| THE DARK FIRST. |
| Not first the glad and then the sorrowful— But first the sorrowful, and then the glad; Tears for a day—for earth of tears is full: Then we forget that we were ever sad. Not first the bright, and after that the dark— But first the dark, and after that the bright; First the thick cloud, and then the rainbow's arc: First the dark grave, and then resurrection light. |
| —Horatius Bonar. |
Out Of The Wrong Pocket
Mr. Taggard frowned as he observed the pile of bills by his plate, placed there by his prudent, economical wife, not without an anxious flutter at the heart, in anticipation of the scene that invariably followed. He actually groaned as he read the sum total.
"There must be some mistake, Mary" he said, pushing back his plate, with a desperate air: "it is absolutely impossible for us to have used all these things in one month!"
"The bills are correct, John," was the meek response; "I looked them over myself."
"Then one thing is certain, provisions are either wasted, thrown out the window, as it were, or stolen. Jane has relatives in the place, and I haven't the least doubt but that she supports them out of what she steals."