Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1910-06-10

would sell them TO her for old silver.
The lady had two children who did
not have silver cups and was tempted
to buy two Of them. The man made
her a ~ridiculously low price for the
lot. and she fell. She bought the
three cups for 50.
When John Morrison ven home
that evening and saw that his wife
despite his warning. his threat. haG
had a relapse his heart sank within
him. He could not brig himself to
do as he had threatened.s nd he knew
that she would ruin him IL he did not.
The next two days were passed in
gloom in the Morrison household. The
only happy ones in it were the two
children. each of whom had a big sill
yer cup that had been polished by their
mother.
But the third day there came a
change. While Mr.. Morrison was at
business a gentleman drove up TO his
home and asked for the lady who a
few days before had bought three sill
yer cups at a rummage sale. Mrs. Nor
rison received him. and he begged to
be allowed to see the cups. On being
shown them he looked them over care
fully, examining every detail, then as
tonished the lady by offering her 3d.
500 for them.
Mrs. Morrison was so p~aralyzed that
she could not articulate a reply. She
was d~reading lest the man would bring
the illusion he had created down about
her before she could find her tongue.
when he added:
II don't wish to take any advantage
Of you. madam. l can afford to give
you $1,000"
By this time Mrs. Morrison had ac-
quired sufficient equanimity to hold on
to the cups till she could find out what
there was in them to command such a
price. She told the would be purchaser
that she would be obliged to consult
her husband about the matter. If he
would leave his address she would
advise him later.
AS soon as the gentleman had de-
parted, which he did reluctantly, with
out the coveted articles. Mrs. Morrison
went out to see If she could find any
one to give her an inkling of why she
had been offered a fabulous price for
three old cups that she had bought for
old silver. She called ON a silversmith
with whom she had traded and asked
him If he could put a price on articles
that were worth far more than theii
intrinsic value. He said he could o
but gave her the address of an expert
in curios. She found the expert, and
he agreed to call upon her and give he'll
an opinion on her cups the next day, :
That evening at dinner Mr.. Morrison
noticed that his wife looked agitated.
Moreover, his boy Johnnie complained
that his mother had taken away his
and his sisters silver cups.
why not let the children have
them?" said the father. 'They are the
only ones who can get comfort out of
them"
KNOWING, john" said the wife
meekly, that the sight of them brings
you pain and makes you irritable, ]
put them away where you will not see
them"
Morrison finished his dinner In ST
lence, then went away to smoke and
read his evening paper by himself.
Not a word did he address to his wife
during the evening and at last went to
his own bedroom without giving her
the usual kiss.
AS for Mrs. Morrison. she was in an
internal whirl. She dare not say any
thing to her husband about the cups
till she knew that there was good rea-
son for the remarkable offer she had
received for them. She slept but little
during the night, being kept awake by
the possibility of good fortune and the
fear that what had occurred might
turn out a castle in the air.
The next morning the husband ate
his breakfast In silence and after it
had been finished went out without
even saying goodby to his wife. Her
relapse into the auction mania seemed
to have taken away all his domestic
happiness. Mrs. Morrison waited eager
ly for the expert to call and when he
arrived could scarcely contain herself
till he had seen the cups. She set
them out on a table before him. He
took up each Il successfully. looked
into it, outside of it and. turning it
up, scrutinized its bottom. Then he
examined the ornamentation. All this
time Mrs. Morrison was watching him,
dreading that he would prick the bub-
BILE that had been inflated by the man
who had made the remarkable offer.
AT last the expert set the cups down
on the table and said to himself:
mo. they're not"
mot what?" gasped the poor wo-
man, suddenly dashed to earth.
81 thought they might belong to the
twelfth century. but they don't"
"Well?"
"They belong to the sixteenth. They
are chalices."
"Have they any value?" asked Mrs.