Henry Bennett speaks from beyond the grave about his marriage to Jenny, a much younger woman. He spent his last years worn out trying to keep up with her energy, believing his intelligence and refinement should be enough. Only at the end does he realize that Jenny never loved his mind—she kept praising a local man’s physical strength—and that she likely married him for his money. The final twist is that she inherited everything and immediately married that very man, Willard Shafer. Bennett’s tone is bitter, rueful, and dryly funny; he calls Willard a “mount of brawn” and a “clownish soul,” but the joke is on him. The mood is darkly ironic: an old man realizing too late that he was used.
Hon. Henry Bennett — Summary
It never came into my mind Until I was ready to die That Jenny had loved me to death, with malice of heart. For I was seventy, she was thirty—five, And I wore myself to a shadow trying to husband Jenny, rosy Jenny full of the ardor of life. For all my wisdom and grace of mind Gave her no delight at all, in very truth, But ever and anon she spoke of the giant strength Of Willard Shafer, and of his wonderful feat Of lifting a traction engine out of the ditch One time at Georgie Kirby’s. So Jenny inherited my fortune and married Willard— That mount of brawn! That clownish soul!