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immediate family and the various relatives were gathered in the old family mansion exchanged the customary with the others all the while that his father had lived long enough he had had a successful life and had fallen like a ripe apple from the tree looked at him where he lay in the great parlor in his black coffin and a feeling of the old time affection swept over him he smiled at the clean cut determined conscientious face the old gentleman was a big man all the way through he said to robert who was present we won t find a better figure of a man soon we will not said his brother solemnly after the funeral it was decided to read the will at once s husband was anxious to return to was compelled to be in a conference of the various members of the family was called for the second day after the funeral to be held at the of messrs knight o of the late i z i c as rode to the meeting he had the feeling that his father had not acted in any way to his interests it had not been so very long since they bad had their last conversation he had been taking bis time to think about things and his father had given him time he always felt that he had stood well with the old gentleman except for his alliance with his business judgment had been valuable to the company why should there be any against him he really did not think it possible when they reached the offices of the law firm mr o a comfortable looking little person greeted all the members of the family and the various and with a hearty he had been personal counsel to for twenty years he knew his and and considered himself very much in the light of a father he liked all the children especially now i believe we are all here he said finally a pair of large horn reading glasses from his coat pocket and looking about very well we might as well proceed to business i will just read the will without any preliminary remarks he turned to his desk picked up a paper lying upon it cleared his throat and began it was a peculiar document in some respects for it began with all the minor first small sums to old servants and friends it then took up a few and finally came to the immediate family beginning with the girls as a faithful and loving daughter was left a sixth of the stock of the carriage company and a fourth of the remaining properties of the deceased which roughly the estate not her share about eight hundred thousand dollars and were provided for in exactly the same proportion the were given certain little for good conduct when they d l should come of age then it took up the cases of robert and owing to certain which have arisen in the affairs of my son it began i deem it my duty to make certain conditions which shall govern the distribution of the remainder of my property to wit one fourth of the stock of the company and one fourth of the remainder of my various properties real personal stocks and bonds to go to my beloved son robert in recognition of the faithful performance of his duty and one fourth of the stock of the company and the remaining fourth of my various properties real personal stocks and bonds to be held in trust by him for the benefit of his brother until such time as such conditions as may be set forth shall have been complied with and it is my wish and desire that my children shall in his direction of the company and of such other interests as are to him until such time as he shall voluntarily such control or shall indicate another arrangement which shall be better swore his breath his cheeks changed color but he did not move he not inclined to make a show it appeared that he was not even mentioned separately the conditions set forth dealt very fully with his case however though they were not read aloud to the family at the time mr o stating that this was in accordance with their father s wish learned immediately afterward that he was to have ten thousand a year for three years during which time he had the choice of doing either one of two things first he was to leave if he had not already married her and so bring his life into moral with the wishes of his in this event s share of the estate tp i be immediately over to him secondly he might elect to marry if he had not already done so in which case the ten thousand a year set aside to him for three years was to be continued for life but for his life only was not to have anything of it after his death the ten thousand in question represented the annual interest on two hundred shares of l s and m s stock which were also to be held in trust until his decision had been reached and their final disposition effected if refused to many or to leave her he was to have nothing at all after the three years were up at s death the stock on which his interest was drawn was to be divided pro among the members of the family if any heir or the will his or her share was thereby entirely it was astonishing to to see how thoroughly his father had taken his case into consideration he half suspected on reading these conditions that his brother robert had had something to do with the of them but of course he could not be sure robert had not given any direct evidence of enmity who	43
drew this will he demanded of o a little later well we all had a hand in it replied o a little it was a very difficult document to draw up you know mr there was no your father he was he has come very near his own wishes in some of these of course you know we had nothing to do with its spirit that was between you and him i hated very much to have to do it oh i understand all that said don t let that worry you mr o was very grateful during the reading of the will had sat as stolid as an ox o he got up after a time as did the others assuming an air of robert and all felt shocked but not exactly not certainly had acted very badly he had given his father great provocation i think the old gentleman has been a little rough in this said robert who had been sitting next him i certainly did not expect him to go as far as that so far as i am concerned some other arrangement would have been satisfactory smiled grimly it doesn t matter he said and were anxious to be but they did not know what to say had brought it all on himself i don t think papa acted quite right ventured but waved her away almost i can stand it he said he figured out as he stood there what his income would be in case he refused to with his father s wishes two hundred shares of l s and m s in open market were worth a little over one thousand each they yielded from five to six per cent sometimes more sometimes less at this rate he would have ten thousand a year not more the family gathering broke up each going his way and returned to his sister s house he wanted to get out of the city quickly gave business as an excuse to avoid with any one and caught the earliest train back to as he rode he meditated so this was how much his father really cared for him could it really be so he ten thousand a year for only three years and then longer only on condition that he married ten thousand a year he thought and that for three years good lord i any smart clerk can e am that to think he should have done that to me c l chapter this attempt at was the one thing which would definitely set in opposition to his family at least for the time being he had realized clearly enough of late that he had made a big mistake first in not having married thus avoiding scandal and in the second place in not having accepted her proposition at the time when she wanted to leave him there were no two ways about it he had made a mess of this business he could not afford to lose his fortune entirely he did not have enough money of his own was unhappy he could see that why shouldn t she be he was unhappy did he want to accept the shabby ten thousand a year even if he were willing to marry her finally did he want to lose to have her go out of his life once and for all he could not make up his mind the problem was too complicated when returned to his home after the funeral saw at once that something was amiss with him something beyond a son s natural grief for his father s death was weighing upon his spirits what was it she wondered she tried to draw near to him but his wounded spirit could not be healed so easily when hurt in his pride he was savage and sullen he could have struck any man who irritated him she watched him wishing to do something for him but he would not give her his confidence he grieved and she could only grieve with him days passed and now the financial situation which had been created by his father s death came up for care i z i ful consideration the factory management had to be robert would have to be made president as his father wished s own relationship to the business would have to come up for unless he changed his mind about he was not a as a matter of fact he was not anything to continue to be secretary and it was necessary that he should own at least one share of the company s stock would robert give him any would or would they sell him any would the other members of the family care to do anything which would on robert s under the will they were all rather to at present and he realized that he was facing a situation the solution was to get rid of if he did that he would not need to be begging for stock if he didn t he was flying in the face of bis i father s last will and testament he turned the matter over in his mind slowly and deliberately he could i quite see how things were coming out he must i don either or his prospects in life what a despite robert s assertion that so far as he was concerned another arrangement would have been satisfactory he was really very well pleased with the situation his dreams were slowly completion robert had long had his plans not only for a thorough of the company proper but for an extension of the business in the direction of a combination of carriage companies if he could get two or three of the larger in the east and west to join with him selling costs could be reduced would be avoided and the general expenses could be materially down through a new york representative he had	43
been picking up stock in outside carriage companies for some time and he was almost ready to act in the first place he would have himself elected president of the company and since was no longer a he could select s husband as vice president and possibly some one other than as secretary and under the conditions of the will the stock and other properties set aside temporarily for in the hope that he would come to his senses were to be managed and by robert his father had meant obviously that he robert should help him his brother he did not want to appear mean but this was such an easy way it gave him a righteous duty to perform must come to his senses or he must let robert run the business to suit himself attending to his branch duties in foresaw the drift of things he realized now that he was permanently out of the company a branch manager at his brother s and the thought irritated him greatly nothing had been said by robert to indicate that such a change had taken place things went on very much as before but robert s suggestions were now obviously law was really his brother s at so much a year it his soul there came a time after a few weeks when he felt as if he could not stand this any longer hitherto he had been a free and independent agent the approaching annual s meeting which hitherto had been a one man and a formality his father doing all the would be now a combination of his brother his sisters very likely represented by their husbands and he not there at all it was going to be a great come down but as robert had not said anything about offering to give or sell him any stock which would him to sit as a or hold any official position in the company he decided to write and resign that would bring matters to a crisis it would show his brother that he felt no desire to be under obligations to him in any way or to retain anything was not his and gladly so by right of ability and the desire of those with whom he was associate if he wanted to move back into the company by he would come in a very different capacity from that of branch manager he dictated a simple straightforward business letter saying dear robert i know the time is drawing near when the company must be under your direction not having any stock i am not entitled to sit as a or to hold the joint position of secretary and i want you to accept this letter as formal notice of my resignation from both positions and i want to have your consider what disposition should be made of this position and my services i am not anxious to retain the branch as a branch merely at the same time i do not want to do which will you in your plans for the future you see by this that i am not ready to accept the proposition said down in father s will at least not at present i would like a definite understanding of how you feel in this matter will you write and let me know yours robert sitting in his at considered this letter gravely it was like his brother to come f down to brass if were only as cautious as he was straightforward and direct what a man he would be but there was no in the man no l he would never do a thing and robert knew in his own sou that to succeed greatly one must you have to be at times you have to be subtle robert would say to himself why not face to yourself when you are ring for he would for one and he did d l robert felt that although was a decent fellow and his brother he wasn t enough to suit his needs he was too too to take issue if yielded to his father s wishes and took possession of his share of the estate he would become necessarily an active partner in the affairs of the company would be a barrier in robert s path did robert want this decidedly he did not he much preferred that should hold fast to for the present at least and so be quietly by his own act after long consideration robert dictated a letter he hadn t made up his mind yet just what he wanted to do he did not know what his sisters husbands would like a consultation would have to be held for his part he would be very glad to have remain as secretary and if it could be arranged perhaps it would be better to let the matter rest for the present cursed what did robert mean by beating around the bush he knew well enough how it could be arranged one share of stock would be enough for to robert was afraid of him that was the fact well he would not retain any depend on that he would resign at once accordingly wrote back saying that he had considered all sides and had decided to look after some interests of his own for the time being if robert could arrange it he would like to have some one come on to and take over the branch agency thirty days would be time enough in a few days came a reply saying that robert was awfully sorry but that if was determined he did not want to interfere with any plans he might have in view s husband had long thought he would like to reside in he could undertake the work for the time being d l smiled evidently robert was making the best of	43
a very subtle situation robert knew that he could sue and tie things up and also that he would be very to do so the newspapers would get hold of the whole story this matter of his relationship to was in the air anyhow he could best solve the problem by leaving her so it all came back to that l chapter for a man of s years he was now forty to be tossed out in the world without a definite connection even though he did have a present income including this new ten thousand of fifteen thousand a year was a disturbing and thing he realized now that unless he made some very fortunate and profitable arrangements in the near future his career was at an end of course he could marry that would give him the ten thousand for the rest of his life but it would also end his chance of getting his legitimate share of the estate again he might sell out the seventy five thousand dollars worth of moderate interest stocks which now yielded him about five and try a practical of some kind say a rival carriage company but did he want to jump in at this stage of the game and begin a running fight on his father s old organization moreover it would be a hard row to there was the keenest for business as it was with the company very much in the lead s only available capital was his seventy five thousand dollars did he want to begin in a obscure way it took money to get a in the carriage business as things were now the trouble with was that while blessed with a fine im and considerable insight he lacked the narrow minded on his individual superiority which is a necessary element in almost every great business success to be a figure in l business means as a that must be an of one idea and that idea the god given one that ufe has destined you for a tremendous future in the particular field you have chosen it means that one a cake of soap a new can a safety or i speed must seize on your imagination with tremendous force burn as a r ing and i the be al l and end all of your exist ence as a rule a man needs poverty to help him to this enthusiasm and youth the thing he has discovered and with which he is going to busy himself must be the door to a thousand opportunities and a thousand joys happiness must be beyond or the fire will not bum as brightly as it might the urge will not be great enough to make a great success did not possess this indispensable quality of enthusiasm life had already shown him the greater part of its so called joys he saw through the illusions that are so often and so pleasure money of course was essential and he had already had money enough to keep him comfortably did he want to risk it he looked about him thoughtfully perhaps he did certainly he could not comfortably contemplate the thought of sitting by and watching other people work for the rest of his days in the end he decided that he would himself and look into things he was as he said to himself in no hurry he was not going to make a mistake he would give the trade the people who were identified with the manufacture and sale of carriages time to realize that he was out of the company for the time being anyhow and open to other connections so he announced that he was leaving the company and going to europe for a rest he had never been abroad and too would enjoy it could be left at home with and a maid and he and would travel around a bit seeing what europe had to show he wanted to visit and d l and the great watering places that had been recommended to him and and the had always appealed to his imagination after he had had his he could come back and seriously gather up the threads of his intentions the spring after his father died he put his plan into execution he had wound up the work of the and with a pleasant deliberation had studied out a tour he made his and now having gathered together their comforts they took a steamer from new york to liverpool after a few weeks in the british they went to egypt from there they came back through greece and italy into and and then later through france and paris to germany and was diverted by the novelty of the experience and yet he had an uncomfortable feeling that he was wasting his time great business were not built by and he was not looking for health on the other hand was transported by what she saw and enjoyed the new life to the full before and places which had never dreamed existed she learned of an older civilization powerful complex complete millions of people had lived and died here believing in other gods other forms of government other conditions of existence for the first time in her life gained a clear idea of how vast the world is now from this of decayed greece of fallen rome of forgotten egypt she saw how are our minor difficulties our minor her father s it did not seem so significant any more and the social economy of rather perhaps her mother had worried so of what people her neighbors thought but here were dead worlds of people some bad some good explained that their differences in standards of morals were due sometimes to climate sometimes to religious s l z i c i ble human being and she had hoped and hoped and hoped that	43
he would propose to her more than once she had looked at his big head with its short growth of hardy brown hair and wished that she could stroke it it was a hard blow to her when he finally moved away to at that time she knew nothing of but she felt instinctively that her chance of winning him was gone then always an ardent admirer proposed for something like the sixty fifth time and she took him she did not love him but she was getting along and she had to marry some one he was when he married her and he lived only four years just long enough to realize that he had married a charming broad minded woman then he died of and mrs was a rich widow sympathetic attractive delightful in her knowledge of the world and with nothing to do except to live and to spend her money she was not inclined to do either indifferently she had long since had her ideal of a man established by these of counts lords whom she met in one social world and another for her friendship and connections had with the years did not interest her a she was terribly weary of the superficial of the j fortune hunter whom she met abroad a good judge of character a student of men and manners a natural along and lines she saw i through them and through the civilization which they represented i could have been happy in a cottage with a man i once knew out in she told one of her women friends who had been an american before her marriage he was the biggest fellow if he had proposed to me i would have married him if i had had to work for a living myself he so poor asked her friend l z i c indeed he wasn t he was comfortably rich but that did not make any difference to me it was the man i wanted it would have made a difference in the long run said the other you me mrs i waited for him for a of years and i know had always retained pleasant impressions and kindly memories of pace or mrs as she was now he had been fond of her in a way very fond why hadn t he married her he had asked himself that question time and again she would have made him an ideal wife his father would have been pleased every body would have been delighted instead he had drifted and drifted and then he had met and somehow after that he did not want her any more now after six years of separation he met her again he knew she was married she was vaguely aware he had had some sort of an affair she had heard that he had subsequently married the woman and was living on the south side she did not know of the loss of his fortune she ran across him first in the one june evening the windows were open and the flowers were blooming everywhere with that sense of new life in the air which runs through the world when spring comes back for the moment she was a little beside herself something choked in her throat but she collected herself and extended a graceful arm and hand why she exclaimed how do you do i am so glad and this is mrs charmed i m sure it seems truly like a breath of spring to see you again i hope you ll excuse me mrs but i m delighted to see your husband i m ashamed to say how many years it is since i saw you last i feel quite old when i think of it why think it s been all of six or seven years and i ve been married and had child and poor mr has died and c l oh dear i don t know what all hasn t happened to you don t look it commented smiling he was pleased to see her again for they had been good friends she liked him still that was evident and he truly liked her smiled she was glad to see this old friend of s this woman trailing a yellow lace train over pale mother of pearl satin her round smooth arms bare to the shoulder her cut low and a dark red rose blowing at her waist seemed to her the ideal of what a woman should be she liked looking at lovely women quite as much as she enjoyed calling his attention to them and him in the way about their charms wouldn t you like to nm and talk to her instead of to me she would ask when some particularly striking or beautiful woman chanced to attract her attention would examine her choice for he had come to know that her judge of feminine charms was excellent oh i m pretty well off where i am he would retort looking into her eyes or i m not as yoimg as i used to be or i d get in tow of that run on was her comment i ll wait for you what would you do if i really should why i wouldn t do anything you d come back to me maybe wouldn t you care r you know i d care but if you felt that you wanted to i wouldn t try to stop you i wouldn t expect to be i all in all to one man unless he wanted me to be where do you get those ideas he asked her once curious to test the breadth of her philosophy oh i don t know why they re so broad so good natured so charitable they re not common that s sure why i don t think we ought to be selfish l i don	43
wondered where you might be then i remembered that you said you were going to egypt where is your wife in her bath i fancy at this moment this warm weather makes take to water i was thinking of a plunge myself they strolled about for a time was in blue with a blue and white held over her shoulder and looked very pretty oh she suddenly ejaculated i wonder sometimes what i am to do with myself i can t loaf always this way i think i ll go back to the states to live why don t you what good would it do me i don t want to get married i haven t any one to marry now that i i want she glanced at significantly then looked j away oh you ll find some one eventually he said somewhat awkwardly you can t escape for long not with your looks and money oh hush all right have it otherwise if you want i m telling you do you still dance she inquired lightly thinking of a ball which was to be given at the hotel that evening he had danced so weu a few y before do i look it now you don t mean to say that you have gone and abandoned that last charming art i still love to dance doesn t mrs no she doesn t care to at least she hasn t taken it up come to think of it i suppose that is my fault i have nt thought of dancing in some time it occurred to him that he hadn t been going to of any kind much for some time the opposition his had had put a stop to that come and dance with me to night your wife won t object it s a splendid floor i saw it this morning i ll have to think about that replied i m not much in practice dancing will probably go hard with me at my time of life oh hush replied mrs you make me feel old don t talk so mercy alive you d think you were an old man i am in experience my dear that simply makes us more attractive replied his old flame l chapter that night after dinner the music was already sounding in the ball room of the great hotel adjacent to the palm gardens when mrs found smoking on one of the with by his side the latter was in white satin and white slippers her hair lying a heavy mass about her forehead and ears was brooding over the history of egypt its successive tides or waves of rather weak people the thin narrow strip of soil along either side of tiie that had given these successive waves of population the wonder of heat and life and this hotel with its modem and fashionable crowd set down among ancient soul weary almost despairing conditions he and had looked this morning on the they had taken a to the they had watched of ra ed curiously men and boys moving through narrow brightly colored lanes and it all seems such a mess to me had said at one place they are so dirty and i like it but somehow they seem tangled up like a lot of worms chuckled you re almost right but climate does it heat the life is always and under these conditions they can t help it oh i know that i don t blame them they re just queer to night he was brooding over this the moon shining down into the grounds with an d l well at last i ve found you mrs i couldn t get down to dinner after all our party was so late getting back i ve made your husband agree to dance with me mrs she went on she like l and was under the influence of the warmth the spring the moonlight there were rich abroad floating from groves and gardens from the remote distance were sounding and cries and as though a drove of strange animals were being rounded up and driven through the crowded you re welcome to him replied pleasantly he ought to dance i sometimes wish i did you ought to take lessons right away then replied i ll do my best to keep you company i m not as light on my feet as i was once but i guess i can get around oh i don t want to dance that badly smiled but you two go on i m going up stairs in a little while anyway why don t you come sit in the ball room i can t do more than a few rounds then we can watch the others said rising no i think i ll stay here it s so pleasant you go take him mrs and strolled away they made a striking pair mrs in dark wine colored silk covered with glistening black beads her arms and neck bare and a diamond of great size set just above her forehead in her dark hair her lips were red and she had an engaging smile showing an even row of white teeth between wide full friendly lips s strong vigorous figure was well set o e by his evening clothes he looked distinguished that is the woman he should have married said to herself as he disappeared she fell into a i z i c going over the steps of her past life sometimes it seemed to her now as if she had been living in a dream at other times she felt as though she were in that dream yet life sounded in her ears much as this night did she heard its cries she knew its large mass features but back of it were that shaded and changed tone into the other uke the shifting of dreams why bad i she been so	43
attractive to men why had been so eager to follow her could she have prevented him she thought of her life in when she carried coal to night she was in egypt at this great hotel the of a of rooms surrounded by every luxury still devoted to her he had endured so many things for her why was she so wonderful f had said so had told her so still she felt humble out of place holding of jewels that i did not belong to her again she experienced that peculiar feeling which had come over her the first time she went to new york with namely that this fairy existence could not endure her life was fated something would happen she would go back to simple things to a side street a poor cottage to old clothes and then as she thought of her home in and the attitude of his friends she knew it must be so she would never be received even if he married her and she could understand why she could look into the charming smiling face of this woman who was now with and see that she considered her very nice perhaps but not of s class she was saying to herself now no doubt as she danced with that he needed some one hke her he needed some one who had been raised in the atmosphere of the things to which he had been accustomed he couldn t very well expect to find in her the familiarity with the appreciation of the to which he had a been accustomed she understood what they were her mind had awakened rapidly to details of furniture clothing arrange l z d ment manner forms customs but she was not to the manner bom if she went away would return to his old world the world of the attractive well bred clever woman who now hung upon his arm the tears came into s eyes she wished for the moment that she might die it would be better so meanwhile was dancing with mrs or sitting out between the talking over old times old places and old friends as he looked at he at her youth and beauty she was more developed than formerly but still as slender and as she had strength too in this smooth body of hers and her black eyes were liquid and i swear he said you re really more beautiful ever you re exquisite you ve grown younger instead of older you think so she smiled looking up into his face you know i do or i wouldn t say so i m not much on oh you bear can t you allow a woman just a little don t you know we all love to our praise and not be compelled to swallow it in one great what s the point he asked what did i say oh nothing you re such a bear you re a big determined straightforward boy but never mind i like you that s enough isn t it it surely is he said they strolled into the garden as the music ceased and he squeezed her arm softly he couldn t help it she made him feel as if he owned her she wanted him to feel that way she said to herself as they sat at the in the gardens that if ever he were free and would come to her she would take him she was i almost ready to take him anyhow only he probably wouldn t he was so straight so considerate he d l wouldn t like so many other men she knew do a mean he couldn t finally rose and excused he and were going farther up the in the morning toward and and the water washed temples at they would have to start at an early hour and he must get to bed when are you going home asked mrs in september have you engaged your passage yes we sail from on the the i may be going back in the fall laughed don t be surprised if i crowd in on the same boat with you i m very unsettled in my mind come along for goodness sake replied i hope you do i ll see you to morrow before we leave he paused and she looked at him wistfully cheer up he said taking her hand you never can tell what life do we sometimes find ourselves right when we thought we were all wrong he was thinking that she was sorry to lose him and he was sorry that she was not in a position to have what she wanted as for himself he was saying that here was one solution that probably he would never accept yet it was a solution why had he not seen this years before and yet she wasn t as beautiful then as she is now wise nor as wealthy maybe maybe couldn t be to nor wish her any bad luck she had had enough without bis willing and had borne it bravely l chapter the trip home did bring another week with mrs for after mature consideration she had decided to venture to america for a while and were her and she hoped to see more of her presence was a good deal of a surprise to and it started her thinking again she could see what the point was if she were out of the way mrs would marry that was certain as it was well the question was a complicated one was s natural mate so far as birth breeding and position went and yet felt instinctively on the large human side preferred her perhaps y time would solve the problem in the mean time the little party of three continued to remain excellent friends when they reached mrs went her way and and took up	43
the customary thread of their existence on his return from europe set to work in earnest to find a business opening none of the big companies made him any principally because he was considered a strong man who was looking for a control in anything he touched the nature of his altered fortunes had not been made public all the little companies that he were having a hand to mouth existence or a product which was not satisfactory to him he did find one company in a small town in northern which looked as though it might have a future it was controlled by a practical of and carriages such as s father had been in his day who however was not a good business man he was making some small money on an of fifteen thousand dollars and a plant worth say twenty five thousand felt that something could be done here if proper methods were pursued and business exercised it would be slow work there would never be a great in it not in his lifetime he was thinking of making an offer to the small when the first of a carriage trust reached him robert had gone ahead rapidly with his scheme for the carriage trade he showed his how much greater profits could be made through than through a destructive so convincing were his arguments that one by one the big carriage companies fell into line within a few months the deal had been pushed through and robert found himself president of the united carriage and wagon association with a capital stock of ten million dollars and with nearly three of that sum at a forced sale he was a happy man while all this was going forward was completely in the dark his trip to europe prevented him from seeing three or four minor notices in the newspapers of some of the efforts that were being made to unite the various carriage and wagon he returned to to learn that s husband was still in full charge of the branch and living in but because of his quarrel with his family he was in no position to get the news direct accident brought it fast enough however and that rather the individual who conveyed this information was none other than mr henry of into whom he ran at the union club one evening after he had been in the city a month l z i c i bear you re out of the old company remarked smiling yes said i m out what are you up to now oh i have a deal of my own under consideration i m thinking something of handling an independent concern surely you won t run counter to your brother he has a pretty good thing in that combination of his combination i hadn t heard of it said i ve just got back from europe well you want to wake up replied he s got the biggest thing in your line i thought you knew all about it the company the company the woods company in fact five or six of the big companies are all in your brother was elected president of the new concern i dare say he cleaned up a couple of millions out of the deal stared his glance hardened a little well that s fine for robert i m glad of it could see that he had given him a vital well so long old man he when you re in look us up you know how fond my wife is of you i know replied by by he strolled away to the smoking room but the news took all the zest out of his private venture where would he be with a shabby little wagon company and his brother president of a carriage trust good heavens robert could put him out of business in a year why he himself had dreamed of such a combination as this now his brother had done it it is one thing to have youth courage and a fighting spirit to meet the blows with which fortune often the it is quite another to see middle age com c l ing on your principal fortune possibly gone and avenue after avenue of opportunity being sealed to you on various sides s obvious social the quality of newspaper reputation which had now become attached to her his father s opposition and death the loss of his fortune the loss of his connection with the company his brother s attitude this trust all combined in a way to and him he tried to keep a brave face and he had succeeded thus far he thought admirably but this last blow appeared for the time being a little too much he went home the same evening that he heard the news sorely saw it she realized it as a matter of fact all during the evening that he was away she felt blue and herself when he came home she saw what it was something had happened to him her first impulse was to say what is the matter but her next and one was to it until he was ready to speak if ever she tried not to let him see that she saw coming as near as she might affectionately without disturbing him is so delighted with herself to day she volunteered by way of diversion she got such nice marks in school that s good he replied solemnly and she dances beautifully these days she showed me some of her new dances to night you haven t any idea how sweet she looks i m glad of it i always wanted her to be perfect in that it s time she was going into some good girls school i think and papa gets in such a rage i have to laugh she him about it the little she offered to teach	43
him to dance to night if he didn t love her so he d box her ears i can see that said smiling him dancing that s pretty good c l she s not the least bit disturbed by his either good for her said he was very fond of who was now quite a girl so tripped on until his mood was modified a little and then some of what had happened came out it was when they were retiring for the night robert s a pretty big thing in a financial way since we ve been away he volunteered what is it asked all ears oh he s gotten up a carriage trust it s something which will take in every of any importance in the country was telling me that robert was made president and that they have nearly eight millions in capital you don t say replied well then you won t want to do much with your new company will you no there s nothing in that just now he said later on i fancy it may be all right i ll wait and see how this thing comes out you never can tell what a trust like that will do was intensely sorry she had never heard complain before it was a new note she wished sincerely that she might do something to comfort him but she knew that her efforts were useless oh well she said there are so many interesting things in this world if i were you i wouldn t be in a hurry to do anything you have so much time she didn t trust herself to say anything more and he felt that it was useless to worry why should he after all he had an ample income that was absolutely secure for two years yet he could have more if he wanted it only his brother was moving so onward while he was standing still perhaps drifting would be the better word it did seem a pity worst of all he was beginning to feel a little uncertain of himself l chapter had been doing some pretty hard thinking so far he had been unable to any plan for his re entrance into active life the successful organization of robert s carriage trade trust had knocked in the head any thought on his part of taking an interest in the small wagon he could not be expected to sink his sense of pride and place and enter a petty campaign for business success with a man who was so obviously his financial superior he had looked up the details of the combination and he found that had barely indicated how wonderfully complete it was there were millions in the combine it would have every little by the throat should he begin now in a small way and along in the shadow of his giant brother he couldn t see it it was too he would be running around the country trying to fight a new trust with his own brother as his rival and his own capital arrayed against him it couldn t be done better sit still for the time being something else might show up if not well he had his independent income and the right to come back into the company if he wished did he wish the question was always with him it was while was in this mood drifting that he received a visit from samuel e a real whose great wooden signs might be seen everywhere on the windy stretches of about the had seen once or twice at the union club where he i bad been pointed out as a daring and successful real estate and he had noticed his rather conspicuous offices at la and washington streets was a looking person of about fifty years of age tall black bearded black eyed an arched wide nose and hair that curled naturally almost s h ie l cat like t thin e whit e mr had a real estate proposition to lay before mr of course mr knew who he was and mr admitted fully that he knew all about mr recently in with mr of the firm of rice he had developed mr knew of that yes mr knew of that only within six weeks the last lots in the section of had been closed out at a total profit of forty two per cent he went over a list of other in real estate which he had put through all well known properties he admitted frankly that there were failures in the business he had had one or two himself but the far the bad speculations as every one knew now was no longer connected with the company he was probably looking for a good and mr had a proposition to lay before him consented to listen and mr his cat like eyes and started in the idea was that he and should enter into a one deal covering the purchase and development of a forty acre tract of land lying between fifty fifth seventy first streets and avenue on the side there were indications of a genuine real estate boom there healthy natural and permanent the city was about to fifty fifth street there was a plan to extend the street c l car line far below its present the which ran near there would be glad to put a passenger station on the property the cost of the land would be forty thousand dollars which they would share equally lighting tree planting surveying would cost roughly an additional twenty five thousand there would be expenses for say ten per cent of the total for two years or perhaps three a total of nineteen thousand five hundred or twenty thousand dollars all told they would stand to invest the sum of ninety five thousand or possibly one hundred thousand dollars of which	43
s share would be fifty thousand then mr began to figure on the profits the character of the land its and the of a rise in value could be judged by the property adjacent the that had been made north of street and east of take for instance the plot at and fifty fifth streets on the comer here was a piece of land that in was held at forty five dollars an acre in it had risen to five hundred dollars an acre as by its sale to a mr john l at that time in three years later it had been sold to mr for one thousand per acre precisely the figure at which this tract was now offered it could be out into lots fifty by one hundred feet at five hundred dollars per lot was there any profit in that admitted that there was went on somewhat to explain just how real estate profits were made it was useless for any to rush into the game and imagine that he could do in a few weeks or years what trained real estate like himself had been working on for a quarter of a century there was something in something in taste something in d l supposing that they went into the deal he would be the genius he had a trained staff he controlled giant he had friends in the tax of ce in the water of ce and in the various other city which made or city improvements if would come in with him he would make him some money how much he would not say exactly fifty thousand dollars at the lowest one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand in all would le er let him go details and explain just how the scheme could be worked out after a few days of quiet decided to to mr s request he would look into this thing l chapter the peculiarity of this particular proportion was that it had the elements of success mr had the experience and the judgment which were quite capable of making a success of almost anything he undertook he was in a field which was entirely familiar he could convince almost any able man if he could get his ear sufficiently long to lay his facts before him was not convinced at first although generally i speaking he was interested in real estate he liked land he considered it a sound pro you did not get too much of it he had never invested in any or scarcely any solely because he had not been in a realm where real estate were talked of as it was he was and in a way job i he rather liked mr and his way of doing business it was easy to his statements and he did them in several particulars there were his signs out on the stretches and here were his in the daily papers it seemed not a bad way at all in his idleness to start and make some money the trouble with was that he had reached the time where he was not as keen for details as he had r formerly been all his work in recent years in fact from the very beginning had been with large the of great quantities of supplies the placing of large orders the discussion of things which were and which had very little to do with the minor details which make up the special interests of tb d l smaller of the world in the factory his brother robert had figured the and of labor cost had seen to it that all the little were shut off had been left to deal with larger things and he had done so when it came to this particular proposition his interest was in the phases of it not the petty details of selling he could not help seeing that was a growing city and that land must rise what was now far out property would soon in the course of a few years be well built up residence territory scarcely any land that could be purchased now would fall in value it might drag in or increase but it couldn t fall convinced him of this he knew it of his own judgment to be true the several things on which he did not sufficiently were the life or health of mr the i chance that some neighborhood growth would i affect the territory he had selected as residence territory i the fact that difficult money situations might reduce r i estate in fact bring about a of real estate which would send prices crashing down and i cause the failure of strong even such j for instance as mr samuel e for several months he studied the situation as presented by his new guide and and then having satisfied that he was reasonably safe decided to sell some of the which were him a be six per cent and invest in this new proposition the first cash was twenty thousand dollars for the land which was taken over under an agreement between himself and this was run so long as there was any of this left to sell the next thing was to raise twelve thousand five dollars for improvements which he did and then to furnish some twenty five hundred dollars more for taxes and expenses which bad d l come up in carrying out the improvement work which had been planned it seemed that hard and soft earth made a difference in costs that trees would not always flourish as expected that certain members of the city water and gas had to be seen and fixed before certain other improvements could be effected mr attended to all this but the cost of the proceedings was something which had to be discussed and heard it all after the land was	43
confession the maid had brought tea for her and some brandy and for him and departed that i have been hearing a lot of things about you since i ve been back in this country aren t you going to tell me all about yourself you know i have your real interests at heart what have you been hearing he asked quietly oh about your father s will for one thing and the fact that you re out of the company and some gossip about mrs which doesn t interest me very much you know what i mean aren t you going to things out so that you can have what belongs to you it seems to me such a great sacrifice unless of course you are very much in love are you she asked paused and before replying i really don t know how to answer that last question l he said sometimes i think that i love her sometimes i wonder whether i do or not i m going to be perfectly frank with you i was never in such a c l ous position in my life before you like me so much and i well i don t say what i think of you he smiled but anyhow i can talk to you frankly i m not married i thought as much she said as he paused and i m not married because i have never been able to make up my mind just what to do about it when i first met i thought her the most girl i had ever laid eyes on that speaks volumes for my charms at that time interrupted his a don t interrupt me if you want to hear this he smiled tell me one thing she questioned and then i won t was that in yes so i heard she assented there was something about her so love at first sight again fool her heart was her i know are you going to let me tell this pardon me i can t help a or two well anyhow i lost my head i thought she was the most perfect thing under the sun even if she was a little out of my world this is a country i thought that i could just take her and then well you know that is where i made my mistake i didn t think that would prove as serious as it did i never cared for any other woman but you before and i ll be frank i didn t know whether i wanted to marry you i thought i didn t want to marry any woman i said to myself that i could just take and then after i a while when things had down some we could separate she would be well provided for i wouldn t care very much she wouldn t care you understand yes i understand replied his well you see it hasn t worked out that way she s woman of a curious temperament she possesses a world of feeling and emotion she s not educated in the sense in which we understand that word but she has natural refinement and tact she s a good housekeeper she s an ideal mother she s the most creature under the sun her devotion to her mother and father was beyond words her love for her daughter she s hers not mine is perfect she hasn t any of the graces of the smart society woman she isn t quick at she can t join in any rapid fire conversation she thinks rather slowly i imagine some of her big thoughts never come to the surface at all but you can feel that she is thinking and that she is feeling you pay her a lovely tribute said i ought to he replied she s a good woman but for all that i have said i sometimes think that it s only sympathy that s holding me don t be too sure she said yes but i ve gone through with a great deal the thing for me to have done was to have married her in the first place there have been so many since so much and discussion that i ve rather lost my bearings this will of father s matters i stand to lose eight hundred thousand if i marry her really a great deal more now that the company has been organized into a trust i might better say two millions if i don t marry her i lose everything outright in about two more years of course i might pretend that i have separated from her but i don t care to lie i can t work it out that way without her i feelings and she s been the soul of devotion right down in my heart at this minute i don t know whether i want to give her up honestly i don t know what the devil to do looked ut a cigar in a far off fashion and looked out of the window was there ever such a problem questioned staring at the floor she rose after a few of silence and put her hands on his round solid bead her yellow silken house gown faintly scented touched his shoulders poor she said you certainly have tied yourself up in a knot but it s a knot i my dear and it will have to be cut why don t you dis this whole thing with her just as you have with me and see how she feels about it it seems such an unkind thing to do he replied you must take some action dear she you can t just drift you are doing yourself such a great injustice frankly i can t advise you to marry her and i m not speaking for myself in that	43
though i ll take you gladly even if you did me in the first place i ll be perfectly honest whether you ever come to me or not i love you and always shall you i know it said getting up he took her hands in his and studied her face curiously then he turned away paused to get her breath his action her but you re too big a man to settle down on ten thousand a year she continued you re too much of a social figure to drift you ought to get back into the social and financial world where you belong all that s happened won t injure you if you your interest in the company you can dictate your terms and if you tell her the truth she won t object i m sure if she cares for you as you think she does will be glad to make this sacrifice i m positive of that t you can provide for her of course it isn t the money that wants said gloomily well even if it isn t she can live without you and she can live better for having an ample income she will never want if i can help it he said solemnly you must leave her she urged with a new touch of you must every day is precious with you why don t you make up your mind to act at once to day for that matter why not not so fast he protested this is a business to tell you the truth i hate to do it it seems so brutal so unfair i m not one to run around and discuss my with other people i ve refused to talk about this to any one heretofore my father my mother j any one you i ii i i u j to me than any and since i met you this time l have felt as though i ou ht to explain t really i wanted to i care for you i don t know whether yoa understand how that can be under the circumstances but i do you re nearer to me and than i thought you were don t frown you want the truth don t you well there you have it now explain me to myself if you can i don t want to argue with you she said softly laying her hand on his arm i merely want to love you i understand quite well how it has all come about i m sorry for i m sorry for you i m sorry she hesitated for mrs she s a charming woman i like her i really do but she isn t the woman for you she really isn t you need another type it seems so unfair for us two to dis i her in this way but really it isn t we all have to stand on our merits and i m satisfied if the facts in this case were put before her as you have put them before me she would see just how it all is and agree she can t want to harm you why if i were in her position i would let you go i would truly i think you know that i would any good woman would it would hurt me but i d do it it will hurt her but she ll do it now mark you my words she will i think i understand her as well as you do better for i am a woman oh she said pausing i wish i were in a position to talk to her i could make her looked at wondering at her eagerness she was beautiful immensely worth while not so fast he repeated i want to think about this i have some time yet she paused a little but determined this is the time to act she repeated her whole soul in her eyes she wanted this man and she was not ashamed to let him see that she wanted him well i ll think of it he said uneasily then rather hastily he bade her good by and went away l chapter li had thought of his earnestly enough and he would have been satisfied to act soon if it had not been that one of those influences which sometimes our affairs entered into his park s health began rapidly to fail little by little he had been obliged to give up his various duties about the place he was obliged to take to his bed he lay in his room attended by and visited constantly by and occasionally by there was a window not u from his bed which commanded a charming view of the lawn and one of the surrounding streets and through this he would gaze by the hour wondering how the world was getting on without him he suspected that woods the coachman was not looking after the horses and as well as he should that the newspaper was getting in his delivery of the papers that the furnace man vas wasting coal or was not giving them enough heat a score of uttle petty which were nevertheless real enough to him he knew how a house should be kept he was always rigid in his performance of his self appointed duties and he was so afraid that things would not go right made for him a most imposing and dressing gown of wool covered with dark blue silk and bought him a pair of soft thick wool slippers to match but he did not wear them often he preferred to lie in bed read his bible and the papers and ask how things were getting along d l i want you should go down in the and see what that is doing he s not giving us any	43
heat he would complain i bet i know what he does he sits down there and reads and then he forgets what the fire is doing until it is almost out the beer is right there where he can take it you should lock it up you don t know what kind of a man he is he may be no good would protest that the house was fairly comfortable that the man was a nice quiet american that if he did drink a little beer it would not matter would immediately be that is always the way he declared vigorously you have no sense of economy you are always so ready to let things go if i am not there he is a nice man how do you know he is a nice man does he keep the fire up no does he keep the walks clean if you don t watch him he will be just like the others no good you should go and see how things are for yourself all right papa she would reply in a genial effort to soothe him i will please don t worry i ll lock up the beer don t you want a cup of coffee now and some toast no would sigh immediately my stomach it don t do right i don t know how i am going to come out of this dr the leading physician of the vicinity and a man of considerable experience and ability called at s request and suggested a few simple things hot milk a wine rest but he told that she must not expect too much you know he is quite well along in years now he is quite feeble if he were twenty years younger we might do a great deal for him as it is he is well off where he is he may live for some time he may get up and be around again and i c oo then he may not we must all expect these things i have never any care as to what may happen to me i am too old myself felt sorry to think that her father might die but she was pleased to think that if he must it was going to be under such comfortable circumstances here at least he could have every care it soon became evident that this was s last illness and thought it her duty to communicate with her brothers and sisters she wrote bass that his father was not well and bad a letter from him saying that he was very busy and couldn t come on unless the danger was an immediate one he went on to say that george was in working for a wall paper house the company he thought and her husband had gone to boston her address was a little named just outside the city william was in working for a local electric company was married to a man named who was connected with a company in she never comes to see me complained bass but i ll let her know wrote each one personally from and she received brief replies they were very sorry and she let them know if anything happened george wrote that he could not think of coming to unless his was very ill indeed but that he would like to be informed from time to time how he was getting along william as he told some time afterward did not get her letter the progress of the old german s malady toward final dissolution greatly on s mind for in spite of the fact that they had been so far apart in times past they had now grown very close together had come to realize clearly that his outcast daughter was goodness itself at least so far as he was she never with him never crossed c l him in any way now that he was sick she was in and out of his room a dozen times in an evening or an afternoon seeing whether he was all right asking how he liked his breakfast or his lunch or his dinner as he grew weaker she would sit by him and read or do her sewing in bis room one day when she was his pillow he took her hand and kissed it he was feeling very weak and she looked up in astonishment a lump in her throat there were tears in his eyes you re a good girl he said you ve been good to me i ve been hard and cross but i m an old man you forgive me don t you oh papa please don t she pleaded tears from her eyes you know i have nothing to forgive i m the one who has been all wrong no no he said and she sank down on her knees beside him and cried he put his thin yellow hand on her hair there there he said i understand a lot of things i didn t we get wiser as we get older she left the room to wash her face and hands and cried her eyes out was he really her at last and she had lied to him so she tried to be more attentive but that was impossible but after this reconciliation he seemed happier and more contented and they spent a number of happy hours together just talking once he said to her you know i feel just like i did when i was a boy if it wasn t for my bones i could get up and dance on the grass fairly smiled and sobbed in one breath you ll get stronger papa she said you re going to get well then i ll take you out driving she was so glad she had been able to make him comfortable these last few years as for he was affectionate and considerate well	43
bow is it to night he ask the moment d l he entered the house and he would always drop in for a few minutes before dinner to see how the old man was getting along he looks pretty well he would tell he s apt to live some time yet i wouldn t worry also spent much time with her grandfather for she bad come to love him dearly she would bring her books if it didn t disturb him too much and some of her lessons or she would leave his door open and play for him on the piano had bought her a handsome music box also which she would sometimes carry to his room and play for him at times he wearied of everything and everybody save he wanted to be alone with her she would sit beside him quite still and she could see plainly that the end was only a little way off true to his nature took into consideration all the various arrangements upon his death he wished to be buried in the little which was several miles farther out on the south side and he wanted the beloved minister of his church to i want everything plain he said just my black suit and those sunday shoes of mine and that black string tie i don t want anything else i will be all right begged him not to talk of it but he would one day at four o clock he had a sudden sinking spell and at five he was dead held his hands watching his labored breathing once or twice he opened his eyes to smile at her i don t mind going he said in this final hour i ve done what i could don t talk of dying papa she pleaded it s the end he said you ve been good to me you re a good woman she heard no other words om his lips the finish which time thus put to this troubled life d l deeply strong in her kindly had appealed to her not only as her father but as a friend and she saw him now in his true perspective a hard working honest sincere old german who had done his best to raise a troublesome family and lead an honest life truly she had been his one great burden and she had never really dealt with him to the end she wondered now if where he was he could see that she had lied and would he forgive her he had called her a good were sent to all the children bass that he was coming and arrived the next day the others that they could not come but asked for details which wrote the minister was called in to say prayers and fix the time of the burial service a fat was to arrange all the details some few neighborhood friends called those who had remained most faithful and on the second morning following his death the services were held accompanied and and bass to the little red brick church and sat through the rather dry services he listened wearily to the long discourse on the beauties and rewards of a future hfe and stirred when reference was made to a hell bass was rather bored but considerate he looked upon his father now much as he would on any other man only wept she saw her father in perspective the long years of trouble he had had the days in which he had had to saw wood for a living the days in which he had lived in a factory the little shabby house they had been compelled to live in in street the terrible of suffering they had spent in street in his grief over her his grief over mrs his love and care of and finally these last day chapter the fact that was dead made no particular difference to except as it affected he had liked the old german for his many sterling qualities but beyond that he thought nothing of him one or the other he took to a watering place for ten days to help her recover her spirits and it was soon after this that he decided to tell her just how things stood with he would put the problem plainly before her it would be easier now for had been informed of the disastrous prospects of the real estate deal she was also aware of his continued interest in mrs did not hesitate to let know that he was on very friendly terms with her mrs had at first formally requested him to bring to see her but she never had called herself and understood quite clearly that it was not to be now that her father was dead she was beginning to wonder what was going to become of her she was afraid that might not marry her certainly he showed no signs of intending to do so by one of those curious of thought robert also had reached the conclusion that something should be done he did not for one moment imagine that he could directly work upon he did not care to try but he did think that some influence might be brought to bear on she was probably to reason if had not married her she must realize full well that he did not intend to do so suppose that some responsible third person were to so d l approach her and explain how things were including of course the offer of an independent income might she not be willing to leave and end all this trouble after all was his brother and he ought not to lose his fortune robert had things very much in his own hands now and could afford to be generous he finally decided that mr o of knight o would be the proper for o was good	43
natured and well meaning even if he was a lawyer he might explain to very delicately just how the family felt and how much stood to lose if he continued to maintain his connection with her if had married o would find it out a liberal provision would be made for her say fifty or one hundred thousand or even one hundred and fifty thousand dollars he sent for mr o and gave him his instructions as one of the of s estate it was really the lawyer s duty to look into the matter of s ultimate decision mr o to on reaching the city he called up and found out to his satisfaction that he was out of town for the day he went out to the house in park and sent in his card to she came down stairs in a few minutes quite unconscious of the import of bis message he greeted her most this is mrs he asked with an jerk of his head yes replied i am as you see by my card mr o of knight o he began we are the and of the late mr your ah mr s father you ll think it s rather curious my coming to you but under your husband s father s will there were certain conditions which affect you and mr very materially these provisions are so important that i think you ought to know about them z i that is if mr hasn t already told you i pardon me but the peculiar nature of them makes me conclude that possibly ho t he paused a very question mark of a man every feature of his face an i don t quite understand said i don t know anything about the will if there s anything that i ought to know i suppose mr will tell me he hasn t told me anything as yet ah breathed mr o highly gratified just as i thought now if you wiu allow me i ll go into the matter briefly then you can judge for yourself whether you wish to hear the full particulars won t you sit down they had both b standing seated herself and mr o pulled up a chair near to hers now to begin he said i need not say to you of course that there was considerable opposition on the part of mr s father to this ah union between yourself and his son i know started to say but checked herself she was puzzled disturbed and a little apprehensive before mr senior died be went on he indicated to your ah to mr that he felt this way in his will he made certain conditions governing the distribution of his property which made it rather hard for his son your ah husband to come into his share ordinarily he would have inherited one fourth of the company worth to day in the neighborhood of a million dollars perhaps more also one fourth of the other properties which now something like five hundred thousand dollars i believe mr senior was really very anxious that his son should inherit this property but owing to the conditions which your ah which mr s father made mr cannot possibly obtain his share except by with a with a certain wish which his father had expressed sa mr o paused his eyes moving back and forth in their in spite of the natural prejudice of the situation he was considerably impressed with s pleasing appearance he could see quite plainly why might cling to her in the face of all opposition he continued to study her as he sat there waiting for her to speak and what was that wish she finally asked her nerves becoming just a little tense under the strain of the silence i am glad you were kind enough to ask me that he went on the subject is a very difficult one for me to introduce very difficult i come as an of the estate i might say as one of the under the will of mr s father i know how keenly your ah how keenly mr feels about it i know how keenly you will probably feel about it but it is one of those very difficult things which cannot be helped which must be got over somehow and while i hesitate very much to say so i must tell you that mr senior in his will that unless unless again his eyes were moving to and fro he saw fit to separate from ah you he paused to get breath he could not inherit this or any other sum or at least only a very minor income of ten thousand a year and that only on condition that he should many you he paused again i should add he went on that under the will he was given three years in which to indicate his intentions that time is now drawing to a close he paused half expecting some outburst of feeling from but she only looked at him her eyes clouded with surprise distress now she understood was sacrificing his fortune for her his recent commercial venture was an effort to himself to put himself in an independent position the recent periods of of subtle and of dissatisfaction over which she had grieved were ow explained he was unhappy he was brooding over this loss and he never told her so his father had really him mr o sat before her troubled himself he was very sorry for her now that he saw the expression of her face still the truth had to come out she ought to know i m sorry he said when he saw that she was not going	43
to make any reply that i have been the bearer of such unfortunate news it is a very painful situation that i find in at this moment i assure you i bear you no ill will of course you understand that the family really bears you no ill will now i hope you believe that as i told your ah as i told mr at the time the will was read i considered it most unfair but of course as a mere under it and counsel for his father i could do nothing i really think it best that you should know how things stand in order that you may help your your husband he paused significantly if possible to some solution it seems a pity to me as it does to the various other members of his family that he should lose all this money had turned her head away and was staring at the she faced him now steadily he mustn t lose it she said it isn t fair that he i am most delighted to hear you say that mrs mrs he went on using for the first time her improbable title as s wife without hesitation i may as well be very frank with you and say that i feared you might take this information in quite another spirit of course you know to begin with that the family is very mrs your ah your husband s mother was a very proud and rather distant woman and his sisters and brothers are rather set in their notions as to what constitute proper family connections they look upon his relationship to you as irregular and s pardon me if i appear to be a little cruel as not generally satisfactory as you know there had been so much talk in the last few years that mr senior did not believe that the situation could ever be nicely adjusted so far as the family was concerned he felt that his son had not gone about it right in the first place one of the conditions of his will was that if your husband pardon me if his son did not accept the proposition in regard to separating from you and taking up his share of the estate then to inherit anything at all the mere ten thousand a year i mentioned before he must ah he must pardon me i seem a little brutal but not so many you it was such a cruel thing to say this to her ce this whole attempt to live together had proved disastrous at every step there was only one solution to the unfortunate business she see that plainly she must leave him or he must leave her there was no other alternative living on ten thousand dollars a year it seemed silly mr o was watching her curiously he was thinking that both had and had not made a mistake why had he not married her in the first place she was charming there is just one other point which i wish to make in this connection mrs he went on softly and easily i see now that it will not make any difference to you but i am and in a way constrained to make it i hope you will take it in the manner in which it is given i don t know whether you are familiar with husband s commercial interests or not no said simply well in order to matters and to make it easier for you should you decide to assist your husband to a solution of this very difficult situation frankly in case you might possibly decide to leave on your own account and maintain a separate establishment of your own i am delighted to say that ah any sum say rose and walked to one of the windows clasping her hands as she went mr o rose also well be that as it may in the event of your deciding to end the connection it has been suggested that any reasonable sum you might name fifty seventy five a hundred thousand dollars mr o was feeling very generous toward her would be gladly set aside for your benefit put in trust as it were so that you would have it whenever you needed it you would never want for anything please don t said hurt beyond the power to express herself unable mentally and physically to listen to another word please don t say any more please go away let me alone now please i can go aw y i will it will be arranged but please don t talk to me any more will you i understand how you feel mrs went on mr o coming to a keen of her sufferings i know exactly believe me i have said all i intend to say it has been very hard for me to do this very i regret the necessity you have my card please note the name i will come any time you suggest or you can write me i will not detain you any longer i am sorry i hope you will see fit to say nothing to your husband of my visit it will be advisable that you should keep your own counsel in the matter i value his friendship very highly and i am sincerely sorry only stared at the floor mr o went out into the hall to get his coat touched the electric button to summon the maid and came went back into the library and mr o paced briskly down the front walk when she was really alone she put her doubled bands to her chin and stared at the floor the queer design of the silken rug itself into some curious l x	43
oo mc picture she saw herself in a small cottage somewhere alone with she saw living in another world and beside him mrs she saw this vacant and then a long stretch of time and then oh she sighed choking back a desire to cry with her hands she ed away a hot tear from each eye then she got up it must be she said to herself in thought it must be it should have been so long ago and then oh thank god that papa is dead i anyhow he did not live to see this l chapter the explanation which had concluded to be inevitable whether it led to separation or of their hitherto condition followed quickly upon the appearance of mr o on the day mr o called he had gone on a journey to a small town in where he had been invited to witness the trial of a new intended to operate with a view to possible when he came out to the house interested to tell something about it even in spite of the fact that he was thinking of leaving her he felt a sense of depression everywhere for in spite of the serious and sensible conclusion she had reached was not one who could conceal her easily she was brooding sadly over her proposed action that it was best to leave but finding it hard to summon the courage which would let her talk to him about it she could not go without telling him what she thought he ought to want to her she was absolutely convinced that this one course of action separation was necessary and advisable she could not think of him as daring to make a sacrifice of such proportions for her sake even if he wanted to it was impossible it was astonishing to her that he had let things go along as and silently as he had when he came in did her best to greet him with her accustomed smile but it was a pretty poor imitation everything all right she asked her customary phrase of inquiry s d l quite he answered how are things with you oh just the same she walked with him to the library and he at the open fire with a long handled before turning around to survey the room generally it was five o clock of a january afternoon had gone to one of the windows to lower the shade as she came back he looked at her you re not quite your usual self are you he asked something out of the common in her attitude why yes i feel all right she replied but there was a motion to the movement of her lips a rippling tremor which was unmistakable to him i think i know better than that he said still gazing at her steadily what s the trouble anything happened she turned away from him a moment to get her breath and collect her senses then she faced him again there is something she managed to say i have to tell you something i know you have he agreed half smiling but with a feeling that there was much of grave import back of this what is it she was silent for a moment biting her lips she did not quite know how to begin finally she broke the spell with there was a man here yesterday a mr o of do you know him yes i know him what did he want he came to talk to me about you and your father s wiu she paused for his face clouded immediately why the devil should he be talking to you about my father s will he exclaimed what did he have to say please don t get angry said calmly for she realized that she must remain absolute mistress of herself if anything were to be accomplished toward the resolution of her problem he wanted to tell me what a sacrifice you are making she went on he wished to show me that there was only a little time left before you would lose your inheritance don t you want to act pretty soon don t you want to leave me damn him said fiercely what the devil does he mean by putting his nose in my private affairs can t they let me alone he shook himself angrily damn them he exclaimed again this is some of robert s work why should knight o be in my affairs this whole business is getting to be a nuisance he was in a boiling rage in a moment as was shown by his darkening skin and eyes trembled before his anger she did not know what to say he came to himself sufficiently after a time to add well just what did he tell you he said that if you married me you would only get ten a year that if you didn t and still lived with me you would get nothing at all if you would leave me or i would leave you you would get all of a million and a half don t you think you had better leave me now she had not intended to this leading question so quickly but it came out as a natural climax to the situation she realized instantly that if he were really in love with her he would answer with an emphatic no if he didn t care he hesitate he would delay he would seek to put off the evil day of reckoning i don t see that he retorted i don t see that there s any need for either interference or hasty action what i object to is their coming here and mix ing in my private j airs was cut to the quick by his indifference his wrath instead of affection to her the main point at issue	43
was her leaving him or his leaving her to him this recent interference was obviously the chief matter for discussion and consideration the of io others before he was ready to act was the terrible thing she had hoped in spite of what she had seen that possibly because of the long time they had lived together and the things which in a way they had endured together he might have come to care for her deeply that she had stirred some emotion in him which would never brook real separation though some seeming separation might be necessary he had not married her of course but then there had been so many things against them now in this final hour anyhow he might have shown that he cared deeply even if he had deemed it necessary to let her go she felt for the time being as if for all that she had lived with him so long she did not understand him and yet in spite of this feeling she knew also that she did he cared in his way he could not care for any one and he could care enough to seize her and take her to himself as he had but he could not care enough to keep her if something more important appeared he was her fate now she was in a hurt bleeding but for once in her life determined whether he wanted to or not she must not let him make this sacrifice she must leave him if he would not leave her it was not important enough that she should stay there might be but one answer but might he not show affection don t you think you had better act soon she continued hoping that some word of feeling would come from him there is only a little time left isn t there nervously pushed a book to and fro on the table her fear that she would not be able to keep up appearances troubling her greatly it was hard for her to know what to do or say was so terrible when he became angry still it ought not to be so hard for him to go now that he had mrs if he only wished to do and he ought to his fortune was so much more important to him than anything she could be d l don t about that he replied his wrath at his brother and his family and o still holding him there s time enough i don t know what i want to do yet i like the of these people but i won t talk any more about it isn t dinner nearly ready he was so injured in his pride that he scarcely took the trouble to be civil he was forgetting all about her and what she was feeling he hated his brother robert for this he would have enjoyed wringing the necks of messrs knight o singly and the question could not be dropped for good and all and it came up again at dinner after had done her best to collect her thoughts and quiet her nerves they could not talk very freely because of and but she managed to get in a word or two i could take a little cottage somewhere she suggested softly hoping to find him in a modified mood i would not want to stay here i would not know what to do with a big house like this alone i wish wouldn t discuss this business any longer he persisted i m in no mood for it i don t know that i m going to do anything of the sort i don t know what i m going to do he was so sour and obstinate because of o that she finally gave it up was astonished to see her usually so courteous in so grim a mood felt a curious sense that she might hold him if she would for he was doubting but she knew also that she should not wish it was not fair to him it was not fair to herself or kind or decent oh yes you must she pleaded at a later time i won t talk about it any more but you must i won t let you do anything else there were hours when it came up afterward every day in fact in their in the library in the dining x om at breakfast but not always in d l was worried she was looking the worry she felt she was sure that he should be made to act since he was showing more kindly consideration for her she was all the more certain that he should act soon just how to go about it she did not know but she looked at him trying to help him make up his mind she would j be happy she assured herself she would be happy thinking that he was happy once she was away from him he was a good man most delightful in everything perhaps save his gift of love he really did not love her could not perhaps after all that had happened even though she loved him most earnestly but his family had been most brutal in their opposition and this had affected his attitude she could understand that too she could see now how his big strong brain might be working in a circle he was too decent to be absolutely brutal about this thing and leave her too really con to look sharply after his own interests as he should or hers but he ought to you must decide she kept ng to him from time to time you must let me go what difference does it make i will be all right maybe when this thing is all over you might want to come back to me if you do i	43
will be there i m not ready to come to a decision was his invariable reply i don t know that i want to leave you this money is important of course but money isn t everything i can live on ten thousand a year if necessary i ve done it in the past oh but you re so much more placed in the world now she argued you can t do it look how much it costs to run this house alone and a million and a half of dollars why i wouldn t let you think of losing that i ll go myself first where would you think of going if it came to that he asked curiously oh i d find some place do you remember that q l little to wn of this side of i have often thought it would be a pleasant place to live i don t like to think of this he said finally in an outburst of frankness it doesn t seem fair the conditions have all been against this union of ours i suppose i should have married you in the first place i m sorry now that i didn t choked in her throat but said nothing anyhow this won t be the last of it if i can help it he concluded he was thinking that the storm might blow over once he had the money and then but he hated and it came by degrees to be understood that toward the end of february she should look around at and see what she could find she was to have ample means he told her everything that she wanted after a time he might come out and visit her occasionally and he was determined in his heart that he would make some people pay for the trouble they had caused him he decided to send for mr o shortly and talk things over he wanted for his personal satisfaction to tell him what he thought of him at the same time in the background of his mind moved the shadowy figure of mrs charming well placed in every sense of the word he did not want to give her the broad reality of full thought but she was always there he thought and thought perhaps i d better he half concluded when february came he was ready to act l chapter the little town of this side of as had expressed it was only a short distance from an hour and fifteen minutes by the local train it had a population of some three hundred families dwelling in small cottages which were scattered over a pleasant area of lake shore property they were not rich people the houses were not worth more than from three to five thousand dollars each but in most cases they were constructed and the surrounding trees green for the entire year gave them a pleasing appearance at the time they had passed by there i it was an taken behind a pair of fast horses had admired the look of a little white church set down among green trees and the gentle rocking of the boats upon the summer water i should like to live in a place like this some time she had said to and he had made the comment that it was a little too peaceful for him i can imagine getting to the place where i might like this but not now it s too withdrawn thought of that expression afterward it came i to her when she thought that the world was trying if she had to be alone ever and could afford it she would like to live in a place like there she would have a little garden some chickens perhaps a tall pole with a pretty bird house on it and flowers and trees and green grass everywhere about if she could have a little cottage in a place like this which commanded a view of the lake she could sit of a summer evening and could play about or come home from school she might have a few friends or not any she was beginning to think that she could do very well living alone if it were not for s social needs books were pleasant things she was finding that out books like s sketch book lamb s and s twice told tales was coming to be quite a in her way having a keen sense of the delicate and refined in musical composition she had a natural sense of harmony and a love for those songs and which reflect sentimental and passionate moods and she could sing and play quite well her voice was of course quite she was only fourteen but it was pleasant to listen to she was beginning to show the combined traits of her mother and father s gentle turn of mind combined with s vivacity of spirit and innate capacity she could talk to her mother in a sensible way about things nature books dress love and from her developing tendencies caught keen glimpses of the new worlds which was to explore the nature of modem school life its consideration of various divisions of knowledge music science all came to watching her daughter take up new was evidently going to be a woman of considerable ability not but self she would be able to take care of herself all this pleased and gave her great hopes for s future the cottage which was finally secured at was only a story and a half in height but it was raised upon red brick between which were set green and about which ran a the house was long and narrow its full some five rooms in a row facing the lake there was a dining room with windows opening even with the floor a large with built	43
in shelves for books and a parlor whose three large windows afforded air and sunshine at all times i z i the plot of ground in which this cottage stood was one hundred feet square and ornamented with a few trees the former owner had laid out beds and arranged green for the reception of various and vines the house was painted white with green shutters and green it had been s idea since this thing must be that might keep the house in park just as it was but she did not want to do that she could not think of there alone the place was too full of memories at first she did not think she would take anything much with her but she finally saw that it was advisable to do as suggested to fit out the new place with a selection of and furniture from the park house you have no idea what you will or may want he sam take everything i certainly don t want any of it a lease of the cottage was taken for two years together with an for an additional five years including the privilege of purchase so long as he was letting her go wanted to be generous he could not think of her as wanting for anything and he did not propose that she should his one troublesome thought was what explanation was to be made to he liked her very much and wanted her life kept free of why not send her oft to a boarding school until spring he suggested once but owing to the of the season this was abandoned as later they agreed that business affairs made it necessary for him to travel and for to move later could be told that had left him for any reason she chose to give it was a trying situation all the more bitter to because she realized that in spite of the wisdom of it indifference to her was involved he really did not care enough as much as he cared the relationship of man and woman which we study so d l li passionately in the hope of heaven knows what key to the mystery of existence holds no more or trying situation than this of mutual broken or by conditions which in themselves have so little to do with the real force and beauty of le relationship itself these days of final dissolution in which this household so arranged the scene of so was literally going to pieces was a period of great trial to both and on her part it was one of intense suffering for she was of that stable nature that to fix itself in a serviceable and harmonious relationship and then stay po for her life was made up of those mystic of sympathy and memory which bind up the transient elements of nature into a harmonious and enduring scene one of those this home was her home united and made beautiful by her affection and consideration for each person and every object now the time had come when it must cease if she had ever had anything before in her life which had been like this it might have been easier to part with it now though as she had proved s affections were not based in any way upon material considerations her love of life and of personality were free from the taint of selfishness she went about among these various rooms selecting this rug that set of furniture this and that ornament wishing all the time with all her heart and soul that it need not be just to think in a little while would not come any more of an evening she would not need to get up first of a morning and see that coffee was made for her lord that the table in the dining room looked just so it had been a habit of hers to arrange a for the table out of the richest blooming flowers of the and she had always felt in doing it that it was particularly for him now it would not be necessary any more not for him when one is accustomed to wait for the sound of a certain d l carriage wheel of an evening grating upon your carriage drive when one is used to at eleven twelve and one waking naturally and to the echo of a certain step on the stair the separation the ending of these things is keen with pain these were the thoughts that were running through s brain hour after hour and day after day on his part was suffering in another fashion his was not the sorrow of affection of dis and despised love but of that painful sense of which comes to one who knows that he making a sacrifice of the virtues kindness loyalty affection to policy policy was a very did course of action from one point of view free of providing for her admirably he was free to go his way taking to himself the mass of affairs which come naturally with great wealth i he could not help thinking of the thousand and one little things which had been accustomed to do for him the hundred and one comfortable and pleasant and delightful things she meant to him the virtues which she possessed were quite dear to his mind he had gone over them time and again now he was compelled to go over them finally to see that she was suffering without making a si j her manner and attitude toward him in these last days were quite the same as they had always been no more no less she was not indulging in private as another woman might have done she was not pretending a fortitude in suffering she did not feel showing him face while wishing him to see another behind it	43
he was calm gentle considerate thoughtful of him where he would go and what he would do without him by her inquiries he was struck quite by her ability to take a large situation largely and he admired her there was something to this woman let the world what it might it was a shame that her life was passed under such a troubled star still i a great world was calling him the sound of its voice was in his ears it had on occasion shown him its teeth did be really dare to hesitate the last hour came when having made excuses to this and that neighbor when having spread the that they were going abroad when had engaged rooms at the and the mass of furniture which could not be used had gone to that it was necessary to say farewell to this park had visited in company with several times he had carefully examined the character of the place he was satisfied that it was nice but lonely spring was at hand the flowers would be something she was going to keep a gardener and man of all work would be with her very well he said only i want you to be comfortable in the mean time had been arranging his personal affairs he had messrs knight o through his own attorney mr that he would expect them to deliver his share of his father s on a given date he had made up his mind that as long as he was compelled by circumstances to do this thing he would do a number rf things equally he would probably marry mrs he would sit as a in the united carriage company with his share of the stock it would be impossible to keep him out if he had mrs s money he would become a in the united of in which his brother was heavily interested and in the western steel works of which his brother was now the leading adviser what a different figure he would be now from that which he had been during the past few years was depressed to the point of despair she was lonely this home had meant so much to her she first came here and neighbors d l had begun to drop in she had ned herself on the threshold of a great career that some day possibly would marry her now blow after blow had been delivered and the home and dream were a ruin was gone harry ward and mrs had been discharged the furniture for a good part was in and for her practically was no more she realized clearly that he would not come back if he could do this thing now even he do much more when he was free and away later in his great affairs he would forget of course and why not she did not fit in had not every j thing everything illustrated that to her love was not enough in this world that was so plain one needed p g tn ft ht scheme she did not want to do that she could not the day came when the house was finally closed and the old life was at an end with to he spent some little while in the house trying to get her used to the idea of change it was not so bad he intimated that he would come again soon but i he went away and all his words were as nothing against the fact of the actual and spiritual separation when saw him going down the brick walk that afternoon his solid figure clad in a new suit his overcoat on his arm self reliance and prosperity written all over him she thought that she would die j she had kissed good by and had wished him joy prosperity peace then she made an excuse to go to her bedroom came after a time to seek her but now her eyes were quite dry everything had subsided to a ache the new life was actually begun for her a life without without without any one save what curious things have happened to me she thought as she went into the kitchen for she had s to do at least some of her own work she needed the distraction she did not want to think if it were not for she would have sought some regular outside employment anything to keep from brooding for in that direction lay madness l chapter the social and business worlds of and other cities saw during the year or two which followed the breaking of his relation i ship with a curious in the social and business spirit of he had become rather distant and indifferent to certain personages and affairs while he was living with her but now he suddenly appeared again armed with authority from a number of sources looking into this and that matter with the air of one who has the privilege of power and showing himself to be quite a personage from the point of view of i and commerce he was older of course it be admitted that he was in some respects a mentally altered id the time he was full of the assurance of the man who has never known defeat i to have been reared in luxury as he had been to have seen only the pleasant side of society which is so persistent and so where money is concerned to have been in the run of big affairs not because one has created them but because one is a part of them and because they are one s like the air one breathes could not help but create one of those illusions of which is apt to the brain it is so hard for us to know what we have not seen it is so difficult for	43
us to feel what we have not experienced like this world of ours which seems so solid and persistent solely because we have no knowledge of the power which it s world seemed solid and persistent and real enough to him it was only when the storms set in and the winds of blew and he found himself facing d l the armed forces of tbat he realized he aught be mistaken as to the value of his personality that his private desires and opinions were as nothing in the of a conviction that he was wrong the race spirit or the se as the term it manifested itself as something having a system in and the organization of society began to show itself to him as something based on possibly a spiritual or at least he could not fly in the face of it he could not deliberately its the people of his time believed that some particular form of social arrangement was necessary and unless he complied with that he could as he saw readily become a social outcast his own father and mother had turned on him his brother and sisters society his friends dear heaven what a to do this action of his had created why even the seemed adverse his real estate venture was one of the most unlucky things he had ever heard of why were the gods on the side of a to him unimportant social arrangement apparently anyhow he had been a m to quit and here he was vigorous determined i somewhat battered by the e but still i and worth while and it was a part of the penalty that he had become by what had he was had been to do the first ugly i brutal thing of bis life deserved better of him it was a shame to her after all the devotion she had manifested truly she had played a finer part than he worst of all his deed could not be excused on the grounds of necessity he could have lived thousand a year he could have done without the million and more which was now his he could have done without the society the pleasures of which had always been a he could have but he had not and he had complicated it all with the thought of another woman d l was she as good as that was a question which always rose before him was she as kindly wasn t she under his very eyes win him away from the woman who was as good as wife was that admirable was it the thing a big woman would do was she good enough for after all ought he to marry her ought he to man any one seeing that he really owed a spiritual if no a legal to was it worth while for any woman to marry him these things turned in his brain they haunted him he could not shut out the fact that he was doing a cruel and thing material error in the first place was now being complicated with spiritual error he was attempting to the first by committing the second could it be don to his own would it pay mentally and would it bring him peace of mind he was thinking thinking all he his life to the old or perhaps better yet new conditions and he was not feeling any happier as a matter of he was worse grim if he married he thought at times it would be to use her fortune as a club to knock other enemies over the head and he hated to think he was marrying her for that he took up his abode at the visited in a distant and spirit sat in council with the board of wishing that he was more at peace with himself more interested in life but he did not change his policy in regard to of course mrs had been interested in s she waited some little time before sending him any word finally she ventured to write to him at the park address as if she did not know where he was asking where are you by this time had become slightly accustomed to the change in his life he was saying to himself that he needed sympathetic companionship the companionship i of a woman of course social invitations had begun to come to him now that he was alone and that bis financial connections were so obviously restored he had made his appearance accompanied only by a at several country houses the best sign that he was once more a single man no reference was made by any one to the past on receiving mrs s note he decided that he ought to go and see her he had treated her rather for months preceding his separation from he had not gone near her even now he waited until time brought a invitation to dinner this he accepted mrs was at her best as a hostess at her perfectly appointed dinner table the was there on this occasion together with adam the a visiting from england sir and curiously enough mr and mrs whom had not met in several years mrs and exchanged the joyful greetings of those who understand each other thoroughly and are happy in each other s company aren t you ashamed of yourself sir she said to him when he made his appearance to treat me so indifferently you are going to be punished for this what s the damage he smiled i ve been extremely rushed i suppose something uke ninety will serve me about right ninety indeed she retorted you re letting yourself o e easy what is it they do to in boil them in oil i suppose well anyhow that s more like i m thinking of something terrible be sure and tell me when you decide he laughed and	43
passed on to be presented to distinguished strangers by mrs de who aided mrs in receiving d l the talk was i was always at his ease and this mental atmosphere revived him presently he turned to greet who i was standing at his elbow was all cordiality where are you now he asked we haven t seen you in oh when mrs is waiting to have a word with you noticed the change in s attitude some time that s sure he replied easily i m living at the i w s asking after you the other day you know du of course you do we were thinking of running up into canada for some hunting why don t you join us i can t replied too many things on hand just now later surely was anxious to continue he had seen s election as a of the c h d obviously he was coming back into the world but dinner was announced and sat at mrs s right hand aren t you coming to pay me a dinner call some afternoon after this asked mrs when the conversation was brisk at the other end of the table i am indeed he replied and shortly seriously i ve been wanting to look you up you understand though how things are now i do i ve heard a great deal that s why i want you to come we need to talk together ten days later he did call he felt as if he must talk with her he was feeling bored and lonely his long home life with had made hotel life objectionable he felt as though he must find a s intelligent ear and where better than here was all ears for his troubles she would have his solid head upon her breast in a moment if that had been possible well he said when the usual were over what will you have me say in explanation z i have you burned your bridges behind you she asked i m not so sure he replied gravely and i can t say that i m feeling any too joyous about the matter as a whole i thought as much she replied i knew how it would be with you i can see you through this mentally i have been watching you every step of the way wishing you peace of mind these things are always so difficult but don t you know i am still sure it s for the best it never was right the other way it never could be you couldn t afford to sink back into a mere shell fish life you are not organized for that any more than i am you may regret what you are doing now but you would have regretted the other thing quite as much and more you couldn t work your life out that way now could you i don t know about that really i don t i ve wanted to come and see you for a long time but i didn t think that i ought to the fight was outside you know what i mean yes indeed i do she said soothingly it s still inside i haven t gotten over it i don t know whether this financial business me sufficiently or not i ll be frank and tell you that i can t say i love her entirely but i m sorry and that s something she s comfortably provided for of course she commented rather than inquired everything she wants is of a peculiar disposition she doesn t want much she s retiring by nature and doesn t care for show i ve taken a cottage for her at a little place north of here on the lake and there s plenty of money in trust but of course she knows she can live anywhere she pleases i understand exactly how she feels i know how you feel she is going to suffer very keenly for a while we all do when we have to give up the thing we z d l love but we can get over it and we do at least we can live she will it will go hard at first but after a while she will see how it is and she won t feel any the worse toward you will never reproach me i know that he replied i m the one who will do the i ll be myself for some time the trouble is with my particular turn of mind i can t tell for the life of me how much of this disturbing feeling of mine is habit the condition that i m accustomed to and how much is sympathy i sometimes think i m the the most individual in the world i think too much poor she said tenderly well i understand for one you re lonely living where you are aren t you i am that he replied why not come and spend a few days down at west i m going there when he inquired next tuesday let me see he replied i m not sure that i can he consulted his i could come thursday for a few days why not do that you need company we can walk and talk things out down there will you yes i will he replied she came toward him trailing a lounging robe you re such a solemn philosopher sir she observed comfortably working through all the of things why do you you were always like that i can t help it he replied it s my nature to think well one thing i know and she his ear gently you re not going to make another mistake through sympathy if i can help it she said you re going to stay long enough to give yourself a chance to think out	43
was no word from for the first few weeks following his departure he was too busy following up the threads of his new commercial connections and too considerate to wish to keep in a state of mental turmoil over communications which under the present circumstances could mean nothing he preferred to let matters rest for the time being then a little later he would write her and calmly of how things were going he did this after the silence of a month saying that he had been pretty well pressed by commercial affairs that he had been in and out of the city frequently which was the truth and that he would probably be away from a large part of the time in the future he inquired after and the condition of affairs generally at i may get up there one of these days he su but he really did not mean to come and knew that he did not another month passed and then there was a second letter from him not so long as the first one had written him frankly and fully telling him just how l gk things stood with her she concealed entirely her own feelings in the matter saying that she liked the life very much and that she was glad to be at she expressed the hope that now everything was coming out for the best for him and tried to show him that she was really glad matters had been settled you mustn t think of me as being unhappy she said in one place for i m not i am sure it ought to be just as it is and i wouldn t be happy if it were any other way lay out your life so as to give yourself the greatest happiness she added you deserve it whatever you do will be just right for me i won t mind she had mrs in mind and he suspected as much but he felt that her generosity must be tinged greatly with ce and secret it was the one thing which made him hesitate about taking that final step the written word and the hidden thought how they conflict after six months the correspondence was more or less on his part and at eight it had ceased temporarily morning as she was glancing over the daily paper she saw among the society notes the following item the engagement of mrs of to second son of the late of was formally announced at a party given by the bride on tuesday to a circle of her immediate the wedding will take place in april the paper fell from her bands for a few minutes she sat perfectly still looking straight ahead of her could this thing be so she asked herself had it really come at last she had known that it must come and yet and yet she had always hoped that it would not why had she hoped had not she herself sent him away had not she herself suggested this very thing in a way it had come now what must she do stay l here as a the idea was objectionable to her and yet he had set aside a goodly sum to be hers absolutely in the hands of a trust company in la street were railway seventy five thousand dollars which yielded four thousand five hundred the income being paid to her direct could she refuse to receive this money there was to be considered felt hurt through and through by this and yet as she sat there she realized that it was foolish to be angry life was always doing this sort of a thing to her it would go on doing so she was sure of it if she went out in the world and earned her own living what difference would it make to him what difference would it make to mrs here she was walled in this little place leading an obscure existence and there was he out in the great world enjoying life ia its fullest and sense it was too bad but why cry why her eyes indeed were dry but her very soul seemed to be torn in pieces within her she rose carefully hid the newspaper at the bottom of a trunk and turned the key upon it l chapter now that his engagement to mrs was an accomplished fact found no particular difficulty in himself to the new order of things undoubtedly it was all for the best he was sorry for very sorry so was mrs but there was a practical to her grief in the thought that it was best for both and the girl he would be happier was so now and would eventually realize that she had done a wise and kindly thing she would be glad in the consciousness that she had acted so as for mrs because of her to the late and because she was the dreams of her youth in getting at last even though a little late she was intensely happy she could think of nothing finer than this daily life with him the places they would go the things they would see her first season in as mrs the following winter was going to be something worth remembering and as for that was almost too good to be true wrote to of his coming marriage to mrs he said that he had no explanation to make it t be worth anything if he did make it he thought he ought to marry mrs he thought he ought to let her know he hoped she was well he wanted her always to feel that he had her real interests at heart he would do anything in his power to make life as pleasant and agreeable for her as possible he hoped she would for ve him and would c	43
l she remember him affectionately to she ought to be sent to a finishing school understood the situation perfectly she knew that had been drawn to mrs from the time he met her at the in london she had been for him now she had him i t she hoped he be was glad to write and tell him so that she had seen tee announcement ia the papers read her letter thoughtfully there was more between the lines than the written words conveyed her fortitude was a charm to him even in this hour in spite of all he had done and what he was now going to do he realized that he cared for in a way she s a noble and a charming woman if everything else had been all right he would not be going to marry mrs at all and yet he did marry her the ceremony was performed on april at the residence of mrs a roman catholic priest was a poor example of the faith he occasionally professed he was an but because he had been reared in the church he felt that he might as well be married in it some fifty guests intimate friends had been invited the ceremony went off with perfect there were congratulations and showers of rice and while the guests were still eating and drinking and managed to escape by a side entrance into a closed carriage and were off fifteen minutes later there was pursuit on the part of the guests to the rock island and pacific but by that time the happy couple were in their private car and the arrival of the rice made no difference more champagne was opened then the starting of the train ended all excitement and the newly wedded pair were at last safely off well now you have me said cheerfully pulling down beside him into a what of it q this of it she exclaimed and him close kissing him fervently in four days they were in san and two days later on board a fast bound for the land of the in the meanwhile was left to brood the original announcement in the newspapers had said that he was to be married in april and she had kept close watch for additional information finally she learned that the wedding would take place on april at the residence of the bride the hour being high noon in spite of her feeling of resignation followed it all hopelessly like a child hungry and forlorn looking into a lighted window at christmas time j on the day of the wedding she waited miserably for twelve o clock to strike it seemed as though she were really present and looking on she could see in her mind s eye the handsome residence the carriages the guests the feast the merriment the ceremony all and she received impressions of the private car and of the joyous journey they were going to take the papers had stated that they would spend their in their her and mrs was so attractive she could see her now the new mrs the only mrs that ever was lying in his arms he had held her so once he had loved her yes he had there was a solid lump in her throat as she thought of this oh dear she sighed to herself and clasped her hands but it did no good she was just as miserable as before when the day was over she was actually relieved the deed t s done and nothing could change it was aware of what was happening but kept silent she too had seen the report in the newspaper when the first and second day after had passed was much calmer mentally for now she was face to face with the inevitable but it was weeks z i j before the sharp pain to the old familiar ache then there were months before they would be back again though of course that made no difference now only seemed so far off and somehow she had liked the thought that was near her somewhere in the city the spring and summer passed and now it was early in october one chilly day came home from school complaining of a headache when had given her hot milk a favorite remedy of her mother s and had advised a cold for the back of her head went to her room and lay down the following morning she had a slight fever this lingered while the local physician dr treated her suspecting that it might be of which there were several cases in the village this doctor told that was probably strong enough to shake it off but it might be that she would have a severe siege her own skill in so delicate a situation sent to for a trained nurse and then began a period of which was a combination of fear longing hope and courage now there could be no doubt the disease was hesitated about communicating with who was supposed to be in new york the papers had said that he intended to spend the winter there but when the doctor after watching the case for a week pronounced it severe she thought she ought to write anyhow for no one could tell what would happen had been so fond of he would probably want to know the letter sent to him did not reach him for at the time it arrived he was on his way to the west indies was compelled to watch alone by s for although sympathetic neighbors the pathos of the situation were attentive they could not supply the spiritual consolation which only those who d l truly love us can give there was a period when appeared to be and both the physician and the e were hopeful but afterward she became weaker it	43
was said by dr that her heart and had become affected there came a time when the fact had to be faced that death was imminent the doctor s face was grave the nurse was non in her opinion hovered about praying the only prayer that is prayer the fervent desire of her heart concentrated on the one issue that should get well the child had come so close to her during the last few years she understood her mother she was beginning to realize clearly what her life had been and through her had grown to a broad understanding of responsibility she knew now what it meant to be a good mother and to have children if had not objected to it and she had been truly married she would have been glad to have others again she had always felt that she owed so much at least a long and happy life to make up to her for the of her birth and had been so happy during the past few years to see growing into beautiful graceful intelligent womanhood and now she was dying dr finally sent to for a physician friend of his who came to consider the case with him he was an old man grave sympathetic understanding he shook his head the treatment has been correct he said her system does not appear to be strong enough to endure the strain some are more susceptible to this malady than others it was agreed that if within three days a change for the better did not come the end was close at hand no one can conceive the strain to which s spirit was subjected by this intelligence for it was deemed best that she should know she hovered about white faced intensely but scarcely thinking she seemed i to with s states if there was the least improvement she felt it physically if there was a decline her temperament the fact there was a mrs a fine soul of fifty stout and sympathetic who lived four doors from and who understood quite well how she was feeling she had co with the nurse and doctor from the start to keep s mental state as as possible now you just go to your room and lie down mrs she would say to when she found her watching helplessly at the bedside or wandering to and fro wondering what to do i ll take charge of everything i ll do just what you would do lord bless you don t you think i know i ve been the mother of seven and lost three don t you think i understand put her head on her big w arm shoulder one day and cried mrs cried with her i understand she said there there you poor dear now you come with me and she led her to her sleeping room could not be away long she came back after a few minutes and finally one midnight when the nurse had persuaded her that all would be well until morning anyhow there came a hurried stirring in the sick room was lying down for a few minutes on her bed in the adjoining room she heard it and arose mrs had come in and she and the nurse were as to s condition standing close beside her understood she came up and looked at her daughter keenly s pale face told the story she was breathing faintly her eyes closed she s very weak whispered the nurse mrs took s hand the moments passed and after a time the clock in the hall struck one miss the nurse moved to the medicine table several times a soft piece of i z i cotton cloth with and bathing s lips at the striking of the half hour there was a stir of the weak body a profound sigh bent forward eagerly but mrs drew her back the nurse came and them away had ceased mrs seized firmly there there you poor dear she whispered when she began to shake it can t be helped don t cry sank on her knees beside the bed and s still warm hand oh no she pleaded not you not you there dear come now soothed the voice of mrs can t you leave it all in god s hands can t you believe that everything is for the best felt as if the earth had fallen all ties were broken there was no light anywhere in the immense darkness of her existence q l chapter this added blow from fortune was quite enough to throw back into that state of from which she had been drawn with difficulty during the years of comfort and affection which she had enjoyed with in park it was really weeks before she could realize that was gone the figure which she saw for a day or two after the end did not seem like where was the joy and lightness the quickness of motion the subtle radiance of health all gone this pale lily shell and silence had i no tears to shed only a deep pain to feel if i only some of eternal wisdom could have whispered to her that and convincing truth i are no dead miss dr mrs and some others among the neighbors were most sympathetic and considerate mrs sent a to saying that was dead but being absent there was no response the house was looked after with scrupulous care by others for was incapable of attending to it herself she walked about looking at things which had owned or liked things which or she had given her sighing over the fact that would not need or use them any more she gave instructions that the body should be taken to and buried in the of the for at the time of s death had purchased a small	43
plot of ground there she also expressed her wish that the of the little church in cottage grove avenue where had attended should be requested to say a few words at the grave there were the usual preliminary services at the house the local minister read a portion of the first of paul to the and a body of s sang nearer my god to thee there were a white coffin a world of sympathetic expressions and then was taken away the coffin was properly for put on the train and finally delivered at the in moved as one in a dream she was dazed almost to the point of five of her neighborhood friends at the of mrs were kind enough to accompany her at the grave side when the body was finally lowered she looked at it one might have thought indifferently for she was from suffering she returned to after it was all over that she would not stay long she wanted to come back to where she could be near and after the funeral tried to think of her future she fixed her mind on the need of doing something even though she did not need to she thought that she might like to try nursing and could start at once to obtain the training which was required she also thought of william he was unmarried and perhaps he might be willing to come and live with her only she did not know where he as and bass was also in ignorance of his whereabouts she finally concluded that she would try to get work in a store her disposition was against idleness she could not live alone here and she could not have her neighbors worrying over what was to become of her miserable as she was she would be less miserable stopping in a hotel in and looking for something to do or living in a cottage somewhere near the of the c l it also occurred to her that she might adopt a child there were a number of orphan in the city some three weeks after s death returned to with his wife and discovered the first letter the and an additional note telling him that was dead he was truly grieved for his affection for the girl had been real he was very sorry for and he told his wife that he would have to go out and see her he was wondering what she would do she could not live alone perhaps he could suggest something which would help her he took the train to but had gone to the hotel in he went there but had gone to her daughter s grave later he called again and found her in when the boy presented his card she suffered an of feeling a wave that was more intense than that with which she had received him in the days for now her need of him was greater in spite of the of his new affection and the restoration of his wealth power and had had time to think deeply of what he had done his original feeling of doubt and dissatisfaction with himself had never wholly it did not ease him any to know that he had left comfortably fixed for it was always so plain to him that money was not the point at issue with her affection was what she i without it she was like a boat on an endless sea and he knew it she needed him and he was ashamed to think that his charity had not his sense of self preservation and his desire for material advantage to day as the carried him up to her room he was really sorry though he knew now that no act of his could make things right he had been to blame from the very beginning first for taking her then for failing to stick by a bad bargain well it could d l not be helped now the best thing he could do was to be fair to counsel with her to give her the best of his sympathy and advice he said familiarly as she opened the door to him in her hotel room his glance taking in the which death and suffering had wrought she was thinner her face quite drawn and her eyes larger by contrast i m awfully sorry about he said a little awkwardly i never dreamed anything like that could happen it was the first word of comfort which had meant anything to her since died since had left her in fact it touched her that he had come to for the moment she could not speak tears over her eyelids and down upon her cheeks don t cry he said putting his arm her and holding her head to his shoulder i m sorry i ve been sorry for a good many things that can t be helped now i m intensely sorry for this where did you bury her beside papa she said sobbing too bad he murmured and held her in silence she finally gained control of herself sufficiently to step away from him then her eyes with her handkerchief she asked him to sit down i m so sorry he went on that this should have happened while i was away i would have been with you if i had been here i suppose you won t want to live out at now i can t she replied i couldn t stand it where are you thinking of going oh i don t know yet i didn t want to be a bother to those people out there i thought i d get a little house somewhere and adopt a baby maybe or get something to do i don t like to be alone that isn t a bad idea he said that of a baby it would be a lot of company	43
for you you know how to go about getting one you just ask at one of these don t you i think there s something more than that he replied thoughtfully there are some i don t know what they are they try to keep control of the child in some way you had better consult with and get him to help you pick out your baby and then let him do the rest i ll speak to him about it saw that she needed companionship badly where is your brother george he asked he s in but he couldn t come bass said he was married she added there isn t any other member of the family you could persuade to come and live with you i might get william but i don t know where he is why not try that new section west of park he suggested if you want a house here in i see some nice cottages out that way you needn t buy just rent until you see how well you re satisfied thought this good advice because it came from it was good of him to take this much interest in her affairs she wasn t entirely separated from him after all he cared a little she asked him how his wife was whether he had had a pleasant trip whether he was going to stay in all the while he was thinking that he had treated her badly he went to the window and looked down into street the world of traffic below holding his attention the great mass of and the counter streams of hurrying seemed like a puzzle so shadows march in a dream it was growing and lights were springing up here and there i want to tell you something said finally rousing himself from his fit of abstraction i may seem peculiar to you after all that has happened but i still care for you in my way i ve thought of you c l right along since i left i thought it good business to leave you the way things were i thought i liked well enough to marry her from one point of view it still seems best but i m not so much happier i was just as happy with you as i ever will be it isn t i myself that s important in this transaction apparently the individual doesn t count much in the situation i don t know whether you see what i m driving at but all of us are more or less we re moved about like by over which we have no control i understand she answered i m not complaining i know it s for the best after all life is more or less of a farce he went on a little bitterly it s a silly show the best we can do is to hold our personality it doesn t appear that integrity has much to do with it did not quite grasp what he was talking about but she knew it meant that he was not entirely satisfied with himself and was sorry for her don t worry over me she consoled i m all right i ll get along it did seem terrible to me for a while getting used to being alone i ll be all right now i ll get along i want you to feel that my attitude hasn t changed he continued eagerly i m interested in what concerns you mrs that she knows just how i feel when you get settled i ll come in and see how you re fixed i ll come around here again in a few days you understand how i feel don t you yes i do she said he took her hand turning it in his own don t worry he said i don t want you to do that i ll do the best i can you re still to me if you don t mind i m pretty bad but i m not all bad it s ail right i wanted you to do as you did it s for the best you probably are happy since i now he interrupted then he pressed her hand her arm her shoulder want to kiss me for old times sake he smiled she put her hands over his shoulders looked long into his eyes then kissed him when their lips met she trembled also felt unsteady saw his agitation and tried hard to speak you d better go now she said firmly it s getting dark he went away and yet he knew that he wanted above all things to remain she was still the world for him and felt comforted even though the separation still existed in all its she did not endeavor to explain or the moral and of the situation she was not like so many to put the ocean into a tea cup or to tie up the shifting universe in a mess of strings called law still cared for her a little he cared for too that was all right she had hoped once that he might want her only since he did not was his affection worth nothing she could not think she could not feel that and neither could he by chapter the drift of events for a period of five years carried and still farther apart they settled naturally into their respective without the renewal of the old time relationship which their several meetings at the at first seemed to was in the thick of social and commercial affairs he walked in paths to which s retiring soul had never s own existence was quiet and there was a simple cottage in a very respectable but not neighborhood near park on the south side where she lived in retirement with a little foster child a chestnut haired	43
girl taken from the western home for the as her sole companion here she was known as mrs j g for she had deemed it best to abandon the name of mr and mrs when resident in were the occupants of a handsome mansion on the lake shore drive where parties balls dinners were given in rapid and at times almost succession however had become in his way a lover of a peaceful and well entertained existence he had cut from his list of acquaintances and associates a number of people who had been a little doubtful or or indifferent or during a certain period which to him was a memory merely he was a and in several cases the of a board of in nine of the most important financial and commercial of the west the united company of the western company the united l carriage company the second national bank of the first national bank of and several others of equal importance he as never a personal in the affairs of the united carriage company preferring to be represented by mr l but he took a keen interest in its he had not seen his brother robert to speak to him in seven years he had not seen who lived in in three their husbands and some of their acquaintances were practically strangers the firm of knight o had nothing whatever to do with his affairs the truth was that in addition to becoming a httle was becoming decidedly critical in his outlook on life he could not make out what it was all about in distant ages a queer thing had come to pass there had started on its way in the form of a minute which had apparently itself by division had early learned to combine itself with others to itself into bodies strange forms of fish animals and birds and had finally learned to itself into man man on his part composed as be was of self was pushing himself forward into comfort and different aspects of existence by means of union and organization with other men why heaven only knew here he was endowed with a peculiar brain and a certain amount of talent and he had inherited a certain amount of wealth which he now scarcely he deserved only luck had favored him but he could not see that any one else might be said to deserve this wealth any more than himself seeing that his use of it was as and and practical as the next one s he might have been bom poor in which case he would have been as well satisfied as the next one not more so why should he complain why worry why the world was going steadily forward of its own whether he d l would or no truly it was and was there any need for him to disturb himself about it there was not i he fancied at times that it might as well never have been j started at all the one divine far off event of the poet did not appeal to him as having any basis in fact i mrs was o f very much the same living on the south side with her adopted child rose was of no fixed conclusion as to the meaning of life she had not the reasoning capacity of either mr or mrs she had seen a great deal suffered a great deal and had read some in a way her mind had never grasped the nature and character of knowledge history and were not fixed in her brain as they were in s and s instead there was the feeling that the world moved in some strange way apparently no one knew clearly what it was all about people were bom and died some believed that the world had been made six thousand years before some that it was millions of years old was it all b or was there some in t e ig e a d s t in spite of herself she felt there must be something a higher which produced all the things the flowers the stars the trees the grass nature was so beautiful il at times life seemed cruel yet this j beauty still persisted the her she fed upon it in her hours of secret loneliness it has been said that was naturally of an industrious turn she liked to be employed though she thought constantly as she worked she was of proportions in these days not large but full and smooth faced in spite of her cares her eyes were gray and appealing her hair was still of a rich brown but there were traces of gray in it her neighbors spoke of her as sweet tempered kindly and hospitable they knew nothing of her history except that she had formerly resided in and before that in she was very as to her past r had fancied because of her natural for taking care of sick people that she might get to be a trained nurse but she was obliged to abandon that i idea for she found that only young people were wanted she also thought that some charitable organization might employ her but she did not understand the new and p ce namely only t a h e l p o t h ers to help themselves she believed in giving and was not inclined to look too closely into the of those who asked for help consequently her timid inquiry at one relief agency after another met with if not rebuke she finally decided to adopt another child for rose s sake she succeeded in securing a boy four years old who was known as henry henry her support was assured for her income was paid to her through a trust company she had no desire for speculation or	43
for the ways of trade the care of flowers the nature of children the ordering of a home were more in her province one of the interesting things in connection with this separation once it had been firmly established related to robert and for these two since the reading of the will a number of years before had never met robert had thought of his brother often he had followed his success since he had left with interest he read of his marriage to mrs with pleasure he had always considered her an ideal companion for his brother he knew by many signs and tokens that his brother since the unfortunate termination of their father s attitude and his own peculiar movements to gain control of the company did not like him still they had never been so far apart mentally not in commercial judgment was prosper d l ous now he could afford to be generous he afford to make up and after all he had done his best to aid his brother to come to his senses and with the best intentions there were mutual interests they could share if they were friends he wondered from time to time if would not be friendly with him time passed and then once when he was in he made the friends with whom he was driving purposely turn into the north shore in order to see the splendid mansion which the occupied he knew its from and description when he saw it a touch of the old home atmosphere came back to him in the property after purchase had had a built on one side not unlike the one at home in that same night he sat down and wrote asking if he would not like to dine with him at the union club he was only in town for a day or two and he would like to see him again there was some feeling he knew but there was a proposition he would like to talk to him about would he come say on thursday on the receipt of this letter frowned and fell into a brown study he had never really been healed of the wound that his father had given him he had never been comfortable in his mind since robert had deserted him so he realized now that the his brother had been playing for were big but after all he had been his brother and if he had been in robert s place at the time he would not have done as he had done at least he hoped not now robert wanted to see him he thought once of not answering at all then he thought he would write and say no but a curious desire to see robert again to hear what he had to say to listen to the proposition he had to offer came over him he decided to write yes it could do no harm he z i knew it could do no good they might agree to let be by but the damage had could a bo be mended aod called whole it oi ht be called whole but what of it was it aod he wrote aod intimated that he would on the thursday in question robert called up from the to remind him of the engagement listened curiously to the sound of his voice all right he said i ll be with you at noon he went down town and there within the exclusive of the union club the two brothers met and looked at each t robert was thinner than when had seen him last and a little his eyes were bright and but there were crow s feet on either side his manner was quick keen was of another type solid and ent men spoke an a h robert s keen blue eyes did not disturb him in the least did not him in any way he saw his brother just as he was for he had the larger philosophic and insight but robert could not place exactly he could not just what had happened to him in these years was not gray for some reason but sandy and ruddy looking like a man who was fairly well satisfied to take life as he found it looked at his brother with a keen steady eye the latter shifted a little for he was restless he could see that there was no loss of that mental force and courage which had always been characteristics in s make up i thought i d like to see you again robert remarked after they had clasped hands in the customary grip it s been a long time now nearly eight years hasn t it about that replied how are things with you d l oh about the same you ve been fairly well i see never sick said a little cold now and then i don t often go to bed with anything how s your wife oh margaret s fine and the children we don t see much of and since they married but the others are around more or less i suppose your wife is all right he said hesitatingly it was difficult ground for robert eyed him without a change of expression yes he replied she pretty fair health she s quite well at present they drifted mentally for a few moments while inquired after the business and and he admitted frankly that he neither saw nor heard from them nowadays robert told him what he could the thing that i was thinking of in connection with you said robert finally is this matter of the western steel company you haven t been sitting there as a in person i notice but your attorney has been acting for you clever man that the management isn t right we all know that we need a practical steel man at	43
i have enough to live on why not let it go at that l chapter the days of man under the old or rather according to that which are years and ten it is so in the race consciousness by mouth to mouth utterance that it seems the of truths as a matter of fact man even under his mortal illusion is built to live five times the period of his maturity and would do so if he but knew that it is spirit which that age is an illusion and that there is no death yet the race thought gained from what dream of we know not and the death of man under the so fearfully accepted is daily was one of those who believed in this he was sixty he thought he had say twenty years more at the utmost to live perhaps not so long well he had lived comfortably he felt that he could not complain if death was coming let it come he was ready at any time no complaint or resistance would issue from him life in most of its aspects was a silly show anyhow i he admitted that it was mostly illusion easily proved to be so that it might all be one he sometimes it was very much like a dream in its com position truly sometimes like a very bad dream all he had to sustain him in his acceptance of its reality from hour to hour and day to day was apparent contact with this material proposition and that people of boards of individuals and d l planning to do this and that his wife s social functions loved him as a fine example of a she admired as had his solid determined attitude in the face of troubled circumstance all the winds of fortune or misfortune could not excite or disturb he refused to be frightened he refused to from his and feelings and usually had to be pushed away from them still believing if he were gotten away at all he refused to do anything save as he always said look the facts in the l face and fight he could be made to fight easily i enough if imposed upon but only in a stubborn way his plan was to resist every effort to to the last ditch if he had to let go in the end he i would when compelled but his views as to the value not letting go were quite the same even when he had l et go under his views of living were still decidedly material in creature comforts and he had always insisted upon having the best of everything if the of his home became the least dingy he was for having them torn out and sold and the house done over if he money must go ahead of him and smooth the way he did not want argument useless talk or silly as he called it every one must discuss interesting topics with him or not talk at all understood him thoroughly she him under the chin mornings or shake his solid head between her hands telling him he was a brute but a nice kind of a brute yes yes he would growl i know i m an animal i suppose you re a suggestion of thought no you hush she would reply for at times he could cut like a knife without really meaning to be un kind then he would pet her a little for in spite of her vigorous conception of life he realized that she was more or less dependent him it was always so plain to d l i her that he could get without her for reasons of he was trying to conceal this to pretend the necessity of her presence but it was so obvious that he really could dispense with her easily enough now did depend upon it was something in so and uncertain a world to be near so fixed and determined a quantity as this bear man it was like being close to a warmly glowing lamp in the dark or a bright burning fire in the cold was not afraid of anything he felt that he knew how to live and to die it was natural that a temperament of this kind should have its solid material at every point having his financial affairs well in hand most of his holding being shares of big companies where boards of solemn merely approved the efforts of ambitious to make good he had leisure for living he and were fond of visiting the van i ous american and european watering places he j a little for he found that there was considerable in interesting sums on the spin of a wheel or the roll of a ball and he took more and more to drinking not in the sense that a takes to it but as a high liver and with all his friends he was inclined to drink the rich drinks when he did not take straight champagne sparkling the expensive and white when he drank he could drink a t deal and ate in proportion nothing must be served but the best soup fish roast game g that made up a dinner and he had long since determined that only a high was worth while they had found an old louis who had served in the house of one of the great dry goods princes and this man he engaged he cost a hundred dollars a week but his reply to any question was that he only had one life to live the trouble with this attitude was that it adjusted j d l nothing improved nothing left everything to drift on toward an indefinite end if had married and accepted the comparatively income of ten thousand a year he would have maintained the same attitude	43
to the end it would have led him to a stolid indifference to the social world of which now necessarily he was a part he would have drifted on with a few mentally who would have accepted him for what he was a good fellow and in the end would not have been bo much better off than she i was now one of the changes which was interesting was that the v transferred their residence to new york mrs had become very intimate with a group of clever women in the eastern four hundred or nine hundred and had been advised and urged to transfer the scene of her to new york she finally did so a house in seventy eighth street near avenue f she a novelty for her a complete staff of servants after the english fashion and had the rooms of her house done in periods smiled at her vanity and eve if ow you talk about your he one day you have as much as i have religion and that s none at all why how you talk she denied i am we all run in classes you do i m merely accepting the logic of the situation the logic of your grandmother do you call a butler and in red velvet a part of the necessity of the occasion i certainly do she replied maybe not the necessity exactly but the spirit surely why should you quarrel you re the first one to insist on perfection to quarrel if there is any flaw in the order of things you never heard me quarrel oh i don t mean that literally but you demand d l perfection the exact spirit of the occasion and you know it maybe i do but what has that to do with i am i insist on it i m as in spirit as any woman only i see things as they are and as much as possible for comfort s sake and so do you don t you throw rocks at my glass house master yours is so transparent i can see every move you make inside i m and you re not he but he approved thoroughly of everything she did she was he sometimes fancied a better in her world than he was in his drifting in this fashion dining drinking the waters of this spring and that in luxurious ease and taking no physical exercise finally i altered his body from a vigorous quick moving well balanced into one where of substance was every essential function his kid j every or n in fact had been for some time to keep up the process of and in the pa had become heavy his were weak and so were the of his brain by proper exercise the right mental attitude he might have lived to be eighty or ninety as a matter of fact he was allowing himself to drift into a physical state in which even a slight malady might prove dangerous the result was inevitable and it came it so happened and had gone to the north cape on a with a party of friends in order to attend to some important business decided to return to late in november he arranged to have his wife meet him in new york just before the christmas holidays he wrote to expect him and engaged rooms at the for he bad sold l the residence some two years before and was now living permanently in new york one late november day after having attended to a number of details and cleared up bis affairs very materially was seized with what the doctor who was called to attend him described as a cold in the a disturbance usually of some other weakness either of the blood or of some organ he suffered great pain and the usual in that case were applied there were of red flannel with a dressing and were also administered he experienced some relief but he was troubled with a sense of impending disaster he had cable his wife there was nothing serious about it but he was ill a trained nurse was in attendance and his stood guard at the door to prevent annoyance of any kind it was plain that could not reach under three weeks he had the feeling that he would not see her again r curiously enough not only because he was in but because he had never been separated i from he was thinking about her constantly at this time he had intended to go out and see her just as soon as he was through with his business engagements and before he left the city he had asked how she was getting along and had been informed that everything was well with her she was living quietly and looking in good health so said wished he could see her this thought grew as the days passed and he grew no better he was suffering from time to time with severe attacks of pains that seemed to tie his into knots and left him very weak several times the physician administered with a needle in order to relieve him of useless pain after one of the severe attacks he called to his side told him to send the nurse away and then said s d l i d like to you do me a favor mrs if she won t come here to see me you d better go and get her just send the nurse and the away for the afternoon or while she s here if she comes at any other time i d like to have her admitted understood he liked this expression of sentiment he was sorry for he was sorry for he wondered what the world would think if it could of this bit of romance in connection with so prominent a man was	43
decent he had made prosperous the latter was only too glad to serve him in any way he called a carriage and rode out to s residence he found her watering some plants her face expressed her surprise at his unusual presence i come on a rather troublesome errand mrs he said using her assumed name your that is mr is quite sick at the his wife is in europe and he wanted to know if i wouldn t come out here and ask you to come and see him he wanted me to bring you if possible could you come with me now why yes said her face a study the children were in school an old housekeeper was in the kitchen she could go as well as not but there was coming back to her in detail a dream she had had several nights before it had seemed to her that she was out on a dark mystic body of water over which was hanging something like a fog or a pall of smoke she heard the water ripple or stir faintly and then out of the surrounding darkness a boat appeared it was a little boat or not visibly and in it were her mother and and some one whom she could not make out her mother s face was pale and sad very much as she had often seen it in life she looked at solemnly and then suddenly realized that the third of the boat was s q he at her gloomily an expression she had never seen on his face before and then her mother remarked well we must go now the boat began to move a great sense of loss came over her and she cried oh don t leave me mamma but her mother only looked at her out of deep sad still eyes and the boat was gone she woke with a start half that was beside her she stretched out her hand to touch his arm then she drew herself up in the dark and rubbed her eyes that she was alone a great sense of depression remained with her and for two days it haunted her then when it seemed as if it were nothing mr appeared with his ominous message she went to dress and reappeared looking as troubled as were her thoughts she was very pleasing in her appearance yet a sweet kindly woman well dressed and she had never been separated mentally from just as he d never grown away from her she was always with him in thought just as in the years when they were together her memories were of the days when he first her in j the days when he had carried her off much as the cave man seized his mate by force now she to do what she could for him for this call was as much a testimony as a shock he loved her he loved her after all the carriage rolled briskly through the long streets into the smoky down town district it arrived at the and was escorted to s room had been considerate he had talked little leaving her to her thoughts in this great hotel she felt after so long a period of complete retirement as she entered the room she looked at with large gray sympathetic eyes he was lying propped up on two pillows his solid head with its growth of once dark brown hair slightly he looked at her curiously z i c out of his wise old eyes a light of sympathy and affection shining in them weary as they were was greatly distressed his pale face slightly drawn from suffering cut her like a knife she took bis hand which was outside the and pressed it she leaned over and kissed his lips i m so sorry she murmured i m so sorry you re not very sick though are you you must get well and soon she patted his band gently yes but i m pretty bad he said i don t feel right about this business i don t seem able to shake it off but tell me how have you been oh just the same dear she replied i m all right you mustn t talk like that though you re going to be all right very soon now he smiled grimly do you think so he shook his head for he thought differently sit down dear he went on i m not worrying about that i want to talk to you again i want you near me he sighed and shut his eyes for a minute she drew up a chair close beside the bed her face toward his and took his hand it seemed such a beautiful thing that he should send for her her eyes showed the mingled sympathy affection and gratitude of her heart at the same time fear her how ill he looked i can t tell what may happen he went on is in europe i ve wanted to see you again for some time i was coming out this trip we are living in new york you know you re a little yes i m getting old she smiled oh that doesn t make any difference he replied looking at her age doesn t count we are all in that boat it s how we feel about life he stopped and stared at the ceiling a slight of pain reminded him of the vigorous he had been d l through he couldn t stand many more like the last one i couldn t go without you again he observed when the slight ceased and he was free to think again i ve always wanted to say to you he went on that i haven t been satisfied with the way we parted it wasn t the right thing after all i haven	43
t been any happier i m sorry i wish now for my own peace of mind that i hadn t done it don t say that she going over in her mind all that had been between them this was such a testimony to their real union their real spiritual it s all right it doesn t make any difference you ve been very good to me i wouldn t have been satisfied to have you lose your fortune it t be that way i ve been a lot better satisfied as it is it s been hard but dear ever is hard at times she paused no he said it wasn t right tlie thing wasn t worked out i ht from the start but that wasn t your fault i m sorry i wanted to tell you that i m glad i m here to do it don t talk that way please don t she pleaded it s all right you needn t be sorry there s nothing to be sorry for you have always been so good to me why when i think she stopped for it was hard for her to speak she was choking with affection i and sympathy she pressed his hands she was recall i ing the he took for her in his i generous treatment of all the long ago tokens i of love and kindness well i ve told you now and i feel better you re a good woman and tt kind to come to me this way i loved you i love you now i want to tell you that it seems strange but you re the only woman i ever did love truly we should never have parted caught her breath it was the one thing she l z i c had waited for all these years this testimony it was the one thing that could make everything right this confession of spiritual if not material union now she could happily now die so oh she exclaimed with a sob and pressed his hand he returned the pressure there was a little silence then he spoke again how are the two he asked oh they re lovely she answered entering upon a detailed description of their he listened comfortably for her voice was soothing to him her whole personality was grateful to him when it came time for her to go he seemed desirous of keeping her going i can stay just as well as not she volunteered i ll take a room i can send a note out to mrs it will be all r ht you needn t do that he said but she could see that he wanted her that he did not want to be lone from that time on until the hour of his death she was not out of the hotel q l chapter the end came after four days during which was by his bedside constantly the nurse in charge welcomed her at first as a relief and company but the physician was inclined to object ever was stubborn death j touch of grim humor if i m dying i ought to be allowed to die in my own way smiled at the man s courage he had never seen anything like it before there were cards of sympathy calls of inquiry notices in the newspaper robert saw an item in the and decided to go to called with her husband and they were admitted to s room for a few minutes after had gone to hers had little to say the nurse them that he was not to be talked to much when they were gone said to has changed a good deal he made no other comment mrs was on the atlantic three days out from new york the afternoon died he had been meditating whether anything more could be done for but he could not make up his mind about it certainly it was useless to leave her more money she did not want it he had been wondering where was and how near her actual arrival might be when he was seized with a tremendous of pain before relief could be administered in the shape of an he was dead it developed afterward that it was not the trouble which killed him but a of a major blood vessel in the brain d l who had been strongly wrought up by watching i and worrying beside herself with grief he had been a part of her thought and feeling so long that it seemed now as though a part of herself had died she j had loved him as she had fancied she could never love j any one and he had always shown that he cared for her at least in some degree she could not feel the j tion that expresses itself in tears only a dull ache a which seemed to make her insensible to pain he looked so strong her flying there still in death his expression was defiant determined peaceful word had come from mrs that she would arrive on the wednesday following it was decided to hold the body learned from mr that it was to be transferred to where the paces had a vault because of the arrival of various members of the family withdrew to her own home she could do nothing more the final ceremonies presented a peculiar on the of existence it was arranged with mrs by wire that the body should be transferred to s residence and the funeral held from there robert who arrived the night died s husband mr and three other citizens of were selected as pall and her husband came from and her husband from the house was full to overflowing with citizens who either sincerely wished or felt it expedient to call because of the fact that and his family were	43
t as opposed to the one of two stories which they now occupied street at the point which they were now was rapidly being surrounded by business conditions which were and new market at the point he had picked on was removed at least a score of blocks from the region which was once so nice but was now becoming so sorrowfully there was the probability that some day they would come into something even much better than this but for the present this was sufficient he was exceedingly grateful mr henry was at this time a significant figure tall lean the pink of perfection in the of commercial conduct absolutely practical a man who believed only what he saw was not at all disturbed about those silly fancies which might trouble the less rational brains of this world and content to be what he was a banker or one he looked upon life as a business situation or deal with everybody bom as more or less capable machines to take a part in it it was surprising to him to see how many incapable or machines there were but thank heaven now that he was getting along fairly well this was no affair of his at first when he was much younger he was n w life had seemed just a little organized but now well now it didn t look so bad he had nice smooth closely side whiskers coming to almost the lower of his ears and his upper lip was smooth and curiously long he had a straight nose of a somewhat length and a chin that tended to be pointed his manner might have been called severe though really it was more rf a manner than anything else the his eyebrows were vague eyes and his hair was short and smooth and nicely parted he wore a frock coat always it was quite the financial thing in these days and a high hat and he kept his hands and nails dean being ambitious to get somewhere and without falling he was very careful of whom or with whom he talked and he was as much afraid of expressing a or political or social opinion as he was of being seen with an evil character though he had no opinion of great political significance to express he was neither anti nor pro slavery though the air was stormy with sentiment and its opposition he believed sincerely that vast fortunes were to be made out of if one only had the capital and that curious thing a personality the ability to win the confidence of others he was sure that was all wrong in his opposition to and the united states bank one of the great issues of the day and he was worried as he might well be by the perfect storm of money which was floating about and which was constantly coming to his bank of course and handed out again to anxious at a profit you may be sure his bank was the third national of philadelphia in that of all philadelphia and indeed almost at that time of all national third street and its owners did a business on the side as a s clerk mr had to know all sorts of banks here and elsewhere for immense quantities of were to be handled distributed and day there was a perfect plague of state banks great and little in those days issuing notes practically without upon and unknown and failing and with unheard of rapidity and these mr had to know about he was convinced after a short experience that life was a business the and he had become the of caution unfortunately for him he lacked in a great measure the two things that are necessary for distinction in any field and vision he was not destined to be a great though he was marked out to be a successful one mr s home was in street for the time being and a pleasant little home it was to be sure mrs was of a christian saving disposition they were she was a small woman very attractive in her day with light brown hair and dear brown eyes later in life she became rather and matter of fact and when frank was ten she was the watchful mother of three boys and one girl the former by the eldest frank were a source of considerable annoyance to her for were forever making to different parts of the city getting in with bad boys probably and seeing and hearing things they should neither see nor hear mr henry with his future opportunities shining clear before him hit upon the private school and method as a happy solution and so these boys for some years afterward were carefully watched nevertheless boys would be boys and these were no exceptions during all these years that frank was growing up he was a bom r at the day school and later at the high where he was finally educated he was looked upon as one whose common sense could be trusted in all cases and he never disappointed this belief he was a sturdy youth courageous and defiant after he was ten years old his mother learned to know that joseph and edward the two brothers were perfectly safe in his care and if they asked to go anywhere it was customary for her to ask if frank were going if so well and good if not not if they wanted to do anything when he was with them and he objected he was most emphatic in a quiet way the can t we go down to the old market and jump on the cars joseph used to ask they were a great sight in those days the railroad yards the tracks came into market street and many of the cars being about	43
were hauled by horses the boys were fond of riding stealing as much as they could in this way and joseph and edward were no exceptions why not edward might ask because it isn t good for you that s why you keep off those things aw the go down there well we re not the don t you ever go down there alone having the parental confidence and as well as his own natural force frank s word was law and yet he was a liberal of the law he liked to play one old cat the new game coming into at that time and he was fond of as played by his central high school team he liked visiting the in chestnut street there were several a a of and another of curious fish and birds and he liked the and would gladly take his brothers to a show or a paying the expense himself when he had the money from the very first he was a good leader but also a splendid second to those older than himself whom he sincerely admired there was a certain red a tall and yet rather brilliant and who took a great fancy to yoimg for a time he used to see him at first when he was a ten year old boy passing the comer of arch and second where with the members of what was known as the river gang used to hang out had another young g who received a terrible one afternoon from young a year or two later for on his shoes it came about in this way he was passing innocently by carry the ing his books when the former wishing to his contempt for all the of this world particularly those that were manifested by boys of his own age and contemptuously at the latter s feet and landed a nice of tobacco on his toes this enraged greatly like a flash though naturally calm he dropped his books and went for his opponent he wore a silver ring on his right hand which his mother had given him and curiously it flashed into his mind in a lightning calculation to take it off but he did not instead he planted his right fist swift and straight on s jaw then his left in the same place then his right on the latter s mouth then his left square between the latter s mouth and nose it was a terrific quick and ugly to which his opponent returned with enthusiasm but he was no match for his new adversary the latter forced him back steadily and as he retreated frank followed him there was a crowd in a moment for was considered a star of the gang but drove him by sheer force and swiftness all about the he was not thinking of the crowd he was thinking how thoroughly he could this bully and in how short a time red who was standing by was delighted he did not know that this nice looking s boy as they called all the refined youths of the neighborhood could do anything of the sort to see whom he greatly admired as a being in this way and to realize yet as he did that would scorn assistance even though licked and that therefore this was one of those admirable which one could judge on its merits was inspiring he followed them around pushing the other as the bad boys of the gang were called aside and seeing that what he called fair play was had he had on a red shirt a brown coat much too short for him a pair of trousers fastened about the ds waist by a belt and his but ind intelligent face was surmounted by a small cloth cap with a pulled over his eyes he was lo interested that he was closely over the all the police the neighbors from stores and let em alone he to his fearing hands off til jaw this jo some youth interfering if he can him let him him the gang stood by it was a swift and rapid fight for all of four minutes over the red brick and into the yoimg pat recovering from his and that he lad a terrible adversary frank former s head under his arm by sheer hard force and him vigorously he as he struck him mr was bleeding aw call him off s friends let him alone say when le s had enough forced him to the pavement and sitting of him after a time he pushed lis head against the bricks and some more i quit after a time he was bleeding and almost crying in spite of himself and he ould not get up nor ood s hold yoimg got up he began brushing his and looking about for some friendly ace say kid called arm say you re a wonder what s your name replied frank the dirt off his coat and trousers and feeling for his handkerchief kick the out of him some other youth called approaching and to the do and kick your head off you flannel mouth back it was red talking realized he had a friend where s my books he asked where s his books called an sought and found them say kid said his new protector i m red you re all right you can fight don t you worry they re not goin to jump on you was looking about walked down the street with him the while a part of the gang stayed to console while another followed to witness the triumph of the victor they could scarcely believe their senses one of their members licked a policeman attracted by the cries of and women shortly into view and scattered the crowd red drawn by the charm of s personality put his arm over the latter s shoulder	43
he was at least nine inches taller spare and bony and down joyfully in his new discovery s face say i ll be d d he said you re all right you re fine eh well you know me from now on you can have anything i got i like you i didn t want to fight him said he was not sure whether he welcomed the attentions of this new friend or not still he did not mind them so much they were pleasant i know you didn t don t you be afraid you didn t do any more than you ought to he spit on your shoes that s all right you ought to him you did just what you ought to do that gang s goin to do all right by you they re goin to be fair don t you let any of em give you any lip if they do em i ll see that you fair play you can come around where i am any time you want to just come and tell me he patted frank s shoulder the frank realized he was talking to a leader it he was so raw so uncouth so strange still he was fine and strong and brave and frank liked him i don t want to have any trouble he suggested quietly i didn t start it i really didn t mean to hit him as hard as i did at first don t you worry he can take care of himself you re in with me i m your friend you and i are i live over here in vine street smiled gladly all right he said i m afraid they ll jump on me if you don t head em off no they won t if any one of em says a word you let me know they won t do it again he accompanied frank to his door shook hands with him say he said you re fine come around some saturday i m always over there about one or two o clock frank smiled all right he said he went in and mr strolled away say he chuckled to himself as he strolled that was a real fight that was he s got a that s the end of all right he got all that to him say meanwhile mr had returned to his home in s alley a region that with laboring life and there meditated on the fortunes of those who unexpected and forces it was a sad afternoon for him still he did not despair he had simply found some one at last who could thoroughly him for a time thereafter mr was by mr but only in an admiring friendly way mr wanted to attach him to his of stars but that could not be done very well mr s home ties were too they did explore certain the sections of the city together mr did him on to certain persons whose colors in his estimation needed to be lowered but frank was in a way ashamed to do useless and fighting he liked mr his spirit but his connections were rather so after a time he cut him giving excuses and mr really took no frank made him see how it was out of friendship he gradually let him go but the gang at second and arch never him after that one encounter from the very start of his life frank wanted to know about and politics he cared nothing for books he was a dean boy with a bright clean cut face large dear gray eyes a wide forehead short dark brown hair he had an quick self manner and wa forever asking questions with a keen desire for a and intelligent reply he did not know what was never had an ache or pain ate his food with and ruled his brothers with a rod of iron come on joe hurry ed these commands were issued in no rough but always a way and joe and ed came they looked up to frank from the first as a master and what he had to say or what he saw or encountered was listened to eagerly he himself was pondering pondering pondering one fact astonishing him quite as much as another for he not figure out how this thing he had come into this life was organized how did al these people get into the world what were they doing here who started things anyhow his mother him the story of adam and eve but he didn t it there was a fish market not so very far from own home and there when he went to see his father the bank or when he took his brothers on after for mail or errands for his father he liked look at a certain in front of one store where they lo the odd specimens of sea life which the bay would bring in he saw once there a just a queer little sea animal that looked somewhat like a horse and another time he saw an electric which s discovery had explained one day saw a fish put in and then a and then a the and the came well along in fish experiences he was witness of a familiar tragedy in connection with these two which stayed with him all his life and cleared things up considerably the it appeared from the talk of the idle who were always about this market was considered the prey of the and the latter had no other food offered him the lay at the bottom of the clear glass on the yellow sand apparently seeing nothing you could not tell in which way his black buttons of eyes were looking but apparently they were never off the body of the the latter pale and in	43
texture looking very much like pork fat or was moving about in fashion but his movements were apparently never out of the eyes of his enemy for by degrees small portions of his body began to disappear snapped off by the of his the latter as was one day a witness would leap like a to where the was apparently idly dreaming and the very alert would dart away shooting out at the same time a of ink behind which it would it was not always completely successful however some small portions of its body or its tail were frequently left in the claws of the monster below days passed and now fascinated by the drama young came daily say pa he said to his father one night did you ever see that in front of s yes i know where it is said his father did you ever see the they got in there ii i the i don t know why well that s going to eat that i see more and more of him gone every day how s that asked his father indifferently why that old he just lies down there on bottom of the and he keeps his eyes fixed on th and every now and then he up with a and he almost gets him sometimes he does get him a little but the away he s off half his tail by now and you know that ink bag carries that stuff he shoots out to make a yes well that s almost empty now he s shot out so much he ain t got any more or hardly any more he hasn t any more corrected his father well went on his son the see he s getting tired i can see it i ve been him every day now for a week and he s getting all the time that won t give him any rest can see him looking at him all the time he s goin to get him that s a he s goin to get him sure he paused his eye alight his whole body he was interested not so much as dramatic interested his young face was keen and hungry further information well what of that asked his father curiously oh nothing only i m going by there in the mo ing i want to see whether he s got him in the morning he went his yoimg out in front of the the i not gone but a piece of him and his ink bag was than ever in the comer of the sat the lot poised apparently for action i young put his nose to the glass looked solemnly at the he stayed as long as could the bitter struggle fascinating him he liked ta the study the rough with which the did his deadly work he liked to stare at the and think how was his doom now maybe or in an hour or a day he might die slain by the and the would eat him he looked again at the engine of destruction in the comer and wondered when this would be to night maybe he would come back tonight he returned one night and lo to his grief and astonishment his wish t as granted there was a little crowd around the the was ir the comer before him was the cut in two and partially he got him at last observed one i was standing right here an hour ago and up he leaped and him the was too tired he wasn t quick enough he did back up but that he calculated on his doing that he s been on his movements for a long time now he got him to day well i swan somebody observed junior only stared he had missed this it was too bad he wanted to see it the least touch of sorrow came to him for the as he stared at it slain then he stared at the victor that s the way it has to be i guess he commented to himself that wasn t quick enough he didn t have anything to feed on he figured it out the couldn t kill the he had no weapon the could kill the he was heavily armed there was nothing for the to feed on the had the as prey what was the result to be what else could it be he didn t have a chance he said finally his books imder his arm and trotting on it made a great impression on him it answered in a rough way that riddle which had been him so much in the past how is life organized things lived on each other that was it lived on the and other things what lived on men of course sure that was it and what lived on men he asked himself was it other men wild animals lived on men and there were indians and and some men were killed by storms and accidents he wasn t so sure about men living on men yet but men did kill each other how about wars and street fights and he had seen a mob once it attacked the public building as he was coming home from school his father had explained what for too there was great excitement it was about the slaves that was it sure men lived on men look at the slaves they were men that s what all this excitement was about these days men killing other men he went on home quite pleased with himself at his solution say he said to his mother that night he got him mother got who what got what go wash your hands why that got that i was you and pa about well that s all right it s too bad what makes you take any	43
interest in such things wash your hands well it s interesting you don t often see like that i never did he went out in the back yard where there was a and a post with a little table on it and on that a tin pan and a bucket of water here he washed his face and hands say papa he said to his father later you know that yes well he s dead the got him the father stared at his paper well that s too bad he said indifferently for days and weeks frank thought of this and of the life the he was tossed into for he was ah thinking of what he be in this world and how he get along rom seeing his father count money he was sure that he like and third street where his father s was seemed to him the brightest most street in the world chapter ii the growth of young frank was through years of what might be called a comfortable and happy family existence for although the first ten years of his ufe had been spent in street he was of course very and knew little of those social distinctions which afterward became so marked in his consciousness street was a lovely place to live for a boy it contained mostly small two and three story brick houses red of course with small white marble steps leading up to the front door and thin white marble the front door and windows there were trees in the street plenty of them the road pavement was of big round made bright and clean by the rains and the were of brick red of course and always damp and cool in the windows in time were sometimes flowers and in the rear always was a yard with trees and flowers and grass for the lots were almost always one feet deep and the house fronts crowding dose to the pavement in front left a comfortable space in the rear the father and mother were not so lean and narrow that they could not enter into the natural tendency to be happy and joyous with their children and so this family increased at the rate of a child every two or three years after frank s birth was quite an interesting affair when he was ten and they were ready to move into the new market street home henry s connections were increased as his position grew more responsible and gradually he was becoming quite a personage he already knew a i the number of the more prosperous merchants who dealt with liis bank and because as a clerk during hours tie frequently had to hurry about to other houses and making accounts and he had come to be with and known in the bank of the united states the the and others the knew him as representing a very organization and being particularly and he was not brilliant but apparently honest and worthy of confidence in many things hey hy they sometimes called to him hy he was known as in his earlier days how are things over in place and they secured advice as to the or of money as he would hear of it and how were running when his arrived he was not so familiarly greeted except by those who were much superior to him in this progress of his father once he was ten years did and the former had become young definitely shared it was not for senior to let his boy come to the bank on when he was not at school and witness the exchange of bills at the end of the business at the counting of which and the calculations in connection with which his father was an expert young was vastly interested in this process wanted to know where all the types of money came from why of from ten to fifteen per cent were demanded and received what the men did with all the money they received his father was glad to explain pleased at his interest and frank was eager to learn even at this early age from ten to fifteen he gained a wide knowledge of the condition of the country what a state bank was and what a national one what did what stocks were and bonds and why they in value and why they were quoted in the papers the he began to see clearly what was meant by money as a medium of exchange and how all were calculated according to one value that of gold if gold were high or scarce money was said to be tight and times were bad if gold was plentiful money was easy were large and business was flourishing young finally studied all this out for himself coming to a clear understanding of as a machine for doing business it as he saw it the exchange of this general medium gold or its of presence and deposit and fascinated him much as art might another boy or literature another he was a by instinct and all the knowledge that to that great art was as natural to him as the emotions and of life are to a poet this medium of exchange gold interested him intensely he asked his father where it came from and when told that it was dreamed that he owned a gold mine and to wish that he did even what gold was made of its interested and held his attention he mar that it ever came to be and how it was finally selected as the or standard of exchange so all those piles of bills on his father s desk those yellow and green papers represented gold deposited somewhere or claimed to be deposited if they were worth their face value the gold was where the said it was if	43
the was not worth its face value the presence of the gold was in question or hard to get at so much as the was he was interested in stocks and bonds too which were constantly being deposited as and he learned that some stocks and bonds were not worth the paper they were written on and that others were worth much more than their face value indicated there my son said his father to him one day you won t often see a of those around this neighborhood i i the they were a series of shares in the british east india i deposited as at two thirds of their ace value for a loan of one hundred thousand dollars some of the day owned them and lad them for the use of the ready cash he needed young looked at them curiously say they re plain looking aren t they he com curiously they are worth just four times their face value said lis father frank re examined them the british east india he read ten pounds that s pretty near fifty dollars forty eight thirty five commented his father well if we had a of those we wouldn t need o work very hard you ll notice there are scarcely any din marks on these they aren t hauled very i don t suppose these have ever been used as before yoimg gave them back after a time ut not without a keen sense of the vast of what was the east india company what it do his father told him these shares in companies interested him they made him think that he p handle shares of his own some day at the home also as frank grew there was considerable talk at one time and another f this and that financial and adventure he beard for one thing of a curious character by the name f who was a great beef from virginia at the time and who was attracted to in those days by the hope of large and easy so his father said had formerly been close to and others of the united states bank or at least friendly with them and seemed to be able to obtain from that organization nearly the all that he asked for his operations in the purchase of cattle in virginia and other states were vast in fact to an entire of the business of supplying beef to eastern cities he was a big man enormous with a face his father said something like that of a pig and he wore a high hat and a long which hung loosely about his big chest and stomach he had managed to force the price of beef up to thirty cents a at this time causing all the and to rebel and this was what made him so conspicuous he used to come to the elder s bank or rather the end of it with as much as one hundred thousand or two thousand dollars in twelve months post notes of the united states bank in of one thousand five thousand and ten dollars these he would cash at from ten to twelve per cent under their face value having previously given the united states bank his own note at four r th the entire he would take his pay f m the third national counter in of virginia and western bank notes at par sc he made his principally in states the third national would in the place rf a profit of from four to five per cent on the transaction and as it took the western at a di it also made a profit on those young frank listened to the story of these transactions with a greedy ear they seemed wonderful to him but this whole world of money was like a full of delight why in third street there was nothing but great j of it there was another man his father told him about or rather told his mother and he overheard who was known as francis j he was apparently a famous newspaper correspondent and at washington and possessed the faculty of getting at and developing secrets of every kind especially if they related to financial the the secrets of the president and the cabinet as well as of the and the house of representatives seemed to be open to him had been about years before through one or two large of the various kinds of debt and bonds which as frank s father observed other government officials of that time were also doing the republic of in its struggle for independence from had issued bonds and in great variety in value to ten or fifteen million dollars a scheme had been on foot to make a state of the union and a bill was finally passed providing a contribution on the part of the united states of five million dollars to be applied to the of this old debt knew of this and also of the fact tliat some of this debt owing to the peculiar conditions of issue was to be paid in full while other portions were to be down and there was to be a false or failure to pass the bill the five dollars at one in order to frighten off the who might have heard and to buy the old for their own profit knew of this the third national knew of s knowledge through him and as was also informed in some way he told his wife about it afterward and so his son in this way heard it and his clear big eyes he wondered why his father did not take advantage of it and buy some himself but the latter was too honest too so this was the way money was made men and planned and then they big profits so his father said and possibly three or four others had	43
made over a hundred thousand dollars apiece it wasn t exactly legitimate he seemed to think and yet it was too shouldn t such inside information be rewarded somehow frank realized that his father had never been involved in any way in these to him operations why why didn t his father make a the hundred thousand dollars out of something look at with a hundred thousand dollars m notes in his hat and this man and others when he grew up frank told himself he was going to be a or a or a banker and do some of these things it was so easy for him to see how they were done y had to get in with people that was how you had to know what was going on his father was nice but he was slow surely he was if he were father now he walked to school day thinking of these things but he was sick of school and books what did his teachers know about money nothing what did these other boys know of what was going on in third street not a thing why a man might get down in there and get rich before anybody knew an i about anything he wondered that the street was not crowded with people like and it was so easy he could see how it was he could see how he could do it wait he would be a that s what he would be and that just as quick as he was out of school if not sooner he would work and coin some money and then he would become a and then he would become rich there was an who came to the house about this time the one in new market street when they became well there who had not previously appeared in the life of young and his brothers and sister he was rather a fascinating type of man and say five feet ten in height with a big round body a round smooth head rather bald a dear ruddy complexion blue eyes and what little hair he had of a sandy hue he was exceedingly well dressed for men of those days indulging in long frock coats and the invariable for a fairly prosperous man high hat frank was fascinated by him because he had been a in and still owned a big there and could tell him tales of life the hand to hand fighting with on his own plantation and things of that sort he was a brother of mrs by name and he brought from where he had been for ten years a collection of indian to say nothing of an independent fortune and several slaves he had one slave named a tall raw black who was his constant attendant a body servant as it were he still had his sugar plantation and at this day raw sugar in boat loads to the in philadelphia frank liked him because he took life in a hearty jovial way rather rough and for this somewhat quiet and reserved household why he said to mrs on arriving one sunday afternoon when the household was thrown into joyous astonishment at his and appearance you haven t grown an inch i thought when you married old brother hy here that you were going to up and grow tall something like your brother look at you i swear to heaven you don t weigh five and he her up and down by the waist much to the of the children who had never before seen their mother so familiarly handled henry was exceedingly interested in and pleased at the arrival of this rather prosperous relative for twelve years before when he was married had not taken much notice of him he was a man of his own age but a much more type of character look at all these little faced they ought to come down to my in and get up that would take away this look and he pinched the cheek of the only girl now five years old i tell you henry you have a rather nice place here and he looked at the main room of the rather conventional three story house with a critical eye the it was nice this particular room was twenty by twenty four and finished in imitation cherry with a set of new and parlor since henry the father had become of the third national the family had indulged in a piano a decided luxury in those days brought from europe and it was intended that when she was old enough should learn to play there were a few uncommon ornaments in the room a gas for one thing a glass bowl with in it some rare and highly polished shells and a marble bearing a basket of flowers which had picked up somewhere at a sale it was time the windows were open and the trees outside with their softly extended green branches were pleasantly visible the brick strolled out into the back yard to see if they had a well this is pleasant enough he observed noting a large elm and seeing that the yard was partially paved with brick and within brick walls up the sides of which vines were where s your don t you string a here in summer down on my at san i have six or seven he noted edward the youngest boy at his side with frank in the distance looking at him mr and mrs were in the doorway we hadn t thought of putting one up because of the neighbors but it would be nice henry will have to get one i have two or three in my trunks over at the hotel i thought you t have any my make em down there i ll send over with them in the morning he plucked at the	43
vines edward s ear told joseph the second boy he would bring him an and went back into the house this is the lad that interests me he said after a the time his hand on the shoulder of frank what you name him in henry frank well you might have named him after me there s something to this boy he s got something in his eye how would you like to come down to and be a my boy fm not so sure that i d like to replied the eldest well that s straight spoken what have you against it nothing except that i don t know anything about it what do you know the boy smiled wisely not so very much i guess well what are you interested in money what s bred in the bone eh get something f that your father eh well that s a good trait and spoken like a man too we ll hear more about that later you re breeding a here i think he talks like one he looked at this boy carefully now and he was impressed there was real force in that sturdy yoimg no doubt of it those large dear gray eyes much and revealed nothing they seemed full f intelligence and light without speaking of anything that they knew a smart boy he said to henry his brother in law i like his get up you have a bright family henry smiled none knew better than he frank s bent and this man if he liked him might do much for him he might eventually leave him me of his fortune he was wealthy and single became a frequent visitor to the house lie and his negro body guard who spoke both english and spanish much to the astonishment of the and he took an increasing interest in frank the when that boy gets old enough to find out what wants to do i think fu help him to do it he observed to his sister one day and she told him she was very grateful he talked to frank about his studies and found that what he said was true he cared little for books or most of the study he was compelled to pursue grammar was an literature silly latin was of no use history well it was fairly interesting i like and he observed i want to get out and get to work though that s what i want to do you re pretty yoimg my son observed his you re only how old now fourteen thirteen well you can t leave school much before sixteen you ll do better if you stay until seventeen or eighteen it can t do you any harm you won t be a boy again i don t want to be a boy i want to get to work don t go too fast son you ll be a man soon enough be quiet study now when the time comes you ll get a good start you want to be a banker do you yes sir well when the time comes if everything is all right and you ve behaved yourself and you still want to i ll you get a start in business if i were you and were going to be a banker i d first spend a year or so in some good grain and commission house there s good training to be had there you ll learn a lot that you ought to know when the time comes you do that and meantime keep your health and learn all you can wherever i am you let me know and i ll write and find out how you ve been conducting he brought some great cannon out on the evening of july the fourth and he and frank helped entertain and disturb the neighborhood by setting them off he gave the boy a handsome e and a ten dollar the gold piece which he got from henry by exchange to start a bank account with that boy is a bright boy he said to the father he s a real man already there s something to him he s going to make his mark and not strange to say he liked the whole household much better for this sterling youth who was an part of it chapter iii the years that passed between the time that young was fully decided that he wanted to be a banker and the time that he actually achieved this result were filled with curious interests it was in his year that he made his first business venture and it was decidedly profitable from his point of view near his home in new market street was a where his mother and here he was wont to see great piles of things displayed for sale at one time and boxes of soap for instance of fruit not for the industry had not developed in those days to the proportions it later assumed papers of coffee and the like these things took his eye and interested him in the of the business where these things came from principally he knew from his geography now that many things were imported to this land coffee sugar his uncle did that rice tea and he wondered from time to time whether there was much money in the buying and selling of these things in china practically to the world they grew and fired tea and his geography showed him a picture of that in front street were houses which imported from and the dutch east indies their signs said so there was one man who sold tropical birds brought by boat and and there was another man who offered from time to time of and the good houses brought all their fine from england and came from the same place but to one day he	43
was walking in front street the and he saw an s flag hanging out before a store a store and inside the contents were being disposed of the owner having decided to wind up his business what am i bid for this exceptional lot of coffee twenty two bags all told which is now selling in the market for seven dollars and thirty two cents a bag what am i bid what am i bid the whole lot must go as one what am i bid eighteen dollars suggested one who was standing near the door indifferently more to start the bidding than anything else for he was not vastly interested in coffee frank who was passing paused twenty two called another thirty a third thirty five a fourth and so on up to seventy five less than half of what it was worth i m bid seventy five i m bid seventy five fm bid seventy five called the loudly any other offers going once at seventy five am i offered eighty going twice at seventy five and he paused one hand raised then he brought it down with a slap in the palm of the other sold to mr for seventy five make a note of that he called to his red headed faced clerk beside him then he turned to another lot of this time eleven barrels of it young was making a rapid calculation if as the said coffee was worth seven dollars and thirty two cents a bag in the open market and this was getting this coffee for seventy five dollars he was making then and there eighty six dollars and four cents to say nothing of what his profit would be if he sold it at as frank s mother s did as frank recalled his mother was paying twenty eight cents a pound he drew nearer his books tucked imder his arm and watched these operations closely the as he soon heard was valued at ten dollars a barrel and it the only brought six some of were knocked down at one third their value and so on he began to wish he could bid but he had no money just a little pocket change the noticed him standing almost directly imder his nose and was at his interest he was also impressed with the of the boy s expression i am going to offer you now a fine lot of soap seven cases no less which as you know if you know anything about soap is now selling at fourteen cents a bar this soap is worth anywhere at this moment eleven dollars and seventy five cents a case what am i bid what am i bid what am i bid he was talking fast in the usual style of with much unnecessary emphasis but was not impressed he was already rapidly calculating for himself seven cases at eleven dollars and seventy five cents would be worth just eighty two dollars and twenty five cents and if it went at half if it went at half twelve dollars commented one fifteen bid another twenty called a third twenty five a then it came to dollar raises for soap was not such a vital twenty six twenty eight twenty nine there was a pause thirty observed the a short lean faced spare man with hair and an eye looked at him curiously without pausing however he had somehow in spite of himself been impressed by the boy s peculiar eye and now he felt without knowing why that the offer was probably legitimate enough and that the boy had the money he might be the son of a i m bid thirty i m bid thirty i m bid thirty for this fine lot of soap it s a fine lot it s the worth fourteen cents a bar will any one bid will any one bid thirty one will any one bid thirty one thirty one said a voice thirty two replied the same process was repeated i m bid thirty two i m bid thirty two fm bid thirty two will anybody bid thirty three it s fine soap seven cases of fine soap will anybody bid thirty three young s mind was working he had no money with him but his father was of the third national bank and he could quote him as his was he could sell all of his soap to his surely or if not to other other people were anxious to get this soap at this price why not he the paused thirty two once am i bid thirty three twice am i bid thirty three thirty two three times seven fine cases of soap am i bid anything more once twice three times am i bid anything more his hand was up again and sold to mr he leaned over and looked curiously into the face of his frank son of the of the third national bank replied the boy h yes said the man fixed by his glance will you wait while i run up to the bank and get the money yes don t be gone long if you re not here in an hour i ll sell it again made no reply he hurried out and ran fast first not to his father but to his which was within a block of his home thirty feet from the door he up put on a air and strolling in looked about for soap the there it was the same kind displayed in a box and looking just as his soap looked how much is this a bar mr he inquired sixteen cents replied that worthy if i could sell you seven boxes for sixty two dollars just like this would you take them the same soap yes sir mr calculated a moment yes i think i would he replied cautiously	43
would you pay me to day give you my note for it where is the soap he was perplexed and somewhat astonished by this proposition on the part of his neighbor s son he knew mr well and frank also will you take it if i bring it to you to day yes i will he replied are you going into the soap business no but i know where i can get some of that soap cheap he hurried out again and ran to his father s bank it was after hours but he knew how to get in and he knew that his father would be glad to see him make thirty dollars he only wanted to borrow the money for a day what s the trouble frank asked his father looking up from his desk when he appeared breathless and red faced i want you to loan me thirty two dollars will you why yes i might what do you want to do with it i want to buy some soap seven boxes of soap i know where i can get it and sell it mr will take it he s already offered me sixty two for it i can get it for thirty two will you let me have the money i ve got to run back and pay the the his father smiled this was the most business like attitude he had as yet seen his son manifest he was so keen so alert for a boy of thirteen why frank he said going over to a drawer where some bills were are you going to become a already you re sure you re not going to lose on this you know what you re doing do you you let me have the money father will you he pleaded i ll show you in a little bit just let me have it he was like a young hound on the scent of game his father could not resist his appeal it was so fascinating why certainly frank he replied til trust you and he counted out six five dollar of the third national s own issue and two ones there you are frank ran out of the building with a briefly spoken he returned to the room as fast as his legs would carry him when he came in sugar was being but he paid no attention to that he made his way to the s clerk i want to pay for that soap he suggested now asked the boy yes will you give me a receipt do you deliver this no no delivery you have to take it away in twenty four hours that difficulty did not trouble him he had some all right he said and his paper testimony f purchase the watched him as he went out in half an hour he was back with a an idle on who was waiting for a job frank had with him to deliver the soap for sixty cents in still another half hour he was before the the door of the astonished mr and he had him come out and look at the boxes before attempting to remove them his plan was to have them carried on to his own home if the operation for any reason failed to go through though it was his first great venture he was now as cool as a yes said mr scratching his gray head he was a tall man spare stoop shouldered rather near sighted and wore steel spectacles yes that s the same soap it take it i ll be as good as my word where d you get it frank at s up here the latter replied frankly and it did not strike mr as so strange that this boy should attend an in his own neighborhood and buy soap cheaper than he but it was strange just the same he had the bring in the soap and after some formality more because the agent in this case was a boy than anything else he made out his note at thirty days and gave it to him frank thanked him and the note he decided to go back to his father s bank and it as he had seen others doing thereby paying his father back and getting his own profit in ready money it couldn t be done ordinarily on any day after business hours but his father would make an exception in his case most kept open until nine o clock at night in third street he hurried back whistling and his father glanced up smiling when he came in well frank how d you make out he asked here s a note at thirty days he said producing the paper had give him do you want to that for me you can take your thirty two out of that his father examined it closely sixty two dollars he observed mr that s good paper the i can it will cost you ten per cent he added why don t you just hold it though i ll et you have the thirty two dollars until the end of the month h no said his son you it and take your money i may want mine he had an air of business his father smiled all right he said i ll fix if to morrow tell me just how you did this and his son told him his senior listened with keen interest this he thought was a remarkable thing for a boy of frank s age to have done clearing thirty dollars at one he wanted to go home and tell his wife and later his brother in law when he should see him again frank was a remarkable boy at this rate he would certainly make his mark some day at seven o clock that night his wife heard about it and in due time uncle	43
frank had indulged in no other exciting deeds until that time was pleased what d i tell you he asked he has stuff in him that look out for him mrs looked at her boy curiously at dinner was this the son she had nursed at her bosom not so very long before surely he was developing rapidly as for the he was bland and calm radiant but inscrutable and without any desire to talk or boast yes i made thirty dollars he answered his father when the latter told it in the presence of his mother but he neither blushed nor was he nervous nor manifested excitement in any way well frank i hope you can do that often said his mother happily i hope so too ma was his rather non reply chapter iv from the very first young knew how to make money he was an at turning all sorts of practical tricks such as taking for a boys paper taking the agency for the sale of a new kind of ice from an ice company and once a band of neighborhood youths into a union for the purpose of their summer straw hats at there were only twelve of them but he secured the rate for that and took a commission of two dollars on the total purchases there was nothing small or cheap in his ideas he was not doing this in a way it was not his idea that he could get rich by saving from the first he had the notion that liberal spending was better and that somehow he would get along he did this more to be doing it and to exercise his talent for no one ever dreamed of thinking of him as he was not but he paid naturally easily and as he went the soap transaction coming as it did at the end of his year his horizon greatly it showed him clearly what trade was and how transactions even on a small scale be made exceedingly profitable were not to be discovered every day his home was only open to one such transaction in a reasonable period of time but there were other things which could be done and he remembered to his great dissatisfaction that all the in the room had been off at such bargain prices if he had been able to buy them all and dispose of them all as as he had his soap he have made a small the fortune as it was he realized that he must get money first considerable money in a small way before he could do these things it set his mind to running on money chances and thereafter he was keenly on the alert for anything which might show a quick clear easy profit a quick dear easy profit that was the thing he wanted and how was he to get it it was in this year or a little earlier that he began to take a keen interest in girls he had from the first showed a shrewd eye for the beautiful and being and himself it was not hard for him to attract the sympathetic interest of those in whom he was interested a ten year old girl patience who lived a number of doors from him up the street was the first to attract his attention or to be attracted by him black hair and snapping black eyes were her portion with pretty down her back and dainty feet and ankles to match a dainty figure she was a the daughter of parents wearing a little but that made no odds her disposition was and she liked this self self sufficient straight spoken boy who lived in her street he had such clear non and yet dancing eyes their first encounter was lost in a of mere to and fro he could not have said when but one day after an exchange of glances from time to time he said with a smile and the age that was innate in him she was passing him in the same direction at the time you live up my way don t you yes she replied a little this last manifested in a nervous swinging of her school book bag i live at number one forty one i know the house he said i ve seen you go in there you go to the same school my sister does don t yoa aren t you patience he had heard some of the boys speak her name yes how do you know the oh i ve heard he smiled i ve seen you do you like he in his coat and pulled out some of the fresh wooden sticks that were then sold thank you she said sweetly taking one it isn t very good i ve been carrying it a long time i had some the other day oh it s all right she replied the end of hers don t you know my sister he by way of self introduction she just began school last year she s in a lower grade than you are of course i thought maybe you might have seen her i think i know who she is i ve seen her coming home from school i live right over there he confided pointing to his own home as he drew near to it as if she didn t know i ll see you around here now i guess do you know she asked when he was about ready to turn off into the road to reach his own door no why she s giving a party next tuesday she volunteered seemingly but with great point where does she live there in twenty eight i wish i might go he suggested sweetly as he swung away from her maybe she ll ask you she called back growing more courageous as the distance between them i	43
ll ask her thanks he smiled and she began to run gaily onward he looked after her with a smiling face she was very pretty he felt a keen desire to kiss her and what might at miss s party rose vividly before his eyes this was just one of the early love affairs or the that held his mind from time to time in the mixture f after events patience was kissed by him in secret ways many and many a time before he found an ther girl she and others of the street which was respectable ran out to play in the snow of a s night or lingered after dusk before her own door j hen the days grew dark early it was so easy to catch d kiss her then and to talk to her foolishly at parties came when he was sixteen years old md she was twelve and when he was seventeen and she was fifteen was a much lighter than patience ind was as fair as the morning with red cheeks gray eyes and hair and is plump as a shall the story of be told it isn t as nt as the others but no let it go there will be than sufficient without it it was at seventeen that having endured all he could df the so called processes of the time he de to leave school he had not he had only finished the third year in high school but he had had enough ever since his year his mind had been on and that only in the form in which he saw it manifested in third street there had been odd things that he had been able to do to earn a little money now and then his uncle had allowed him to act as assistant at the sugar in where three hundred pound bags were weighed into the government under the eyes of united states in certain he was called to assist his father and paid for it he even made an arrangement with mr to assist him on but his father became of his bank shortly after his son had reached his year and receiving an income of four thousand dollars a year it was that frank assisting a on was the out of order all that was left after that was at the sugar and helping his father which he as times and conditions it should be said of that during all these years he was exceedingly he appeared at times a little bit removed and superior or distant but solely because he was thinking he had a cheerful hearty way of greeting people which was in the main entirely from what he thought of them even at this early age he was a keen judge of men and he saw at once without much philosophic or knowledge just how the world was arranged there were the weak and the strong and mentally some men were destined for success by their temperament that he could see others were cut for failure by the same token you could not expect a weak half constructed figure of a man with no brain and no force to cut a figure in the world and you could not possibly expect a great soul like not to be heard of men as he saw them were by to succeed or fail or be and really in so far as he was concerned he v neither very sorry nor very glad now and then even at this age some poor fool of a creature some boy of his own age or man much older who cut up silly tricks or did wandering things moved him to scorn or pity but if he began with scorn he always came back to the thought well they cannot help it why should he judge time and chance happened to all men look at the he had seen was it its fault that it had been put in the with the with no chance ultimately of saving its life some great curious force was at work here throwing vast masses of people into life and they could not all succeed some had to fail many only a few could lead he wondered about himself whether he was bom to lead he had strength health joy in life would he make good i the a great desire to hurry and yet to go cautiously always followed in the train of the former thought he must succeed he must work he mustn t be a figure like some of these poor things about him never it was when he turned seventeen and it was the end of his current school year that his who happened to be back in philadelphia at the time and more than ever said to him one day now frank if you re ready for it i think i know where there s a good opening for you there won t be any salary in it for the first year but if you mind your p s and q s they ll probably give you something as a gift at the end of that time do you know of henry and company down in second street i ve seen their place well they tell me they might make a place for you as a they re in a way grain and commission men you say you want to get in that line when school s out you go down and see mr tell him i sent you and he ll make a place for you i think let me know how you come out uncle was married now having because of his wealth attracted the attention of a poor but ambitious philadelphia society matron and because of this the general connections of the were considered much better henry the father was planning to move with his family	43
eye was so bright and yet so inscrutable henry took to him at once i like that he said to his brother the moment frank had gone having been told to report the following morning something to him he s the most thing that s walked in here in many a day the he was sitting beside his battered flat top desk king out into the of second street through the open window which when closed was composed of many small six by six window panes the rear of the store indeed all but the first thirty feet was quite shadowy and cool because of the lack of side windows little of the stock of the company was kept here because most of the were made from cars in market street and from boats at the water front or on the yes said george a much and slightly taller man with dark eyes and a thin largely vanished growth of black or black hair contrasted strangely with the egg shaped whiteness of his bald head george was less vigorous less sanguine than his brother he was more o er with the pale cast of thought and given to pulling a very neat small black yes i like him he s a nice yoimg man it s a wonder his father don t take him in his bank up there well he may not be able to said his brother he s only the there that s right we ll give that fellow a trial i bet anything he makes good he s a likely looking youth this fellow we have is nothing said george gloomily when i ask him to look up a credit it takes him a month to find it he won t do he s always talking about an uncle that runs a dry goods store in new york harry tells me harry was another and general and george reported this as though it were in some way a notable well let him go and work for his observed henry this warm weather made him breathe heavily he got up and walked out into the main entrance looking into second street the cool the shaded by the wall of buildings on the east of which his was a part from the eastern sun the noisy and the busy crowds hurrying to and fro pleased him he looked at the buildings over the way all three and four stories and largely of and crowded with life and thanked his stars that he had originally in so prosperous a neighborhood they really couldn t be better off here was the of things this and the street above here property had advanced in the last twenty years he had a score of clerks and general if he had only bought more property at the time he bought this you go down and see if those potatoes have come in yet he said to a clerk who happened to be hurrying in with a bill of yes sir go right away i wish that boy would turn out to be the kind of man i want he observed to himself he could save me a lot of running these days curiously after only three or minutes of conversation with the boy he had this marked sense of something told him that this boy would do well so it chapter v the appearance of young at this time was to say the least and satisfactory his hair was rather a shade dark brown as crisp as it had been years before and thicker his head was large commercial in its aspect and fixed on a square pair of shoulders and a body nature had destined him to be about five feet ten inches tall his eyes had the look that subtle years of thought bring but they were more inscrutable than ever absolutely you could tell nothing by his eyes he walked with a light confident step life had given him no severe nor rude he had not been compelled to complain of illness or pain or of any kind he saw people richer than himself but he hoped to be rich his family was respected his father well placed he owed no man anything once he had let a small note of his become at the bank but his father raised such a row that he never forgot it i would rather crawl on my hands and knees than let my paper go to protest the old gentleman observed and this fixed in his mind what scarcely needed to be so sharply the significance of credit no paper of his ever went to protest or became after that through any of his young turned out to be the most efficient clerk that the house of co had ever known they put him on the books at first as assistant vice mr thomas dismissed and in two weeks george said why don t we make head he knows more in a minute the than that fellow will ever know i saw him sitting in there the other day looking at his fingers for f fourteen minutes i timed him as though he had something very serious on his mind what s he got so serious to think about make the transfer george but don t fuss so you re the man to sit around and watch people i ever saw you re as good as a a man s got a right to look at his fingers he might have been trying to solve a problem oh nothing of the sort i ve seen him do it before we ll put in he belongs there he won t be a long though i want to see if he can t handle some of these for me after a bit the more he knows about the books the better the books of	43
messrs co fairly complicated as they were were child s play to frank he went through them with an ease and rapidity which surprised his superior mr the latter could not understand why mr this young was so about some things so abstract at times and why he could so easily and so quickly run over long standing accounts and say yes yes without seeming to pay attention he couldn t hope to succeed that way he would surely fail why that fellow mr told his friend william another clerk in the employ of co on the first day he had seen work he s too brisk he s going to make a bad break i know that kind wait a little bit until we get one of those rush credit and transfer days somehow the bad break mr anticipated did not mr went through the books with so much ease and speed that in less than a week he knew the financial condition of messrs co as well as they did better to a dollar he knew how their were distributed from what the section they drew the most who sent poor produce and good the varying prices for a year told that to satisfy himself he ran back over certain in the his suspicions did not interest him except as a record a demonstration of a firm s life and when he knew that the day to day work of entering and making out bills o k ing and maintaining the bank was he knew he would not want to do this long he knew that he would not do it something else would happen but he saw instantly what the grain and commission business was every detail of it he saw where for want of greater activity in offering the goods consigned quicker with and a better working agreement with surrounding commission men this house or rather its customers for it had nothing endured severe losses a man would ship a tow boat or a car load of fruit or vegetables against a rising or stable market but if ten other men did the same thing at the same time or other commission men were with fruit or vegetables and there was no way of of them within a reasonable time the price had to fall every day was bringing its special it instantly occurred to him that he would be of much more use to the house as an outside man of heavy but he hesitated to say anything so soon more than likely things would themselves shortly nevertheless the henry and george were greatly pleased with the way he handled their accounts there was a sense of security in his very presence it was only a few days before began to call brother george s attention to the condition of certain accounts making suggestions as to their possible or which pleased that individual greatly he was doing this himself constantly to his brother henry but this young man saw further pointed in the their methods which even george did not see and all in a way which gave no but seemed rather to from the general wisdom of the concern george saw a way of his own labors through the of this youth while at the same time developing a sense of pleasant companionship with him brother henry was for trying him on the outside it was not always possible to fill the orders with the stock on hand and somebody had to go into the street exchange or buy usually he did this one morning when way bills indicated a probable of flour and a of grain frank saw it first the elder called him into his office and said frank i wish you would see what you can do with this condition that us on the street by tomorrow going to be with flour we can t be paying charges and our orders won t eat it up we re short on grain you could trade out the flour to some of those and get me enough grain to fill these orders i d like to try said his he knew from his books where the various were he knew what the local merchants exchange and the various commission merchants who dealt in these things had to offer this was the thing he liked to do a trade difficulty of this it was pleasant to be out in the air again to be going from door to door he objected to desk work and pen work and over books as he said in later years his brain was his office he hurried to the principal learning what the state of the market was and offering his at the very rate he would have expected to get for it if there had been no did they want to buy for immediate de forty eight hours being immediate six barrels of prime flour he would offer it at nine dollars straight in the barrel they did not he it the in and some agreed to take one portion and some another in about an hour he was all secure on this save one lot of two barrels which he decided to offer in one lump to a famous with which his firm did no business the latter a big man with curly gray hair a and yet face and little eyes that out through fat eyelids looked at curiously when he came in his hands and feet were large the former as to their backs with sandy hair his name was what s your name young man he asked leaning back in his four legged wooden chair when frank appealed to him so you work for and company you want to make a record no doubt that s why you came to me he scarcely knew what he said he was inclined to think poorly	43
of any proposition which came to him outside his regular channels of exchange but this young agent s appearance pleased him merely smiled well i ll take your flour i need it bill it to me hurried out he went direct to a firm of in street with whom his firm dealt and had them bid in the grain he needed at prevailing this george had told him was the custom of the company then he returned to mr well said the latter when he reported you did that quick sold old two hundred barrels direct did you that s doing pretty well he isn t on our books is he no sir i thought not well if you can do that sort of work on the street you won t be on the books long he consulted with his brother george as to the rather remarkable showing the boy had made si the we can use him to good advantage on the outside whenever we re short or and i m not here you d let him see what he can do on the street he can let do that work imder him k he wants any extra help give it to him thereafter in the course of time frank became a familiar figure in the commission district and on change the produce exchange striking for his employer picking up odd lots of things they needed new customers breaking by of odd lots in unexpected quarters the were astonished at his facility in this respect he had an faculty for getting making friends being introduced into new new life began to flow through the old channels of the company their customers were better satisfied george was for sending him out into the rural districts to drum up trade and was eventually done there were certain big in near by places whose they desired and they fancied frank could get them henry had not troubled to do this work in some years near christmas time henry said to george we ll have to make a liberal present he hasn t any salary how would five dollars do that s pretty much seeing the way times are but i guess he s v it he s certainly done everything we ve expected and more he s cut out for this business what does he say about it do you ever hear him say whether he s satisfied oh he likes it pretty much i guess you see him as much as i do well we ll make it five that fellow wouldn t make a bad partner in this business some day he has the real for it when he comes to understand it thoroughly you see that he gets the five hundred dollars with a word from both of us so the night before christmas as was the over some way bills and of preparatory to leaving all in order for the intervening holiday george came to his desk hard at it he said standing imder the and looking at his brisk with great satisfaction it was early night and the snow was making a pattern through the windows in front just a few points before i wind up smiled the latter my brother and i have been especially pleased with the way you have handled the work here during the past ax months we wanted to make some acknowledgment md we thought about five hundred dollars be right january first we ll give you a regular salary of dollars a week i m certainly much obliged to you said frank i t expect that much it s a good deal learned x here that fm glad to know h don t mention it we know you ve earned it von can stay with us as long as you like we re glad to lave you with us smiled his hearty genial smile he was very comfortable imder the evidence of approval he looked bright and cheery in his well made clothes of english he closed up his desk after a time and went home on the way he as to the nature of this business he knew he wasn t going to stay there so long even in spite of this gift and promise of salary they were grateful of course but why shouldn t they be he was efficient he knew that imder him things rapidly wherever he went he had an air of deliberation and combined with speed order came out of chaos away there weren t any he did business quickly and surely looking a long way ahead id his time and again of things that to be prepared for in order that everything might the go smoothly it never occurred to him that he belonged in the realm of those people were the kind of beings who ought to work for him and who would there was nothing savage in his attitude no rage against fate no dark fear of failure these two men he worked for were already nothing more than characters in his eyes their business itself he see their weaknesses and their as a much older man might have viewed a boy s he went on home and at the house after dinner and before leaving to call on his girl he told his father of the change of the gift of five hundred and the promised salary that s splendid said the older you re doing better than i thought i suppose you ll stay there no i won t i think i ll quit sometime next year why well it isn t exactly what i want to do it s interesting enough but i d rather try my hand at i think that appeals to me don t you think you are doing them an injustice not to tell them not at all they need me he himself in a fine n that had been introduced	43
into the new house his tie and his coat have you told mother no i m going to do it now he went out into the dining room where his mother was still things around he said slipping his arms around her little body what do you well what she asked looking affectionately into his eyes i got five hundred to night and i get twenty a week next year what do you want for christmas the you don t say isn t that nice isn t that fine must like you you re getting to be quite a man t you what do you want for christmas nothing i don t want anything i have my he smiled all right then nothing it is she knew he would buy her something he went out his sister in the waist at the and that he d be back about midnight he hurried to his girl s house in a poorer neighborhood because he had promised to take her to a show his fifteen year old girl and kissed her in the anything you want now for christmas this year he confiding to her i got five x night she was an innocent little thing no no oh you needn t get me anything don t i he asked her waist and kissing mouth it was fine to be getting on this way in the world and such a good time no he said to himself even as he talked to her silly things he would not stay in the commission business there was no real money in it it was too slow dealing in flour grain and occasionally lots of even though done in large quantities was too much like petty trade it wasn t mental enough money was the thing plain money represented by stocks and bonds that interested him he could never get men like francis j and off his mind with money you were free of all these dealings and with people who after all say what you might weren t as clever as the and the those were the people they the sustained these latter they made it possible through the machinery of for these people to do business no george and henry were all right but when he was a little further along just a little hit older be was going to start in for himself chapter vi in the mean time he worked on with the company until the following october when having passed his year by nearly six months and feeling sure that he should never want anything to do with the grain and commission business as conducted by them he decided to his relations with them great was the of mr george and mr henry was actually as well as disappointed by this why i thought he exclaimed vigorously when informed by that you liked the business s it a matter of salary no not at all mr i hope you won t feel about this thing i have been thinking it all over ind decided that i ve made a mistake in coming into this line at all i don t like it as well as i do the straight out business i want to get into that thought so a little while after i came in here but i didn t want to say anything so long as you were satisfied no one else has made you a better offer i wouldn t take one in this line well that certainly is too bad fm sorry i don t want to urge you against your own best interests you know what you are doing but george and i had about agreed to offer you an interest in this thing after a bit now you re picking up and leaving why damn it man there s good money in this business i know it smiled but i don t like it i have other plans in view never be a grain and man the going in with your father no tm going to work for and company h that s the lay eh well they re clever e i know ed the old commission man was greatly depressed he had fancied through the presence of frank that he y fixed in ease and for the rest of his days now h was that knocked square from under him i his son was no good it was too bad brother george came in after a time and heard the news he was much more than his brother much more nervous well now what do you think of that he asked here we were you and me just getting ready to give him an interest and now he up and walks off i never noticed that he was dissatisfied before what does he say he hasn t any complaint said henry he says he don t like this business i don t believe him sometimes he wants to get in the money game like father wants to be a he s going over with and company h that s it said brother george well now wonder who we ll get to take his place you can t get any one to take his place henry he s a natural bom he s an we might have known we couldn t expect to hold him he won t stay long with that s going to go it alone pretty soon can t you see it in his eye he isn t going to work for anybody neither you nor i nor any one can keep him he around in his chair and looked gloomily out of the window now he said to himself i have got to get up and around the street u that boy of mine were any good his thoughts off into oblivion george returned to the little where he kept us	43
responsible out of town which co who also had a note share or end connected with their business had for him and in the process they had come to exchange friendly greetings the first mr took a keen interest in this subtle young he not have said why how s business with you people he would ask or find that you re getting many i o u s these days there were prospects of hard times soon because of the unsettled condition of the country the over of the slavery agitation and so forth somehow he could not have told you why this young man struck him as some one who was worth while talking to on these matters he was not really old enough to know and yet he did know h things are going pretty well with us thank you mr would answer i tell you he said to one morning this slavery agitation if it doesn t stop is going to cause trouble a negro slave belonging to a visitor from had just been and set free because the laws of made freedom the right of any negro brought into the state even to the extent of to another portion of the and there was excitement over the matter several persons had the been arrested and the newspapers were discussing it i don t think the south is going to stand for this thing it s making trouble in our business and it must be doing the same thing for others we ll have here sure as fate one of these days he talked with the suggestion of a it s coming i think said quietly it can t be healed in my judgment the negro isn t worth all this excitement but they ll go on for people always do this they haven t anything else to do it s our southern trade i thought so that s what the people tell me he turned to a new customer as young went out the door but again the boy struck him as being sound and deep thinking if that yoimg fellow wanted a place i d give it to him he thought finally one day he said to him how you like to try hand at being a floor man for me in change i need a young man here one of my clerks is leaving i d like it replied smiling and looking intensely gratified i had thought of speaking to you myself some time well if you re ready and can make the change the place is open come any time you like i ll have to give a reasonable notice at the other place said quietly would you mind waiting a week or two not at all it isn t as important as that i thought you might like to move in here and we need a man but i can wait come as soon as you can things out i don t want to inconvenience your it was after that that frank had his talk with and two weeks later he took his departure chapter vii it was some time before this change had that henry having lived for years in the comfortable new market street home had removed to a still better or rather larger house in north front street facing the river and had furnished it in even better style than the one he had previously occupied the rage of the day in the matter of furniture was for a modified and this now in regard to some room sets was introduced the house was four instead of three stories tall and stood twenty five feet on the street front without a yard here now the family began to entertain in a small way and there came to see them now and then representatives of the various interests that mr henry had in his upward to the position of it was not a very distinguished company as yet seeing that he was still a but it included a number of people who were about as successful as himself heads of small who at his bank in dry goods leather and grain his daughter now twelve years of age was blessed with a small company of girl friends of her own age who gathered here frequently and frank joseph and edward had come to have of their own school girls commercial acquaintances and the like now and then because of ch connections mrs ventured to hold an afternoon tea or reception and gathered her the wives and daughters of those whom her husband knew and toward whom he friendly even attempted the gallant the in so far as to stand about in a foolish way and greet those whom his wife had invited it was a very painful to him unless he could maintain his gravity in a very solemn way and be greeted without being required to say much among those who came to the house were mrs for an occasional brief visit and the wife of one of the of christ church which the had always attended together with a number of the wives and daughters of mr s business connections singing was indulged in at times a little dancing on occasion and there was considerably more company to dinner in an way than had previously been frank met here a certain mrs the wife of a shoe dealer who was by way of becoming a of importance who interested him greatly her husband had a handsome shoe store in chestnut street near third and was planning to open a second one farther out on the same street the occasion of this meeting was an evening call on their part mr being desirous of talking with henry concerning a new feature which was then entering the world namely street cars a line by the north railway company had been put in operation on	43
he could not told you why people seemed foolish or at the best very unfortunate not to know what to do in all circumstances and how to protect themselves there was also great talk along the line of current morality much praise of virtue and decency and much lifting of hands in righteous horror at people who broke or were even to have broken the seventh he did not take this talk seriously already he had broken it secretly many times other men did he was a little sick of the plain women of the streets or the the there were too many coarse evil features in connection with them for a little while the false glitter of the house of ill appealed to him for there was a certain force and luxury to it rich as a rule with red furniture red some coarse but framed pictures and above all the strong or women who dwelt there as his mother it to prey on men the strength of their bodies the lust of their souls the fact that they could with a show of affection or good nature receive man after man astonished and later disgusted him it is true that their often bodies bright eyes and scarlet lips appealed to him he was no trembling at every thought of the moral law but after a while the beauty and luxury of some of their clothing the manner in which they indulged themselves in subtle and incense and other to the creation of the tha the passion of man on him they were not smart there was no vivacity of thought there all that they could do in the main he fancied was this one thing he pictured to himself the of the mornings after the stale of things when only sleep and the thought of gain could aid in the least and more than once even at this age he shook his head these women were in a physical hell from which all women fled and yet were they other women girls and worn mothers were in a state of and not so much better mentally than this he had heard his father and other men talk of employment conditions in certain quarters t hich were horrible as for that matter he had his own eyes and could see life was before him philadelphia with its miles of red brick streets and was quite as much an open book to him as to any one else more so for he was more endowed with that subtle thing called understanding he could see how things were going still the absence the dot much of anything and m frank she a wished way smile and her mouth got mrs h a beautiful before she mai x the artistic for wealth for women and only the homely his mother it is but then she now gave attractive and for th i thing else appealed to him at this age with ideas and themselves in his mind but the vast mass merely seemed su him a mass which he could not u family c this and that women as well as among men wo for their husbands or way to relatives or in because it was right or how these stories did not a to have people to know w f cur t he did broken it ho was a little the of refinement in these women of the houses stayed him he wanted contact which was more intimate subtle individual personal well on top of this came mrs who was nothing to him save an ideal but she cleared up certain of his ideas in regard to women she was not and vigorous like these other women raw brutal of accepted theories and notions but for that very reason because she was artistic and nothing more he liked her she was not subtle quick or daring but because he was possessed of these things himself in a secret way he could afford to favor the beauty that was not subtle or remarkably efficient just quiet refined beauty was fascinating and in mrs he thought he saw this the home of mr and mrs was fortunately or perhaps it would be better to say not so very far from his own on north front street in the neighborhood of what is now no it was a pretty brick house and unlike so many of the older houses in the down town section was set in a yard it had in summer quite a wealth of green leaves and vines the uttle side porch which ornamented its south wall a charming view of the river and all the windows and doors were with round arches and set with of small glass the interior of the house was not so very artistic it was about what the interior of a house owned by a and a merchant would ordinarily be there was no sense of artistic harmony to the furniture though it was new and good the pictures were well simply pictures there were no books to speak of the bible a few current novels some of the more significant histories and a collection of odds and ends in the way of books inherited from relatives the china was nice of a delicate pattern the carpets and wall paper were too high in key so it went still the personality of the was worth something for she was really artistic to look at making a picture wherever she stood or sat there were no children a of sex conditions which had nothing to do with her for she longed to have them she was without any notable experience in social life except such as had come to the family of which she was a member relatives and a few neighborhood friends visiting that was her maiden name had two	43
brothers and one sister all living in philadelphia and all married at this time they thought she had done very well in her marriage it could not be said that she had wildly loved mr at any time although she had cheerfully married him he was not the kind of man who would arouse a notable passion in any woman he was practical orderly his shoe store was a model of cleanliness and what one might term pleasing brightness he loved to talk when he talked at all of shoe companies the price of leather the development of shoe machinery the development of lasts and the ready made shoe machine made to a certain extent was just coming into its own slowly and outside of these supplies of which he kept there were many whom he employed himself satisfying his customers with personal and making the shoes to order mrs read a little not much she had a habit of sitting and apparently brooding at times but it was not based on any deep thought she had this curious beauty of body though that made her somewhat like a figure on an antique or out of a greek chorus it was in this light unquestionably that young saw her for from the beginning he could not keep his eyes off of her he would study her secretly and in a way she was aware that he was doing so but she did not attach any significance to it thoroughly conventional satisfied now that her life was bound the and with that of mr she had settled down to a staid and existence she interested herself in charitable and church work to a certain extent called on her husband s friends and many of the church families who were of her faith and went to market and to the shops for herself and her husband with regularity frank ran in her mind in a way at times as being a rising interesting young man she thought he would make some woman a splendid husband but frank was interested in her unusual though it was in him he followed her up he was not without some little experience with women a certain kind but he soon found that the coarse abandoned type foimd in a certain quarter did not appeal to him he early learned of the terrors of disease and anyhow he was not interested that way in that manner he wanted personal reaction of thought and feelings a certain of soul or understanding in any woman he drew near to and if he could not have that he was not interested there was great talk in his family always had been of the of marriage in a way its divine the bible was taken literally some people fought and had a great deal of trouble in their married state but that was nothing separation was never to be thought of it was their duty to fight on practically he paid little attention to these opinions one way or the other for the simple reason that they or rather the state they represented was not before bi m for solution if he had been in an state but then it scarcely occurred to him that he would be in the mean time he worked at his new situation learning many things which he had not previously known this stock exchange world primitive as it would seem to day was most fascinating to him the room that he went to in third street at dock where the or their agents and clerks gathered one hundred and fifty the strong was nothing to speak of a square chamber sixty by sixty reaching from the second floor to the roof of a four story building but it was striking to him the windows were high and narrow a large faced clock faced the west entrance of the room where you came in from the stairs a collection of telegraph instruments with their accompanying and chairs occupied the comer on the floor in the early days of the exchange were rows of chairs where the sat while various lots of stocks were offered to them later in the history of the exchange the chairs were removed and at different points posts or floor signs indicating where certain stocks were in were introduced around these the men who were interested in these lines of gathered to do their trading from a hall on the third floor a door gave entrance to a visitors gallery and poorly furnished and on the west wall where no windows were the latter were only present on the east and north and south a large carried current in stocks as from new york and boston a like fence in the of the room surrounded the desk and chair of the official and a very small gallery opening from the third floor on the west gave place for the secretary of the board when he had any special to make there was a room off the corner where reports and annual of various kinds were kept and were available for the use of members young would not have been admitted at all as either a or s agent or assistant except that feeling that he needed him and believing that he would be very useful bought him a seat on change holding the two thousand dollars it cost as a debt over and took him into it was against the rules of the exchange to sham a in this way in order to put a man the on the floor but did it these men who were known to be minor partners and floor were called eighth and two dollar because they were always seeking small orders and were willing to buy or sell for anybody on their commission of course to their for work was of their number and he	43
was put the direction of mr arthur rivers co s regular floor man who had charge of all their large operations the latter was an exceedingly man of thirty five well dressed well shaped with a hard smooth face which was ornamented as to the upper lip by a short black and as to the eyes by fine black clearly eyebrows his hair came to an odd point at the middle of his forehead where he divided it and his chin was faintly and he had a quiet manner a soft voice and both in and out of this and trading world was controlled by good form the impression that young immediately gained was that he was polite indifferent self sufficient well placed cold cool in action shrewd but not wide in his views of life he knew what his social world was and what it was worth to him he knew that outside of it there was a great mess of life which he did not care very much about he knew that most of these men around him were exceedingly clever some of them as well placed as himself but that a very large number of them were impossible in business outside of trades and even in them except imder great stress he was he had an even curiously mouth whidi parted pleasantly and when he talked his eyes spoke his intended and courtesy his hands rarely aided his voice or expression but when they they were controlled poised weighed wi drawn he had not much to say to c ow o od at first beyond explaining the fact that certain stocks the in which co were interested were very treacherous and that certain people on the floor were suspicious of him and his he was suspected always of having a beat of some kind in view and there was a subtle conspiracy on among a few to prevent him from obtaining the price he might have fixed on as his point studied rivers as he did everything else with which he came in contact he wondered at first why rivers should work for he appeared almost as but afterward learned that he was in the company was the and general hand rivers the floor and outside man this company of men with whom was thrown here were they ranged from eighth and two dollar like himself nineteen to twenty five years of age to men of thirty forty fifty and more some had been successful for years their own seats on change and representing only themselves and others had been successful and individual but were now failures and others were able men like arthur rivers secret partners or the private representatives of rich men who owned or controlled big and who because of their at banks secured by certain kinds of stocks given as were anxious that the market price of the stocks should be watched and sustained in order that their might not be called there were men who represented half baked fly by night poorly organized concerns dealing with country customers and small who had a hard time to meet their and were always leaving to their the responsibility for small but disastrous trades it was useless as frank soon found to try to figure out exactly why stocks rose and fell some general reasons there were of course as he was told by who liked him much from the first but they could not always be depended on the sure can make or break a market s delicate will have to be imagined from the failure of a bank to the that your second cousin s grandmother has a cold it s a most unusual world no man can explain it seen breaks in stocks that you could never explain at all no one could it wouldn t be possible to find out why they broke i ve seen rises the same way my god the of the stock exchange they beat the devil if they re going down in ordinary times some one is or they re the market if they re going up god knows times must be good or somebody must be buying that s sure beyond that well ask rivers to show you the ropes don t you ever lose for me though that s the cardinal sin in this office he grinned even if kindly at that understood none better this subtle world appealed to him it answered to his temperament he used to stand about when he had the time to spare and there were many times when he could do nothing at all studying out this curious crowd on the change floor he liked to watch them drift in in the morning first a few brisk clerks like himself the was always there ahead of everybody else to open up and after that this and that the telegraph the calling names an old woman who stood at the foot of the change stairs in a green and gray shawl selling apples and so on in spring or warm weather some of the men particularly the telegraph and took off their street coats and put on linen floor coats some and studied the early on the or those that were left from the day before others stood in groups of and and conversed in low tones there was considerable and idle good nature displayed as when a man would take another s hat and stick a feather in it or slap a fellow on the back with a hi you old the who you all that p and a for there were of great railway and land government of the war between france and turkey famine in russia or ireland and so on the first atlantic cable had not been laid as yet and news of any kind from abroad was slow and still	43
a hundred new york and at eighty no more do you hear yes i hear said frank was a fine live floor and soon convinced rivers that he had an ideal man as an assistant after the first few days spent in studying this noble of souls frank soon learned of what cheap mortal day they were and at the same time what a shrewd hungry lot of fish and what a vast subtle world they represented you could never tell what any particular individual was up to you could never guess what stock was being nursed or washed or being handled by a was the breath of life of this chamber and suspicion its blood he smiled at first at the air of great secrecy and wisdom on the part of the younger men they were so heartily and foolishly suspicious the older men in the large majority of cases were inscrutable they pretended great innocence uncertainty indifference they were like certain fish after a certain kind of bait however snap and the opportunity was gone somebody else had picked up what you wanted all had their little note books all had their peculiar of eye or position or motion which meant done i take you sometimes they seemed scarcely to confirm their and purchases they knew each other so well but they did if the market was for any reason active the and their agents were apt to be more numerous than if it were dull and the trading indifferent a sounded the call to trading at lo a m and if there w b a noticeable rise or decline in a stock or a group of i the stocks you were apt to witness a quite spirited scene fifty to a hundred men would shout here and there in an apparently manner to take advantage of the stock or called for five for five hundred p and w some one would call rivers or or any other five hundred at three would come the reply from some one else who either had an order to sell the stock at that price or who was willing to sell it short hoping to pick up enough of the stock at a lower figure later to fill his order and make a little something besides if the supply of stock at that figure was large rivers would probably continue to bid five k on the other hand he noticed an increasing demand he would probably pay three for it if the professional believed rivers had a large buying order they would probably try to buy the stock before he could at believing they could sell it out to him at a slightly higher price the professional were of course keen students of and their success depended on their ability to guess whether or not a representing a big like had an order large enough to affect the market sufficiently to give them an opportunity to get in and out as they termed it at a profit before he had completed the execution of his order all their days were spent in just this thought and effort they were uke watching for an opportunity to snatch their prey from imder the very of their four five ten fifteen twenty thirty forty fifty and sometimes the whole company would attempt to take advantage of the given rise of a given stock by either selling or offering to buy in which case the activity and the noise would become given groups might be trading in different things but the large majority of them would abandon what they were doing in order to take advantage of a the eagerness of certain young the or clerks to discover all that was going on and to advantage of any given rise or fall made for quick physical action darting to and fro the excited elevation f fingers distorted faces were over shoulders or ui der arms the most ridiculous or unconsciously indulged in at times here were situations in which some individual was fairly smothered with arms faces shoulders crowded toward when he manifested any intention of either buying r selling at a profitable rate at first it seemed quite a thing to yoimg the very physical ace of the thing for he liked presence and activity but a little later the sense of the thing as a picture or a dramatic situation of which he was a part and he came down to a clearer sense of the of the problem before him buying and selling stocks as he soon learned was an art a almost emotion suspicion intention feeling these were the things to be long on you had to know what certain man was thinking of why you could not say and suspect that he was going to buy or a given amount why you could not say if you had a big buying or a big selling order it was important that your emotions feeling or thought should by no trick of thought expression or mood on your part be conveyed to any other person some men rivers informed him were was the word in use then they could tell how god bless me he exclaimed i don t know keep away from over there he s particularly good at that when you see him hanging around you avoid him studied the man curiously he had no fear that any one would get away any of his subtle thought from him but this small thin gray headed say forty five years of age with smooth red cheeks keen gray eyes gray eyebrows gray and the the most exquisite of manner and clothing interested him so he was eh he watched him and in spite of his personal confidence gave him a wide berth when he had any heavy buying or selling orders rapidly he came to be	43
a trusted and change man forcing his way quickly to the of any situation suspecting readily what his rivals were up to knowing the nature and substance of all the stocks offered knowing as much as any one on change could know by whom and for what purpose they were being his mind began naturally to study out tricks that could be ways of and bearing in the same hour to effect a profit at first he loved the idea of it the chance and drama but after a little while he grew tired of it as a personal medium of gain for the simple reason that it was so vastly uncertain who was it he asked himself who made the real money the stock not at all some of them were making money but they were as he quickly saw like a lot of or stormy hanging on the lee of the wind and anxious to snap up any fish there were all these stocks to be handled to be sure the handling of them represented a legitimate need for people as he saw it who had to have some place where they could realize quickly on in time of stress but who were the people who made the real money they were not the the latter were agents messengers working for a fixed commission back of them were other men men with shrewd ideas subtle resources abundant cash better yet they were men of means whose enterprise and hold these stocks represented the men who out and built the opened the mines organized trading and built up immense where were they not here they might use r other agents to buy and sell on change but this buy the ing and selling must be and always so to the actual fact the mine the railroad the wheat crop the flour mill and so on anything le s than straight out to realize quickly on or buying to hold as an was gambling pure and simple and these men were he was nothing more than a s agent that was all he said nothing about it it was not troubling him any just at this moment but it was not at all a mystery now what he was as in the case of co he sized up these men judging some to be weak some foolish some clever some slow but in the main all small minded or deficient because they were agents tools or a man a real man must never be an agent a tool or a acting for himself or for others he must employ such a real man a was never a tool he used tools he created he led clearly very clearly at nineteen twenty and years of age he saw all this but he was not quite ready yet to do anything about it he was certain however that his day would come later it was while he was working for co in the capacity of a two dollar which phrase not made him smile that his interest in mrs was secretly and strangely growing because the latter had been at first so nice to him and because the families knew each other slightly when he received a casual invitation to call he did so it was with a curious feeling of satisfaction that he approached the first time the place where this quiet couple resided for the thought of seeing mrs without any idea of ever possessing her was delightful their home as he noted was not as nice in some respects as his father s in others it was better the yard and trees were an advantage which his father s place did not possess at first mrs did not have so much to say she was gracious when he called the the burden of fell oa her husband would sit and look at her he talked to her husband watching the varying expressions of her face and if she had been at all she must have felt something fortunately she was not mr talked to him pleasantly because in the first place frank was becoming significant was and and in the next place mr was anxious to get richer and somehow frank represented progress to him in that line one spring evening they sat on the porch and talked nothing very important slavery street cars the panic it was on that of the development of the west mr wanted to know all about the stock exchange frank told him he asked about the of the shoe business though he really did not care all the while he watched mrs her manner he thought was soothing attractive delightful she ed tea and cake for them went inside after a time to avoid the she a little at ten o dock he left thereafter for a ear or so mr bought his shoes of mr he occasionally stopped in his chestnut street store to exchange the time of the day mr wanted his opinion as to the of bu ing some shares in the fifth and sixth street which ha ing secured a was creating great excitement mr gave him his best judgment it was sure to be profitable he had purchased one shares at five dollars a share and so urged mr to do so did he like him not particularly he was not in any especial way interested in him personally he liked mrs and he did not see her ver often either she did not know that he liked her she thought he was merely a friend of her husband s the time came about a year later when mr died it was an death one of those the md in a way which are nevertheless in a dull way he was seized with a cold in the late in the fall	43
eyes and noticed that his hair was of a peculiarly rich hue and that his finger nails were particularly shiny from having been long don t say that now said you ll feel ter after a while you ll come back we all do the man strode out there you have it observed that s the way this is the worst i ve been through yet i don t know where we re going to end i may have to close myself yet looked out at the street through the win dow at the time surely life was grim and you couldn t blame anybody this panic was somewhat like a storm blowing from nowhere no particular person was to blame but nevertheless he felt as though he had had enough of the business and decided now that he had this free money to leave and go into business for himself like co had decided that he could use best as a minor partner but the latter was not to be tempted i think you have a nice business he explained in refusing but i want to get in the note business for myself i don t trust this stock game i don t believe i m a good at heart i d rather have a little business of my own than all the floor work in this world but you re pretty young frank argued his employer you have lots of time to work for yourself in the end he parted friends with both and the rivers they said they would be glad to help which they did but they were sorry that s a smart young fellow observed vi fully he ll make his mark rejoined rivers will he s the boy of his age i ever saw chapter ix life takes on a and light when love enters ordinarily it is o er by the pale cast of reflection wearisome and but when love enters it is as though the sun rose after a dreary stretch of weather the world becomes once more young facing his new venture was cheered by this radiance of a new morning in which for him love was he had some free money now considerable he thought in addition to his and long since he had learned the art of he could take his street car stocks which were steadily in value and raise seventy per cent of their market price by paying the current rate of interest he could put a on his lots and get money there if he could use it to any greater advantage he could borrow on his credit his personality from his father and others for one or and so he was getting on he had established financial relations with the national bank a man by the name of being president there and taking a fancy to him and he proposed to borrow from that institution some day all he wanted was suitable things in which he could realize surely quickly and greatly and his eye was constantly set for things of that kind one of the things outside of the note business in which he saw fine profits was the street car business which was rapidly growing in its local however the thing that interested him most at this time was the personality of mrs who as he saw her more and more regularly following up the lead his the interest in her affairs had given him came to look him not so much as a boy as a man in a way a man than her late husband it has been said that latter had not made much of an impression on her j is true she was really not of a very nature but there was a or sting to the of young which could not be passed over by any one he was memorable in h quality she talked to him about commonplace thing he helped her set the table one night in the absence the maid and brought her at other times her lace from some near by dressing case when si was cold but she felt an something had nothing to do with words or actions atmosphere was the atmosphere or or of his lar personality it was grateful one night when she was going to bed she stopped i front of her dressing table and looked at her face ai neck and arms which were bare they were pretty an a subtle something came over her as she su her long peculiarly shaded hair she thought yoimg and then the vision of the late m returning and the force and quality of opinion she chilled and was ashamed it frightened he this thought as being something evil she went to bed the covers up about her but somehow the personality of mr not down the latter looked at her always when he was with he in such a peculiar way he came in with such a br healthy vigorous air his smile was like a dash of salt water awakening her and his eyes you could explain the force of his eyes he purchased a horse an about this time the most attractive looking and vehicle he could find the combination cost him hundred dollars and invited mrs to drive wit him she refused at first but later consented the there there now soothed with his slightly irish suddenly the leaped up the business anyhow he exclaimed ive never had a day s peace since i entered this street i ll quit this hole for good i ll dig in a ditch first his face was red his eyes and noticed that his hair was of a peculiarly rich hue and that his finger nails were particularly shiny from having been long polished don t say that now said you ll feel better after a while you	43
not so and in a cool determined way he was not ready to be by her fear or her sense of in spite of her fears and her uncertainty mrs accepted his attentions and his interest because equally in spite of herself she was drawn to him he had a direct apparently manner though mrs was five years his senior in the things that concerned her world mentally he was ten years hers her little financial affairs were as nothing to him he was not eager for her money though he was well aware of it he felt that he could use it to her advantage he wanted her he wanted to shock this peculiarly interesting beauty into something different and he felt a keen preliminary interest in the children they would have he wanted to know if he could make her love him vigorously and could out the memory of the other life strange ambition strange one might almost say in these latter days after her first keen sense of had worn off he would call and talk to her and she would listen to his general observations with an assumption of a kindly interest why do you come to see me so often she asked him once the h don t you know he replied looking at her in an inscrutable way no sure you don t well i know you liked mr and i always thought you liked me as his wife he s gone though now and you re here he replied and i m here yes i like you i like to be with you don t you like me that way why i ve never thought of it you re so much younger i m five years older than you are in years he said certainly that s nothing i m fifteen years older than you are in other ways i know more about life in some ways than you can ever hope to learn don t you think so he added softly well that s true but i know a lot of things you don t know she laughed softly showing her pretty teeth it was evening they were on the side porch the river was before them yes but that s only because you re a woman a man can t hope to get a woman s point of view exactly i m talking about you as far as the management of the affairs of this world is concerned you re not as old as i am mentally well what of it nothing you asked why i came to see you that s why partially he into silence and stared at the water she thought of him looking at him from the difficult ground of the late union his handsome body slowly was nearly full grown his face because of its full clear big inscrutable eyes had an expression which was almost she could not have guessed the depths it veiled his cheeks were pink his hands not large but and strong her pale it a ti the fin l body extracted a form of energy from him even at this range she looked her name a lily to him he looked like a young warrior to her with his even teeth his square jaw his lip that could part into an always but heavenly smile i don t think you ought to come to see me so often people won t think well of it she ventured to take a distant air the air she had originally held toward him people he said don t worry about people people think what you want them to think i wish you t take that distant air toward me why because i like you but you mustn t like me it s wrong i can t ever marry you you re too young i m too old hush that he said there s nothing to it i want you to many me you know i do now when will it be why how silly i never heard of such a thing she exclaimed it will never be frank it can t be why can t it he asked because well because i m older people would think it strange i m not long enough free h long enough nothing he exclaimed that s the one thing i have against you you are so worried about what people think they don t make your life they certainly don t make mine think of yourself first you have your own life to make are you going to let what other people think stand in the way of what you want to do but i don t want to she smiled he arose and came over to her looking into her eyes well she asked nervously he merely looked at her well she more he stooped down to take her arms but she got up the now you must not come near me she pleaded i ll go in the house and i ll not let you come any more it s terrible you re you mustn t interest yourself in me she did show a good deal of moral determination and he he went away that night as to a caress he wanted to take again and again and again then one night when they had gone inside because of the and when she had insisted that he could not come any more that his attentions were noticeable to others and that she be disgraced he caught her under desperate protest in his arms now see here she exclaimed i told you it s silly you mustn t kiss me how dare you oh oh oh she broke away and ran up the near by to her room followed her swiftly as she pushed the door to he forced it open and her he lifted her bodily from her	43
feet and held her lying in his arms oh how could ou she exclaimed i will never speak to you any more i will never let you come here any more if you don t put me do ti this minute put me down i i ll put you down sweet he said i ll take you down at the same time pulling her face to him and her he was very much aroused excited while she was twisting and protesting pleading to be put on the floor he carried her down the stairs again into the living room and seated himself in the great still holding her tight in his arms oh she sighed falling limp on his shoulder when he refused to let her go then because of the set determination of his face some intense pull in him she smiled how would i ever explain if i did marry you she asked weakly your father your mother you don t need to explain i ll do that and you needn t worry about my family they won t care loo the but mine she don t worry about yours i m not marrying your fm marrying you we have independent means she into additional but he kissed the more there was a deadly persuasion to his caresses mr had never displayed any such ire he aroused a force of feeling in her which had not been there she was afraid of it and ashamed will you marry me in a month he asked cheerfully i hen she paused you know i won t she exclaimed nervously the why do you ask what difference does it make you re entitled to me we re going to get married eventually as soon as you want he was thinking how attractive he could make her look in other surroundings i either she nor his family knew how to live well not in a month wait a little while i will you after a while after you see whether you ant me he caught her tight i ll show you he said please stop you hurt me how about us two months certainly not three weu maybe no maybe in that case we marry but you re only a boy don t worry about me you ll find out how f a boy i am he seemed of a sudden to open up a new world to her ind she realized that she had never really lived before this man represented something bigger and stronger than ver her husband had dreamed of in his young way he vas terrible irresistible well in three months then she whispered when he rocked her in his arms loi chapter x the moral nature of frank may at this juncture be said to have had no material or spiritual existence he had never had so far as he had reasoned at all a fixed attitude in regard to anything except preserving himself and succeeding his father talked or had in earlier years of business honor commercial integrity and so forth frank thought d this a long time at odd moments what was honor he had never been able to define it m en t it referred to some state of mind which would not allow a man to take advantage of another but life experience taught and were teaching him something different was almost he thought a of the t am if it referred to anything it referred to force generosity power but these were not rules of conduct but terms of temperament and condition a n ui might be generous at times and at such times be honorable but he might not on the face of things be able at other times to be generous then he would not be honorable or there were times such as in the days of panic when honor would ultimately most to him who his own there was no honor for the failure like when appealed to a man had better say i can t or i won t firmly and let it go at that you couldn t be generous or kind in times of stress look at the on the stock exchange here men came down to the facts of life the necessity of self care and protection there was no talk or very little there of honor there were rules of conduct which men observed because they had to so far as he i the could see force f pf brain if one had force plenty of it quickness and there was no need for an else people might be pretending to be guided by other principles and religious for instance they might actually be so guided he could not tell if they were they were following false or silly standards in those directions lay failure to get what you could and hold it fast without being too cruel certainly not to individuals that was the thing to do and he ignored or secretly pitied those who believed otherwise it is not possible to say how a boy of twenty one should come by such subtle thoughts but he had religion was nothing to him a lot of visionary a isn why should people get excited ti f he smiled at hearing his father tell how only a few years before a of the city council had permitted the of chains across the streets in front of churches in philadelphia in order to prevent traffic from the and even now there was a terrific agitation against any of the quiet and rest for instance they would not allow the street car lines to run on sunday religious people struck him as being caught by some ou ui which had no relation to hfe and his thought was not to rebel but to get some d of or them without suffering go through the motions	43
he said to his brother joseph one when the latter was complaining of the necessity of going to hear a dry sermon it won t hurt you father has a business to look after but he would not even do that himself he preferred to substitute the reality for the seeming when he was better acquainted with mr rivers and could call on him on sunday morning to talk things over he did that saying that he was going to church with miss rivers the the s sister which he sometimes did he called on his uncle s widow on sunday and at other houses where he had been introduced the george and henry the the head of this house walter being an assistant in co and similar individuals he had a curious feeling that certain types of men would be useful to him and he could be civil all these older people liked him they enjoyed his quiet sensible non con observations when it came to his attitude toward mrs he did not himself with any noble theories of conduct in regard to her he liked her she was beautiful peculiar with a mental and physical e for him that was irresistible and that was all he desired to know no other woman was holding him like that it never occurred to him that he could not like other women at the same time he did so in a way there was a great deal of about the of the ho me it rolled off his mental sphere like water the of a duck here again he was not fixed or held by anything homes were nice his father and most of his acquaintances had one individual homes there were children in many cases much talk of purity and and only to one woman he was not so sure about that one woman might him he fancied he could live with mrs all his days and not desire any other woman but other men might not be able to live with their wives for all the rules of conduct in the air married men and women did fall out he heard that his and his wife had to quarrel before the former had died george s e was supposed to be very and and one of the clerks at ca had once confided to him that he had heard george tell henry that he wished his wife was dead e had been angry about something in frank s own neighborhood and social there were and facts men the and women did separate some men and some women ran away others fought terribly there were storms of ill feeling and reported he knew of a of cases where the husband and wife were permanently separated his own father and mother got along nicely but his mother was of a quiet peaceful sympathetic and religious temperament and his father was cautious they now and then there were little strains of feeling over trivial things unquestionably both regrets of various kinds nearly every one did he had no regrets as yet but he might have the thing to him was to see the defeated man the man who had failed because he could not think quick enough he wanted to make himself so secure that even lack of quick thinking later on would not subject him to distress and regret as may be imagined the family was greatly disturbed at the of his coming marriage to mrs she was too old his mother and father thought and then frank could have done so much better with his prospects young fancied that mrs was which was of course not true at all his brothers joseph and edward were interested but not certain as to what they actually thought seeing that mrs was good looking and had some money seemed to know what he was about but could done better if he had waited of course his friends and the family s friends were surprised when told but was getting along and from a worldly point of view it was all right mrs had a right a after two years if she wished there was no or law binding a woman so young to single the time drifted by and meanwhile frank who had resigned his position with co had opened a little note s office at no south third street he had various excellent connections which the served him in good stead for one he was well and known in the street all the men on change had observed him and finally became friendly with him like rivers he was considered able and uniformly courteous but not nearly so cold or hard seeming he breathed out quite in spite of himself and without any shabby intention of making friends an atmosphere of everybody seemed to understand and take for granted that no matter what their motives or tricks and took no he made no great show of hurry and yet without giving he succeeded in doing business quickly in the stock exchange he had been as quick as a flash at times always on the spot snapping right from under the teeth of his rivals and yet he had a bland smile which and anger sold it was something to hear his cool voice seventy three for any part of five hundred green and a street car stock sold would be under the s very nose he had the faculty which he had envied in he could fairly see and feel in advance what was coming sometimes he missed not often his trades were not tremendous but he had come to the place where soon he would have succeeded rivers on the floor now in this new note business these men remembered him he would go to one house where he suspected ready money would be desirable and offer to their notes or any paper	43
he thought he should never have enough of her her ful face her lovely arms her smooth l body they were like two children and driving dining seeing the sights he was curious to visit the financial sections of both cities and look at the great banks and financial offices new york and boston appealed to him as solid he wondered as he observed the former whether he should ever leave the philadelphia he was going to be very happy there now he thought with and possibly a young brood of he was going to work hard and make money with his means and hers now at his he might ie very readily wealthy chapter xi the home atmosphere which they established when they from their was more artistic than that which had the earlier life of mrs as mrs in his current artistic mood had objected at once after they were engaged to the spirit of the furniture and or lack of them and had suggested that he be allowed to have it brought more in keeping with his idea of what was appropriate during these years in which he had been growing into manhood he had come instinctively into notions of what was artistic and refined he had seen so much of homes that were more distinguished and harmonious than his own one could not walk or drive about philadelphia without seeing and being impressed with the general tendency toward a more refined and cultivated social life there were many excellent and expensive houses going up in the west the front lawn with some attempt at was coming into local popularity in the homes of the the mr arthur rivers and others were art objects of some distinction which he had seen pictures better than any his family had ever possessed he had meditated on these things at odd moments drawn to them now when he was thinking of setting up his own home these thoughts for the time being became uppermost the previous condition of the home had not appealed to him at all mr appeared dull mrs but beautiful her setting was not iii the light and she of her own and resources could not make it right he admitted to himself that in all she did not have the taste but that did not make any difference his was the active disposition taking great joy in doing things he could take this comparatively commonplace house and with very little money make it into something charming the for instance which through two plain windows set in a flat side wall back of the looked south over a stretch of grass and several trees and bushes to a dividing fence where the property ended and a neighbor s began could be made into something so much more attractive that fence sharp pointed gray was an it could be torn away and a hedge put in its place the wall which divided the present dining room from the parlor should be knocked through and a hanging of some pleasing character put in its place a bay window could be built to replace the two ones now present a bay which would come down to the floor and open out on the lawn diamond shaped lead frames which would be so much more attractive all this shabby furniture collected from heaven knows where partly inherited from the and the and partly bought could be thrown out or sold and something better and more harmonious introduced he had heard vaguely of of furniture louis xiv louis xv louis the empire old english any of these or some of them something simple would do he knew a young man by the name of an newly from a local school whom he had met at the bachelor home of arthur rivers with him he had struck up an interesting friendship one of those inexplicable inclinations of temperament which pleased him greatly was an artist in spirit quiet meditative refined had liked his looks on sight from the discussing the of a certain building in chestnut street which was then being done and which pronounced they fell to discussing art in general or the lack of it in america we are so very far away from anything at all as yet i know unless it is architecture remarked i haven t been abroad but i want to go felt a keen with this thought he wanted to travel also some time they met again on the street accidentally and talked and so now when thought of this house and what was the matter with it he thought of it occurred to him that would carry out his views to a it seemed to him that the home would be much more if its parlor and sitting room were knocked together into one big room which could be used as a combined living room and library and a certain fireplace which was now too small for one room were enlarged to make it at once effective and artistic the walls ought to be or decorated in corresponding colors probably dark and the ture all thrown out and something new and soothing be introduced he did not feel that as yet he afford many expensive objects of art but in so far as his means permitted he wanted his proposed home to be artistic he interested mrs in young and then in his own ideas of how the house could be mrs was not an intellectual leader her young lover appeared to be a man of infinite tact and she could understand well enough though not the significance of most of his thoughts when presented to her and these concerning the of the house appealed to her very much she wanted to live nicely to be significant in her circle his idea of changing the dining room and parlor was particularly grateful the	43
h yes let s do that she exclaimed when he told her wouldn t that be pretty can mr carry out your ideas exactly i think so it may cost a little something but we will want to live in it for some time maybe and anyhow if you should want to sell it it would bring more changed as i say i want to sell it she commented say we dear very well then we he smiled and smoothed her chin and cheek with his hand so while they were gone on their mr began the on an estimated cost of three thousand dollars for the furniture and all it was not completed for nearly three weeks after they returned but when done it was a comparatively new house the dining room bay hung low over the grass as frank wished and the windows were diamond and on brass rods the opening between the and the dining room had noiseless rolling doors but the intention was to use only a light blue brown and green silk hanging which represented a wedding scene in in the square space cut old english oak was used in the dining room an american imitation of and for the sitting room and the there were a few simple water colors hung here and there some of and powers a marble by a now forgotten and other objects of art nothing of any distinction pleasing colored covered the floor mrs was shocked by the of the which conveyed an atmosphere of european freedom not common to america but she said nothing it was all harmonious and soothing and she did not fed herself capable to judge frank knew about these things so much better than she did instantly a maid and a man oi all were and that process of enter x the which young married couples so much enjoy was on a small scale e who recall the early years of their married life t realize the subtle changes which this new to frank for like all who accept the le was influenced to a certain extent by the things hich he surrounded himself from of his character one would have imagined him to be a citizen of eminent respectability and worth reared to be an ideal home man he liked horses the object of them more than the he liked a yard the idea of a home the t of and arranging it this t of his wife s cottage and her in it cheered him she was so nice in it he delighted to ly evenings and leaving the crowded down town where traffic and men hurried in a great i effort he would come out through the dusk of to this spot where were vines in season and a ng view of the river spreading wide and gray in dark r or leaden blue and silver in bright and feel that well stationed and physically happy in life the t of the dinner table with candles upon it his the thought of in a trailing gown of paler green silk he liked her in those colors the t of a big fireplace flaming with solid of ood and in his arms his i imagination as has been said before he cared for books but life s physical contact in spite of his shrewd and already held him to live richly whole that in spite of the difference in ed to be a fit mate for him at this time i and for the time being clinging mood and hers was for a baby happy expectation was whispered l the to him by her she had half fancied that her previous was due to herself and was rather surprised and delighted at the proof that it was not so it opened new possibilities a seemingly glorious future of which she was not afraid he liked it the idea of self tion it was almost thought for days an weeks and months and years at least the first four or five he took a keen satisfaction in coming e evenings strolling about the yard driving with his wife friends in to dinner talking over with her in an way the things he intended to do she did not understand his financial and he did not trouble to make them dear a suggestion was enough but love her i body her lips her quiet the of all these combined and his two children when they came two in four years him he was really a very and home interested young man he would frank who was the first to arrive on his knee at his feet his eyes his almost yet bud like mouth and wonder at the by which children came into the world there w is st much to think of in this connection the ix the strange i of in women the er of disease and delivery he had gone a real of strain when frank was ni for mrs was frightened she had heard that it might be ver trying he cared for tlie beauty of her the danger of losing her and he his first when he stood outside the door the day the child came not much he was too self too and yet he worried up thoughts of death and the end of their present state then word came after certain piercing cries that all was well and he was permitted to look at the new arrival the experience his conception of things made him more solid in his judgment of life that con of tragedy ing the the face of things like wood under its was he knew that he had gifts and powers not vouchsafed him because of any effort on his part and he knew that he must exercise them and in order to obtain and maintain what he wished to be little and later	43
a change floor man a a and several clerks his brothers were coming in with him shortly as associates he brought home with him not to talk business for he disliked that rather thoroughly customers and customers he could not avoid a certain amount of discussion at first but he preferred to entertain merely and be a good fellow out on the the and elsewhere were popular dining places where one could drive on sunday he and mrs ood frequently drove out to s to judge kitchen s to the home of a lawyer whom he knew to the home of his own lawyer and others had the art of being genial none of these men or women suspected the depth of his nature he was thinking thinking thinking but enjoyed life as he went one of his earliest and steadily growing traits was his for pictures art from the very first fascinated him he admired nature but somehow without knowing why he fancied one must see it best through some personality or just as we gain our ideas of law and politics through individuals mrs cared not a whit one way or the other but she r the him thinking all the while that frank was a little peculiar as he had always been he tried because he loved her to interest her in these things but while pretended slightly she could not really see or care and it was very plain that she could not the children after they came took up a great deal of her time and she settled into a quiet home life which she wanted to make and respectable for his sake she was not as strong as she had been before these of and it made some difference in her looks however was not troubled about this at this time it struck him as delightful and exceedingly worth while that she should be so devoted a little later it was not quite so remarkable or notable for he was used to her attitude by now and the children after the first three or four years bored him a little he was used also to her manner her vague smile her sometimes seeming indifference which sprang largely from a sense of absolute security she took her second marriage quite as she had taken her first a solemn fact which contained no possibility of mental alteration or change he was bustling about in a world which at least seemed all alteration there were so many sudden and almost of changes he began to look at her at times with a eye not very for he liked her but with a solid attempt to weigh up her personality he had known her five years and more now what did he know about her the vigor of desire in youth these first years had made up for so many things but now that he had her safely there were odd things that came in this period things would have affected some men s lives one thing there was the slow approach and finally the declaration of war between the north and the south had been attended with so much excitement that almost all current minds were colored by it it there were many meetings public and the stirring and the arrival of john brown s body the arrival of the great on his way from to washington philadelphia to take the oath of office the battle of bull run the battle of the battle of and so on saw one day the great war president spoke at independence hall before his a tall man bony but impressive he was only twenty five at the time a cool thought the slave j j m human rights no doubt was but ex c to trade he hoped they would win but it might hard with him personally and other he did not care to fight that seemed silly for the individual man to do others might go there were many poor thin minded half baked creatures who would put themselves up to be shot but they were only fit to be or shot down as for him his life was sacred to himself and his family and his personal interests he recalled seeing one day in one of the quiet side streets as the working men were coming home from their work a small of soldiers in blue marching along the union flag flying the the blowing the idea being of course to so impress the hitherto indifferent or wavering citizen to him to such a pitch that he would lose his sense of proportion or self interest and forgetting all wife parents home and children and seeing the great need of the country fall in behind and he saw one working man swinging his and evidently not contemplating any such to his day s work pause listen as the approached hesitate as it drew close and as it passed with a peculiar look of uncertainty or wonder in his eyes fall in behind and march solemnly away to the quarters what was it that had caught this man frank asked f the how was he overcome so easily he had not intended to go his face was with the and dirt of his work he looked like a man or twenty five years of age frank watched the little disappear at the end of the street round the comer the trees other people were staring windows had opened had come out there were other men who had fallen in there were expressions of patriotic devotion here and there the south have enough of this thing before it s one quiet looking citizen a man with a expression the full bearded face and solemn es observed to him that intensity of spirit that comes with a great emotion	43
issued its promise to pay in the shape of notes bearing six per cent interest and he sold or placed them with other people for cash and his commission there was no difference between this and the larger transaction if the he could handle a of this great loan now he not possibly handle the whole of it for he had not the necessary connections he could add considerably to his reputation as a while making a tidy sum how much could he handle that was the question who would take portions of it his father s bank probably co a uttle judge a small the mills david company yes of different individuals and concerns who for one reason and another personal friendship good nature gratitude for past and so on would take a of the seven per cent bonds through him he up his possibilities and discovered that in all with a little preliminary missionary work he could dispose of one million dollars if personal influence through local political figures bring this much of the loan his way he had learned as had learned that personal connections were almost the be all and the end all in some time since he had begun to give great attention to this matter and now he had some significant connections city officers who knew of him and who sometimes came to him with stock one man in particular had grown strong in his estimation as having some subtle political connection not visible on the surface and this was edward butler a by business or profession who drifted across s path in a peculiar way butler was a undertaking the construction of for buildings street and the like in the early days long before had known him he had been a or dealer on his own account that sounds strange perhaps the city had no extended street cleaning service particularly in its sections and some of the older poorer regions a man a man who could come with a great wagon filled with barrels and haul away the the from your back door was absolutely essential edward butler having a few cows and pigs and being a poor had originally when he was twenty five years of age collected in a tumble down wagon filled with barrels to hold them from his neighbors and had fed the to his pigs and cattle charging at first nothing for the service later he discovered that not only the profitable selling of milk and pigs meat resulted from this but that some people the better who had the most were willing to pay a small charge then a local political character a living in his vicinity and a friend of his they were both saw a new point in the whole thing butler could be made official the council could vote an annual for this service butler could employ many more than he did now of them scores he had only six and had gone into the soap business in a small way the rendering of some as he had foimd yielded not only that but no other would be allowed there were others but the official contract him would also end the life of any and every disturbing rival undertook through a group of associates with whom he worked to bring this about he and butler were to go into the business together a certain amount of the profitable proceeds would have to be set aside to the feelings of those who were not would have to be at election time to certain individuals and but no matter the would be small mr butler saw a light he and mr the latter silently entered into business relations mr butler gave up driving a wagon himself he was no longer seen carrying of the sides of houses from choir back doors in his once conspicuous and in a way red shirt he hired a yoimg man a smart irish the boy of his neighborhood to be his assistant and what not since he began to make between four and five thousand a year where before he made two thousand he moved into a nice brick house in an section of the south side and sent his children to school mrs butler gave up making soap and feeding pigs for and since then times had been exceedingly good with edward butler he could neither read nor write at first but now he knew how of course he had learned from association with mr that there were other forms of the business could not endure it had to give way to water street and the like who better than edward butler to do it he knew the many of them he had met them in the back rooms of on sundays and at political at election and for as a of the city s he was expected to contribute not only money but advice curiously he had developed a strange political wisdom he knew a successful man or a man when he saw one so many of his time and so on into and state his suggested to political were so often known to make good they were never silly or light headed but cautious and and he could on occasion talk to them like a dutch uncle if a man went wrong against the local political wisdom of the hour or proved ungrateful it was usually thought that butler s men had nothing to do with it and they had not first he came to have influence in his s ward then in his district then in the city of his party of course and then he was supposed to have an organization mysterious forces worked for him in council he v the significant and he always bid the business was now a thing of the past his eldest boy was	43
i happen to be interested just at present in up certain street railway stocks on change i ll tell you about them later won t you have to drink it s a cold morning no thanks i never drink never that s a hard word when it comes to well no matter it s a good rule my boys don t touch anything and i m glad of it as i say i m interested in up a few stocks on change but to tell you the truth i m more interested in some clever young like yourself through whom i can work one thing leads to another you know in this world and he looked at his visitor non and yet with a genial show of interest quite so replied with a friendly gleam in return well butler meditated half to himself half to whose presence for the moment he ignored there are a number of things that a bright man could do for me in the street if he were so minded i have two bright boys of my own but i don t want them to become stock and i don t know that they would or could if i wanted them to but this isn t a matter of stock gambling i m pretty busy as it is and as i said awhile ago i m getting along i m not as light on my toes as i once was but if i had the right sort of r i e r r r a i e z i i see r man real l t sum e v i t i r v j r ir no i i j i e i t n i x t i t i ii k fl it r it ir r i e it ce done r lier t is r o t a r r ft t t m r t t r r ar r ri ie tr tn i e lines now i ri r r it r t r r e f r them to j r i r li ie li t i t to or v r r e z f i in u i z it plan and p v ft i i r ir c ins or his the tl t i ll be delighted work with you mr butler in any way that you may suggest observed i can t say that i have so much of a business as yet merely prospects my connections are good i have liad experience on change i am now a member of the new york and philadelphia those who have with me seem to like ttie results i get you can take any set of men among those who know me you i and look me up i d rather you would i know a little something about you already butler wisely very well then whenever you have a commission yon can call at my office or write or i will call here i will give you my secret code so that anything say will be strictly confidential well we ll not say anything more now in a few ia rs i ll have for you when i do you can on my bank for what you need up to a certain he got up and looked out into the street and also arose it s a fine day now isn t it it surely is well we ll know each other better he held out his hand i hope so went out and butler accompanied him bo the door as he did so a girl bounded in from the street red blue eyed wearing a scarlet cape the hood thrown over her red gold hair oh i almost knocked you down she gave her father and incidentally a gleaming radiant smile her teeth were bright and small and her lips bud red you re home early i thought you were going to stay all day i was but i changed my mind z gone l j t l x ix a or it s ar f f i r j r ti i i t tbat it i i ir r m r i i i r what t th j p t hi y ta the t ni i vas au t rt v i ii a i i l c t chapter xiii was to edward butler that s turned now some nineteen months later m he was thinking of the influence that might bring l an of a portion of the state issue of bonds would probably be interested to take some of se himself or could help him place some he had le to like very much and to trust him ch was better yet butler was now being carried on s books as a of large of three different stocks and had f to send a of purchase to butler s personal k in order to get the money for what he had agreed the stocks would then be delivered at leisure there were a number of city officials who were r beginning to come to him advised or by some tie suggestion dropped by butler had a visited by the county who had a little to invest on margin and who knew per advice what stock he was to buy there came also of taxes large sums of whose were deposited in various city banks without and who was using some money possibly his i but not probably to carry certain stocks for a rise due time arrived and specimens of the eager to make a e money in	43
times but there was a softness lurking somewhere back in the blue eyes that was not entirely but sympathetic and human she the was terribly young though and although trained which usually so nicely inclined to refuse all thought of restraint her brothers with her and her father and mother gave her sage advice she is subtle though in the bargain thinking her own and wondering what she should do with the youngest was two years younger than her and promised to be interesting in another way she vas more quiet and reserved not so daring as her sister had studied them at odd moments on his he had once met in third street th her mother she was alone at the time and he to pass the time of the day with her good morning he said it s nice to ee you isn t this a lovely day it was bright and dear and crisp the windows of he offices and banks were water dear in the shade bright and refreshing the and were and brisk it s fine she replied with a toss of her head down with mother looking for some birthday presents she reminded him of a high stepping horse without a rein your birthday he inquired with a show of x interest no a cousin of mine we have so many relatives her voice had that affected bored tone which young love to assume when they think they are making in impression the oh dear oh dear life is so tiresome don t you know tone when as a matter of fact very moment and every is of thrilling interest bo them understood her exactly he had before taken her mental measure as he had that of every the man and every woman he had ever encountered a with a high sense of life in her romantic full of the thought of love the possibilities of joy as he looked at her quickly now her very young body robust and powerful clothed in a full skirt of large bright white check below a smooth fitting of green velvet her uttle feet smoothly in boots of patent leather her hands pulled tight in bright colored gloves and tucked into a tiny just large enough to hold them lie had the sense of seeing the best that nature can do when she attempts to produce physical perfection her throat was with a stiff collar her pocket decorated with a small gold watch and her red gold hair surmounted by a hat with a brim and a long green feather this girl was alive he thought fiery already she was the danger age old butler and his wife had better look out for her and many her off he recalled hearing a shrewd comment by talking to several about some other girl in his one afternoon which seemed to apply in this case it came back to now when a high stepping girl that ought to be wearing a check rein and a bit gets so she thinks she can drink with the fellow that is keeping her company she needs her mother a and a life the first glass of wine for that kind of a girl whether she s up in g or only a working man s daughter is right at the top of a that has hell at the bottom was a coarse man bred impossible and his was vile in a way but it struck as being intensely true nevertheless and was just this kind of a girl her father had hauled he was rich now and she was trained but well i suppose when your birthday around some one else does the eh the oh they don t think very much of me they don t buy me very much of her lips parted in an arch superior indifferent smile she was fishing for a compliment and indulged her i know your room looks like a flower garden then when is your birthday i m a winter baby i was bom in december on the shortest day the twenty first isn t that too bad why no i think that rather nice it s you aren t as dark and gloomy as that day usually is you probably came to it her eyes snapped this man in front of her had the of mind the of gaze the force looks fascination that she thought a real man ought to have he was strong and she heard her father and her mother say he was able and her father knew she had come to think that her father was one of the most wonderful men in the world so many compliments were paid her for being his daughter now you re me i must be going good morning she held out her smooth little hand so tightly in yellow leather give my regards to your father and mother he said he looked after her as she walked away just a glance she was briskly with a force an a vigor which fascinated him in spite of himself she carried her head so high with so much vain little piece he said and yet he thought how really charming she was delightful well he had his own wife and children now was a different type of woman she wouldn t know how to take butler if she knew her she hadn t met her as yet and if she did she wouldn t approve of her was too and becoming more so she wasn t as good looking as she had formerly been her the face was thinner less artistic he wondered in his direct way whether he should always be faithful to her so far he had been but these young women like every now and then he saw one who took his fancy and they were always gracious to him	43
man with great social and financial imagination these facts could not help but be significant and if they did nothing more they gave him a sense of the boundless commercial possibilities which existed in so vast a realm he was not of that order of financial enthusiasm which in the type known as the sees endless possibilities for gain in every and reach but the very of the country suggested possibilities which he hoped might remain as a territory covering the length of a whole and between two seas it seemed to him to possess an individuality which it would not retain if the states of the south were lost nevertheless the freedom of the negro was not a significant ix int with him he had observed their race from his boyhood and with considerable interest and had been struck with virtues and defects which seemed inherent id by their experiences he was not at all sure for instance that the could be made into anything much more significant than they were at any rate it was a long struggle for them of which many future generations would not witness the conclusion he had no particular quarrel with the theory that they should be free he saw no particular reason why the south should not protest vigorously against the destruction of their property and their system it was too bad that the as slaves should be abused in some instances he felt sure that that ought to be adjusted in some way but beyond that he could not see that there was a great basis for the of either side the vast majority of te fi a r t r j r c tis aod die ni f ji such as c b bs die i r i of his z t i vn s a see ts ic ie all his ar e c r i i m due r u i i i s i l the and he z l he not cf those tar be i z i r oc e of the stories of u t t ri z r l but alas n ir j e of life and he had gone his t j da e i in and the departing r j v mr gaunt sickly r r r r ht and and co v f i this war was not for i r r ar in it and he felt sure that he a only r o r t conclusion not as a bar j er i a s a pathetic unfortunate the m n h proceeded a local election and there wa a new city a new and a now may r hut edward butler to have apparently the same influence as before and the although the latter not moved had become quite mrs rather though were of and they went or t the case might be the younger woman a the of the elder because of h r poor grammar her accent her tastes as though the not been as any the old lady was however and good hearted she loved to give ice she had plenty and sent presents here and there to the children and others now must over and take dinner with us the had at the evening dinner period or must ie drive with me to morrow god bless her is such a girl or e is sick the day it astonished mrs ood how mr butler could ve attained to such wealth and distinction but frank i her he was able and powerful both and his boys it was well known to her through frank that mrs could neither read nor write but that made no but her airs her disposition r love of attention her vanity irritated and at times mrs the little she was not little at all but on the quite she thinks the sun rises and sets her father s pocket observed one day to her to hear her talk you d think they were from irish kings her pretended interest in t and music me but i think she is rather artistic observed he liked very much as a she plays very well and she has a good rice yes i know but she has no real refinement how she have look at her father and mother come over now soon mrs was mrs butler the latter s red face and hands her use of were most offensive to her the manners and appearance of the other they had met so much more the i don t see anything much the matter with her insisted she s bright and good looking of she s only a girl but she ll come out of that she has real sense and force at that was most friendly to him in spite of the presence of his wife and children she liked him separately apart from them she used to play the piano brilliantly in his home and sing for him and she sang only when he was there there was something about his steady even gait his body and handsome head which attracted her in spite of her own vanity and she felt a little before him at times up when he came where she was she seemed to be exalted in her mood to grow and more brilliant all her thoughts feelings emotions rapidly and yet she did not think of him as anything save a most charming and man the most futile thing in this world is to attempt exact of character all individuals are a bundle of none more so than the most capable in the latter enters to conceal so that we cannot always see policy the great like a veil we cannot	43
know because it is not expedient for us to know power a man or a woman with great consequences and the result of exposure is most carefully guarded against by all in the case of butler it would be quite impossible to give an exact definition talent of a raw crude order was certainly present a native force which had been somewhat polished as granite may be by the feelings opinions and of current society but which still showed through in an and yet attractive way at this time she was only eighteen years of age goodly to look at decidedly so from the point of view of a man of frank s temperament but beneath his social opportunities as mrs had been already the it has been indicated that he was has also been shown that he was mi butler supplied something which he had not known or no other wc x or girl whom he had known had ever possessed so much innate force as this one possessed none so much vitality and vivacity her red gold hair it was not so much red as decidedly golden with a suggestion of red in it was rich and plentiful it itself in heavy folds about her forehead and at the base of her neck she had a beautiful nose not sensitive but straight cut with small and eyes that were big and while were still they were such a nice shade of blue gray blue her clothes for some strange reason seemed to suggest undue they hinted at the ear rings and breast plates of the and yet of course these were not there she confessed to him years afterward that she would love to have stained her nails and painted the of the palms of her hands with red yet she was as vigorous as healthy and as normal seeming as any girl could be she was intensely interested in life men what they would think of her and how she compared with other women the fact that she could ride in a carriage in a fine home in avenue visit such homes as those of the and others was of great weight and yet even at this age she realized that life was more than these things many did not have them and lived but these facts of wealth and advantage her and when she sat at the piano and played or rode in her carriage or walked or stood before her mirror she was conscious of her figure her charms what they meant to men how women envied her sometimes she looked at poor hollow or homely faced girls and felt sorry for them at other times she into inexplicable opposition to some handsome girl or woman who dared to brazen her or physically there were such girls the of the better families who in chestnut street in the expensive shops or on the drive on horseback or in carriages tossed their heads and indicated as well as motions can that they were better bred and knew it she instantly with a terrible hate her blood boiled and chilled i would have you know her mind declared vehemently to herself thinking of her charms and she would sit bolt upright on her horse or in her father s looking as as the best she knew well enough that it was against her and her sister and her brothers that her father was once a but to that she never referred even mentally to herself she hated the thought and she wanted ever so much to get up in the world and yet men of better social station than herself did not attract her at all she wanted a man now and then there was one something like but not entirely who appealed to her but most of them were or nothing at all and so they wearied or disappointed her her father did not know the truly ite but mr he seemed so refined so exquisite so and so reserved often looked at mrs and thought how fortunate she was the development of mr frank s financial his significance as co finally brought him into relationship with one man who proved of the utmost significance to him morally and in other ways and because he did this he must be dealt with here at length this was george w the new city elect who to begin with was a in the hands of other men but who also in spite of this fact became a personage of considerable significance for the simple fact that he was weak had been a real estate dealer and man in a small way he was made city he was one of those men of whom there are so many thousands in every large community who have no breadth of vision the no real no craft no great skill in anything he was not a bad real estate dealer he could follow up small trades with talk a blacksmith a a or a moderate professional man into taking out a life policy if the latter was so inclined or into buying a lot but he had no idea of any of the superior affairs of the world you would never hear a new idea from he never had one in his life now and then some one would drop a real thought which seemed quite wonderful to him or he would hear of something which he could make use of in his business he was not a bad fellow he had a dusty commonplace look to him which was more a matter of his mind than his body his eye was of vague gray blue his hair a dusty light brown and thin his mouth there was nothing impressive there he was quite tall nearly six feet with broad shoulders but his figure was anything but not at	43
all satisfactory he seemed to stoop a little his stomach was the least bit and he talked the small change of newspaper and social street and business gossip people liked him in his own neighborhood he was thought to be honest and kindly and he was in so far as he knew his wife and four children were as average and insignificant as the wives and children of such men usually are a really intelligent minded individual would have been bored to by george w and his family had no social life whatsoever at least before he was made they went to a sundays because it was the largest in their vicinity they knew their neighbors next door and for a few doors away they went in to see people who were sick or dying and they lived fairly comfortably on say twenty five hundred a year putting a little by for a rainy day at that george w was brought into temporary public notice by the same political methods which have existed i i z z r i i e p r r it last f ir iii lit v s ir t i r as the l u il i in i r no ideas i i iii c e was ex r v i r i cr asking i r i i u s few n i tl rt lor tree things t li e and c i l t e r u and r li i s l m tn is mark li v ji tt f i i i m v c the i j g to a c r i r j i lt n n tn f y p to oe so i r h j l h l i s worked in his v r the city y but having no personal j r r h r ill n it men r r vm being l up ti th t was a strange city save such a ne as this where the in i i v c of a deadly e in s d far as being com v va a such a man have been f a but he people of philadelphia did not except in a few rare instances u i t t j j programme and never had an j i n j l this matter in charge certain positions the were allowed to such and such men or to such and such of the party for such and such services rendered but who does not know one year george w became to edward a who afterward became ward leader and still later president of council and who was in private life a stone dealer and owner of a was a of henry a a coal merchant the hardest and of all three of the political leaders the latter had things to get from council and was his tool had elected in his place and because he was faithful in as he was told was later made an assistant of the department here he came into the eyes of edward butler and was slightly useful to him he came to have a little influence in his ward to be so to speak in charge of it then the central political committee which was composed of butler and decided that some nice man who would at the same time be absolutely faithful was needed for city and so was put on the ticket he knew little of but was an excellent and anyhow counsel was there to advise him at all times it was a very simple matter being put on the ticket was equivalent to being elected and so after a few weeks of exceedingly trying platform experiences in which he stammered through that the city needed to be honestly administered he was into office and there you were now it wouldn t have made so much difference what george w s and financial for the position in question were but the city of philadelphia was still along under the financial system or lack of it previously namely that of allowing the and the to collect and hold the outside of the du s private without ex peering that they in est for interest for the city s benefit or do more than restore the principal which was with them when entered or left office it was not or demanded that the so collected or drawn from any source be maintained in the of the they could be out deposited in banks used to further private interests so long as the was returned and no one was the wiser of course this theory of was not people did not agree that state and and should do this but it w as and and in high known that could and did do it and that was all there was to it how were you going to stop it a certain group of gentlemen messrs butler certain and others directly or indirectly by this sort of thing but said nothing winked their eyes let things go as they were and were happy they constituted as it were an inside ring a notable of power which used this money to their own advantage edward butler was one of those but he was only one these are never by one man alone they grow like a rank growth of weeds in a small community they and are added to if you attempt to trace them out x u reach by wider and ever the very body and blood of the people themselves we are all either directly or indirectly if no more than by	43
the fact that we do not j rot st if we do not protest it is e that this idea is not so very shocking to us certainly not enough to us to the point of protesting plead the difficulty of life the necessity life is so to the individual man is so weak and so on all of us are too busy grasping at immediate gains about far off evils and errors any the how the city and did not need to account for more than the principal of the sums to them and from this sprang all the hurry and enthusiasm of private speculation which was so profitable and satisfactory to so many individuals chapter xvi mr frank in ap mr edward butler had been unconsciously let in on this atmosphere of and unsatisfactory speculation without really knowing it when he had left the office of co seven years before it was with the idea that henceforth and forever he would have nothing to do with the proposition but now behold him back in it again with more than he had ever displayed in the first place for now he was working for himself the firm of wi co and he was eager to satisfy the world of new and powerful individuals who by degrees were drifting to him from many sections of this political world they came all had a uttle money all had tips and they wanted him to carry certain lines of stocks on margin for them because he was known to other political men and because he was safe he was not a or a on his own account he soothed himself with the thought that in all these years he had never for himself but had always acted strictly for others instead now mr george w had another proposition to offer him which was not quite the same thing as stock for himself and yet it was how will be explained during a long period of years preceding the civil war and through it the city of philadelphia had been in habit as a when there were no in the treasury of issuing what were known as city which were nothing more than notes or i o u s bearing six per cent interest and the times in thirty days sometimes in three months sometimes in six months and sometimes much longer all depending on the amount and how soon the city thought there would be money in the treasury to take them up and them small and large were frequently paid in this way the small who sold supplies to the city institutions for instance being compelled to his notes at the bank if he needed ready money usually for ninety cents on the dollar while the large could afford to hold his and wait it can readily be seen that this might be a system to the disadvantage of the small dealer and merchant and a fine thing for a large or note for the city was sure to pay the some time and six per cent interest was a nice rate considering the absolute security a banker or who gathered these things up from small at ninety cents on the dollar made a fine thing of it all around if he could wait originally in all probability there was no intention on the part of the city to do any one an injustice and it is likely that there really were no to pay with at the time however that may have been there was later no excuse for issuing the at all seeing that the city might have been managed but these as can be readily imagined had come to be a fine source of profit for note political and inside political generally it was so easy for the right city to issue a large number of these it was so easy for him to refuse payment any reasonable period merely stamping the amount of interest due on the face of the note and letting the keep it the small then because of his necessities had to his notes the large banker said to himself where can i get a better or safer than this let the city pay me with interest as long as it pleases the when the time comes when these things must be taken up it will pay me one cents on the dollar where i only paid ninety there was just one to all this and that was in order to get the full advantage of this condition the large banker holding them must be an inside banker one dose to the political forces of the city for in case he was not and he needed must have it and he carried his to the city he would find that he could not get cash for them but if he transferred them to some banker or note who was close to the political force of the city it was quite another matter then the were in the right hands the treasury would find means to pay or if the note or banker the right one wished notes which were intended to be met in three months and should have been settled at that time would be allowed to run on years and years interest at six per cent even when the city had ample funds wherewith to meet them this meant an interest drain on the city but that was all right also no could cover that the general public did not know it could not find out the newspapers were not at all being pro political there were no persistent enthusiastic who obtained any political during the war these in this manner rose in amount to much over two million dollars all drawing six per cent interest and then of course it began to get a little scandalous besides the began to want their money back in order to clear	43
up this and make everything again it was decided that the city must issue a loan say for two million need to be exact about the amount and this loan must take the shape of interest bearing of a par value of one hundred dollars in six twelve or eighteen months as the case may be these of loan were then to be sold on the i the open market a set aside for their and the money so obtained used to take up the which were now such a subject of public comment it is obvious that this was merely a case of peter to pay paul there was no real clearing up of the debt it was the intention of the to make it possible for the financial on the inside to reap the same old harvest by allowing the to be sold to the right parties for ninety or less setting up the claim that there was no market for them the credit of the being bad to a certain extent this was true times had changed the war was just over money was high could get more than six per cent elsewhere unless the loan was sold at ninety but there were a few watchful not in the administration and some newspapers and non political who because of the high strain of patriotism existing at the time insisted that the loan be sold at par because of the recent patriotic war feeling it was assumed that this could be done and it was not easy to avoid this call to honesty a had to be inserted in the providing that the loan must be sold at par this destroyed the little scheme to get it at nevertheless they desired that the money tied up in the old and now not because of lack of funds should be paid them the only way this could be done would be to have some who knew the of the stock market handle this new city loan on change in such a way that it would be made to seem worth one hundred and so would be sold to at that figure afterward if it fell below that the could buy as much of it as they pleased and eventually have the city redeem it at par meanwhile they would receive the money tied up in the old city i o the ir george w entering as city at this time and bringing no special financial to the proposition was really troubled mr henry a one of the men who had gathered up a lai ge amount of the ad war and who now wanted his money in order to invest it in o in the west called on mr and also on the mayor he was one of the big three of whom and butler were the others i think something ought to be done about these that are he explained i am ng a large amount of them and there are we have helped the a long time by saying but now i think that something ought to be done butler and mr feel the same way couldn t these new loan be on the stock and the money raised that way some clever could bring them to par mr was greatly battered by the visit from mr the latter a large broad broad faced man of still impressive countenance said little looked at anything before him and read his victims much as a cat reads a bird was a great power in the he knew much of what was being in large and small ways but as a rule executed his orders rarely and then only in cases of this kind where several hundred thousand dollars of his money was involved did he trouble to put a personal appearance and then only for the weight effect his presence would have he called on the ma and the president of council much as he called on with a lofty distant inscrutable air they as office boys to him they were not deep in the sea of political and such as he knew was impressed in order to exactly the motive of mr s interest in and the significance the this visit and s subsequent action in regard to it it will be necessary to the political horizon for some little distance back although george w was in a way a political and of s the latter was only vaguely acquainted with him he had seen him before knew of him had agreed that his name should be put on the local slate largely because he had been assured by those who were to him and who did his bidding that was all right that he would do as he was told that he would cause no one any trouble etc several of which that of mr mr s immediate was one mr had maintained a connection with the treasury which was very profitable to him as it was in a way directly to both butler and the two latter had more or less large private interests of their own was too large a man and to risk a dose working connection with the which might readily be traced but he was not above a plan which was not known in all its details to either of his associates messrs and butler but which was nevertheless profitable to them in one way and another namely that of using political and commercial stool to the city treasury as much as possible without creating a scandal various agents were employed mr edward president of mr the then incumbent of the mayor s chair mr thomas mr jacob and others these men were used to companies imder various names whose business it was to deal in those things which the city needed and was compelled to have it saved the city the trouble of looking far and wide for honest and	43
reasonable since the action of three of these men have something to do with the development of frank s story they may be briefly described mr edward the the chief of them and the one useful to mr in a minor way although not generally known to be so was a very person of about at this time raised and educated in philadelphia lean and in a narrow way with black hair black eyes and an large black he was all in all rather inclined to noticeable a pair of striped trousers a white a black coat and a high silk hat his shoes were always polished to perfection and his appearance gave him the of the among some nevertheless he was quite able in a way and was well liked by many he valued by mr who kept him where he his two associates messrs thomas and jacob were in a way less attractive and brilliant jacob was a rather person of about the mental of mr had known in his earlier days on a thick of a person but no fool he was big and rather to look upon with sandy brown hair and brown eyes but fairly intelligent and absolutely willing to approve anything which was not too broad in its and which would afford i sufficient protection to keep him out of the oi the law he was really not so much cunning as dull and anxious to get along mr thomas the last of this useful but was a tall lean man candle of face pathetic to look at rather shrewd he was an iron by training had gotten into politics much as j because in a way he was useful and he had to make some money this of which was the and who were engaged in peculiar which will now be indicated the companies which these several the supposed to or had organized imder previous such as s consisted of dealing in meat building material lamp posts highway supplies anything you will which the city or its institutions needed a city contract once say to supply beef to the city s institutions or lamp posts and other iron to the department was but certain had to be fixed in advance and it took money to do that the company so organized need not do any actual business it need not slaughter any cattle or lamp posts all it had to do was to to do that obtain a secure a contract for such material to the ity from the city council which mr mr and mr would attend to and then this to some actual beef or iron who would supply the material and allow them to pocket their profit it was so easy and in a way so legitimate the particular beef or iron founder thus favored could net hope of his own ability thus to obtain a contract he ought to be glad to obtain it imder any circumstances from messrs and mr or whoever was in charge of the city treasury at the time for his services in money at a low rate of interest to be used as for the proper performance of contract and to aid in some instances the beef or iron founder to carry out his end was to be allowed not only the one or two per cent which he might pocket other had but a fair proportion of the profits a complacent confidential chief clerk who was all right would be recommended to him it did not concern mr that mr mr and mr acting for mr were incidentally planning to use a of the money for purposes quite outside that indicated it was his business to loan it and anyhow that is another story but it the and of these financial com the arrangements which occur in every american and that is what this particular paragraph is intended to illustrate before his into office and in fact some time before he was even had learned from mr who by the way was one of his as which sm was against the law as were those of and the law of that one political servant might not become for another that they would not ask him to do anything which it was not perfectly legal for him to do but that he must be complacent and not stand in the way of big nor bite the hands that fed him they did not and never had not only did and make this perfectly plain to him but also that once he was in a little money for himself was to be made as has been indicated mr had always been a poor man he had seen all those who had in politics to any extent about him heretofore do very indeed while he along as an and real estate agent he had worked hard as a political other were building themselves nice homes in portions of the city they were going off to new york or or on parties they were seen in happy converse at road houses or hotels in season with their wives or their women and he was not as yet of this happy throng he was promised something what would he get when it came to this visit from mr suggestion in regard to bringing city loan to par although it bore no obvious relation to s distant connection with or his control of and the others yet dimly recognized it to be such and hurried to the latter for information just what would you do about this he asked of the who knew of s visit before him and was waiting for to speak to him mr talks about having this new loan on change and brought to par so that it will sell for one hundred neither nor knew how the i of city loan which were only worth ninety on the open market were to	43
nice he might show him mr how to make a little money on the stock exchange he had heard of city officials doing this and it was all between him and mr quite a secret he liked him very much the plan mr developed after a few days meditation would be plain enough to any one who knew anything of commercial and financial but a dark secret to those who do not in the first place the city was to use his s office as a bank of deposit he was to turn over to him actually or set over to his credit on the city s books subject to his order certain of city two hundred thousand dollars at first since that was the amount it was desired to raise quickly and he would then go into the market and see what could be done to have it brought to par the city was to ask leave of the stock exchange at once to have it as a security would use his influence to have this application acted upon quickly mr was to dispose of all city loan through him and him only he was to allow him to buy for the sinking such he might have to buy in order to keep the price up to par to do this once a considerable number of the loan had been on the it might be necessary to buy back a great deal however these would be sold again the law concerning selling only at par would have to be to this extent i e that the wash and preliminary would have to be considered no until par was reached there was a subtle advantage here pointed out to mr in the first place since the were going ultimately to reach par anyway there was no objection to mr or any one else buying low at the opening price and holding for a the rise would be glad to carry him on his books for any amount and he would settle at the end of each month he would not be asked to buy the outright he could be carried on the books for a certain reasonable margin say ten points the money was as good as made for mr now in the next place in buying for the sinking fund it would be possible to buy these very cheap for having the new and reserve issue entirely in his hands could throw such as he wished into the market at such times as he wished to buy and consequently the market then he could buy and later up would go the price having the issues totally in his hands to or the market as he wished there was no reason why the city should not ultimately get par for all its issues and yet why considerable should not be made out of the he would be glad to make most of his profit that way the city should allow him his normal on all his actual of for the city at par he would have to have that in order to keep straight with the st ck exchange but beyond that and for all the other necessary of which there would be many he would depend on his knowledge of the stock market to him and if mr wanted to with him well dark as this transaction may seem to the it will appear quite clear to those who know tricks have always been worked in connection with stocks of which one man or one set of men has had complete control it was no different from what has since been done with standard oil copper sugar wheat and what not was one of the earliest and one of the to see how it could be done when he first talked to he was twenty eight years of age when he last talked to him or did business with him he was thirty four put himself in his hands as a the child itself to a nurse he could not see how this subtle young man looked upon him he only knew that had worked out a plan for the solution of his difficulties and that he was delighted to have the privilege of trying it chapter xvii the houses and the bank front of co had been proceeding the latter was a thought of s modified by it was early in its reserved and refined with windows which grew as they approached the roof and a door of wrought iron set between delicately carved posts and a straight of it was low in height and distinguished in the had been a hand delicately wrought thin and artistic holding aloft a flaming brand the latter informed him had formerly been a money s sign used by a small and successful group of in but long since fallen into the of here it would look quaint approved for in spite of his financial and money tendency generally this idea of the influence of art appealed to him greatly he with the artistic spirit believed that after wealth and feminine beauty it was the one great thing perhaps wealth and beauty and material art forms the arts and of the world were linked sometimes as he looked at lift the mere current visible scene it seemed intensely artistic a snow storm outside his window a crowd of men on change the full sailed boats coming up the he had not much time for these things he was so busy but they were beautiful once he saw a great dusty and blood stained company of men returning from their their blankets dirty their arms or or legs roughly in several instances and he thought i i the this would make a great battle picture k he were an artist now but he wasn t and so after a few minutes he put	43
the thought briskly aside but these things were haunting him at odd moments and he thought once he was rich he would probably come to live in a notable manner not but beautiful so the new bank building was done over in a very simple and yet impressive way with an interior quite different from an else in the street for it was all highly polished stained in imitation of the gray which trees but in a somewhat lower key large sheets of clear glass were used some oval some some square and some circular following a given theory of eye movement the for the gas were after the early roman and the office safe was made an ornament raised on a marble platform at the back of the and a silver gray with co on it in gold one had a sense of great reserve taste and beauty this place and yet it was also prosperous solid and assuring when he viewed it at its completion cheerily this is really beautiful he said it s delightful it will be a pleasure to work here if those houses are going to be anything like this they will be ix wait till you see them i think you should be pleased mr i am taking especial pains with yours b h it is smaller it is really easier to treat your s but yours he went off into a description of the en trance hall reception room and parlor whidi he was arranging and in such a way as to give an effect of and dignity not really to the actual space looked at this man who frequently x ve to the office to consult him or met him at the spot the where the houses were in process of and felt a warm kindly feeling for him he was following a line of work which seemed delightfully dignified worth while and essential art must have its if this boy were so beautifully minded as to be important and successful in his field he ought to be well paid for his taste it was pleasant to have such men to deal with as in his youth he had no thought of money his idea of making money was not by saving one had to think of large productive things to do and then pay liberally for their execution when the houses were finished they were really charming things to look upon they were quite different from the conventional of the street the had borrowed a note from the or rather theory of art not so as the style later became in many of the in philadelphia and elsewhere but still and picturesque his idea was to have the of the two as one the most striking in each instance were rather under wide low slightly arches and three projecting windows of rich form one on the second floor of frank s house two on the of his father s there were six showing on the front of the two houses two on frank s and on his father s in the front of each house on the ground floor was a window with the formed by setting the inner external wall back from the outer face of the building this window looked out through an arched opening to the street and was protected by a dwarf or it was possible to set vines and flowers here which was later done giving a pleasant sense of from the street and to place about a few chairs which were reached heavily barred french because frank s house was the smaller of the two advised that it be placed on the comer for these the were comer lots on which they were building he pointed out that frank s father would have the advantage of the west light the building faced south because the two houses were to be separated by a space of twenty feet laid out as a he extended a glass window twenty four inches outside of frank s west wall which commanded the side street for a distance of twenty feet on the second floor and placed within a library and reading room making it by stained glass of a low soothing key on the ground floor of each house he placed a for flowers facing each other and in the yard which was used he placed a pool of white marble eight feet in with a marble upon which of water ed from concealed pipes for joy the yard which was by a high but pierced wall of green gray brick especially burnt for this purpose the same color as the granite of the house and surmounted by a white marble was sown to grass and had a lovely smooth appearance the two houses as originally planned were connected by a low green which could be in winter in glass the interior was decorated after periods or and much attention was given to this matter these rooms which were now slowly being decorated and furnished for the arrival of the particularly for the arrival of the son though the father was important also were very significant in that they enlarged and strengthened frank s idea of the art of the world in general it was a comforting experience to frank and one which made for artistic and intellectual growth to hear explain at length the and types of architecture and furniture the nature of woods and ornaments employed the qualities and peculiarities of furniture and floor was a student of as well as of architecture and interested in the the artistic taste of the american people which he fancied some time have a splendid he was wearied to death of the of and ban villa so called which were plentiful the time was ripe for something new he scarcely knew what it would be but this that he had figured out for and his father was different	43
while at the same time being pleasing simple and reserved it was in marked contrast to the rest of the architecture of the street s dining room reception room and butler s he had put on the first floor together with the general entry hall staircase and coat room imder the stairs for the second floor he had reserved the library general living room parlor and a small for together with a for madame connected with a dressing room and bath on the third floor neatly divided and with and dressing rooms were the nursery the servants quarters and several guest chambers showed books of designs containing furniture and some exquisite piano forms he discussed woods with him mahogany english oak bird s eye and the effects such as and or he explained the latter how it was to produce how it was in some respects for this climate the brass and shell coming to swell with the heat or damp and so or breaking he told of the difficulties and of certain but finally recommended furniture for the reception room for the parlor french for the dining room and library and bird s eye blue in one instance and left its natural color in another and a rather lightly constructed but carved for the other rooms the wall paper and floor were to not match and the piano i the and music cabinet for the parlor as well as the and for the reception were to be of or if frank cared to stand the expense advised him to obtain a piano if he could afford it the square shapes were so wearisome to the listened fascinated for this appealed to him in his every instinct and he foresaw a home which would be soothing and delightful to look upon k he hung pictures gilt frames were to be the setting lai ge and deep and if he wished a picture gallery the library could be turned into that and the general living room which lay between the library and the parlor on the second floor could be turned into a combination library and living room this was eventually done but not until his taste for pictures had considerably advanced it was now that began to take a keen interest in objects of art pictures little and which by degrees he began to hear of and which he now needed a few for his tables and during the few years he had been living in north front street he had learned a little not much now however the size and quality of this house and his father s the point and he b an to look about him philadelphia did not hold much that was distinguished in this realm certainly not in the open market there were many private houses which were enriched by private travel but his connection with the best families was as yet small he had connections whidi were gradually leading to them if he but chose to follow carefully but he was not sure that he cared to the finely social type was rather foreign to his mood he was not at all interested in books feeling life to be so much more worth while but he filled his handsome case with recommended sets of the masters he helped his father hunt for things with which to soften and his much larger rooms and in so doing i the learned many things concerning pictures and art objects which he had not previously known there were then two famous american powers and of whose work he had examples but told him that they were not the last word in and that he should look into the merits of the he began to wish that he were the possessor of art figures by them his black italian were as yet empty he finally secured a head of david by which delighted him and some by hunt and which seemed somewhat in the spirit of his new world it is curious what the effect of a house of this character will be on a man we think we are individual separate above houses and material objects generally but there is a subtle connection which makes them reflect us as much as we reflect them and vice a man in a way is the shadow of his possessions and deeds quite as much as they are a or reflection of the twain are linked they grow as a tree and its shade the man is stronger for his possessions and his possessions are stronger for the man they lend dignity force each to the other and what beauty or lack of it there is is shot back and forth from one to the other as a in a loom weaving weaving cut the thread separate a man from that which is his own characteristic of him and you have a peculiar figure half success half failure much as a spider without its web which will never be its whole self again all its and those things in which it believes and are restored of course there are those highly characters just as at the other extreme there are those material ones which by their over emphasis of phases establish while seeming to the rule of and it might be that they do not the eternal hills as witness of the the of their souls but they nevertheless require them be he ever so and brutal the butcher or the separated from his ax and the atmosphere of blood and surrounding him loses much of his savage identity chapter xviii it was not long after the significant arrangement between and had been made that the machinery for the carrying out of that political financial relationship was put in motion the sum of two and ten thousand dollars in six per cent interest bearing in ten years was set over to the credit of	43
co on the books of the city subject to his order he waited until it was properly on change then through several who were in his employ he began to offer small at more than ninety and at the same time by those subtle methods known to the stock world wash the use of the financial column the financial and so on attempted to create the impression that it was going to be a prosperous various people were supposed to have purchased large from the city but were not willing to let go whenever one of these small lots was offered by him one of his agents picked it up offering it sometimes for a still higher price the gradually rose and were in rising one hundred was reached when all the two hundred thousand dollars worth two thousand in all were fed out in small lots it was business requiring frequent at the current market rate he saw how easy it would be to the market and drive the down to eighty or less if he wished but he refrained with a clear idea of bigger things to come in the future was satisfied two hundred shares had been carried for him and sold at one hundred the him two thousand dollars it was gain but his conscience was not very much troubled by that he saw of a on future it is difficult to make perfectly clear what a subtle and significant power this suddenly placed in the hands of consider that he was only twenty eight twenty nine imagine yourself by nature in the arts of capable of with sums of money in the forms of stocks bonds and cash as the ordinary man plays with or or better yet imagine yourself one of those subtle masters of the mysteries of the higher forms of the type of mind so well illustrated by the famous and historic players who could sit with their backs to a group of rivals playing fourteen men at once calling out all the moves in turn remembering all the positions of all the men on all the boards and winning this of course would be an of the of frank at this time and yet it would not be wholly out of key he knew instinctively what could be done with a given of money how as cash it could be deposited in one place and yet as credit and the basis of moving used in not one but many other places at the same time when properly watched and followed this gave one the and power of ten and a dozen times as much as the original sum might have represented he knew instinctively the principles of p and he could see exactly not only how he could raise and the value of these of loan day after day and year after year if he were so as to retain his hold on the city but seeing that he was to have ultimately all of the issue of two million and that he was to be able to call for the delivery of fifty one one and fifty or two hundred thousand dollars worth of city loan at one time to be deposited in his care or held subject to bis order it the gave him a credit with the banks hitherto beyond his wildest dreams his father s bank was one of the first to profit by this and to extend him the various butler and others seeing the success of his efforts in this direction in city loan he became known to mr and mr by reputation if not personally as the man who was carrying this city loan proposition to a successful issue was supposed to have done a clever thing in finding him the stock exchange that all trades were to be compared the same day and settled before the close of the next but this working arrangement with the new city gave much more latitude and now he had always until the first of the month or practically thirty days at times in which to render an for all connected with the loan issue and moreover this was really not an in the sense of removing anything from his hands since the issue was to be so large the sum at his disposal would always be large and so called and at the end of the month would be a mere matter of he could take these city loan deposited with him for purposes and deposit them at any bank as for a loan quite as if they were his own thus raising seventy per cent of their actual value in cash and he did not hesitate to do so he could take this cash which need not be for the end of the month and cover other stock transactions on which he could borrow again there was no limit to the of which he now foimd himself possessed except the resources of his own energy ingenuity and the limits of time in which he had to work the did not realize what a he was making of it all for himself because they could not understand the of his mind when mr told him after talking the matter over with the mayor and others the who were advised by butler and that he would formally during the course of the year set over on the city s books all of the two millions in city loan was delighted it meant enormous transactions to and fro between himself and others it was not exactly a legitimate matter certain officials expected to make money out of these rises and falls but it was legal anyhow no criminal intention attached to him and it certainly was not his money he had been called in as a financial adviser and he had given his advice was not a man who	43
was troubled with conscientious scruples he believed he was honest he was no or than any other certainly no than any other one would be if he could on the day he received word from that he was to be given control of the full of city loan he sent a note down the street to his father asking him to drive home him and on the way they discussed his wonderful future the old gentleman had not heard any of the details of this before and was dazzled he looked upon his son as a very remarkable person extraordinary he tried to be impartial hoped he would be but somehow his son seemed to know more and see farther what do you think of that father frank asked his own conclusions reached long before the old gentleman weighed all the facts thinking that his own opinion was exceedingly important he sat bolt upright as he drove his hands in new leather ng gloves his body tightly fitted into a frock coat he wore a high silk hat and his mutton they were were brushed out in little gray his eyebrows were heavy and shaded and marked his eyes in a way he had always a smoothly shaven face the bare upper lip of which seemed long why it seems all right to me frank you know iq the money is bringing it s a good risk i think it looks x me that that ought to work out frank was constantly to his father s bank for and he would usually warn him the day before he was going to draw heavily coming down ml you to morrow for fifty thousand do you think you an let me have so much h that s all right the old gentleman replied i a you re good for it he was so proud of this sturdy youth the only one of bis sons who had real financial talent that his good judgment was in danger ed and joe were good boys not brilliant like frank one night frank said to his father if you want to a little city loan now i can show you how to some money frank would never have invited his father except that le felt so sure besides every holding for a rise n s a valuable at this time i t to i never have his father to him but at the same time i cannot help but that this is all right quite another thing from ordinary speculation you have made such an advantageous arrangement here it was notorious that the city were profitable others had made thousands and of thousands out of inside with the city i haven t ever done it before but if you want to put tne down for five or six shares it s all right is that enough say five hundred the money s as good as in your frank did not want to hold his father out long and him on his books closed him out at a profit f three points it the old gentleman fifteen dollars it him immensely but frank was in that he ever dragged his father into his affairs al the was one of those men whom possessions were and making more significant the sight of his new house going up made him feel of more weight in the world and the possession of his suddenly achieved connection with the was as though a wide door had been thrown open to the fields of opportunity he rode about the city those days behind a spirited team of s whose glossy hides and shining harness the watchful care of and coachman was building him and his father an attractive stable in the little side street back of the house which they were to occupy he told mrs that he intended to buy her a as the low oi en coach was then known as soon as they were well settled in their new home and that they were to go out more there was some plain talk about the value of it and that he have to reach out for certain who were not now known to him he found as he said that there had to be take in these matters and that if were entertained by people of distinction they had to return these in the same spirit and on the same scale all these years for one so young he had been holding exceedingly close to his financial affairs but now that things were to out so rapidly it was to be somewhat different he and his wife would enjoy life a little more together with his sister and his two brothers joseph and edward they would use the two houses there was no reason why might not make a splendid match joe and ed might marry well since they were not destined to set the world on fire in commerce at least it would not hurt them to try he and were destined to go out more he could see it coming but alas he could also see that she would not make the figure he had once thought she would she was to look at but not brilliant and the the well the children detained her more than they some women don t you think you will like that he asked her curiously she smiled i suppose so she said she ok a dignified interest in her home which he sure would not bear the strain of great social it is curious how a thought like this the of the average ambitious man in a woman as a great strain in some hearts usually t is the feminine in so far as social distinction is concerned mt ever and anon in the american social the commercial and artistic type in some male who does not	43
require the social ambition f a woman to egg him on it may be quite the other way and the very lack of a suitable to the dreams of advancement which and swim n a temperament of this kind may cause of a and sometimes disastrous character was not of a violent strain however he merely as he went forward that there was i social face to this problem that men who vith each other as well as were in some stronger more in on things than those did not there was a financial ring in philadelphia had its social in the west end of the ity and in the great were in many very close to each other in their home relations here were balls parties marriages and and winter in which the same people closely elated and took part aw the names of various sons and daughters of men he to be prominent in third street together with their and as in this and that over and over his father because of his of the third national bank was already the admitted to certain commonplace and private evenings at certain of these well to do homes but this was nothing it was too late his father was already too old past fifty and it did not interest him any more his principal interest in the new home was the social and financial it would give his sons and daughter this was equally true of frank s mother but in his own case it was somewhat different he was twenty nine now that he was beginning to in his new home and to do business in his new office he might expect some notable results money was now coming to him rather swiftly in the last six months he had made over thirty thousand dollars and he believed he saw his way to making over a thousand in the year or certainly in the next two at the of others behind him had already approached with a plan whereby he might be willing to loan him a certain amount of city entirely apart from the city loan which he already controlled ready cash at say two per cent wherewith they might endeavor ta get control of certain railway stocks frank did not know who was back of in this but he did know it could not be the city alone he had no courage it should be said here that this proposition of s in regard to city money very veiled at first and bearing apparently no relationship to city funds bore no tion with the attitude of the principal leaders in local politics in regard to this same subject as this attitude was as has been said they themselves had been using city money to make big to favorite banks using the of them as for city funds but s was not one of these messrs butler and were interested in street separately on their own there was no between on this score if they had thought at all cm the matter they would have decided that they did not want the any to interfere as a matter of fact the in philadelphia was not sufficiently at this time to suggest to any one the grand scheme of which came later this proposition of s was due entirely to who seeing how things were going generally but without the capacity of a or a was anxious to further his own affairs nevertheless he did not care to appear in the matter like he thought it was a good idea to use as a he did not realize the of the man to whom he was sending his plan was to get to buy through sufficient street railway shares in any given line to control it and then if he could by efforts of his own to get the city council to set aside certain streets for its extension this liad to be done very carefully because naturally his were watchful and if they foimd him in affairs of this kind to his own advantage they might make it impossible for him to continue in a position where he could help himself any outside organization such as a street railway company already in existence had a right to appeal to the city council for privileges which naturally further the growth and other things being equal these could not be refused it would not do however for him as a recognized and president of to appear in the matter but with acting privately for it would be another thing because of what he could do in the and because needed some one on whom he could lean before he could be induced to act at all knew that he could induce to give him a share in anything which the use of city money in this way would bring about hence the proposition which made to the interesting thing about this proposition of mr s was that it raised without appearing to do so the whole question of s attitude toward the city the administration although he was dealing privately for edward butler as an agent and although he had never met either or the powers of the city he nevertheless felt that in so far as the of the loan was concerned he was acting for them that is they were money from the tips and information which were constantly issuing from his office in this matter of the private street railway purchase which now brought to him he realized from the very beginning by s attitude that there was something in it that he was doing something which he ought not to do he said to him the first morning he ever this matter it was in s office at the old city at sixth and chestnut and was feeling very good indeed in view of his prosperity isn t there	43
some street railway property around town here that a man could buy in on and get control of if he had sufficient money this was exactly the way that edward had addressed on the subject some three weeks before when he had begun with to st the deed knew that there were such properties very alert mind had long since the general k here the were slowly f the best were already pre s as was quick to perceive and point there were other streets and the was growing the r population make great business in the future one could afford to pay almost any price for the lines already built if one could wait and extend the into larger and better later anyhow he ly conceived in his own mind the theory of the chain or agreeable as some one has t that of bu ng a certain property on a nt and issuing stocks or bonds sufficient the not only to pay your but to you for your trouble to say nothing of giving you a margin wherewith to invest in other things allied properties for instance against which more bonds could be issued and so on ad it is an old story now but it was new then and he kept the thought closely to himself he was glad to have speak of this matter though for were his and he was convinced from looking at them that he would be a great master of them if he ever had an to control them why yes george he said non there are two or three that offer a good chance if a man had money enough it would take a good deal of money unless you wanted to go rather slow i notice blocks of stock being offered on change now and then by one person and another it would be good policy to pick these things up as they re offered and then to see later if some of the other won t want to sell out green and now looks like a good proposition to me if i had three or four thousand dollars that i i could put into that by degrees i would follow it up it only takes about thirty per cent of the stock of any railroad to control it most of the shares are scattered around so far and wide that they never vote and i think two or three thousand dollars would control this road he spoke of one or two other lines that might possibly be ed in the same way in the course of time meditated that s a good deal of money he said thoughtfully i ll talk to you about that some more later knew that did not have any two or three hundred thousand dollars to invest in anything there was only one way that he could get it and that was to loan it out of the city treasury and forego the interest this thought did not trouble any at the moment he knew that the larger were the using the treasury only in a more subtle way had never interested him as an individual he was merely an to him he was thinking now though of his own attitude in regard to the use of this money no harm could come to him if s were successful and there was no reason why they should not be even if they were not he would be merely acting as an agent in addition he saw how in the of this money for he could probably eventually control certain lines for himself there was one line being laid out to within a few blocks of his new home the and nineteenth street line it was called which interested him greatly he rode on it occasionally when he was delayed or did not wish to trouble about a vehicle it ran through two streets of red brick houses and was destined to have a great future once the city grew large enough as yet it was really not long enough k he could get that for instance and combine it with butler s lines once they were or s or s the could be induced to give them he even dreamed of a combination between butler himself between them they get anything but butler was not a he have to be approached with a very bird in hand the combination must be obviously advisable besides frank was dealing for butler in street railway stocks as it was and if this particular line were such a good thing butler wonder why it had not been brought to him in the first place seeing that he was in the field to buy it would be better frank thought to wait until he actually had it as his own in which case it would be a matter then he could talk as a he b an to dream of a city wide street railway system controlled by a few men or him alone the at the same time he reflected that this plain proposition of handling stolen money even though it were not admitted that it was stolen was something that ought not to be undertaken it was a long he had since the days he had worked for co and co he was a much harder colder person talked others whom he represented as wanting to invest knew that this was mere talk the money was coming from the treasury direct and nowhere the matter was really not up for final consideration as yet in a general way he fancied that if wanted to do this it was all right he would keep his own skirts as clear as possible nevertheless because of his attitude toward life his judgment troubled him a little why should he do this when he knew that the money was being taken without the	43
knowledge of the superior leaders of the city and when he really need not do it it was just possible that this transaction might cause him trouble at some time or other if it were ever foimd y it the other deal in regard to city loan was so much more normal the loan was ordered by ity and by all the powers that were thing which proposed was something else still it was no worse than a score of other tricks that played in the financial world and which were quite satisfactory in their result why not in this case the days that had been passing had brought him and butler somewhat closer together in spirit it will lock the sensitive to have a fact so of social order so plainly stated but it is really so this girl whom he had first seen at the age y fifteen when he called at butler s house and who had begun to show herself at his own home in north front street when she was seventeen was now nineteen ind she had grown into some subtle thoughts of her own the because of the pressure of his growing affairs had not paid so much attention to her as he might have but he had seen her often this last year in and out of his home in north front street he had not moved as and at her father s house where he frequently called the butler home for all the old gentleman s wealth was not in the least what it should have been was commonplace and dull almost dingy in comparison vith the old home its interior was so badly done that it was really not worth talking about there was no attempt at true artistic harmony though notable prices had been paid for many objects such as exceedingly y leather furniture for the library sized chairs and of extra heavy for the parlor a reception room not simply set with a few cases which might entertain but of oak furniture after the fashion of a club were instances in point the pictures were impossible and the furniture in some instances was it was really not butler s fault entirely he had asked for ice in the beginning but had fallen into the hands of a bad since then he had ed into odd purchases of his own things that he liked at first the older of the two girls had not noticed being so young but now these and homely variations had begun to she was beginning to see what the difference between good taste and bad taste was even the modest little home of the on north front street was much superior in the point of sweetness and harmony there was something delicate about it and their new home which was building in avenue quite near the was distinguished papa why do we stay in this old bam she asked her father one evening at dinner when there were gathered the usual members of the butler family and their mother the what s the matter with this house like to know demanded butler who was drawn up close to the table his tucked comfortably under his chin for he insisted on this when company was not present i don t see anything the matter with this house your mother and i manage to live in it well enough h it s awful papa you know it who was seventeen and quite as bright as h r sister though a little less experienced everybody sa i so look at all the nice houses that arc being built everywhere about here everybody everybody who is everybody i d like to know demanded butler with the faintest touch of and much humor i m somebody and it those that don t like it don t have to live in it who are they what s the matter with it i d like to know the question in just this form had been up a number of times before and had been handled in just this manner or passed over entirely with a healthy irish grin tonight however it was destined for a little more extended thought you know it s bad papa corrected firmly now what s the use getting mad about it it s old and cheap and dingy the furniture is all worn out that old piano in there ought to be given away i won t play on it any more the d is it exclaimed butler his accent growing w th a somewhat self induced rage he almost pronounced it dingy hi where do you get that at your i suppose and where is it worn show me where it s worn he was coming to her reference to but he hadn t reached that when mrs butler interfered she was a stout broad faced smiling mouthed woman most of the time with gray irish eyes and a touch of red in her hair now modified by her left the cheek below the mouth was considerably by a large children children mr butler for all his commercial and political responsibility was as much a child to her as any mustn t quarrel now come now give father the there was an irish maid ing at table but plates were passed from one to the other just the same a heavily ornamented holding sixteen imitation candles in white low over the table and was brightly lighted another to how often have i told ou not to say pleaded very much by her mother s errors you know you said you wouldn t and who s to tell your mother what she should say called butler more than ever at this sudden and rebellion and assault your mother talked before ever you was bom i d have you know if it weren t for her and you wouldn t have any	43
fine manners to be before her i d have you know that she s a better woman nor any be with this day you little baggage you do you hear what he s calling me complained close to her mother s arm and pretending fear and dissatisfaction mrs butler pleading with her husband you know he doesn t mean that don t you know he doesn t she was her baby s head the to her grammar had not touched her at all butler was sorry that he had called his youngest a baggage but these children god bless his soul were a great annoyance why in the name of all the saints wasn t this house good enough for them why don t you people quit at the table observed a likely youth in bright his black hair laid smoothly over his forehead in a long distinguished the reaching close to his right ear and his upper carrying a short crisp his nose was short and and his ears were rather prominent but he was bright and attractive he and both realized that the house was old and poorly arranged but mr and mrs butler liked it and business sense and family peace dictated silence on this score butler expected and social support from his two well i think it s mean to have to live in this old lace when every one else people not one fourth as good is we are are living in better ones the why even the yes the what about the demanded butler turning to die was sitting beside him his big red face glowing why even they have a better house than we have and he s merely an agent of yours the the til not have any talk about the i m not my rules from the suppose they have a fine house what of it my house is my house i want to live here i ve lived here too long to be up md away if you don t like it you know what you can do move if you want to i ll not move it was butler s habit when he became involved in these quarrels which were as shallow as rain water to his hands rather his wife s r his children s noses he was doing it now to forgetful of how bad and shocking it to her oh well i will get out one these days she replied thank heaven i won t have to live here always there flashed across her mind the library parlor and of the were now being arranged preparatory to moving and about which talked to her so much the their dainty lovely grand piano in gold and painted pink and blue why couldn t they have like that her father was unquestionably a dozen times as wealthy but no her father whom she loved dearly was of the old school he was just what people charged him with being a rough irish he might be rich she up a little at the injustice of couldn t he have been rich and refined too then they could have but oh what was the use complaining they would never get any here with her father and mother in charge she just have to wait marriage was the answer the right marriage but who was she to marry you surely are not going to go on fighting about that now pleaded mrs butler as strong and patient as fate itself she knew where s trouble lay but anyhow we might have the house done over whispered to her mother hush now in good time wait we ll fix it all up some day sure you run to your lessons now you ve had enough arose and left subsided what was the use her father was simply stubborn and impossible and yet he was nice too come now he said after they had left the table play me on the piano nice he wanted things which exhibited his daughter s skill and muscular ability and left him wondering how she did it that was what education was to enable her to play these very things quickly and the significance of it well there wasn t any to him and knew that also her taste was so much better and you can have a new piano any time you like go and see about it this looks good to me but if you don t want it all right squeezed his arm what was the use of arguing the with her father what good would a lone new piano do when the whole house and the whole family atmosphere ought to be disposed of but she played and the old gentleman strolled to and fro and stared smiling there was real feeling and a thoughtful interpretation given to some of these things for was not without sentiment though she was so strong vigorous and withal so defiant but it was all lost on him he looked on her his bright healthy daughter and wondered what was going to become of her some rich man was going to marry her some fine rich young man with good business instincts and he her father would leave her a lot of money chapter xix there was a reception and a dance to be gi to the opening of the two homes the reception to be held in s residence and the dance later in the evening at henry s his father s the henry although it has not been described was much more the reception room parlor and being in this case all on the ground floor and much larger had arranged it so that those rooms on occasion be thrown into one ing excellent space for dancing anything in fact that a large company might require it had ix en	43
the intention all along of the two men to use these houses there was to begin with a combination use of the various the butler gardener and maids frank ood employed a for his children the butler was really not a butler in the best sense he was henry s i but he could car e and and he could ix used in either house as occasion there was also a and a coachman for the joint stable when two carriages were required at once both drove it made a ver agreeable and satisfactory working arrangement the preparation of this reception had been quite a matter of importance ith the father and son for it was necessary for financial reasons to make it as extensive as possible and for social reasons as e the matter was rather neatly solved in this way that the afternoon reception at frank s house with its natural s the into henry w s was to be for all the as well as the more select groups to which for instance belonged rivers mrs mr and mrs and some of the and whom frank had met it was not likely that the latter would condescend but cards had to be sent later in the evening the more purely social list was to be entertained which included the friends of mrs edward and joseph and any list which frank might personally have in mind this was to he the list the best that could be persuaded commanded or influenced of the young and elect were to be invited here it was not possible not to invite the parents and children particularly the children though the presence of the parents if they should by any chance take it into their heads to stay would be most even and were a little unsatisfactory to and mrs frank and these two when they were together the list of invitations often talked about it she s so observed to her sister when they came to the name of she thinks she knows so much and she isn t a bit refined her ther well if i had her father i wouldn t talk so smart mrs who was before her in her new lifted her eyebrows you know i sometimes wish that frank s business did not compel me to have to do with them mrs butler is such a bore she means well enough but she doesn t know anything and is too rough she s too forward i think she comes over here and plays upon the piano particularly when frank s here i wouldn t mind so much for myself but i know it must annoy him all her pieces are so noisy she never plays anything really delicate and refined the i don t hke the way she dresses observed she gets herself up too no k the i saw her out and oh dear you should have seen her she had on a jacket with black about the edges and a with a huge crimson feather and ribbons reaching nearly to her waist imagine that kind of a hat to drive in and her hands you should have seen the way she held her hands oh just so self they were cur ed just so and she showed how she had on yellow and she held the reins in one hand and the whip in the other she drives like mad when she drives anyhow and william the footman was up behind her you should just have seen her look oh dear oh dear she does think she is so much and half in reproach half in amusement i suppose ll have to invite her i don t see how we can get out of it i know just how she ll do though she ll walk about and pose and hold her nose up really i don t see how she can commented no v i like she s much she doesn t think she s so much i like too added mrs she s really veiy sweet and to me she s prettier in a quiet way h much so oh indeed i think so too it was curious though that it was who all their attention held their thought and fixed their minds on her so called it is true that all they said was in its peculiar way true but in ft the girl was really beautiful and much above the ave rage in intelligence and force she was running li with a great ambition and it was all the more pi and in a way to some because it h h own consciousness of her social defects against h she was inwardly fighting she resented the fact that h n i i amid justly consider her parents and al x for that reason to with them io the she was as worth while as any one so able and rapidly becoming so distinguished seemed to realize it he was nice to her and liked to talk to her whenever he was at her house now or she v at his and he was present he managed somehow to say a word he would come over quite near and look at in a warm friendly way well she could see his genial significant how is it with you how are your father and been out driving that s fine i saw you x day you looked beautiful oh mr you did you looked a black becomes you i can tell your gold hair a long way oh now you mustn t say that to me you ll make me vain my mother and father tell me i m too vain as it is never mind your mother and father i say you looked and you did you always do oh she almost gave a little gasp of delight the color to her cheeks	43
of black jet cut in many black squares her complexion naturally high in tone because of the pink of health was by the speck of black court plaster laid upon her cheek s r e u r iv r ii d by her v v ji r j x j y r y h the eyes v iv tr i s fi j r a fc r as in two loose r ji j v z i net at the x v j x r i jl lt i her r w bad been i r o l as significant as her r h j a too emphatic fe of her vitality o r r r i ar her have meant y r ii v t t i ind life l ar r ji ed her sister in law she was v j o c l f x i as wearing black and looked j l r r ed in a subdued tone v y xi a air she was addressing f i t the rooms look lovely now j va at the softly lighted chambers and the j y to you know i just y ij i ti would get this old thing on she was f of t wouldn t help me the m ha s on to and his mother v v a n ar him she had removed the black satin jim h h her train from her arm and kicked the l l k f and free her eyes gleamed almost i n all r like a spirited s and her even li beautifully k d her precisely as he did any i iv u animal his wife his mother many i l know how to take her at all i an l you how nice you look he whispered to li r as though there were an old you re like fire and a song not know why he said this he was not es the poetic he imagined he had not the phrase beforehand since his first of her in the hall his feelings and ideas had been leaping and plunging like spirited horses and in the grip of his self were the reins of control checking them this girl made him set his teeth and narrow his eyes he involuntarily himself looking more defiant as she drew near his smile the best phase of it so useful in his commercial and social relations with men was on his lips he drew a deep essential breath h how nice she answered tossing her head but she too was excited because he was so she was and she knew it we thought we d walk over once she explained to his mother who was close by it s so near i m afraid you have caught cold my dear replied mrs henry w it s quite chilly out to night she was wondering what the other guests would think of she was so well so over impressive was thinking so also but a radiant mrs in snowy silk and bursting from her confronted him a red rose in her hair and he said to himself she would do as a foil would there were many more and were surrounded shortly by yoimg men to be introduced and to write their names on their dance cards and for the time being she was lost to view chapter xx the subtle seeds of change are rooted deeply from the first mention of the dance by mrs and with the light description of the which were to attend it had been conscious of an effective of herself which would as a result a better to a more distinguished group of people than she as yet for all her father s money had been able to achieve the difference between the standard of life and that of her parents was obvious there was less money to be charged to the former s credit in the practical american way but there was so much more of what one might call freedom of thought art understanding social and even financial possibility and probability than was inherent in her own family group and circle frank was so he was the family to her father mother wife sister brothers children and all he was never in the appeared always to the conspicuous position and yet where he was there was the position no one else in all this group counted in her her family was catholic and went to mass on sundays in the family a handsome but the catholic religion was a curious and thing to her she had learned a great deal at home and at her school about the theory and forms of its but she could not understand them who gave st peter the power to forgive sins she asked her father when she was a little girl of ten and he had answered promptly christ the thou art peter he quoted for he was fairly well up on church and accepted it literally and upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it and i will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be in heaven this was a most significant point with apt to be assailed by non and he knew the exact for he had read it often and heard it pronounced from the pulpit what is the rock she asked not connecting the with the spiritual significance of his name peter is the church is built on him there now be off with you mr butler was busy thinking of something else at the time she had gone away but it was with a vague idea of a tomb	43
or grave in which peter was lying and over which was built a material church not unlike their own st s it had never become any clearer to speak of for as she grew older she paid less and less attention to it st s and the school at where she was educated were peculiar institutions to her she had been taken to the church year in and year out she was twelve and then she had been packed off to the quiet retreat of the sisters of the holy childhood at st s and there she stayed visits to her home until she was seventeen the church with its tall dimly radiant windows its high white altar its figures of st joseph on one side and st mary on the other clothed in golden robes of blue and wearing or carrying had impressed her greatly the church as a whole any catholic church was to look at soothing the altar during high mass lit with a half candles or more and the divined and made impressive by the rich of he is and ihe a the impressive and o of the cope s and took her and held her eye let us say there l rays lurking in her a sense of grandeur r a ve and a love of love from the she was s she had no desire for accuracy ho e so d rarely do no desire for innate rarely has it i asks in m in c dwells in a sense of the impressive and he gorgeous and re ts there activity is n except in the case of natures when it itself as a desire to seize r su can be so manifested in the most active dispositions and apparently only in such there is need of guarding such statements in their application to it would hardly do to speak of her nature as being definitely at this time it was too any harvest is of long gathering the c dim on friday and saturday nights when the church as lighted but by few lamps and the priest s and forgiveness through narrow moved her as something pleasing she was not afraid of her sins so definitely set forth did frighten her really it had not laid hold oa her conscience the old women and men into church bowed in prayer murmuring over their beads were objects of curious interest like the wood can in the peculiar array of wood the stations of the cross she herself liked to confess when she was fourteen and fifteen and to listen to the priest s voice as he her ith my dear child a particularly old priest a french father who came to hear their at st s interested her as being kind and sweet he was old and bent with a narrow sallow face and kindly eyes t icy were sad and she felt sorry the for him a little because he was old and the sunshine of life could mean little to him his forgiveness and blessing seemed sincere better than her prayers which she went through and then there was a young priest at st s father david hale and rosy with a curl of black hair over his forehead and an almost way of wearing his hat who came down the aisle holy water with a definite distinguished sweep of the hand while the held back the sleeves of his it would not be fair to say that it was more than the idle wandering moods of a girl with which this particular priest had nothing to do he was quite of her she did not always think of him as an figure there were moments when she looked upon him as she looked upon herself as some one who must be young eager full of life and she was not willing to accept that he had been set apart and to think that he could never marry she looked at him at times quite but he was religious and to his vows at st s she was rather a difficult person to deal with she was as the good sisters of the school readily perceived too full of life too active to be easily controlled that miss butler observed sister the mother superior to sister s immediate is a very spirited girl you may have a great deal of trouble with her unless you use a good deal of tact you may have to her with little gifts you will get on better so sister sought to find what was most interested in and bribe her being intensely conscious of her father s and vain of her personal superiority it was not so easy to do she wanted to go home occasionally though she wanted to be allowed to wear the sister s of large beads with its cross of and its silver christ and this was held up as a great privilege for keeping quiet in class walking softly and speaking the softly as much as it was in her to do for not stealing other girls rooms after lights were out and for on this and that sympathetic sister these and others such as walking out in the rounds on saturday being allowed to have all the flowers she wanted some extra dresses jewels etc were offered she liked music and the idea of painting though she could not paint and books novels interested her but she could not get them the sewing and general them well there was something in that she liked the rather exaggerated they taught her and she often reflected on how she would use them when she reached home she came out into life the little social distinctions which have been indicated began to impress themselves on her and she wished sincerely that her father would build a better home	43
a mansion such as those she could see elsewhere and her properly in society failing in that she could think of nothing save clothes jewels riding horses carriages and the appropriate of which were allowed her for these her family could not entertain in any distinguished way where they were and so already at nineteen she was beginning to feel the sting of a ambition she was eager for life how was she to get it her room was a study in the of an eager and ambitious mind it was full of clothes beautiful things for all occasions which she had small opportunity to wear her shoes stockings rings and pins were she had a dozen in a crude way she had made a study of and though she needed the latter not at all and these were present in abundance she was not very orderly rather the other way about and she loved of display and so her curtains table ornaments and pictures inclined to which did not go the well with the rest of the house one might have said was giving early evidences of a but time and opportunity might have corrected many things this approaching occasion of the ball had something better than she had known and it gave her a sense of possible with girls of equal or better station whom she had never seen she was conscious there would be a of strange young men there of the class she had in a way been dreaming of young men of sufficient refinement and force and station to suit her ideas of a matrimonial possibility but since she had been meditating these things had appeared as something more definite in her mind than he had been before and to save herself she could not get him out of her consciousness the things that he said and did interested her the fact that his wife was older and not so good looking was a point well taken his commercial connections with her father his handsome bank building which she had noticed in third street his new house executed with so much taste by mr stayed with her as impressive facts she could recall and did often without his peculiarities of manner a certain of eye a certain of step a lightness of curl to his hair and he was growing a it became him a fine dark he was always so definite he said exactly what he meant and his soft low even voice had a sting in it she could tell where he was in the room without looking for him or hearing him to night when she was dressing in her a vision of him had come to her she had dressed in a way for she was never forgetful of the times he had looked at her in an interested way the times he had said directly and that she looked or beautiful he had commented on her hands once to when she had worn her rather subdued street the fi j j ti u r t i ji br to repress him hj v h she was i li he a vi r r i ii z he v s going to ih t what any she had tt i i r r t as never r l t e i r re iy and pondered f i p of the selection z v z ill z c for there was u ir i r r ir f i and in the selection r a she was oddly tr r i r r in her v an ur e c and one in h r d r she re the latter looking a r oc re arms and her figure thinking z re c her legs r iti i r er left had a and that aj d i with heart r i ver she had discovered them in one stores and purchased them the v r t no be made tight enough at first and th r y i i her maid it was at this i h v ai how to her hair and there was y j about that before it was finally adjusted ii rf h it mirror she her eyebrows and plucked ix i ir hair a her forehead to make it loose and y sh cut the black court plaster with her nail ar and different sized pieces in places found one size and one place that suited her mj her head from side to side looking at the com i i d a of her hair her brows her the shoulder and the black beauty spot she stood up straight in all her proud beauty and admired herself if some one man could see her as she was now some time which man that thought back uke a frightened rat into its hole she was for all her strength afraid of the thought of the one the very deadly the man and then she came to the matter of a train gown laid out five for had come into the joy and honor of these things recently and she had with the permission of her mother and father indulged herself to the full she studied a golden yellow silk with shoulder and some of beads in the train that delightfully but set it aside she took and considered a black striped silk of odd gray effect and though she was sorely tempted to wear it finally let it go there was a dress with and over white silk a rich cream colored satin and then this black gown which she finally chose she tried on the cream colored satin first however being in much doubt about it but her eyes and beauty	43
spot did not seem to endure it very well then she put on the black silk with its glistening silver and lo it touched her she its of and silver about the the in all its varying forms was at that time just coming into fashion and was avoided by the more but had adopted it at once with enthusiasm she thrilled a at the rustle of this black dress and thrust her chin and nose forward to make it set right and had it after it was to have her the more and then when she was again she gathered the train over her arm by its train band and looked again something was wanting oh yes her neck what to wear red coral it did not look right a string of pearls she had a beautiful it would not do there was a made of small set in silver the which her mother had purchased and another of diamonds which belonged to her mother but they were not t finally her jet which she did not value very highly came into her mind and oh how it looked how soft and smooth and glistening her chin looked above it she her neck affectionately called for her black lace her long black silk lined with red and she was h aren t ou ever coming had sounded a dozen times on the stairs it was s but and affectionate voice that was her father aren t soon now that was the affectionate of her dear darling mother who wanted to get her off in reasonable time yes tm coming now she finally declared and she swept out the ball room as she entered was lovely enough the young men and women she saw there were interesting and being so much of a gorgeous picture she was not want ing for admirers youths ed of her brothers or of those who had been introduced and she was permitted to nod to many girls of her age and women older than herself to whom she was led by charmed brothers and somewhat too eager sons the most and liberal of these the most in their opinions recognized in this maiden a to life a sting to existence she was rather as a honey jar by too flies oh are all your dances gone no then you won t mind me one they showed even teeth and smiling eyes it had not been known that edward butler s daughter was so charming and he was rich and powerful too but it occurred to her as her dance list was filling up that there was not much left for say mr it the he should care to with her at all he had not come near her as yet she had not seen him since she left the reception room he was probably there and he might not want to dance at all have you a spare dance left it was a shining in linen mr arthur rivers no less who was asking i m sorry her head was up her eyes level they are all gone it was a lie there were three left and he was so nice too with instinctive it occurred to her that she could claim confusion and misunderstanding as to numbers if it came to if it came to the necessity of making a place for any one at any time where was he anyhow won t you take me to see the flowers she asked of a lad who was near her i haven t seen them yet why certainly i m charmed and oflf they was meditating as he received the last of the guests how subtle this matter of sex arrangement in life really was he was not at all sure that there was any law governing the matter by comparison now with butler his wife looked rather dull quite too old and when he was ten years older she would look very much older oh yes has made quite an attractive arrangement out of these two houses better than we ever thought he could do he was talking to henry hale a young banker of considerable promise who had strolled up he had the advantage of two into one and i think he s done more with my httle one considering the of space than he has with this big one father s has the advantage of size i tell the old gentleman he s simply built a for me the he smiled as he thought of his father s good nature in so far as he was concerned i like the way he and connected these rooms george i do clever chap that is he here he s somewhere here i think do you know him surely then vou ll meet him but this matter of building up it forced but persistently upon as the flattering crowd filed past there was a curious circumstance about it prejudice had so much to do with it prejudice life so far as he could make out was woven of mistaken ideas religion certainly was one how plain it was that people with religious notions were not necessarily in accord with high religious ideas and commercial honor write in its place commercial necessity and you had the and of its fabric men defended their children the honor of them but the children cared nothing for the as a rule had to be constrained in order that they might observe them he himself was a very excellent example he had two children it would be quite the same with them and then take all of those who might have been but couldn t yes yes indeed it s lovely we re very pleased i m certainly glad to see you here yes there were thousands who never had any chance at all on change it was live and let	43
live only up to the point where self interest began then and in the and commercial world god what a struggle the fights the cries of the sinking strength was the thing a strong man could do anything if he could scheme it out well enough but one had to plan very there was much danger so much rank accident and then w the was it said the best laid schemes o an gang aft a surely surely h i say rivers have you seen de he to see you i m going in now quite a crowd and mrs had gone somewhere long his father and a number of his old were ver in the dining room of his house glad to get away the crowd he would have to stay and besides he wanted to had he better dance with mrs z would dance once probably anyhow she little for it and to be sure he would lave to dance with there was mrs at him and george how wonderful what sl girl she was smiling at him now i suppose your dance list is full to overflowing let ne see he was standing before her and she was out the little blue bordered gold an of instruments was playing i in the music room the dance would begin there was of delicately constructed tinted chairs about the walls and behind the a ms he looked down into her eyes those excited eager eyes you re quite full up let me see nine ten eleven well that will be well enough i don t suppose i shall want to dance very much it s nice to be popular i m not so sure about number three i think that s a mistake you might have that if you wish she was her arms were beautiful that little beauty spot and the he could see it it doesn t matter so much about him does it his cheeks flushed a little no her own the see t n ir b s ca ed you r l jf z r r e ii ic ber at mrs il i v i v ic t ber s ir i i i vii breathe some i chapter xxi rs had passed the time of v tire in dancing it never had been more than a that left over suggestion of ancient emotion she had always been too nd in her feelings her movements in it not particularly graceful and since the two children ad come she was less inclined than ever to as she would ave it waste her time in that mrs although she had yielded to the strong attraction of at twenty one it could ot be called fiery might well be de as a natural of public morals many men have this what might be called of the cold purity of the snow drift in so far as he world may see combined with at times the lame of the wanton they are ashamed of their however ashamed of the passions that at times weep in and them had been of this subtle in his wife s temperament t had irritated him as it would almost always my strong direct seeing temperament gifted a scientific and at the same time a philosophic point of view he objected to seeing life being ed at its not that he wished her to let the hole world know what she thought he had no keen to let the world in on his own private reflections quite the contrary but this was a matter the most between him and her in love where the reaches of emotion and revelation prevail why there be concealment or if not quite that at the least mental of a fact which physically she to why do one thing and think another the will call ood s attitude evil the cowardly life lover hiding behind the of like a shut in its shell will say that he was too too frank merely noticed the fact of his wife s attitude as a sign of mental weakness of a spirit too frail to front the truths of life when he was younger when he had first married her there had been a kind of charm in her and her un or inability to see life as it but now that he was growing into deeper and s it seemed anything but worth while to face hard brutal facts had made him at times long for a wife who would face them with him why was it that so often he could not tell her the things that he thought that he felt he could tell for instance he y not afraid to do so yet he did not not so much for his sake as for hers he hated to that shell of f with which she clothed the world she covered it over as it were with a soft tinted seeming wo of her own ideas solely like an its hard a home but the necessity of dancing at least two or three this evening was quite obvious and led the which was the opening feature with her husband later she danced once with arthur rivers who was an old family acquaintance by now and once with a younger friend of s asked her to dance but she felt tired and a little bored and asked to be excused while she and were dancing he noticed the languid in whidi she laid her arm on his you don t care for this much do you he observed not at all i never did i m a little tired to he had observed how she had her music of it the years really given it up and how she strolled about a rule in a meditative	43
dream he felt no such to life as a matter of fact it was just beginning take on real significance to him because of his and his success therein he was just to feel that sense of freedom which the of ample capital some natures the ones attain this sense of freedom with the sion of a very little money it depends on their of life those with larger and per require a great deal your money genius no sense of wealth as it is ordinarily understood s total perception is of power the more world wide better was in his way a money genius he did not recognize his own possibilities s thought was that he might get to be worth a million that when he did he would retire curiously was the age at which he fancied he might be worth it sum if nothing happened he was rapid the other day in an idle mood he had and he balanced the former at e thousand dollars and the latter at three thousand dollars which left him two hundred dollars clear almost at a forced sale if he time to slowly which as a shrewd business in he never expected to have he would come out much and this next year this next year surely it him one thousand dollars more ith each additional dollar stored up he had greater larger ability to take advantage of opportunities when he was thirty five yes in years from now he might well be worth a million and jn he could buy a and build himself a large and travel and see the world the world the it called to frank back that solid brain which stood like a at the of his fortune was a vague the cloudy realm of beauty as as a summer landscape as as a tinted sea he often thought when he was through fighting what would he do where would he live with whom would he dwell mrs he was not so very sure of that the world was very wide and very and very beautiful he would wait and see he would work and see while he was dancing first with mrs c ow per wo od and later with mrs and still later with mrs he had occasion to look at often and each time that he did so there swept over h a sense of great vigor there a content of raw which came upon him with great force she was beautiful this girl in spite of his wife s repeated comments and he felt also that she was nearer to clear attitude than any one whom he had yet seen in the form of woman le was in a way that was plain and yet in another way it would take so little to make her so much was the sense he had of cot physically though she was nearly as tall as himself but she seemed so alive now as i he watched her whirling about running backward at times as her partner ran forward after her the dean strength of a blooded horse was all that he could think of her arms were so beautiful through endless motions and her neck how the movements of her head set it off she passed dose to him a number of times her eyes wide and smiling her lips parted her teeth and he felt a stirring of sympathy and companionship for her which he had not previously she was all of her delightful i m wondering if that dance is open now he said to her as he drew near toward the beginning of the third set she was seated with her last admirer in a far oo of the general room a dear floor now wax to perfection a few palms here and there the of i hope you ll excuse me added in a way to her companion surely the latter a blood replied rising yes indeed she and you d better stay with me it s going to begin soon you won t mind die added to her companion giving him a radiant smile not at all i ve had a lovely he strolled oflf sat down that s yoimg isn t it thought so i saw you dancing you like it don t i m crazy about it well i can t say that myself it s fascinating though your partner makes such a difference mrs doesn t care as much as i do his mention of mrs made her think of in a faintly way for the moment she lid not exactly like her and yet she called here and had it the other house because it had always somehow seemed a worth while thing to do mrs lad always been nice to her largely because of s with her father and frank had been especially genial she had been able to talk a good deal f herself and her and had always listened and placidly now though well i think you dance very well i watched you too oh did you yes he was a little up because of her slightly cloudy in his thoughts because she was a problem in his life or would if he would let her and so his talk was a little tame he was thinking of something to say some word which would bring them a uttle nearer together but for the moment he could not think of it truth to tell he wanted to say a great deal well that was nice of you he added after a moment what made you do it the he turned th a mock air of inquiry the music was sounding the dancers were rising he arose he had not intended to give this particular remark a serious but now that she was so near him he looked into	43
her eyes steadily but with a soft appeal and said yes why they had come out from behind the palms he had put his hand to her waist his right arm held her left extended arm to arm to her right hand was on his shoulder and she was close to him looking into his eyes as they began the gay of the she looked away and then down without answering she put a strange force into her movements which were as light and airy as those of a butterfly he felt a sudden lightness himself communicated as by an invisible current he wanted to match the of her body with his and did her arms the flash and of the crimson against the smooth black silk of her closely fitting dress her neck her glowing radiant hair all combined to provoke a intellectual she was so vigorously young so to him truly beautiful but you didn t answer he continued isn t that music she said he pressed her fingers she lifted shy eyes to him for in spite of her gay force she was a little afraid of him his personality was obviously so superior now that he was so close to her dancing she conceived of him as something quite wonderful and yet she experienced a nervous reaction a momentary desire to run away very well if you won t tell me he smiled he thought she wanted him to talk to her so to her with suggestions of this concealed feeling of his this strong liking he wondered if he love her if he wanted to there was his wife his two children what could come of any such an understanding as this anyhow the oh i just wanted to see how you danced she said the force of her original feeling having been weakened by a thought of what she was doing he the change and smiled it gave him pause for the but a few seconds later the same exalted mood lad returned it was a lovely thing to be dancing with he had not thought mere dancing could hold such harm you like me he said suddenly as the music drew x its close she thrilled from head to toe at the phrase a piece f ice dropped down her back could not have startled her it was apparently and yet it was anything but it was well within the range of his understanding she looked up quickly directly y it his strong eyes were too much why yes she answered as the music stopped to keep an even tone to her voice she was shaken as by a strong blow she was glad they were toward a chair i like you so much he said his cruel that i wondered if you really did hke me there as an appeal in his voice soft and gentle his manner as almost sad why yes she replied instantly returning to her earlier mood toward him you know i do i need some one like you to like me he continued in the same vein i need some one like you to talk to oh you dance beautifully you are beautiful wonderful we mustn t she said i mustn t i don t know i m doing she looked at a young man strolling toward her i lave to explain to him he s the one i had this with strolled away it was quite clear to him hat he had just done a very treacherous thing under he current law of life he had no right to do it it was the against the rules as they were understood by everybody however much breaking of the rules under the surface of things there might be the rules were still there as he had heard one man remark once at school when s ine had been told of a boy leading a girl astray and to a disastrous end that isn t the way at all still now that he had said this strong thoughts of her wore in his mind it is curious how we grow on what we eat we seem at times to work the that the flames of desires we feed the fire that ultimately us and how deliberately and our conscience as some one has said may ik as the shell is of the sea of morality but it nothing there appears to exist an age old fight spirit and the flesh god and the devil and heat and cold wealth and poverty strength and weakness and so on a struggle without of or failure on either hand from everlasting to everlasting may as well have been s of evil as of good or there is no evil nor any good as we understand them s thoughts were interrupted the least moment by her apologies for ha ing her partner and given the dance to some one else as she had planned to so she did she returned to her chair weary for the time being of other attentions for this sudden definite suggestion of s gave her much to think of she with her fan as a black haired thin faced law student talked to her one of the of the better families and seeing in the distance through the separating this from the music room she asked to be allowed to run and talk to her mrs interrupted her flight but upon the fair plump body and face she saw xxi he had set a strange in her veins was this did she love him why was it that his looking gray eyes fascinated her his shoulders the were so wide so level he held himself so erect and there was something about his walk the definite and poised way in which he walked that caught her fancy he was so good looking so dean his clear tinted skin such an	43
of health and vitality oh called ive been looking for you everywhere where have you been dancing of course where do you suppose i ve been didn t you see me on the floor no i didn t complained as though it were most essential that she should how late are you going to stay to night until it s over i suppose i don t know he s going at twelve well that doesn t matter some one will take me home are you having a good time fine oh let me tell you i stepped on a lady s dress over there last dance she was terribly angry she gave me such a look well never mind honey she won t hurt you where are you going now always maintained a most affectionate attitude toward her sister i want to find he has to dance with me next time i know what he s trying to do he s trying to get away from me but he won t smiled looked very sweet and she was so bright what would she think of her if she knew she turned back and her fourth partner sought her she began talking gaily for she felt that she had to make a show of composure but all the while there was ringing in her ears that definite question of you like me don t you and her later uncertain but not less truthful answer yes of course i do chapter xxii the of a passion is a very peculiar thing in t ie hi y intellectual and artistic types it is so of on ap to with keen appreciation of certain modified by many many mental the the intellectual gives but little of himself and asks much nevertheless the lover of life male or female finding himself or herself in sympathetic such a nature is apt to gain much was and your and intellectual though blended strongly was a humane and spirit we think of and as confined to the arts is an art and it presents the operations of the of the and of the your true prince is a as well as a it were not possible otherwise to live in the memory of the world was a instead of dwelling on the works of nature its beauty and to his material disadvantage he found a happy mean owing to the swiftness of his intellectual operations whereby he could and rejoice in the beauty of life without interfering with his perpetual material and financial calculations and when it came to women and morals which involved so much which related to beauty ji a sense of distinction and variety in living he was just now beginning to think clearly that there was no basis outside of and theory for the one hfe idea how had it come about that so many on this single point that it was good and iu s ir to marry one woman and to her until the death he did not know it was not for him to bother about the of which even then was being abroad or to out the of history in connection with this matter he had no time suffice it that the of temperament and conditions with which he came into immediate contact proved to him that there was great dissatisfaction and over and imder surface in connection with the rule people did not to each other death and in thousands of cases where they did they did not want to quickness of mind of idea of opportunity made it possible for some people to right their matrimonial and social whereas for others because of of wit thickness of comprehension poverty and lack of charm there was no escape from the of their they were compelled by some devilish accident of birth to in their own of wretchedness or to oflf this mortal which other circumstances had such the rope the knife the bullet or the cup of poison i would die too he thought to himself one day reading of a man who confined by disease and poverty had lived for twelve years alone in a back bedroom attended by an old and probably housekeeper a needle forced into his heart had ended his earthly woes to the devil with such a e why twelve years why not at the end of the second or third and if this smiling fate which now turned to him such a radiant face and seemed to be bending over him with outstretched and protecting wings should turn away and reveal only hate or indifference he would quit also he would not want to live like that he did not know however how much he really did love life again it was so very evident in so many ways that force was the answer great mental and physical force why these giants of commerce and money could do as they pleased in this life the little of so called o the law and morality the newspapers the the police and the public generally so loud in their of evil in humble places were all when it came to corruption in high ones they did not dare to utter even a feeble until some giant had accidentally fallen and they could do so without danger to themselves then o heavens what a what of tom run now good people for you may see clearly how evil is dealt with in high places it made him smile such such cant still so the world was organized and it was not for him to set it right let it wag as it would the thing for him to do was to get rich and hold his own to build up a seeming of virtue and dignity which would pass muster for the genuine thing force would do that quickness of wit and he had these let the world wag i satisfy myself	43
was his motto and it might well have been upon any coat of arms which he could have contrived to set forth his claim to intellectual and social but this matter of which had come to a definite point was up for consideration and solution at this ent moment and because of his determined character he was not at all disturbed by the problem it presented it was a problem like some of those financial which presented themselves daily but it was not what did he want to do he couldn t leave his wife and fly with that was certain he had too many connections he had too many subtle things to bind him besides he was not at all sure that he wanted to he did not intend to leave his growing interests and at the same time he did not intend to give up immediately the of interest on her part was too attractive mrs was no longer what she should be and mentally in so far as he was concerned to be sure was devoted to him in her quiet way not passionately the as he looked back he could not say that she had ever t een that bat duty as she understood it played a great part in this she was dutiful and then what people thought what the time spirit demanded these were the great things on the contrary is probably not dutiful and it was obvious that she had ao connection with current mo doubt she had been as well instructed as many another but look at her she was not obeying her she was with him and she was as a bit of as the of nature had ver produced he had never seen a more striking looking than she was this night he had never seen any one beautiful and she was so full of that passionate to live why here was a piece of fire and she vas drawing to him out of e there were a few more words between them during mother dance this evening but he was afraid to say too she was excited and then people might be because of her and the astonishing force t lent to her charms she was the of many yes and not ones she had made herself little too conspicuous one remark though did make which added much to all that had gone it was when they were passing near his wife seated in a comer with mrs i m not so sure would like our talking if she blew i m very sure she wouldn t she lifted her eyes and they glided gracefully out of reach of a of figures so she was thinking of that too the difficulty of was not out of her mind he admired her for her direct of her moods what would your father think he was suffering from a brief feverish choking of the throat the been thinking of that he felt a ke n desire to kiss her something that had not itself so definitely before and she would let him that he knew after perhaps a deadly nervous strain which might be slightly tm a little dizzy to night he said you re like a dose of poison in my veins poison love poison the music stopped and after a while he saw her out her black silk wrapped loosely about her l was her good night mrs she said to his wife had such a delightful time and mr wood new homes are beautiful she extended her hand he pressed the warm smooth fingers gently i hope you enjoyed yourself i did i surely did she s away followed by and followed her ith his eyes a beautiful he thought and absolutely i responsible self willed and wonderful in the next three months this relationship took on a more form knowing full well what her parents would think how unspeakable in the mind of the current world were the thoughts she was thinking persisted nevertheless in so thinking and longing now that she had gone thus far and herself in intention if not in deed took on a jt charm for her it was not his body great i is never that exactly the flavor of his spirit was what attracted and compelled like the glow of a flame to a there was a light of romance in his eye which however was so go and controlled that he seemed all powerful her father was a wonderful man the to her with his rugged frame and face but this youth so much smaller comparatively speaking was even more so when he touched her hand at parting it was as though she had received an electric shock and she recalled that it was very difficult for her to look him straight in the eye something akin to a destructive force seemed to issue from them at times other people men particularly found it difficult to look into s glazed stare persistently it was as though there were another pair of eyes behind watching through thin impenetrable curtains you could not tell what they were like what he was thinking it could not be said that she was going outside of her temperament to do evil and was that temperament evil it is so easy in this world to divide the sheep and the in a superficial way the of the is that we can all do right if we want to the answer is that the spirit of man is clothed over with a envelope which has moods and of its own the spirit of man may as the have it be a reflection of a perfect unity which the universe or it may not it depends on how one the governing spirit of the universe but of the into which this spirit is bom who shall say there are time moods and nation moods and	43
climate moods and they bring forth great clouds of individuals curiously minded our particular national temperament appears to be at least in so far as outwardly to a fixed social code is concerned underneath what are we you might as well have said to a be a or we will destroy you as to have said to butler be a calm placid virtuous girl or society will cast you out butler might well have answered if she could have reasoned so far how can i even in the face of the threatening force of society it would have been difficult for her at any time there were strange moods stirring in her the and strange she was seeking some wondrous peculiar individual destiny just as a is unquestionably seeking to perfect a red blossom root it out precisely society does precisely that when it finds something that does not agree with its current mood the morality of the universe has its representatives and they are actually fighting the representatives of what they conceive to be the so would fare badly if she were discovered even in her secret but she was not discovered as yet and these three months she was coming closer and closer to for being at his house one evening seated at the piano and no one being present at the moment he leaned over and kissed her she was the least bit pensive at the time as the temperament is apt to be there was a cold snowy street visible through the of the of the windows and gas lamps flickering outside she had not her way to her own home yet for dinner because was next door at the henry home talking with had become s pet had come in early he was in his wife s for a uttle while and then hearing he came to where she was seated at the piano her attractive body was set off by a rough gray wool doth suggestive of her temperament it was with a fringed oriental in inch deep blue and burnt orange and her beauty was by a gray hat planned to match her dress with a of shaded orange and blue on her fingers were four or five rings far too many an an a and a diamond flashing visibly upon her hands as she played he watched her from the fireplace in the living room looking through the great opening into the parlor and then approached she knew who it was without turning he came be side her and she looked up smiling not interrupting the reverie she was attempting to recall from suddenly he bent over and pressed his firmly to hers his thrilled her with its touch she stopped playing and tried to catch her breath for strong as she was it affected her breathing her heart was beating like a trip hammer she did not say oh or you mustn t but rose and walked over near a window less visible than the piano from the living room and lifted the curtain pretending to look out she felt as though she might faint so intensely happy was she followed her quickly slipping his arms about her waist he pulled her head back looking at her flushed cheeks her dear moist eyes her red mouth you love me he whispered rather grim with desire yes yes you know i do he crushed her face to his and she put up her hands and his hair a terrible feeling of possession mr happiness and understanding love of her and of her body suddenly overwhelmed him i love you he said as though he were surprised to hear himself say it i didn t think i did but i do you re beautiful i m wild about you now and i love you she answered i can t help it i know i shouldn t but oh her hands closed tight over his ears and temples she put her lips to his and dreamed into his eyes then she stepped away quickly looking out into the street and he walked back into the sitting room no one had come they were quite alone he was whether he should risk anything further when appeared and not long afterward mrs and left n chapter this definite and final understanding having been reached it was but that this should proceed to a closer and closer relationship it is useless to on the horror of it as those minded do there is or has been in this world concerning the need of following the inward light or leading which all are supposed to possess that there may be upon the mass a social conscience which has nothing to do with the normal bent or nature of the individual to few a christian ideal had been poured out upon the world like a sea of air and those who live in it who are many draw their convictions as their breath from that it is not necessarily native to them something underneath the flesh for instance and n pleasure wars against it but it is almost a part of their blood so long has the world moved in it still the native of man will not down any more than his perhaps the two go hand in hand before christianity was man and after it he will also be a will always tell him that it is better to preserve a balance and the storms of circumstance will teach him a noble beyond this there is nothing whidi can reasonably be imposed upon the conscience of man despite her religious training was decidedly a of her temperament religious feeling and belief could not control her during all these years for at least nine or ten there had been slowly forming in her mind a notion of what her lover should be like he should be strong handsome direct successful with dear	43
eyes a the glow of health and a certain native understanding id sympathy a love of life which matched her own any young men had approached her perhaps the of her ideal was father david of st s and he was of course a priest and sworn to no word had ever passed between them then me frank and by degrees because of his and contact he had been slowly built up in her ind as the ideal person from the time she had first n him as he stood talking to her father on their own the time she dashed past him in red cape and od until now there had been a strong pull from him to r she was drawn as some are drawn by the n moral speculations really had nothing to do with they were of no service one way or the other her training was of no value this emotion rose quick like a swelling tide and drowned thoughts of family and everything else the passions are never with rules of life anyhow beauty of dress of appearance some one to love her some man this man the man to tell her that she was sweet d lovely and beautiful to her as is now beginning to do that was what she wanted ter she had left him this night going home with b would have given anything to have been able to run ck in any way and fling herself in his arms e wanted to be held on his lap to feel his arms around r his cheek against hers his lips against her lips oh e bliss of that if she could only be with him now after he had told her that he loved her so the blood ner heart in her brain there was a murmurs in her ears her eyes swam with visions le guiding light within was quite if it er had any force it was quite non at this mo nt love love that was the greatest thing in world and frank was the loveliest st wonderful most beautiful man that ever was the i is a s c b tc happened if f s s just at this time io is s i i character can of course re the of the le or changed to a certain mt be quite sufficient fear is a fear of material loss where there is n b wealth and position so often tend t t ns r ii is so easy to scheme with means had dread had no ns better no religious thou t whatsoever meant nothing to him he looked at this girl and his me th was how could he so deceive the that he enjoy her love and leave his present state red love her he did surely he called at butler s on business on several occasions and on each occasion he saw she managed to slip and squeeze his hand the first time he came to steal a quick vivid kiss and another time as he was going out she suddenly appeared from behind the curtains at the parlor door the voice was soft and he turned giving her a warning nod in the direction of her father s room up stairs she stood there holding out one hand and he stepped forward for a second instantly her arms were about his neck as he slipped his about her waist i long to see you so i too i ll fix some way i m thinking he released her arms and went out and she slipped to the window and looked out after him he was west on the street for his house was only a few blocks away and she looked at the shape of his body the breadth of his shoulders the balance of his form he stepped so so ah that was a man that was her the she thought of him in that light and w he was gone if she could only be with him she t down at the piano and played until dinner en went to her room and read she had foimd a book which fascinated her it was so easy for the mind of frank to suggest ways and means in his about places of ill and his occasional variations from the straight and narrow th he had learned much of the curious resources of morality being a city of five hundred thousand and re at this time philadelphia had its hotels one might go cautiously and fairly protected from and there were houses of a character where might be made a consideration once the scruples of innocence were it was easy enough to make those for hours of happiness which were so desirable id as for against the production of new they were not mysteries to any longer knew all about them care was the point caution had to be cautious for he was so rapidly coming to an influential and a distinguished man but course was not conscious except in a vague way of e drift of her passion the ultimate destiny to which is affection might lead was not clear to her her was for love to be and and s really did not think so much further further along this line were like rats that showed their out of dark holes in shadowy comers and k at the least sound they did not ever come out to the clear light of day and anyhow all that was be connected with would be beautiful was so nice so definitely interested in her she really not think that he loved her yet as he should but he mid mrs had strong claims on him did not know that she wanted to interfere with those the she did not she	43
she loved him truly enough the two horses were in a thicket a score of yards away and from the of the the stream which they had approached she was trying to make out if she could see them it was there was no interest in her glance she was thinking of him and the of his habit and the exquisite condition of his mount he had such a charming pony the leaves were just far enough out to make a lace work of green it was like looking through a soft curtain of pale lace to look into the beyond or behind the gray stones were already faintly where the water and sparkled and birds were calling and and baby mine he said do you understand all about it do you know exactly what youve doing when you with me this way i think i do she struck her boot and looked at the and then lip through the trees at the blue sky look at me honey i don t want to but look at me sweet i want to ask you something don t make me frank please i can t oh yes you can look at me no she backed away as he took her hands but came forward again easily enough now look in my eyes i can t see here i can t don t ask me i ll answer you but don t me look at you his hand stole to her cheek and it he tier shoulder and she leaned her head against him sweet you re so beautiful he said finally i can t give you up i know what i ought to do you too i suppose but i can t i must have you if any the exposure should come of this for you or for tne it would be quite bad for you do you understand yes i don t know your brothers very well but from looking at them i judge they re pretty determined people they think a great deal of you indeed they do her vanity brightened slightly at this they would probably want to kill me and for just this much what do you think they would want to do if well if anything should happen some time he waited watching her pretty face but nothing need happen we needn t go any further i won t look at you you needn t ask i can t do you mean that i don t know don t ask me frank you know it can t stop this way don t you you know it this isn t the end now if he explained the whole theory of meetings calmly you are perfectly safe except for one thing chance exposure it might just so happen and then of course there would be a great deal to settle for mrs would never give me a divorce she has no reason to if i should clear in the way i hope to if i should make a million i would not mind knocking now i don t expect to work all my days i have always planned to knock off at thirty five i ll have enough by that time then i want to travel it will only be a few more years now if you were free if your and mother were dead curiously she did not at this practical reference it would be a different matter we could leave anyhow i suppose he paused she still gazed thoughtfully at the water below her mind running out to a on the sea with the him a palace somewhere just they two her eyes half closed saw this happy world and her ears listening were fascinated hanged if i see the way out cf this exactly but i love you he caught her to him i love you love you oh yes she i want you to i m not afraid ive taken a house in north tenth street he said finally as they walked out to the horses it isn t furnished yet but it will be soon i have a woman who will be in charge who is she an interesting widow of nearly fifty very intelligent she is attractive and knows a good deal of ufe i her through an advertisement you might call on her some afternoon when things are arranged and look the place over you needn t meet her except in a casual way will you she rode on thinking making no reply he was so direct and practical in his calculations will you it will be all right you might know her she isn t objectionable in any way will you let me know when it is ready was all she said finally chapter the of passion what what risk what sacrifices are not laid upon its altar in a little while this more than average residence to which had referred was prepared solely to effect a satisfactory method of concealment had still to be the house was governed by a seemingly recently widow and it was possible for to call n seeming strangely out of place it a little while after this before this was eventually brought about yet it was not more difficult to persuade governed as she was by her wild and affection and passion than it would have been to lead an innocent maiden to the altar in a way there was a sa ing element of love for truly above all others she wanted this man she had no thought or feeling toward any other all her mind ran toward of the future when somehow she and he might be tc alone mrs might die or he might ran away with her at thirty five when he had a million s j ri would be made somehow nature had gi on her this	43
man she relied on him when he told her that he would take care of her so that nothing should befall she believed him she was not exactly bad at heart as one may readily see such sins as these arc the of the it is a curious fact that by some of logic in th j christian v it has come to be believed that there h no love outside of the conventional process of c and marriage one life one love is the i into this channel or it has been the to the whole pagan thought held no such belief a writing of divorce for trivial causes was the theory of the elders and in the world nature apparently held no scheme for the unity of two beyond the temporary care of the young that the modem home is the most beautiful of schemes when based upon mutual sympathy and between two need not be questioned and yet this fact should not necessarily carry with it a condemnation of all love not so fortunate as to find so happy a life cannot be put in any and the attempt might as well be abandoned at once those so fortunate as to find harmonious companionship for life should congratulate themselves and strive to be worthy of it those not so blessed though they be written down as have yet some justification and besides whether we will or no theory or no theory the large facts of and remain like is drawn to like changes in temperament bring changes in relationship may bind some minds fear others but there are always those in whom the and of life are large and in whom neither nor fear is society lifts its hands in horror but from age to age the the the du the the and the flourish and point a basis of relationship than we have yet been able to square with our lives all was arranged the happy event took place much as a marriage might have there was infinite delight and these two felt to each other once he came to understand her fancied that he had found the one person with whom he could live happily the rest of his life she was so young so confident so so all these months since they had first begun to reach out to each other had been her with his wife he had not been vastly dissatisfied before as a the matter of tact his dissatisfaction though it may be said to have beer faintly growing and was surely tending to become real enough in its substance in so far as it had gone was decidedly his children were to him his hon e beautiful mrs now thin was still not all these years he liad found her enough but now as his passion began o grow for his dissatisfaction with his wife began to increase he was not one who was inclined to be and yet on occasion he could be he began to ask questions concerning her those little which are so trivial and yet so and to a woman why didn t she get a hat nearer the shade of her dress didn t she co out more exercise would do her good didn t she do this and why didn t she do that he scarcely noticed that he was doing this but she did and she felt the the real significance and took h why why she retorted one day why do you ask so many questions you don t care so much for me any more that s why i can tell he leaned back startled by the thrust it was not based on any e of anything save his recent remarks but he was not absolutely sure he was just the least bit that he had irritated her and he said so h it s all right she i don t care but i notice that you don t pay as much attention to me s you used to it s your business now first last and all the time you can t get your mind off of that he breathed a sigh of relief she didn t suspect then ver well everything was but after a little time as he grew more and more in sympathy with he was not so disturbed as to whether his wife might suspect or not he began to think on occasion as his mind followed the various the of the situation that it would be better if she did she was really not of the fighting sort he fancied she would make no great resistance to some ultimate she might even divorce him but the rub was not there nearly so much as it was in connection with the butler family his relations with edward butler had become very intimate too much so the latter knew and thought of him only as a very practical business man he advised with him constantly in regard to the handling of his which were numerous mr butler had stocks in such things as the coal company the and canal the and canal the reading railroad and things of that kind some of these stocks were active others as the old gentleman s mind to the significance of the local street railway problem in philadelphia he decided to close out his other at such advantageous terms as he could and the money in local lines he knew that and were doing this and they were excellent judges of the significance of local affairs like he had the idea that if he controlled sufficient of the local situation in this field he could at last effect a joint relationship with and political advantageous to the combined lines could then be so easily secured and necessary to existing could be a this of his stocks in other fields and the picking up of odd lots in	43
the local street railway was the business of butler through his sons and was busy planning a new line and obtaining a sacrificing of course great blocks of stock and actual cash to others in order to obtain sufficient influence to have the necessary passed it was no easy matter seeing that others knew what the general advantages of the situation were for instance seeing the great source of profit here the was not as eager to serve mr butler or any one else as he was to serve himself if he could the scheme which mr george w had brought ard representing actually in the background mr mr mr was a way in this was to loan him money out of the treasury at two per cent or if he would all for nothing an agent for self purposes was absolutely necessary and ith it take over the north company s line on front street which because of the of its length one mile and a half and the ty of the duration of its was neither doing ver well nor being very high in return for his skill was to have a fair proportion of the stock twenty per cent mr and mr knew the parties from whom the bulk of the stock be secured if properly their plan was then with this borrowed treasury money to nd the line extend its and then by issuing a great block of stock and it with a favored bank return the principal to the city treasury and pocket their profits from the line as it earned them there vas no trouble in this in so far as was concerned except that it divided the stock very badly among these various individuals and left him but a comparatively small share a fifth for his thought and pains those who have been drawing preliminary conclusions as to mr s financial honesty are perhaps as ing themselves how he these rather peculiar the answer is that mr was an at this time his financial morality was special and local in its character he did not think it was for any one to steal from anybody where the act of taking or was directly and plainly considered stealing that was there were so many situations wherein what one might do in t e way of taking or was open to and the doubt morality with and traditions here in philadelphia the tradition was mind you not generally that the city might use the money of the city without interest so long as he returned the principal the city treasury and the city were like a honey laden hive and a queen bee which the in the hope of profit the one disagreeable thing in connection with this transaction with was that neither butler nor who were the actual of and knew anything about it and those behind him were through him acting for themselves if the larger powers heard of this it might them butler for instance and was close to him he had to think of this still if he refused to make any advantageous with mr george w or any other man influential in local affairs he was cutting off his nose to spite his face for other and would and gladly and besides it was not at all certain that butler and would ever hear what business was it of his where the money came from why should he concern himself with the traditions of the city whether they were honest or not he knew this scheme of the city was not honest he knew the at large were being and but was he responsible for the had not the people the rank and file always been fools more or less could you do anything but manage their affairs fairly well for them and take a large profit for yourself capital he saw was very it wanted large security and men in any walk of life wise men would never work for nothing they wanted great gains if you wanted to see improvements of any kind made you would have to expect a large over of profits this was so in connection with anything which was being done in philadelphia hence there was another however which he rode on the occasionally the and nineteenth street which he felt was a much more interesting thing for to think about if he could raise the money it had been originally for five hundred thousand but there had been a series of bonds to the of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars additional added for improvements and the company was finding great difficulties in meeting the interest the bulk of the stock was scattered about among small and it would require all of two and fifty thousand dollars to collect it and have himself elected president or of the board of once in however he could vote this stock as he pleased it meanwhile at his father s bank for as much as he could get and issuing more stocks with which to bribe in the matter of extending the line and in taking up other opportunities to either add to it by purchase or it by working the word bribe is used here in this matter of fact american way because was what was in every one s mind in connection with the state a small dark a in dress and manners who represented the financial interest at had told um that nothing could be done at the capital without money or its equivalent each significant if he yielded his vote or his be looked after had met throng van the state at the time of the bond issue and had seen him often since he was frequently in town talking to butler and the financial stars of third street if he had any scheme which he wanted hand at	43
any time had intimated to him that he wc be glad to talk with him he had influence because a those he represented and crack the at tin but it required money had figured this and nineteenth street line the more than once but he had never felt quite sure that he was willing to it his obligations in other directions were so large but the was there and he pondered and pondered s scheme of him money wherewith to the north deal put another idea in his mind although he was constantly watching the of loan issue buying large quantities when the market was falling to protect it and selling heavily though cautiously when he saw it rising he had to have a great deal of free money to permit him to do it he was constantly fearful of some break in the market which would affect the value of all his and result in the calling of his there was no storm in sight he did not see that anything could happen in reason but he did not want to spread himself out too thin if he took one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and went after this and nineteenth street matter it would mean that he was spread out very thin and if anything should happen frank said strolling into his office one afternoon after four o clock when the main rush of the day s work was over the relationship between and had long since reached the frank and george period thinks he has that north deal arranged so that we can take it up if we want to the principal we find is a man by the name of not ike but how s that for a name mr beamed and things had changed considerably for george w since the days when he had been and almost indifferently made city he was such an easy going soul in the hands of others such a comfortable tool to work with that he had been allowed to prosper he was not so self sufficient that he could not take advice from a number of sources and for some in the r j l ur t jl c he er a of sympathy and r fl z tt n ih r were drawn to him at all t ty li fi i ll ss n which went in us e il tr i z i they would not have r l hi i i t i if be had not been made t s r t r i h all the difference in ih r r c bad so much im r r ht r into office and his tr it t tr e h feeling confidence hi he n t x himself if he i i n r i see as had those h i r him re an old nervous shifting c ihe cease i and a feeling of h f re y been restlessness and had fr n a sense c necessity had n its place l feet ere in good s es his chest and fat legs made a to the eye by a u r cf n gray doth and his neck was surrounded by a point white collar and ti silk tie the collar low enough not to his stout r v hich somehow spoke of peace and comfort and his ample chest which spread out a little lo ver in a round and constantly stomach v as ornamented by a y chain and his white had large gold buttons set with of a very notable size he was rosy and decidedly well fed in fa t he was doing ver well indeed family had been moved from the shabby frame house in south ninth street very far south they had formerly occupied to a very comfort i f one three stories in height and three times as hip y on spring garden street his wife had a few a es the wives of other his were the high school a thing he had hardly li ix d for in earlier days he was now the owner of or fifteen pieces of cheap real estate in different the tions of the city which might eventually become very valuable and he was a silent partner in the south philadelphia company and the american beef and pork company two on paper whose principal business was secured from the city to the and who would carry out orders as given and not talk too much or ask questions needless to say messrs and were the leaders in these things needless to say also that george w had but small advice to offer outside of furnishing the original capital he was doing very well though and and and liked him so did after a fashion he was a little sorry for him well that is an odd name said so he has it i never thought that road would pay as it was laid out it s too short it ought to run about three miles farther out into the section yes i think you re right said did say what col ton wants for his shares sixty eight i think the current market rate he doesn t want much does he well george at that rate it will take about he calculated quickly on the basis of the number of shares was holding one hundred and twenty thousand to get him out alone that isn t all there s judge kitchen and joseph and he was referring to the state of that name you ll be paying a pretty fair price for that stuff when you get it it will cost considerable more to extend the line it s too much i think was thinking how easy it would be to combine this line with his dreamed	43
to say to him we know these things are all right it depends on the market if they don t drop off we won t bother let them stand how s business so they would fall into a pleasant social talk and that was the way he did business however by the spring and summer of had actually without being in any conceivable danger from any source spread himself out pretty thin with his growing financial opportunities he had grown very liberal in what might be termed his understanding of living certain young art in philadelphia learning of his artistic inclinations and his growing wealth had followed him up with suggestions as to what might be had in the lines in which they knew he was beginning to take an intelligent interest objects of art and paintings at first the american and later the foreign masters exclusively even yet he did not deem that he was sufficiently wealthy to indulge in these to any notable extent but they were growing on him and he was buying more liberally than he had deemed it possible for him to do several years before pictures at three hundred five a thousand and even two thousand dollars were now nothing extraordinary he was beginning to see if he wished to do exceptional in art the collection of worth while paintings for instance he would have to pay much more than this the real of distinguished art were paying ten twenty and thirty thousand dollars each for rare examples and some even still more there were objects of art furniture which he saw and heard of which were most in their beauty and which because of his growing wisdom in these matters he desired greatly to possess his own and his father s had not been furnished fully in these matters and there was that other house in north tenth street which for reasons which many might desire to be nameless he desired to make ex so the beautiful had always objected to the condition of her father s house as their intimacy increased it was so easy to see what had been troubling her most in her life love of distinguished surroundings was a longing with her though she could never have interpreted her into perfect facts she had not the but this place where they were secretly meeting must be beautiful and she was no for that than was he it became a second treasure more distinguished on the interior than some rooms of his own home he began to gather here some rare examples of altar and of the middle ages he bought after the theory which is a combination of and modified by the italian and the french louis he needed handsome examples of greek forms and he learned of lovely of and if one wanted to go to the expense which could be displayed in handsome cases or upon as a matter of fact as his money began to come in and he had to love him and secretly approve of his conduct he felt that he was just beginning to her beauty as is always the case with passions of this character grew upon him and he presents of silver and gold and jewels which were secretly kept here and here secretly worn for him the hours when they could be together were not numerous but she used music lessons visits to the art gallery riding visits to friends and so forth as excuses all of which passed muster for a period of nearly three years but in other ways in his own family life and that of his father he was easier more by degrees and because of his own confidence he induced his father to enter upon his street car speculations to use the resources of the third national to carry a part of his and to capital at such times as quick resources were necessary in the beginning the old gentle the man was a little bit nervous and but as time wore on and nothing but profit he grew bolder and more confident frank he would say looking up over his spectacles aren t you afraid you re going a little too fast in these matters you re carrying a lot of these days no more than i ever did father considering my resources i m keeping sharp books on that you can t turn large without large you know that as well as i do yes i know but now that green and aren t you going it pretty strong there not at all i know the inside conditions there the stock is to go up eventually i ll bull it up ill combine it with my other lines if necessary stared at his boy over his glasses never was there such a defiant daring you needn t worry about me father if you are going to do that call my other banks will loan on my stocks i d like to see your bank have the interest was convinced there was no this argument his bank like many another was frank heavily but no more so than any other and he was great blocks of stocks in his son s companies solely because they were safe and he be told when to get out if ever that were necessary frank s brothers were being aided in the same way to make some money on the side and their interests like his father s were now bound up with his own but this matter of art was the most singular thing which had come into his life so far where some people have a passion for nature the beauty of scenery and its passionate moods and others for books or or s growing mood was t x pictures and objects of art generally to b with the we have seen he had not	43
known so very much about them the in the first home in north front street were a slight development mild as he now saw it and based on a very moderate income later he had been coming by actual purchase into the of so many things gray a partner in cable gray a local firm of of art objects had called on him once in connection with a of the century weaving which he had to sell mr gray a man of twenty six was not exactly an expert in the matter but an enthusiastic student and almost instantly he conveyed some of his suppressed and yet fiery love of the beautiful to he was a comparatively slender person with chestnut hair that insisted on falling over his white forehead and his dark colored eyes his face in its suggested a carefully of or listened to him talk of an evening and thought what a splendid thing it would be as gray pointed out in speaking of great men s homes generally to have a perfect collection of blue or or sword or oriental or or there are fifty shades of one period of blue alone mr gray had informed him one night i m a mere in these things these periods are to be detected by the slight differences in the and you can trace the changes from period to period there are at least seven distinct schools or periods of modem polish and so on if you ever went into that it be a distinguished thing to get a complete i mean a representative collection of some one period or of all these periods they are beautiful i have seen some of them others i ve read about he stopped and looked at who felt quite dearly that this youth for some reason expected him to the take an intense interest in art he talked as though co ood would of course become a great of something toll you mr he said another night during one of their friendly there is nothing like this business to me i love it there s money in it i confess that but there is so much more to me the of it never me i can t get down to my place too early nor stay too late i know that i know nothing at all comparatively but i know also that i know a little at that youve in the right business observed s any one can see that it s beautiful the latter ed and looked lo at a splendid somewhere in asia minor which he had brought to s home in order to induce him to buy it it was of a unique form full wide legged wide based with one of its delicious handles that had been firmly baked to its side gone and the done in a dull lead blue wash against the original light of the burnt day he had the of the ted house in which it had been discovered and meditated as to the art of the life that had passed his love for its beauty was so genuine that it moved you ll make a convert of me yet he said art be the ruin of me i m inclined that way as it is i think and between you and and he mentioned another young man who was intensely interested in the best examples of painting you ll complete my splendid idea he wants me to begin right now i m using that word right in the sense of properly he and get what examples i can of just the few rare things in each school or period of art would illustrate each properly and fully he says the great pictures are going to increase in ue and what i the could get for a few hundred thousand now will be worth millions later on he doesn t want me to bother with american art he s right exclaimed gray although it isn t good business for me to praise another art man and i think knows what he s talking about paintings aren t as much a with us as some other things but they are too i think of them most as connected with but if you did want to make a great collection you couldn t do better than follow that idea i ve never seen or heard of anything uke it outside of the great but it would be splendid if it were done right it would take a great deal of money though i should think not so very much at least not all at once it would be a matter of years of course thinks that some excellent examples of different periods could be picked up now and later replaced if anything better in the same field showed up that s an idea also we all do that more or less gray stirred in his chair and ran his hand through his hair his eyes great deep things concerning the realm of refinement in which he was working caught the significance and intensity of his idea clearly what could be greater more distinguished than to make a splendid collection of something he was making money now why not begin now what he bought could be sold later if necessary both and gray assured him that the rare genuine things of art rose in value and he knew it must be so his common sense told him that judgment and and effort put in this realm as in any other must of necessity result in value as well as distinction what was a rich man without a great distinction of presence and artistic the really great men had it there were some here in philadelphia who tried to have it but what he had seen s the thus far had been i he should go on now wealth was	43
not this business of making a great collection just the thing to do surely it was and it suited the texture and of his being as it was steadily he wanted to be at last as well as chapter xxvi things would have gone exceedingly well in the face of any ordinary drift or turn of fortune had it been that s life and career depended upon any such conventional thing as an ordinary drift of events some lives seem fated for the dramatic and the there seems no such thing as peace in the stars that govern at their birth all is and turmoil great activity and great thought this boy for he was scarcely more than that was peculiarly by and for this spirit of his mind in spite of his outward was tinged by a great seeking wealth in the beginning had seemed the only goal to whidi was shortly added the beauty of women and now art for art s sake the first faint radiance of a rosy dawn had to shine in upon him and to the beauty of womanhood he was beginning to see how necessary it was to add the beauty of life the beauty of material background how in fact the only background for great beauty was great art this girl this butler in her raw youth and radiance was nevertheless creating in him a sense of the distinguished and a need for it which had never existed in him before to the same degree it is impossible to define these of reaction temperament oi temperament for no one knows to what degree we are marked by the things which attract us a love affair such as this had proved to be was quite as a drop of added to a glass of clear water or a foreign agent introduced into a delicate the a definite change had taken place and never again could things be as they had been before butler for all her was a definite force personally her nature was in a way a protest against the clumsy conditions by which she found herself surrounded her father s local reputation as a was the comment of the her own efforts to right a condition of material vulgarity or artistic in her own home the of ever being admitted to those distinguished which she recognized afar off as the last of respectability and social distinction had bred in her even at this early age a feeling of deadly opposition to conditions as they were through the at first she had hoped to meet a few people young men and women and particularly men who were above the station in which she found herself and to whom her beauty and significant but not great would commend her but this had not been the case the themselves in spite of frank s artistic and growing wealth were not in yet in fact aside from the subtle preliminary consideration which they were receiving they were a long way off mrs my dear she s charming to look at don t you know but essentially middle he is an able man any one can see that i it weren t for her now but up go the eyebrows we assume a bored look k we were less refined we lift our hands in protest and so there you are frank shrewd observer that he was was beginning to see where the rub was he knew but in her by a certain of manner expressed in her presence by the daughters of those superior families who to come the once or twice to the home and elsewhere where she went and offended by the passionate interest youth may display without admitting social equality had turned in thought to the strongest most artistic most distinguished personality of them all himself in him instinctively she recognized a way out a door and by the same token a subtle impending artistic future of great magnificence that saw the same in her need not be assumed this man would make a name for himself he would rise beyond anything he now dreamed of she felt it there was here in him in some form a great artistic reality which was finer than anything she could plan for herself she wanted luxury magnificence social station well if she could get man they would come to her there were apparently in the way but hers was no nature and neither was his they ran together from the first like two her own thoughts crude half half spoken nevertheless matched his to a degree in the quality of their force and their raw i don t think papa knows how to do she said to him one day it isn t his fault he can t help it he knows that he can t and he knows that i know it for years i wanted him to move out of that old house there he knows that he ought to but even that wouldn t do much good she paused looking at him with a straight clear vigorous glance he liked the of her features their smooth vigorous never mind pet he replied they were in the north tenth street house at the time and he had been more than ever impressed with the force and fire of her disposition and the essential of a mind which would never be perfect for want of some subtle strain of refinement he not tell what we will arrange the all these things later you and i i don t see my way out of this now but i think the best thing to do is to confess to some day and see if some other plan can t be arranged she doesn t want to injure the children any more than i do i want to fix	43

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