THE HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE.
In the evening, as had been agreed, Paul accompanied his mother uptown
to call on Mrs. Talbot and receive directions in regard to the house.
They had no difficulty in finding it. On ringing the bell they were
ushered into an elegantly furnished parlor, the appearance of which
indicated the wealth of the owner.
"Suppose we give a party, mother, after we move in," said Paul, as he
sat on the sofa beside his mother, awaiting the appearance of Mrs.
Talbot.
"Mrs. Talbot might have an objection to our using her parlors for such
a purpose."
"I wonder," said Paul reflectively, "whether I shall ever have a house
of my own like this?"
"Not unless your business increases," said his mother, smiling.
"I rather think you are right, mother. Seriously, though, there are
plenty of men in New York, who live in style now, who began the world
with no better advantages than I. You see there is a chance for me
too."
"I shall be satisfied with less," said his mother. "Wealth alone will
not yield happiness."
"Still it is very comfortable to have it."
"No doubt, if it is properly acquired."
"If I am ever rich, mother, you may be sure that I shall not be
ashamed of the manner in which I became so."
"I hope not, Paul."
Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Mrs. Talbot. She
was a stout, comely-looking woman of middle age and pleasant
expression.
"I suppose this is Mrs. Hoffman," she said.
Paul and his mother both rose.
"I am Mrs. Hoffman," said the latter. "I suppose I speak to Mrs.
Talbot?"
"You are right. Keep your seat, Mrs. Hoffman. Is this your son?"
Paul bowed with instinctive politeness, and his mother replied in the
affirmative.
"Mr. Talbot tells me that you are willing to take charge of the house
while we are absent in Europe."
"I shall be glad to do so."
"We have been looking out for a suitable family, and as our departure
was so near at hand, were afraid we might not succeed in making a
satisfactory arrangement. Fortunately Mr. Preston spoke to my husband
of you, and this sets our anxiety at rest."
"I hope I may be able to answer your expectations, Mrs. Talbot," said
Mrs. Hoffman modestly.
"I think you will," said Mrs. Talbot, and she spoke sincerely.
She had examined her visitor attentively, and had been very favorably
impressed by her neat dress and quiet, lady-like demeanor. She had
been afraid, when first informed by her husband of the engagement he
had made, that Mrs. Hoffman might be a coarse, untidy woman, and she
was very agreeably disappointed in her appearance.
"I suppose," she said, "you would like to look over the house."
"Thank you, I should."
"I also wish you to see it, that you may understand my directions in
regard to the care of it. Follow me, if you please. We will first go
down into the basement."
Mrs. Hoffman rose. Paul kept his seat, not sure whether he was
included in the invitation or not.
"Your son can come, too, if he likes," said Mrs. Talbot, observing his
hesitation.
Paul rose with alacrity and followed them. He had a natural curiosity
to see the rooms they were to occupy.
They descended first into the basement, which was spacious and light.
It consisted of three rooms, the one in front quite large and
pleasant. It was plainly but comfortably furnished. The kitchen was in
the rear, and there was a middle room between.
"These will be your apartments," said Mrs. Talbot. "Of course I have
no objection to your moving in any of your own furniture, if your
desire it."
"We have only ourselves to move in," said Paul. "We were burned out
early this week."
"Indeed! You were unfortunate."
"I thought so at the time," said Mrs. Hoffman, "but if it had not been
for that Paul would not have called upon Mr. Preston and we should not
have heard of you."
"Were you able to save nothing?" asked Mrs. Talbot.
"Scarcely anything."
"If you are embarrassed for want of money," suggested Mrs. Talbot
kindly, "I will advance you fifty dollars, or more if you require it."
"You are very kind," said Mrs. Hoffman gratefully; "but we have a sum
of money, more than enough for our present needs, deposited with Mr.
Preston. We are not less obliged to you for so kind an offer."
Mrs. Talbot was still more prepossessed in favor of her visitors by
the manner in which her offer had been declined. She saw that they had
too much self-respect to accept assistance unless actually needed.
"I am glad to hear that," she said. "It is not all who are fortunate
enough to have a reserve fund to fall back upon. Now, if you have
sufficiently examined the basement, we will go upstairs."
While passing through the upper chambers, Mrs. Talbot gave directions
for their care, which would not be interesting to the reader, and are
therefore omitted.
"I had intended," she said, "to offer you the use of the upper
chambers, but they are so far off from the basement that it might be
inconvenient for you to occupy them. If you prefer, you may move down
two bedsteads to the lower part of the house. I have no objection to
your putting one in the dining-room, if you desire it."
"Thank you, Mrs. Talbot; I should prefer it."
"Then you may consider yourself at liberty to do it. I believe I have
now said all I wanted to you. Can you come here next Tuesday?"
"Yes, we will do so."
"By the way, I forgot to inquire the size of your family."
"I have only one other child, a little boy of eight."
Mrs. Talbot heard this with satisfaction, for she was aware of the
destructive propensities of children, and preferred that the family in
charge should be small.
"I believe I have nothing further to say," said Mrs. Talbot. "Should
anything else occur to me, I will mention it to you on Tuesday when
you come here permanently."
Paul and his mother took their leave. When they were in the street,
Paul inquired:
"Well, mother, what do you think of Mrs. Talbot?"
"I like her very much. She seems to be a real lady."
"So I think. She seems to be very kind and considerate."
"We are very fortunate to get so good a home and save the entire
rent."
"It will save us two hundred and forty dollars a year."
"We shall be able to save up considerable money every year."
"But there's one thing I want to say, mother. As we are in so much
better circumstances, there will be no need of your working on
neckties any more."
"Are you going to discharge me from your employment, Paul?" said his
mother, smiling.
"Not unless you are willing, mother; but you will have enough to do
looking after the house."
"I would rather keep on making neckties. It is a work that I like. In
return I will hire my washing done, and all the rougher work."
"Perhaps that will be better," said Paul; "but you can do both if you
like."
"I don't mean to lead an idle life, Paul. I should not feel happy if I
did. I was always fond of sewing--that is, in moderation. When I made
shirts for that establishment in Broadway, for such low prices, I
cannot say that I enjoyed that very much. I am glad to be relieved of
such work, though at that time I was glad to get it."
"Those days have gone by forever, I hope, mother. I am young and
strong, and I don't see why there isn't as good a chance for me to
succeed as for other poor boys who have risen to wealth and eminence.
I am going to work for success, at any rate. But we shall have to make
some purchases before Tuesday."
"What kind of purchases?"
"Jimmy and I are out of clothes, you know. My entire wardrobe has been
consumed by the devouring element, as the reporters say. Now, being a
young man of fashion, I don't quite like being reduced to one suit and
one shirt, with other things in proportion."
"If you could wait, I would make you some shirts."
"But I can't wait. I shouldn't feel like wearing the shirt I have on
more than a fortnight."
"I hope not," said his mother, smiling.
"Suppose I should be invited to a party and be obliged to decline with
thanks, on account of having only one shirt. My reputation as a young
man of fashion would be gone forever."
"So I should think."
"To-morrow I will buy a couple of shirts, and these will last me, with
the help of the washerwoman, until you can make me some new ones. Then
I will go to Bookair's tomorrow, and take Jimmy with me and buy new
suits for both."
"I am afraid you are getting extravagant, Paul."
"If we live on Madison avenue, we must dress accordingly, you know,
mother. That reminds me, I must buy two trunks also."
"Two?"
"Yes; one for you, and the other for Jimmy and myself. At present I
could tie up all my clothes in a handkerchief--that is, if I had a
spare one; but I am going to have some more. You must have some new
things also, mother."
"I can wait till we get settled in our new home. I am afraid you won't
have money enough for all the articles you mean to buy."
"I may have to draw some from Mr. Preston. I think I will call on him
to-morrow and do so. I forgot how much we had to buy. I shall close up
business to-morrow and Monday, and spend the time in preparation for
moving."
Mrs. Hoffman would not, had the matter rested with her, have been in
favor of expending so much money, but she had considerable confidence
in Paul's judgment, and indeed their prospects looked bright enough to
warrant it; so she withdrew her objections, and Paul had his own way,
as he generally did.