to look at the book. It would only make us doubt our own calculations. You might as well try to make brick without mortar, as the children of Israel did.”
“I could do that myself, my dear,” said I, “but we won't discuss that subject now. We will buy just what we absolutely need, and then work up from that.”
Acting on this plan, we bought first a small stove, because Euphemia said that we could sleep on the floor, if it were necessary, but we couldn't make a fire on the floor—at least not often. Then we got a table and two chairs. The next thing we purchased was some hanging shelves for our books, and Euphemia suddenly remembered the kitchen things. These, which were few, with some crockery, nearly brought us to the end of our resources, but we had enough for a big easy-chair which Euphemia was determined I should have, because I really needed it when I came home at night, tired with my long day's work at the office. I had always been used to an easy-chair, and it was one of her most delightful dreams to see me in a real nice one, comfortably smoking my pipe in my own house, after eating my own delicious little supper in company with my own dear wife. We selected the chair, and then we were about to order the things sent out to our future home, when I happened to think that we had no bed. I called Euphemia's attention to the fact.
She was thunderstruck.
“I never thought of that,” she said. “We shall have to give up the stove.”
“Not at all,” said I, “we can't do that. We must give up the easy-chair.”
“Oh, that would be too bad,” said she. “The house would seem like nothing to me without the chair!”
“But we must do without it, my dear,” said I, “at least for a while. I can sit out on deck and smoke of an evening, you know.”
“Yes,” said Euphemia. “You can sit on the bulwarks and I can sit by you. That will do very well. I'm sure I'm glad the boat has bulwarks.”
So we resigned the easy-chair and bought a bedstead and some very plain bedding. The bedstead was what is sometimes called a “scissors-bed.” We could shut it up when we did not want to sleep in it, and stand it against
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