the next morning his empty purse would
gape at him, and Annie's mouth would quiver. A man must have his glass
too, on Sundays, and--well, perhaps a little oftener. He had not always
been fit to go to work after it; and Annie's mouth would quiver. It will
be seen at once that it was exceedingly hard on a man that his wife's
mouth should quiver. "Confound it! Why couldn't she scold or cry? These
still women aggravated a fellow beyond reason."

Well, then the children had been sick; measles, whooping-cough,
scarlatina, mumps, he was sure he did not know what not; every one of
them from the baby up. There was medicine, and there were doctor's
bills, and there was sitting up with them at night,--their mother
usually did that. Then she must needs pale down herself, like a poorly
finished photograph; all her color and roundness and sparkle gone; and
if ever a man liked to have a pretty wife about, it was he. Moreover she
had a cough, and her shoulders had grown round, stooping so much over
the heavy baby, and her breath came short, and she had a way of being
tired. Then she never stirred out of the house,--he found out about that
one day; she had no bonnet, and her shawl had been cut up into blankets
for the crib. The children had stopped going to school. "They could not
buy the new arithmetic," their mother said, half under her breath.
Yesterday there was nothing for dinner but Johnny-cake, nor a large one
at that. To-morrow the saloon rents were due. Annie talked about pawning
one of the bureaus. Annie had had great purple rings under her eyes for
six weeks.

He would not bear the purple rings and quivering mouth any longer. He
hated the sight of her, for the sight stung him. He hated the corn-cake
and the untaught children. He hated the whole dreary, dragging, needy
home. The ruin of it dogged him like a ghost, and he should be the ruin
of it as long as he stayed in it. Once fairly rid of him, his scolding
and drinking, his wasting and failing, Annie would send the children to
work, and find ways to live. She had energy and invention, a plenty of
it in her young, fresh days, before he came across her life to drag her
down. Perhaps he should make a golden fortune and come back to her some
summer day with a silk dress and servants, and make it all up; in theory
this was about what he expected to do. But if his ill luck went westward
with him, and the silk dress never turned up, why, she would forget him,
and be better off,