Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-04-13

Concluded from second pege)
ssNo danger Of that" said ms wife, -
will set of the rest, and make them all look
handsomer."
at may be So" said George, doubtfully.
81 suppose you know better about such
things than do II you are deslrous OF
having II, suppose can buy IT."
ooh, George, If you only will, 1t viii be
such a cUmfOrtr
ssThen," said her husband, turning to the
clerk, "you may send it TO my house"
"It snail be done this forenoon"
The young husband took five ten dollar
bills from his pocket and paid them over for
the sofa.
ssThis is the money" said nc, as he was
walking home, "that | was gong TO put INTO
the savings bank. You know that tins is
quarter day, and for the last four / have
put in this amount Now, i'm consequence
Of our new purchase, / shall not be 1ble to-"
'sIt is only for once" SAID his wife, 'a.id
then only consider how much better our
parlor will look"
Was it only TO oncel Time wonld show.
When that sofa came home, and was in
stalled in the place of honor, the o'd-fash-
ioned sofa was removed to chamber.
Somehow it did not seem to set of the room
out Of place, as Mrs. Hall could not help
confessing to herself, though she was not
disposed TO speak Of it. The plain but neat
Kidderminster carpet looked decidedly
cheap in comparison with it. However,
Mrs. Hall resolutely shut her eyes to this
unpleasant fact, and continued enthuolas-
tically to expatate in praises OF the new
sofa She could not be contented until Mrs.
Savary had called and expressed her opln-
ion Of it. This happened before long.
"My dear" SAID that lady, taking crltl-
cal survey of the apartment, "your sofa ls
handsome one, | acknowledge, but Will
you pardon my suggesting one thing"
"Certanly, Mrs. Savary." ~
"Then allow me to suggest that dark
Brussels carpet is necessary to have it
show to good advantage. Now this kidder-
minister, ] dare say, is tolerably good one,
but IT couldn't have cost more than dollar
yard"
"Only elghty-seven CENTS" said Mrs
Hall, a little confused.
$50 supposed. Well, you see, carpet
at eighty-seven cents yard doesn't CORE
spond very well with fifty dollar sofa II
tell the plain truth, the old-fashloncd s"Ih
looked more appropriate"
Mrs. Hail almost wished that she mad
never bought the new sofa, but, having
done so, she was determined, if possible,
TO have every thing to correspond. She was
too wise TO say any thing about it at present,
but waited until a week before the next
quarter-day.
Then she began 10 indulge IN brief hlnts,
which at length became more decided At
first, George would not hear OF a new car
pct. He was determined not to omit his
usual quarterly deposit this time; but at
n. F,f- f,,t, ,1rftt cIIQfnn6ln
aided by lurking conviction on his own
nart that there was real incongruity be-
| tween the sofa and the plain carpet The
| new purchase cost fifty dollars and trile
! more which made George look d little
sober; but he could not deny, as his wife
| said, that the room looked good deai
improved.
And was TINS alll BY no means.
BY the time tho carpet was put down. u
! was discovered that the chars, which were
| only caue-seated, looked quite inferior to
! the good company which had recently been
! introduced When the next quarter-day
arrived, it was found absolutely essential
to purchase some black stuffed chairs Aft
erwards came a new mirror, and piano
was hired, for even Mrs Hall did not vent
upe 10 suggest so large an outlay as
| purchase would require. So the piano was
| DGOuElu, anu bOllG nlA1 uOlItlIS y JSul NSiS
paid for its use, though, by the way, 1t was
never used since Mrs. Hall had no ear for
music; and therefore it served only for
ornament.
BY the time the year was up, George
found that two hundred and twenty-five
dollars had been spent for furniture, and
not one cent had been deposited IN the say
ings bank More than that, as their style
of living had increased with their new fur
niture, which had unconsciously elevated
their ideas, George found himself some
hundred and fifty dollars IN debt. At this
time, or just before, the great commercial
reyulson had swept over the land, and
| Georges employers had not been spared,
! They had not failed, but their resources
had been greatly crippled. They called
| him aside on the last day OF the year and
told him that, though they should be glad to
retain him in their employ, they should be
obliged 10 cut down his income for the year
TO come TO six hundred dollars. He went
! home much depressed, as well he might be-,
| His expenses increased, his income dimin-
ished, and a debt to pay, which would swal-
! low up nearly all he had laid aside in the
savings bank.
He Mt length told his wife the cause of his
| dependency, on her anxious solicitation,
The vanity and love of show she had exhibited
| lay on the surface. She determined TO ex-
| press her sympathy in an active way. What
that was l will explain.
When George came home the next even
ing to tea, what was his astonishment TO
find load OF furniture before his door,
! l'Cnn it be possible" he thou ght "that
Mary has been purchasing new furpituref'
Looking more closely he observed that the
new parlor sofa and other articles of fur
niture were included in the wagon-load.
Full of amazement he entered the house,
"Whars all this, Maryl What haye you
done with the parior furniturer
"Sold it," said his wife, composedly.
"Soll ltW exclaimed George, in surprise
eyes; | knew that your circumstances
| were not as good as they have been, and
thought the money would be worth more to
| us than the furniture, had heard that the
! Watkins were about 10 furnish their house,
and thought they might be willing to buy
our furniture at 3 reduced price, Here is
what got for it,
She placed In her husbands hands a
purse containing one hundred and fifty dol,
! lars
Mary said he, with emotion, ''you don't
/ know how you have relieved my mind.
| This will Just pay OF our debt, and shall
/ not be obliged TO take the money from the
/ bankh
The year passed, Again business re
| yived, and with the first Of January George
had his salary raised 10 one thousand dol
| lars; but though his means are increased,
/ his wife has learned valuable lesson, and
r