Wichita eagle., 1886-09-10
1ail9 eagle
OUR TREASURES.


sTidd," said, so,c.nnly, "a thought strikes
men
ITO swear eternal friendship Better not,
old man: we should quarrel before the wreck
was out"
GDon't be frivolous We're not playing Box
and Cox This is serious. What do You say
to taking o houses"
"A whats' shouted Tidd, as if had sug-
gested our taking railway station.
"a house, house of our own. where land
ladies would cease from troubling and the
cold meat he at rest; have done. once for all,
with these abominable furnished apartments.
What say you?"
He didn't say anything, but looked at me in
speechless amazement. The idea was too large
for him to take in all at once. l saw that he
would have to swallow it gradually, as the
boa constructor does his prey. proceeded to
lubricate it for him.
"Why shouldn't WEI We've stood the in
conveniences and the extortions of lodgings
long enough. Why shouldn't we rent house
for ourselves! We can afford it; indeed, in
the lorg run, 1 believe we should save money
by it."
Tidd already looked a shade less astonished
I could sec that he was beginning to like the
idea, and before we parted we had agreed
that it should become an accomplished fact.
We would take house. We shook hands
upon it; and when Timperley Browne and
Thomson Tidd shook hands upon thing, it
was as good as done.
Tidd and l are both bachelors; not old
bachelors, by any means, but confirmed bach
elors Tidd is an architect, with taste for
music and dry sherry. am tea broker,
with an office in Mincing lane We had al
ways lived in apartments, sometimes apart,
but more often together; We mad endured
every possible variety of landlady and every
conceivable species of "cat," from the feline
who would use my Rowland's Macassar and
my favorite hair brush to the 'tom" who bor-
rowed my diamond shirt studs and smoked
my best cigars We had tried chambers in
what is facetiously termed an inn, but we
found that Scylla the "laundress" was, if pos
sible, worse than Charybdis the landlady.
The last straw in that case, remember, was
finding Mrs. Glooge (her very name was
an outrage on humanity wearing my
dress boots. I tried boarding house
for short time, but 1 have an IN.
fortunate tendency to make myself
agreeable. and among the boarders there was
a widow, also with a tendency to make herself
agreeable, and, well, l won't go into de
tails. Suffice it to say that never had such
narrow escape in my life, and I'll take good
care / never run such risk again. No more
boarding houses for me-
Ipass over the details of our house hunting
Iii %o
enough to secure house in which the pro
prietor had himself resided, and which conse.
quently possessed a variety Of exceptional at
tractions-a conservatory, bath room, hot
water laid on everywhere, and last, but not
least, peculiarly admirable kitchen range
somebody or others patent, and known as the
Treasure" We engaged a cook, who was to
do for us generally, and who was also war
rantcd to be treasure, and Tidd and / re-
joiced in anticipation over the recherche little
dinners which we should be able to give our
bachelor friends, Toller, of the stock ex-
change, and Tracy of the probate depart
ment. Hitherto such Inequalities had been
exchanged at our respective clubs Ours
was the Megnra, and theirs was the
Polypodium; and the Polypodium had, as
rule, rather the best of it, Now, we flattered
ourselves, it would be all the other way.
"We'll make em turn green with envy, Tidd
my boy,"I said one evening when we were
talking over the matter. 1t wasn't Chris
tian way of looking ct it. l feel that now
and suppose what happened was what old
ladies call a judgment; but l really don,
think it deserves such an awful retrihution
The furniture was in at last, the carpets were
down, and the curtains were up lit wasn't
quite so easy as it sounds, but it was done
and we came home at 6 o'clock one awful
Wednesday to partake of our first dinner i,
our own aouse. We met on the doorstep
both in the best of spirits. Tidd was hum
ming LA donna G mobile" and had bought
new hat in honor of the occasion. We each
produced a new latchkey, but Tidd got hi.
out first, and had the honor of opening the
door. We hung up our hats in our new hall
and thence proceeded to our new lavatory
where we washed our hands with much so
lemnity. We then took up our positions, one
on each side Of the fire, in our new drawing
room, and waited the announcement of din
ner. We had arranged a tasty little menu
consisting of a pair of soles, duck and ar
apricot tart; and dinner was fixed for quar-
ter past six. There were just five minutes tt
other five after that, and another, and
another, and yet dinner was not announced
Tidd and 1 began to look at one another
anxiously. 1T won't DO to hurry her."
said "Of course she will Ia. lly have got
things into going order for the first day OF
two" Tidd admitted the justice of my re
mark; and we waited another twenty minutes
or So IL say, this is beyond Joke" sale
Tidd Hadn't we better go into the dining
room. Perhaps she has served dinner, and i
waiting for u.s.
We moved to the dining room accordingly
The cloth IS laid in the first style of art
but there was no further sign of dinner, anc
after waiting another ten minutes l timidlN
rang the bell 1t produced no result, aRe
Tidd and began to look at each other in dis
may.
"Perhaps Trotter' Jour new cook SIS takel
ILL.," suggested Tidd. Hadn't You better e
down and seer
Hadn't you better so down and see,"
rctorted. You don't suppose I'm going t.
beard new cook in her own kitchen"
ut was You who suggested taking The
house." said Tidd viciously.
looked at him more in sorrow than il
anger
"Tidd.' / said with emotion, shall tn,
friendship OF years be imperiled by the un
punctuality of a mental at SO years!
Never! Let US have one glass of this Ole
Madeira and then we will toss which Of u
shall SO down and beard her in her den."
It'd grasped my hand, and the rupture wa
averted. We he'd glass of the Nader,
two glasses, to be strictly accuratel, ant
then, with the solemnity BETTING the occa
sion, Tidd threw up a copper. Woman"
said at venture But with the uncertaint,
proverbially affected by the sex, woman wa
underInost; and had to undertake tn
dreaded pilgrimage to the lower regions.
advanced cautiously to the kitchen stairs an,