The Portland daily press., 1883-12-25

all. The times are too hard for us to fool
away any money on fellows like Potter. The
man is well enough and I find no fault with
his work, but if he gets enough to eat and to
wear these times he ought 10 be thankful.n
My blood began to boil at what / heard
and I confess that /, then and there. COM
mitted an outrageous assault on the old man.
ITO allay the Indignation of the reader that
l could so far forget myself as to strike an
old man. I will explain that the assault was
mentally
'But learn that Mr.. Potter is about to
be married, y | heard Mr.. Psalter 60 on, in a
conciatory tone, "and be will need more
money to meet his increased expenses
ssBoshp p blurted out the senior partner,
.Let him commence his housekeeping in an
attic as l did"-Here the door was shu and
I heard no more of the conversation. but the
result proved that Mr.. Psater carried his
point in some way; for when / drew my
next months salary, it was increased by the
sum of eight dollars and thirty-three and
one-third cents.
The two weeks leave of absence we spent
10 the country at my wfes old home aud
happy time we made of it, too. We were
looking forward, with all the ardent antic-
pations of a newly married couple, to our
housekeeping in the city, yet, when the time
came for US to go, we were downright sorry !;
but we could not tarry. / knew that with
Messrs. Sley, Psalter & Co. my leave OF alb
sence meant just two weeks aud not an hour
more; SO we yielded to the inevitable and
made ready to depart. | remember that it
was a beautiful May morning, when the en-
tire family assembled in front OF the farm
house to see us of.
My wifes father, shrewd old farmer, who
bad learned good deal of certain kind Of
wisdom by butting his head againstthe hard
facts that abound in farmers life very
much as granite boulders are said to abound
on farm in Raymond, took advantage OF
the occasion to give us some good ADVICE -
advice that was calculated to add much to
my efficiency as the founder ola new family;
but, unfortunately, it never became of any
practical service to me. I could never re-
member it, until it was too late to be OF use.
Then my wife's mother, a timid little
woman, who knew much more about pigs
and poultry, butter and cheese, than she did
about the ways of the world, gave US her
bit of homely advice, which we remembered
long.
"Now, AImeda,' said the good woman,
addressing herself more especially to my wife,
'.don't you never invite any of your Harmt :
ny cousins to visit you. If you do they'll
plague you to DEATH"
Under cover of the general laugh that fol-
lowed this singular advice, we drove off; but.
for many a day afterwards, orr Harmony
cousins we're to us never failing source OF
amusement aud many were the jokes we
cracked at their expense. After time, how
ever, the subject grew stale and gradually fell
into disfavor.
For two years and day, things went on
smoothly and pleasantly with the new family
10 the little tenament In Swinton. My wife
found the city very different from her old
home in the country, and think she pinned
somewhat at first, for the free air and green
fields, but when third member, liny,
bal i-headed, blue-eyed boy, was admitted to
our firm, she seemed to enter on new life.
All feeling OF discomfort disappeared and our
humble home became the very METROPOLIS of
domestic felicity.
1t strikes me, as write, that some OF these
facts are, in measure, irrelevant, that they
have much more to do with my own feelings
than with the story / commenced to tell.
The impatient reader would pardon me, |
am sure, if he only knew how it warns Gay
heart to linger over the story of those happy
days. Like ghosts, we all love to haunt the
places where we have been vsry happy or
very miserable.
reader, will pull out from the eddy in which
[ have been circiug about and will move
down the current of events. The second
day of the third year of our welded life
proved hard one FIR me. remember now
that during all the day before, the columns of
figures that added brought totals of the
most singular combinations, sure precursor
OF some misfortune, as have often noticed.
Then, when went home at night, Isaw the
new moon over my lett shoulder ought to
have noticed the warning, but didn't, and |
never went to my work with lighter heart
than on that same second morning of our
third year.
In the first place, pork dropped dollar GU
a barrel. This made old Sley unusually ugly
and Grabbed all day. did my best to please
hin, but be would not be pleased any way.
He scolded and fdmed about the office until
was nearly distracted. By four o'clock in
the afternoon, my own temper was just
ready to explode Oh the slightest additional
provocation, when, fortunately, Mr.. Sley
was called out of the office and the threatened
explosions, was ayerted. / heard the door
bang after him, with sigh OF relief. turned
to my WORK, bat had not written ten words
WHEN the door opened again and a stout,
good-uatnred looking young man entered,
nodded Familiarity to my assistant, then cool
ly seated himself in the chair that the senior
partner mad just vacated. pretended not to
see The newcomer. kept writing steadily,
but managed to get good look at the strau
ger over my shoulder. From his air aud dress
I concluded that he was from the country; as
to the probable nature OF hls business IcouJ
not give satisfactory guess.
"A bore of some kind" l mentally groan-
ed Az drove nv pen savagejy across The