The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-07-28
TIMOTHY'S TUTOR.
BY EMMA DIXON.

glided along smoothly, no mother-in
law or debts to bother us; and had be-
gun to think no man ever had wife like
mine, so yielding, persuasive and man
aging.
1t is true, she had experience in we'd
lock before, but did not mind that, as
/ thought it only added to her charms;
and often wondered if her former hus.
band appreciated her as did. Oh! how
pitied him for losing her, and con-
graduated myself on winning such q
prize.
And then, when our little flaxen haired
boy came, named our home Paradise.
Our first difference was over naming
him. wanted him called Jonathan Syl-
vestef, after my two grandparents; and
my wife wanted him called Peter Elias
after her two brothers.
'My dear Minerva" said 1, chow
could you want to handicap our boy with
such manner"
But she answered curtly; and then, for
the first time, saw she had will of her
own.
mot if he were to inherit millions
would I name him after your grandpa
rents"
So, after heated discussion, we COM
promised, and called him Timothy.
So two, three, five years went by as
happily as before, and Timothy grew; and
Timothy must have q tutor at home, for
how could we consent to send our Tim
otkT to school with other children?
After consulting many, selected one,
a long-haired, low-voiced, quizzical-
looking, though seemingly well-bred
and courteous man; and as our
boy was never refractory, all went
along swimmingly, except that my
wife would always try to snub
him, much to my embarrassment.
And at the table, she would ignore
him entirely. He, in return, would ap-
pear to be as listless as she was, in her
company, never appearing to notice her
affronts or scowls.
Minerva, my DEAR" 1 ventured to
say one day, after witnessing her indif-
ference to him at dinner, "let us send the
man away rather than demean ourselves
SO by sighting him in our own house.
You can surely see the man is gentle
man; and how he suffers or tolerates
your contempt for him, cannot see."
At which she began to cry, saying she
wished he had never come to the house,
as 1t had never seemed the same since
he arrived; and asked me how 1 would
like it if she paid him as much atten-
ton as she did myself
So we kissed and made up, she prom
1sing at the same time to be more So
c1able in the future to our tutor. And
let me say, 1 felt paid and gratif1ed when
entered the breakfast room the next
morning, to see them sitting at the table
together, talking so friendly. "Now,"
thought 1, Minerva has at last thawed,
and there will be no more coldness;"
and was more than pleased when, after
dinner that night, and the cloth was re-
moved, to hear my wife ask him to take
a hand at whist. which he did gladly.
l thought how timely was my advice.
and made up my mind that would al
ways have word in season hereafter.
Time wore on. Our boy grew bright.
my wife giving me no more cause to
complain, being always lively and pleas
ant. Our tutor was entertaining and
brilliant. When walk in the country
was proposed, was voted the dullest Of
them all.
One day I asked my wife the cause of
such a change of affairs, and she an
swered, indifferently: Really, I do
not know how to please you, for you
wanted me to be more polite to our tu-
tor, and now that am, you are not sat-
isfied."
Matters grew worse and worse until
one night 1 decided that this must be
stopped, too, and that would be master
OF my house once more, and in cogitat-
Ing, said the fellow must be ill-bred.
after taking all my wife's snubs so meek
ly, now that she is polite to him he feels
an unbearable Importance; and after
celebrating, finally decided to dis
charge him, telling him l thought a
change would do our Timothy good; con-
sequently, my wife took him to select
school in a neighboring village, propos-
ing that she stay awhile to see how he
thrived, to which I willingly acceded.
knowing that he would be shy among
strangers at first.
Can you imagine my loneliness. and
my glad surprise when my wife wrote
that she would come home that night.
and would bring friend with her?
I will admit Twas little hurt that
the wife of my bosom, after being away
so long, should want to bring anyone
home with her; but made UP my mind
I would try and make it pleasant for
them, whoever it was, and perhaps they
would not stay long anyway.
But what was my dismay when I saw
my wife entering our home with our old
tutor, and introducing him as performer
husband.
Well, l could not blame Minerva. Who
could? She did not get him to come to
us, knew nothing of it, and was it not |
that made them friendly? If had not
all would have been well yet, as she had
been, as she thought, separated from
him forever; but fate was against us.
We were the pair to be separated, and