Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-04-17
DAILY SHORT STORY
The First Requisite of Love.
loriginal.1

lOriginaL1
But one year had passed since they
were married, one year spent in brief
periods of happiness interspersed with
periods of misery. He had found mar
riage failure and must make the best
of it. He resumed his place at his
clubs. This is mans advantage. If he
does not find companionship at home,
he can get it abroad.
1t was not so with the wife. She
could not thus coolly make up her mind
that there had been mistake and
partly resume her former. life of indie
pendence. Instead of gathering about
her her former friends, practically
avoiding any serious pitfall. she listen
cd to the first man who chose to whis-
per soft word in her ear, and he. be-
ing encouraged, poured forth a torrent.
This in a measure supplied what she
had lost. 1t was like being widowed
and exchanging hearts anew.
1t was the anniversary of their we'd
ding, but the husband had forgotten it.
When the wife discovered that this
first anniversary, which a year before
she supposed would be passed in a
more intense cooling than before, was
absolutely aforementioned by her hus-
band she gave way to irritation.
Nothing that he said pleased her, evL
erything displeased her. ''This is one
or her moods" he said to himself. II
don't understand them, and l don't
want to understand them. l know a
place where 1 can get quiet and COM
fOv Mo
ter-my club. There l will 60" When
he returned at IL o'clock at night, the
new source from which his wife had
begun to draw the sympathy she could
not live without was sitting in his par
lor. The husband, sentering suddenly,
caught a look that was passing be-
tween the two and believed that his
place was supplied.
A phi1osophic nature led him to think
out a plan and follow it-a plan that
would do the least harm, give him and
his wife the least trouble. Il shall be
no dog in the manger,'" he said. IF
she prefers this man, she shall have all
she wants of him. l will go abroad
and live. But that my affairs shall not
become common talk l must have an
ostensible object in going. l will APP
ply for some petty consulship in a
place where no American would care
to live: then 1 will live elsewhere and
pay a deputy" After he had given
himself plenty of time to form an ir-
revocable resolution he went to an
nounce it to his wife.
We are creatures of happenings. We
mark out a course, take a week, a
month, perhaps year to digest it, then
when we are ready to put it into eXecu-
ton q circumstantial zephyr blows ii
away. When the husband was about
to communicate his plan to his wife,
she forestalled the announcement by
one of her own. The germ of new
life had come into the universe.
In a twinkling the mans mind, in
tentions, affections were diverted into
a new channel. He was enough of a
Psychologist to know that the mother
must have the best of care, both for
her own sake and for the sake of her
and his child He was chained to a
necessity He would bear with her
every fault, her irritabiHty. her pee
vishness, her unreasOnableneSs-
thing 1t would be time when this sea
son was over to carry out his plan OF
living abroad or form another. He be-
gan by putting his arms around bis
wife affectionately. She yielded to his
caress. While they were standing 81
lent in each others arms a servant
raped at the door and announced the
man who had been called in for sym
pathy. The wife expressed annoyance
Tell him that am not at home"
Then the husband made discovery
Controlling himself, bearing with those
faults which had shattered his ideal
of married life, giving his wife occa-
sional expressions of affection which
meant nothing, but which were part
of his plan, he soon found that there