Year: 1873

/ BbarIlQR O0Lb BOecbnSE 70 choose some Oi
the furniture, we met George near the
store, and father, poor dear man, asked
/ him to come along, and just than re
membered that he had an engagement,
too. though it was different sort from
ours, SO Geor. g and I went into the fur
niture store together, laughing and
chatting, and he quite agreed with me
about everything I chose, until it came
to one unlucky bureau. 1t was just
what 1 wanted, and 80, although I saw
it was little scratched, 1 thought that
could be fixed, and said I'd take it.
Stop a minute, says George, very
wisely, you didn't see that scratch, my
dear child, did you2' Now, perhaps L
was unreasonable, but somehow that
provoked me. I fancied I saw the sales
man grin little to himself, though he
was as polite as fsh-hook, and tried
not to look as If he noticed. To be
sure, our engagement was well known,
and nothing to be ashamed of, but felt
as if George was putting on airs little
too soon. So I just said, very quietly,
Yes saw it, but I Like the bureau
better than any of the others, and I
think that can be fixed 1T would
show through any amount of fixing,
said George, mimicking my tone ever
so litt1e-he'd corrected me forty times,
if he had once, for saying fix instead
of some other word, so that didn't
soothe me but 1 managed to keep cool
outwardly, and said, Even if it should
show, prefer this bureau to any of
the rest. I'll take this I added, turn
ing to the salesman, and then pulled
out my watch IN a great hurry, and
found I had not time to choose anything
more that day, and walked out of the
store. George strutted after me, as
stiff as poker. and as soon as we were
fairly In the street, he began THAT
fellow must have been edited, should
think I'm afraid he was, I answer
ed coolly. You might at least have
pretended to yield, he went on, even
if you had fought it out afterward.'
Pm not good at pretending I said,
and as to yielding, it's matter of
opinion whose place it was to yield
There's a certain little form of sound
words which will have to be altered at
one point before you can subscribe to
it, should imagine, he said, and then
he laughed. Now, when thought it
over afterwards, it came into my head
that he saw he was unreasonable, and
was trying to make things pleasant
again without saying so-catch man
apologizing, if he can help himself-but
I was angry, and somehow his laugh
Jared, and before I thought what I
was saying, blurted out, You seem a
great deal surer about my subscribing
to it, as you call it, than I do myself.
He looked straight in my face, and shut
his lips together tight, then he said
No, am sure of nothing; an hour
ago, no earthly power could have made
me believe that Jou wound act and
speak as you have done this morning.
IF you consider that I have deceived
you as to my true character I said,
there's time enough yet to escape the
consequences, you're a free man, for
anything I shall do to bind you to your
words. He turned as white as a sheet
Do you mean that p he asked, very
low. 4 generally mean what say,
1 answered as indifferently as I
could. I comforted myself after
wards with thinking I hadn't told
lie but after that again concluded
that had. We had come to our gate by
this time-my gate, I mean-and he
opened it for me without aword. Then he
put out his hand, and thought he was
going to make up. "Youu at least say
good bye, he said, in the same low,
strange tOne-and I had just sense
enough left to shake hands and say it
By that time next day there had been
an exchange of notes and things, and
he was gone. never saw him again
after that morning when I left him at
the gate. I knew, when thought it ali
over that night, that he was sorry
enough then, and that word from me
would have brought him back, but
something seemed to tell me that first
quarrel is hardly ever a last one, and 1
thought that very likely if I married
him he would be hectoring me before
he knew it, and then I should answer
back, and we should have cat and dog
life of it. And when I heard, six
months after, of his marriage to a pref
ty doll, without temper or Will, I con-
sidered I had made a good escape.
Every time have heard of him since,
he's been spoken of as a sort of good
for-nothing, changing about from one
business and from one city to another,
and never seeming to know his own
mind. So that has gone long way to-
wards recOnciling me, can tell you,
for a man like that would have set me
crazy in no time. But, bless your
hearts, I've left out the best part of the
story, or what you'll think the best
part. bought that bureau after all
1 thought it would do me good to have
it in sight-keep me from crying over
split milk, maybe And when I heard
he was going to be married, had one
made so like it, you couldn't have to d
them apart, and sent it to him for q
wedding present. I did not forget the
scratch, either, and though / don't
know much about deceiving, I made 9
pretty correct copy of that scratch, and
I have no doubt he thinks to this day
that it was the identical bureau that
/ parted rs p


And Aunt Sally had stopped, as


much for want of breath as because she
had come to the end of her story, and


nobody said anything for several min


utes. Then Netty remarked:


Aunt Sally, don't you think-tha


perhaps it was because George was un


happy, that he turned out 50 good-for


nothing ?"


eyes, !" answered the old lady, com


posedly, 'sI thought of that consider