A Mummer's Wife

oom, his bearded cheeks could be seen buried in a heap of tossed pillows. By his bedside sat a young woman. As she dozed, her face drooped until her features were hidden, and the lamp-light

an expression of disgust, and she remembered the ether. The soft, vaporous odour drifted towards her from a small tabl

ane. She took them in her hands and covered them over; she tried to arrange the pillows more comfortably, but as she did so he turned and tossed impatiently, and, fearing to disturb him, she put back the ha

a chessboard had been taken as a design, and, selecting a fragment of stuff,

and then the long swish of the thread as she drew it through the cloth. The lamp at her elbow burne

like a piece of rich black velvet; a dark shadow defined the delicate nose, and hinted at thi

eferring for distraction her accustomed sewing. She was now well awake, and, as she worked, her thoughts turned on things concerning the daily routine of her life. She thought of the time when her husband would be well: of the pillow she was

d had so persistently declared that he was not going to keep his rooms empty any longer, that for peace' sake she was fain to side with him. The question arose in a very unexpected way. During the whole winter they were unfortunate with their rooms, though they made many attempts to get lodgers; they even advertised. Some few people asked to see the rooms; but they merely made an offer. One day a man who came into the shop to

n defence of her principles; Ede was petulant and abusive; and between the two Kate was blown about like a feather in a storm. Daily the argument waxed warmer, until one night, in the middle of a scene characterized by much Biblical quotation, Ede declared he could stand it no longer, and rushed out of the house. In vain the women tried to stop him, knowing well what the consequences would be. A draught, a slight exposure, sufficed to give him a cold, and with him

, who had not yet perceived that the short respite which getting rid of the phlegm had given him was coming to an end, expected him to say something

e in the town who let their rooms are

d night,' said Mr. Ede, who now thought o

e getting better,' s

on-I'm suffocating. Ha

our quietly spread like oil over the close atmosphere of the room, but, mastering her repugnance, she held it to him, and

eep inspiration which seemed as if it would cost him his life.

t. I wrote for them,' she replied,

g the struggle, knowing that nothing could be done to relieve him. She had seen the same scene repeated a hundred times before, but it never seemed to lose any of its terror. In the first month of their marriage she had been frightened by one of these asthmatic attacks. It had come on in the middle of the night, and she remembered well how she had prayed to God that it should not be her fate to see h

ating!' he sobbed out w

g the air that had cost him so much agony pass slowly through his lips. To breathe again he would have to get on to his feet, which he did, and so engrossed was he in the labour of breathing that he pushed the paraffin lamp roughly; it would have fallen had Kate not been there to catch it. She besought of him to say what he wanted, but he made no reply, and continued to drag himself from one piece of furniture to another, till at last, grasping the back of a chair, he breathed by jerks, each inspiration being accompanied by a violent spasmodic wrench, violent enough to break open his chest. She watched, expecting every moment to see him roll over, a corpse, but knowing from past experiences that he would recover somehow. His recoverie

answer. It was cruel to see him struggling, but he resisted assistance, and watching like one in a dream, frightened at her own powerlessness to save or avert, Kate remained crouching by the fireplace without strength to think or act, until she was suddenly awakened by seeing him relax his hold and slip heavily on the floor; and it was only b

persuaded him to open his eyes, and after one little stare he slipped back into the nothingness he had come out of; and this was repeated several times, Kate redoubling her efforts until at last she succeeded in placing him in a chair. He sat there, still striving and struggling with his breath, unable to move, an

he was with her, how utterly all her wishes were disregarded. 'What a pity he's not a little different!' she thought; but when she looked at him and saw how he suffered, all other thoughts were once more drowned and swept away. She forgot how he often rendered her life miserable, wellnigh unbearable, by small vice

ork to make the bed. She resolved to do this thoroughly, and turning the mattress over, she shook it with all her force. She did the same with the pillows, and fearing that there might be a few crumbs sticking to the sheets, she shook them out several times; and when the last crease had been carefully smoothed away she went back to her husband and insisted on being allowed to paint his back with iodine, although he did not believe in the remedy. On his saying he was thirsty, she went creeping down the narrow stairs to the kitchen, hunted for matches in the dark, lighted a spirit

not help it, I was so very tire

he window. I might have died for

but as she came back to her place she said, 'I d

again. If you had a touch of this asthma yo

r. Without contradicting him-for of what use would that be, only to make matters worse?-she arranged the pillows and settled

to you,' he said. 'You must have been

at when you're very bad like that you must

reason for leaving

ut it, and you w

me, and would like to get rid of

le to contain herself much longer. He had hurt her to the quick, and her brown eyes swam with tears. His head lay back upon the built-up p

nd for the cigarettes. You know well enough that smoking is the only thing that relieves me when I'm in this state. I

make yourself bad again. Now that you feel a

tinued to advise him her voice began to tremble, her presenc

ive up my night's rest to you, I work hard all day for you, and in return I only receive hard words

me he was at a loss how to proceed. At last, feeling a little sorry,

ong in speaking so crossly. I didn't me

old I neglect you-and when I stop up

r of his complaint, the invalid at times found it impossible to restrain his ill-humour; but he was not entire

hat I said; you are a good little nurse

erical sobbing, peace was restored. Ralph began to speak of his asthma again, telling how he had fancied he was going to die, and when she expressed her fear and regret he hastened to assure her that no one ever died of asthma, that a man might live fifty, sixty, or seventy years, suffering all the while from the complaint; and he rambled on until words and ideas together failed him, and he fell asleep. With a sigh of relief K

ed by the very narrowest of passa

he landing, one would have to give way to the other. Mr. and Mrs. Ede found this proximity to their lodger, w

the hand in which she held the novel she had been read