Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-09-28
MY WIFE AND l

ing IN the toe Of little Peters stocking, which
she had been trying in vain to devise some
mode OF closing, without destroying the sym
metry of the garment, while pile Of similar
articles of various sizes aud patterns lay at her
elbow, as much in need of mending as an old
rake's habits. There they lay, seven pairs of
little stockings, while their seven daily occu-
pants were snugiy snOozing in bed, forgetful of
the many weary stitches their little feet had
caused; and all around, on tables and chairs,
was scattered prOmiscuOus assortment Of ju-
venlle aprons and dresses, jackets and breeches,
each one bearing its owners mark, in the shape
of rips and rents.
q wish l were rich " repeated my wife
There was strength and heartiness in the
tone aud manner which left no doubt Of her SIN
ceriiy, and in an instant my mind went back
some twenty years 10 the time when We had
been rich in our young love, rich in our mutual
dependence, and rich in the bright hopes which
not only gilded but fairly plated the future all
over with twenty carat plate at least-as togeth-
er we looked down the long vista of coming
years, fair flowers of joy around our feet, ripe
fruits Of happiness over our heads, the richest
of all riches, cOntentment in our hearts and
flour at only FIVE dollars a barrel Almost
twenty years ago those soft hszel eyes that now
beam with tender matrOnly love, first told the
story Of tha. love which those rosy lips (their
bloom has not yet fadej) confirmed; and that
fair round tace, that has grown fairer and rounjs
er, year by year, first lay upon my breast in
maiden trustfulness
We did not fall in love or walk into it, nor
glide into it, but We took it by instinct as ducks
take TO water, and we were married, with
about as idefinte an idea of the modes and
means of meeting our current expenses as a
raw Irishman has Of Egyptian hieroglyphics,
or a charcoal pedlar OF honesty
There must be special providence which
watches over fools and young married people
In point of worldly possessions we commenced
with nothing, and have had it ever since; for
what with the increased expense Of living and
our success in adding to the census returns,
each year finds US as far from the possession of a
respectable competency as its predecessor. FL
nancially we have scrambled along in helter-
skelter way, tumbling into puddles of debt from
time to time, with now and then q long inter
val Of exemption, to be followed by a new tum-
bic and new scramble for safety, until now,
on this cold Saturday night in January, my
wife and l sat cozily by our cheerful fire, she
with a load of unmended and to be mended
stockings on her mind, and /, ostensibly read
ing, trying TO solve the great problem of the
election between supply and demand; at least
so far as 10 make my own weekly supplies COW
er the weekly demands of wife, children, the
grocer and landlord. And so / sat buried in
| thought, now Frightened by remembrances OF
early happiness, and now darkened by shades
of unpaid January bills, which load my desk
making the demand for the great staple, money,
far exceeding the supply, thereby, according
to our best political economists, enhancing its
value.
Meantime my wife, still laboring under the
weight of the stockings, says, for the third time
with increased ferTor and a slight asPerity, as
| though demanding reply;
"Oh, dear dear | wish were rich"
"Riches, my love, take to themselves wings
and fly away" replied, with the air of one
had seen myTiads of tender young dollars put
on their pin feathers, become fully hedped, and
soar away to unknown regions like flock of
wild geese, leaving not even the smell Of money
! behind.
well, if they do, they must go to roost some
where, and | don't see why some OF them can't
settle here as well as elsewhere" said my wife
as she commenced on a fresh stocking; and then
added, with slight dash of acidity-'sThere's
no danger of our riches flying away"
"NO, my dear, the wealth Of loving hearts, Of
unstained cOnseiences, and contented disposi-
tiOns, is a permanent investment and not at all
prone 10 erial flights. These are your only
true riches. With these you are richer than
I NEAEeues MlluuuL llltAls Nu0I AuuEeu-
That's all very well, but that kind Of prop
erty don't constitute legal tender. You can't
pay the grocer with cOnsciences and DISPOSE
tons, however pure and contented- They don't
go half as far as promises, for I've known you
to make them last year. But speaking of the
grocer reminds me that thought saw the bot
tom of the -four barrel this morning"
Now / knew In an Instant that there wasn't
flour enough in that barrel to make q HOmoe-
pathic biscuit, for had a hint of its condition
the day before, in the shape of an inquiry from
my wife, what is flour worth now ~ express
ed in tone intended to indicate that she had
no more interest in the matter than she had ia
the number Of statute miles between the earth
and the moon.
1t is a pleasant little fiction of hers that a
delicate hint relative to the consumptive state of
that important ingredient in domestic economy,
falls more lightly upon the ear of the money
less than the plain and simple, though appalling
sOmetimes-'T The -four barrel is empty" and
bringing the case to mind rather than state it
in plain English. In fact, have sometimes
thought of teaching her to say it in Spanish,
and thus remove a little OF its harshness, but as
she had no aptness for any tongue, except her
own, have abandoned the idea
The purchase Of barrel of -four is an event
in our household economy not to be treated
/ ukully. II EequlIts q PREPARATION duu CoilAl4t-
ration. In the first place, a certain sum Of
money is to be provided to meet the emergency,
for whatever latitude the grocer may allow in
minor matters. when you talk TO him Of -four,
you must produce the qHid pro qHO, or there is
no trade.
The next point to be decided is the selection
of the ''brsnd." This leads TO a friendly inter-
change between the heads of the home depart
ment, which always results in my being com
missiOned to purchase the highest priced article
in the market ami cautioned to avoid all attempts
at false economy by investing in a ehesper
quality. In my younger days, once made a
purchase of a barrel OF second quality las the
grocer called it, to see if my wife would know
the difference; and believe that have had the
biscuit that were made from it thrown at me
| ever since
You should see my wife when she assists at
the opening Of the new barrel, and its snowy
treasures are disclosed to her grateful gaze -
Smiles dimple her rosy checks, and pleasure
sParkles in her eyes How tenderly she lifts
each dipperfull from its receptacle, examines 1t
with the eye of judge, and Pronounees its
quality with the air Of an expert And what
glow Of hOusewifely satisfaction mantles her
fair face when the frst baking confirms her
judgment And then as day BY day, she de-
scends deeper into its Teeesses, each dipPerfull,
snowy though it be, leaves shade upon her
brow, until at last the -four and the smiles and
dlmpies disappear together.