The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-07-15
MRS. HICKS-BROWN.
How a Lesson. of Mutual For
bearance Was Learned.

| ucfC 10 w d
end. What it was in the case of Mr.
and Mrs. s-Brown, 1 do not pre-
tend to know. What 1 know most
about is the end and the appendix. Of
course all the differences leading up te
the last act were thoroughly aired in
| court aud in the newspapers, but it was
the final act of brutality on Mr.. Hicks
Browns part that was especially
| dilated upon. and for weeks this ''fend
| in human form" was execrated by
danes and damsels all over this broad
| land, and Mrs. Hicks-Brown was an
| object of heartfelt commiseration on ali
sides.
am inclined to think that if Mr..
| Hicks-Brown had been more like the
men who are held up as model husbands
by the knowing members of certain
ladies' societies. he and Mrs. Hicks
Brown-she whom only two short
years since he had promised to love and
cherish-would be living in peace and
amity, to say nothing of conjugal
happiness, even unto this day; and if
Mrs. Hicks Brown had been anything
but the only child of a very rich and
foolishly indulgent papa, things might
have been different. But Mr.. Hicks
Brown was just "a much used to having
his own way as was his pretty spouse;
and the natural result was family
rows, more or less insignificant in
character At first, Mr.. Hicks-Brown
was inclined to give in, just as all
81 l. IL
shoals of trouble on to which this
course was causing him to drift, and
concluded, after mature consideration,
that it was his will that should domin-
ate in the Hicks-Brown family, and he
fixed his plan of procedure and gov
erned his actions accordingly. Mrs.
Hicks Brown, with feminine insight,
perceived, at an early stage of the
game, what her lords intentions were;
and, as she had always been accus-
toned to have, her way, she decided
that it was too late to begin knocking
under-and there you have what was
presumably the beginning of the end.
1t was dog that caused the climax.
If there was any creature on earth that
MIR. Hicks Brown loathed and despised,
it was a pug, and his better half, aware
of this antipathy, had, with character
istic feminine perversity, availed her
self of the first opportunity to possess
herself of one of those interesting ami
mails, which speedily won, it seemed,
first place in her affections, and made
Mr.. Hicks-Brown's life miserable.
He stood it, however, as long as he
could, but the end had TO come.
Mr.. Hicks-Brown was an architect,
and it came to pass that he had, on one
occasion, been invited to prepare the
plans for public building. The plans
were drawn and accepted by the COM
mittee, which, however, returned them
to him for certain important altera-
tions; and they were laid on the table
in his den. to be attended to when he
returned home in the late afternoon of
certain day.
Now, it so happened that Vic, the pug
aforementioned, was of AN inquiring
turn of mind, and she chose this very
afternoo for an exploring tour in the
upper part of the house.
When Mr.. Hicks Brown entered his
den, about Ave o'clock, he saw at once
that portions of his plans were missing,
and, supposing that his wife had taken
them to show to some visitor, he hur-
ried downstairs.
Where are those planS?" he asked.
what plans, dear?" softly inquired
Mrs. HicksBrown, sliding her caramel
into one cheek, and still keeping one
eye on particularly thrilling page of
the yellow-back novel in her lap.
''What-what plans! Do you mean
to say you didn't take those Calumet
building plans from my tablet" asked
Mr.. Hicks Brown, in some agitation.
''Oh-h!' sad his spouse. mildly sur
prised. why, it must have been
those that Vic had"
"That-Vic-hadi" howled Mr. Hicks
Brown. And, pray, where are they
now?"
Don't get excited, dear. We're
they anything in particular? Vic had
some old, soiled pieces of cloth, playing
with them awhile ago; but / supposed
they were some you had thrown into
the waste basket, SO burned-Henry!
What are you going TO do?"
But Henry did not answer. BE strobe
over to the cushion wherein the offend
ing Vic was taking her afternoon ST.
esta, gripped her firmly By the nape of
the neck, and, despite his wife's hyteri-
cal protests, opened the door and kicked
the bowling animal into the street,
and. not satisfied with this, when Mrs
rescue her pet. he took her by the
shoulders and forced her into a chair.
noting with grim satisfaction as he did
so that couple of street arabs were
making off with Vic
That day Mrs. Hicks-Brown went
home to her mother, and two weeks
later she was member of the divorce
colony in a western city, seeking free
dom from matrimonial bonds on
the ground of cruel and inhuman treat
ment," which she expected the court,
when her case was presented. TO under
stand as having been applied to her, in
stead of TO Vic.
In the state where Mrs. Hicks
Brown sought her divorce il takes
only three months to esta oIlsh resi-
idence, and the legal formalities con-
sumo very little time; but strange to
say. Mrs Hiclls-Brown did not find il
easy to pass the time The first three
or four weeks. IN her Hurried state OF
mind. she did not notice--but, after