The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-11-21
WHAT FOLLOWS.

may hu HISEOStCO 4Cp0CG AAWC viz
floor and talk q while9 There is al
present so much said in this depart
ment about the years before marriage
that I want to discuss the years that
follow it. Every love-struck lass or
Iaddie would say, if Questioned before
marriage that the one they were enam
ored of was very near il not q ute
perfection; and il q fault of the loved
one is pointed out to them they say,
"Oh, that doesn't make any diff 9rence!'
But approach the same person after
two years of welded life and have a
heart to heart talk with him or her,
and we will be be t0id that it does
make q great difference. I heard a
minister who was a bachelor say that
he pitied married people because at
first each thought the other perfect
and it made them both feel 80 badly
when they found they had been mis-
taken. Now, the point is this: Nobody is
perfect, but we approach nearer to
perfection when we cease to worry
over the little imperfections Of those
dearer to US and commend in them all
that is noble, pure and lovable. If
you have q companion, do not let your
tongue forget the cunning Of court
ship days, but praise him or her. What
can be sweeter music to q husband than
the praise of a good wife, or to a
wife than words of love and Rpppre
citation from her husbands
The bride of two weeks would cay to
her husband, if he came in with mud
dy shoes, Sweetheart, please clean
off your shoes, or they will soil my
carpet" and sweetheart" goes back
to the steps and carefully cleans his
shoes. Perhaps, two years later the
same woman would say, Here you
come with your old muddy shoes ruin
ing my carpetl You would worry q
saint, you are go aggravatingH" What
does he do9 He obstinately tramps
about the room, and IN not the swe ct
est language refuses to clean his shoes.
The groom of two weeks helps his wife
out of the buggy. The same man,
when they have bean married two
years, bids her, Fall out" while he
ties the horse.
In married life all arti1 3ial polite
ness becomes a thing of the past, but
there is not much happiness in welded
life if the man and wife lay aside true
~politeness. The old saying about the
world being like a mirror and rejecting
our smiles and frowns is largely true
of the husband and wife. But there
is the inevitable tx 3eption to the rule.
Many q man does not appreciate a
good wife, and some wives do
not appreciate a good husband
Who is to blame for this4 Sometimes
one, and sometimes both. Self control
ana tact we'll administered generally
makes a great improvement IN sIcn
cases.
Self control is always essen 9ial to
success. Recently I heard a lady tell
ing how she ecored an editor and IN
mud terms babe him "stop the paper, "
because he he'd failed to file q special
order that she sent in. The editor
calmly explained to her that it was
through no fault of his that her order
was delayed, and she said, II lst
blessed him out, and my husband
asked me if l WASN'T ashamed, and 1
told him no, l wasn't; that there was
no use in talking pleasant when you
were mad enough to bu'stI" Poor
nusOsndl I wonder how she talked to
hlmi
say there is use in controlling our
tongues. although we be over so an
cry. 1 Husbands and wives would con.
troll their tongues they could soon
manage their their tempeis, and when
at last a sad day comes ana one of the
two Is laid so resi- till the Judgment
day the other would not have 80 many
harsh words and little quarrels to re
gret.-Miriam in Farm and Ranch.