The Topeka state journal., 1905-12-19
TIE EVENING STORY
4 Christmas Reoonciliation.
(By Joanna Single.)


had gray hair, and their six children
We're all happily married and prosper
Gus, but living at long distances from
their parents. There was money
enough for both, and both were in
good health. But thew were both
wretched. For this state of affairs
John Bowen blamed his wife, and
Mary Bowen blamed her husband He
said her fretfulness was beyond bear
ing, and she said she had put up with
MS temper long enough. He sulked
and she scolded. and it went from
worse to worse till friends and neigh
bors took sides and Widened the al
ready too wide breach between kus-
band and wife.
It had all come about since they
sold the farm, three years ago, when
VIII, the youngest son, had married
and moved to Colorado with his pretty
wife, Alice. Then the old people had
moved to town and had begun to
quarrel. Nobody-not they themselves
knew just how it had begun, but the
facts are that they did not have
enough to do to keep them from con-
sidering- each others faults, and they
had no longer the common bond of
children to do for and to keep them
far enough apart not to be irritated
by each others little mannerisms- So
they had quarreled worse and worse
for three years, managing, however,
through a certain pride, to hide it
home. Thes visits had been brief,
and only during the latest one from
Mary, the wise and happily married
eldest daughter, had it been suspected
that anything was wrong. She had
said nothing, considering silence the
better part, until something really had
to be done.
At last and suddenly. things had
come to a head. The pastor of the lit
tie church to which they belonged had
noticed that THQTp a t1Tigti1n
GOODNESS between husband and wife.
They no longer sat side by side; some
times one went home without the 9TH
er; their offerings were no longer one,
but separate gifts, and they disagreed
in class meeting upon matters of doc
trine. The pastor thought there should
be better feeling between husband and
wife and 'labored' with them because
of their example to younger married
couples.
This enraged John. He took his
wife's part to the minister, told him
that neither of them would come to
church again, and asked for their let
ters. He said no preacher had a right
to interfere in family matters When,
however, he was gone, he turned
fiercely on his wife. He said it was
her behavior that had brought notice
upon them, and she said that if he was
not a hypocrite and would not pretend
abroad that all was right between
them
Then one OF them-each glad that it
was the Other-threatene to leave the
other. and finally they talked Of diyid-
ing the property At this they quar-
relied more hercely than ever, not from
selfshness, for each wanted the other
to have the larger share on this John
Bowen insisted until some devil
prompted Mary to say his generosity
was only for the purpose of putting her
in the wrong by making her seem
mercenary. Then they saw a lawyer, a
kindly man, who failed to reconcile
their differences, and from trying 10
divide the property each got more and
more angry until finally Mary had the
papers drawn up for divorce, ana
John filed a cross claim. Neither would
have the papers served just then
there were things to be attended to,
and then-the children must be told
Somehow neither one of them could
bear to tell the children, and more than
once they were on the verge OF making
up. So it happened that it was almost
Christmas time, and still nothing was
done about 1t. However, the pastor OF
the church finally wrote to thar daugh-
ter Mary, asking her if she could rot
reconcile her parents to each other and
she wrote to her brothers and sisters
The three of them who could, lsaet ana
talked it over. and decided that some
thing could and must be done They
would not mention it till the old folks
did, but they would not believe that the
father and mother who had loved ana
toiled for them and for each other could
finally be separated in any such fashion.
They concluded to adopt a plan eVolVeo yea
by Mary, who probably understood the
root of the trouble better than the 9TH
ers.
This daughter, her mothers namesake,
had three fine healthy children Paul
had four, and Elizabeth had two, one
too small to leave its mother.
At the little home Of the old people
all was gloom and wretchedness- The
old man was sorting and destroying old
papers and trying to settle business that
had long been going at rather loose enos.
His wife was mending and arranging
and cleaning her already clean house.
She was bound to leave her husband
comfortable, and was convinced that no
one would properly look after his nan
nels and his rheumatism when she nao
gone to her daughters. This She hau
f,,lIv prrDosed to do. for she would
NOT mt him out of his own house. He
was equally obstinate ab0ut leaving II
tn her And each, secretly, had bought
a Christmas present for the other, feel
ing that it would be the last Christmas
they would be together and feeling
sheepishly ashamed of caring.
Two days before Christmas. Mary
began to cook, with all her experienced
skill pumpkin, and apple, and mlnce,
and squash pies; fruit cake ana iayer
cake, and plum pudding she plan-
ned for turkey and for chicken pie,
and her husband eyed her in gloomy
retrospection of the glad old times
when the children had all been at
home. and when they two had iaughed
and planned. and bought and hidden
presents for the little brood now so
widely scattered. John growled out to
her that she seemed to be preparing
for an army, and she flashed out that
this wasn't the time to be stingy, ana
nerhans there would be some poor to
feed-there always had been so far.
Then came the twenty-fourth day OF
December, a heavy snoWstorm, ana
much embarrassment for the OLD
counIe. Each had secretly sent all the
children presents and a letter, neither