August, 1919 
33 
the best base burner stove. “You kin have 
those—we’re going’ to have steam heat put in 
next winter,” and with this commentary on the 
increasing fortunes of his family, he drove off 
as recklessly as he had come. 
The Missing Molding 
We gazed after him marveling, and when I 
swung, as does the needle to the pole, to the 
little old gilt mirror, a Jewish dealer was 
before me. The loose piece of molding he 
carelessly removed and thrust into his pocket 
before my startled eyes. Two ladies of color 
wandering up to look superciliously at the 
pretty thing, he turned away. “You could 
take some gildin’ to it ’Vangie,” suggested one 
doubtfully. “I cawn’t see no more'n half ma 
haid in dat thing,” put in the other, petulantly. 
They moved on and paused in front of the 
mahogany framed mirror. I came closer and 
listened shamelessly. “Now there’s some sense 
in that old one. It sho do set me off”—she 
preened a bit, thrusting nearer to it and dis¬ 
turbing two earnest country women deep in 
confidential conversation on the edge of one 
of the discouraged sofas. 
Trolleys, rigs and cars of all description 
were unloading people and household goods. 
Horses were being trotted up and down, di¬ 
lapidated buggies, gigs and racks were stand¬ 
ing in orderly rows. Farmers and countrymen 
crossed continuously, urging balky calves 
along, carrying some, dragging some at cart 
ends, and coaxing others by the simple means 
of twisting their poor little tails. 
The stack of household goods in the corner 
was increasing amazingly in quantity if not 
in quality. There had arrived among other 
things, a sextant and a box of brass drawing 
instruments that the Illustrator later bid in, 
an old desk thick with dark red paint, two 
feather beds, a tool chest, a few old prints, 
poorly framed, a pair of iron urns, gray with 
paint, and a gilded spinning wheel! Sacks 
of corn and buckets of feed were ranged along 
the porch and a suitcase full of the most un¬ 
desirable nicknacks, novelties, and cheap 
jewelry. 
A darky peanut vender passed, persuasively 
crying, “Peanuts, lovely food! Buy peanuts 
from the Waldorf man!” 
What They Bought 
The auctioneer, already mounted on his 
block, had started in vigorously on the jewelry. 
We lost our chance on the little brass shovel, 
our attention being otherwise engaged. It 
went for fifteen cents to a nice young workman 
already the proud possessor of the suitcase, 
a lady’s wrist watch and a bucket of feed. 
Later I screwed up my courage and offered 
The announcement of the sale de¬ 
scribed them as “chairs of all kinds”, 
but they seemed mostly chairs of 
one kind, chairs of incredible shabbi¬ 
ness and mediocre character, hud¬ 
dled with wash tubs, old lamps and 
books of a by-gone era 
him a quarter for it. When I saw him load, 
besides these things, a cross-cut saw, four 
boxes of socks, an electric iron, a phonograph, 
and a Mission chandelier of green glass and 
imitation bronze, into the back of a spring 
wagon and tie to the tail board a sprightly 
little mare, I felt that to such a munificent 
buyer my transaction must have seemed puny 
indeed. 
A large brass kettle had escaped us also, 
this time beyond recall, and I watched with 
envious eyes its possessor throw it hardily into 
one of the numerous new little Fords fussily 
wheeling about. 
“Do to, mix feed for the hogs in,” he ex¬ 
plained to the lookers-on, and I wandered un¬ 
happily away, lacking the 
courage to exchange it for 
the price of a wooden pail 
or even a galvanized wash- 
tub. The peanut man’s ad¬ 
monition reached my ears: 
“Be as liberal as you can, 
congregation! Don’t let a 
nickel get mouldy in your 
pocket! ” 
The Woman Dealer 
A woman dealer had 
driven in, determined to 
pick up something to make 
her trip worth while. Her 
efficiency amazed me, her 
aplomb and her ferreting 
eye. I had timidly offered 
a bid on the cracked mirror 
in the mahogany frame, but 
the colored person named 
’Vangie had also taken a 
fancy to it and bid it up 
excitedly. I dropped out, 
realizing that ’Vangie pos¬ 
sessed what I did not— 
a true gambling spirit that 
fired her as the smell of 
(Continued on page 54) 
Among the treasures were a beautiful 
but decrepit Empire sofa, a badly used 
Lowestoft cup and a little mahogany 
mirror with a cracked glass but ex¬ 
cellent frame 
