Year: 1859

Doubtless most of our readers have
heard the story intended to illustrate
the difference between a mans attcn-
ton to his wife during the honey
month, and that Of Il later period,
name ly: that a certain individual had
commenced his matrimonial career by
dutitully fastening all the hooks-and-
eyes on his charmer's dress each morn
ing, and after a while falling one short,
then another, gradually slide down
the scale Of increasing indifference,
until he had fairly ended in refusing
to attend to them at all.


Well the story is eXcellcntly we'll
so far as it goes but we have an idea
we can relate little anccdotc bearing
on the same point, the main circum.
stances Of which actually occurred
some few years ago, in a certain vii
lagc we wot OF, that will knock it
all into a cooked hat" as the saying
gocs-at any rate will make the at
tempt, and leave the reader to judge.


In locality lying between Maine
and Texas, there stands a very steep
and lofty hill, on the top Of which a
very pretty village has been hnilt,
numbering some forty or fifty dwell
imgs, and which we shall call SPRING
dale. At the lowest base of this hill.
gushing from the crcvicc Of rock,
a stream of pure, crystal water flows
increasingly, from whence to the vii
laGc rises Il continuous succession of
steps cut in the ground, for the pur-
pose of giving n convenient passage
II tie inhabitants in their daily visits
to the spring. With a pail Of water
to carry, Of course the ascent is very
toiIsomc, and had it not been for the
superior excellence of the water, only
thus to be obtained, over all that could
be gotten with less of fatigue, it is
probable that few would ever have
gone 10 the trouble Of fetching it. But
the water from that identical spring
being 50 very cool and good, the vii
layers, without exception, had used
none other within the memory Of the
Oldest settler, and might daily be seen
trudging up and down the aforesaid
steep declivity, bearing cans and buck
cts filled, or to be soon, from the IA
voritc fountain.


Now, even as mercury, by its rise
and fall, will denote a change in the
weather, SO might this spring be taken
as a sort of matrimonial barometer,
to tell the state of mans affections
towards his wife, and in attention to
her comforts. There was one eccen-
trio parsonage, and most invcterate
bachelor-one Jacob Crowl, whose
dwelling stood Immediately adjoining
the upper steps leading from the
spring-thus giving him unlimited ad-
vantages for taking accurate observa-
tions he was often heard to make
the assertion, that he could tell wheth.
er any villager had been married un-
der or over given time, merely from
the signs he had long since noted as
being inseparably connected with Wis
its to the fountain and not only this,
but that he could speak to the exact
amount of the same individuals af.
fcctionate ardor towards his wife, by
like infallible process. From care
fully compiled notes and observations,
jotted down during number of years,
he had arrived to these unqucstiona-
Bile facts first, that every married
gentleman Of the village, with one ex-
ception, had begun his connubial ca
recr by carrying all the water required
from the spring, with as much appar-
ent willing checrfulness of look and
manner, as though he considered the
task to be one that was rather privi-
legc than a duty, and therefore to be
unchangeably perseyered in for the
pleasure of the thing if for nothing
else. The one exception being the
case of man who had injured a girl,
and being compelled by her friends to
repair the effects of his conduct by
marrying her. Of course it could not
be expected that he would show any
undue affection even at the first, eth
er by fetching the water or in any
other way. Secondly, that the self
same husbands had invariably, with
another single exception, eventually
come to consider their voluntary task
to the spring, perfect bore and,
dodging behind the old established
cloak, for married men especially pro-
vidcd-" tired with a hard days work,
therefore, not to be bothered with