The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-06

Bah,''
The woman, with wavesof her hand,
expressed her contempt for such doinSs
1 on, and departed down the stairs With
her jug. Her husband spent his spare
/ cash at the pub. as a man should,
and not in such vanities as a second
4 hand musical instrument. She had.
very properly, no patience with ex-
travagance.
Marsten raped when the playing
ceased, and Joe Braunt himself came
: to the door.
Come in. my boy he said, cordially,
i and Marsten went in.
! a tall girl, who might have been II
or Is or 49, rose from a chair at the
/ harmonium. She was pale and thin,
with large, pathetic eyes that gave a
melancholy beauty TO her face. Shak-
ing hands with her. How are you, Jes-
sie?" said Marsten. is the cough any
better?"
Il think it's always about the same,
answered the girl
1T is hard TO get better in this hole,
said her father. gruffiy.
Braunt spoke with the accent of a
Yorkshireman. He was man who, in
stature and build did credit to his
county, and it was hard 10 believe
that the slender girl was his daughter.
However much Joe Braunt's neighbors
disapproved of his putting on airs and
holding himself and his slim, useless
daughter above their betters, they took
good care not to express their opinions
/ in his hearing, for he was
rough, masterful man, taelturn
and gloomy, whose blow was read
Ter than his speech; not only prompt,
but effective. The whole court
was afraid of him, and it acted on the
principle of letting sleeping dogs lie.
The woman with the jug in her hand
had good cause for resentment against
Joe Braunt. She had been getting her
man" home one evening from the
pub" with difficulty, and in spite OF
many breakings on his part. She had
succeeded in pushing him as far as the
first landing, when he, overcome by
sudden realization of her unnecessary
cruelty in dragging him from the bril-
liantly lighted public bar, filed with
iOllity. gin and good comradeship, to
the dismal back room two flights up,
with nothing but her own bitter tongue
for company, clenched his fist and
felled her to the floor, the back of her
head striking against Braunt'S door as
she went down
Braunt, pulling open his door, found
the husband walking over-or perhaps
it would be more accurate to say stag
gering oVer-the PROSTATE body of his
wife. Joe clutched the drunkard and
The ill-used man rolled down the stair
and out into the court, where he lay
in heap and groaned. Braunt lifted
the woman and carried her W to her
room. She had a daZed idea of what
had happened and at once, rather in
coherently at first, began to give her
reScuer her opinion of him. Who was
he, she would like to know, to interfere
between man and wife, great strong
no If
been sober he'd have given him what
for for takin' advantage of a man wot
'ad a dro0 too much. Braunt went
down the stairs and picked up the''pore"
man who had certainly had one drop
too much, carried him up and laid him
in his room with his wife.
you've killed the pore man, as never
did no arm TO You," screamed the |
VIE
No such luck" said Braunt Hes
too drunk to hurt.
Which was. indeed, the case. Joe
drew the door shut behind him, and |
left them to fight it out if they wanted
to.
Mrs Scimmins had much sympathy
from the court when she related the in
cident. The women were more indig- |
nant than the men. 1t was fine state |
of things if a great, hulking, Sulky !
brute like Braunt was to Interfere in /
little matrimonial discussions that hap !
pen in all well-regulated families. Much |
as theF disliked the police, it seemed |
that now, if ever. their aid should be
invoked
IF he'd tried to break every bone in |
my mans body, Mrs. Scimmins," said |
one bulky woman, I'D a 'ad i'm by |
the air
Y dunno bout that, Sarah said /
Mrs. Scimmins. who did not wish to
rest under the imDutation of not do !
ing all she could under the circum
stances for her husband in his COM
paratively helpless state. -Wot with |
bein' 1T in the ed, an the face, an the |
back, an then my cad strikin' the door !
an one es-e as 7 couldn't see out o,
an yer husband trampin' of yer, yer
wouldn't ave breath enough to ave |
anybody by the air
Mrs. Scimmins pressed tenderly the
bruised and still swollen portion of
her face under the eye, and felt that
she had made out her case; in fact, her
defense was accepted as a strong plea
that only made Braunt's inhuman and
Gncalled for conduct stand out the
darker by comparison.
The men were aStoniShed, of course,
but not so emphatic in their denuncia-
ton OF Braunt as the wives had been.
Scimmins bore no particular malice
against ms aSSallanC, although what ne
had thrown him over the stairs for he
expressed himself as unable to con-
ceive. In answer to symDathetic in
quiries from his pals at the public bar of
the Rose and Crown" he informed
them that although shakey, he was
sti1 in the ring.
"Gawd 'elD u.s. he went on, more
in sorrow than in anger. ''wot's this
world a-comin' to? Il you arsts me l
gives it up. Wot with Braunt an the
police both on a chaps shoulders. if
he raises is and to is own wife. the
courts no fl place for a pore ard
workin' man to live in
But nobody ventured to demonstrate
with the Yorkshireman, least of all
although the court as
held more aloof from him
than ever.
Are you coming to the meeting to-
right. Mr. Braunt?'' asked young Mar
stem, when he had greeted father and
daughter.
Not me-
Why not?"
why go?"
We'll, you, see, Mr.. Braunt, there is
a crisis on. The committee is TO report.
Mr.. Sartwell has refused to meet them
and this will likely anger Gibbons and
the others. Strike or no strike will be
put TO vote, and I for one don't want
to see a Strike-at least, not just at
present"
NO more do l." said Braunt
Then come on to the meeting and
speak up against a strike
I'm no speaker. You speak"