Year: 1860

known, or the comfort cxperiencedi He
was not able to recall the time or the oc-
casion. As he thought thus, Mrs. Lee
came in from the kitchen, and taking her
work from closet placed il on the table,
and sitting down, without speaking be-
gan TO sew. Mr. Lee glanced, almost
steallhily at the work in her hands, and
saw that it was the bosom of shirt,
which she was stitching neatly. He knew
that she was at work.


"Praise your wife," The words were
before the eyes of his mind, and he could
not look away from them. But be was
not ready for this yet. He still felt
moody and unforgiving. The expressions
of his wife's face he interpreted to mean
ill-nature, and with Immature he had no
patience. His eyes fell upon the news
paper that lay spread out before him, and
he read the sentence:


"A kind, cheerful word spoken in
gloomy home, is like rift in the cloud
that lets the sunshine through"
Lee struggled with himself while
longer. His own ill-nature had 10 be con-
quered frst-his moody, accusing spirit
had 10 be subdued. But he was coming
right, and at last got right as to will
Next came the question as TO how he
should begin. He thought of many
things to say, yet he feared TO say them,
least his wife should meet his advances
with cool rebuff. AT last, leaning TO-
ward her, and taking hold of the linen
bosom upon which she was at work, he
said in a voice carefully modalated with
kindness.


"You are doing that work very beau
tifully, Mary"


Mrs. Lee made no reply. But her hus-
band did not fail to observe that she lost,
almost instantly, that rigid ercctness with
which she had been sitting, nor that the
plying of her needle had ceased.


"My shirts are better made, and winter
than those of any other man in our shop"
said Lee, encouraged to 60 on.


"Are they?" Mrs. Lees voice was low,
and had in it q slight buskiness. She
did not turn, her face, but her husband
saw that she leaned little towards him,
He had broken through the ice of reserve,
and all was easy now. His hand was
! among the clouds, and few feeble rays
were already struggling through the rift
it had made.


ayes, Mary" he answered softly /;
g and Two heard it said more than once,
what good wife Andrew Lee must
have"


Mrs. Lee turned her face towards her
husband. There was light in it, and a
light in her eye. But there was some
thing in the expression Of the counte-
nance that little puzzled him.


ado you think so9" she asked quite
soberly.


"What q question: CALCULATED An
drew Lee starting up and going around
to the side of the table where his wife
was sitting. "What question, Mary!'
he repeated as he stood before her.


"Do you?" 1t was all she said.


"Yes, darling" was his warm-spoken
answer, and he stopped down apd kissed
her. How strange that you should ask
me such question:


If you would only tell me so now


and then, Andrew, il would do me good. y
And Mrs. Lee arose, and leaning her face
against the manly breast Of her husband
stood and wept.


What strong light broke in upon tho
mind of Andrew Lee. He had nevel
J given TO his faithful wife even the small
reward of praise for all the loving inter
est she had manifested daily, until doub
of his love had entered her soul, and mad,
the light around her thick darkness. NJ
wonder that her face grew clouded, no
, that what he considered moodiness anC
Immature, took possession Of hor spirit.
"You arc good and true, Mary. M.
own dear wife-I am proud Of you.


love you--and my first desire is for you
happiness. Oh, if could always se
your face in sunshine, my home woulc
. be the dearest place on EARTH"
"How precious to me are your word
of love and praise, Andrew" said Mrs
,, Lee, smiling up through her tears into hi
face; With them in my ears, my hear
can never lie in shadow"
81 How easy had been the work for An
: drew Lee. He had swept his hand acros
| the cloudy horizon of his home, and nov
Q the bright sunshine was streaming dowr
a and flooding that home with JOY an


beauty.