The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1891-01-02

P-1NC " CiC L anu LiitJ u Oc 4lhbly 10
buy anything Of this sort. I'll set 'em back
on the chimney piece ma'am, where they
won't Dc in any ones way. And I'm
very tired of carrying EN-.
l felt sorry for the poor jaded wretch
| made no objection. And when he was
gone the vases did make the room look
wonderfully pretty. I could not but wish
they were mine.
Obadiah perceived them at once, when
he came to tea.
Hello" said he, what docs this
mean"
So | told hirn-adding:
81 only wish that l could afford them
they are SO handsome"
Obadiah walked around and around
them, with his hands in his pocket, and
his brown knit thoughtfully-
Eyes, they're pretty, " said he, but
they're not perfect.
mot perfectP"I echoed.
mot by any means. Don't you see that
lengthwise crack down one2 And the end
Of that little raised rosebud is Clipped off
on the other. l hope you didn't do it,
Josie?' with a sudden glance of appre-
hension.
Il? Certainly not!'' l cried. why, l
haven't so much as touched the thingsl''
Then / dare say its all right" said
Obadiah.
And we sat down to supper.
The neat day however, my friend the
china vender, came along. smiling and
o~bsequious as ever.
There are your vases" said I, Just
where you left them"'
But at that moment he broke out in a
storm of reproach and obloquy.
They had been cracked and damaged ia
my care. They were perfeet-absolutely
perfect-when he left them there the day
before. I had worked the mischief, and /
the ~articles,
Of course fnew that the rascal was
telling a ~fslsehood; but what could / do? /
was alone in the house and fairly cowed by
the ~feroeity of the man.
You must pay me for them, be reiter-
ated. again and again, .or | will have you
arrested at once.e
| burst into tears.
How can l pay you?r said 1. ''The
vases were damaged when you left them
here. And besides / have not five dollars
no, nor one dollar-in the house"
Which, also, was true enough.
While | spoke, he had been CHANGING
furtively around.
Il dom want to be hard with you,
madam" said be. "Of course, a poor
nan like me has got tn save himself from
loss, and if you'll let me have that set of
blue and white India china in the dresser,
in exchange. I'll leave the vases. and wen
say no more about it,"
1t went to ny heart to part with the
India ware, which had been a relic of my
mothers housekeeping days, but l was SO
cowed and terrified by the mans bullying
manner that would ave given him the
house over my head if he had asked for it;
and he went away leaving the beautiful
vases on the floor.
How glad l was to see Mrs. Meggs come
cheerfullg in, half an hour afterwards.-a
good, motherly old soul, with silver spec
tacles, and an elderly dimple still lingering
on her cheek.
why, my dear" SAID she. what's the
matter"
And I told her all.
But, my dear, how could you be SO
| taken in? There was an article in tue paper
last week, warning everybody against this
very imposter. Didn't you see it? 1t was
called The Vase ~Swindler."
Icolored and hung my head.
"We have stopped taking the paper"
said l. obadiah Thought we couldn'p
afford"
And your beautiful old china, too,''
said Mrs. Meggs. why, there was half a
column in the paper, week before last.
about the value of old china just now and
by what is stated, your old set of India
ware must have been worth twenty dollars
at least"
Twenty dollars! And l had frittered
them away for a pair of wretched, cracked
tawdry things. of the sight of which was
already sick.
"My DEAR said Mrs. Meggs, your
ideas of economy are altogether misplaced.
You should read the papers"
Obadiah went and subscribed for the
Boggsville Herald that very evening. And
10 the first number he saw an advertise
ment for hands at a new steam factory in
the neigbborhood, which offered steady
work and wages a third higher than he was
now receiving. And ! inserted a modest
little "Dressmaking wanted, and was
answered within the week, and | an
making my own snug little income, now.
thank heaven.
Aud if anybody tells us now that We
cannot afford to take a paper. we tell them
Obadiah and ] that WI cannot afford tt
do without one.
My wife had been a sufferer for some
time with pain in the back; Salvation Oi
was freely used and l am glad to say my
wife today suffers no pain. w. B Coun'
ell, Baltimore, Md.