Year: 1874

"Ardie Bee" evidently indignant at the
many slurs cast upon the mother-in-law,
thus replies in the New York Weekly to
the sarcastic announcement that young
man had killed himself because of the
death of his wife's mother:


see by your columns that Kate Thorn
is much Interested in the young man
who, ''the Western papers say" killed
himself because of the death of his
mother.in- lawl" and, as "live out West"
and have an accommodating spirit, will
volunteer the particulars in the case.


In the first place, his adorable mother
in-law took any amount of insults meekly,
and when her loving son-in-law limited
that $50 many folks in the house kept a
mans nose pretty close to the grind
stone," she said never a word of the
roasts, and stews and steaks that she paid
or herself


1t used to be great relief to his nerves
to kick the dinner table over, once in
while; but after his mother-in-law died
he could not indulge in that pleasant ex-
ercise any more, for there was no one
around to pick up the broken dishes, or
buy new ones eitherl


1t was mother-in-law who nursed his
wife when she was sick, and watched
night and day over the helpless little waif
left to his carel 1t was mother-in-law
that saved him from hired nurses and
servantgirls, and it was mother-in-law
that made his coats and pants; and al
though he used to wear his shirts as care
lessly as if they grew on his back, he
sometimes did wonder when he thought
them!n All! poor fellow After the
grave closed over the "homely form," he
knew we'll enough when he bought and
hot
had seemed to come of themselvesl


He found, too, that Susan burned at
least third more wood than she had be-
fore, and when he questioned her about it
he obtained no satisfactory answer, but he
was often haunted by specter coming
out of the wood lot, or up the lane, with
an armful of wood. The chips gathered
in the wood yard, and the trash around
the barn was never so plentiful before.


He could hardly understand the reason
why Susan never could go visiting any
more, but was forever boiling, baking, or
picking. When he at last recollected
that mother.in-laG had always done that,
he was filled with regret, to think that he
had not priced her more. He feared that
he had let a treasure slip through his
grasp, and after the next baby came he
was sure of it, for the nurse, Mrs. Mu1,





Once he heard the baby squalling terri
bly,, and, jumping out of bed, found the
nurse asleep in the rocking chair, warm
ing the baby's feet, and the little toes
were almost blistered. Next he caught
her peppering baby's catnip; she proba-
bly, intended the pepper for bowl of
oyster soup that was unaccountably made
lust after Susan had taken her dinner.


There was no one then to feed the pigs,
and the little chickens drowned them
selves In the swill-pail by the dozens.
The cream molded on the panF, and the
butter spoiled for want of working. The
bread was burned, the meat was raw, and
the cat stole his favorite piece of the
chickenl He was called up at all hours
of the night to see to Tommie, or build
fires, and he wondered why folks aoou'd
make such fuss over a baby when
mother.in-law never did He missed her
terribly, for between the babies and the
nurse, and the hired girl in the kitchen,
he was driven almost crazy, perhaps
quite; for who but a crazy man would
think of committing suicide, just for
mother-inlaw9