Unavailable Talents

My wife and I looked ateaeli other in blank despair. We are sueli lively neople that it is very seldoin we are both blue at once, but ttais time we liad gèod and sufficient reason. We liad come lo oui last dollar. We had no certaintyof getting any more iiioney, nul we 'were too honest to wish lo be in debt. ïhis was au extraordinary poeition for us. as we were considered by all who kncw us to be such "uncommonly talented" people. I was always told in college that if I would apply myself I migW easüy stand iirst in my class, though in point oí fact 1 stoód somewhere in the twenties, I believe. F have since sometimos wondered if ' application may not be itself a separate taleat, instead of being within reach of all. as is often supposed. My wife was al'avs the life of any company. She was as pretty and trim a woman as you would wish to see, and she sang ballads with really vronderfu] expression. 1 never saw a woman who appreci&teda öke so quickly, and in amateur theatrïcals she was irresisftble. Her taleius weni even farther than this She read poetry so beautifully tli.,1 everybody cried;and, on tlie other hand, she was so fond of mathematica that she Btudied conie sectAons one winter by herself, "for fun." We were both versatile, we were both mercurial. Xow, however, we had no money, and very litüe flour in the house. My wife had made a nice johnuy-cake for the-delectation of the children at supper, and they had gome to bed content, and were now peacefully sleeping. Meajitime il became absolutely necessary for us to face our fate. 1 was a lawyer.. I chose thal proffession, no( lor any innate syiiipatliy with it, but beeause 1 eould not be a clergyman, and would not be a physician. Oí ciiuvse 1 began to practice in the city, for though there seemed to be no opening there, I liked to live in the city. You know the theatre, and music, and liooks, and pietures, and society, can hardly be had in the country. If I had been less talented a mere elodhopper- I cpuld have gone withoul the reflnements of life and heen happy. As it was, it did not occur Éö me thal 1 could live in the eounlry. I need not say my practice amounted to nothing. Those who have tried the experimeni know thal some years elapse before a maintenance can be eountod upon. Elowever, I lived meanwhile on a modest legacy, which had descended to me froni an aunt, and márriéd a wife. Florence had qo money and no experience of housèkeeping; but I hope I should nol marry as I would select a Bervant. We got on beautifully in spite of the quick-eanda which already nresent themselves to the reader's mimi. In the first place, we had no end of g I times together, so onr Ufe i was a sm-ccss so far, and I know we i wereso luippy that we made ; body around us happy too. And we lived within.our means. small as they i were, We would have liked a mjllion, and I really think we could have speni it profitably; stil! we were not extravagum, and iu.tli of "s were honorable amleonscicnüous. We, were at peace with all the world, and considered oursdvcs iioi.le n character and talented in mind. ünfortünatély the failure of the lank in which tny Legacy was investecl cJiangéd the aspect of things. Wë sniiled at örst,because wethoughtwe ahould respect ourselves more if we were brave. And our lïiends said we liore it eharmingly. "But of courae it ia not as if yoniiad not your practice. 'l'liis was vi'iv well, but privately we knew that the practice would hardly keep us in boots and shoes; and tl'.en ] had practiced Long enougli now to find out 1 hated il. I was not ïncimi fora lawver, and, to apeak after the manner of the Methodists, it would aave been 'indulgiiig i Mse hope" to supposel should succeed. It seemed imperative thai r should look to some otlier source Cor ;m income. I had witten i play for the 'Gvedan Club,' to wliidi webelonged, the year before, which had been received with prolongetl applause; but novr, when I. wrote another, and oöered it to the manager, he declined with thankfl. I had also written vers de societe which had been pronounced by good critica as witty as Holmes's; but when I sent theni to the magazines 1 receired a oeat printed sayingthat 'owing to the ovei - crowded state ol the market' they could tiot accept anytning more ai irejf-iit, hut urginjr me to believe that 'want of literary rafirit' liad nothing whatever tü do itli tln-ir rejection. Florence, getting desperate, advertised for private mpïls in mathematüis; hut tlxs only v!" appeared was beiit on MiHlviifg logarithms, which shc had found sotedious when a school eirl that alie liad Bkipped thm all to gcllicr. This was loo bad, lor a! ically a splendid mathematieian, as ta as the principies go, and that is probal ly the, reason she bates eternal figurmg so mucli. ■iih her rauaic the eontrary is trui Slie knows aothing about üie theorj luit lier practice is exquisite, s i course she caunol give U'ssons. Slic sews vciy well I believe - at least wc are all kept neal and whole and she has good taste; but Bhe says her stitches wil! not bear examination, and il' she tricó to sew better, she should work so slowly that she could n.it earn her Balt. Her housekeeping is ery pleasant, 1 kuow ; but we luie a hundred little idiosyncrasiee which would make baking boarders impo3sible even il' it were not intolerable, so wc have never seriously considered that question. ]t wil! probably bc thought coldblooded in me to speak in this way of niy wife's eariing anything, eapecially wiicn. nnw rè had disnüssed our girl, she had everything to do for the child■ t'ii and for inc; and, in faet, I did nol mean she shoijld do anything, but she was always pqndering the matter, and in Bome d'ark inoments I gave in a little myself. I thought I would eommit suicide, and lel her support the childreii! It is obvious tliat now neither of us feil as sure of our clevatcd characteror of our talents as before the legacy was lost, and we had at last arrived at the above mentioned state of blank despair. 'It is really too bad." said Florence ;'t last, -it would take so little to make us happy, aiui wt we can'l have it.' 'There is nothing under heaven to be done,' saial, gloomily, 'but forme t ro as a day laborei into a factory; and as 1 am unskilled, and very oíd for a beeinaer, I cannot earn enough to port the family, so I tliïuk, riiy dear, tliat you had botter go into the same Eactory; that is, il' we eau find work, wliich' I tliink doubtfnl in these limes. And we will apprentice ehildrem to the trade, so tliai they wil! be better able to take care of themselves than we are when they grów up.' Florence made no reply to the remark, but shortly after began a short catechisra. ■ Van, are you aristocratie?' ' Xo, not exactly,' said I ; ' I like the things aristocratie people havo, you kiiow, but it is aot for fearoflosmg caste that I object to the factory. 'Ithought not,' said Florence complacently; 'but of course you objeel bo the 'grind,' and so do I. Xow the quesiion is, what are the necessities of liffl to youV ' Oh yes,' said I. ' First, you and the childreïi ; seeond, a house that does not lcaH, to ever US ; ttaird, con; cake and salt lisli ; fouxth, i good flre in the winter : Qfth, a warm woolen snit for each of iis ; sixth, some light active out-door employment, which 11 not reduce mv spirits to sucli a point that I can'1 enjoy your society when I have leisure to sit down in llie evenlng.' 'And you woukllikéto keep áhorse? said Florence, confidently. Why, yes.' I said, ratlier surprised : 'lint since we have névef kept one since we were marrted, it seemstonie we might dispense with il now.' 'Unless it carne in the way of buslness." said Florence, calnily, ' Xow that 1 know what your real views of the necessarifis of lifeare, I have a plan which I had hesitateil to propose before, thinking you might demandmora' She unfoldcil a newspaper and potwteá to an advertisement. Fob Sm.h- Tlie horst, cart and complete btock of a lm peddler. Excellent route. Business iiiys well. Seli only because family mattere require a renova! to tlie West. Terins easy. Addrens, A. WICKS, r!ainvi!K, I feit a spark of hope. 'I suppose you are in fuu. Florence,' I said, 'hut I really think [ should not hate thia as mufihas-anythingelse Isee any prospect of trying. However, it will probably amount to notliing.' It then appeared that it was severa] days since Florence had seen the noiic'e, and shehad taken paiusto inquire into the matter before speaking to me. She knew someone Ln Plainville wlio had learned all the particulars. It was really truc. The Imsiness was good, thal is of iis kind. 'Of eourse,' our Informant said, 'it did not pay anything like the law,' and we lioped hfl Was rurht. The peddler really was going test, Cor he liad money enough to hve m, and hiswife's liealth demanded a hange of climate. He would selleheap, indíet lis p;iy in instaUínents, and we ould rent lió cottage tor a very small mm. It (lid seem proidential. Riding il)out tire couniry, even in a peddler's -art, liad more aitraotions for me tliail tOiling in a. 1'actory. Besidea I hada sccirt assurance that I liad no capaeity for "toil," and I knew I coukl drive any horse in Plainviíle, at least, ïhen the Beliing, my good looks (1 be lieve J forgotto roention tíiis berore), my genütíinanly manners, my goodnature, my pswiaslve address, on wMch I liad been eompliroepted agaii and again. would all be of the utmos service bo me ín thia business; and her I liad been almost tearing my hair ii anguish al thinking that none oï m; powers were of the least avail in tli bread and butter question. And so we purchased the busfaies by selling some of furnitnre, an wrnt to Plainville to live. ! Beliousl believe that there is a nidio for ever one. Looking back on my time 01 aespair, and comparing it with my pres ent, I am grateful that 1 eau say thtit while ! then thpught 1 was so conatit nicd that i coúldbe neither usefulnor happy in life, I uow flnd that I h been endowed with abundant capaciee for both usefulnësa and happlu k! thaf ïw talent I possess has failed f bearing some frait. And Florence says the same ttñng ábotit hetöeïf. Let me elabórate; That a tin peddler is a osèiui as well as an honest memtoer of society, who can doubt? He deals in siiiiple, nsavy avticles, and by eariying thi m from door to dooi he saves vast -cjiifiicc to aumerouB people. Ho much 'or use. The cottage we lived in was not trictiv Vautüul, but it was conifo le and in a pleasant place, wiili au ircbard before it, and we trainee! creep■rs on tivlliscs about it, and plante! ■oses and flowerisg shjrubB along the stone walls. It was a fresb, sweet place to live te, and the children had a lovcly play-round. Al tirst Flor had no servad and wofked very hard; lint she was young and strong, and she had declared that she did nol get s tired as she had óften done in our oli home with the thonsand and ma spcic by duties from whióh she was exem] ttOW. 'And the balance ta favor oí thte is she added, 'thaf niv I get tiral in accomplishing something.' [enjoyedmy life even the Qistday, for, as nobody kñew cae, I had no loss of easte to fear, and t was ainusing to me to see the puzzled luces ol my cuslonicis, who seemed to fee] that in so u.-iy 1 was not to the manar boni, and were evidently pleased with my humble airs and graces. I like to sludy human nature, and now I saw inuch of it at home and ofí its guaní. This dëlighted me. ïwo rules I observed wliich made me respected and popular; lirsi. I aever entered a house unless I was inviied: second, l mever insisted that people Bhould buy what they did not want. But I always had an excellent assortmeni of things, and any little novelty I mighi have I took pains should be seen at a glance, and that it mlghi recommend itself. I ara passonatély fond of out-door air and aceneiy. l 'used to enjoj horseS; luit I ÈaVe my dreamyside, and I hardly kuow anything any mon quisite than to jog leisurely alonj countvy roads at six o'doi-k on a May morning, ■when the buds are sH burst[ng and the birds all singinii, or to re turn quietly home in the late June twilight, jñst as the stars are coming out. I like to be out in i soft summer dn, too. There is enough to sec enjoy in the erisp autumn weathei to (concile me to the mnvieldy cart I ride in. Even on ruauersit is not to bedespised. I believe I like all winds and eathers. Tbenlusedto give myself olidays, often in winter, when lorenceand the chiWren and 1 had tio mI of l'un. Of eourse we helped Florence to do the house work first, and then had the day for pleasure. From May to Ot'ober 1 ha went, alone on my jouniey. Every pleasant day Florence, or one of eliildren, or all the faraily, went with me on my rounds. How eiciting it was, ;uk1 how happy we weve. We took OUI dhmer witli US Somjil and nlaved we were gypsie, and I (int in the mos! enticing places in ic beautíful woods. Iflhadto go alone, I often took a Bometimes l Leamed a poog, netimes I even eomposed one, aüa, ranga to siv, the magazines wiiidi ad disdained ihy eontrlbutions In the ays wlu-ii I desperately needed money, o'w often aocepted my effusions wtth omplinients. In the evenings Flotence andl ■ uets, and pojïped nra, and n-, novls. As We had no social dignity to eep i ; ., Sre Wl at liberty toenjöyoielves even licttcr taan in the !,iv, vliicli is sayinga good deal, for we alvaya had such a good time Uien. ÏIküi mv businegskept nnproving, so 'lorence cotiW havo a ■■ Phen ve liad more time Co 'iatks' thaii ver. We gQt aequainted witii eiglilims. TIutc v, as not a person oi' iry pretentions in tow n ex' ie minister and doctor. 'Etía state-of tiings had its advantages as wel! as y& disadvantagea, becauseit is pleasani ry vülage. riorence and I wrote a comedy for the ons of Temperance, and performed in ; with great a] plause, 1 sup lial ;í üiv went to his grave wil uch cecognition as we i'eceived. Flornce sang in the choii1 so sweetly tluit everal people"who had hardlybeen to hun-h twicea year befoi'ébegan to go ;ily. We formed a readJhg club E all the young people whp showed a park of promise, and they had a deiul il lul time and thonght they were y, and we liad a délightful time, nd the motest consciojlsness that we ere great benefactors of our race. Once a yeai we put on our best lothes and went to the city forn weck, uid went tothe tbéatre, opera, con unl art galleries, and came home tired nul happy, and convinced fchat tin pedöing was a far healthier and happier [fe than ii was possible to lead in the nidst of sucb efüete civilizatipns. Le1 me be clearly understood. I did outinue the business when I liad aid aside enough money to live apon without it. Meantime I can trulj [enjoyedita thousand linies bi ! ever did the law, md to me at east it vas a hundred times mpre lurátive, and bl es the day when my elever wife discoveied asphereinwhich ill our odds and ends of talent would be