Year: 1865




"Why did he do this p


"Why, because he didn't happen to
want. to 60 himself, SO he was deter
mined she shouldn't go. And only
think-she had made arrangements to
take dinner with her sister--and be
knewit What dye think of that?"


'But how do you know this p


"Why, I'll tell you She told Mrs.
Arnold about it, and Mrs. Arnold told
me.


"And now, Ellen, let me tell you some-
thing" said George, betraying by his
look and tone that what be was going to
say had worked upon his feelings. 'sMr.
Smith joined the Free Masons the same
night that I did His wife don't like it.
She doesn't like anything of enjoyment
for him which she cannot directly and
personally share. Last Saturday even
ing when he came home from work his
clothes were quite soiled. He had been
overseeing the getting in of some hun.
drea and fifty loads Of charcoal, which
he uses in his establishment about the
tempering of his cutlery. Of course
his shirt was very black and dirty. He
went for clean one and could not find
it. All his shirts, bosoms and collars
had been taken from his drawer He
asked his wife where they were She
asked him if he intended to 20 to the
Mason meeting. He said he did. Then
she told him he could not have clean
shirt. He expostulated with her, but to
no effect. She declared that he should
not have stitch Of clean linen to wear
to Mason meeting Then he said he
should go as he was. "Go if you dare
do t"' she replied. "If you do 60 you
shan't have clean shirt for a week !"
And she meant what she said.


Mr.. Smith came to the meeting, and |
noticed that he kept his coat buttoned
up to his throat and that he had no collar
on 7 noticed it because he was gener-
ally SO neat and precise. Well-Sun-
day morning came and with all his power
Smith could not get one word from his
wife She saw him searching over the
house, and not syllable would she ut
ter. And, to make it worse still, she al
lowed the servant girl and others to see
it. OF course the stores were shat up,
and the poor man had to 60 shirtless.
Finally Mrs. Smith prepared for meet
ing, and when she was all dressed she
turned to her husband and said:


perhaps you'll go to Mason meet
ing again" Then it was, and not till
then, that Smith resolved that his wife
should not 60 out And she did not
Now you can judge for yourself. "


Ellen was surprised at this recital
She asked her husband where he got his
information, and he told her be had it
from one Of the young men who lived
with Smith and who heard it all a'a y


"And now he added, ''the truth is,
Mrs. Smith is perfect Xantippe. She
wears a smile in company, but her hus-
band sees nothing Of the kind at home.
He suffers much, Ellen. Once preven-
ted that poor man from taking his own
life. The perfect ugliness Of his wife
had driven him mad ~ s43 '.5ttt


Surely I never dreamed that she was
such woman" said the young wife,
thoughtfully.


''Yet you see how dangerous it is to
judge Of such matters before you hear
both sides. returned George, earnestly.
''ln all cases Of this kind, when there is
difficulty between two or more persons,
we should not allow our sympathies to
be enlisted until we have heard both
sides. Of course we must have certain
sympathies from what we hear; but we
have no right to give our word againsta
person till we know. And we can never
know but by hearing both sides, and then
Judging calmly and candidly. But even
then it is the safest way not to give our
opinion unless it is needed" 9
Ellen said she understood it now, and
that she would be more careful in future
She was like great many other people.
She forgot that there were two sides to
every story of human faults, ard thus
allowed herself to be imposed upon very
often by false statement of the facts;
or, more likely by one sided statement.


And how much evil results to the So
cial world from this one failing.


Mrs. A. tells her story Of suffering, or
the story of her wrongs; and straightway
her friends sympathies are enlisted, and
they denounce Mr.. A. in unmeasured
terms. Or perhaps it is Mrs. B. who
has done all the wrong to Mr.. B., and if
so, then Mrs. B. comes in for all the
blame. Mrs. B. ofcourse has her friends;
so warfare commences. By and by,
after the parties come together because
they can no longer remain apart, they
discover that they have been under a
misapprehension and all the ill-feeling
they have harbored has been without
cause in fact. Had they at first only
beard both sides all this would not have
happened.


But this proneness to take sides on
the first enlistment of sympathy was too
deeply rooted in Ellen Everett's DISPOSE