Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-08-16
MY RIVAL.

l was sure Jack loved me- He had, in
an intermittent sort of way ever since we
were married three years before But aft
err the noble fashion of men, having got
possession of the desired object and being
sure that the heart of that object belonged
entirely and wholly to him, he had ceased
to make much effort TO show his affection
or even keep it up to normal heat Occa
sionally there was n relapse to the old low
erlikc devotion, n little anxiety on his part
to give me some of his society, IL little rec
rcation, "A bit Of fun in the shape Of an old
time jaunt that used, alasl to he so many
and now were so rare
But, on the whole things moved on in
jog trot way, varied once in awhile by u
burst of tears and sobs fruln me hat at first
he tried to soothe and from which at last
he rushed away. Some of my older friends
told me that my experience was the usual
one.
Men, my dear said my cousin TheO
pretty matron ten years my senior, "mcn
are not put up as we are unfortunately. no.
In proportion as woman grows fond they
grow cold. Never were words moro truly
written than byron Love Is OF man S
life thlng apart, etc. had to get used
to 1t myself, and l shed buckets of tears
the flrst year Tom and were married.
The first night he staid at the club till
and smelled frightfully of wine when he
got nome l nearly had lit. cried and
vowed should go back to dear mamma.
But l didn t, and now We get on comfort
ably. The bills are my greatest sorrow,
and nothing short of the sight of Tom ac-
tually kissing the cook or clipping with an
opera singer would arouse my indigna-
ton.
l thought Thco heartlcss. The future
she pictured seemed dreary one, but l
gradually fell into that very state of mind.
l grew to be servilely grateful for the
crumbs of old time tenderness that fell to
my lot and even sometimes congratulated
myself that Jack rcfrained from actually
being unklnd. Such is the humility of
women and dogs
But there came a change. l thought l
was hardened to almost as much as cOus-
In Theo, but found that things had not
been so bad that they could not be worse.
Jack grew more and more distrait. When
he had read the paper, instead of his usual
polite inquiries after my health, occupa-
tons etc, he relapsed into deep fits of
reverie. Something was certainly trou-
bling him. L was sorry for him, even ven
tured to put carcssing hand on his soft
brown hair ana ask II business were going
wrong. He would rouse himself, answer
hastily, and getting his hat go OIL hurried
ly. There were many little sermons
preached on economy about this time; the
duty OF woman to saVe-our income was
"A very moderate one. When spoke OF
trip to the country the proposition met
with ominous silence at first. Then
could / go alone this year. Didn't
think it was about ms pleasant at home as
anywhere Now, in our little country trips
Jack had seemed more like the dear old
fellow who had wooed and won me in the
sweet past. l was loath to give ii up. But
my heart had taken IN these OFT repeated
lessons as to woman duty Visions Of
selfish wives Haunting gayly at seashore
and mountain resorts while their dear lords
at home We're submerged by waves of care,
loaded down by bulk of work, rose before
me. No. would not be selfish, l said
| braVely. / would stay at home and was
rewarded by an old time kiss
But the atmosphere did not clear. Jack
tossed restlessly in his sleep. He groaned
and muttered almost unintelligible words
Leaning over him with visions of delirium
in my mind, was sure caught AN occa-
sional word, even phrase, "She is bean
| ty." Oh, | am sure he said that and
then, Ariel is sumner" l woke him
but he denied having said "A word, growl-
ed at being walked and was distinctly
cross
But life lost even its calm content for
me. Yes, to he sure had got accustomed
to dull, gray days, to weeks of monotony,
but was not prepared for this keen pain,
this frightful jealousy that took possession
of me Jack was in love. There was no
manner of doubt of it. Did he not have
all the signs-abstraoted, silent, troubled,
with dreams of the beloved, unattainable
object, whoever she was. He was very
busy in the office / knew, but there were
the evenings, the cool, scented summer
nights that had once be so sweet Jack
would bolt his dinner, kiss me perfuncto-
rily and rush off He had to meet a man
at the club or he was going to fathers
Father lived at the other end of town,
but one evening found my way out there.
was ashamed of myself l hated the idea
that | could not trust my husband /
would not watch him Still in spite of il
all my feet turned in that direction. Me
chanically took the car that led to the