Huntsville gazette., 1889-06-15
WHAT NY WIFE SAID.
VA Word Fifty Spoken Ii Like Apples OF
Gold in Pictures OF Silver"


"John," said my wife on night when,
after hard and trying day, l sat
awaiting the preparation Of the even
ing meal; it had not only been hard
day, but it was troublous time in
business, when other business men
beside myself went home with the
burden of the days care scarce lifted
from their shoulders and sought the
comfort of the home nest and the con-
ISOLATION Of home friends. / know that
! showed my weariness and anxiety in
my face as well as in my attitude, and
the look of loving sympathy with
which she had greeted my rather
detected Homecoming half an hour
before had in a measure prepared me
for the words of cheer and helpfulness
l knew she was about to utter. In all
our married. life Jennie had never
failed, in hours OF WEAKNESS and dis
couragement, to bring forward some
ray from her sunny mind and turn 1t
into my gloomy path and tighten it up
and inspire me with somewhat OF her
own sanguine hopefulness. 1t never
tailed, too, to be some wise, we'll
chosen, thoughtful word. exactly
suited to the occasion and fitted to the
circumstance. She was concise and
terse in what she said, and never
given to long speeches, but the words
were formed in busy and thoughtful
mind and came from a warm and SYM
pathetic heart
John" she said-and as she stood
just left her task in the dining-room
to come to me, as if anxious to convey
the loving thought betimes, that it
might the sooner raise my jaded
spirits, noticed how the passage OF
the years had changed her face. 1t
seemed to my partial eyes that nothing
had been lost of the bloom and fresh
ness that had marked it when years
before l, unquestionably younger and
fresher than now, had been her ia
vored suitor among all the village
gallants, but that it had grown richer
and deeper. She had never been ac-
counted beautiful in the accepted
sense of the word, but hers was
beauty that was more than skin deep;
and now. as I gazed, it seemed to
come from soul depths and glow in
every feature, matured and dignifed
but in no way faded by the action of
T oil fhic ay,6 ac
she came forward and laid her hand
on my forehead in the caress so old
and familiar in its method, yet so new
and welcome in its electric sympathy.
The caress itself seemed to bring
me some presage of the meaning of
her yet unspoken words; and such is
the quick intelligence of sympathetic
hearts, such the perceptive anticipa-
tion, the faith, perhaps it was. for
nature hungering for comforting SYM
pathy and knowing that it is coming
from a never-failing source, that ]
could almost have repeated in advance
of their utterance the words she was
about to speak.
John, and | have no doubt at all
that the little woman realized as she
spoke the words how much OF cheer
ing inspiration they would bring to
me, for her face shone with peaceful,
contented happiness that seemed all
incongruous with the anxious state OF
my own mind had l not so fully sensed
their blessed significance and felt so
confident that what she had to say
to me would be of such nature
as to completely justify the happy an
ticipation that cleaned in her eyes
and trembled in her voice; John
and as she spoke a new light seemed
to break in the comfortable home room
and reveal its details in freshly-glor
flied aspect and a newly harmOnized
ensemble, like beautiful picture which
has ever since remained, an immortal
painting on the canvas OF my
memory-the bright CRATE fire
with its cracking blaze, the
sleepy pussy-cat doing beside it, Jen-
MES own rocking-chair opposite my
corner, the pictures on the wall, the
cheerful glimpse Of the supper-ta5le
through the open dining-room door,
and by my side the brown-haired
smiling, loving, comforting wife; ]
have often conjured up the picture
since and dwelt upon the beauty of it
all and thought how after all it was
what she said and the impressive man.
ner of it that gave the scene its pecu-
liar life and grace and brightness,
such as it could have derived from nc
other source; "Johnn-even Tabby by
| the fire seemed to catch the spirit OF
the moment as she raised and stretched
| herself from her nap and looked up
expectantly; "John'-and | remember
| now how the clink of the dishes, as
the girl was putting the finishing
| touches to the table, seemed to float In
and mingle and chime with her voice,
not jarring with the spell but seeming
to rise to her inspiring theme and to
fory,, q fit tncoomnanimentt tn the whole.