And his soul came out from his lips and said— Oh, the moon and stars in glory! I know that the grass and the leaves will not tell; That no being shall ever discover From the eager lips of my lover; And the moon and the stars that look over Shall never reveal what a fairy-like spell They wove round about us that night in the dell, A FAMILY JAR. A STORY OF LOVE AND HOME. Philemon Hayes and Fanny Ray had been just three weeks married. They sat at breakfast in their cosy dining-room one fine morning in summer, totally infatuated with each other, Never such happiness as theirs before! The felicity of Adam and his lady before they made the acquaintance of the serpent, was not to be mentioned in the same breath. They kissed each other between every cup of coffee, and embraced twice-sometimes thrice during every meal. Just now they were speaking of disagreements. Some friends of theirs had fallen out and refused to fall in again. "We will never disagree, will we, Phil, dear?” asked Mrs. Fanny. Disagree! will the heavens fall ?" returned Phil. "I sincerely hope not. It would be decidedly disagreeable," laughed Fanny; "but if I thought we should ever quarrel and have harsh thoughts toward each other, I should be tempted to terminate my existence." "My precious Fanny!" cried Phil, springing up and upsetting the toast plate on the carpet, of which he was perfectly oblivious in his eagerness to get his arms around Fanny "My foolish little darling! as if we should ever be so absurd! (a kiss.) May I be quartered (another kiss) if I ever speak one word that shall cause a tear to fill the divine eyes of my dearest (a third explosion) Fanny!" "Oh, how happy you make me, Phil. I shall try so hard to be just the faithful, loving wife you deserve. Now finish your breakfast, deary. The toast will be growing cold. And oh, Phil! did you notice Mrs. Smith's horrid new bonnet last night? I declare it destroyed all my pleasure in the music. I do wish people who wear such untasteful bonnets would stay at home from these delightful concerts!" "So do I, Fanny. I noticed the ugly thing the moment we entered the hall. Blue flowers and pink ribbons, and she as dark as a Creole!" "No, my love; the flowers were green. Green and blue look so much alike by gas light." "I know they do, but I noticed it so particularly that I fould not be deceived. Blue-especially light blue-looks fearfully on a dark-complected woman." "So it does, Phil; I quite agree with you, dear. But the flowers were not blue, they were green. I saw them at Mrs. Gray's shop before they were purchased.” "My dearest Fanny, of course you think yourself right, love, but I have a very good eye for color, and noticed those flowers with great attention. Blue anemones with yellow centres." "Green hibiscus with white centres, my dear Phil. Very pretty for a light-skinned woman, but horrid for a brunette." "Why, Fanny, how absurd! As if I could not determine a color when I studied it half the evening!" "But it was by gas-light, my love. It would look altogether different by daylight. It was such a pale green.” “It was such a pale blue. I remember, I thought of the sky before a storm." "And I thought of the sea. 66 It was nearly sea-green." Why, Fanny, ridiculous! It was sky-blue." 66 How you light green." do contradict me, my Philemon. It was a very "And I insist it was blue." "Do you mean to tell me I lie?" "I mean to tell you, you are mistaken." "Which amounts to the same thing." "You make the application, Mrs. Fanny Hayes.” "Mr Philemon Hayes." "Fanny!" "I say it was green, sir." "I say it was blue, so there!" "You are a wretch, Phil, a real mean, heartless wretch!" and Fanny pushed back her plate angrily. "And you are an opinioned, self-willed woman!" and Phil, in his agitation, upset the coffee, scalding the cat's back and himself at the same time. "The deuce!" cried he, rubbing his red hands with his handkerchief. "I wish I had never seen a woman!" "What's that, sir! You brute!" cried Mrs. Hayes, now thoroughly incensed-" take that," and seizing the plate of muffins she took aim at Phil's head, but, being a woman, her aim was not so accurate as it might have been, and the plate went through the window, smashing the tile of Fitz James Jones, who was passing, and the muffins were scattered in wild confusion about the room. Phil was indignant. He laid his hand on the poker. "Oh, strike!" exclaimed Fanny. "It will be in place with your other conduct. Don't let any notions of honor restrain you, because you never had any." 66 'Fanny, beware, you try me too far." "I'll go home to pa, that I will. You inhuman monster you,--I'll be divorced from you this very day. So there!" and the platter of ham made a journey after the muffins. Just at that moment Phil's Uncle John, a shrewd old fellow, appeared on the scene. He surveyed the group with an anxious twinkle of the eye. "What's the matter, Fanny? Anything gone wrong?" he inquired. "Gone wrong! Matter enough! Oh, Uncle John, he's a wretch, and set out to strike me with a poker." "And she threw a plate of muffins and the ham at me." 66 He's a monster, Uncle John. I'll be divorced from him this very day. He is worse than a savage." "So he is," cried Uncle John, entering warmly into the spirit of the tning," so he is,"-stripping off his coat,—“ and I'll settle the matter at once. You stand back, Fanny; I'll give him such a thrashing as he'll be likely to remember. Striking his wife with a poker, indeed! I'll rectify matters;" and Uncle John grasped the long-handled duster and flourished it threateningly around the head of his nephew. "There, sir, take that! and that! and that!" exclaimed he, bringing down the feathers on the shoulders of the amazed Phil. Fanny, my dear, I'll not leave a bone of him whole." Fanny's round blue eyes had been growing larger and larger and now her indignation broke. John Hayes!" she cried, "you're a heathen and an old, meddling vagabond! Let Phil alone! He's my dear, dear husband, and you've no right to touch him. He's an angel. He never intended to strike me. Be still striking him, or you'll be sorry!" and Fanny seized the broom from behind the door, and prepared to do battle. "Stand back!" cried Uncle John, "he's a monster, and deserves death. The man who would threaten to strike a woman ought to be hung." Fanny's eyes blazed. She flew at Uncle John with the spite of a tigress, and the way the trio went round the room was worth witnessing. Uncle John after Phil with the duster, and Fanny after Uncle John with the broom. Phil made a spring for the window, but there was a whatnot in the way, and getting his leg entangled in that, he brought the whole concern to the floor. Ambrotypes, books, vases, rare china, and a hundred cherished curiosities, all were involved in a direct ruin. Phil went down with the other things, Uncle John stumbled over him, and Fanny only saved herself by seizing the bell-rope, which brought her two servants to the spot. Of course they took Phil and Uncle John for house-breakers, and if Fanny's explanation had not been enforced by sundry touches of her broomstick, the consequences might have been serious. The first moment of calm was seized upon by the young couple to embrace each other. "My angel Fanny!" "My precious Phil!" And then followed an explanation like the bursting beer bottles. Uncle John left the house during this interesting performance, still firmly of the opinion that the surest way of reconciling a wife to her husband is to get a third person to help abuse him. UNITED AT LAST. "O mother! what do they mean by blue? The mother's eyes filled up with tears; And smoothed away from the sunny brow "Why, mother's eyes are blue, my sweet, And the love we bear our darling child "But what did they mean?" persisted the child; "For I saw two cripples to-day, And one of them said he fought for the blue, "Now, he of the blue had lost a leg, And both seemed worn and weary and sad, "They sat on the stone by the farm-yard gate, And talked for an hour or more, Till their eyes grew bright and their hearts seemed warm With fighting their battles o'er; And they parted at last with a friendly grasp, In a kindly, brotherly way, Each calling on God to speed the time Uniting the blue and the gray." Then the mother thought of other days, Two stalwart boys from her riven; |