
Mrs. Dimply was simply overwhelming.
1t CHANGED TO be little late she would
shake her ringlets at me, and remark
in her deep voice (shG had a rich mellow
voice. which always reminded me some
how Of fruity + ny, Late again, doctor,
you naughty, adughty man. /
suppose they couldn't spare you at the
hospital What thing it is to be so
clever" OF course | wasn't doctor,
and the hospital could have done perfectly
well without me, but the whole thing was
very soothing. Then again if sang a
song, Mrs. ID. (whO did SO pity anybody
who hadn't soul for music) would sit
enraptured, frowning fiercely and holding
up warning finger if any one ventured
toin terruDt. And when | had finished
Dear me; Dr.. Smithers, what Sweet
song, and you sing it so Charmingly !
you must really give it us over again.
It's your own fault for singing it so
nicely" And if the subject gave her the
ghost ola chfnce, she would make a
little gulp in her thrnat. as If swallowing
down spasm of uncomfortable emotion,
and wipe her eyes with the corner of
her lace pocket handkerchief. After
supper, too, the way that she mixed my
toddy was quite touching. She never
put in less than four Jumps Of sugar Il
like it sweet and always took sip her
self with the spoon to make sure it was
all right. On one or two occasions, when
the wafer baln't quite boiled, her self
reproach was really painful. But these
were halcyOn days. must proceed to
the more prosac portion of my narrative.
Time went on. succeeded in passing
my first examination, and because en-.
titled to write myself M. r. @. S. Of
course / rushed of at once to the Dim
phys with the joyful intelligence. Mrs.
Dimply shed tears and blessed me, and
melted me to kiss the girls all round in
honor of the occasion. | need hardly
say avaied myself of the suggestion,
Rose Matilda getting -ifI may be allow
Ell the eXpression-a Benjamin portion.
think that evening brought matters to a
crisis, at any rate found myself about
week after. asking private interview
with Mrs. Dimply, and pleading for the
hand Of Rosa Matilda. She was so very
fond ofthe dear girl that | was terribly
afraid q was very young, you will re-
member) that | shouldn't be able to in
duCe her to part with her; but, to my
surprise and relief she gave he consent
without the slightest pressing, and, tax
ing me into the drawing room, introduced
me to the girls with much emotion) as
their future brother. Of course l kissed
them all around once more, Mrs. Dimp!y
kissed R9, remarking that | reminded
her 50 much of dear Dimply The de-
parted d. (lnless his portrait was libeD
had been podgy little man, with snuD
nose, and much marked with the small
poX, but felt that the observation was
Intended as a compliment and accepted
II accordingly.
Fortunately fer myself, / was not en-.
Ilrely dependent on my profession, and
after brief engagement we were mar
ried. | pass over the wedding, which
was pretty much like any other wedding.
think, perhaps, got rather more than
the average quantity Of rice down my
back, and we drove away with two
White satin slippers (odd ones unfortu
nately) on the roof Of the carriage. Mrs.
y. was much affected at parting, entreat-
ing me to love and cherish her dear, dear
girl, and was scarcely paciied even by
my tervent assurance that / had every in-
Iention in doing so.
We spent three delicious weeks in the
Isle Of Wight and then took possession
Of our new home, pretty little villa in
St. Johns Wood We had been
installed about ten days when an affec-
tlOnate letter arrived from mamma-in-
law, announcing herintention ofcoming
TO stay a week with us, and see how we
were getting on. 1t struck me that it was
little early for such visit, but it would
have been ungracious to make any objec.
ton. She arrived the same evening.
Rosie and were sitting together (she