St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-05-29
A MISAPPREHENSION.
Detroit Free Press.

find out that his wife had absolutely no
head at all for finance. She could not
keep accounts. They bewildered her,
and always ended in a hopeless muddle.
She was like the woman who, being
urged to keep some account of her eX-
penditure, triumphanJly showed her
husband her book with the two entries
on the debtor and creditor side, Re
ceived S50,'' and Spent S5O." and who
was exceedingly pleased to see that the
$50 on the one side balanced the $50 on
the other.
Lillian had the most vague idea about
checks. 1t seemed to her that if book
was filled with unused checks, their
bank account therefore was unlimited.
Now, there are two things for man
to do when he finds himself in such
situation as Tom AXtOn found himself.
One of the things is wise, ard one of
the things is foolish. If he is foolish
man he will endeavor to teach his wife
how TO keep accounts. If he is wise
man he will simply make up his mind
to earn more money and let the accounts
go. So Tom AXton, being wise, bothered
his wife very little about accounts, but
settled the bills when they came in as
we'll as he was able and bent his ener-
gies towards the accumulation Of a good
And so things went on very comfort
ably and pleasantly until winter set in.
One night, when Tom came home,
| Mrs. Lillian, who was most transpar-
ent kind Of woman, began CONVERSE
| ton on the subject of sealSkin Jackets.
| She said that they were most economical
garments: that woman with SealSkin
was always we'll dressed; that the ap-
parent coStlineSs of the garment was
| delusion; that the woman who had be-
| slowed upon her a sealskin sacque at the
| beginning of hard winter, had little
else to ask for until The spring.
Tom listened grayely, and finally
said:
There is nothing personal in all this
| talk, is THEREOF
Lillian averred that there was not.
and Indignantly repudiated the inSinu-
| alton that she was thinking about her
self at all. She was merely interested
in the subject in general way. And
Tom said quietly:
LILLIAN, my dear, what is the price of
| the particular garment you have been
looking at?''
At this point in the conversation she
| came over and sat upon his knee, and
finally Tom received the information
that perfectly lovely sealskin coat
| could be had for 5000, which was worth,
at the very lowest figure, $500.
"In shat case" shid Tom, at is rath-
| Ell pity not to buy It," and she admit
| ted with some reluctance that it was a
| shame to let such chance go by.
Tom did some figuring and found
that check for 5000 would be honored
at his bank and leave still a little credit
| remaining.
| His nUnraOat yUac nv, ,nOr,,i,, m
| ana he was just about to depart for his
| office when he opened the drawer of the
table IN his room, took out his check
book and wrote a check to the order of
his wife for $500.
Mrs. Lillian was overjoyed, but Tom
| was away before she could thank him.
She looked at the check with the ink
still wet upon it, waved it for moment
in the air to dry it, and then held it
lightly with its face toward the open
fire that was blazing on the hearth.
How it happened she never knew, but
the check gave little curl at the corner
and burst into flame in her hand. She
dropped it, tried to snatch it again, but
the cLarred remnants escaped up the
chimney.
Mis-. Lillian's face became as white
as the ashes OH the hearth, and she sank
| into the arm chair beside the fire,
covering her face with her hands.
Tom AXton was a somewhat stolid,
| quiet, industrious, unSuSpiciouS man.
He frequently thought his wife tritie
| frivolous, but, on the whole, he rather
| liked it.
When he came home that night the
door was opened to him by the servant
girl instead of by his wife, which was
unusual. There was panic in her face.
"Oh, sir she said. "have you seen
the missis?'
The missis," said Tom. mo. Isn't
she here?"
No, sir" said the girl, looking as if
she were going to cry, latter you left
this morning, sir, she took on awful and
| then she went away. l thought per-
haps she had gone to you, sir"
| Tom stood in the hallway without re-
moving his coat, thunderstruck.
Through his unsuspicious mind flashed
the circumstances or the case. The
| check for $500; the ''taking on'' and
the departure.
Tom threw himself down with his
| overcoat still on. i'll the armchair by the
| fire, and tried to think over the situa-
ton. The absolute uselessness of START
| ing out in the night and trying to find
her was the first thing that impressed
| itself upon niln. He shrank from giving
notice to the police. The ticket seller
at the railroad station knew his wife,
and would pehaps remember if she
bought ticket for any place. The first
thing evidently to do was to find out if
| she left the suburb, and, if possible,
where she had gone.
| Once more he called up the servant
| girl.
"Did--did Mrs. AXton leave the house
| alone?" he asked with some hesitation.
II think So" said the girl, but l
| don't know. / heard the front door
| close. and while after found that she
was gone, and when she did not come
| back to lunch, l did not know what to
| do"
"Oh, 1t is all right" said Tom, with a
confidence he himself was far from
| feeling. Il think | know where she
has gone. A friend of hers is ill. She
has very likely been detained. I will
| go and bring her home"
And so, putting on his hat, he resolved
| to 90 down and see the man at the rail
road station. When he closed the front
door behind him and went down the
steps toward the gate, he Saw in the
darkness the figure of woman who
seemed to have been lettering there, and
who now hurried away.
As he came out into the street some
thing of her evident desire not to be
seen convinced him that the retreatlng
figure was that of his wife. He followed
quickly, and as soon as she noticed this
she broke into run.
Now Tom realized that it was risky
thing to run after and overtake a flying
woman, especially if she turned out to
be the person of whom he was in search.
But Tom was desperate, and he took
the risk.
Seeing that she could not get away,
she stopped at lamp post, leaning
against it, and as he came up to her he
heard the shudderlng cry;
"Oh, Tom"
! Lillian" he said hoarsely, graspiug