Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 September 1880 — MY JEALOUS NEIGHBOR. [ARTICLE]

MY JEALOUS NEIGHBOR.

BY UNCLE LUTE. “ Lay by your j 'on, kind friend, and speak to me. 1 "insel me; condemn me; pity me. Anything, anything to divert my mind, for my heart is breaking.” These words, half a wail and half a whisper, fell suddenly upon my ear with such a pathetic appeal for sympathy that, had a knife pierced my heart, its keep throb of pain could not have been greater. My pen dropped from my fingers, and I felt, in that moment of sudden transition from mystic realms of dreamland, that the sorrow of some f.oul had been wrapped around my heart like a mantle thrown around my person. Turning around there stood, leaning yearningly toward me, the charming young wife of my esteemed friend and neighbor, Charley . She hail run across their garden into my sanctum, unexpected and unannounced. We had long been intimate neighbors, so this liberty did not surprise ; but her strange, heart-rending appeal startled me. “Minnie,” I said—she was always Minnie to me—calmly and kindly as my surprised state would admit, “ what is it ? Tell me your trotible, my child, and whatever I can do you know I am yours to command.” At the sound of my quiet, studied voice, her wild, flashing eyes filled with great glistening tears, and hiding her face in her hands she sank into a chair and sobbed like a child. And a child she always seemed to me, though twenty fruitful autumns had graced her with their maturing charms. In view of my years, which so greatly contrasted with hers and her husband’s, they had looked upon me, or at least she hail, more in the light of a Platonic father than a stranger with mortal desires and passions. But, as God is my witness, I never looked upon this bewilderingly beautiful young girl-wife with other sensations than those experienced in beholding a beautiful flower or other attraction of nature. I was ever a passionate admirer of all beauty in nature, and felt an awe and adoration for the same, whether in the plant or animal kingdom. True, I was not unmindful of those superior attractions peculiarly applicable to her by virtue of her sox, when contracted with other objects worthy of admiration, else 1 would not have been a manly man. But to be more explicit, my loyalty-to. her state was as chaste as my admiration for the flowers blooming in her garden. She was always free, joyous and happy; mingling her silvery voice with the songs of the early birds of morning; and her musical laugh borne on the calm of the evening breeze to my tired mind was a cheering remembrance of frequent occurrence. Many a fresh boquet and tempting dish found its way on my table, placed there by her own little hands, prompted, I knew, by the purest and,kindest impulses of her womanly heart. Sometimes she and her husband would drop in for a neighborly chat, often begging their kind uncle, ns they were wont to address me, to read to them from my storehouse of lore; and oft the wife would draw me away from myself in a train of conversation which only her intelligent tact and appreciative attention could do. All this freedom of neighborly intercourse had broken down all conventional barriers, so much so that artless Minnie often ran in alone with some question to ask, a bit of news to tell, or as before stated some delicacy for the palate, or blossom for the eye to feast on. In turn, I lent her books, ran in with a fresh newspaper, or perhaps a new poem clipped from some publication, and conferred each with the other upon its merits and demerits—youth, beauty and freshness, and ago and sage experience balancing the scales of our judgments. But never before had neighbor Charley’s wife Minnie appealed to me for sympathy. Many, many a care, many a saddened thought had her opportune presence and cheering smiles dispelled from mj life’s experience ; and now the little dazzling constellation of mirth and lovelinf ss was transformed to a sorrow-stricken woman appealing to me for a word to soothe, a cooling draught to heal the pain of her newlytried heart. But what was the cause of her trouble? I will tell you, reader, and how near I innocently and unconsciously came to wrecking my young neighbor’s happiness for life. “Minnie,” I said again, “pray do not cry. Tell me, my dear neighbor, word for word, if you wish me to know all your troubles.” And I drew near her, and, unreservedly as a father might fold his infant child in his arms, gently drew my arms about her sinking, trembling form. “ Oh, sir ! ” she exclaimed, drawing back, “ you—you must not do so, you—forgive me, kind friend, but—but you have no right to comfort me now. You can no longer be a father to me. You must go away from here immediately, until Charley—” She hesitated, looking at me through her tears, her hands tightly clasped now beneath her turbu-lently-heaving breast in an attitude of uncertain despair.

“ Why, Minnie—why, you greatly puzzle me,” I stammered, “ Tell me at once what has happened ? Why must I go away?” “Because, Charley—he’s terribly angry—calls you awful names, and says he’ll have you arrested, and charges me with—with being unfaithful. Oh, such a tirade of inconsistencies I never before heard uttered,” she breathlessly answered. -: - “ Where is Charley ?” I asked. “ Gone to get a warrant for Oh, sir, please piake haste. Only think of

Hie scandal !• He is so angry he will not reason. He—he—She broke down-then with hysterical oryings. I here/ made known to her with more sternness than I felt that she must calm beiUlf and explain at once, as it was all a nSyßtfeqr'lto jne, and I could not judge Row to act. I gave her to understand, however, that I certainly should not run away—that if 1 was deserving of being arrested the officer would find me ready to do his bidding. This had the effect to calm her somewhat, and between her aqxjous fear, lest some uniformed servant of the law should really burst in upon ns, and her efforts to further explain, clinging alternately to me, and running to the window, I finally obtained an intelligent understanding of the case. “You know, .jir, the other morning when I ran in with the roses, the first in.bloom, and told you that the evening before I saw they were opening, and so had arisen unusually early that morning, because I knew they would be open arid fresh 1 ; and—and other things besides I said which Ido not now remember. But—oh, sir, you know I meant no harm, do you not ? Oh, say you know it, iriy dear friend—say you know it!” Thus the poor wounded child-wife continued her explanation. i hastened to assure her that she said nqUring censurable on the occasion in question#; that in all our friendly intercourse she had eve?* conducted herself with, Hie grace and purity of an angel ; that any one who thought differently was a conturitmate/brute, any one who declared to the contrary was an infamous liar. - “ O, don’t say that,” she pleaded, “for that means Charley.” “'But I’ll never take it back,” I replied, “Charley or no Charley.” “ He was just entering his carriage at our door, yon know,” she continued, ‘ ‘ and could easily hear all that was said, and, as he drove out of the yard, could see us. ” I remembered that such was the fact,

and nodded assent. “And, as I gave the roses to you, I said some complimentary words relative to the merits of Eour last-published article, you rememer ; spoke of the thrilling pleasure the perusal of it gave me, and how plain and easy it seemed to make life’s duties; that I never expected to meet any thorns in my pathway now that your splendid words had removed all fears of your frail friend, and for which reason J had removed all the thorns from the roses which I brought you, and—and one had pierced my thumb, which yon kindly removed.” “ I think those w ere your very words ; at least their import. And your rough physician praised your bravery in bearing the pain eli, my child,” I replied, my eyes feasting on the versatile, earnest Expressions of her fair, care-clouded face? bespeaking such beauty germs of character. “Yet—and sir—just as Charley drove by, do—do you—do you know what you did to—to me ? ” she asked 1 , with trembling, anxious simplicity of an innocent child. “ I took the bouquet, Minnie, did I not, and thanked you for it ? ” “Oh, yes, but—but something else you did, sir. I thought nothing* of it then, nor do I now, and would never have spoken of it only Charley saw it, and—and ho is irrecoverably angry, I fear. ” “Angry at me, Minnie, for some offense of mine when you gave me the roses ?” I curiously inquired. “ Angry at you for that, and angry at me for not resenting it, and for what he is pleased to term my ‘ seductive, siren ways and language.’ ‘ He says you are— I’ll not tell you w r hat lie said, but he—blames me the most. Oh, what shall we do ? lam sure w r e are innocent of any ill intent, pir.” 1 assured her I could remember nothing which should have given offense—that I was sure there had been no acts or words between us of a censurable nature ; and mentally I cursed the contemptible jealousy that could so blindly misunderstand and wound the most excellent and faithful of wives. “I see you do not remember,” she said, “so I will tell you.” And the first blush of maidenly modesty which bore a tinge of shame that I ever saw mantle that sweet young face o’erspread it then, while the look she gave me, expressive of firm faith in my honor, and of a noble friendship—a friendship of the mind and soul—so far divorced from all disloyalty to legal ties of earthly relationships that I vowed then and there with all my heart a reverence for such beauty and purity of character, and bemoaned the fact that it was ever the fate of such to become bound to mortals whose affections are only prompted by desire, and who look upon every manifest emotion of the heart through glasses blurred by the smoke of lust. “When I reached the roses up to you,” she continued, “and made what Charley in his- madness termed my ‘ little siren speech,’ you, in taking them, some way clasped both of my hands together in yours with the roses; and, as you exclaimed, 4 Thanks, dear Minnie ; Heaven blesses women of your kindly nature and purity of purpose,’ you pressed my hands to your lips; and had Charley seen the tears which fell from your eyes like dew upon the roses, and dropped warm on my hands, I—l know, sir, he could not haVe misjudged the emotion which prompted your caress. ” So saying she threw her head down on the table and sobbed afresh, begging of me to see her husband and compel him to listen to an explanation, as he was so angry he would not heed a word she said. “Then this is what is breaking your heart, is it, child? ” I asked, placing my hand upon her drooping head and thoughtfully stroking her luxuriant, wavy tresses, falling about her snow r y, dimpled shoulders and fitfully floating a bewildering veil o’er her turbulent bosom.

“Narrow minds and bigoted souls of licentious tendencies and pious spinsters of forced celibacy, and young husbands with false and fanciful, ideas of passion ancf gallantry, and old male croakers with no elements left save their shriveling forms publishing their lost manhooil, may scoflat the idea of an exalted affection between the sexes, bound by no ties save their God-given right of existing in the same world, my friend,” I said ; “ may scoff, if they will, at the idea of an uncamal appreciation of beauty, bearing the unmistakable imprint of divine fiat; but whatever inference such may have drawn from past words and acts of mine I care not, and frankly confess to you that, in this supreme moment of great indignation and conflicting emotions, when grave questions throng and knock at the window of the mind and reverberate on my tensioned heart strings, I experience a new thrill of supreme admiration for my young friend, humbled here before me in all the glory of her endowments, and know and feel that my life will be brighter and better for it; and above all I realize that she is the true wife of my respected neighbor, and that I experience no feelings of disloyalty to the sacred relationship existing between you—husband and wife ; my only regret being that he so little realizes what a sterling prize he possesses ; that he seems to know not, as I know, that, were she encompassed by dangerous associations, the impregnable shield of her virtue would avail her in thought and deed. ” All this and very niuch more I said to her, with my hand stroking her hair, and she, amid broken ■ obs, defending her husband if I chanced to cast a reflection upon him. For this I admired her, as I had only sought to' stimulate* her to a realizing sense of her position in the matter, preparing her for a defensive stand agamst jgjg accusations. f ‘Now, Minnie,” I concluded, “go

and bring, your husband face to face with i E, you the crushed flower, and I th© useis tare in aor ce-blooming garden of love andbeaWiy.” She arose as I ceased speaking, calm now, but very pale, and her ©yes dim with weeping. “Yesfkind sir,” she said, “I will bring Charley if —if he will come, and all will be made right again.” “It’s all right, my darling wife,” exclaimed a manly voice, and her husband rushed in our presence. Throwing one arm around the yielding form of his now-joyous and radiant wife, and extending his other hand to me, he begged my pardon and here, and reproached himself with all the significant epithets he could command. “ I have heard and seen all your interview,” he continued. “ I followed you, Minnie, when you first ran in here instead of going after a warrant, and have been hiding at the door. I was ashamed of it; but oh !I am twice glad now, for I have seen my folly, and will never doubt my pet again.” I assured him he had my forgiveness. “This,” said I, “has been an eventful day to yon, my neighbor—the grandest day of your life; for it has taught you the sterling worth and character of her who, though your wife, you knew so little of. It has taught you, neighbor Charley, that you are fortunately jx>ssessor of the very best gift Tinder heavefa to man—a beautiful, philanthropic, pure and tenderly faithful wife. ” “ I know it, uncle ; I know it,” he exclaimed ; “God bless you! Ton and she have taught it to me in the last half hour. And can you ever forgive me, darling ?” she asked of Minnie. “ Yes, yes, Charley ; it’s all forgiven. I am, O ! so happy again, my dear husband, you do not know !” Then, heaving a long sigh, as of a great relief, with her hand upon her heart, she added. “ There is no more pain here now.” And sweetly joyous beamed her eyes, through her tears, looking up at us ; beamed with a wife’s love-light for him, and a pure woman’s friendship-light for

me. After they left me, in each other’s arms, with my blessing, Charley ran back from half way across the garden to again grasp my hand ; and Minnie, too, half beside herself with childish happiness, laughingly ran back after him. Thus this happy couple, with the warm, tender joy of a new betrothal, sought the sanctity of their own home, leaving the loneliness of their absence with me. This, kind reader, was the trouble I and my neighbor’s wife had innocently caused ; and, while the affair taught me greater discretion in the future, I think Charley never again became jealous of any one’s appreciation of his splendid wife. —Chicago Ledger.