The Press., 1892-01-21

was jedge on a bench. And Charley received the declaration with as much solemnity as if he soeve '.jedge on a bench" He ate his supper blinking like an owl, and he locked up the house at last with the responsible air of church war den.
 The next day being Sunday, on which they appeared out, Priscilla fair to look upon in her fawn-colored silk and her pale pink roses, Charley's solemnity served him in good stead to match Priscilla,s sweet, shamefacedness; but by the be- ginning of the week he had become won't cd to his new sense of possession; and Priscilla, who had been in maze her self, found her Charley in all his gay reckiessness once more.
 He was, indeed, so gay and careless that he counted what was left of his mon- ey, and declared he was not going to work till it was gone. "You and me won't ever be married but once, it's likely, !" he said, land I mean to get all the honey there is in this honeymoon"
 Priscilla had the house, which had been comfortably furnished by her father and mother, already very well provisioned and sooth to say, the best portion of Charley's balance went into the till of the tavern at the foot of the hill, where he so much enjoyed his roll of man of prop erty, and his ability to stand treat, that when all his money had been transferred into Mir. Barney'y till it seemed hard ship that he must go back to work.
 "Ains you get no money put by, Priscy ?" he sasked. You let me have 1t, an I-"@F
 "But Pm savin' it for a rainy day." she urged, smiling archly, and holding her hands behind her as if she had it in them.
 "Wal, this is the rainy day, then. We |shan't be young but once, an we'll have this time to remember" And he took down his fiddle and softened her heart with Money Musk" and score of varia- tlons full of the twinkling feet of the dancers.
 But Priscilla, in her adoration, was not quite fool. She did not grudge him anything she had; far, far from 1t! He was not only welcome to 1t, but she long ed to give him everything. Still, little doubt -something-sh knew not what, steeled her just enough to make her keep back trifie of her money and leave it in the savings bayk. It had an element of sacredness in 1t to her, for except what she she had been able to save from her pay in the shop, 1t was the rent she had received for this house-the house her father had built-evely timber in which was dear to her.
 But, reared as Priscilla had been to the idea of work, her conscience, after time, began to assert itself. Charley" she said one day, eff we had means we couldn't be Twin no different. We're gettin' bills to Mir. Newmans, an never had no bills."
 "You didn't know how easy twas"
 Ut = 1t. don't seem jest the honest thing, to me-"
 sHonest?" said Charley. "What do you take me for? A highwayman ? shall pay my bills wen go to work. But we can't live this year but once, an I mean to live it.'' And he gave her sleigh
 ssnst ssssea skzs as xas pssias ~th her her money, because her money was now his. But in the spring little Josephine was born. Charley. named her Josephine, for some fancy that he had, although Pris-
 cilla would have liked to call her Elvira.
 But the little mother thought it was such
 a bounty and blessing to have her any l way, that the name was trivial; and, be- sides, something was due to Charley, be-
 cause he had not the boundless bliss of being that babys mother.
 But Charley had bliss enough. He was sorry the baby wasn't boy, but he held himself an inch higher, even though it was girl. He drank the baby's health with every new conner at the tavern, and it would not have been at all strange if he had seen two babies instead of one when he came home at night.
 And the next morning he went to work. He had plenty of manual dexterity, and could always command good price; the only trouble about 1t was the rooted ob- jection on his part. He had had a taste of what he called being gentleman, and he had no relish for any lesser employ ment It was hard to give up his loung- ing, his fiddle at all hours, his best clothes,
 and he made great deal of complaining,
 and required a great deal of cosseting I from the little wife going about her work I with her baby on her arm, and who should I have had the cosseting herself. But he
 kept at his tasks heroically. One morn- ing, after few months of this heroism, he was brought home with broken arm, and although the am was all right in due
 time, yet he never did days work again. | Charley's arm was, indeed, as well as
 ever, although he still wore sling, and
 he was able to stroll down to MT. Bar
 ney's several times a day, and had even I fingered his fiddle little, and Josephine was still in her mothers arms, when
 Priscy, red as rose, and hardly able to
 articulate, plucked up all her courage and
 said: Charley! Charley! There ain't nc
 flour I'm sorry, but thsre ai'''t '-s Hrs''' }
 there ain,t no tea there ,ain't nothin' to | eat in the house. An here is Josephine
 Either you or me, Charley, must go to
 work"
 "'Twould seem as if feller might heN
 a chance to get his arm well before ht
 went to work with it," grumbled Charley
 ostentatiously adjusting his sling. tWh.
 can't you go to the store for what yo'
 want ?" You're pretty sort of a wife
 you can't git credit wen your husband'
 sick. Don't they know we've got tn
 house and can mortgage it any day fo