hat would have provided him with a
wholesome and sufficient repast at home. Oh, there were many other items
in this account of extravagance, and Darnell had often regretted his way
of life, thinking that if he had been more careful, five or six pounds a
year might have been added to their income.

And the question of the spare room brought back these regrets in an
exaggerated degree. He persuaded himself that the extra five pounds
would have given a sufficient margin for the outlay that he desired to
make; though this was, no doubt, a mistake on his part. But he saw
quite clearly that, under the present conditions, there must be no
levies made on the very small sum of money that they had saved. The rent
of the house was thirty-five, and rates and taxes added another ten
pounds--nearly a quarter of their income for house-room. Mary kept down
the housekeeping bills to the very best of her ability, but meat was
always dear, and she suspected the maid of cutting surreptitious slices
from the joint and eating them in her bedroom with bread and treacle in
the dead of night, for the girl had disordered and eccentric appetites.
Mr. Darnell thought no more of restaurants, cheap or dear; he took his
lunch with him to the City, and joined his wife in the evening at high
tea--chops, a bit of steak, or cold meat from the Sunday's dinner. Mrs.
Darnell ate bread and jam and drank a little milk in the middle of the
day; but, with the utmost economy, the effort to live within their means
and to save for future contingencies was a very hard one. They had
determined to do without change of air for at least three years, as the
honeymoon at Walton-on-the-Naze had cost a good deal; and it was on this
ground that they had, somewhat illogically, reserved the ten pounds,
declaring that as they were not to have any holiday they would spend the
money on something useful.

And it was this consideration of utility that was finally fatal to
Darnell's scheme. They had calculated and recalculated the expense of
the bed and bedding, the linoleum, and the ornaments, and by a great
deal of exertion the total expenditure had been made to assume the shape
of 'something very little over ten pounds,' when Mary said quite
suddenly--

'But, after all, Edward, we don't really _want_ to furnish the room at
all. I mean it isn't necessary. And if we did so it might lead to no end
of expense. People would hear of it and be sure to fish for invitations.
You know