Show t t Their Trip to Europe By Virna Woods 1 Copyright Mr nnd Mrs Chester Reynolds satIn sat-In the back parlor of their pretty now cottage looking at their surroundings with qualified approval Tho carpets and tho curtains and the furniture are nil right said the lady but wo are deficient in pictures and brio abrac They had bern married a month and had Just returned from their wedding trip on the coast and settled down In their now home Chester Reynolds was a bookkeeper on a salary which hlght have been larger and ho had spent all of his capital on tho buildIng build-Ing and furnishing of his house The engagement lnde ° dj had been extended extend-ed first to two nnd then to three years that tho young man might save enough to make this start In married life Sylvia had at first Insisted upon a wedding trip to Europe also but hLr lover had rebelled against further I postponement of the marriage He had compromised however by promising I prom-ising tho coveted trip in tho second 1 year of their marriage the money for tho purpose to bo saved from his salary sal-ary Sylvia was to bo tho financier receiving tho funds and expending the necessary amount on the housekeeping housekeep-ing reserving the balance for the trip Now however as sho looked about tho tastefully furnished rooms sho I seemed moro sensible of certain bare places on walls and mantel and cabinet I cabi-net than of the pretty furnishings that had delighted her at tho time of tholr purchase If we could only get a fow things she said before wo begin to savo for Europe I think I should bo satisfied satis-fied I suppose it would not matter If wo postponed the time a month or two replied her husband if you would feel better satisfied You know we entertain tho whist club tho next time said Sylvia thoughtfully and really I would like for tho hottso to look Its best What I would like for the parlors she continued con-tinued tranquilly would bo a watercolor water-color copy of Guido Rents Aurora and a European carbon of tho Madonna Ma-donna of tho Chair in tho front room and Hofmans Christ In the Temple and portraits of Raphael and Heine out hero Then she added of course I should want several Austrian vases and marblo busts and statuettes scattered scat-tered around Her husbati groaned It would take two or threo months postponement of our trip to get those ho said Well of course said Sylvia HI shouldnt think of buying them all at once 1 was only saying what I wanted want-ed to have In tho course of time Then there Is tho sideboard she mused 1 i dphhw t l i U r i f f iI I 1 ii 1 He Found Her at Last glancing through the sliding doors that opened into the dining room It looks rather bare Tho first month thoy got an electric lump and the Aurora and a Wedgwood Wedg-wood milk pitcher There was noth ong saved for tho European trip but they spent much time in tho evenings admiring their new possessions which had been noticed by several members ot tho whist club But wo really must save something some-thing tho next Ume said Sylvia and Chester assented I But at the end of the next month a cpusln of Chesters sent word that ho I and his wife would bo passing through the city and would spend a day ortwo with thorn I Will and I wore old playfellows il and school chums said Chester and ho has dono pretty well in tho world I I would like to mako as good an appearance ap-pearance as possible Wo will need a Havliand salad not said Sylvia and some oyster forks Again the European trip was set forward n month in tho future I Tho third month there was a bankrupt bank-rupt sale of Austrian cut glass and thoy decided it would never do to let such an opportunity pass I Wo might never have another chanco to got these things so cheap they said and we will not bo satisfied I without them And they tried to put from their minds tho thought of the postponed trip as they looked proudly at their new treasures and saw what an air of elegance they gave to tho I rooms c The fourth month they resolutely turned their eyes from the attractions attrac-tions of the show wlndows and would nooks and wall not see tho empty spaces they had already filled In their Imagination Sylvia when It was a happy day for she had balanced her housekeeping accounts ac-counts and found a surplus of the amount they hall agreed upon as the I monthly contribution to their European Euro-pean fund I I will take It to the bank this very day sho decided for If I dont a burglar might take this Inopportune tlmo to rifle the house She told her husband of her determination deter-mination at lunch and when he came home In the evening it was with the thought that sho would meet him with the announcement that tho European fund was started But she did not come Into tho hall an ho entered and I I she was not in tho parlors or the dinIng din-Ing room Ho found her at last In the bedroom sitting In a rockingchair in un attitude of dejection Good heavens Sylvia ho exclaimed ex-claimed whats tho matter Is soma one at home sick oror dead His wife shook her head She had risen and stood drooping before him her hands clasped her eyes downcast down-cast Chester she said with unusual solemnity I have dono something dreadful The anxiety of his faco relaxed and seating himself In the chair she bad vacated he drew her down on his kneeWhat What terrible thing have you done ho asked smiling I have spent tho money she burst out desperately Spent tho money he echoed Yes tho European money she replied I was taking it to tho bank and I had to pass Johnson Bays you know and they bad the most exquisite ex-quisite Cnstelllnn marbles in the window win-dow There were three Venuses and a Cupid and Psycho and a Gladiator and the loveliest Apollo They have never had anything of tho kind here before you know and I could not re chat going In to look at them Then I thought how lovely the Apollo would be in that empty corner in tho front parlor And I kop looking at it until it seemed to me It was tho ono thing I wanted to make me completely happy hap-py After a while a lady came In and said she wanted to select a piece and sho looked at the Apollo Then II said I had already decided to tako it After that tho clerk asked mo if I had a pedestal or a suitable table for it and I knew I hadnt So I got an onyx table It hUll to bo a nice one you know and and it took all the money Sho looked at him anxiously like a repentant culprit For a moment he regarded her gravely then he broke into a laugh Well ho said I can stand it if you can Its only another month added to the time Youre so good to take it that way sho said But this is the last thing I shall buy Im determined on thatBut But show me your acquisition he said Im burning with Impatience to see it She led tho way Into the parlor and pointed to It tragically The pure translucent marble was carved In a figuro of the most exquisite grace Sylvia sat down and sighed deeply Its lovely sho said but I cannot help feeling sorry that I got it As time passed she could not throw oft tho feeling and the statuette became be-came a kind of Moloch on whose altar she sacrificed her desires Sho hat Intended making a little visit to her mother this month but she gave it up I cannot afford It sho explained to her husband because I got the Apollo And tho money for railroad fare went into tho European fund Sho wanted n new hat nnd tho latest thing in belts but sho looked at the Apollo and put the thought aside Ono evening her husband asked her if she would like to go to the opera the next night Do you think wo had better she said seriously You know we have the Apollo That is so he replied we will add the money to the fund The months slipped by each ono marked by a deposit for tho fundS fund-S lvla could never quite forgive herself her-self for her ono extravagance she would not reAd the advertisements ot bankrupt sales Whenever she was tempted to Indulge In a picture or vaso she remembered the Apollo When tho marble statuetto had been in tho house a year thoy found that they had saved the requisite amount for their trip Their preparations were soon made and thoy stood one day on tho dock of a steamer watching tho shoreline fado In tho distance while far and away stretched the seemingly limitless expanse of the bil lowy ocean I can hardly realize said Chester musingly that We aro actually on our way to Europe It does not seem true that before long we shall see tho things of which we have read and dreamed so long And to think she cried Joyfully wo would never have saved tho money In tho world If it had nut been for the Castelllnn Apollo |