"
"We've sunk three hundred dollars in six months. That is certain,"
said Mrs. Darlington.
"And our furniture has suffered to an extent almost equivalent,"
added her daughter.
"Oh, do not speak of that! The thought makes me sick. Our handsome
French china dinner set, which cost us a hundred and fifty dollars,
is completely ruined. Half of the plates are broken, and there is
scarcely a piece of it not injured or defaced. My heart aches to see
the destruction going on around us."
"I was in Mr. Scragg's room to-day," said Edith.
"Well, what of it?" asked her mother.
"It would make you sick in earnest to look in there. You know the
beautiful bowl and pitcher that were in her chamber?"
"Yes."
"Both handle and spout are off of the pitcher."
"Edith!"
"And the bowl is cracked from the rim to the centre. Then the
elegant rosewood washstand is completely ruined. Two knobs are off
of the dressing-bureau, the veneering stripped from the edge of one
of the drawers, and the whole surface marked over in a thousand
lines. It looks as if the children had amused themselves by the hour
in scratching it with pins. Three chairs are broken.
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