The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-13
JOHNS FIRST NIGHT OUT.
1t Was n Game of Bridge Whist That
Worked All the Mischief.

BY Emily Holt
Thomas Honeymoon has been staying
out late without leave. Mrs Matrimonial
Bliss shrewdly guessed as much when,
in the course of the afternoon, Mrs. Hon
| eymoon dropped in, ostensibly TO borrow
the pattern of a new circular f1ounced
skirt; she fingered to have cup of tea,
and in the fulness of her heart spoke
bitterly of the prevailing unreliability and
| heartlessness OF masculine kind, and fin
| ally illustrated her point of view by re-
vealing her little family skeleton thinly
disguised as the property of a nameless
young friend.
And she has not forgiven him yet, this
mal-treated little wife you speak off"
| asked Mrs. Bliss, placidly scattering
| French knots on blue taffeta front
NO and she never, never will" as
serted Mrs Honeymoon stiff-neckedly,b but
with a forlorn little gulp in her throat.
They hardly speak, / suppose, except
before the servant; she does not call him
any more by their favorite funny pet
names or taste his coffee in the morning
| before sending it down the table to him,
in order to see it is just exactly right, or
help him on with his overcoat, or tease
him with foolish tenderness to take good
| care of himself in the dangerous down
town, or run upstairs just before din
| uer to make the bow in his neckue, eh?'
inquired the hostess.
| Moo" quaVered poor Mrs. Honeymoon,
"but you cannot understand the situation
| Mrs. Bliss for your husband is different;
| he would not drive you to the verge of
despair and then come home and laugh
| at your fears and" here Mrs. Honey
moons throat got sadly out of order.
| Dear girl" laughed Mrs. Bliss comfort
nd
married friend have turned the fifth mile
post on the matrimonial turnpike as 1
| have, you will realize that husband is
not utterly wrecked by an evening off
now and then; that you can even piece
| out great deal of happiness afterwards,
| and that men have been behaving just like
| your friends husband ever since poor dear
Mother Ewes time. She no doubt, in her
| sheepskin pegnoir. sat far into the wee
sma hours by the tent flap waiting to
put the screws poor dear Father
| Adam, who had stopped out little over
time, to amuse himself with a few old
cronies. at some tempting prehistoric
| club.
"Of course, know just how your friend
| felt, because l had one who went through
| the same experience. ChronologicaNy
speaking. her honeymoon was over. but
| she had liked it so much she begun a Sec
| ond series, resented callers in the even
| ing, read deep, deep books to her dear
| boy began to brush up her French verbs
| with him and felt as sure of him as Mary
| did of ner little lamb. She never consid-
| cred that even a honeymoon, when kept
| over zoo long, will ferment Just as other
| sweet things do and that all this intel
lectual development and communion of
| soul was just trile hard on her man,
| who had been moling and toiling in the
| Office all day and needed cheerful diver
| sion in the evening.
well, 10 make long story short. the
natural consequences of the very unnat-
| ural methods she pursued came promptly
about. One early spring evening the fritz
ters he loved best and the kidney stew he
had often praised stood smoking on the
| table, but the head of the house OH where
| was he? Let us draw a veil partially over
| the sufferings of that well-meaning young
wife. She kept stiff upper lip before
| the servants and ate about as much din
ner as would maintain a humming bird
in robust health, and then she went and
sat by The front parlor window and watch
ed She rang up the office early in the
| evening but nc had left there some time
before, called out on business. the clerk
told her. At half past ten o'clock, when
no telegram or messenger boy had come
and the servants had all gone to bed and
she had wept two of her best large satin
use, all my friend desired, was the privi-
lege of doing proper honor to her dear
boys remains. She knew he was dead
and at eleven o'clock she rose up in cold
despair, and went out bare headed into
the street. 10 alarm her nearest neigh
hor and enlist his services in gathering
up the sacred bones Of her husband.
LAS it happened her nearest neighbor
who was an acquaintance, was the
genial bachelor who had given her hus-
| band away at the altar As she pat
| tered down the street drizzing heavily
| into her handkerchief at every STEP she
saw that the bachelors windows on the
| second floor of the apartment house were
| open and illuminated and there sitting
shamelessly with his profile to the outer
darkness, was her husband! Unmistak-
ably he held good bridge whist hand
| for his expression was cheerful, and four
other men were sharing the game.
I'm an instant the broken hearted
widow became a goddess of wrath and
she staked back home revolving some
very telling remarks suitable for launch
| ing at the culprits head. as soon as he
should awaken to o sense of his home
duties. She did think out as fine a line
| of reproaches as the injured feelings of
a young wife can invent Every reproach
| was guaranteed to leave a sharp little
sting too when the church clock rang
| the nan nour ana up the silent street she
heard a familiar step and a cheerful low
! whistling
Then is flashed upon her that not since
she had inaugurated the second honey
moon had his step seemed so light or his
whistle SO gay and, with the delightful
Inconsistency and uncertainty Of action
and devotion. that is the precious nrivi-
lege Of our sex, she fell upon his bosom
and rcproached herself
yes Mrs. Honeymoon. that Is lust
what she did. and it was a stroke of
genius She assured him with tears that
she was all to blame She had made his
home dun, his evenings long, excluded his
friends and pastimes, and in consequence
she wanted to die begging his forgiveness
Not all the righteous denunclations and
bitter accusations she had thought out at
first touched, melted and conquered him
like this. The poor dear man was so re-
morseful that nc heaped every species
Of abuse unon himself. His ignomlny.
however. was complete, when, in trying
10 explain, he put his hand in his pocket
and drew out the telegram he had for
gotten 10 send her.
lie looked rather overcome when she