Literature.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 260, 7 November 1904, Page 4

Literature.

0 i JOHN SUTHERLAND'S REVOLT. John Sutherland was the local manager of the Universal and Provincial Bank at little Peddlington. He was the possessor of a pretty little house a. small but certain income, and a contented mind. In addition to this he was the husband of a, wife who was not ornly sweet and charming, but aiso smart, dainty, and pretty. Clearly then he ought to have been a happy man. But, to this imperfect •world, there is almost always a drawback of some kind, and for John Sutherland, the. fly in his ointment, the thorn'in his'rose-bush, the discord in his symphony, the tintack in bis tyre, was represented by Iris worthy mother-in-law, Mrs Granderside. Now mothers-in-law in the abstract have, no doubt, suffered a grievous injustice at the hands of the world, being in the'main an excellent and praiseworthy body, who have for centuries been malgiiied without any adequate reason. But Mrs. Granderside seemed to conceive that it was her mission in life to live up to the reputation which had been assigned J)y humourists and others to the abstract mother-in-law. She had made a good start by coming to live with her daughter as soon as ever she had returned from the honeymoon ; and from, the very first she had impressed upon ner".the necessity of "keeping a husband in his place, my dear." Ethel Sutherland was of a weak and yielding nature, and no mateh for her strong-minded, mamma ; while John Was a man of the "anything for peace nad.quietness order," who Sid has utmost to conceal bis distaste for the perpetual nagging to .which Mrs. Graudarside subjected him.

She would not even allow him to Consume his breakfast in peace. "Now, the©, John, hurry up, or pou will be late at the bank. I call it disgraceful that, at your tame of life you should have to walk into

Little Peddlington every morning, instead of having your own brougham, ] *>r. at least a dog-cart ! But you eeem giuite content to muddle along as you are without even making an effort to improve your position for dear Ethel's sake. ' John had heard all this kind of thing before, and he adopted his usual of listening in silence, jvhicb',..iTU]fortuuately, had the effect of goading on Mrs. Orandersdde to further efforts, in the hope of " really rousing Mm," which she felt was jnhat was needed for his soul's good. " I'm sure I don't know how any .daughter of. mine came to marry such a poor-spirited creature," she snapped out, fieieely. But the only reply pi the " poor-spirited creature" was a, silent feeling of wonder that any ; man whatever should have been found to marry a daughter of here. But when he went out into the hall, followed by his pretty little wife, Who helped him pn with bis overpoat, she whispered to him, " You < mustn't mind A'hut mamma says, Johnnie; I'm sire she nieans well ; and I believe she thinks a lot of you, really, only sle won't own it." " 1 shouldy t mind her meaning a little less will, : if she could only conitrive to do/t a'little more agreeably" said John/ kissing his wife good-bye, and smiling good naturedly ; for he guite retlised that his wife was not in any way responsible for her mamma's trying characteristics. Whei he was gone', his wife tried to BUgg'St to, .Mrs Granderside that she supM ibe a, little less vinegary in Jk- treatment of ''dear John." ' Really, mamma, Johnnie works ffiry hard ; and he is eerftainly most generous in regard to the money that i /he earns." i

\ . / Mrs. Uranderside sniffed contemp-' f - Suously. i aMy dear Ethel," she said em-. 1 - phatically, '' however excellent and praiseworthy you may consider a man's conduct to tic, you should never let ham suspect that you think well of him. He gets an attack of swelled head at onue, and then all your influence over him is gone." Ethel did not in the least agree With her mamma's opinion in this particular case ; but she had learnt by experience that, when the maternal view ' differed from her own, it pas best to keep her own view discreetly in the 'background. '' Believe me, my dear Ethel," added Mrs Granjderside, by way of clinching- the argument, " you can't toe too strict in keeping a, husband in lOrder."

Her rule of life was that " men must work and women must nag " ; and, like all enthusiasts, she was apt Ito overlook' the fact that, if the mugging is overdone, it may make the forking on the part of the man, almost an impossibility. According she went off to her bedroom perfectly satisfied with the reWilt of her dai'ly encounter with her (son-in-law. Mrs. Sutherland went off Ito her housekeeping duties wishing Ithat <l«ar mamma was not "quite so Heavily down upon her good-temper-ed hubby. I Meanwhile the good-temperod hubfcy was making his way totihcUt- . We Peddlington Bank, wondering, in the recesses of his soul, whether the| (time had not almost arrived for a revolt, against the tryanny of Mrs. ■■GramdersMc, which Should result in . her being sent to live elsewhere. J It is, however, extremely difficult Joe a good-natured man to juake up 1 his mind to take any drastic step (likely to result in a domestic dis- [ turbaace without having some social and exceptional motive ; and at present John Sutherland did not fluite see his way to explaining to his mother-in-law precisely why she bad got to Make hep home elsewhere. At allout four o'clock Mint aftertnoon a cab drove up to the Suthcrttands. front "door, and the driver Wimfcsa down from his box, a ud rang (violently at the bell. Ethel was out Msiting one 'of her neighbours, who was givjaig what is unkindly known

as a " muffin worry," but Mrs. Uranderside was at home, and at onae pricked up lier ears on hearing the sound of wheels. When this was> immediately followed by a peal at the bell she looked u.itof the window and a momenrt later she saw a sight that filkd her with horror and indignation. For inside the cab was John Sutherland, in a state, more or less, of collapse, with a bandage round his head, and while she peei'ed out of the window she saw turn being helped up, "the steps |by \tihe dnjivr er on one side and the parlourmaid on the other.

Now Mrs. Qrandersdde was a woman who never flinched from her duty, however painful it might be, and she at once turned and hurried downstairs to meet her erring son-iu4aw. The cabman and cite parlourmaid together succeeded in carrying himj into the dining-room, where he was already deposited in an arm-chair when "Mrs. Uranderside appeared upon the scene. Having paid the cabman, and told the servant to go upstairs and see that her master's rqouu was ready to receive him, she turned to her son-in-law, determined to deal faithfully with him for the good of his soul.

" And so, John Sutherland," she said indignantly, " this' is the climax of your dissolute behaviour ! You go out nil the luncheon hour and get intoxicated, and then you get involved in a drunken brawl, which sends you home in a dsireputablc condition like this."

J ohm looked up at her with a rather overworked smile. " Hear lady," he said, speaking with some difficulty " what extraordinary penetration you possess ! You described the whole scene exactly as if you had been' present, which relieves me of the painful necessity of going into details myself." "Oh ! I fancy I can see what is going on as well as most people ! " said Mrs. Granderside, flattered by this tribute to her powers of penetration. "But the thing to be done now is to get you to bed as quickly as possible, so that poor dear Ethel may hot see you in your present condition."

John was evidently not in a state to do anything but. acquiesce, and as soon as the servant reappeared on the scene, she ami Mrs. Granderside helped him up to his r o om and put him to bod, where, fortunately, before very long he fell into a sound slumber, which was certainly the best thing that could have happened under the circumstances. (To bi continued.)