Year: 1861




letter" said Mrs. Barton to her husband one
day. Martha was a daughter who had been
married for three or four months, and was
then living several hundred miles away from
the town in which her parents resided


Nor do l" was the answer. "If Edward
is, in cny thing, unkind to her, have been
greatly deceived in him."


"There are peculiarities of character and
temperament in every one, that only close
intimacy can make apparent. And Martha
has these as well as Edward. 1t is not i'm
probable that something, unseen before, has
revealed itself since marriage, and stands
as a source of irritation between them"


Mr.. Barton sighed. He was very fond Of
Martha. She had been pet with him since
childhood, and this separation, in conse-
quence of her marriage, was great trial
The thought of her being unhappy panied
him.


"Suppose," he said, "that we send for
her to come home and make US n visit 1t
is nearly four months since she went away"


~ was going to suggest something diff
erent.''


"What?n


u A visit to Martha


''That will be out of the question, at least
for MT" said Mr.. Barton.


al did not mean," replied Mrs. Barton,
smiling, "to include you in the visit"


"Oh, then you propose to take all the
pleasure to yourself. Now, it strikes me as
a better arrangement to have Martha pay
us a visit. 1t will do her a great deal more
good than merely to receive a visit from
you. She will get back, for little while,
into her old home, and see father and mother
both. And then | will come in for por-
ton of the enjoyment, which is to be con-
side-ed."


"rve thought of all that" replied Mrs.
Barton, " and yet favor the visit to Martha.
The reason is this. If l go there and stay
a week or two, I will have an opportunity
to see how she and Edward are getting
along together. We must live with people,
you know, to find out all about them. There
may be some little impediments to happi-
ness lying right in their path, which l may
help them to pick up and cast aside some
little want of adaptation in the machinery
of their lives, which prevents a movement
in harmony, that l may show them how to
adjust"


al guess you arc right, taking that view
of the case" said Mr.. Barton.
The visit of Mrs. Barton was made ac-
cordngly. After the first brief season oi
gladness that followed meeting with her
mother had passed, Martha countenance
showed some lines not written there by
sweet content. The mother asked no ques-
tions, however, in the beginning, calculated
to draw Martha out. She wanted little
time for observation. The young husband
was bright, cheerful, attentive and fond as
he had appeared to her before the wedding
day. But on the second morning after hel
arrival she noticed that he did not talk
quite so freely as usual at the breakfast ta-
BILE, and had something very much like q
cloud over the sunshine of his countenance
Martha's manner was a little constrained
also, and her face little sober. Once OF
twice during the meal Edward exhibited a
feeling of annoyance at things not rightly
ordered.


Mrs. Barton was already beginning to see
the little impediments and distractions to
which she had referred in talking with her
husband But she did not encourage Mar
tha to speak on the subject. She wanted to
see more and understand the case better
On the third day, the cause of trouble be-
tween Edward and Martha-for discordant
string was really jarring in the harmony OF
their lives-became more clearly apparent
to the mother. The little external restraint
which had been assumed at the beginning
of her visit by both of the young people,
was gradually laid aside, and she saw them
in the real life they were living.


The basis of the difficulty lay in the total
unftness of Martha for the position she had
assumed-that of housekeeper, we mean.
And IN consequence, her young husband, in
| whose ideal of home perfect order had been
included, found everything so different from
his anticipations, that graceful acquies-
cence was impossible.


al don't know what has come over Ed
ward,n said Martha to her mother on the
morning of the fourth day, after her husband
had left for his place of business. Her reyes
were swimming in tears, for Edward had
spoken hastily, and with i'll nature, at the
breakfast table, " He used TO be so kind,
so gentle, so considerate of my comfort and
feelings. But he seems 10 be growing more
impatient and harsh in his manner every
day"


I" Has the reason of this never occurred
to you ?" Mrs. Barton's manner was grave.
q can imagine no reason for the change"
replied Martha.