Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-03-08
The UnworthinesS
of John
ocopyrisht, 1895, BY Joseph B. BOwleso


the mantelpiece.
He bent down as he spoke and kissed
the bright curls of his little daughter,
Daisy.
Where you goin'?" she inquired,
holding on to a button of his jacket.
At that moment it was on John Lang
lands tongue to say: ITO the devil"
but the clear eyes of his child checked
the bitter reply. and he simply an
swered: Going out, dearie."
Santa Claus comm tonight, Daddy"
she informed him, irrelevantly, her eyes
beginning to dance and sparkle.
rs he really, Daisy?" said her father
for want of a better remark.
Course he is. Not know that, poor
Daddy?"
Well, l hope he'll bring you all you
want. pet" said John. unloosening the
small plump hand from his coat and
kissing her cheek.
Goodnight, Daisy"
kiss Muvver, tool" cried the cherub.
Johns face went stern and white. He
stepped round the table to where his
wife sat.
Goodnight, Katie" he said, softly
and almost humbly. Then he stopped as
if to kiss her. But her face was hard and
her eyes %repellent, and without another
yord, John Strengthened himself and left
the room. A moment later Daisy slipped
Off her chair and sought her mothers
knee.
Want to be cuddled-feel bad" she
seid.
"Oh, but you shouldn't feel bad, dear.
Santa Claus is coming tonight, you
know"
Not care-feel bad" And so there
was some weeping and much petting and
comforting. till presently Daisy, who
could not put her trouble in words. sat
up on her mothers knee and expressed
herself as being kite better now"
And then followed a glorious hunt
through the house, with the object Of
finding a stocking large enough to &C.
commodate all that Daisy expected from
the Saint. With ecstatic shrieks she at
last discovered in a cupboard a pair Of
her fathers waterproof "waders,"
which he used on his fishing excursions.
Oae Of these being promptly annexed, it
was trailed to her room and suspended
in triumph at the foot Of her crib.
Kate put her cherub to bed, and, after
watching beside her for half an hour,
betook herself downstairs to the parlor.
The room, with its glowing fire, crimson
shaded lamp and cozy hangings, looked
an ideal chamber of comfort, and Kate
sat down in one of the big chairs which
stood on either side of the bright fire,
and opened her workbag.
She was an injured woman-injured
beyond her forgiveness by the man
whose name she bore. And yet, John
Langlands had never proved aught but
faithful and loving and tender to his
wife. His sin had been committed long
ere he met Kate for the first time, but it
had been concealed from her all through
the five years of her welded life. In
deed, having suffered for and repented
of his misdeed at the time, Johns con-
science and memory had troubled him
but little afterwards. Six months ago,
however, some one-a "friend"-had
thought fit to open the cupboard of his
past, and disclose the ugly skeleton to
his wife.
To Kate, whom everyday people
called "a d~readfully good woman the
wrong appeared magnifed by its con-
cealment, and she was quite blind to the
e~xtenuating circumstances, of which
there were not a few. She was pos
sessed of the feeling that she had a right
to her husbands past, and she argued
rather unfairly-that now there could
be no further trust on her side.
John endured indescribable shame
and sorrow in confessing the truth to
his wife, but he lever doubted her wom-
anly gentleness and forgiveness. When
these were withheld, and when she re-
fused him her hands and lips in token
OF confidence and pardon, the man felt,
not u~nreasonably, that his wife's love
had been a poor affection from the very
beginning.
You are unjust, Kate" he said. God
Himself does not refuse a man a second
chance. l never pretended. to be a saint,
but I've tried to keep a straight course
since the day | saw you first. | have
kept a straight course"
He waited in vain for her to speak,
and then he went n why can't you
forgive? tell you l love you more than
ever, even though | have been shamed
in your sight. Good God! could I bear
to stand before you if love did not hold
me? Think! Can't my love be my sal
walton? Kate!"
But she was as stone to his pleading.
And so it came to pass that John, too,
grew cold and proud, secretly rebellious,
never showing the passion in his heart
which sometimes, in his lonely hours,
threatened to overcome him altogether.
There was no change made in the ar
rangement of the household, save that
the husband went out every evening to
escape the torment of looking at his
wife across the impossible gulf which
her pride set between them.
So, OF this Christmas eve Kate sat
lonely by the parlor fire, b~rooding over
the past. Her husband, she fancied,
was at the club, enjoying himself after
the fashion Of mankind. AS a matter Of
fact, John was doing nothing of the kind.
He was walking slowly up and down a
n~eighboring street, careless Of cold,
making up his mind to plead with his
wife once more. And, besides, there was
Daisy.
Yet Kate sat on plying herself. In all
her life. until six months ago., she had
never known a severe trouble, and per-