Year: 1868

could not look away from them. But
hetwas not ready for this yet He still
felt moody and unforgiving. The ex-
preston of his wife's face he interprst-
edit mean ill.Dature for which lie had
no patience. His eyes fell upon the
newspaper which lay spread out before
him, and he read the sentence: go lh


GA kind, cheerful word, spoken in q
gloomy house, is the light rift in the
cloud that let's the sunshine through" !"


Lee struggled with himself awhile
longer. His own ill-nature had to be
conquered first; his moody, accusing
spirit had to be subdaed. He thought
of many things to say, yet he feared to
say them lest his wife should meet his
address with a cold rebuff At last,
leaning toward her and taking hold of
the shirt bosom, upon which she was at
work, he said in voice carefully mod
ulated with kindness gz3 S8I


"You are doing the work beautifully,
Mary" 1g@ r. fia


Mrs. Lee made no reply; but her
husband did not fail to notice that she
lost almost Instantly that rigid erectness
with which she had been sitting, and
thatthe motion of her needle had ceased


"My shirts are better made and viii
ter than those of any other man in the
shop" said Lee, encouraged to go on.


Are they?"


Mrs. Lees voice was slow, and had
in it slight huskiness. She did not
turn her face, but her husband saw she
leaned little toward him. He had
broken the ice of reserve and all was
easy now. His hands were among the
clouds and feeble ray was already
struggling through the rift it had made.


"Yes, Mary" he answered softly;
"and Eve heard it more than once,
what good wife Andrew Lee must
have" $50


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


"Do you think so?" she asked, quite
soberly.


"What question:" calculated An
drew Lee, starting up and going round
to the side of the table where his wife
was sitting. "What question, Nary"
he repeated, as he stood before her.


"Do you?" It was all she said.


eyes darling" was the warmly spo-
ken answer, and he stopped down and
kissed her. "How strange that you
ask me such question"


eff you would only tell me so now
and then, Andrew, it would dome good. !"
Mrs. Lee arose, and leaning her face
against the manly breast of her husband,
stood and wept.


What a strong light broke in upon
the mind of Andrew Lee He had new
er given his wife even the small reward
of praise for the loving interest she
had manifested daily until doubt of his
love had entered her soul and made the
light all around her thick darkness.
No wonder that her face grew clondy,
and what he considered moodiness aud
ill-temper, took possession of her spirit.


'You are good and true, Mary, my
own dear wife; | am proud Of you-I
love you, and my first desire is for your
happiness. o, if l could always see
your. face in sunshine, my home would
be the dearest place on earth. y,


"How precious to me are your words
of love and praise, Andrew" said Mrs.
Lee, smiling up through her tears into
his face "With them in my ears my
heart can never lie in shadow" u


How easy had been the work for
Andrew Lee. He had swept his hand
across the cloudy horizon, and now the
bright sunshine was streaming down
and flooding that home with JOY and
beauty i}E4 = to 'its7' - 4Si'-