Life — July 14, 1898 — page 3: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Tale with a Moral. T would be a pity, Dim- pleton thought, to awaken her, The horror of the situ. ation had made him restless all night, and the secret dread of coming daylight had oppressed him in the dark hours ‘and awakened him prematurely. Now that he had arisen so quietiy, his sympa- thies were turned to- wardshis wife. Poor girl, {t was time enough for her to face the crisis when she woke up. He wonld not disturb the present bitss of her uncon- sctousness, He would not add one minute of wakefulness to the sum total of her distress, And yet there was so much to be done, and only that which a woman knew how todo, Perhaps, after all— THe pansed in deep contemplation, and tried to review the situation calmly. He recalled his home-coming of the night previous, and his A NEW FIELO BATTERY ENCED MILLIONAIRES WHO WISH TO COMMAND SOMETHING. encounter with the tnebriated cook. He recalled his temporary discomfture, his flnal appeal to his next door nelghhor,Tussleton, the ultimate victory of the allies, and the Might of the enemy. Then came his wife's semi-hysterta, his own sudden inspiration, thelr hurried departure to the theatre with the Tassletons as their guests, tho night, the daylight, and the present problem of ‘who was to get breakfast. Perhaps, after all, he repeated, It would be well to awaken her, Sho might have wished him to, Batno! He would show her jie was not the incompetent person she considered. Here was hls chance, She should sleep tn sweet forgetfulness, and he himself, with his own hends, would prepare the breakfast, He smiled as he pictured the glad look of sur- prise that would come to her face when he woke herand told her of all that had been accomplished. It was one hour tater. Throngh the thin haze of smoke that had penetrated even to the rooms on the second foor, the figure of a man ap- proached with uncertain steps the bedside of his wife. Hisarms, hare to the elbows, were black- ened and seared with blisters, The odor of a burned omelet hung over him Ike # pall. He tracked eggshells even as he walked, and soggy coffee grounds flecked his apparel, But his face, though begrimed with soot and red asa sunset through black clouds, was filled with the sublime look of one who has waded through fire and water, overcome all dimculties, and finally trumped. Mrs, Dimpleton opened her eyes slowly, looked at her husband with startled interest, sprang for- ward, and waved her arms tn the afr. “What has happened?” she exclatmed, wildly, What 4s the matter? Is the house on fire?” Mer husband gazed at her with an alr of mingled supertority and crafty antictpation of the Joy that was to be all hers, “Not at all, dear," he said, arily. “I thought I would give yon a Iittle surprise, so I got up quietly an hour ago, went downstairs and cooked the breakfast. It 1x now on the table. Mrs. Dimpieton tooked at her husband, then looked at the clock, which told that It was half- past elght, then looked back at him, and laughed that pecullar laugh which always comes to a woman when she {s about to inflict a measure of humiliation on a loved one, “My dear," she sald, “didn't you know that Mrs, Tassleton had Invited us both to take break- fast with them at nine o'clock Tom Masson, H E: Why is it your mother so seldom. trusts us alone? “‘Oh, mother knows me better than you do, George.”