Arizona republican., 1898-08-01
THE PHILOSOPHER.

"Come in. How are you tonight, sir? Sit down. That is the most comfortable chair in the room. I'll tell you a secret-it is the only chair in the room. All the rest are boxes. Just boxes sawed off, sir, and covered with ehintz. They look we'll enough, in deed, and answer every purpose. l have given up being high toned and demanding or needing nicely uphcl- stered furniture. By the way, sir, have you ever made much of study of mar ried life? No? Well, I have. Of bachelor. That being so it would be a about married life.
 Young man, I have lived a 1cng time, and i'll many places. I have ob- served a great many things. So much about married life, in fact, that I was always deterred by what I have seen from attempting to join the joined throng. 1 might go on indefinitely re- lating actual occurrences coming un- der my observation, but tonight shall confne my talk to just one point. It is this:
 Take the case of a married couple having a difference. friend comes in and the man and his wife appeal to him to settle the dispute. Hav4 you ever been in the position of that friend2 I have. It makes TO differ ence how nicely you word ycur decis- ion, your goose is cooked at that fire side. Ycu have lost two friends. Sup pose you reflse to dscide? Just the same you nave lost two friends. IL is a dead certainty every time.
 'sWe will skip by petty skirmishes occasions of jealous outburst, deser- tions, crueItiss, divorce and all those kind of things Of which the papers are full every day, and come down to the kind of cases that have puZz.ed wise heads from time immemorial. They puzzle me DO longer. Later on I will tell you why
 Hast evening my neighbor dropped in. He was comparatively sober, for, him We were quietly enjoying our pipes when the stiffness was shattered by several lclG screams Humping was plainly to be heard, ard each thunp was followed hy gr0an and a scream My nsighbor jumped 10 his feet and started for the door, exc,aim- ing: That brute is whaling his lit tie woman again. and I'll jus. step in and put stcp to it
 Sit down, .Jaines' said I to him; you will find deEb,g trouble for your self ir wonder if y0u i1tsTfsre.'
 You're an old coward said he as he opened my door to go .cue. It'll n la --.I T T,-- T., iIao man was striking 6 wc man-and she such a frail little body And out he went, slamming the deer hard hehind him.
 ''The screaming had ceased by this time, but the moaEs and g-oans of that poor woman still continued, and I could still hear an occasional blow as of a fist meeting with its own re- sistance- TheI I heard loud voices One Of them belonged to James who had just left me in anger He was evidently expressing himself pretty freely to that husband.
 'The1 came uf1ing, and blows landed in what appeared to be good earnest. In a short time, a very short time, I became aware that the woman was taking an active part, and shortly after that my door few open and in rushed James, my neighbor-and he was a sight not for the gods CT the goddesses. His clothes were in tatters he was bleeding freely from the nose and from half hundred finger-nail scratches on his face and neck
 "'Damn that woman,' said he. T had the brute down. and was pummel- ing him right merrily when she came at me like she panther. If I ever get over this, old man, my eyes against an empty beer bottle, you'll never catch me interfering between man and wife again.
 @He has been in bed all day and have visited him several times to bind up his wounds and endeavor td soothe his lacerated feelings.
 "And now have told you why I am no longer puzzled. You don't under stand? Why, young man, it is just simply because I have become con- vinced that there is no solution to the riddle. Once convinced of such a Athing | banish the matter from my mind and it puzzles me no more. knew what James was rushing to meet. I knew he would meet it. He did. He returned after the meeting and today he is not only sorry for having called me a coward last night, but he is graduated convert to my theory, that there is no fury like that of a woman in whose defense you are pummeling her husband.
 "A woman who has not a happy moment from the beginning to the end of each and every year she is living with her husband; who hates his ,A