St. Landry democrat., 1892-08-27
Ais Well That Ends We'll.

What it was in the case of Mr.. and Mrs.
Hicks-Brown do not pretend to know.
What l know most about is the end and
the appendix. OF course all the diff
fcrences leading up to the last act were
thoroughly aired in court and 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 "tiend in human form" was
execrated by danes and damsels all over
this broad land, and Mrs. HicksBrown
was an object of heartfelt co1nmiseration
on all sides.
I am inclined to think that if Mr.
Hicks Brown had been more like the
men who are held up as model hus-
bands 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 cher
ish-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 very rich and foolishly indul-
gent papa, things might have been differ
ent But Mr.. Hicks Brown was just as
much used to having his own way as was
his pretty spouse; and the natural result
was family rows, more or less insignif-
cant in character. At first Mr.. Hicks
Brown was INCLINED to give in, just as all
dutiful bubbles are ;buthe saw the shoals of
trouble on to which this course was caus-
ing him to drift, and concluded, after
mature consideration, that it was his will
that should dominate in the Hicks Brown
family, and he fixed his plan of pro-
cedure and governed his actions accord
ingly. Mrs. Hicks Brown, with femi-
nine insight, perceived, at an early stage
of the game, what her lords intentions
were; and, as she had always been ac-
customed to have her own way, she de
cided that it was too late to begin knock
ing under and there you have what was
presumably the beginning of the end.
1t was dog-not only a dog, but a
young lady dog-not only a female
canine, but what Mr.. Hicks Brown
termed ''measly, doggasted pug'-that
caused the climax. If there was any
creature on earth that Mr. Hicks Brown
loathed and despised it was a pug, and
especially one of the gentler sex, and his
better half, aware of this antipathy, had,
with characteristic feminine perversity,
availed herself of the first opportunity to
possess herself of one Of those interest
ing animals, which speedily won, it
seemed, first place in her affections and
made Mr. Hicks Browns 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 alterations,
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 after
noon for an exploring tour in the upper
part of the house.
When Mr.. Hicks Brown entered his
den about 5 o'clock he saw at once that
portions of his plans were missing, and,
supposing that his wife had taken them
to show some visitor, he hurried down
stairs.
"Where are those plans?" he asked.
''What plans, dear?' softly inquired
Mrs. Hicks-Brown, 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 build
ing plans from my table?' asked Mr..
Hicks Brown in some agitation.
"Oh-h!" said his spouse, mildly sur
prised. why, it must have been those
that Vic had"
"That-Vic-hadw howled Mr.. Hicks
Brown. And pray where are they
now"
"Don't get excited, dear. Were they
they anything in PARTICULAR Vic had
some old, soiled pieces of cloth, playing
with them awhile ago; but I supposed
they were some you had thrown into the
wastebasket, SO I burned-Henry! What
are you going to do?"
But Henry did not answer. He strobe
over to the cushion whereon the offend
ing Vic was taking her afternoon siesta,
gripped her firmly by the nape of the
neck, and, despite his wife's hysterical
protests, opened the door and kicked the
bowling animal into the street, and, not
satisfied with this, when Mrs. Hicks
Brown would have rushed to rescue her
pet, he took her by the shoulders and
forced her into chair, noting with grim
satisfaction as he did so that a 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 freedom from
bonds on the ground of
"cruel and inhuman treatment" which
she expected the court, when her case
was presented, to understand as having
been applied to her instead of to Vic
In the state where Mrs. Hicks Brown
sought her divorce, it takes only three
legal formalities consume very little
Ilnei out, strange 10 say, MIS-. HICKS
Brown did not find it easy to pass the
time. The first three or four weeks, in
her Hurried state of mind, she did not
notice-but, after that, time passed very
slowly, indeed. Strange as it may seem,
ife apart from Mr. Hicks Brown was
very, very dull-and lonely. Yes, she
had been hasty-too hasty-but there
was no turning back now. She had
burned her bridges, and besides, had
ever Lovedale retraced step once
takens No! And she held her pretty
nose little higher and tried to look
haughtily don't-care-ish, all the time
feeling yey miserable. indeed.