The record-union., 1892-09-21
IT WAS A MISTAKE
A Story of Married Life Which i
Worth Reading,

A Story of Married Life Which is
Worth Reading.
After marriage comes reaction. In the
case of the Cusacls Bremmils this reaction
did not set in till the third year after the
wedding. Bremmil was hard to hold at
the best of times, and he was beautiful
husband until the baby died and Mrs.
Bremmil wore black and grew thin and
mourned as if the bottom of the universe
had fallen out. Perhaps Bremmil ought
TO have comforted her. He tried to do SO,
1 think, and the more he comforted her
the more Mrs. Bremmil grieved. Then
Mrs. HaWkSbee appeared upon the
horizon, and where she existed was fair
chance of trouble. At Lima her Dynamo
was Stormy Petrol.
Bremmil went off at score after the
baby's death and the general discomfort
that followed. and Mrs. Hawksbee an
neXed him. He rode with her and walked
with her, and talked with her and tifined
| at Pelitis with her till people put up
their eyebrows and said shocking"
Mrs. Bremmn stayed at home turning
over the baby's frocks and crying into
the empty cradle. She did not care to do
anything else. When Bremmil was at
home, which was not often, he was more
anectlonate than usual, and that showed
his hand.
The affection was formed partly to
| Soothe his own concience and partly to
soothe Mrs. Bremmil 1t failed i'll both
regards. Then ''the a. ID. G. III waiting
| was commanded by their excellencieS
| Lord and Lady Lytton to invite Mr.. and
| Mrs. Cusack Bremmii to Peterhotf on
| July 26th at $3.50 P. M Dancing in the
| bottom leit-hand corner. Il can't CO.,
\ said Mrs. Bremmil; "it is too soon after
poor little Flossie, but it need not stop
| you, Tom"
Bremmil said that he would 90 just to
| in /, ,.r,l-s
| what was not true, and Mrs. Bremml
| knew it. Then she sat down to think,
! and the outcome Of her thoughts was that
/ the memory of dead child was worth
considerably less than the affections Of a
| living husband. She made her plans and
staked her all on it. "Tom," she said, Il
shall be dining out at the Longmores on
the evening OF the 10Th. You'd better
dine at the club" About $50 III the
| evening a large leather-covered basket
| came i'll from Phelps for Mrs. Brenmil.
She was woman who knew how to
dress, and she had not spent a week in
designing that dress and having it gored
and hemmed and herring boned and
tucked and sucked Tor whatever the terms
are) for nothing.
After the dinner at the LongmoreS' she
went on to the dance little late-and en-
countered Bremmil with Mrs. HaWksbee
on his arm. That made her flush, and as
round dances she looked magnificent.
Mrs. Hawksbee caught her eye once and
she knew 1t was War-real War-DetWeen
them. Bremmil had never seen his wife
look so lovely. He stared at her from
doorways and glared at her from passages,
and the more he stared the more he was
taken with her. Mrs. Hawksbee did her
best to hold him in play, but after two
dances he crossed over to his wife and
asked for dance.
Pm afraid you've came too late, Mr..
Bremmil," she said, with her eyes
tWinkling.
Then he begged her to give him dance,
and as great favor she allowed him the
fifth waltz. They danced together and
there was a little futter round the
room. Bremmil had a sort of notion
that his wife could dance, but he never
knew she danced so divinely. At the
end of the waltz he asked for another as q
favor, not as right. And Mrs. Bremmil
SAID, SHOW me your programme dear"
He showed it as naughty little school
boy hands up contraband sweets to a
master.
There was fair sprinkling of "H." on
1t, besides HI at supper. Mrs. Brem-
mil said nothing, but she smiled con-
telnptuously, ran her pencil through
and 8, the H'S, and returned the card
with her name written above, pet name
that only she and her husband used
Then she shook her finger at him and
said, "0h, you silly boy.% Mrs. Hawks
bee heard that, and-she owned as much
she felt she had the worst of it. Brem-
mil accepted 10 gratefully. They danced
and sat out 8 in one of the tents. What
Bremmil said and what Mrs. BremmiI
did is no concern of any ones.
When the band struck up 1.-The Roast
Beef Of Old England the two went out
on to the veranda, and Bremmil began
to look for his wife's dandy, this was
before rickshaw days., while she went
into the cloak-room. Mrs. Hawksbee
came up and said: "You take me in to
supper, think, Mr. Bremmil." BremmiI
turned red and looked foolish. All
hm-I'm going home with my wife,
Mrs. Hawksbee. think there has been
little mistaken Being a man, he
spoke as though Mrs. Hawksbee was en-
tirely responsible.
The couple went off into the darkness
together, Bremmil riding by close to the
dandy. Then said Mrs. Hawksbee to
me, she looked trifie faded and faded
in the lamplight, ''Take my word for it.
the silliest woman can manage a clever
man, but it needs very clever woman
to manage fool"
Then we went to supper.-Rudyrad
Kipling.