The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1882-02-22
Mrs. Symington's Bargain

weaknesses, and Mrs. Stanhope Sym
ington was q china maniac, as are most
people to some degree in this aesthetic
nineteenth century of the world. But
Mrs. Symington excelled in the matter.
She would prowl in secondhand stores,
penetrate into the cavernous recesses of
tenement. houses, drive long distances
into the country to old homesteads
where she had heard vague umo con
corning 'Aaring blue" "old green
glaze" "butterAy yellow and genuine
old India wares" She would remorse-
lessly turn the choicest pieces Of mod
ern bric-a.brac from her tables to make
way for spoutless tea-pots, cracked
bowls and noseless jugs. She crowded
her drawing.room with brackets, shelves
and cabinets for the accommodation of
ancient plates, which she called
"plaques," and pitchers, which she re-
christened "vases."
Mr.. Symingtop, a meek little man
with limp yellow.white hair, a flat nose
and colorless eyes like dim glass mar
bles, began to fud it no slight task to
make his way through his own house
without breakage or misfortune.
II wish there was not such q thing as
old china in the world" he lamented
upon one particular occasion, after he
had knocked a handleless cup from a
tripod draped in olive velvet.
"Stanhope," reproved his wife. not
without severity, "would you retard
the progress of modern civilization?
This cup, fragile as It may seem, repre-.
sents an era in decorative history"
swell, it won't represent it much
longer" observed Mr., Symington, as
he gathered up the fragments with
something very like vindictiveness in
his faded eyes.
"But, Stanhopa." cried his wife,
"what are you going to do with those
pieces?"
"1hrow 'em into the ash barrel, 10
course" said Mr.. Stanhope, spiritlessly.
But Mrs. Symington rescued them
from his grasp with a shrek of appre.
hension.
"Are you mad, my dear?' she ejacu.
lated. al can mend them with q little
cement and a great deal Of time; and
even then / wouldn't take twenty dol
lars for this exquisite cup. And T have
been thinking, Stanhope-"
"Well, my DEAR" said the luckless
~iconoclast, looking dolefully at his
finger which had been cut with one of
The pieces OF broken crockery, "what
have you been t~hinking"
"That I should like to go up into
Maine next week." said the lady, in
sinuatingly.
"lnto Maine? In midwifery
cchctd her amazed spouse, opening the
dim eyes very wide indeed.
10 see Aunt Grizzel," explained
Mrs. Symington-'my Amt Grizzel
G,umpton, you know, at Wild River"
"Humphl' remarked Mr.. Syming
ten. bandaging his finger with his
pocket handkerchief. II didn't know
that you cared so very particularly
about your Aurt Grizzel."
my DEAR" said Mrs. Symington,
merging her speech into a mysterious
whisper, "Ive just remembered, all OF
o sudden as it were, that she has a set
OF very old ia,ing blue china. She
must have. 1t belonged to her moth err
before her; and how I've forgotten It all
these years I'm sure I can't imagine.
Even now I shouldn't have recalled it
to my memory, I suppose, il l hadn't
CHANGED to zee, at Mrs. Hepburn's
afternoon tea yesterday, the darlingist
little egg.shell cups, with bridges and
papodas and willow trees all wei EN-,
exactly such as Aunt Grizzel's mother
used to have. Then it came to me like
o fash OF Ii. Ltning-Aunt Grizzelis
china!'
"Probal.ly it's all broken by this
time elcomily suggested her hus-
band.
"Nopsense" said Mrs. S~ymiDgton,
briskly. "Auut Grizzly never broke
anything in her life. She is careful.
ness itself; and up there in Maine, you
know, they don'thuve clumsy mattresses
to fling things about. NJ, no you
may depend that she has it all safe and
sound in one Of those odd little three
cornered cupboards of hers. A treasure,
Stanhope, a perfect treasure. Money
wouldn't buy such a set as that; a
hundred years old, If it's a day. So, if
.ou won't mind, my dear, III just run
up to Maine, ard sec about it."
"Do as you please, Arabella," said
Mr.. ~SymiDetop, lcsiguedly. He knew
that Mrs. SJm;ngton generally did as
she pleased, and be saw no especial ad.
vantage in delating tie question.
"Thanks. dear; 80 kind of you!
uttered Mrs Symin2ton. land OF
course I can't. go to the polar regions
entirely unprotected, SO I'll order
one OF those comfortable seal dol.
mans that everybody is wearing now,
and q new plush hat with a cluster OF
ostrich tips. One must 60 dressed like
other people; and ii you can give me
TWENTY-FIVE or thirty dollars | dare say
Aunt Grizzly will let me have the set
for that (she don't know the value of
old china, poor thingD and the jour
ney won't be more than thirty dollars
both ways, if I so by Sea. including a
s~tateroom."
ut appears to me-" said MIR. Syming-
ton, discouraQingly, "that this is a
good deal of a wild goose chase, going
dancing up to the northern boundaries
Of Maine at this time OF year for an old
set Of trumptry china which probably
didn't cost len dollars to start With"
"Oh, Stanhope, it did !" cried the
lady, Indignantly. "It was real India