Hillsdale Whig standard. (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1846-1851, 1850-08-20
The Centre Table.


which to furnish il; and indeed our parlor is
quite singular without il, they are 80 common
now.'
'Well. Mary, replied the husband, the
house 10 your domain. you know. Arrange
il 70 your own taste.
Mr.. N. was talented young lawyer, in
pleasant New England town. devoted 10 his
profession, and fond VI his wife. Al the
time of .heir marriage, he built moderate
house, convenient and well proportioned, 10
the planning Of which his wife was consulted,
and gratified entirely. He left il pretty much
to her, and her good taste and discretion went
no further than their present means allowed
and wants REQUIRED. The toniness ola young
cougenial couple like George and Mary n.
is easily eontented; il is too happy IN itseli,
to be disturbed by the Suggestions OF luxnFy
and ambition.
During the first year of their married lie,
and wkie az yet tho success oft young
lawyer was prubleulatcs!, the wife prided
herself on the sorupuous, bat not niggardiy
economy with which she regulated her out
lays; but now that his reputation was estab-
!ished, and his income considerable and In
cressng, she thought their circumstances
not only justified, but demanded aolne mode
rate expenditures ia the way Of gratifying
taste.
The centre table was procured, therefore,
and duly placed in the middle Of room Of
fifteen by sixteen. IL looked newer than
the surrounding furniture O! the apartment,
but was not otherwise out OF keeping with
il.
'How do you like it husband? Don't you
think have arranged il prettily; and Is II
not an addition To the room'
An addition il obviously vs. replied the
husband, 'and an agreeable one, in as much
as il pleases you--iffor no other reason
i knew you would approve of it, the wife
continued; and really the room has so long
had that stereotype look, that It is time some
little change were made to relieve the sense
Of sameness.'
Husband said Mary few weeks after
4 find the parlor appears small--ndeed It Is
rather cluttered--since We have the centre
tabeLhore is hardly room to get about IN It.
Mrs. c., who was in here this morning, and
indeed several ladies have remarked It.
have been thinking how to remedy it. We
have only 10 enlarge the house little Oh that
side. II will give us more room above, also
as well as below; the cast will not be much,
and it nesd not interrupt youin your business,
as can see to it. You know you are often
oomplimonting me with these words OF king
Lemuel, 'the heart of her husband doth safe
ly trust in heI, 80 trust me in this, aud It will
be done
! VERY well, wife, consult your own wishes
In the matter. 1t may be more OF job than
you think; and perhaps that you viii conclude,
in the end, that the better way had been 10
dispense with the table, instead OF stretching
+ the house to accommod1se-it- However, IT
you can put up with the dust and confusion
/ of IT, | have no objection
L think we can afford the expense said
the wife and as for dust and disorder, that
will soon be over, What | most regret is.
that it will disturb the shrubbery and shades
on that side But they will grow again
The carpenters were Get at work, therefore.
and the consequences was the eiongatlon OF
I the house by several feet.
In refitting the room, tho carpet was of
course too small, and a new one had to be
bought and the same was the case with the
floor above. This was anticipated; but there
was a0other consequence of the enlargement
winch had somehow not been thought Of; the
fire. place was no longer where it should be.
IL seemed 10 have removed itself almost into
a corner Of the room.
This was a sad blemish IN the oye of a lady
of so much taste as Mrs. ~, and the more
vexatious, as she herself was responsible -
! TO pull down and rebuild the chimney was
the only way to remedy il, and this, for the
present, she did not venture TO propose.
Mrs. n. was not ambitious, or not unreas-
onably so, but she loved symmetry and fitness,
and could not soe things distorted or'out of
Sorts With all her natural force of charac-
Ter, she could not conteat herself TO see the
! fireplace where II was; aud when summer
came around again, the workmcn were re-
called and the chimney moved.
The room was now complete, and as II shoe
! be, except that the ceiling was little too
! low to suit its enlar ged dimensions. But the
| external proportions of the house had suffer
| cd. The frodt door and windows were AS
| much out of place ss the hearth within had
/ been. This was another unforeseen result.
| Il was endured three or four years, till tho
wife proposed u remove tho defect by an eX-
! tension Of the house on that side equal to the
other.
Alas! the necessity ofgoing on, whom one
| has once embarked in it, the niece replied.
! 'Realy, this altering an old houso--though
1 this ia not an old one--is like the beginning
of strife, and the letting odt Of waters. But
/ for that unlucky centre table, tho house was
we'll enough as it was, and | wish It had SO
remained. But now it is a standing slur up
/ on our taste. 1t needs the addition TO res
tore il to somo shapeliness; and besides. as
our children grow older, we shall find moro
room convenient. And as Mr.. N. has no ob
/ lection, think wo will proceed
In the execution of this resolve, moro
shrubbery had to be sacrificed; nor was that
! the worst To accommodate the house,
It was ne ecessary TO shove the husbands Office
farther, and, as tho ground ;bccame sloping,
! il was found necessary TO raise high wall OF
mason work for its reception.
And now, was the house symmetrioali 1t
was anything but that. Its length was too
great for its elevation. II looked like poI.
ton of rope walk. Tho protector Of all
these fno improvements wished hundred
times tha, il had remained as il was in those
sunny days when she and her husband found
| il Just to their minds, who would have
thot,' said she, that all this would have come