They had been married five years when this supposedly good and moral husband displayed his badness. He brought home a gift to his wife—one he had thought would give her pleasure. She took great pride in her house, and loved to decorate it with odd and beautiful things.
So he had seen this vase in a window and brought it to her, with almost the vanished look of pleasure in his recently lined face.
The wife looked at it, and her brow contracted. Then she said rather petulantly, 'Dear, you would be wise to consult me before you buy anything for the house; you must know by this time that your own taste is not to be relied upon.'
Then the wife stood aghast as the always gentle and kindly man burst forth. He said:
'I will be DASHED if I endure this any longer.'
Having heard his own voice say 'DASHED' for the first time, he grew reckless and continued:
'I am tired of this life; tired of you. I want you to leave me. I once thought I was something of a man, but you have convinced me that I am absolutely worthless, save as a money-maker. You can take my money and go. I will make enough more to keep myself in comfort and peace. You have convinced me that my taste is vulgar; my manners bad; my speech uncouth. You have convinced me that you are a superior woman, and quite as plainly, I am made to understand that I am an inferior man.
'You have changed my open and generous nature. I have never been selfish or niggardly with you; yet you have made me feel that I wronged you by my liberality to my poor relatives. You think I should save this money for some future rainy day. I have grown afraid of having any generous act of mine known, lest it cause reproof and frowns at home.
'You have made me afraid to talk in your presence. You knew I was not a college man when you married me, but since our marriage you have convinced me that I am an utter ignoramus. I am thankful to any one who helps me to improve my speech and manners in the right way, for I am ambitious enough to want to better myself as I grow older.
'But you never permit me to tell a story without taking the words from my mouth and telling it over.