The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-10-09

! WISH my soul nad noated clean out OF
my body in that fiyc-minute make be-
lieve under the pink tent of the apple
tree, three months ago.
II suppose he will be coming here
| constantly, now. IIctty won't belong
to me any more. am very wicked!
am jealous of her with him, and OF him
with her! ! am spitcful, malicious,
broken-backcd toad! 0, how | despise
Hester Wayt. And / owe it all to him.
She glowered reyengefully at the
door her mother mad left Enclosed.
| Baby Annie was having lovely time
with dee papa" lie had no. left his
bed. but the nausea and sense Of gone
ness with which he had awakened were
| yielding to the administration of minute
potions Of opium by his wife at stated
| intervals. A fit OF dclirium tremens in
duced by the failure to .'cool him off,
secundem artem, had brought about
| Homers introduction to his nominal
employer. Routed from his secret lodg.
ings under the roof tree at one o'clock
Of winter morning, Hetty's waif had
first run for doctor, and, pending his
arrival, pinioned the raving patient
with his sincwy arms until the man Of
intelligent measures took charge OF the
case. Mrs. Wayt had run no such risks
since.
lie never confessed that he took
opium Or ardent spirits. Indeed, he
made capital. OF his total abstinence
even from tobacco. There was always
cause, natural or violent, for his at
tacks. The Chicago seizure followed
upon his rashness in swallowing, mis-
taking it for mineral water" pint Of
spirits Of wine, bought for cleansing his
Sunday suit. Other turns he attrib-
uted, severally, to dyspepsia, to vertigo.
to ovcr-study and to extreme heat A
sun-stroke, suffered when he was in col
lcge, rendered him peculiarly sensitive
to hot weather. His wife never gain
said his elaborate explanations. He
| was her Percy, her lord, her king. She
not only went backward with the cloak
of love to conceal his shame, but she
affected to forget the degradation when
he became sober.
Many women in thousand, and about
one man in twenty millions, are ''built
So" The policy-or principle-may be
humane. 1t is not God-like. The All
Merciful calls sinners to repentance be-
fore offering pardon. The church in
sists upon conviction as preliminary
to conversion. Mrs. Wayt was Chris
tian and church woman, but she clung
pathetically to belief in the efficacy of
her plan for the reclamation Of her hus-
band. In life. or in death, she would
not have upon her conscience the weight
of reproach addressed to him whom
she had sworn to '.honor." Love was
omnipotent. In time he would learn
the depth of hers and be lured back to
the right way.
lie was plaintiye this forenoon, but
not peevish. His eyes were bloodshot;
his tongue was furry; there was gnaw-
ing in the pit of his stomach and an
unaccountable ache at the base of the
brain.
II have missed another sun-stroke by
hairs BREADTH" he informed his wife.
Il almost regret that we did not 60 to
the seashore. My summer labors are
exhausting the reserves Of vital energy"
"Why not run down to the beach for
day or two next week?' suggested Mrs.
Wayt. Now that your wife is an heir
ess. you can afford change Of air, now
| and then
A dull red arose in the sallow cheek.
lie pulled her down to kiss her.
THE best, sweetest wife ever given
to man.. he said.
After that he babe her get a little rest.
She must have slept little the night be-
fore. Annie would keep him company.
While his head was SO light and his
tongue SO thick Annie's was the best so
ciety for him. She made no demand
upon intellectual forces. He sent the
best wife ever given to man of light
ened in spirit. and grateful for the effort
he made to appease her anxiety and to
posed to feel. She looked back at the
door to exchange affectionate smiles
with the dear, unselfish fellow.
He watched the baby's pretty, quaint
pretence of being mamma" and heark-
cned to the drip and plash Of the rain
until the gnawing in his stomach re-
asserted itself approximately. He knew
what it meant. 1t was the demand OF
the devil appetite he had created long
ago-his Frankenstein, his Old Man OF
the Sea. his body OF death, dashed fast
to him, lying down when he lay down,
rising up at his awakening, keeping
step with him, however he might try to
fec. The lust he had courted rashly-
now become flesh of his flesh and bone
| of his bone.
His wife had carried of the phial Of
opium. But he had secreted supply Of
the drug for such emergencies since
she had found out the phosphate device
| and privately confiscated the stout blue
bottle. lie always carried small Greek
Testament in his hip pocket. Mrs. Wayt's
furtiye search of his clothes every night,
| after making sure that he was asleep,
had not extended to the removal of the
sacred volume.
| He arose stealthily, steadied his reel
ing head by holding hard to the back of
his neck with one hand while the other
caught at the chairs and bed foot; tip
toed to the closet, found his black cloth
pantaloons, drew out the Testament and
extracted from the depths beneath a
wad Of silken, rustleless paper. Within
was lump of dark brown paste.
"Tan'y! tan'y!' twittered Annie's
sweet small pipe. "Give baby piece!
| p'ease, dec papa?'
lie hurried back into bed. II the child
We're overheard Hetty might look in.
And Testers sharp ears were across the
hall.
"No, baby; papa has no candy" He
was SO startled and unnamed that he
had to wet his lips with tongue almost
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