The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1889-05-11
MY WIFE'S LEGACY.

Il don't like to calculate. upon suci
things" observed my wife; 'but if Aunt
Jane were to die l should not be q bi
surprised If she left us that old fashioned
set OF silver that belonged to my great
grandparents.
Out of consideration for the printer ]
will omit indications of the emphasis
with which she usually spoke. If the
reader will kindly consider every second
word printed in small caps or italics he
will have some faint idea of her manner
of expressing herself.
''1t is very handsome set" l re.
turned, glancing about our modest din
groom, ''and will hardly accord with
our furniture" T.,
Sit wouldn't look at all we'll with that
sidehoard," i" returned my wife, promptly,
sit is so dreadfully shabby-oh, of course
mean the sideboard, not the silver;
don't be SO smari"
''lsuppose, then, if such thing were
to hqppen, you'd have to have a. new
sideobard," s.
Shenodded complacently.
saw such lovely one down town
today antique oak, beautifully carved.
do aglmire oak so much"
'Bht the rest of the furniture is wal
nut, a objected,
walnut is altogether out of style, es-
pecially for dining rooms" she replied.
with q disdainful glance at the chairs
which we had once found very good to
look at; "and, after all, the sideboard is
by so puch the most expensive piece of
furnitpre in dining room that it doesn't
cost much more to get whole set than
just that one piece. And even q walnut
sidebpard, new, would not look well with
these chairs and this table,"
said nothing, and the tacit surrender
was accepted by my wife. Thenceforth
it was understood that if Aunt Jane
should bequeath us the silver, we were
to purchase q new set of dining room
furniture.
The next evening, as we were again a:
dinner, my wife remarked:
81 have been looking at carpets today,
and saw one that just suits me- rich and
subdued, you know, but not dingy."
Carpets" l repeated in some sur
one needed this season."
"Why, stupid" rejoined my wife, pet.
ulantly (and the emphasis was all upon
the pet name), "did we not agree that
the dining room must be refurnished:
and this carpet is SO old and worn, OF
course it would not do at all with new
furniture"
Again | acquiesced silently, and she
proceeded to make plans for meeting me
the next day to examine and choose the
carpet and furniture to be purchased
later on. Well, if my wife's relations
left her handsome silver, 1 must of course
provide things in keeping with it.
She met me according to appointment,
and, having inspected the articles, gave
me to understand that my taste was SO
eXecrablo as not to merit O moments
consideration, and announcing her own
choice, suggested coolly:
"And now let's go look at the wall
paper"
"Wall paper?" echoed, blankly.
"Of course; tho room must be re-
papered if it is refurnished. AS for the
wood work, l suppose there is no help
for that; it will just have to be regrained.
Can they mako that natural wood finish
on wood that has been painted?"
1 stared aghast; that silver was going
to cost me pretty sum. But was help
less, entirely so; my wife had made up
her mind
That evening she was much elated at
the prospect of being surrounded by
such things as she had that day selected.
There was but ono cloud on her horizon.
"The dining room will be nicer than
e-parlors," she remarked, plaintively;
~ am afraid that they will really look
shabby"
l said nothing, hoping that if she were
not contradicted, she would not pursue
the subject farther.
Vain hopel She had fixed it in her
own mind that silence gave consent, and
when came home the next evening,
had assumed that the parlors were to be
newly fitted up.
Don't you think, she said, coaxingly,
"that as long as the parlors and dining
room are to be torn up, and we are to
have the painters and paper hangers
here, we might as well have the whole
house done? 1t would be very little more
trouble, and then it would all look nice
together"
''It would be considerably moro ex-
pensive," demonstrated, family,
"You might draw the money out of
the building association" she suggested;
and then knew that our savings in that
Institution xvprc dOonad
Aunt Jane fingered long time. In
justice to my wife, must admit she had
become oblivious Of the fact that all these
improvements depended upon legacy
which could only be possessed after the
death of her venerable relative.
A day or SO after she had decided that
the house was to be thoroughly reno
waited, my wife said to me:
81 have been examining the parlor car
pets, and l find that by using the best
parts of both, and buying a wide border,
| can get quite new carpet for our bed
room, absolutely unwoIn."
"lndeedl' | remarked, with pleased
surprise; there was one thing that she
would not want, anyhow
'Yes, and the carpet that is now on it
has enough good to cover the childrens
room, if put the worn part under the
bed. Or maybe I'd better put that on
the spare room" she added, reaectively,
sand give that one 20 the children. Theirs
gets such hard wear that an old one will
4.