Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 126, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 May 1912 — Hie Wife and Hie Friend. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hie Wife and Hie Friend.

By Elizabeth Ayres.

"They was Just Jike twin brothers, and nothin’ but death or women could ’a parted ’em, and of the two, I sometimes think women is the beaterest” This is a bit of wisdom ottered by a rural sage, but he has nothing to do with the story and will net appear again. His wise saw Is quoted simply to serve as an introduction. There Is sometimes a friendship between man and man that, binds them as firmly as the marriage tie binds men and women together. There were two men once between whom such a friendship existed. One of them was a confirmed bachelor. He had assisted maiiy of his acquaintances to the altar, but he had no inclination himself to play leading man to the star of a- wedding. The other did not yearn for the celibate life, and presently he began to think it was not good for man to live alone. The one whose influence served to bring him to this decision was a good and lovely girl who looked .upon him with favor. The name of the one who willed to be a benedict was Charlie. The one who elected to be a bachelor was John, the sober, dignified name fitting his stable character to perfection, though Charlie, out of his affection, often dwarfed it to the diminutive Johnny, which was not a fit. They advised with each other concerning their plans and endeavors, and spent long hours together In the silent communion that can only come with perfect understanding. It was at the end of one of these silent hours that, from behind a

dense cloud of smoke, puffed from a meerschaum pipe, the twin to John’s Charlie had spoken of the new interest which had arisen. . "It won’t make a bit of difference, Johnny, old boy,” he said, with a burst of deep feeling. "You shall be one of the family. There’s a place for you at our fireside and a seat for you at our table —always. Diana forget” John had seen the way of the wind, but he was ofiG tO' force a confidence and had quietly awaited developments. Meantime, he had been schooling himself to resign all claims on his friend and to live without the undivided companionship that had grown.iP-ha a part of his existence. John was something of an onlooker in life, and he had listened before to a newly accepted lover bestowing upon his comrade left behind in the race promises of undying friendship and future Intimacy. He knew there was another factor to be reckoned with, a factor whose claim was greater, and whose influence was stronger. To all appearances he had accepted the information of Charlie's approaching marriage and his assurances of uninterrupted friendship as a matter of course. He said a few words only, but the manner of their saying was satisfying. After every great decision there frequently comes an upheaval of doubt ▲ shadow of doubt was glooming the horizon of Charlie’s happiness. - ■ “It won’t make a bit of difference* Johnny, old boy,'* he declared again, looking at his friend with a wistful question in his eyes. . "Difference! Why, of course hot,” John answere*d heartily. "Every man should be married. Go on, my boy, God bless you. Til be following your example some day myself.” He spoke with an air of truth that was convincing. He who had always bee* the soul of honor, gloried in Ms fall, and told an unblushing falsehood with the brazen face of a veteran of* lies. John WBS "best man” at the eventual pleasant “round up” in church. All the amenities of a wedding that came to his hand he accomplished with the skill of one long practiced- He was the last to speak words of good fellowship and to speed the newly wedded pair on their' Journey. Then he turned away wondering what he would do next. He suffered from the weariness of spirit that comes to one left alone and unoccupied after a period filled with the reckless joy of living. He was singularly isolated. He had no relatives or home ties, and for years he had acted as a gentle father to the one he called friend. Charlie was younger and of a lighter nature than John, and his boyish, warm-hearted impulsiveness was like a tonic to the staid and serious older man. “I shall have to readjust myself :

and that all there la to it,” Johm said, ’"hen his loneliness grew oppressive. -.r. As time slipped away, that which he had foreseen came to pass. Charlie was always in a hurry. After business hours there were household errands to be attended to, or he was in a rush to get home, for “the little woman” did not like him to be late at dinner. There were no more golden moments when the two came together to talk things over and to dine at their leisure when appetite prompted. The delight of keeping Irregular hours was a thing of the past The purposeless Sunday afternoon walks they had been in the habit of taking, going somewhere they did not know why, to do something they did not know what, were at an mid. Unconsciously, John canght Charlie’s mania for hurry, and at night, after he had closed his office, hastened to his boarding place, as if the next moment was his last, there to gulp down his dinner with a speed that 16ft him facing a long, empty evening. The one who is left' behind suffers mor*' from the change than the one who has gone to new scenes and fresh Interests. For a few months after Charlie’s marriage, the novelty of housekeeping and of having,a wife and home excluded every other consideration. His wife neither needed, nor wanted, anything or any one else. The walls of her house bounded her world, and her sun rose and set in Charlie. John had been Invited to spend an occasional evening with them, nnd he whs bidden to always feel free to join them at their Sunday dinner. But John was wise In the affairs of men. He did not wish to run the risk of being regarded as an Intruder, and he never went to the home of without a special invitation.

The day dawned when Charlie missed the support and stimulus of John’s calm strength and ready sympathy. He felt the old longing to “tell Johnny about it,” when good or ill-luck attended his fortunes. He needed the spur of unbiased opinion that stamped him either a fool or a wise man as it might happen. The wires Of friendship that had sagged and slackened were pulling taut again. And as they pulled, he danced like a marionette to their straining. He began to revolt against domestic restraint, and Ms rebellion gave birth to moments of irritation. It \ grew painful to pose forever on the pedestal of ideality where he had been placed by Ms wife. The masculine companionsMp that lent zest to hit life was missing, and, by reason of its absence, he found it a most desirable quantity. I' was the evening of a day marking the successful close of a business deal of which he had great expectations. He carried the glad news home to his wife and received her appreciation and congratulations. Still he feared she did not quite understand the keenness of his operations. He wanted to tell Johnny. Oh, to tell Johhnny! that eager desire would not be quieted. In his restlessness he wore a shiny place on his trousers moving back and forth on his chair. A.t length, he got light to see the way. He was not a prisoner. It was only fear of disapproval that held Mm in chains. Even if a man was married he need not relinquish the friend of a lifetime. .When he stopped to think, he remembered that he had never been asked to relinquish that Mend. It was the knowledge that, while Ms wife was graciously politp when John accepted their hospitality, she did not encourage frequent visits. This unspoken disapproval had enslaved Mm ‘7- 77- 7 He sprang to Ms feet with a suddenness that startled Ms companion. She had been swaying her chair to and fro, singing under her breath a melody of happiness. - . “Where are you going, Charlie?” she cried. alarmed by that fierce light of determination glittering In Ms eyea “I’m going to tell Johnny about it,” he answered, flnlsMng Ms thoughts aloud, in tones that forbade discussion. —; ~rT V was the first evening he had left Ms wife since they had been married. For a moment she felt as if he had dealt her a blow. Then she was Messed with understanding. Like a flash it was revealed to her that the prolonged solitude of two Is not best for continued harmony. While she was tMnking, Charlie had gone out of the front door and had closed it. She ran after him and reached the veranda just as he was turning into the street. T-f “Charlie,” she called, “oh, Charlie, bring John here. I’m going to bed early to-night. You can have the house to yourselves. Bring John here, will you, Charlie?” Charlie would, and did. Late in the night, the little woman who had wisdom, awakened and smiled, when she heard ascending from the lower fiW, the rumble of contented masculine voices raised in their old-time friendsMp song.

He missed John’s friendship