The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
Sara's Shawl.

Jonas Pray was born stingy. He hid
his sweetmeats from his little brothers
when he was child, and smoked his
cigars alone when a young man. By
the time he was forty he was very
rich man, though he lived as plainly as
ever; and somehow, about that age the
first tender feelings he had ever known
crept into his heart. He fell in love
with buXom, good-natured young wo-
man named Sara Woolwich, and offered
himself to her. He was not an ill-look-
ing man, and, when he chose could
make himself agreeable. Sara liked
him and accepted him.
Jonas meant to be liberal to her at
first; but after brief honeymoon of
happiness the old habits resumed their
sway. At last, the second winter of
their marriage life coming on, Sara
found that all her remarks about her
shabby summer hat had no effect what
ever, and that she might wait long
while without having such thing as a
comfortable cloak suggested to her. She
had been poor girl, had no trousseau
to speak of, and she found it necessary
to put her pride in her pocket, and ask
for what she needed. 1t was enough
for wife to do that; but to be refused
was something she had not calculated
on. She knew that her husband had a
large bank accOunt-that there was no
reason why she should not dress as
well as any lady in the land; but when
she said painfully, "Jonas, shall | buy
myself some winter things to-day? l
need shawl dreadfullyw he answered
81 thought you were too sensible a wo-
man to run after the fashions, Sara. Pm
sure you have very decent things, that
you might wear a long time yet"
"That shows how much men know"
Sara answered, determined to be pleas
ant and not to show that she was hurt.
"You would not like your wife to look
shabby, Jonas?"
"Well, no, said Jonas-"no; but re-
ally, Sara, money is so scarce just now.
Don't you think you might make what
you have do little longer?"
"How much longer?" she asked,
quietly.
"Oh, don't know" said Jonas. 81
had an aunt-whO left me something
when she died--who wore the same
shawl and bonnet sixteen years, and
bOasted of it, too"
His wife looked at him and said moth
ing.
Economy is great thing, Sara"
said Jonas, uneasily. at would be
dreadful to die in the poorhouse, you
know. And you don't care for other
peoples admiration, do you, Sara when
you know your Jonas likes you just as
well in your, well-saved clothes? We
wont't call them shabby, Sarah, only
well-saved."
"Call them what you please, Jonas
they merit both epithets."
She sat quietly, with her hands folded
on the table before her, for a while.
Her temper was rising fast, but she had
sense enough to crush it down.
A miser is the victim of Il vice that
masters him, just as the drunkard is
Jonas was ashamed of himself even as
he spoke, and she knew it, AS she
looked at him little while, grief came
instead of anger. There was so much
that was good about Jonas. Itwas ter
rible to see this canker creeping over
it ALTO see the pinched lines about
his mouth--the strange, anxious look
In his eyes. Poor Sara remembered
stories she had read of misers-how
they starved themselves while they
counted their gold-how some Of them
died in the dark to save candles-and
how through long illness, one of the
wealthiest of these men refused to have
a pillow brought to him, or even little
saucepan in which to eat his porridge.
Would Jones grow to be as bad as
these? How could she tell9 Once or
twice he had found fault with the
amount used, and moaned over his
butchers bill. But men generally did
something of that sort, she had heard,
and knew nothing about dress. She rose
softly, went out of the room, and
brought back her shawl and bonnet and
put them before him on the table.
"Jonas, dear" she said, 81 don't
want to be unreasonable. Look at these
See how they are! They were nice
when we were married but they were
cheap, very cheap. Cheap things fade
sol | have made everything l had to
or two years. do not like to ask for