The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-05-21
MY WIFE'S LEGACY.

L VIII omit 1ndlcaClonS 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 nave some faint idea of her manner
of expressing herself.
at is a very handsome SET" I returned,
glancing about our modest dining-room,
and will hardly accord with our furni-
nture."
at wouldn't look at all well with that
sideb oard," returned my wife, promptly,
cit is so dreadfully shabby-oh, of course
I mean the sideboard, not the silver;
don't be so smart"
Il suppose, then, if such a thing were
to happen, you'd have to have a new side
board"
She nodded complacently.
Il saw such a lovely one down to-day;
antique oak, beautifully carved. l do al
mire oak So much"
"But the rest of the furniture is Wal
nut" 1 objected.
walnut is altogether out Of style,
especially for dining-rooms," she replied,
with a disdainful glance at the chairs
which we had once found very good to
look at; "and, after all, the sideboard is
ON 81 44C h4OO OAPNLOANO RASSS ~
furniture in a dining-room that it doesn't
cost much more to get a who.e set than
just that one piece. And ever a walnut
sideboard, new, would not look well with
these chairs and this table,"
l said nothing, and the tacit surrender
was accepted by my wife. Thencefcrth
it was understood that if Aunt Jane
should bequeath US the silver, we were to
pun chase a new set of dining-room furni-
ture.
The next evening, as we were again at
dinner, my wife remarked:
az have been looking at carpets to-day,
and saw one that just suits me rich and
subdued, you know, but lot dingy."
"Carpets," l repeated in some surprise.
al didn't know that there was one
needed this season."
"Why, stupid" r~ejoined my wife, petu-
lantly land 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 furni-
ture."
And I acquiesced silently, and she pro-
ceeded to make plans for meeting me the
mex day, to examine and choose the car
pet and furniture to be purchased later
on. Well, if my wife's relations left her
handsome silver; l 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
execrable as not to merit a moments on
sideration, and announcing her own
choice, suggested coolly:
"And let's go look at the wall paper"
"Wall paper?" 1 echoed blankly.
"Of conrse, the room must be rcpapered
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 make that natural wood finish on
wood that has been painted? ?"
l stared aghast that silver was going
to cost me a pretty sum. But I 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 n cloud on her horizon.
"The dining-room will be nicer than
the parlors," she remarked, plaintively:
81 am afraid that they will really look
shabby"
| said nothing, hoping that if she were
not c~ontradicted, she would not pursue
the subject farther.
Vain hopel She had fixed it in her
own mind that silence gave consent, and
when L 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 1t would all look nice
together"
ut would be considerably more ex-
pensive," l demonstrated, family.
"You might draw the money out of
the building association" she suggested;
and then l knew that our savings in that
institution were doomed.
Aunt Jane fingered a long time. In
justice to my wife, | must admit she had
become oblivious of the fact that all these
improvements depended upon a 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 ne:
81 have been examining the parlor
carpets, and l find that by using the best
parts of both, and buying a wide border,
1 can get quite a new carpet for our bed
room, absolutely unworn."
"Indeedl"I remarked, with pleased
surprise; there was n thing that she
would not want, anyhow.
"Yes, and the carpet that is now on it
has enough good to cover the children's
room, if l put the worn part under the
bed. Or maybe I'd better put that on the
s~pare-room," she added, refectively, "and
give that one to the children. Theirs
gets such hard wear that an old one will
not last any time, hardly"
lieved.