Married Life | Page 3

husband's, that made him liable to ridicule on the charge
of vulgarity! And to deny, too, that he said "Miss," when I had been

worried about it for more than a year! It was too bad!
After this Mr. Smith was very particular in saying, when he spoke of a
married woman to me, Misses. The emphasis on the second syllable
was much too strongly marked to be pleasant on my ears. I was terribly
afraid he would say "Mistress," thus going off into the opposite
extreme of vulgarity.
This first attempt to put my husband straight had certainly not been a
very pleasant one. He had shown, unexpectedly to me, a humour that
could by no means be called amiable; and by which I was both grieved,
and astonished. I made up my mind that I would be very careful in
future how I tried my hand at reforming him. But his oft-repeated "he
shew it to me," and "obleeged," soon fretted me so sorely, that I was
forced to come down upon him again, which I did at a time when I felt
more than usually annoyed. I cannot remember now precisely what I
said to him, but I know that I put him into an ill-humour, and that it was
cloudy weather in the house for a week, although the sun shone
brightly enough out of doors. "He shew it to me," and "_obleeged_"
were, however, among the things that had been, after that. So .much
was gained; although there were times when I half suspected that I had
lost more than I had gained. But I persevered, and, every now and then,
when I got "worked up" about something, administered the rod of
correction.
Gradually I could see that my husband was changing, and, as I felt, for
the worse. Scarcely a year had passed before he would get into a pet if I
said the least word to him. He couldn't bear any thing from me. This
seemed very unreasonable, and caused me not only to sigh, but to shed
many a tear over his perverseness. From the thoughtful, ever
considerate, self-sacrificing lover, he had come to be disregardful of
my wishes, careless of my comfort, and indifferent to my society. Still I
felt by no means inclined to give him up; was by no means disposed to
let him have his own way. It was clear to my mind that I had rights as
well as he had; and I possessed resolution enough to be ready to
maintain them. His self-will and indifference to my wishes roused in
me a bitter and contentious spirit; and, in an evil hour, I determined that
I would make a struggle for the mastery. An opportunity was not long
delayed. The Philharmonic Society had announced one of its splendid
concerts. A lady friend, who had frequently attended these concerts,

called in to see me, and, by what she said, filled me with a desire to
enjoy the fine musical treat that had been announced for that very
evening.
When Mr. Smith came home at dinner he said, before I had time to
mention the concert--
"Mary, I've taken a fancy to go and see Fanny Ellsler to-night, and, as
there will be no chance of getting a good seat this afternoon, I took the
precaution to secure tickets as I came home to dinner. I would have
sent the porter with a note to know whether there was any thing to
prevent your going to-night, but he has been out all the morning, and I
concluded that, even if there should be some slight impediment in the
way, you could easily set it aside."
Now this I thought too much. To go and buy tickets to see Fanny
Ellsler dance, and take it for granted that I would lay every thing aside
to go, when I had set my heart on attending the Philharmonic concert!
"You are a strange man, Mr. Smith," said I. You ought to know that I
don't care a fig about seeing Fanny Ellsler. I don't relish such kind of
performances. You at least might have waited until you came home to
dinner and asked the question. I don't believe a word about the good
seats all being taken this morning. But it's just like you! To go and see
this dancers toss her feet about was a thing you had made up your mind
to do, and I was to go along whether I liked it or not."
"You talk in rather a strange way, Mrs. Smith," said my husband,
evidently offended.
"I don't see that I do," replied I, warming. "The fact is, Mr. Smith, you
seem to take it for granted that I am nobody. Here I've been making all
my calculations to