Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-10-23
and out-goings that al. co,,,a :,

ana s,' out;soings that she could show.
o"s sae Knew that John would moi be
eonslnced: He would. with the incon-
oto eh Ivy at tunes shown by men, reiter-
h us statement that too much had
&c. een expended, and she must econom-
~ w. 1et ne was not really q stinyv
n Ian. OF what Is called a :.poor pro-
sluer On the contrary, his acts of
generosity through life had been
numerous, and he was of an unset
.sn nature, putting himself to inconven-
renee many times for those who had
no clam upon him whatever. His
cneery words aud pleasant smile were
Wen known upon tho street. and & ia
oounttul even if his nearest neichbor
YOU'D have believed that he was dis
Posed 70. draw the purse-strings too
lightly at home. 1t was the result. al
most 'mporceptible in its stealthv fast
en'ns upon HIM, of a long and hard
tTuggie against adverse circumstances.
when MS burdens had been many and
ms benefits few, and it had been only
oy !racticing rigid economy that he
hau Kept honestly afloat. Now that he
u think of the future without mis-
g,v'ngs. he was moi aware how unhap-
PLY the pursuit of the dollar. which Is
indeed almighty" had afflicted him.
His wife saw it, realized that Il was
likely to increase with time, and made
up her mind that there was only one
course which would effectually omen
his eyes. and that course she would
pursue.
John came home to dinner as good.
natured as usual, seemingly without O
thought of tho mornings discussion,
n quite Ignorant that his wife had
been troubled by it the entire day. It
IS ever thus. In the engrossing cares
OF the outside world the memory of
home Misunderstanding does not
leave the lasting sting in the heart of
q husband that is experienced by the
lonely h%ousckeeper whose world is in-
closed in the four wallis of her home,
and who pursues her endless rounds of
duties unenliveued by the sight of fresh
faces. and imbibing no now ideas from
contact with fresh minds.
Molly Weston wisely made no allu-
sion to the disputed question. and gave
no sign of the perturbation of her spir-
it, but greeted her husband cheerily.
set him down to q repast which was in
viting and dainty, without being in the
least extravaganza. Molly had a knack
OF making things look inviting. not
only at the table. but everywhere about
the house. Every nook and corner
bore the impress of he- tasteful fingers.
and as John Weston lit his fragrant
Havana after a hearty dinner. installed
himself in a comfortable armchair be-
fore the glowing fire. and unfolded the
evening paper. he felt supremacy salts
fed with himself and all his posses
sions. Molly vas Il dear little wife.
and contrived to make things wonder
fully pleasant. He believed he'd buy
her a new silk dress when her birthday
came around like the one in Jones'
window VIII CHI she admired so much
the other day. He had growled then
at ''women's extravaganza love of
dress" although Molly d dnot ask him
right out for it. He felt q complacent
n of doing 'the handsome thing"
by Molly. as he sat gazing into the lire
and ~picturing to himself how
pretty the little wife would look in
the grand new dress-almost
as pretty as she did seven years ago
when he was counting her. She looked
a little thin and careworn Dow-got
tired out cleaning house. he guessed
but she'd soon be all right.
The next morning his mood was diff
fcrent. Not but that everything about
the house was as it should be, and
Molly was sweetly fair in the neatest of
wrappers; but somehow he looked
through changed glasses. The money
question worried him again, and he in
turn worried his wife. She must GER
tainly curtail her expenses next month,
or they would be running behind. The
allowance wat liberal, and if Molly only
managed it rightly, would always suf-
flee. Molly did not argue with him
this time. He had things all his own
way; and, when he walked briskly
down town. greeting acquaintance
here and there, he little dreamed what
a disagreeable feeling his words had
left to rankle in his wife's bosom all
day.
In a few days the end of the month
came. John handed Molly the sum
outside of the regular fund required to
settle the bills due, with another adj
duration to avoid so great an expcndi-
ture in the future. The next day he
profered his wife as usual the amount
set aside for the housekeeping. Molly
did not touch it. She dreaded the or
deal. but was determined to go through
with it.
.Here. Molly! What are you stand
ing staring at me like that for? Why
don't you take this money and put it
away?"
"Do you remember. John. what 1
said to you a week ago." asked Molly
very quietly.
Jerusalem! what you said to me a
week ago! Can a man be expected to
remember everything that falls from a
woman's lips? What are you driving
at, anyhow"
lone morning when you said there
shouldn't be so much spent this month
if you had to carry the purse yourself.
and I told you that YOU would have
to-" continued Mrs. Weston quietly:
"Oh, bother! IS that what you're
coming to? You don't pretend to say
you're going to stick out about that,
do you?" and John laughed.
mo, don't pretend to say it" re-
peated Molly. with sudden firmness in
her voice; II do say it.. John Weston.