The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-07-22

seemed TO be. And l. knew IL was per-
fectly impossible
How did you know it, may 1 in
quirea"
"Oh, they cost-oh, hundreds of dol
lars. And, of course, the house itself
takes all you can spare But felt that
it would be utterly out of my power to
make that room look anything like what
l wanted without it, And kept sesing
how beautiful it would be with those
gold-colored satin curtains of your aunt
Sophy's falling back from the windows
on each side Of it. And sat down and
stared at the spot, and felt as if didn't
want the house at all if 1 couldn't have
that cabinet. And thought you might
go without your cigars and your claret
and your horses couple of years, and
we could easily have it,"
I" Kind of you, and cheerful for me-"
q" Oh, didn't think anything about
that part of it. just fancy thought
you were the most selfish man in the
world, and 1 was the most unhappy
woman; and all men were selfish, and
all women wero slaves; and-and that
ebony and gold cabinet was obscuring
my whole outlook on life. L felt SO
angry with you, and with fate, and with
everything, that hot, scalding hot tears
would have shaken down if you had
happened to come just then. Well, just
then the whirlwind came up, and the
window places being open, all the dust
of the building, all the shavings and
splinters and lime and sand about, seemed
to make sudden lurch into the room,
and L couldn't see across it. And there
1 was in my new hat And I made for
the door as fast as my feet could fly"
Silliest thing you could do"
"I suppose SO; for when 1 was out
doors, the boards of the scaffoldings
were pitching through the air at such a
rate that 1 could neither stay there nor
go back and 1 saw that little shanty
just round the corner, and ran in
"That was sensible"
"Thanks. And there she was, pots
and pals about the door, and hen just
blowing in before me, and q parcel of
dirty-faced, barefooted children tum-
bling round. And such a place! It
fairly made me low-spirited to look at
it. was in mortal fear of getting
grease spot on my dress. But L was
in before L knew it, and there was no
help for it, and the wind was blowing
so L had to stay"
"And the lady of that house read you
q lesson?"
"Such lesson! You'd have thought.
to begin with, that it was O palace. She
did the honors like little duchess. 1t
didn't occur to her, apparently, that
things were squalid. And that made it
so much easier than if she apologized.
She was trife vexed because the face
of one of the children was not clean,
and afterward she repentingly gave him
the molasses jug to keep him quiet; but
another of the children was such little
darling! Well, presently her tongue
was loose, and had the benefit of her
experience. And l know she has a
good-for-naught of husband, whom
she loves great deal better than love
you-oh yes, she does, for she seems
never to have thought one hard thing
concerning him, and L was thinking so
many of you, you know! And there
she is, and has been, with her cooking
stove and table, her two chairs, bed,
and crib, with q contented spirit and
patient soul, and her highest ambition
and her widest dny-dream just to
have -
can ebony and gold cabinet z"
"Oh, no, no! Do drive faster,
Lawrence. How this horse does crawl
want to get it up to her tonight. A
bureau. To think of it, only a bureau
You needn't laugh at me. I've an awful
cold in my head. And mean she shall
have it. 1 think L can get what she'll
consider beauty, though, for twelve
dollars, or thereabouts. do feel in
such a hurry, when it takes such little
bit to make a woman happy"
" An ebony and gold cabinet, for
instance"
Oh, nonsense! How you do love to
tease, Lawrence I never want to hear
of such thing again. wouldn't have
it now"
"Stop, stop, good wife You'll say
too much. You silly little woman, didn't
you know that ebony and gold cabinet
which You and Mrs. Watrous saw was
made for the place between your
windows p