A Mummer's Wife

One day she was turning over the local paper, and suddenly, as if obeying a long forgotten instinct, her eyes wandered to the poetry column, and again, j

t seemed as if not a day had passed over her. When she was a girl she used to collect every scrap of love poetry that appeared in the local paper, and paste them into a book, and now, t

her own heart, and just what were required to

love thee, how

at are coming my

aily, my night-th

vision thy han

absent you dwe

dear to me, dea

ks she had read, and the poetry that was lying upstairs in an old trunk pushed under the bed. It seemed to her wonderful that it had been forgotten so long; her memory skipped from one fragment to the other, picking up a word here,

ver to whom she could not, would not, give herself, and who on that account had gone away in despair. The coincidence appeared to her as something marvellous, something above natu

. Ede. But the temptation to complain was insidious. It was not every woman who would consent, as she did, to live under the same roof as her mother-in-law, and Hender, who hated Mrs. Ede, who spoke of her as the 'hag,' never lost an opportunity of pointing out the fact that the house was Kate's house and not Mrs. Ede's. The first time Hender said, 'After all, the house is yours,' Kate was pleased, but the girl insisted too much, and Kate was often irri

houghts were not in her work; she waited impatiently for an opportunity of turning out the old trunk, full of the trinkets, books, verses, remembrances of her youth, which lay under her be

d going back to it revolted her, and she did not know which would annoy her the most, her husband's sneers or Mrs. Ede's blank alarm. Kate remembered how she used to be told that novels must be wicked and sinful because there was nothing in them that led the soul to God, and she resolved to avoid further lectures on this subject. She devoted herself to the task of persuading Ralph to leave his coun

ddenly liberated. And with what joy she turned over the old books! She examined the colour of the covers, she read a phrase here and there: they were all so dear to her that she did not know which she loved the best. Scenes, heroes, and heroines long forgotten came back to her, and in what minuteness, and how vividly! It appeared to her that she could not go on fast enough; her emotion gained upon her until she became quite hysterical;

h she kept the fragments of poetry that used to strike her fancy at the moment. When she came upon it her heart beat quicker, and with mild sentiments of regret she read through the slips of newspaper; they were all the same, but as long as anyone was spoken of as being the nearest and the dearest Kate wa

cracker, t

blem of

ave shared

f my love

nes and sensations. All was far away; and she turned over the relics that the past had thrown up on the shore of the

I'm waiti

bsence wat

the hopeles

ever com

years, am I

ence are

ling, 'tis

waiting he

eart from i

greet a fa

welcomed

missed in m

years I have

p against

ts and vows h

y ever c

an's faith ne

st outweig

will wait

may not be

woodland water, Kate bathed her tired soul, letting it drink its fill of this very simple poem. The sentimen

to read Byron and Shelley to her aristocratic lover. She feared at first she had lost this novel, but when it was discovered it was put aside for immediate use. The next that came under her hand was the story of a country doctor. In this instance the medical hero had poisoned one sister to whom he was secretly married in order that he might wed a second. Kate at first hesitated, but remembering that there was an elopement, with a carriage overturned in a muddy lane, she decided upon looking it through again. Another book related the love of a young lady who found herself in the awkward predi

what are

eless in it an accent of reproof that was especially irritating to Kate in her present mood. A deaf anger against her

g! I declare, one can't turn round but

replied the old woman warmly.

ooking out for a book to read in

ing those vain and sinful book

m can the

world and its worldliness. I didn't read far, but what I saw was a lot of excusing of women who couldn't love their husbands, and much sighing after riche

alph never said that there was

wouldn't blame him, for he's my own son, but I'd wish to

e answered, without quite u

desires of the flesh, the desire of the eye, or to regain the image of God, to have the design of God again

h a fervour, with a candour of belief, that took from them any appearance of artificiality;

to do?' said Kate, who

ve Him truly are guided as to how to live righteously. Whether we eat or dri

gush of feeling brought the tears to her eyes, and she w

ated, until an unexpected turn of thought harshly put it before her that she was being made a fool of-that she had a perfect right to look through her books and poetry, and that Hender'

us by our hearts and not by our words. You would do wel

concern with God's love that I speak to you so. A man who never knows

t papers into the trunk, pushed i

ecause Ralph wished him to be here. I think that you shoul

ous that it suited her convenience to quarrel with her mother-in-law. She was tired of the life she was leading; her whole heart was in her novels

ch so that his asthmatic attack seemed to have done him good. A little colour flushed his cheeks around the edges of the thick beard. In the evenings after supper, when the shop was closed, an hour before they went up to prayers, he would talk of the sales he had made during the day, and speak authoritatively of the possibilities of enlarging the business. His ambition was to find someone in London who would forward them the latest fashions; somebody who would be clever enough to pick out and send them some stylish but simple dress that Kate could

mething behind that pleased, and under the influence of this fancy she began to find new qualities in Ralph, the existence of which she had not before suspected. Sometimes the thought struck her that if he had been always like what he was now she would

. Mrs. Ede sternly continued her knitting, but Ralph seemed so pleased, and begged so goo

be angry if

Why should

pro

replied Ralph, e

is a cha-cha-rac

don't laugh like that. I can'

s so-so-

stop laughing

ng for want of breath, and she

w in this book-you pro

s, I p

at does remind me so much-of you-that is to

een his front teeth which had been filled with some white substance. Kate always noticed it with aversion, but Ralph, who was not susceptible to feminine revulsions of feelings, begged her to read the passage, and

t go! I assure yo

onsense about religion. I should like to

he laid his hand upon her arm, and

ouldn't-I know I shouldn't read these books. It pains h

all if she had her way. Do be quiet, Kate!

etween this ascetic courtier and a handsome, middle-aged widow who frequently gave him to understand that her feelings regarding him were of the tenderest kind; but on every occasion he pretended to misunderstand her. The humour of the whole thing consisted in the innocence of the lady, who fancied she had not explained herself sufficiently;

if a wo-wo-man were to fol-low you,' she s

was that he felt just a little piqued at being thought so indifferent to the charms of the other sex, and looked at

own Kate who was there I s

nce that he was after all only speaking to his wife soon came to his aid, and confidentially he sat down besi

ve me again if I we

I love yo

doesn't feel inclined to love anyon

he dull and obtuse anxiety she experienced. They then spoke of indifferent things, but the flow of conversation was often interrupted by complimentary phrases. While Ralph discoursed on his mother's nonsense in always dragging religion into everythin

*

ng he was coming to Hanley on his return visit, and