The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-08-19
CHAPTER III.
MRS. TEMPLE ECONOMIES.

MRS. TEMPLE ECONOMlAES,
During the weeks that Immediately fol-
lowed Sophia observed that her mother was
very often thoughtful, and would talk to her.
self, nod her head, shake it, frown and make
q number of those signs which denote that we
are thinking hard and reasoning with our
selves. She never dropped the smallest al
lusion to Prendergast, and Sophia, glad Of
the opportunity, seized the favorable mo-
ments, and showered caresses and attentions
upon her mother, which the mother for her
part received with every mark of satisfac-
tion. Thus the time, which, had it fulfilled
Sophia's expectations, would have been one
long scene Of reproaches and regrets did as
a matter Of fact glide easily and pleasantly
by, giving another illustration of that great
common truth, that if we only wait until our
troubles actually come they will often turn
out no troubles at all Sophia, however,
wondered what the moot case could be that
her mother so pondered and argued with her.
self.
"Sophy," the little woman said one morning
at breakfast, 'this house is too large for US.
shall give it up and rent a small one rather
nearer the town. Our lease expires in Sep
tember and don't fancy another winter in
this lonely place"
So this had been the matter Of internal
debate. Sophia was not at all surprised to
find that her mother was giving up the
Beeches for the burglary was a sufficient
reason; but when the old woman began to
talk of reasons of economy, she concluded
that, ashamed to confess to fear she was ex-
cusing her fight by alleging pecuniary mo
tives. Sophia, however, soon found that
there was more in the matter than she had
imagined
~ shall keep one carriage in the future, no
more" Mrs. Temple said a few days after
"One carriage, one horse, and one man SER
want. Quite enough for us two"
Mamma" Sophia cried, "the idea Of you
trotting about in little brougham with one
horse! How funny you will feel"
"Not at all, DEAR so long as the carriage is
neat and the horse what a horse should be-
Quite enough for us, Sophy. More seems af-
fectaton; just like those Dones. Horrid
people, with fresh carriage for every day in
the week-and such horses 1t strikes me that
whenever vulgarian makes money and re-
tires, being of no family himself, he resolves
to have horses with a pedigree. No, no,
Sophy, we shall not lose anything by living
quietly. Leave ehat to me, dear; you may
safely leave that to me-"
Great was the astonishment of Kettlewell.
Not that we wondered at Mrs. Temple giving
up the Beeches; with us, as with Sophia, the
burglary was a sufficient reason for that. But
when she chose small box of villa near
the entrance of the town, and put down two
OF her carriages, dismissed five of her SER
wants, and in a general way reduced her ex-
penditures by more than one-half, we were
surprised indeed. Had Sophia been married
the affair would have been intelligible, but
who, for any motive except neces-
Hty, ever heard of a matchmaking mother
lowering her mode Of living until all her
daughters were settledl There was great
deal of talk in Kettlewell, and great deal Of
whispering. Had Mrs. Temple been living
beyond her means9 Had she made some baG
speculation Was this only the prelude to {
final CT lshl All these questions were askeC
freely and most of us had some surmise h
make; but nobody quite agreed with any
body else except in one point-Mrs. Tempt
was not the woman 10 retrench without ur
gent reason; and after all, the most likel,
reason was that she had not the money :
maintain her original grandeur. One spite
fnl Lady friend cnn='n..=.><=1 hHr iroaicalL