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Show ONE RIGHT OF A WIFE. "John," said I one night to my husband, as I put my basket of sewing sew-ing away, preparatory to retiring, "John, as you go down to morrow morning, I wish you would stop at Mrs. West's door and leave her $5 for me." "Fivo dollars!" and my lord looked up quite nstouiehed. "For what?" "Why, sho is collecting money to aid that society she is secretary of. and as I always felt interested in it, I told her I would give her $5." I said this with quite a show of assurance, as-surance, though I really felt quite uneasy un-easy as to the reception of my request, for John is rather notional in some of nis ways; nowevur, i uiiu ueeu cogitating cogi-tating some matters lately in my own mind, and deteimincd to make a bold stand. "Well, Sarah," at length came the reply, "you need not count on my doing any such thing. I don't approve ap-prove of that society at all, and not one cent of my money shall go to help it." ''I give it out of my money," said I, growing bolder; "I only ask you to leave it at the door for me." "Your money ! What do you mean?" "I mean what I say my money. Have I no right to spend money as well as you? I don't approve of the Masons, but that does not hinder you from spending money and time for them as much as you have a 1 mind." John looked at me, quite amazed at my sudden outbreak. You see, I had always been the moBt amiable of wives. Then he broke out quite triumphantly. tri-umphantly. "Come, now, who earns the money that maintains this fa mi-ly?" mi-ly?" "You and I together," said I. "Together! Well, I should like to see the first cent you hove earned in the seven years we have have been married. Togetberl Well, I call that rich." My spirits were visibly declining under his ridicule, but I kept on as I boldly as I could. "When we were married you .thought, or protended to think, yourself your-self very happy iu assuming the care of board and wardrobe. 1 didn't oak it of you. You asked me to be your wife, knowing well all that meant." "As nearly as I remember," interrupted inter-rupted John, "you were mighty ready to accept me." "Granted to save argument," said I, coloring. "Well, we ttood up in church together, to-gether, and you promised to love, cherish, etc., and so did I." "And obey, too," said I; "but you, in return, endowed me with all your wordly goods, and the minister pronounced pro-nounced us man ami wife; and so we havo lived." "Yes," said John, complacently; "and as I look back over the time, 1 think I have donewhai I agreed, and i made a pretty good husband. 1 rcal-j ly think you ought to be thankful j when you see how somo wives live. "I "Well," said I, "i think I have1 been a domestic, prudent wife, and I don't ieel one atom more of gratitude grati-tude to you for being a decent bus-hand bus-hand t.hnn vnii nuthi. tr, teal lr. ia fnr being a decent wife. Is it any more merit that you keep your marriage promises than that 1 keep mine." "Sarah, you are positively very acrimonious to-night. Don't you think we had bettor go to bed?" "No, sir. Well, meantime we have laid by money to buy this house, and still have some in the bank." "Thanks to my hard work I" chimed in John. "More thanks," said 1, "to the perfect good hoalth we have always had. We made all these promises for better or worse. Now it has bi-en better for us all the time. Had you been sick, or honest misfortuno bu-fallen bu-fallen you, I should have managed somo way to reduce our expenses bg that you might feel the burden as little as might bo. Had I been sick, j more core would havo fallen on you. But we helped each other save, and now I claim an equal right with you in spending money." "Whewl Why, that is treason. But go on." "If wo occupied tho respective positions po-sitions of euporior and subordinate, I should do what I do for you for a fixed Btipend, and no questions should ho asked ns to tiio use modo of it. Being equals, I will not ask compensation compen-sation as a servant; but because the contract wo havo made- is lifelong and not easily brokon, I do not Iheruforo call it very magnanimous in a prosperous pros-perous man to accept these services and render in return only my board and the least amount that will creditably credit-ably clothe me." You soo 1 was growing iralo. John's teiupor, too, was evidently on tho rise "What do you moan by service? Housework? I am a uro a homo in as much for your eatlafaetion as fur mine; and I am sure Li to tailor doos not leave much of my sewing for you to do." "I don't compluin of housework nor of doing your Hewing; but I do think tho burden of liltlo Johnny bus fallen on uio." "it strikes mo," said ho, with a provoking complacency of lony,"lhnl ii juu uiiiuiiu uin living juu wuuici have less lo say about the bunion falling fal-ling on you." "John," said 1, "answer mo hon-ostly. hon-ostly. Do you work any harder or any longer now than you did bnfore ho was bom?" "1 don't know as I do," said uo,"l always worked hard enough." "Well, and so do I. lint now as to Johnny. 1 presume you will allow yourself hall owner ol him, as tho law allows you untiro control ovor him. How much do you do for him?" "J maintain him. 1 do my part," "No, John, you are wrong; you don't do your part. From tho lirst you novur have. Did not weary months go by in which you boro no part whatever of the burden?" "Well, that is curious complaining; complain-ing; what would you have mo do?" "You might havo got a servant instead of lotting all tho housework fall on me; or you might havo kept a horso so that I could ride out and enjoy en-joy tho lino weather; but that is all pant now." "I should say that it cost mo enough for the doctor, nurse, etc., without talking about keeping ;ii horso." "True, it cost enough; but I am talkiug about the division of the burden. bur-den. Was the part you boro in the payment of those bills equal to my part in the matter? Would you have taken my place for that money if it were to havo been paid you instead of those who cared for you? I think not." "Didn't I have all his clothes to buy?" "No, sir. I went without new clothes of any sort for a season, and the money savod from my wardrobe ward-robe supplied all that w:ia needed; and i might odd that all his other clothes have been got in tho same way. ' ' "Well, really, I had no idea hew much of a martyr you wern. Next you will bo clothing me in the same way. How thankful I ought to bo for so calculating a wife !" "Now, in these two ye.rs," said I, continuing m the faco of his sneer, "all of the care and confinement consequent on attending tho child have fallen ou me. I have managed some way to accomplish my housework house-work and sewing as I used. I can hardly think how it has been done. Did it ever occur to you to think how many times I have been to ohurch since he was born?" "You wouldn't expect a man to take care of a baby, would you? Tliat isn't a man's work." "Isn't it?" said I, bitterly; "then I wouldn't have a baby. I have beon to church just four times, and then some visitor had staid with Johnny. How many times did you ever get up in the night to 3oothe him when he has been sick and fretful?" "How do you suppose," siid lie, "I cculd work by day if I didn't get my night's sleep?" ".Tnl. Ibfi samp, wsiv that T tin when my night is broken, exactly." "Well, Sarah, what is the drir.of nil this talk, any w;ty? for 1 duii'tbee any use in prolonging it." "Well, theu it ik my original statement state-ment that as I did my purL of the family labor and took all tho euro of Johnny, and you arc a man in prosperous pros-perous circumstances, I am entitled to as much money for that nsifl were employed and paid by the month for the same work, and I have a right to Bpend money for things that don't suit you, if 1 please to do so; and I may add," said I, with a sudden vehemence, "that it is mean and contemptible in you lo try to oppose op-pose or forbid my doing so." John said no more. I saw by the look in his eyes that he was quite angry; and so was I. That was the first time in our married life that we had failed to kiss each other goodnight. good-night. Indeed, I felt guilty, thuiigh I hardly knew why, but it was late before I fell asleep. Tue next morning all was serene. No traco remained of the evening's storm, but nothing mora wns said about the obnoxious subscriptions. Next day I met Mrs. West, and she thanked me very much for doubling my money. Dear John! He didn't mean lobe unkind, but he hud never stopped to uunK aDOUt sucn iiungs. w nen uis next settlement came, and he slipped a $20 bill into my hnnd and suid, "Take that for your private purse," 1 really thought he was tho brat husband hus-band in the world. |