HOUSE HUNTING.
At ten o'clock Paul closed up his business for the forenoon, and
returning to their temporary home, found his mother waiting for him.
"Well, Paul," she said inquiringly, "have you heard of any good
rooms?"
"Here is an advertisement of some nicely furnished rooms in Bleecker
street;" and Paul pointed to the _Herald._
"They may be above our means, Paul."
"At any rate we can go and look at them. We must expect to pay more if
we take them furnished."
"Do you think we had better take furnished rooms?" asked Mrs. Hoffman
doubtfully.
"I think so, mother, just now. All our furniture is burned, you know,
and it would take too much of our capital to buy new. When we get
richer we will buy some nice furniture."
"Perhaps you are right, Paul. At any rate we will go and look at these
rooms."
"If they don't suit us, I have the paper with me, and we can look
somewhere else."
"May I go, mother?" asked Jimmy.
"We might have to go about considerably, Jimmy," said Paul. "I am
afraid you would get tired."
"If Mrs. Norton will let you stay here, I think it will be better,"
said his mother. "Are you sure he won't be in your way, Mrs. Norton?"
"Bless his heart, no," returned the policeman's wife heartily. "I
shall be glad of his company. Mr. Norton and Sam are away most of the
time, and I get lonely sometimes."
Jimmy felt rather flattered by the thought that his company was
desired by Mrs. Norton, and readily resigned himself to stay at home.
Paul and his mother went out, and got on board a Bleecker street car,
which soon brought them to the desired number.
The house was quite respectable in appearance, far more so certainly
than the burned tenement house. The time had been when Bleecker street
was fashionable, and lined with the dwellings of substantial and
prosperous citizens. That time had gone by. Still it was several
grades above the streets in the lower part of the city.
Paul rang the bell, and the door was opened by a maid-servant.
"I saw an advertisement in the _Herald_ about some rooms to let," said
Paul. "Can we see them?"
"I'll speak to the mistress," was the reply. "Won't you come in?"
They entered the hall, and were shown into the parlor, where they took
seats on a hard sofa. Soon the door opened, and a tall lady entered.
"You would like to look at my rooms?" she inquired, addressing Mrs.
Hoffman.
"If you please."
"They are on the third floor--all that I have vacant. If you will
follow me, I will show you the way."
At the top of the second staircase she threw open the door of a
good-sized room, furnished plainly but neatly.
"There is another room connected with this," she said, "and a bedroom
on the upper floor can go with it."
"Is it arranged for housekeeping?" asked Mrs. Hoffman.
"Yes; you will find the back room fitted for cooking. Come in and I
will show you."
She opened a door in the rear room, displaying a pantry and sink,
while a cooking-stove was already put up. Both rooms were carpeted. In
the front room there was a sofa, a rocking-chair, some shelves for
books, while three or four pictures hung from the walls.
"I don't see any sleeping accommodations," said Mrs. Hoffman, looking
around.
"I will put a bed into either room," said the landlady. "I have
delayed doing it till the rooms were let."
"How do you like it, mother?" asked Paul.
"Very well, but----"
Mrs. Hoffman hesitated, thinking that the charge for such
accommodations would be beyond their means. Paul understood, and asked
in his turn:
"How much do you ask for these rooms by the month?"
"With the small room upstairs besides?"
"Yes."
"Thirty dollars a month."
Mrs. Hoffman looked at Paul in dismay. This was more than three times
what they had been accustomed to pay.
"We can afford to pay more than we have hitherto," he said in a low
voice. "Besides, there is the furniture."
"But thirty dollars a month is more than we can afford," said his
mother uneasily.
"My mother thinks we cannot afford to pay thirty dollars," said Paul.
"The price is very reasonable," said the landlady. "You won't find
cheaper rooms in this street."
"I don't complain of your price," said Mrs. Hoffman, "only it is more
than we can afford to pay. Could you take less?"
"No," said the landlady decidedly. "I am sure to get tenants at that
price."
"Then, Paul, I think we must look further," said his mother.
"If you don't find anything to your mind, perhaps you will come back,"
suggested the landlady.
"We may do so. How much would you charge for these two rooms alone?"
"Twenty-six dollars a month."
The prices named above are considerably less than the present rates;
but still, as Paul's income from his business only amounted to fifty
or sixty dollars a month, it seemed a good deal for him to pay.
"We may call again," said Mrs. Hoffman as they went downstairs. "But
we will look around first."
"How much do you think we can afford to pay, Paul?" asked Mrs.
Hoffman.
"We can easily afford twenty dollars a month, mother."
"That is more than three times as much as we pay now."
"I know it, but I want a better home and a better neighborhood,
mother. When we first took the other rooms, six dollars a month was
all we were able to pay. Now we can afford better accommodations."
"What other rooms have you got on your list, Paul?"
"There are some rooms in Prince street, near Broadway."
"I am afraid they would be too high-priced."
"At any rate we can go and look at them. They are near by."
The rooms in Prince street proved to be two in number, well furnished,
and though not intended for housekeeping, could be used for that
purpose. The rent was twenty-five dollars a month.
"I do not feel able to pay more than twenty dollars," said Mrs.
Hoffman.
"That is too little. I'll split the difference and say twenty-two and
a half. I suppose you have no other children?"
"I have one other--a boy of eight."
"Then I don't think I should be willing to let you the rooms," said
the landlady, her manner changing. "I don't like to take young
children."
"He is a very quiet boy."
"No boys of eight are quiet," said the landlady decidedly. "They are
all noisy and troublesome."
"Jimmy is never noisy or troublesome," said Mrs. Hoffman, resenting
the imputation upon her youngest boy.
"Of course you think so, as you are his mother," rejoined the
landlady. "You may be mistaken, you know."
"Perhaps you object to me also," said Paul. "I am more noisy than my
little brother."
"I look upon you as a young man," said the landlady--a remark at which
Paul felt secretly complimented.
"I think we shall have to try somewhere else, mother," he said.
"Perhaps we shall find some house where they don't object to noisy
boys."
It seemed rather a joke to Paul to hear Jimmy objected to as noisy and
troublesome, and for some time afterward he made it a subject for
joking Jimmy. The latter took it very good-naturedly and seemed quite
as much amused as Paul.
The _Herald_ had to be consulted once more. Two other places near by
were visited, but neither proved satisfactory. In one place the rooms
were not pleasant, in the other case the price demanded was too great.
"It's twelve o'clock already," said Paul, listening to the strokes of
a neighboring clock. "I had no idea it was so hard finding rooms. I
wonder whether Mrs. Norton would keep us a day longer."
"Perhaps we can go out this afternoon and prove more successful,
Paul."
"I've a great mind to consult Mr. Preston, mother. I think I'll call
at his place of business at any rate, as I may need to draw some of
the money we have in his hands. You know we've all got to buy new
clothes."
"Very well, Paul. Do as you think best. You won't need me."
"No, mother."
Mrs. Hoffman returned to her temporary quarters, and reporting her
want of success, was cordially invited by Mrs. Norton to remain as her
guest until she succeeded in obtaining satisfactory rooms.