TH THE MAGIC OR vi 4 EY DY T S ARTHUR 1 r i peter crandall was not an ill natured cap ap tidus or faultfinding fault findan finding c man and yet the home borne of peter crandall Cra was not a happy home bome very little sunshine streamed creamed in ili across the he thres threshold hoid hold was it his fa fault faull u it A visitor who saw her hj in in her usual moo mood d mi might lit if his sioni nele rade froin first impressions lean to this opinion b she inclined to fretfulness and impatience imp atie atle nce and scolded the iha children husband could Osea see little in thein them to td blamey balmiz 15 1 the C randalls were poor mr crandall was a mechanic and earned ec hanics wages wa es mrs sirs crandall was ivas the mother of five children childrens child reny the the oldest of them thir thirteen thirties tien years old but lir their left nothing to spare for the hire of a domestic the work fell feli ulio upon her she was toil worn bornand and toil weary at the of each day and the same although thod h nolo botlo an equal extent might be said of af her hus husband bild he had bad more strength 0 for his worm wory 7 and dd therefore could endure greater fati fatigue o mud he had the advantage too which was 0 most mort important one of free rree doom from causes caules causes of nervous s excitement and the that followed belabored tte labored on a t briel brie ll of work u all day long iong while hi I 1 e she was subject to perpetual and ancoli t it interruptions incident edher to her position of mi h i a nd housekeeper between peter cra crandall adall and his hig wife there did diu not riot seem to exist much affection they never joke abde 1 loving oving words nor manifested except on rare occasions any pleasure at meet yng ing or any mutual inter interest est the little courtesies of life were soma somi something thing in their ch chee chae chaerles rles dwelling rude boisterous quarrelsome tel rel some the children grew up bringing discord into the house that as uncomfortable enough sare e able abie in inmate ii ate the mother abowd ecot ded and pun punished dished in anger but saw no good good result of her discipline toe father so dyes noes Does ea scolded in concert buh bulb I lays eways ays felt an unpleasant sensation afterward as if lie he had been doing something wrong i I 1 and wilds so 0 the years nand th ps a barms barns mi cam came e nt across the threshold int otheir dwelling lin occasionally mr crandall obtained a bl brief rief glance into some other homes and a tiie the lon ion passed a sigh would dist irb liis his bos C mem mrm warmth wre were there something wab was as a viron iiron wrong in hi own home that he had great while anabe did not wholly blame biame his wife but the tion of the wrong he could nev never r clearly perceive 64 inthe bei bel beginning inning etwas different then 1 there thera wab waa warmth in the heark in ih h 1 ii wife abutin mem ory maraday marke d das day af after afler erday day a as a dial records the advancing shadow lowthe bri brightness atness of her ner face faco fac diminished steadily until 1 all was eclipsed AL AW if lie he had bad dreamed of odthe the cause ausel but mr crandall was not a man nho ho looked inward upon bis his own life ilfe not a man who aho considered hla hia actions in their affect upon others he was moreover a silent undemonstrative man his feelings he ile gave few outi fa rd sign signs by which any one could read liis lils Li heart here lay the origin of the trouble at home the beginning of the eclipse that left his little world in almost total darkness when it should have be been beeh en road broad noonday noon dav day it was enough for mrs crandall Cran dallin in the earlier r year years of their wedded life to know that her husband loy lov loverher edher hec her heart asked for no more she wanted loving looks and 1 loving oyid ovin words also aiso aad arid for lack of these its treen and its blossoms faded hav hg told her in the beginning that he loved her having baying afterwards in marn arri edher in in proof of bib bis declaration and having haung eyer since worl worked ed daily dally for the p sustaining haf of his home and ke keep e ingher ing her ber as far above w want adf as it vis was possible for him bim to do ain air crandall saeno saw no reason why beall beail be all ail theotime the he time passing compliments ile he do it ii tt I 1 in him he wa would uia ula h have ave felt fel ashamed dof of atas a weakness rul ruu ess ll 11 1 A and so almost from the beginning he fai fal ed t to 9 little outward affect affection ign 1 those ze pleasant tok token en of kindness ss sagra so grateful atef u io ib all when his wife I 1 said as wa soften th the case durin dufin during the first year sear ta at succeeded their weir marria marriage goi thank you peter and smiled gratefully ia ir return for some little act of aind ness less or ap sed pleasure when he came home hdm froni his work ork at evenin evelin evening g drawl drawing i ng her himfar arm around und his neck and kissing him or told I 1 bimbow him how bow lonesome she felt all cay and whit a light his coming brought into their littfe little home peter cra Cran crandall odai odal dail ddll leit feit felt a aglow olow glow of or pleasure lasur labur indis in his heart I 1 but it did not C ome come within the range of his imagination dull at best to con conceive belve that like words from him would be to the spirit of his like dew to the thirsty grobin ground d and so be never expressed pleasure at meeting in but rather lather affected from tromm a kind of false prine a certain coldness as though it were nvere a i lack of mai manliness cliness to act differently no matten matter how bov mapy littie little attentions his wi wife lle vre ini might t show him no matter what bhe she pr prepared e i pred lor se bla bia re return turri nor with what dai dal dainty it y skill she cooked the evenin evening or noonday in meals eals eais he never pra sed sed and rare rarely ty g gave pave a ve even the meagre reward of expressed gratification but it if things went wrong wron if the coffee was bad or the bre bread ad sour or the meat burnt in cooking he wa sure lure to speak sp akol out and not alway sin over choice words As mrs crandall began to fail fall in in outward q 1 signs simp of affection peter perceived their withdrawal as the gradual failing of sunshine nhen clouds gather gathier oer over the sky in filmy veils velis that deepen into obscuring I 1 curtains cui cul but the t he cans dans binse was to him a mastery mystery he felt a as s ot or old to his wife and worked for her as cheerfully as in the beginning the home feeling was arstrong as strong cr as ever and an dafer after afler withdraw ng from the outer lutei world when whan the night shadows s fell he had not the b beginning ng of a desire to go abroad from his humble sanctuary shorn as it was wa of a chief attraction the ahe smiles and loving tones and words of his changing 0 wife from this inauspicious begin beginning nin g went berit on steadily the unhappy change the coming of children which on their advent adient was like athe the failing falling down upon them of sunbeams through suddenly rifted drifted clouds increased instead of diminishing mini shing the unpleasant aspect of things r in the thie house of ofleter peter crandall if the mother s heart had been cheerful and strong if her husband had not apt shut aut out the light it needed to keep its green and its flowers in bloom thi this s would won I 1 d not have hake been bee so the cheerful spirit would have given life to the bod would ouid have filled eyers evera nerve with vital force and every muscle with strength for daily dalls toil but the children proved morea more a burden than a comfort there was in their home so little suns sunshine binet binel that few green things ilour flour flourished i shed in their heart hearts and the opening oi of a flower was of rare occurrence but thorna thorns to woung and aridi weeds sweeda to offend yvere ivere were there and hourly the seemed to gain a ranker gr growth oh h how it wag was in the home of peter crandall cranda will be clear to eaf every ry ode one now there are around us thousands and chousa thousands lugof of such homes all the chambers of which are aie made wade dark and cheerless for lack of the tho small sweet courtesies ot life so cheaply oiven given t given and i so magical ma acalin in their effect 5 onedas one day peter veter crandall wab wai was si sent pent t by his employers pl to do some work in 1 n the house of acus tomer tbt work hapli happened ened to be bk iri ili in the family sitting room in which were vere four children with ulith ther their mother the lady spoke io to him politely polite when he came in and the children treats treated him respect respectfully fally he lie had bad been at work only lya iya A little while when his attention was attracted by a Te request quest from the mother to one of the children to go up stairs and bring J fier fler her lorhe some article sedna we bay say bequest Te tuest quest for tor this is was the form of words I 1 uttered the ith child went instant instantly lk thank you ou dear dearll said the mother V crandall turned and looked at the child her har countenance was tranquil and happy iane jane I 1 will take those scissors if you please 1 crandall looked again it was the mother who had spoken 4 pone one of the children was sitting on the floor busily engage dir din cutting out pictures but sh she bhe e started ij up int instantly antl anti and arid bro brought light the scissor st sto her ier mother 1 thank Than kyou you dear was the mothers acknowledgment know of the servace service asin asir as in the he former case awill will you ou want hem them ilu Idi ig askel asked the tue th e chi child d no dear only a few minutes then you shall h have ive ave them a again ain aln 11 i I 1 i 1 1 thet them 1 I he child chii d stood patiently by he herbin herein mothers others side until the scissors were out of 9 service ervice and then received them f thane thany you ou 1 she ashl e said as she bhe took them from rom hand and then danced back ringing log in g to her place on jibe the floor the pictures r es fay all this th iss as s beautiful ana ld he sighed ached as the lla fia harsher fiher mage image I 1 oi of its ins own owl home intruded tru eded itself h t while yet i at work the hus bus ba band n an and add id father fame came home hole his presence w was as lia iia haded 1 liea ilea W difo ith alig delight lafit every eiery child had cometh something into show or tell teil falm faim and aid he e entered alered into the f feelings eerlings of each praising pr alsing praising their little eichi iichi achievements and approving wherever there seemed a goffice chance for words cords of approbation jt it was the game came same tov tot towards his wife 6 she spoke of adine some direction she had bad b given liven fo to C randll crandall 1 thab that was as right be he answered adding how thoughtful youia youla ou iare jare rp 1 i A pleasant smile weilt L fieve over the cifes countenance your forgot t y 0 d pocket odret I 1 ir 1 this 11 17 said the latte latter fl Ii anding thol ihlae linen to her ti husbands lisband itt lit ft i so odid I 1 dd thank houi dear deara dearl f la ad he re e calved the h handkerchief merch ler iff ith hh as polite ac aci r t j t in marl mari manner i as is in ni word ards many diany 0 other ther little i instances alane s of home courtesies were observed by crandall who lef left athe the hou house e when abts work was completed with a new i impression chire or life ilfe sia sta stamped upon his consciousness grop ness the th linage 0 of that p pleasant home was waW fixed at oi his bis mind we tille a thin beauty ile he bad hid dream dreamed pd tah fantl tan fan tl p such buch home or read of them in book but nt the reality was before him the hus bus husband band bana and ina father whose whosel presence bad bid that home he be knew in a general way w ay asa awa as a thriving ahm ing man of business who came frequently to toi thel establishment where he wor worked ed his face wore vora generally a grave aspect a biffle sour lie he had thought H he abad had bad not given fo for much kindliness ind of feeling and was ivas ther therefore Hore the cidre cadre impressed by what whet he had seeh seen r J the bw sweet et piu plu mi i cal cai way wiy iri ali in which thank boil dea de ir I 1 r had vl been edl egl solid gafa reciprocally by m mother ther ami children many tenisi time andon and on all occasions of services rendered no matter how small had bad found an echo in his mind yere vere it it was contina continually ally aily repeated until thank yau you dear daar as he mused musad sed ted affa achig aebig work came tame almost to bohia hi s lifa lif a in ift vocal utterance V when crandal Or andall andali went home homed at nightfall he was still dreaming dreadin I 1 over the picture ohis chig mind and the words th thank ank you dear ivere evere still echoing here there in a kind of low music helas he was very ery much suk subdued dued int in feelings elings al and there wasi wasl casian an air of languor about hims bimla s he came into the room where his wife kwas was iwas at work ge getting ting supper ready that we slie observed something lhing as something some unusual bjane jane take your fathers coat and hang it up 11 said mrs crandall Cra idall to her eldest daughd ter i the pir gir obeyed but there was wag no affect jori fori iori in her nna raa manner ner and she moved in a ll ilo lio siles sties fiess fless S sort ort of way towards her father and reached out 11 edat mf alf crandall gave give her the ahe garment saying thank you dear Z the words were spontaneous lotof not of design designe ar and id spoken witha tender atte utterance rance H he e I 1 vas was as but repeat repeating irig lilg the tones that were vea still aund ing in hi his s memory what instant life seemed to tor quicken through the childs framel frame she galeone ga gave veone one glance of surprise e into nto her fat fathera fathers hers bera face and then kte ste stepped i p p ed pr a aday t s a y w with A the coat like fike ohe one ode well will pleased to r render a service r c I 1 mr crandall wag was surprised at hini hinl himself self seif and ind foran for an instant half ashamed of bp had bad done as if it were a weakness 11 T 1 siwill will you hae bave a glass of water asked J jane ane coming back to her father it you plem plea eP e mr Cr crandall andali wondered at his own reply rily almost m as much as his wife and children wondered A yes br or vo doi was tomed answer to nearly all questions with what ilsa lisa feet dla did jane trip tri trl prom from the room in a a twinkling she was wa s backwith back with a cool glass glas of water for her father who as he received it from her hand fiand said thank you ool j to the child all unaccustomed to such an acknowledgment for an any le service these awo two little words were felt to to be a sweet reward the fathers altered mann manner mannen er and way a of ex speaking wis perc ened b by the children bild alia a as q well weil as by their mot mo theran herand alf acif as if by magic magic the whole sphere of their lives seemed changed bring down your Blip slippers pers asked jane returning r to her father 1 I yes a good girl he answered my feet are achl achi aching 9 in these heavy boots As jaue jane left le f t the room with a springing ngin step mr crandall commenced commended drawing boots they were no sooner laid upon the floor than two little f ellofs fel fei lovs caught hold of them each desirous of an approving word ward as a reward revard for service rendered their tired father lil ill put one in the closet and ands johi john the at other othar her if i what brave little men exclaimed mr crandall really pleased at heart and manifesting his pleasure inthe in