Year: 1870




some comfort under such circumstances,
there is little use in looking for it else
where.


Mr.. Harry evidently did find some
comfort, for, as he stretched his six feet
of manhood comfortably out in the chair,
to toast his toes at the fire, he exclaimed,
with a sigh of fprofound satisfaction


Well this is pleasant, sure enough -
Mr.. Harry was quite right The little
parlor was the prettiest and cosiest of
pretty and cosy rooms, furnished with
perfect neatness, in most excellent taste.
The fire snapped and cracked away most
merrily in the open CRATE, the lamp burn
ed brightly upon the crimson-covered
work stand, and, prettiest and neatest Of
all, Nora, Harry's little six-months' wife
sat upon the opposite side of tine table,
with some light work in her hands.


Mr., Harry himself was not an unpleas-
ant part of the picture. Tall, handsome,
broad Of breast and strong of limb, one of
the kind of men it makes you glad to
look at, nobody would have been to blame
if they did look at him And being of a
mental and moral composition in keeping
with his looks, it is no matter of wonder
that pretty, brown-eyed Nora Lewis fell
a victim to his charms,a and, after a years
courtship consented to be led to the
hymenial altar and become Mrs. Harry
Allison.


Now, don't intend you shall infer
from my flattering description that Mr..
Harry was a masculine piece ofperfection.
Far from it, Like most Of his brother
lords of creation, he had faults in album
dance, as little Nora soon discovered.
But that wise little woman had quiet
way of managing her worscr half in his
tantruns, which had quite cured him of
some Of them.


The one which gave her the most
trouble was a propensity he had for leav-
ing things lying around loose, in fash
ion not agreeable to an orderly little per-
son like herself, and for instituting places
in which to bestow some of his personal
belongings, to which she had decided oh
icctions.


Indeed, at this very moment, though
her face was calm and sweet, little Nora
was somewhat wearied and sore, inward
ly, and strongly inclined to be provoked
at her liege lord And the cause Of her
grievance was nothing more than the
pretty pair of slippers, worken by her own
busy fingers, which now adorned his re-
posing feet Or rather it was Il light
phase of masculine perverseness, exhibit
ed through the medium of a pair of slip
pers


Mr.. Harry had fallen into convenient
fashion of leaving his slippers under the
parlor sofa in order to have them handy.
Nora did not admire them as an orna-
ment to her neat little parlor, and ven-
tured several time to remove them to their
proper places in the closet Mr. Harry
had strongly limited his dissatisfaction
with this little arrangement of hers be-
fore Tonight, when he came in some
what tired and frcttcd, from hi> work, he
grumbled openly at poor Nora, and I'M
patiently desired her to lei things alone
where he put them.


Nora was by no means u scold, but She
was a spirited little body, and determined
to assert her own rights Whereupon
she proceeded TO declare her platform by
giving Harry to understand that she was
not going to get the reputation of an un-
tidy housekeeper for the sake of humor-
ing him in an unreasonable whim, and
she would be much obliged to him if he
would put his slippers in the closet where
they belonged. Mr.. Harry retorted
spicily, and but for Nora's determination
not to quarrel, the two might have had
matrimonial storm. As it was, the
cloud speedily blew over, and the head
of the family, with mans easy iorgetful-
ness, stretched himself out for his even
ing's comfort, utterly oblivious that any
cloud had darkened the connubial sky
But women have longer memories, and
Nora, though she did not


"Gather her brows, like gathering storm


Nursing her wrath To keep ii warm"


yet, as she sat and sewed, she "kept these
things in her heart, and pondered them, u
like Mary of old. Even after they had
retired to their room and their bed, and
her lege lord lay beside her, making the
night hideous with his unearthly snores
Nora lay long awake, keeping up most
industrious thinking, if happily she might
invent some way to bring that rebellious
Harry to her own idea of order and fit.
ness, and in short, take him on hi:
matrimonial education, without interrupt
ing the peace and harmony of their quiet
home.


Womans wit, having will, seldom
fails to find way Before little Mrs
Allison shut her brown eyes for the night
she had hit upon plan to her satisiac
ton, and had resolved to compare by
management what she could not attain al
an act of justice. And | propose to tel
you how her plan succeeded
The next morning, when Harry drew
on his boots to go down town, he fun.
his new slippers, as usual, under the sofa
and said to his wife, in Il tone of deci
sion


Now, Nora, child, want you to lie
my slippers alone to-day, so they'll b'
handy when | came home tonight"


But, Harry, why not put them in tn
closet p demonstrated Nora, making
last effort to carry the field by open war
fare.


"Too much trouble" replied Mr.. Har
ry. A man. home isn't home
he cant do as he pleases with his things.
But they don't look nice. The,
l spoil the looks of the room, said Nora
gently.


Yes, they do" No, they don't,
said Mr. Harry, mixing up his answe
with mans customary clearness Yo'
just let it be, Nora thing looks as wei
in one place as another"
"Does il p asked Nora, demurely
But as she held up her face for good
by kiss, if Harry had been quite as sharl