The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1890-11-01
THE TWO HUSBANDS.
BY HELEN B. THoRNTEE.

BY HELEN B. THoRNTEN.
eve are asked to the Sillimans, my dear, Ior
to-morrow night" said pretty Mrs. Trevor 10
her husband. 1T will be so nice ,..ro
The Treyors haaAbeen married but o nttle
while, and hitherto no husband coulo nave gNs
been more obliging than Mr. Trevor; ms ael,
ference his many little 3ttentions, VIII mnaJn now
that Helen was.a wife. But at heart Mr Ire
voT was one who thought only OF himseH:
His Iover-like conduct had merely Deen put
on :; he had long grown tired OF ~ ms hls n"'i'e
character was now to assure It's real nue..
IsIet them ask" he said, grufhy, as ne took
off his coat in the hall, for Helen had come 70
the door to meet him. m too tlreo, aiteT
davis hard work, to go out of evenings: We
had to do it for awhile; among your iamliy
and mine of course; but stop must be put
to it sometime; and no time is so good as now
The Sillimans are not relations, or even con
nections, only acquaintance
Helen's countenance fell She still nad .ne
| innocent delight of pure. hght-hearted girl,
| in going into society, meeting old trlends, ana
| having a few hours of change from the mo
| notony that characterizes womans s HE. one
/ had counted on no little pleasure in attending
| this party, for the Silllmans were noteo LOT tne
ekoeaei th ero aos sHs
Her countenance fell, as we have said, but
she was a true wife, and she only said, meekly:
Just as you please, my dear.
| "Well, then, that's settled" replied Mr..
Trevor, as he put his hat ON the rack, too OBJ
| tuse to see how much his wife was disappoint-
| ed, and not caring very much, it must be con-
fessed, to noticeit. II did think, once or twice,
| that you might object to my purpose Of staying
at home after this. But you're a sensible
woman, and no gad-about; so we'll say no
more about it."
No more about it No, Helen never said
any more about it. She never again even him
ted that she wished to go out But she could
not help thinking about it sometimes, especially
when one of her young friends had been to
see her. and had told her what a nice time they
had had at the Mortons, or the Grays, or the
Varneys, or some other of their mutual acquain-
tances the the night before. 80 sorry that
Mr.. Trevor is too tired of evenings" they
would add, 1--WE all miss you so much" For
Helen was proud, and had told her friends
that her husband was quite tagged out at night,
though she herself had already begun to see
that he was more indolent than fatigued.
Let us change the scene. The very night OF
this conversation, there was another one, also
between two young married people, and also
in reference to the Silliman party.
$50 you have an invitation to the Sillimans
tomorrow night" said Mr.. Chanter to his
young bride, as he received her kiss of welcome.
II met Silliman himself, who told me it was
got up in great hurry, which accounts for the
short notice. Now, mind, look your pret-
test
'But," said the wife, you reso hard-work-
ed, juStnow. You come home looking so tired.
Don't you think we d better give up this party?
We've been to good many lately. You want
rest"
''Well, puss, there's some truth in what you
say,' answered the husband, with another
kiss You're dear good creature to be so
thoughtful of me. But then, you see, that's
reason, all the more, why l should be careful
of you in turn. Now l know something
of a woman's life. It's the same indoor,
hun-drum round day after day, week after
week, month after month. A man, whatever
his occupation, finds more or less excitement
daily. At the most, even ifEe's book-keeper,
which is one of the most confinlng OF all
pursuits he has his brisk walk to the count
ing house or bank in the fresh air, He meets
people he knows, on the street, and has chat,
and hears the news, even if it's only
for minute that he stops. But a woman gets
no recreation after she's married, unless she
goes out, now and then, to a 'tea-ight,' as you
call it, or to party. Why, my dear, If was
to let you stay at home forever, as some men
let their wives, or make them, you'd soon lose
those pretty cheeks of yours and by-and-by
even your spirits and at last you'd become
dowdy, if not confirmed invalid. Put
plant in cellar if you want to kill it: give il
fresh air and sunshine if you would have it
bloom. Now there's that fellow, Trevor.
felt to-day, as if would like to thrash him * x
Surely Mr.. Trevor has nothing to do EEien-
| my going out !'' exclaimed Mrs. Chanter, in
surprise.
But he has with his wife's. The Trevors
, are asked to the Sillimans. But this lazy fel-
) Mrs. Trevor go! It's time to put stop to the
thing he told me-
"Why, be doesn't work half as hard as you
do I've always heard his business was very
easy one"
$50 it is. He's richer, too, than am, and
can afford to take life differently. But he was
always selfish and tyrannical, as poor Helen
will find out to her cost Pity she hadn't found
it out long ago."
Alas she had already begun to find it out,
and as the years went by she found it out more
, and more. She soon sank to a mere house
hold drudge Her husband did not desert
! her of evenings as many husbands do desert
J their wives; he went neither to tavern nor 70
club; we will say that in his favor; but he
betook himself to his newspaper and segar,
varied with an occasional doZe As he hardly
exchanged a word with poor Helen, she
might as well have been thousand miles
away She sat in the same room with hlm,
stitching, stitching, till her eyes ached with
the monotony and weariness Of all.
2 In the first year or two of their married lie,
he had continued the subscriptions to the two
or three magazines and newspapers which had
been her favorities before she left her before
I She left her fathers house. what does
married woman want with love stories ne
5 said, imperiously, forgetting that the maga-
t zine was as much to his wife as his newspaper
r was to him. Often and often poor Helen
? thought that if she could only have few books.
| a good novel, a new poem, or PerOdlcal OF
some kind, she could have borne things better.
Her life was so dry and hard that even the
least glimpse of the world of Imagination
e would have been to her what the cool spring
in the desert is to the weary, thirsty traveller
But her husband said, in his dogmatc way,
s when, once or twice, she ventured to borrow
7 book and he found her reading, "Pshaw
t novel again how can you waste your time
f with such nonsense; pretty example you
are setting to your daughter!
Mrs Trevor had been pretty, as we have
] said, when she married. But IN ten years,
| IL leI.r bon 1VrO1n
, YES were all away, and who was last slirH-
inc into a confirmed invalid. Before she had
: been married twenty years, before ner eloess
daughter was a grown girl she quietly slpped
into her coffin, and had done with this lie
e forever. Her husband put on black, and
the deepest Grape on his hat, and went ABOUT
telling people of his inconsolable loss, and
then. after year, married again.
e Meantime what of the other par? 4 To-Day DAY
at FORTY Mrs Chanter is as handsome as ever,
} people saw, and, when she goes out with her
{ dauphter passes with strangers, for an elder
sister. Her mind has not been starved, nor
) her soul dwarfed. "A little judicious amuse,
ment is as necessary to a woman, her husband
always said, 'as food, or air: or affection"
On this nrinciple he acted. The result was
that his wife always kept her spirits her health,
and her good looks, and from being thoroughly
happy herself, was able to make him all the
happier E{er >, .torve bpman souln he often
declared, lust as easily as the body" And
some oit.
smoke. Whether he was, or not, the recording
angel was and when the accounts come to be
made up in the great chancery of heaven,
there will be little doubt as to which OF the
two husbands will win the verdict.
The Perfect Horse.
The perfect horse is yet to be foaled, and We
must take facts as they are and not expect to
find all good qualities in any one. horse. In