PARTING WITH POLLY 199 



the more or less justifiable banging of a door 

 when one has done wrong and knows it. 



Then I tried unblushing bribery. Neither my 

 wife nor my daughter would have any of it. 



Then I went down town and sought the pur- 

 chaser. He had left town. I sat down and wrote 

 him, explaining the circumstances. It was a 

 dreary two days at home before I got his letter. 

 Then it was drearier, for the letter explained that 

 he had bought the mare to mate up a pair for a 

 Boston man, and had delivered her the day before. 

 He very kindly sent me the address, and I lost no 

 time in writing the Boston man. 



His reply I received after a few days. He did 

 not care to sell, as he had the best pair of driving 

 horses in Boston. If I cared to call some day he 

 would be pleased to show me what they could 

 do, and he remained, "Very truly," etc. 



It seemed to me that I had got myself into a 

 very serious scrape indeed, especially as the 

 clouds hung very thick over my homestead. 



With a part of the price of my treason I bought 

 a new rubber trimmed driving harness, with 

 which I decorated Lady M. And I also had the 

 Concord painted and varnished. 



My wife had long urged the purchase of a new 

 harness, and I thought the double outlay might 

 soften her just resentment, but it had absolutely 

 the opposite effect. She refused to ride behind 



