Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-11-22
AFTER THE ELECTION.
BY MRS. FRANK MCCARTHY.

And l had merely said that / thought politics
was not the province of women.
Jane was no longer in her first youth, but she
was yet very pleasant to look upon. In repose
her face was Of the Madonna type, with large
brown eyes that shone with lambert light,
aud hair that lay soft and smooth upon her
temples in the sweet Old-fashoned way, when
bangs and crinkfes were unknown. But my
how her whole aspect changed that morning
when said that women shouldn't NEEDLE In
politics. Her eyes flashed, her cheeks were
afame. and her hair crinkled up with volcanic
velocity.
"A woman is better calculated for o doormat
perhaps" said Jane. ''that anybody can wipe
his feet upon, or patent dish-washer. butter
and cheese maker, sweeper and cleaner and
Observation-Disclosures machine to do the work in a
farmhouse
determined to keep cool outwarilg, though
felt an unpleasant heat in my veins which In
| creased with every word that she said
~ our remarks" I said calmly. ''are as un-
Just as they are unwOmanly. for have always
thought enough Of your intellect to consult it
| III all the transactions Of the farm"
Very good of you, I'm sure,' she replied.
I'm not, perhaps. as grateful as might be if
She hesltated, and. yes, remember now, it was
not Jane that actually gave utterance to the
| words, but she certainly suggested them.
If you did not own the farm" / said, COM
plotting her sentence and pushing my chair back
| from the table, "But you need not remind me of
that fact; am well aware of 1t already"
why john" she said, putting up her hands
in pleading way that had won me over i'm our
little matrimonial tffs time and again: but |
| walked out the door and straight to the barn.
where began Jerking my good mare out of the
| stable in manner that made her turn her head
ana LOOK at me in intelligent surprise. had no
/ KIND word Tor man or beast that morning and
rode away to the nearest town without a gest-
/ ure of good-by to the little woman who still sat
/ at the breakfast table as | rode bv, looking
after me with longing eyes,
| For that hint about the farm ranked /
1onnd. Tor the first time, that it sometimes was
/ lnjudicious for man to live upon his wife's
/ property. Jane was naturally illogical, and had
| doubtless ignored the years of labor had given
! Iii supervising her farm. the improvements I
mad put upon it. the money had spent. l had
| neglected my own property, which lay in an ad-
joining county, and was farming it on shares in
very unsatisfactory way, for the sole reason
that James farm adjoned that of her sister. and
1t had been pleasant for them to be so near each
other.
/ 1t had been enjoyable for me also as James
! sister had married my nearest friend Dick
! Knowles and had been schoOl-mates together
and had grown up like brothers. Dick owned
some valuable land in the southern part of the
state. but he felt as did, that the two sisters
ought to live near each other, and subet his
farm so that we could all pass our lives pleas
antly together. Our proclivities tastes, senti-
ments and opinions had all run in the same
channel. so that heretofore it had been difficult
to get up an argument between rs
But of late all this pleasant harmony had
! turned to discOrd. Dick kuoEles chose to ig-
more the highest principles in politics. and had
| begun TO Champion certain party feeling that
was very repugnant TO me. How in the world a
! man with his probity of character and rectitude
/ OF feeling could deliberately put aside the very
clements of honest success. / could not con-
/. ceye. Why. his own wife disagreed with him.
and deplored with me the path he had chosen
IN the presidential canvass. Not that particu-
larry cared to argue the matter with Maria She
was the wife or my friend, and however errone-
Gus Dicks opinion might be- it was best for his
Wiie not to question their sagacity.
Besides, she was my Wife's sister, and by some
miserable misconceptiOn of the elements OF right
and wrong. my wife had actually taken part
with Dick i'll his alienation from party princi-
pies think at first she was only trying in her
Womanly way to help Dick out Jane had the
tenderest heart in the world, and always flew
10 the succor OF those in DISTRESS but when she
found that Dick was swimming with the tide OF
popular opinion about him. and was perfectly
able to defend himself why did Jane still cIinr
to her Objectionable ideas OF right and wrong:
why did she allow herself to adopt style Of
language that was SO distasteful to me? 4
door mat, indeed, A machine Tor keeping thc
farmhouse in order, Not so grateful as she
might be If the farm didn't happen to belong to
her! Was it. indeed come to this?
lay the lash upon the launches of nv marc
which almost sprang out of her harness poor
beast. and went flying down the road in a tenn
pest oil alarm. L was in a reckless and almost
desperate mood. and in 10 humor to meet with
patience tue ignorant. coarse and repelling class
oi polltciaus that hang about a country town. |
would, in fact have gone out Of nv way TO
avoid them. II Dick Knowles had not been per
maps, the most aggressive of them ALL One
WORD LED Oh to another, blustering boasts were
ioiio"ed by shameless assertions until. stung
to fury, cried out. ''Who among YOU viii! back
up his opinions with hard cash? will bet nv
farm against any mans farm of equal value In
TINS crowd that my choice viii be tie choice of
the DeOplei"
Done" said Dick Knowles SIS nv Dronprty
worth as much as yours?
"A trifle more, think replied.
Then let that trfe be thrown in the weight
OF good cause" said Dick. Come bows. let's
adjourn to the lawyers Office across the way,
ana have the separate deeds put up for stakes
Ill such way that We can't back out"
The rabble shouted and applauded and with
the goOd-natured profanity that characterizes a
mob OF that kind, ratified the stupid and reck-
less deed by drinking at the public bar at our
expense.
Then we rode home, my brother-in-law and 7.
IN somewhat wiser and sadder mood The
reins lay loosely upon the back of my poor spent
mare, and Dick held those of his own spirited
bays nrmiy in check. "JOhn," he called to me
across the road, if ! said anything out of the
way down there, I'm sorry for it, The fact is
l was mad as hornet when / left home
Maria is one of the most perfect women God
ever made, but she's got some peculiar views
lately"
Il have no fault to find with Maria's yiews."I
said.
well, no matter anyhow" said Dick. raising
his voice and pounding his fist upon the dash
board OF his buggy; "a woman has no right to
NEEDLE In these things"
There | agree with YOU Dick I said
women don't understand these matters Jane
is one woman among ten thousand but she
made some remarks this morning.
Jane knows what she is talking about"
shouted Dick.
1t was all | could do to keep from sprinpinp
out of my wagon and having it out with nv
brother-in-law there and then. but whipped
up my unfortunate mare and called out to Dick
that we had left our differences in the hands of
the law; and from that time till the election was
over Dick and merely exchanged a gruff word
OF recognition when We met.
Some time after. | was surprised at church
one morning TO find that Jane and Maria were
no longer on speaking terms with each other
As their Sunday silks rustled together they
seemed to partake of the combative clash of
contention The whole thing began to strike
me as being ridiculous, until Dick Knowles sud-
denly grasped my wife's hand with the old
heartness. 1 Immediately stretched nv hand
over to Maria with like fervor and we all
went our ways the bone of dscord still between
Us.
On the homeward way tried to reason with
Jane upon the differences with her sister, but
she would give heed to nothing that | could
say.
Its too late now she said '.we've only