The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1884-04-12
Praise Her.
Popular Monthly Magazine.

Popular Monthly Magazine.
Andrew Lee had come home from
the shop, where he has worked all day,
tired and out of spirits-came home to
his wife, who was always out of spirits.
ga smiling wife and cheerful home
"a paradise would be!'' said Andrew
to himself, as he turned his eyes from
the clouded face of Mrs. Lee and sat
down with knitting brows and moody
aspect.
Not word was spoken by either.
Mrs. Lee was getting supper, and she
moved about with a weary step.
"Come," said she at last, with side
glance at her husband.
There was invitation in the word
only; none in the voice of Mrs. Lee.
Andrew arose and went to the table.
He was tempted to speak an angry word,
but controlled himself and kept silent.
He could not find no fault with the
chop and homemade bread nor the
fragrant tea. They would have cheered
his inward man if there had been only
CLEAN of sunshine on the face of his
wife. He noticed that she did not eat.
care you not we'll Mary?" The
words were on his lips, but he did not ut
ter them, for the face of his wife look
ed so repellant that hefeared an irrita-
ting reply. And SO in moody silence
the twain sat together until Andrew
| had finished his supper.
"This is purgatory!" said Lee to
himself, as he commenced walking the
floor of their breakfast room with his
hands thrusted into his trousers pockets
and his chin almost touching his breast.
After moving all the dishes and taken
them into the kitchen, Mrs. Lee spread a
green cover on the table, and placing a
fresh trimmed lamp thereon, went
out and shut the door after her, leaving
her husband alone with his unpleasant
feelings. He took long, deep breath
as she did so, paused in his walk, stood
still few moments, and then drawing
a paper from his pocket, sat down by
the table, opened the sheet, and com
menced reading. Singularly enough the
words upon which his eyes rested were,
"Praise your Wife. =" They rather
tended to the disturbance of mind from
which he was suffering. es,
for praising mine.' How quickly his
thoughts expressed that i'll natured senti-
ment! But his eyes were on the page
before him and read on:
"Praise your wife, man for pity sake,
give her a little encouragement; il
won't hurt her."
Andrew Lee raised his eyes from the
paper and muttered: "Oh, yes that:
all very well. Praise is cheap enough
but praise her for what? For being
sullen and making your home the most
disagreeable place it the world?" His
eyes fell again on the paper.
"She has made your home comforta-
bic, your heart bright and shining, food
agreeable, for PHYS sake, tell her you
thank her if nothing more; she don't
expect it; it will make her eyes open
wider than they have for ten years ;
but it will do her good for all that, and
you too.
1t seemed to Andrew as if this SEN
tence were written for him, and just for
| this OCCASION II wac rnrrplete an
swer to his question, "Praise her for
what?" and he felt it as a rebuke. He
read no further, for thoughts came too
busy, and in a new direction. Memo
ry was convicting him of injustice to
his wife; she had always made his home
as comfortable as her hands could make
it, and had he offered the light return
of comfort he had experienced? He
was not able to recall the time or oc-
casion; as he thought thus, Mrs. Lee
came in from the kitchen, and taking
her work-basket from the closet, placed
it on the table, and sitting down with
out speaking, began to sew. Mr.. Lee
glanced almost stealthilyat the work in
her hands, and saw that it was shirt
bosom which she was stitching neatly.
He knew that it was for him she was at
work.
"Praise your wife," The words
were before the eyes of his mind and
he could not look away from them;
but he was not ready for this yet. He
still felt moody and unforgiving. The
expression on his wife's face he inter-
preted to mean i'll nature, and with
i'll nature he had no patience. His
eyes fell upon the newspaper spread be-
| fore him and he read the sentence:
GA kind, cheerful word, spoken in
a gloomy house, is the rift in the cloud
that lets the sunshine through" "
Lee struggled with himself while
longer; his own i'll nature had to be
conquered first: his moody, accusing
spirit had to be subdued. He thought
of many things to say, yet feared to say
them, lest his wife should meet his ad-
vance with cold rebuff. At last, lean
ing toward, her taken hold of the linen
bosom upon which she was at work, he
said in a voice carefully modulated
with kindness: "You are doing this
work very beautifully, Mary"
Mrs. Lee made no reply, but her
husband did not fail to observe that she
lost almost instantly that rigid erectness
with which she had been sitting, and
that the motion ofthe needle had ceased.
"My shirts are better made and
whittier than those of any other made in
the shop" said Lee, encouraged to go
on.
care they?" Mrs. Lees voice was
low, and had in it slight huskiness; /;
she did not turn her face, but her hus-
band saw that she leaned little toward
him. He had broken the ice of reverse
and all was easy now. His hand was
among the clouds and few feeble rays
were already struggling through the
rift it had made.
eyes, Mary" he said softly, "and I've
heard it said more than once what a
good wife Andrew Lee must have"