The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-16
The culpable Flea.
BY ELIZABETH A. RYAN.

mother, and was the only person Of
| whom she stood in awe. Into these peace
full shades trotted the poodle. Upon en-
tering the presence of his mistress he
was scolded for his long absence-finally
forgiven, fed and taken up to be am,
braced The flea, noting the generous
proportions of the good woman, and be-
ing knowing flea for his age, took this
| opportunity to change his habitat.
In the Silly hours of the night. the
flea, engaged in those labors, so bene-
fetal to himself, SO provocative of wake
fitness to his victim These delicate at
tentions of the flea awakened Mrs. Hi
ram. Her husband was sleeping peace,
fully beside her. His deep and regular
breathing seemed to indicate a mind and
conscience at peace. The lady was about
to compose herself in an attitude favor
able to the wooing Of the drowsy god,
when the deep silence of the chamber
was broken by the voice of her hus-
band.
In his dreams and in accents of ineffa-
BILE tenderness he murmured a name! Not
Mary, as he should have done, but Ar
line! which unusual appellation was the
personal property of a very fascinating
and pretty little French woman who had
but lately moved into the house adjoin-
ing the Symes' residence. Thoroughly
awakened, and with rage and bitter jeal-
ousy contending for supremacy in her
heart, the indignant Mary violently shook
the offending Hiram and In awful &C.
cents demanded the reason of the name
and the Tenderness of the accent. Base,
wretch, perfidious traitor said she;
"how dare you call in loving accents
upon the name of another woman.
But, my DEAR expostulated Hiram.
what have I said or done to arouse
your indignation?"
Done said she, "by what right or
accorded privilege do you in your dreams
call upon the name of that mink, that
shameless woman next door?''
Caught red-handed, as it were, Hiram
relapsed into a panied silence and Mrs.
Hiram, whose worst fears were realized
by this manifestation, exhausted her not
finconsiderable stock of vituperative ad-
jective in declaring that the same roof
should no longer shelter his shameless
immortality and her high-minded virtue
and the angelic purity and innocence OF
their daughter, betook herself to another
apartment and impatiently awaited the
dawn.
When left alone, wild plans for escape
from the consequences of his sin and
folly whirled with bewildering rapidity
through the mind of the hapless Hiram,
and just as one peculiarly feasible pre-
Sented itself for consideration, he felt
most exasperating bite, for the flea, dis
turbed by the angry bouncings of Mrs.
Symes, had taken up temporary quarters
on the anatomy of the guilty husband,
With the fury born of a weak dispo-
sition and years of servitude, Hiram
clawed and snatched, and alas for the
precepts of Buddha, the flea was laid
stiff and stark, cut off in the prime vigox
of his youth
At the first streak of light in the east
Mrs. Symes arose, dressed hastily and
knocked at the door of her hated rival:
she asked for the injured husband, and
when he entered her presence she said:
"Oh, sir, how 1 pity you; you have
nursed,- as have, a viper in your bosom.
How shall I ever command words to tell
you how wantonly you have been deceiv-
ed. Know then that my husband is the
accepted lover of your wife, The injur-
ed husband, being of choleric turn of
mind, at once took steps to vindicate his
honor, and a challenge to mortal COM
bat being dispatched to the destroyer
of his households peace, he arranged his