Year: 1876

| Chapter /.


Mr.. Golfer came home to his early dinner
and found Mrs. Golfer in the sitting room,
anxiously contemplating the thermometer.
The aspiring mercury registered I03 degrees
in the shade, and its tendency was still up
| wards.


This is dreadful" sighed the lady, look
ing pityingly at her perspring husband as
he entered the room, his face the hue of a
boiled lobster and steaming like vapor bath
at every pore.


"Perfectly frightful;" rejoined poor Mr..
Golfer, wiping the oozing drops from his
temples "The whole city is like an oven 4;
| actually feel as if I were baked and some
body going to serve me up for dinner"


Not so bad as that, l hope but you do
look very warm and tired, and the baby,
poor little thing, the heat is so terribly try
ing to him. / was thinking, John, if we
could manage to run down to Cape May for
few days, how delightful the change would
be, and SO beneficial to both you and
baby"


"Very delightful, but quite out of the
question. Times are hard and money scarce,
and business, to be successful, must be at
tended to-"


81 know, dear, but you could come up on
the fast train In two hours, and thus, YOU
see, business would suffer very little on ac-
count of your absence. AS to that expense,
you know am an excellent manager, and l
am sure | can economze in some other way
80 well that the extra outlay will never be
felt"


Admitting all you say to be easy of ac-
complishment, there still remains the bother
and fuss of packing and getting off-trunks,
wraps, baby carriage, nurse-gracious the
mere thought of it is prostrating. No, my
dear, it is u choice of two evils, so we will
stay at home"


Mrs Golfer was not discouraged. She
laid her hand persuasively on her husband S
shoulder, and replied cheerily:
"Oh, don't mind q little trouble of that
kind, and you shan't be annoyed by either
wraps, trunks, or baby carriages, assure
you, for I'll arrange all that part of the diff
ticulty myself, and assume all the response
bility." Then,..vcry tenderly, and her lips
very near Johns moist forehead, "You work
so hard, John, dear, in this awful weather
that l really fear your life, and you do enjoy
the sea so much. do not care for myself
am only anxious for you and baby. There
is not breath of air stirring-even the
leaves of the silver poplar refuse to stir
day like this; look, they are lifeess and
droop dead and motionless in the blazing
sunshine; yet dare say at this very mo-
ment if you were on the porch of the Stock
ton you couldn't keep your hat on your head
for the breeze. A delicious ocean breeze,
just think of it, coming from miles and miles
away across the Atlantic None of your
close, sitting city winds, ftul and enerva-
ting, but cool and fresh, laden with fra
grant ocean scents, pure and health giving,
which Is heaven to breathe and feel after en-
during heat so torrid and continuous that
one wonders if the final burning up of the
world be not near at hand. How well re-
member those charming mornings on the
porch, with the music enlivening the scene,
people coming and going, merry greetings
from friends, and everybody and everything
so bright and pleasant and enjoyable"


"Yes, | know, but"


/ never saw any one enjoy the seashore as
you do. Up in the breakers at o'clock in
the morning, taking your 'buher as you used
to call it; sherbet at noon, sleep after
dinner, n walk on the beach at sunsetand a
hop in the evening; are they not indeed hap
py reoollections?"


"Yes, still /"


"Then you improve so much. The over
worked, jaded look yanishes as if by magic,
and you get 30 handsome and active and sun
burnt that hardly know you" This last
bit of harmless ilattery had won Mrs. Golfer
her point For the last ten minutes he had
been rapidly losing ground, and his remon-
STRANGE instead of being as at first decided
and emphatic was very faint and faltering.


at would be a nice arrangement and of
course pleasant change If we could contrive
to run away to the cape for day or two.
Ill think of it, but the deuce of it is the get
ting ready"


81 would not think of doing anything
without first consulting you, yet Pye been
thinking that We might go this afternoon
ON the four o'clock train"


This afternoon What, get ready, pack
up, nurse, baby and all in an hour aud
half; impossiblep


"Quite tho contrary. We are 10 have