Hope occasionally reminded him. Clover persisted, however, that it was all
fair, and that she got lots of fun out of it too, and didn't mind the
trouble. The house was so absurdly small that it seemed to strike every
one as a good joke; and Clover's friends set themselves to help in the
preparations, as if the establishment in Piute Street were a kind of
baby-house about which they could amuse themselves at will.
It is a temptation always to make a house pretty, but Clover felt herself
on honor to spend no more than was necessary. Papa had trusted her, and
she was resolved to justify his trust. So she bravely withstood her
desire for several things which would have been great improvements so far
as looks went, and confined her purchases to articles of clear
necessity,--extra blankets, a bedside carpet for Phil's room, and a
chafing-dish over which she could prepare little impromptu dishes, and so
save fuel and fatigue. She allowed herself some cheap Madras curtains for
the parlor, and a few yards of deep-red flannel to cover sundry shelves
and corner brackets which Geoffrey Templestowe, who had a turn for
carpentry, put up for her. Various loans and gifts, too, appeared from
friendly attics and store-rooms to help out. Mrs. Hope hunted up some old
iron firedogs and a pair of bellows, Poppy contributed a pair of
brass-knobbed tongs, and Mrs. Marsh lent her a lamp. No.
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