Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-24
HIS NEW CLOTHES.
HOW MRS. PARKER DECEIVED
HER HU AND AND
WHAT FOLLOWED.
From Harper's Bazaar.

WhA1 4
From Harper's Bazaar.
| nEAR ME- WHAT MORE COULD DO? IT
~ was just impossible to buy new ones and
had done ali could do to these: it is so hard to
mend up mans outside clothes. CAM
did patch fiannels till they are real crazy
quilt. 1 an quite proud of my patching and
Fred's flannels were all over tiny squares and
triangles. in fact, all sorts of shapes. put on
with such fine cat-stitching he said it was
real work OF art; and as for his stockings. they
were as good as new, with those beautiful
German darns that dear Mrs. Watson taught
me to make; but when Won come to patching
pantaloons and then darning down the out
| side 1t will show. and the buttons fairly pill
out the fabric before the thread gives way, 40
there are more patches; and the lining all rsgs
and the pockets worn through-oh! The coat
gets SO shiny, too, and I'd like to know what WHY
help that? i did put on a little shoe blacking'
| in one spot, but 1t only made smudge 50
was glad it was put on the under part of the
sleeve where it would never show. Then those
coat buttons! hate to put them on, for you
must either rip the coat to pieces or sew
through where it shows so. / was afraid to rip
his, lest the stuff should fall to pieces if once
| it came off the stiffening and the lining The
vest was all rags behind. but put a new back
i n somehow, nobody could see how. and 1 was
glad of that FOR had no machine to stitch the
seams.
did not know what to do. We are so poor:
yet Fred was clerk in a bank and must look
decent, and it was because of my long illness
we were behindhand. Doctor and nurse and
medicine do cost so, But Fred did not care
If he only had me back, he said. and it was just
| chance-no, good proyidence-that he did.
And suppose should have felt just SO about
him. Still you can see how We have to be SO
very economical now.
Well, went over one day to Mrs. Arkwright's
to cut out some work for the Good will Society.
We work altogether for home missions. and
there's always clothing of all kinds wanted.
| just now We were going to fill a barrel for
| missionary out in Oregon, who had six children
| and the rheumatism. His wife had sciatica and
had to stay in bed most of the time. Poor
things! They must be kept warm. and we were
gong to cut over fannels for all the children.
So many people sent us shrunk or oaIgrowu
vests and drawers / stood there cutting out
the little things, thinking to myself that there
was one small comfort left to them. Out in
Oregon You could wear old clothes and nobody
would mind it, especially if you were mission
aries, and got all your clothes out OF sewing
society barrels.
looked down at my old cashmere that had
been turned and sponged and fixed over SO
many times i had to look respectable, too,
YOU see. living in Foxcroft. That cashmere
was my wedding travelling dress; it was dark
green then. now it is black. And old Aunt
Sarah gave me her velvet mantle year before
last: 1t was worn shiny, but when she died
could cut it up, and did. got sleeves and
collar and vest out of it. SO my cashmere il
quite stylish, but it is pretty thin. While l
was cutting and contriving and thinking over
my own clothes and the missionary childrens
faanels, Mrs. Arkwright. who had gone our of
the room a few minutes before, came back with
o large bundle in her arms.
Il want to consult you about something. nv
DEAR" she said, in her kindest way. lyon
know we were going to send Mr.. Peters suit
of clothes; now. here is a suit of the colonel's
that is nearly new. He sent to his New York
tailor to make him a good thick suit of mixed
goods as quick as possible, for he was going on
Mr.. Aexanders yacht for a weeks sail, and he
trusted Jacobs to choose the cloth, for there
was such haste. When it came you ought to
have seen the colonels face! He had TO wear
it, but he never will again. He has made it
over to me to give away. Now. how do you
think it would do for our barrel2 1t is very
good cloth.
SO it was. Colonel Arkwright was SO rich
he did not need to wear common or cheap
things. But goodness, the ground of the stuff
was dark gray and it was closely plaided with a
hair-line stripe. bright scarlet one way and
white the other. No wonder the colonel never
put it on in Foxcroft,
not at the last Good will meeting and so You
did not hear Mrs Peters letter. Miss Black
wrote out for measures for the minister's
clothes and it is well she did. for it seems he's
large man-tal and stout. Now. Col. Ark
wright is just about my husbands size
As said that an idea came into my head
| Just as quick as a flash.
THAT is too bad" said Mrs Arkwright,
thoughtfully.
Iput my idea aside for minute and said. 81
think fbav uoi,l1 coll NJ N
store"
Mrs Arkwright laughed. 1.-THE colonel
would not hear of that. No; 1 must wait till
| somebody needs them"
| Then my idea got the better of me. ''Why,"
/ said, very slowly, ''if you don't know of any
| one l think know of poor man who would
be very glad of them"
''Who is hep she said.
''Woll. don't think can tell you, because
he is a very respectable person, and it would
shock him to wear clothes given him in char
ity. But know his wife, and l think she
could get him to wear them if gave them to
her. They could be dyed you know"
Was that a lie? OF course YOU know /
meant Fred. but she never thought of it, Oh
how did wish afterward L had told her all
| about it,
Its no matter at all" she said II
really ought not to have asked you. 1t was
only passing impulse. Do take them, dear
Mrs. Parker. to the poor fellows wife. / am
proud I'll send them round to your house
this evening. L do hope she II have them dyed,
for then the colonel viii never see them again.
/ tell him he is just like turkey-that red ex-
asperates him so.'
By this time / was breathless. What had I
done? Could ever make Fred wear them If
they were dyed? Wooden goods are so apt to
scringe all up in the hot dye and be of no good.
But l could not say now that l wanted them for
Fred, and knew he would never put them on
if he knew where they came from. Just said,
Thank YOU" and when got through went
straight home. l would not stay to tea though
Mrs. Arkwright asked me to. l must be at
home when the bundle came, and when Fred
told me had got two extra hours work at the
bank that evening / really glad, for he
would not see that bundle and ask about it. 1t
came just after he went, and / put it into the
spare-room closet and sat down to think. AT
last / seemed to a way out of part of my
| trouble. locked myself into nv room after
breakfast next day, when all my other work was
done, and. getting out my water-color box,
sat down 10 renovate those clothes. took out
the cake of Indian ink and with my finest
brush began to make that scarlet stripe black.
1t was the most amending piece of work. 1
began to think the clothes were not worth it:
but had begun, must finish. worked three
days over them, carefully blackening even the
wide seams inside, lest thread OF the scarlet
might show, and really no one would have
known them for the same clothes. Then I
| thought about that white stripe. 1t would soil
so sOon and Fred must wear them every day