Evening star., 1899-04-01
\ TRUE hITTLE WIFE


ter ballad, '"There's nothing in this world
like true little wife," may be, and no
doubt are, somewhat beery, maudlin and
wishywashy, but ahe sentiment embodied
in the title is all right, all right. Here is a
bit Of a story, true in all Of its details,
that goes to prove'it
A young man Who has been holding a
good government job in this town for
seven or eight years past, and who has a
pretty little wife and two extremely pretty
little girls, got the idea into his head about
four months ago that whisky was about
the main thing in life. He had been nib
bling at the stun off and on for several
years previous. losing day or so now and
then from his office in consequence, and
getting the queer little suspicious eye from
his superiors occasionally, at that, when
he'd show up in the morning with shaky
hand, bloodshot eyes and general look Of
generalization. Four months ago. how
ever, he just laid down to whisky alto
gether. He came to the conclusion that life
without whisky would be one prolonged,
barren Sahara for him. He generated the
idea that this thing of being sober and
waking up in the morning with morning
heart and nice, clear head, and eating
a good breakfast on good stomach, and
going to work contented and happy, was
a fool game, fit only for drones and plod-
derS. So he set out to make his existence
one perpetual whirl of bliss via the whisky
route. He took that cheap bar room
axiom, "A thing of beauty's a jag for
ever as his motto, and he stayed right
with 1T. When man gets ideas like these
INTO mis- head-when he begins to fancy
that he can't have any fun unless he has
his regular quota of rum beneath his belt,
and imagines that elevation of spirit can
only be produced through the medium of
the red juice Of the bug--then it may be
reasonably said of him that whisky has
got him down. And whisky got this par
ticular young man-not the hero, but the
something else of this story-down proper
as the bluejackets put it. In fact, 1t got
him down and out.
He lost his good government job. Even this
didn't strike him as such a dead serious
proposition when it happened, for he was
sodden, and he was carrying around with
MIN Wad OF about $400. all of his savings
which he had drawn from the bank when
he got his yellow envelope with the infor-
nation that after such and such a date
ne would no longer receive wages from
Uncle Sam. Four hundred dollars looks
like a pretty big bundle Of money to a
whiskyfied man, anyhow, and he figured
on having his fun out before beginning to
worry
So he kept the thing going after he was
fired. Now, this young man had been a
good husband and a kind father until the
rum got hold Of him, and his wife was de-
voted to him, drunk or sober. 1t is not nee
essary to say here how she felt when he
had begun to go to the dogs at such clip.
Well, she had a duty to perform to her llt-
tie two girls, too. and she didn't regard the
prospect of their starving or going cold
through the winter with equanimity. Con-
sequently, every time her husband, during
the prolongation of his jamboree after he
lost his job came into the house and went
to sleep, she made a descent upon his bum
die of bills. She took clean 800 first. He
missed it the next morning, but concluded
that he had lost it. That night he came
homo jagged up to the limit again, end the
next morning he was $50 more shy when
he counted his bills. He concluded that
somebody had succeeded in touching" him
for it when he wasn't next to himself. He
found himself short. every morning there
after for a week, until, finally, his little
wife had nearly $500 of the money. and he
was practically broke. He never for an in
slant suspected that she had abstracted the
money, although the evaporation of his
bundle puzzled and worried him.
One morning he woke up with a gasp of
pain-he had returned home, somewhat
fl oxen, but in a tumnltuously happy frame
of mind, long after nidnight-and when he
tried to shift his position he found he
couldn't. Rheumatism of the %infa NINA
tory type had clutehed him. His wife sent
for a medical man. and the medical man
shook his head andssaid the patient would
probably have to keep his bed for the rest
of the Wirter-that the exposure to which
he had subjected himself during his spree
had fairly flatttned him out for consider
able time to conIe.' Then, of course, the
young man had to get sober. He just had
to brace up, and as he braced up he began
to worry. He began to figure what he
was going to do to keep his wifs and chill
dren from being turned into the street and
from starving, and 1t Is only square to him
to say that he suffered whole lot of men
tai torture from the thought Of these
things. He told his little wife. who nursed
him, that he was fiat broke; that he didn't
see any way out, and talked the usual
hopelessly despondent talk of a naturally
conscientious man placed in such circum-
stances. She cheered him somewhat by
saying that she had about $35 that he had
given to her few days previously, when
he didn't know any better.
But when that's gomez" he asked her.
"Oh. we'u win out some old way" she re-
piled, employing one of his own phrases
with smile. Don't worry"
All the same, he underwent enough
worry for any dozen men for the next
couple of weeks. The physical pain he
wasn't a marker to the mental pain he
endured at the thought of the dreary pros
pect ahead for his wife and young ones.
The solicitude a man who has been on a
terrific iamboree feels for his wife and little
ones after it's all over. and he hasn't got
any more coin to keep the thing going, is
just perfectly wonderful thing to contem-
plate. anyhow This laid-up penitent watch
ed the gradual disappearance of the $:'o
his wife had told him he had given her
with feeling of dismal heartsickness. and
he kept such track Of it that he knew to
a penny when it had been spent. 1t hap
pened that on the day the last of II had
gone according to his quite exact calcula-
tions, lot of provisions, medicines, &c,
were needed. and the penitent thought it
was "all Off" He summoned his little wife
and drearily asked her what was going to
be done. Then she had to tell him. she
opened up her little wallet and showed him
1925 In nice. clean bills, and she told him
how she had become possessed of it. Was
he mad? Not any! He Just looked into
the little woman's faithful eyes, and then
he rolled his foolish head over on the pillow
and-well, felt bad.
The little woman went down town that
afternoon and bought provisions by the
barrel full for the winteT-f1our, hams, ap-
ples the whole works-about s75 worth
Then she paid the rent for a couple Of
months ahead and salted the $500 and odd
remaining away for medicines and for luck
She pulled her husband around all right
about three weeks ago SO that he could
limp around the house and wonder how he
was going to get job with living wages
week later he was able to go out and
hunt for something to do. On his return
home, weary and discouraged. along toward
evening, she met him in the hall with the
information that she had seen the chief of
his division and the Secretary of the de-
partment from (Which he had been fired