her daintily perfumed handkerchief to
her nose and whispered: "Dellwild! Charbig dabe, Pierre, dod't you thig
so?"

During the fortnight which followed, Sophronia and I visited
house-furnishing stores, carpet dealers, furniture warehouses, picture
stores, and _bric-a-brac_ shops. The agent was very kind; he sent a boy
to the house with the keys every time the express wished to deliver any
of our goods. Finally, the carpet dealer having reported the carpets
laid, Sophronia, I, and our newly engaged servant, started by rail to
Villa Valley, three double-truck loads of furniture preceding us by way
of the turnpike. I had thoughtfully ordered quite a quantity of
provisions put into the house, in advance of our arrival. Hiring a
carriage at the station, and obtaining the keys of the agent, we drove
to our residence. Sophronia, to use her own expression, 'felt as she
imagined Juno did, when first installed as mistress of the rosy summit
of the divine mount; while I, though scarcely in a mood to compare
myself with Jove, was conscious of a new and delightful sense of
manliness. The shades and curtains were in the windows, the sun shone
warmly upon them, and a bright welcome seemed to extend itself from the
whole face of the cottage. I unlocked the door and tenderly kissed my
darling under the lintel; then we stepped into the parlor. Sophronia
immediately exclaimed:

"Gracious!"

The word that escaped _my_ lips, I shrink from placing upon the printed
page. A barrel of flour, one of sugar, another of corned beef, and a
half-barrel of molasses, a box of candles, a can of kerosene oil, some
cases of canned fruits, a box of laundry soap, three wash-tubs, and a
firkin of butter--all these, and many other packages, covered the parlor
floor, and sent up a smell suggestive of an unventilated grocery. The
flour had sifted between the staves of the barrel, the molasses had
dripped somewhat, the box of soap had broken open and a single bar had
been fastened to the carpet by the seal of a boot-heel of heroic size.
Sophronia stepped into little pools of molasses, and the effect seemed
to be that the carpet rose to bestow sweet clinging kisses upon the
dainty feet of the loveliest of her sex.

"Horrible!" ejaculated Sophronia.

"And here come the trucks," said I, looking out of the window, "and the
one with the parlor furniture is in front."

Fortunately, the truckmen were good-tempered and amenable to reason,
expressed by means of c