The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-10-19
MR., BAGLY'S
MISADVENTURE.
BY oGRAM FARGUs DEDLIN.

BY oGRAM FARGUs DEDLIN.
II was a remarkable fact that when Mr..
Bagly came down to breakfast in huff, for
the first time since their marriage, Mrs.
Bagly should have appeared upon the scene
iu the same undesirable condition Of mind.
Things had gone so decidedly wrong with
him all the week that he felt he could not
withhold much longer his indignation at
fate, or whatever it WAS that had proved
sufficiently interested in his affairs in gen.
sral, and himself in particular. 10 be guilty
of having caused to happen an innumerable
number Of events calculated to yex and
annoy him. He hoped that fate, OF what
ever Il was, derived the required amount OF
pleasure from the fact Of his being veIed
and ANNOYED. For himself, he would have
experiauced an immeasurabie amount OF re-
lief could he haYs been granted the priyl-
Iege of breaking down, tramplInS upon and
entirely destroying everything breaka1le
and destroyabIe in the house.
Mrs. Bagly's anger was no less real and
intense, albeit more conventional Her
feelings had been wrought upon to such an
extent By household troubles that she felt
she must have satisfaction out Of some one
and who was the proper person If not her
husbaud2 For what had she married him?
She was in that admirable frame OF mind
in which she wished some one would Try
70 pet her, that she might have the dell
ciuus pleasure of refusing to be petted. She
saw MI Bagly was angry, but did not care;
What right had he to be SO when she was?
Ladies first always.
Mr.. Bagly perceived there was something
unusual in the manner OF his wife, but would
not cOudesctua to Investigate. lie must be
a Ii ~ cTEt III a
everything on the table in turn and chewed
his food very much after the manner OF
camel under the impression that 1t made
him lock farce. He did not deign to taste
his tea, but swallowed quantity, which OF
course burned his mouth and added new
heat to chuIer. He did not care to open
hOstihties, but waited to be reused; then
ne would oyerWhelm her petty passion with
the very immensely OF his own. be would
lay bare the tragic side OF his nature II
she stirred him up and he hoped she might.
Mrs. Bagly was impatient to begin. She
was afraid she might forget some OF the
things she wanted to say.
flames" she SAID, firmly.
James stared at her with a fixed, stony
Kind OF stare.
James, would like to know what your
intentors are regarding Jane"
Mrs. Bagly," he replied, with the calm
ness usually preceding storm. am not
aware that l ever entertained any intentions
N any way connected with or concerning
Jane"
Mrs. Bagly drew a long breath and closed
her mouth firmly, as II storing air Tor siege.
L" l am quite prepared to hear 1t. 10 tell
the truth, l expected 1t.
MAY l inquire then. madam, as you
know SO clearly what my answer would be,
the reason YOU asked"
She was not at all discompOsed by this
brilliant sally, but replied indifferently:
Because | thought you might possibly
be interested in the result"
ate result, madam? The result Of what,
pray ?"
"Ot James leaving"
And why is she leavingP
Because she has no chuice. Because l
have put up with her insolence as long as l
shall, MI Bagly. Because, however much
YOU may slight me and my wishes, l do not
intend to submit to impudenc5 from a ser
want. Mr.. Bagiy | shall not endure it one
day longer; shall pay her off his morning
and let her 90. | shall, indeed, Mr.. Bagly."
MIR. Bagy sat and gazed on her during
this little feminine TRADE with a look Of
deep cOmmiseratiOn And this was ALL
This was the molehill of grief that had
dared to stand in front of his olympus Of
troubled Bah! He vaguely remembered
hearing of this trit1ng matter before, 1t was
nOthjug-nOthingl
Mrs Bagly," he said, thinking the time
had come to be aroused, "loOk at me-"
She did so, but did not seem to be deeply
impressed with what she saw.
''Mr. Bagly. unless you send another girl
here before dinner there will be none pre-.
pared for you. l am determined Jane shall
20, if we never haV. another dinner"
Mr.. Bagly arose.
Madam, | have suffered-I have suf-
feredp' he began with great soIemnty.
How much you cannot know, you cannot
understand. | have shielded you from the
knowledge. am daily and hourly plagued
with business difficulties of the. most trying
kind. And in the midst of these difficulties"
his voice rose high with indignation, what
do l hear? a Wrangle about cook! What
have l to do with your Jane and your din
neT and your what-notP 1t would make no
difference to me if all the cooks that ever
spoiled a meal were in the bottom of the
Red Sea-"
Mrs. Bagly, while highly amused at the
way in which he tried to assume the charac-
ter Of martyr in the beginning Of this adj
dress, became cornered when he showed
such recklessness with regard to the cook.
he was not a man to look lightly upon any
thing pertaining To his food. Quite the con-
traTY. Thinking she had gone too far she
became cOncilatOry
u am sure, james, would not have
troubled you If"
"Oh, l dare sayW he replied sarcastic
ally. You would have spared me if you
could, no doubt"
l. u.
Il don't see what difference it makes. any
way. If you are not able TO carry on yOur
business, what have you got business for?"
Exactly; what have l business forP
Oh, certainly, what have | business for2
lwill tell you, madame; it is to enable me
to hire cook for you"
BE was very earnest in this declaration,
and Mrs. Bagly was so oveTpowered that
she burst into tears, upon which, selling
his hat, her husband beat a hasty retreat,
followed by several subdued sounds; among
others the word brute" was distinctly
audible.
As soon as he had gone she dried her
eyes and said reckle.sly:
al don't care"
To prove this she summoned Jane, paid
her the amount due and dismissed her.
Fate or whatever it was showed its entire
satisfaction at this little tempest by being
very kind to Mr.. Bagly all day. When he
reached his office he found a man waiting to
pay a bill! he had long counted as lost
money. Several other equally pleasant in
cldents occurred, tending to put him in
good humor. He dined at q restaurant with
couple of friends, and forgot all about his
spouse, her Jane and her what-nOt. In the
evening he made the purchase of a new hat,
felt one, to replace the light straw which
the season declared off duty, and paraded
about the town with chum until quite late
when he made his way home.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Bagly was experiencing
agonios CT doubts and fears at his non-ap.
pearance. Ever since it became dark she
had been in state of anxiety bordering OF
frenzy Never before had she been left
alone in the house after night. She lighted
= ali the lamps and reiterated upstairs to trem.
blingly await his coming Her Imagination
ran riot: every noise, from no matter wha
innocent cause, represented to her the ap.
proach Of burglars, who would bind and gag
her. and then, after ransacking the house
would without the slightest reason in tht
voTIdl emf her throat and leave her weller