Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-12-26


turned to go her way-and her pocket-book
was gone.
The passers on that crowded thorough
fare might have thought there was little
mad woman scurrying around there for the
next five minutes; and so many of them
assisted her in the search that, as a bee
gets wind of sweets, policeman presently
came bearing down upon them and scat
tered them by his appearance. 1t was no.
where on the sidewalk, or the grating or
the gutter If it had flown out of her hand
III her grasping for her bonnet, it had been
swept along by the crowd If purse
snatcher had it, he had made off with it.
She had lost her money and she had lost
her earrings.
Her first impulse was to rush into the
jewelers. shop and demand her earrings
back. But, of course, they wouldn't give
them back and Mr. Sparkler might speak
of it to Harry. And if she told the po-
liceman, again it might get to Harry S
| ears. And at last, the tears pouring down
her face, obliyious of all she saw, she hur-
ried home and wept herself into bed with
a sick headache. Her earrings, her money,
and all possibility of her Christmasing
were gone-for what could she do without
a cent, and with all the brothers and sis
tiers, nephews and nieces to be provided
for and between the pangs of head and
stomach her mind rummaged her draw
ers and wardrobe shelves for things that
might he transformed into gifts \ mes
sage had come from Harry that he should
not dine at home and she need not sit up
for him, but could spend her evening spec
ulating as to whether he was detained at
the club or at champagne lunch, or by a
| Yachting or a racing or a theater party
| OF course, she only cried the harder, and
| Josephine bathed her head till midnight
and when Mrs. Trench awolle in the morn
ing aas1 found Harry beside her, she shut
her eyes again in twinkling, meaning to
keep them shut till he was up and gone.
She was far too deeply hurt to have any
! thing whatever to say to him. And she
did not descend to the breakfast table till
she thought he was well out of the house
To her amazement Mr.. Trench sat there
with his morning paper, in the sun, hav-
ing breakfasted, but wishing apparently
for the privileges of another cup of coffee
with her. Do you suppose | didn't see
/ You open your eye and shut it ~ he cried
quite gayly. @ never knew how bright
your eyes were before. That was really
done like flash Hurt because | STAYED
late at the club? Well, | wasn't at the
club. ! made a ten-strike yesterday, and
| think little opera tonight would be
in order. How do you like that ?" And
he took couple Of tickets from his waist.
coat-pocket, magic talismans that opened
the gates of music and joy to the little
being opposite, whose ribbons huttered
and whose eyes sparlled, whose bushes
came and whose dimples deepened, till she
had to laugh with him and say to herselt
that bygones must be bygones between
husbands and wives, and run round the
table and kiss him, and shed two or three
tears sacred to the memory of anger. grief
remorse, agitation, and the far-off, unat
tanned and dim. Poor, pretty Mrs. Trench
After dinner she came down ready for the
fray, in her white fur opera cloak with it.
rose-colored satin Innings, and her rose
colored bit of hat, tremulous with white
marabouts and gold-tipped sprays and
spires over her lovely rosy face. dressed
for the warpath?' said her husband gaily
pulling on his gloves. Fit for conquest
That's the way like to see my wife look
And that's pretty hat, by the way"
" made it myself, to-day !" she CRIED
triumphantly.
" It's work of art" he said. "And you
have genius for millinery" and then he
looked her over from head to foot. "There
won't be such little beauty in the whole
house" he said "Where are your dia.
monds? You've forgotten your earrings
Run and put them in and make haste
we're little late as it is"
Mrs. Trench turned so pale that the
| powder stood on her face like blue bloom
Oh, people don't wear earrings now" she
managed to say, although her lips seemed
too much to move
" Don't earrings? How long since ?'
"Oh, they're quite gone out" she said
gathering heart
"Gone out? Half the women / meet
have them in. Come, make haste"
"You're very much mistaken" cried
Mrs. Trench then. Nobody thinks o
such thing. And | should think ought
to know as much about the fashions as {
man. And nobody pretends to wear dia
monds at all now, anyway. They're al
given up for colored stones
don't care if they havel" exclaimed
Mr.. Trench hotly. {" L thought womer
were supposed to dress to please their hus
bands, and | like to see you with your dia
monds-"
q" couldn't wear them any way, Vol
know she said, sure that she had hit OF
the right reason at last; " for you see it.
so long since i wore them that my ear
ought to be quite grown up"
- Now, look here, Mabel, saw you with
some Roman pearls in your ears night be
fore last So what's the use of talking
If you don't hurry we shall lose this car
and have to go to the expense of hack
1--WE needn't wait another moment
said Mabel. Pm quite ready And Pn
not going to wear the earrings, so there.
no need of delaying"
"Now, Mabel, why do you want to max,
such fuss about nothing? It's absolutel,
essential to my credit that you shall bt
seen well dressed. And if you can't obig,
me by wearing these diamonds, you car
just go up stairs and take off your things
and we won't go at all. So do as vol
please" and he waited half a moment
"What do you think? ~ he said pleas
antly.
think you're terrible tyrant !" she
cried, passionately, "and you rob every
pleasure of its honey And don't care
whether go or mott And she fiuttepeC
up stairs and flung herself down in dazet
bewilderment.
What was there for her to do she asked
herself And what must her husband
think of her, so stubborn and wavwarc
that she would rather keep him at home
from the opera, their rare and costly pleas
ure, than give up her way about trifie
What did she care what such husband
thought. And yet, if she did, and she
returned on the vicious circle what wa.
there for her to do? And all at once :
bright and evil thought smote her. Jose
phine-the second girl she remembered
that no great while ago she had seen il
Josephine's ears two bits of glass or paste
Alaska diamonds, may be, that had cost
10 cents; and she wondered why girl il
Josephine's position wanted to make be-
lieve she had diamonds in her ears, which
if they were real diamonds, would only be
a disgrace to her, and how she could spend
cent for finery, anyway, when all the
family were trying to save every dollar for
the operation on the blind mothers ewes
And now, to ask favor of Josephine, to
whom that very morning she had been