The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-08-14
THE CASE or LEWIS VS.. LEWIS.

left the law office of Judge Sharpe jus
as Walter LOSING was about to enter.
s As she swept by him the young MAJ
caught momentary glimpse of her face
which told him as plainly as words coulC
have done that she was unhappy. HI
wondered what trouble could have com'
to one who was so evidently in want o.
nothing that money could buy.
Walter LOSING is what is commonl,
called, in euphemistic newspaper phrase
ology, "a rising young lawyer" II
other words, he had been recently ad
mitted to practice, was as poor as thC
law allowcd-and, as is well known, tht
law is very liberal in this respect-anC
had hard work to rise high enough
to keep his head above water. This, too
in spite of the fact that his ability was
above the average.
Just now he had come to get the old
Judges opinion on knotty point which
had come up in one of the few cases
which he had succeeded in securing.
Judge Sharpe had taken kindly inter
est in him, and had already given him
valuable advice and otherwise befriendcd
him on several occasions. In fact, it
is highly improbable that the knotty
point that was puzzling him would have
troubled him at all If it hadn't been for
the Judge, who had thrown the case in
which it occurred in his way.
Judge Sharpe had just tied together a
bundle of legal papers and thrust them
into pigeon hole when the young man
came in.
''How are you, my boy? Sit down.
What can do for you to-day? I've just
got to the end of case that ought to be
Ia lesson to all you young fellows said
the judge, all in ono breath, as was his
manner.
"What case was that, Judge?" asked
LOSING as he dropped into chair.
"Lewis versus Lewis, action for linn
tied divorce on the ground of incompati-
bility, cruel treatment, and so forth.
You saw the young woman who just
went out?"
LOSING nodded.
"That was the plaintiff. Nice sort of
girl, well educated, refined, handsome
and all that, but not the right sort of a
wife for the man she married. You see
she is the only daughter of wealthy peO-
pie, who had naturally gratified every
whim that came into her head. She fell
in love with with man whose respecta-
bility was his only recommendation"
''Well, wasn't that the principal thing
"Other things being equal, yes; but
in this case it was only one of the prin-
cipal considerations, as you will see.
The young man was as poor as could be,
he had only modest salary to depend
on and nothing in the way of prospects.
The girls parents objected at first, but
finally consented to the match. They
probably knew that she would have her |
way in spite of all objections they might |
interpose. You hear and read great |
deal about the tyranny of parents who |
refuse to sanction marriages which they |
believe will end in unhappiness, but | |
tell you, my boy, that what is called |
tyranny is in many cases hard, honest |
common sense and good judgment based |
on experience and observation"
''Well, they were married, and for a |
short time they were happy. Then the |
Young wife began to be discOntented. |
She missed the luXuries she had been |
to enjoy. The modest home |
her husband could provide for her was
so different from the elegance with |
which she had been formerly surrounded |
that she began to fret. Her discomfort |
soon found expression in words. Natur |
ally her husband became angered at what |
he considered her lack of devotion. |
When she suggested that her parents |
would lend financial aid he became in |
dignant and insisted that she should be |
content with her lot until by his own
efforts he could better their condition. |
You can imagine that this state of affairs |
soon led to something worse. Quarrels |
became frequent; love was thing of the |
past. No doubt thinking herself much |
abused she left him and returned to her |
parents. Then application for a separa- |
ton was made. All efforts to effect
reconciliation were fruitless. Well, this
is the end. The law has sanctioned the
separation that already existed in fact;
the young woman remains with her
parents; the young man will probably
90 to the devil, for his unfortunate mar
riage has taken all the ambition out of
him."
"And the lessonP' suggested LOSING:
Don't mar woman who is beyond
your station, financially; don't take a
wife from mansion unless you have
mansion in readiness for her."
"But surely, all marriages of this kind
don't result as this one has?''
'No, probably not; there are eXcep-
tions to every rule. am speaking of
the rule. You will find as you grow
older that it holds good in nine cases out
of ten. Marriage is too serious matter
to enter into it lightly, and happiness
too valuable to stake it on chance.
Heiresses are content with love in cot
tage only in novels; in real life you sell
dom find love that is strong enough to
conquer all the weaknesses of human
nature-especially of female human ma
ture.h
Having evidently reached the end of
bis impromptu lecture, the old lawyer
leaned back in his chair and waited for
the other to state the purpose of his
errand.
LOSING sat in silence for minute OF
more. The old mans words seemed to
have impressed him deeply.
At length he asked the question he
had come to PROFOUND; received a reply
that made the matter clear TO him,
| thanked his adviser, and was about to
leave when the Judge remarked:
by the way, my boy, if you want any
further points on that case come to my
house this evening, and will show you
what authorities to consult"
"Thank you, shall do so," replied
LOSING. He took the kind offer rather
as matter of course, for Judge Sharpe
had long ago told him to make use of
his library whenever he wished, and he
had frequently availed himself of the
permission.
LOSING, after leaving the judges s
Office. went directly to his own, which
was in another part of the same building.
Instead of busying himself with the pa
pers that lay strewn upon his desk, he
paced to and fro excitedly for several
minutes. Then he sat down and for at
least half al hour stared very hard at
nothing, or perhaps at the wall. Could
he have seen his own face just then he
would have been surprised at the change
that had come over it. There was a
hopeless, despairing expression there
which would have seemed quite mex
plicable to any of those who knew him
best.
"There's no other way; I'll have to dc
it," he suddenly exclaimed, at the same
time rising abruptly. Then he put on
his hat and coat, went out and walked
rapidly away.
The evening of that day found him al
the house of Judge Sharpe, sitting in
the library, apparently engrossed in 9
legal volume. But as he had been star
ing at the same page for the past ter
minutes, and that page happened to con
tain merely portion of the index, it il
doubtful if he was as deeply engrosset
as he seemed to be.
A light step fell upon the carpetet
} floor behind him. A young girl had en-
tered the room. A very pretty younl
, girl she was, and the glad smile tina
) lighted up her face when she saw th'
young man made her all the prettier
Walter LOSING had evidently not con
fined himself to Judge Sharpe's librar,
on his previous visits. II he had, tn
judges daughter would not have been s,