The Red Cloud chief., 1881-01-27
UNAVAILABLE TALENTS.

UNAVAILABLE TALENTS.
My wife and looked at each other
In blank despair. We are such lively
people that il is very seldom we are
both blue at once, but this time we had
good and sufficient reason. We had
come TO our last dollar. We had no
certainty of getting am more money,
and we were too honest 10 wish 90 be in
debt This was an extraordinary posi-
ton for us, as We were o hsidered by
all who knew us 10 be such .'uncom-
monty talented people. | was always
told in college that if | would apply my
self L might easily stand first in my
class, though in point of fact | stood
somewhere in the twenties, | believe. /
have since sometimes wondered IL ap-
plicatiOn may not be itself a separate
talent, Instead of being within the reach
oil all. as is often supposed. Ny wife
was always the life of any company.
She was As pretty and trim "A woman rs
You would wish to see, and she sang
ballads with really wonderful express
sion. never saw a woman who APP
preelated j,ko so quickly, and in
amateur thAttricals she was irresistible.
Her talents vent wen farther than this.
She e poetry so beautifully that ev-
erybody cried; and, on the other hand,
she WAS so fond of mathematics that
she studied CONC sections one winter by
her-clf, for fun" We were both YER
S~satile, we were both lively, we were
both mercuriai.
Now, however, we had 10 money, and
very little lou in the hpu0. Ny wife
had made a nice iohnny-cske for the
delcctation of the children at supper,
and they had zone Ia bed content. and
were now peacefully sleeping. Mean
time it became absolutely necessary for
us To face our fate. ] was Il lawyer. |
= chose that profession, not from any
= hnate sympathy with if, but because /
fould not be a clergyman. and would
not be a physician. OF course | began
To practice in the city; for though there
seemed 10 be no opening there. | liked
to live in the city. You know the
theater, and music, and books, and
pictures, and society. can hardly be had
in the country. If | had bcen less tai
' ented-a mere clod-hopper-I could
havcg0ne without the rcEnemcnts of life
and been happy. As it was, it did not
once occur to me that leould live in the
country. need not SAY my practice
amounted TO nothing. Those who have
tried the same experiment know that
some years elapse before n maintenance
can be counted upon. However, | lived
MEANWHILE on a modest legacy which
had descended to me from an aunt, and
married Il wife. Florence had no money
and no experience # housekeeping;
but | hope L should not marry as |
would select a servant. We got on
beautifully in spite of the quicksands
which already present themselves to the
Readers mind. In the first place, we
! had no end of good times together, so
our life was a success so far. and | know
we were so happy that we made every
body around Us happy too. And we
lived within our means, small as they
were. We would nave liked a million,
and 1 really think we could have spent
if rroiitably; still we were not extrav-
= agant, and both of us We're honorable
and conscientious. We were at peace
with all the world. and considered our
selves noble in character and talented
in mind.
q Unfortunately the failure of the bank
in which my legacy was invested
changed the aspect of things. We
smiled at first, because we thought we
should respect ourselves more if we
were brave. And our friends said we
bore il ch~armingly. but of course it
is not rs if you had not Your practice"
This was very well, but privately we
knew that the practice would hardly
keep us in boots and shoes; and then
>had practiced long enough now TO find
out | hated it. was MOI meant for a
LAWYER, and, to speak after the manner
of the MethodiStS, it would have been
..indulging a false hope to suppose |
ever should succeed. 1t seemed imper-
alive that | should look to some other
source for an income. l had written a
Siay for the ..Grecian Club" TO which
we belonged, the year before. which
had oeen received with prolonged APP
plause: but now, when | wrote another.
and offered it to a manager, he declined
with thanks. l had also written Uers dc
socicte which had been pronounced by
cool critics as witty as Holmes but
when | sent them TO the magazines. /
received a neat printed circular SAYING
that, lowing to the overcrowded state
of the MARKET" they could not accept
ANYTHING more at present, but urgingm
TO believe that want of literary merit
had nothing whatever to do with their
rejection.
Florence. getting desperate, adver-
tised for private pupils in mathematics;
. but the only one who appeared was
Hent on studying logarithms, which she
had found so tedious when 4 schoolgirl
that she had skipped them altogether.
This was too bad, for she is really a
enlendid mathematician, as far as the
principles 60, and that is probably
che reason she hates eternal figuring S
much
With her music the contrary is true.
Sbe knows nothing about the theory,
hut her practice isex9uisite; soof course
she cannot give lessons
She sews very well, L believe AT
least we are all kept neat and whole
and she has good taste; but she says her
A;tches will not bear examination. and
n she tried to sew better, she should
work so slowly that she could not earn
her salt. Her housekeeping is very
DLeasant. 1 know; but We have a nun
dred little idiosyncrasies which would
make taking boarders impossible, even
If II were not i~ntolerab'e, SO we have
fever seriously considered that ques-
ton.
1t will probably be thought cold
blooded in me to speak in this way Of
nv wife's earning anything. especially
when. now we had dismissed our girl,
she had everything to do for the chill
dren and for me; and, in fact, l did not
mhan she should do anything, but she
was ALWAYS bordering the matter. and
In some dark moments | gave in a little
myself. 1 thought would commit sui
eide, and let her support the children
II is obvious that now neither OF u
felt as sure of u elevated character o