
She could elbow her way if need be she had learned to clutch a piece of goods and hold it and stick to it with persistence and determination till her turn came to be served, no matter when it came.īut that day she was a little faint and tired. Sommers was one who knew the value of bargains who could stand for hours making her way inch by inch toward the desired object that was selling below cost. A vision of the future like some dim, gaunt monster sometimes appalled her, but luckily tomorrow never comes. The needs of the present absorbed her every faculty. She had no time-no second of time to devote to the past. She herself indulged in no such morbid retrospection. Sommers had known before she had ever thought of being Mrs.

The neighbors sometimes talked of certain "better days" that little Mrs. The vision of her little brood looking fresh and dainty and new for once in their lives excited her and made her restless and wakeful with anticipation. And still there would be left enough for new stockings-two pairs apiece-and what darning that would save for a while! She would get caps for the boys and sailor-hats for the girls. She had seen some beautiful patterns, veritable bargains in the shop windows. She had intended to make the old ones do by skilful patching. She would buy so and so many yards of percale for new shirt waists for the boys and Janie and Mag. But it was during the still hours of the night when she lay awake revolving plans in her mind that she seemed to see her way clearly toward a proper and judicious use of the money.Ī dollar or two should be added to the price usually paid for Janie's shoes, which would insure their lasting an appreciable time longer than they usually did.

She did not wish to act hastily, to do anything she might afterward regret. For a day or two she walked about apparently in a dreamy state, but really absorbed in speculation and calculation. The question of investment was one that occupied her greatly. It seemed to her a very large amount of money, and the way in which it stuffed and bulged her worn old porte-monnaie gave her a feeling of importance such as she had not enjoyed for years. Sommers one day found herself the unexpected possessor of fifteen dollars. Paul Signac, Red silk stockings, 1935 Paul Signac, Red silk stockings, 1935


The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne.
