The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-12-09
THAT BRUTAL
HUSBAND.
BY HOWARD OTIS.


She aud her husband lived In the
next fat above mine, and | pitied her.
How she could endure to live with a
man who kept such irregular hours |
could not Imagine. / should rather
say regular hours, for be seldom came
In tin morning. 1t would be o'clock
aud sometimes 4 o'clock when he
passed my floor. would hear a door
open above, and at times when my
own door stood ajar could hear
kiss Of welcome. After that there
would be moving about above. and
sometimes ripple of feminine laugh
ter, never scolding word, escaped
from their apartments.
Often IN summer, when doors and
windows were left open TO admit air,
/ could hear the rattle Of dishes. the
drawing OF a cork. the clink OF glasses.
and knew the couple were having a
supper together remember one
night when could smell the odor Of
some savory dish. / got up, dressed
myself went out 10 restaurant and
got dozen oysters, with a bottle Of
ale. But It was only my stomach that
was appeased, not my heart, and |
yearned for such an angel as lived In
the fiat above me and thought what
different husband / would make her
surely she must have had something
Of the bohemian 10 her nature, and,
above all. | wanted for a wife a wo-
man Of that kind. / pitied those men
whose wives must always remain at
home and mus their husbands misera-
BILE unless they are always at home
too What jewel woman must be
who could receive her husband at all
hours of the morning after he had
spent nearly the whole night carous-
ing or playing poker at his club, give
him d loving kiss and cook a supper
for hint And when this is kept up
night after night what must the en-
during amiablIity Of that woman be-
One day | left my room just In time
to meet her on the landing l lifted
my hat and moved aside for her to
pass. taking at the same time good
long look AT her face. It was as fresh
as II she were not awakened every
morning by her brutal husband. It
was not such d face as / had expected
to see | had fancied 1t would con
tain devil-may-care expression com
mon with bohemian women. Her fea.
lures, on the contrary, were intellectu-
al, with a trace OF seriousness in them
Then it occurred to me that with
such d husband how could she help
being serious. 1t was wonder that
she did not show traces of suffering.
She was going upstairs; ! was going
down That was the first and only
glimpse got Of her.
One morning | did not hear the hus-
band come In at the usual hour. and
the next day a doctors buggy drove
up to the front door The doctor went
up 10 their fiat. He came every day
for awhile: then hearse stopped at
the door. and knew that the poor
woman would not have longer TO suffer
the Irregularities Of a brutal husband.
She never returned to the fiat.
Some eighteen months afterward,
while at an evening party, / saw her
standing chatting with the hostess.
/ recognized her at once. How could
help recognizing her since had car
ried that one brief glimpse | had got
of her in my heart ever sinceY In
moment was siding up to the hostess
and received the coveted introduction.
refrained from telling the widow
that / had lived beneath her and was
aware of how she had been obliged to
sit up night after night waiting for
that husband. / didn't wish to awak-
en- painful memories. | infinitely pre-
ferred that she should think she was
meeting me for the first time.
The hostess arranged for a more
than casual acquaintance between me
and the widow. / saw much Of her.
There was nothing OF the bohemian
about her. Indeed. she seemed to have