Year: 1866

hAOWh Va VIZ SSAAoAe AN IN PSAA
enced? He was not able to recall
the time or occasion. As he
thought thus. Mrs. Lee came in
from the kitchen, and taking her
work basket from the closet, placed
it on the table, and sitting down
without speaking began to sew
Mr.. Lee glanced almost stealthily
at the work in her bands, and saw
that it was the bosom of shirt,
which she was stitching neatly
He knew that it was for him she
was at work. - ss''


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


GA kind and cheerful word,
spoken in a gloomy home, is like a
rift in the cloud that lets the sun
through" -


Lee struggled with himself a
while longer. His own ili-nature
had to be conquered first; his
moody, accusing spirit had to be
subdued. But he was coming
right, as to will. Next came the
question as tohow he should begin.
He thought of many things to say,
yet feared to say them, lest his
wife should meet his advances
with cold rebuff. At last, lean
ing towards her, and taking hold
of the linen bosom upon which she
was at work he said in a voice
carefully modulated with kind
ness, D3-''as =


sYou are doing the work very
beautiful, Mary


Mrs. Lee made no reply. But
her husband did not fail to observe
that she lost almost instantly,
that rigid erectness with which she
had been sitting, nor that the mo-
ton of her needle hand ceased.


"My shirts are better made and
whittier than those of any other
man in our shop" said Lee, en-
couraged to go on. go


"Are they?" Mrs. Lees voice
was low and it had in it slight
huskiness. She did not turn her
face, but her husband saw that she
leaned little towards him. He
had broken through the ice of re-
serve, and all was easy now. Ills
hand was among the clouds, and a
few feeble rays were already strug-
Cling through the rift it had made,
Eyes, Mary" he answered softly,
'and I've heard it said more than
once, what good wife Andrew
Lee must have.


Mrs. Lee turned her face to-
wards her husband. There was
light in her eye. But there was
something in the expression of her
countenance that puzzled him.


"Do you think 500" she asked
qpite soberly. orgT = aya.f


.What question: calculated
Andrew Lee, starting up, and go
ing around to the side of the ta-
Bile where his wife was sitting.


"What a question, Mary?" he
repeated, as he stood before her.


"Do your" Itwas all she said.


eyes, darling" was the warmly
spoken answer, and he stopped
down and kissed her. chow
strange that you should ask me
such a question: aai-3g


elf you would only tell me SO
now and then, Andrew, it would
do me good" And Mrs. Lee arose
and leaning her face agaist the
manly breast of her husband,
stood and wept. ' q 1


What a strong light broke upon
the mind of Andrew Lee. He
had never given to his faithful
wife even the small reward OF
praise for all the loving interest
she had manifested daily, until
doubt of his love had entered her
soul and made the light around
her thick darkness. No wonder
that her face grew clouded, nor
what he considered moodiness and
ill-nature took possession Of her
spirit.


"You are good and true, Mary.