The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-02-03

Mr.. Titus has it in for his father
in-law. The old gentleman is in 10
wise to blame. but Titus has to hight
II out with somebody, so he vents his
spleen on the leader of the opposi-
ton.
II all came about through Titus
close management. Titus WINS a fur
niture store. He is not a stingy man,
by any means, but when he married
and cot ready to furnish a fiat of his
own he concluded that it would be a
neat stroke of economy to rid MS
stock of a few pieces of old-tashloned
furniture that had been marked down
20 per cent by utilizing them in his
own housekeeping.
Until the advent of the %sideboard
his wife bore without complaining the
importation of these Anticipated mod
els. Then she reyolted,
Il went have it," she said decisive
~. Il didn't think that OF you, George
Titus, | really didn't. | never dream
ed that you cared less for me than
for the customers that came into your
store. If | had dreamed of such a
thing | wouldn't have married you"
Titus was dumbfounded. why,
Laura" he said, what in the world is
the matter with you?"
There is nothing the matter with
me-" she retorted. It's the sideboard.
1t is old-fasaioned and of a horribly
ugly pattern, and l won't give 1t
houseroom. | want you to take it
right back to the store. II you don't
I'll see father about it,"
Titus meekly promised to think the
matter over, and later in the evening
he saw father" himself.
ooh, you mustn't worry about a lit
tie thing like that" said his newly
acquired relation, consolingly.
"Laura's like her mother. She's a lit
tie touchy, that's all. It's easy
enough to manage her when you
know how. Just give her rope
enough and she'll soon hang herself"
Titus FASTENED to explain hat he
was not anxious to precipitate any
such tragedy thus early in his mar
ried life, and reverted to the side
board.
Yes, yes" said the old gentleman.
board, and a very nice one it is, too
the incest one you had in the store,
in my opinion. If Laura had seer it
in the salesroom first she would prob
ably have thought so, too. You'll have
to cure her as l cured her mother.
Pretty soon after we were married
she found fault with a sofa l had
bought and declared she wouldn't
have it in the house. l moved the
thing away and put it in a roomfull
of other sofas. The next day / took
her down to the store and told her to
take her choice, %whereupon she pick
ed out the very identical sofa she had
you to play the same trick on Laura.
The plan will be sure to work"
Titus thanked his father-in-law fer
vently.
q will" said he. "IT do it to-mor-
row."
Early the neXt morning he had the
"sideboard carted back to the store.
and in the afternoon he invited his
wife to come down and select another
one. He led the way into a large
room on the second floor where side
boards of all shapes, sizes and prices
reflected the anxious faces of Mr.. and
Mrs. Titus as they passed to and fro
in review of the shining wares. Pres
emily Titus adroitly directed her into
the aisle where the discarded side
board stood in all it's last years hui
mility. Mrs. Titus spotted it ten feet
away.
Good gracious, George she said.
What did you put that thing in here
for? Nobody will buy it. You'll new
er get ride of it unless you give it
away. 1t is too prehistoric for any
use"
Then she went on a few steps
further and chose the most expensive
sideboard in the lot. That is why
Titus is mad at his father-in-law. The
old gentleman maintains that it is not
his fault if Mrs. Titus is smarter than
her mother vas at the same age, but
Titus hints conspiracy and storms
most unreasonably. Philadelphia
Ledger.