The Press., 1894-04-26

then the same round of toilsome duties over again and again, until Mistress Puffer was wife of so many years that she had long answered to her matronly name with no more blushings and sweet shyness, but as though she had been born to it; until she went on making her soap and cider apple-sauce with sedateness and unction, as if she had always regarded these com monplaces the destined sphere and elect ed end of woman Gas mayhap she had) and as if she had never, no, never, in her widest days, gone from her chamber to merry making by way of window and she'd roof instead of the stairs being, you see, too generous to disappoint her fellows, and too thoughtful to run any risk of disturb ing the repose of her parents, who, them- selves no longer young, had a straight laced notion that every body ought to be sleepy by nine o'clock
 But all this time while she was growing matter-of-fact and portly, in the midst of the bakings and bfewings, the washings and stitchings, little cloud no bigger than mans hand had arisen ill her hor- izon, and was slowly overspreading the zenith. At least not much bigger: to be explicit, it was just the size and took the form of a milk-pail.
 ''I wish, husband, you would not milk in the strainer-pail. l don't think it is a neat practice, because dirt is liable to get into the strainer that way. Besides, it isn't necessary you can milk in the other pail and pour into that just as well for aught I see," said Mistress Puffer.
 Possibly Mistress P. had fault; if so, it was the fault of saying too much. On the other hand, possibly MT. P. had a fault; if so, it was the fault of saying too little One might think that, as in the case of the distinguished eaters, Jack Sprat and his wife, these opposite imper- fections would prove nightly harmonious in their meeting; but not so. Talking too little is, of the twain, though less oppres- sively tiresome, I think fraught more heavily with evil for if a person will not how is one to know wherein and wherefor an offense arises, and haste to make due apology and reparation? So while the talking partner is rattling on in all inno- cence, the silent partner is breeding over some unmeaning slip of the unconscious tongue.
 Thus his wife had no means of knowing whether or not MT. Puffer had any reason for perferring to milk in the strainer-pail. Possibly he had; one which would have amply contented the mistress, who was by no means an unreasonable dame. But being, like his fellow-beards, nightly autocratic, he considered that his doing it should be sufficient proof of the desirable ness of a thing; although, being, like them, also fallible, this was not always a true test and the dame, who was 8 woman of common feminine sagacity-I claim no more-knew it. Therefore the pail came in next evening bearing the usual unmistakable indicat- ions of having been within the forbidden palings of the stable; but not accompanied by the grace of a simple apology, which so easily-especially womanward-cover eth, like charity, multitude of sins. | fer had not attained to sufficient degree of sanctification so that she took the of lending pail with heart serene as sum- mer morning, as doubtless was her bound en duty, yet she ought most surely to have taken it with saintly smile, and quietly do the best she could toward making bad butter with cloth strainer. But you re. member her besetting fault was an over. flow of words, so, not content with having entered a remonstrance, she must needs enter another. Still no apology or reply but a look of stolid indifference upon the countenance of her legal head, which pre- sented as much expression as 8 pair o1 tongs or an ironing-table. So, detecting no sign of attention, the dame added line upon line and precept upon precept, unti at last, the legal head getting exasperateC out ofhis defensive and offensive silence as you have seen mosquitoes drive dog from his corner-opened his mouth, and in voice no smoother than oil, spoke to the effect that 8 milk pail was smal matter to waste so much breath and feel ing upon. The tone more than the words came like driving knife upon Mistress Puffer's last sentence, leaving one hal forever unsaid and the other half, whicf would bear dwelling upon and repetition no better than other wasp-stings, constant , ly ringing in her ears. She felt somewhat blameworthy and self-disgusted; for it is rare indeed that any act shows out quite without flaw to the actor, when in sterr and conscientious review but neither die she love her husband very much for hall day.
 An! what, indeed, is milk-pail te waste feeling upon! What, in itself con sidered, was the bit of fruit plucked anG eaten in the Garden centuries ago? Fol my own part must say I never saw any inconsistency in the quarrel of children over a grasshopper as sufficient first cause for the Shawnese and Delaware tribes meeting in deadly combat; that is if any object is worth fighting for. It is the principle of the thing, don'tyou see? And if person is disagreeably inclined a clo. yer blossom or cambric needle may serve to show up his ugliness as well as any thing.
 Not being then socially impelled by quite the usual warmth of affectionate feeling,toward her husband, and conscious also, that she had already said too much Mistress Puffer entered hereupon a long projected and often-attempted reform She did not talk much for two days and the partner of her sorrows, inferring that she was sulking-upon one of the rare occasions when he waxed confidential told her so. This misconception did not