"Yes, I know, the old story of pearls and swine, but there are pearls and pearls."
"Do you mean that there are more pearls than swine, Mr. Jack? For, if you do, I will take issue with you."
"If I am a swine, I will be an æsthetic one and wear the pearl that comes my way," said Jack, looking steadily into the eyes of the high-headed girl.
"Will you have one lump or two?"
"One," said Jack, as he took his cup.
The last day of the year came all too quickly for both young and old at Four Oaks. Polly and I went into hiding in the office in the afternoon to make up the accounts for the year. As Polly had spent the larger lump sum, I could face her with greater boldness than on the previous occasion. Here is an excerpt from the farm ledger:—
| Expended in 1896 | $43,309 |
| Interest on previous account | 2,200 |
| _______ | |
| Total | $45,509 |
| Receipts | 5,105 |
| _______ | |
| Net expense | $40,404 |
| Previous account | 44,000 |
| _______ | |
| $84,404 |
The farm owes me a little more than $84,000. "Not so good as I hoped, and not so bad as I feared," said Polly. "We will win out all right, Mr. Headman, though it does seem a lot of money."
"Like the Irishman's pig," quoth I. "Pat said, 'It didn't weigh nearly as much as I expected, but I never thought it would.'"
There was little to depress us in the past, and nothing in the present, so we joined the young people for the dance at the Club.