The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-12-13
MENTAL ANGUISH.
The Tale Of a Smoking Husband and
an Ill-Used Wife.

bridge in the tidal train for Folkestone.
.'They are strong" he replied, "but
they are uncommonly good. Won't you
try one?:'' and he opened his case, which
was filled with the strongest of strong
Trichinopoli cigars.
But l declined. The essential oil seemed
to be oozing out of them; they were black
and shiny.
'sThey must be stronger than the
strongest pigtail," l remarked.
"They are strong, and that's the
truth" said the man with the immense
beard who had offered me the cigar; "but
they are the only weed l can taste. /
wish l hadn't smoked SO much" he said
with a groan, ''It's been my great mis-
fortune"
"You must have smoked very expen-
sive cigars them" I said with a laugh.
at wasn't the value of the cigar that
once ruined me- said the bearded man;
sit was my cursed habit of smoking"
81 don't quite see how it could have
ruined YOU" said l, i~ncredulously.
Don't you," said the bearded man.
s'Then I'll tell you how it came about.
It'll be rather a relief to me to tell the
story. I'm a DOCTOR" he began. 81
didn't see that there was much good to
be done by a young doctor in England
competition among us medicos is very
keen here, and a young man in the pro-
fession who hasn't money has little OF no
chance, SO l went off to America to seek
my fortune. You a get a good cigar
in America; you have to pay for it, but
you can get a good cigar. l did fairly
well in New York. l took an office, as
they call it, in the business part of the
town. l saw patients from 8 till 4, and
l advertised the fact in the newspapers,
as is the custom in America.
"I smoked all day long; I used ever
to smoke at meals, and | smoked while
1 saw my patients. They were all men,
SO it didn't matter. Ny income ex-
ceeded my expenditure; l had crowds
of friends, and l was perfectly happy
till l met Aurea Van Spool, a young
lady from Indiana. She was the love
lest girl l ever saw in my life; a bru-
nette with great masses of blue black
hair with a wave in it, great glorious
black eyes that set your heart going
pit-a. pat when they fell upon you, a
little aristocratic aquiline nose, lips that
were ruddy and kissable, teeth like
pearls, a charming delicate color that
went and came with every changing
thought, a rounded chin with a dear
little dimple in it: her figure was per-
lection, and she got her dresses from
Paris. fell madly in love with Aurea
Van Spool. The Van Spoofs came orig
inally from Holland; they were very
rich, they We're proud of their old Dutch
ancestors, and they were very much re-
spected in New York.
ssBut Aurea Van Spool came from In
first settlers in that state, and her father,
when alive, had represented the state in
congress. Aurea Van Spool, then, to
put it shortly, was a wealthy orphan of
prepossessing appearance; she was wlllful
as we'll as wealthy, and, quite contrary
to the wishes of her relatives, Aurea
and / became engaged to be married.
The only stipulation she made was that
I should become an American citizen,
and the only thing | insisted upon was
that all her money should be settled
upon herself, for it was Aurea I was in
love with and not her, fortune. We
went to Wayne, her native place in Indi-
ana, and there we were married, and l
don't suppose there was a happier couple
in the United States of America. Still,
Aurea had what is known as a temper
She hated tobacco. and 1 was a slave
to it.
"Now, in order to please Aurea, when
/ was paying my addresses to her, | had
given it up altogether; but after the
honeymoon was over l allowed myself a
cigar a day in the open air; and that
single cigar a day made my pretty wife
very angry indeed. She declared that a
mar who smoked degraded himself be-
low the level of the brutes. / differed
with her; and, to show my independ-
ence, l started the practice of an after
dinner cigar.
'.Then Aurea demonstrated very seri-
ously.
"sJack,' said she, your dreadful
habit is causing me intense mental a n
guish.'
".Mental anguish I replied, with a
laugh; how can my smoking cause you
mental anguish?
"'Youll find out she said mysteri-
ously, if you insist upon smoking in the
house.
II continued my smoking, and for a
week my wife didn't speak to me Then
Invent for a three days fishing excursion
to a n%eighboring lake. When | returned
home my wife had disappeared, and /
was served with a citation and a copy of
a petition for a divorce in the Indiana
high court, on the ground of my having
caused my wife intense mental anguish.
At first | looked upon the matter as a
rather stupid kind of practical joke;
but it wasn't a joke at all. went to a
lawyer, and he was candid enough.
"'She1l gain her cause, sir. She's a
pretty woman and a Van Spool, and
she's bound to get her divorce. You
can't swear you didn't smoke, and if she
don't like the smell of tobacco ! guess
you have caused her mental anguish
which in this state is legal cruelty
Sin three months the trial came off.
"Aurea entered the court surrounded
by her relatives. We bowed distantly
to each other, and Aurea looked as if she
were going to cry. | believe if l had
gone up to her and promised never to
" 7