Year: 1875

certainly cost him less, for half the little
ct ceteras of the dinner, the fruit, the
confections, some peculiarly choice
made dish, were supplied from her own
earnings without a word. These occa-
sional dinners were not quite so charm
ing by-and-bye when there were more
to eat the daily ones; and when Mr..
Farley missed the colored ices or the
wonderful Charlotte, for which his wife
had no longer the spare fye-dollar bill,
he thought it a very singular omission,
and he spoke sharply of her neglect, and
mentioned the unfailing beauty of Mrs.
So-and-so's table bitterly. Poor Mrs.
Farley, hurt to the quick, never plucked
up SO much as the wish to tell him that
Mr.. So-and-so saw that his wife had the
means to provide unfailing beauty, and
expected no bricks without straw.


Yet such things hurt her no more
than his general indifference. The
clothes she had at marriage she turned,
made over, dyed, and made over again,
and replaced them by her earnings
when all was done. Never once did Mr..
Farley ask if she had anything to wear,
or propose procuring anything, or give
a glance to see if she had anything; yet
when he praised Miss Chose's toilette or
Mrs. Chose's taste, she knew that if she
had beauty herself, his eye would rest
on her long enough to see if the beauty
were well clothed. It wasn't his fault
that he loved beauty; it wasn't her fault
that she had none; but it was another
pang that she was always feeling, sore
spot he was always irritating. The
truth about it was that he spared him
self trouble, knowing that she would do
her best to please him and his pride.


Every summer Mr.. Farley took his
journeys, the first one with her; the Sec
ond summer there was baby, and she
rever went again. What she lived on
i'll those absences, and with what she
took care of her babies, Heaven knew,
and Mr.. Farley did not. Nor was it
only through the vanities of pretty
clothes and pleasant journeys that her
flesh was mortified. If there was a rare
concert, it was not she who went to it ;
opera was an unknown region to her ;
such things were needed to feed the
artists genius.


"We can't both CO." he would sigh.


"Then you must go alone, DEAR" she
would answer and he went.


When at dinner, too, she denied her.
self the dainty to which Mr.. Farley was
helped repeatedly, the act was unob-
served, when she sat up night after
night with sick child, Mr.. Farley slept
the sleep that we hear belongs to the
just; and when the child died, it was
she that had to make all the art-break-
ing funeral arrangements, because Mr.
Farley's nerves were too delicate for
such cruel encounter.


Yet Mr.. Farley had a conscience. It
was his conscience that made it neces-
sary to accentuate any unworthy thing
which he found in his wife, and to lay
stress on it with whomsoever happened
to be present. If she uttered a mild
"Oh, wouldn't" at some imprudent
act, quick word at sone unbearable
vexation, it was his part of catch up and
dilate upon it till the hearer could not
but be convinced Of egregious wrong on
her part. To put her in fault was the
sole excuse for himself, and he used the
excuse. But though at first, hurt and
teased beyond power of repression, she
allowed him to succeed, at last she made
no answer, but maintained absolute
silence, and only wished she was out of
sight, out of hearing, out of the world.


One day friend who had seen too
much of their inner life took it upon
himself to demonstrate. Mr.. Farley as
sured him of his error, spoke of his
wife's peculiarities, declared not only
that he had been forced to this course,
but his wife really preferred it to a ten
derer one, which detracted from her
singular ideas concerning the dignity of
womonas mate and not pet-explain-
ed so much away, in short, that his
friend was half convinced in spite of his
own eyes and ears. But when the
friend had departed "This is the last
straw which breaks the camel's back, f"
exclaimed Mr.. Farley. "To be accused
OF this, after all the sacrifices I have
made! But for you, and the necessity
of providing for you and yours, should
be luxuriating with my art in that Italy
which is the natural home of art I
should be bound down to no petty can
vases and contemplate fancies for the
sake of selling them to put bread into
your mouth / snould be soaring on the
wings of my genius in that heaven of
fame which was my natural inheritance,
but between which and me you and your
children have stood, till you force me
to grovel." He really believed it, and
his eloquence moved him enough to
cloud his mind and make him morose
for days; and he never rose in the morn
ing without making the day dark for his
wife with i'll temper, and he never laid
his head on the pillow at night until he
had made his wife wet hers with tears.
Life ceased to have any charms for lit
tie Mrs. Farley. Abuse, hardship, and
privation had destroyed what elasticity