The Monticellonian., 1917-11-30

into hopeless slaves, numhly subnis- sive and spirtless. or seheming rebels with a smile on their lips but hate in their hearts as they dream their gold- en dreams of secret revolt and bold break for liberty. There is brand of bossism in married life. of petty ty- ranny in the home that duplicates in miniature this dilemma of results. It saps the ambition. courage and vitality of husbands and wives. and transforms them into dull. crushed, eolorless be ings, or If they do not submit thus meekly it trains them consistently in smiling hypocrisy. trickery, deceit, iy- ing and plotting to cheat the tyranny they do not dare openly to resent.
 Have you ever met the husband, of the timid, suppressed type, who al- ways answers his wife's call with 'yes, my dear" mo, my dear." or just in moment, my dear" It is never the sweet dear" that drops gently into a sentence like caress. His my dear" with it's menotonous iteration Of photograph record seems continuous phrase of placating. It is not affec- ton, it Is just fear; it seems Il pleading deprecatory gesture of the voice as if i trying to dodge rebuke or q lecture as one involuntarily wards off an at- tack with the upraised arm. You somehow feel that you should take him Into a co2y corner and soothe him, and tell him not to be afraid, that you will protect him.
 When you are alone with him he may talk easily, cleverly and well; the stream of his conversation runs smooth and free like mountain brook but 1t suddenly trickles into irrelevant commonplaces when his wife enters the room. the whole atmosphere seems changed, Qnd you vaguely wonder who shut off the water supply. You do not like the surreptitous way he covers his lighted cigar with his hat; it seems too much like child caught with its hand fin the sugar bowl. He can never tell you definitely whether he can go out tomorrow night; he will let you know later and you feel that he has already begun to plan how he can secure his wife's eountersign to his pass. Even when he Is doing whnt Is absolutely right and harmless he becomes wonder ously fertile in lying excuses, those conversational capsules to sweeten the breath of suspicion. His ill-eoncealed joy when his wife has to go out of town for a day or two Is not q mere confession; 1t is q condensed btog- raphy.
 Sometimes 1t is the husband. in domneering assertion of authority, who plays the poor. petty role of do- mestc tyrant. He dictates. he de- mands. he threatens, he forhids. he is- sues his orders as utimatums In T manner that would be unwarranted even were he pirate captain haran- gurng his crew. He forgets that mar riage means partnership not prcpre- torship, freedom of both in the best interests of both, not slavery of either. His assaults on her rights when he crosses the dead line of intolerance and despotically demands obedience may not he received as submlssively, as uncomplainingly and as finally. us
 
 He may secure an outward sem blance of submission but actually con temptuous rebellion. Brought to bay. her bitter protest of opposition may make her dangerously ingenious in out witting him. When in moment of pique at some act of her family he dares to order her never to see them
 tl.., ..t,4. feels the cruel injustice of this cutting of the ties of love and tenderness she may resort to subterfuge, intrigue, evasion and systematic deception and defy him behind his back while she seems sweetly and serenely resigned in his presence. She may drift unknow- ingly into n course of action normally repugnant as she surrenders to tide of conditions of constant despotic in- justice Tyranny needs hundred watch dogs-trustful love, none.
 When she finds n quarantine or dered against some of her dearest and best friends coming to the house. her self-respect bushes at the plausible lies she writes or speaks to prevent their knowing the real reason. When she fears to tell him of some mlsdeed of one of the children because of the cruel punishment his anger may pre- scribe, he is slamming the door on her confidence and giving a bonus of new license to the little rebel in the nur- sery. When she gives false statistics as to the price of some simple article she has bought, just to avoid scene" he is giving her unwise post graduate courses in duplicity which may later prove costly. He is worse than wrong he is foolish.
 He Is paying big price for his tyranny when the song dies away on her lips as she hears his key click in the lock in the evening and she draws long breath of relief when he leaves home in the morning. Then she may remember with sigh and n little dim ming of the eyes the sweet early days of their married life when, not satisfied with the mere good morning kiss she used to stand on the porch and follow him with her eyes and semaphore love with her futtering little wisp of handkerchief as he looked back Tn the sunshine at the bend of the road that soon shut him from her sight. And she had struggled so long and faith fully to hold back the ehhing tide of her love for him and love had gone and carried respect with it. aud she, grown hard, and bitter and reheiitous. had lost the best of life and sn had he.
 Sometimes a wife may unwisely seek