NORTH PLATTK SEMI A IJKIvLY TlillJFNE
Th.8
A'DARK-EYED LITTLE
Bynopsls. Major Amberson had mado a fortune In 1873 when other people
were losing fortunes, and tlio magnificence of the Ainbersons began then.
Klajvt Amboraon laid out a 200-acro "development," with roads and statuary,
bd tn tlio center of a four-acre tract, on A ml) arson nvenuo, built for himself
the most rnagnlflcent mansion Midland City had over Boon. When tho major's
dauch'tcr marrlod yotinff Wilbur Mlnafcr tho neighbors predicted that as
'Isabel could never realty lovo Wilbur all lior love would bo bestowed upon tho
children. There Is only one child, however, George Amberson Mlnafer, and
bin upbringing and his youthful accomplishments as a mischief maker aro
quite In keeping with the most pessimistic predictions.
CHAPTER II Continued.
2
"Your sister stole It for me !" Georgo
Infitnntly replied, checking the pony.
"She stole It off our clo'csllne nn' guvo
It to me."
"You bo get your hnlr cutl" said
tho stranger hotly. "Ynhl I haven't
got any sinter 1"
"I know you haven't nt home,"
Gcorgle responded. "I mean tho one
that's In Jail."
"I dare you to get down off that
oony 1"
Georgia Jumped to the ground, and
tho other boy descended from tho Rev.
Mr. Smith's gatepost but ho descend
ed Inside tlio gate. "I dure you out
side that gate," said Georgle.
"Ynhl I dare you hnlf way here.
I dare you "
But these were luckless challenges,
for Georglo immediately vaulted the
fence and four minutes later Mrs.
Malloch Snilth, hearing strango noises,
looked forth from a window; then
screamed, and dashed for the pastor's
tudy. Mr. Malloch Smith, that grim
bearded preacher, came to the front
yard and found his visiting ncphow
being rapidly prepared by Mnstcr Mln
afer to servo as a principal ilguro In
a pngftnnt of massacre. It was with
irrcat physical dlfllculty that Mr.
Smith managed to give his nephew a
diunce to escape Into tho house, for
Georgle was hard nnd quick, and In
uch, matters remarkably Intense; but
tho minister, nfter a grotesque tussle,
fdt him separated from his opponent
and shook him.
"You stop that, you I" Georgle cried
fiercely, nnd wrenched himself nwny.
"I guess you don't know who I ami"
"Yes, I do knowl" tho angered Mr.
Smith retorted. "I know who you nre,
and you're a disgrace to your mother I
Your mother ought to bo ashamed of
herself to allow "
"Shut up about my mother beln'
ashamed of herself I"
Mr. Smith, exasperated, was unable
to closo tho dialogue with dignity.
"She ought to bo ashamed," ho repeat
ed. "A woman t-hat lets a bad boy
llko you "
But Georglo had reached his pony
nnd mounted. Before setting oft at his
accustomed gallop ho paused to Inter
rupt tho Rov. Malloch Smith again.
"You pull down your vest, you ole
blllygoat, you 1" he shouted, distinctly.
"Pull down your vest, wlpo off your
chin nn' go to h I"
Such precocity Is less unusual, even
In children of tho Rich, than most
fcrown people Imagine. Ilowevcr, It
wjs a now experience for tho Itov.
Malloch Smith, and left him In n state
of excitement. He ut once wrote n
note to George's mother, describing
the crlmo according to IiIh nephew's
testimony, and tho note reached Mrs.
Mlnafcr before Gcorgle did. When ho
got home sho read It to him sorrow
fully. " Dear Madam: Your son has caused a
painful distress In my household. Ho
made an unprovoked attack upon a little
nephew of mine who Is visiting In my
nousehold, Insulted -him by calling him
vicious names and falsehoods, stating that
ladles of his family wore In Jhll, He then
tried to make his pony kick him, and
then the child, who Is only eleven years
old, while your son Is much older and
tronger. ondoavorod to nvold his lndlgnl
tUs and withdraw quietly, he pursued
tolm Into tho Inylosuro of my property nnd
brutally assaulted him. When I appeared
upon this scene he deliberately called In
sulting words to me, concluding with pro
fanity, such ns "go to h-," which was
heard not only by myself but by my wlfo
and the lady who lives next door. 1 trust
audi a Btate of undisciplined behavior
may be remodlod for tho sake of the rop
sUtlon for propriety, If nothing higher, of
Hhe family to which this unruly child bo-
Georglo had muttered various Inter
uptlons, and as sho concluded the
rending ho Bald:
"He's nn olo llnrl"
"Gcorgle, you mustn't sny 'llnr.'
Isn't this letter tho truth?"
"Well," sold Gcorgle, "how old nm
I?"
"Ten."
"Well, look how he says I'm older
than a boy eleven years old."
"That's true," said iBabol. "Ho
does. But isn't Bome of It true,
Georgle?"
Gcorgle felt himself to bo in a dif
ficulty here, and he was silent.
"George, did you say what ho snyn
you did?".
"Which7 one?"
"Did you tell him to to Did you
ny, 'Go to h ?'"
Georglo looked worried for n mo
ment longer; then ho brightened. "Lis
ten here, mnmma; grandpa wouldn't
wlpo his shoe on thnt olo atory teller,
would lie?"
"Georgle, you mustn't"
"I mean: nono of the Ambcrsons
wouldn't koiiii anything to do with
BEAUTY OF NINETEEN.
hlni, would they? lie doesn't even
know you, floes he, mamma?"
"That hasn't anything to do with it."
"Yph. It hast I mean: nono of tho
Amberson family go to sec him, nnd
they never havo him como In their
house; they wouldn't nsk him to, and
prob'ly wouldn't even let him."
"That Isn't what we're talking
about."
"I bet," said Gcorgle emphatically,
"I bet If he wnnted to see any of 'em,
he'd haf to go around to the sldo
doorl"
"No, dear, they "
"Yes, they would, mamma I So -what
does It matter If I say somep'm' to
him ho didn't like? That kind o'
people, I don't see why you can't say
unythlng you want to to 'em I"
"No, Georgle. And you hnven't an
swered mo whether you said thnt
dreadful thing ho suys you did."
"Well" snld Gcorgle. "Anyway,
ho said somep'm' to mo thnt made mo
mad." And upon this point he offered
no further details; he would not ex
plain to his mother that what had
made him "mad" was Mr. Smith's
hasty condemnation of herself: "Your
mother ought to bo ashamed," and
"A woman that lets a bud boy llko
you '' Georgle did" not even con
sider excusing himself by quoting
these insolences.
Isabel stroked his hond. "They
wero terrlblo words for you to uso,
dear. From his letter lie doesn't seem
a very tnctful person, but "
"He's Just riffraff," said Gebrgle.
"You mustn't say so," his mother
gently agreed. "Where did you learn
those bad words he speaks of? Where
did you hear anyone use them?"
"Well, 1,'vo heard 'cm serreval
places. I guess Undo Georgo Araber
bou was tho first I ever heard say 'em.
Uncle Georgo Amberson said 'em to
papa once. Papa didn't like it, but
Undo George was Just laughln' nt
pupn, nn' then ho snld 'em whllo ho
wns laughln."'
"That was wrong of lilm," she eald,
but almost instinctively ho detected
tho lack of conviction In her tone. It
wns Isnbel's grent failing that what
ever nn Amberson did seemed right to
her, especially if tho Amberson was
cither her brother George or her son
George. "You must promise mo," she
snld feebly, "nover to use those bad
words again."
"I promise not to," he said prompt
ly and ho whispered an Immediate
codicil under his breath: "Unless I got
mad at somebody I" This satisfied a
code according to which, In his own
sincere belief, he never told lies.
"That's a good boy," she said, and
he ran out to tlio yard, his punishment
over.
As nn Amberson ho was already a
public character, and tho Btory of his
adventuro In tho Itov. Mnlloch Smith's
frontiynrd became a town topic. Mnny
"Pull Down Your Vest, You Ole Billy-
goat."
people glanced at him with grent dls
taste thereafter, when they chanced
to encounter him, which meant noth-
to Georglo, hecuuso ho Innocently
believed most grown pcoplo to bo nec
essarily cross looking us u normal pliC'
nomenon resulting from tho adult
state; and ho fulled to comprehend
thnt the distasteful glances had any
personal hearing upon himself. If he
bad perceived such a bearing he would
have been uffeotnd only bo fur, prob
ent Am
Copyright by Doubleday, Vnur A Company.
nbly, us to mutter, "Riffraff 1" Pos
Hlbly he would huve shouted It; und
certainly most people believed n story
that went round the town Just after
Mrs. Amberson's funeral, when Geor
glo was eleven. Gcorgle was reported
to have differed with the undertaker
about tho seating of the family; his
Indignant voice had become audible:
"Well, who Is the most Importunt per
son at my own grandmother's fu
neral ?" And later he had projected
his head from tho window of the fore
most mourners' carriage, ns the under
taker happened to pass.
"RlffrnfT!"
There were people grown people
they were who expressed themselves
longingly: they did hope to live to see
the dny, they snld, when that boy
would get his come-upnncol (Thoy
used that honest word, so much bet
ter thnn "deserts" und not until many
years later to be more clumsily ren
dered ns "what Is coming to him.")
Something wns bound to take him
down some day, and they only wnnted
to bo there I But Georgle heard noth
ing of this, nnd tho yearncrs for his
taking down went unsatisfied, whllo
their yearning grew the greater as the
happy dny of fulfillment was longer
nnd longer postponed.
CHAPTER III.
Until he reached 'the uge of twelve
Gcorgle's cducntlon was a domestic
process; tutors enmo to the house,
and those citizens who yearned for his
taking down often snld : "Just wait till
ho has to go to public school; then
he'll get it!" But at twelve Georglo
wns sent to n prlvntc school in tho
town, and there enmo from this small
and Independent institution no report,
or even rumor, of Gcorgle's getting
nnythlng that he was thought to de
serve; therefore the yearning still per
sisted, though growing gaunt with
feeding upon itself.
The yearncrs were still yearning
when Georgle nt sixteen was sent
nwny to a great "prep school."
"Now," they snld brightly, "he'll get
It I He'll find himself among boys Just
as Importunt In their home town as ho
is, and they'll knock the shilling out
of him when he puts on his airs with
them I Oh, but that would be worth
something to seel" They were mis-'
taken, it nppearcd, for when Georgle
returned n few months Inter he still
Beemed to have tho same stuffing. Ho
hnd been deported by the authorities,
tho offense being stated as "Insolence
nnd profanity;" in fnct, he hud given
the prlncipnl of tho school Instruc
tions nlmost Identical with those for
merly objected to by the Rov. Malloch
Smith.
But he had not got his come-upance,
and those who counted upon It were
embittered by his npponrance upon
tho downtown streets driving a dog
cart nt a criminal speed, mnklng ne-
destrlnns retreat from the crossings,
and behaving himself ns If ho "owned
tho earth."
When Mr. George Amberson Mlna
fcr enmo homo for the holidays at
Chrlstranstlde In his sophomore, year,
probnbly no great dmngo had taken
place hiBlde him, but his exterior was
visibly altered. Nothing about him
encouraged any hope thnt ho hnd re
ceived his come-upance; on the con
trary, the yenrners for that stroke of
Justice must yearn even more Itch
Ingly: the glided youth's mnnner hud
becomo polite, but his politeness was
of a kind which democratic people
round hard to bear.
Cards were out for a ball In his
honor, and this pageant of tho ten
antry was held In tho ballroom of tho
Amberson mansion tho night after his
arrival. It was, as Mrs. Henry Frank
lin Foster said of Isabel's wedding, "a
big Amberson-stylo thing." All "old
citizens" recognized as gentry received
cards, and of course so did their danc
ing descendants.
vTho orchestra and the cuterer were
brought from away, In tho Amberson
mnnner, though this was really a ges
ture perhaps ono more of habit than
of ostentation for servitors of gnyety
as proiiclent ns theso importations
wero nowadays to be found In the
town. It wns the lust of tho grent,
long-remembered dnnccs thnt "every
body talked about" there wero get
ting to bo bo many pcoplo In town thnt
no Inter than tho next year there wero
too many for "everybody" to henr of
even such a ball as the Ambersons.
George, white-gloved, with n gnrdo
nin In his buttonhole, stood with his
mother and tho Major, embowored In
tho big rcd-und-gold drawing room
downstairs, to "receive" the guests:
and, stnndlng thus together, tho trio
offored n picturesque example of good
looks persistent through three gene
rations. Tho Mujor, his daughter nnd
IiIh grandson were of a typo nil Am
berson : tall, straight and regular, with
dark eyes, short noses, good chins:
nnd tho grandfather's expression, no
less than tho grandson's, wns one of
faintly amused condescension. There
was a difference, however. Tho grand
son's unllncd young face had nothing
to offer except this condescension:
the grandfather's had other things to
KM.V. It was a handsome, worldly old
bersons
face, conscious of its Importance, but
iiersuuslvo rather than arrogant, nnd
not without tokens of sufferings with
stood. The Major's short white hair
ns parted In the middle, like his
grandson's, and In nil ho stood as
briskly equipped to the fashion ns tho
exquisite young George.
Isabel, standing between her father
and her son, caused a vague amaze
ment In tho mind of tho latter. Her
nge, Just under forty, was for Georgo
a thought of something ns remote ns
the moons of Jupiter: ho could not
possibly hnve conceived such an ngo
ever coming to be his own : five years
was tho limit of his thinking in time.
Five yenrs ago he had been a child
not yet fourteen; and those five yonrs
were an abyss. Five years hence he
would be almost twenty-four; what
the girls he knew called "one of the
older men." He could Imagine himself
nt twenty-four, but beyond that his
powers Btaggcred and refused the
task. He saw little essential differ
ence between thirty-eight nnd eighty
eight, nnd his mother was to him not
n womnn but wholly a mother. The
woman, Isabel, was a stranger to her
son; ns completely a stranger ns If
ho hnd never In hJs life seen her or
heard her voice. And it wns tonight,
while he stood with her, "receiving,"
that he caught a disquieting glimpse
of this stranger whom he thus fleet
lngly encountered for tho first time.
Youth ennnot Imagine romnnce
npnrt from youth. That Is why tho
roles of the heroes and heroines of
plnys aro given by the managers to
the most youthful uctors they enn find
among tho competent. Both middle
aged people and young people enjoy a
piny about young lovers; but only
middle-aged people will tolerate a play
about middle-aged lovers; young
people will not come to see such a
play, because for them middle-aged
lovers are n Joke not a very funny
one. Therefore, to bring both the
mlddle-nged people nnd the young
people Into his house the mnnager
makes his romance ns young as he
con. Youth will Indeed be served, nnd
Its profound Instinct Is to be not only
Bcornfully amused but vaguely an
gered by middle-aged romance. So.
standing beside his mother, George
wns disturbed by a sudden Impression,
coming upon him out of nowhere, so
inr ns ne could detect, that her eyes
were brilliant, that she was graceful
and youthful In a word that she wns
romantically lovely.
He hnd one of those curious moments
thnt seem to have neither a cause nor
any connection with actual things.
xnere was nothing In either her looks
or her manner to explain George's un-
comrortnwe feeling: nnd vet it In
creased, becoming suddenly n vague
resentment, ns If she had done some
thing unmotherly to him.
The fantastic moment passed: nnd
even while It lasted he was doing his
duty, greeting two pretty girls with
whom ho had grown un. ns neonlo snv.
nnd warmly assuring them thnt ho re
membered them very well un insur
ance which might havo surprised them
"In anybody but Georgle Minnferl"
It seemed unnecessary, since he had
spent many hours with them no longer
thnn the preceding August. They had
with them their parents nnd nn uncle
from out of town; nnd George negli
gently guve tho narenls the snmo in
surance he hnd given tho daughters,
nut murmured another form of greet
ing to the out-of-town uncle, whom
ho had never seen before. This per
son Georgo absently took note of ns
a "queer-looking duck." Undergradu
ates had not yet ndonted "bird." It
was n period previous to that in which
a sophomore would hnve thought of
tne Hiiaron girls' uncle ns n "nueer-
looklng bird," or. nerhnns. a "funny.
fncoblrd." In George's time every hu-
mnn mule wns to be defined at pleas
ure ns a "duck:" but "duck" wns nm
spoken with ndmlrlng nffectlon. ns In
Its rormcr feminine use to signify n
"dear" on the contrary, "duck" Im
plied the speaker's nersonol detnch-
ment nnd humorous superiority. An
Indifferent amusement ' was what
George felt when his mother, with
gentle emphnsls, Interrupted his In-
torcnango or courtesies with tho
nieces to present him to tho queer
looking duck, their uncle. This cm
phttPls of Isabel's, though slight, on
nhlcd Georgo to perceive that she con
sidered tho queer-looking duck a per
son of some Importance; hut It wns
far from enabling him to understand
why. The duck parted his thick and
longlsh black hair on the side; his
tie was a forgetful-looking thing, and
his cont, though It fitted n good
enough mlddle-nged figure, no product
of this yenr, or of Inst year either.
Observing only his unfashionable hnlr,
his 'preoccupied tie and his old coat,
tho Olympic George sot him down as
n queer-looking duck, nnd hnvlng thus
completed' his portrait took no Inter
na 111 ll I Til
The Shnrtia yiri passed oa, inking
tho queer-looking duct sUq them, nnd
George heenmo pink with xrfHtlca
tlon as his mother called his attention
to n white-bearded guest waiting to
shako his hand. This was George's
great-uncle, old John Mlnafer: it was
old John's boast that In spito of his
By Booth
Tarkington
connection by marriage with tho Am
bersons he never hnd worn nnd never
would wenr n swnller-tall coat. Mem
bers of his family hud exerted their
Influence uselessly nt eighty-nine
conscrvntlve people seldom form rad
ical new habits, and old John wore his
"Sundny suit" of blnck brondcloth to
the Amberson ball. The coat was
square, with skirts to the knees; old
John called It n "Prince Albert" and
was well enough pleased with It, but
his great-nephew considered It the
next thing to nn Insult.
The lnrge room hnd filled, and ?
hnd the brond hall and the rooms at?
the other sldo of the hnll, where there
were tnblcs for whist. Tho Imported
orchestra wnltcd In the ballroom on
the third floor, but a local harp, 'cello,
violin and flute were playing nlrs from
"The Fencing Master" in the hnll, nnd
people were shouting over the music.
Old John MInnfer's voice wns louder
nnd more penetrating thnn nny other,
b.ecriuso he had been troubled with
deafness for twenty-five years, hoard
Ills own voice but fnlntly, nnd liked to
henr It. "Smell o' flowers like this al
ways puts me In mind o' funerals," he
kept telling his niece, Fnnny MInnfcr,
who wns with him; and he seemed to
get a grent deal of satisfaction out of
this reminder. His tremulous yet stri
dent voice cut through thp voluminous
sound that filled the room, nnd ho wns
heard everywhere.
Presently George's mortlflcntlon wns
Incrensed to henr this sawmill droning
harshly from the midst of the thick
ening crowd : "Ain't the duncln' broke
out yet. Fanny? Hoopla I Le's push
through and go see the young women
oiks crack their heels 1 Sturt the cir
cus 1 Hoopsey-dalsy I" Miss Fanny
Mlnafcr, In charge of the lively vet
eran, was almost ns distressed as her
nephew George, but she did her duty
nnd managed to get old John through
the press nnd out to the broad stair
way, which numbers of young people
were now ascending to the bnllroom.
George began to recover from the deg
radation Into which this relic of enrly
settler dnys hnd dragged him. What
restored him completely was a dark
eyed little beauty of nineteen, very
knowing In lustrous blue nnd Jet; at
sight of this dashing advent In the line
of guests before him George was fully
an Amberson again.
"Remember yon very well indeed 1"
he said, his grnclousness more enrnest
thnn nny he hnd heretofore dlsplnyed.
Isnbel heard him nnd laughed.
"But you don't, George 1" she snld.
"You don't remember her yet, though
of course you will 1 Miss Morgnn Is
from out of town, nnd I'm nfrnld this
Is the first time you've ever seen her.
You might tnke her up to the dancing;
I think you've pretty well done your
duty here."
"Be d'llghtcd," George responded
formally, and offered his arm, not
with a flourish, certainly, but with nn
Impresslveness Inspired partly by the
nppenrnnce of the person to whom he
offered It, partly by his being the hero
of this fete, nnd partly by his youth
fulness for when manners are new
they are apt to be elnborate. The
little beauty Intrusted her gloved fin
gers to his contsieeve, and they moved
awny together.
As he conducted Miss Morgan
through the hull townrd the stairway
they passed the open double doors of
a enrdroom. where some squadrons of
older people were preparing for ac
tion, and, leaning gracefully upon tho
mantelpiece of this room, a tall man.
handsome, high-nuinnered nnd spar
kllngly point-device, held laughing
converse with that queer-looking due);,
tho Shnron glrl.V undo. The tall gen
tleman waved it gracious salutation .to
George, and Miss Morgan's curiosity
wns stirred. "Who Is that?"
"I didn't en tch his name when m.v
mother presented him to me," said
George. "You moan the queer-looking
duel:."
"I mean tho aristocratic duek."
"Thai's my Uncle George. Honor
able Goire Anihorson. I thought ev
erybody knew him."
"lie looks as though everybody
ought to know him," she said. "It
seems to nm In jour family."
If she hnd nnv sly Intention It
skipped f over George harmlessly.
"Well, of course, 1 suppose most ev
erybody does." he n'dmltted "out. In
this part of the country especially.
Besides Uncle Georgo Is In congress ;
the i'limlly like to have someone
there."
"Why?"
"Well. It's sort of n mod thing In
one way. For Instance, Uncle Sydney
Amberson and his wife, Aunt Amelia,
they haven't much of anything to do
with theniselvo get bored to iletttji
around here, of course. Well, prob
ably t'nde Ocorge'II have Uncle Syd
ney appointed minister or ambassador
or something like that, to Russia or
Italy or somewhere, and that'll moko
It pleasant when any of tho rest of
tho family go traveling, or things like
thnt. 1 expect to do a good deal of
traveling myself when I get out of col
lege." Sydney wob aa Amberson exag
gerated more pompous than gracious;
too portly, flushed, starched to u shine,
his stately Jowl furnished with an Ed
ward the Seventh beard. Amelln, like-.
wise full-bodied, showed glittering
blond hair exuberantly drejwert; n
pink, fat face cold under a white-hot
tinra; n eolla, cold bosom under n
white-hot necklace; great, cold, gloved
8:r. and tho rest of hor bcnutlfully
nphotvic -As Georgo ascended the
broad stairway tfiy wero precisely
tho uunt and uucle t.c was most
pleased to point out to a girl from out
of town, ns his nppurtennnces In ttio
way of relatives. At sight of them
the grandeur of the Amberson family
was Instnntly conspicuous ns n perma
nent thing: It was Impossible to doubt
that the Ambersons were Intrenched,
In their nobility and riches, behind
polished and glittering barriers which
were as solid as they wero brilliant,
and wduld last.
CHAPTER IV.
The hero of tho fete, with tlie dark
eyed little beauty upon his nrm,
reached the top of tho second flight of
stairs; ond here, beyond n spacious
Jwvdlng, where two proud-like darkles
tended n crystalline punch bbwl, four
wide nrchwnys In a rose-vine lattice
framed gliding silhouettes of wnltzere,
nlrendy smoothly nt It to the Castanets
of "Lu Pnlomu." Old John Mlnafer,
evidently surfeited, was in the act of
leaving theso delights escorted by a
middle-aged man of commonplace ap
pearance. The escort had a dry, lined
face upon which, not ornamentally
but us n matter of, course, there grow
a business man's short mustache; and
his thin neck showed an Adam's apple,
hut' not conspicuously, for there was
nothing conspicuous about him. Bald
lsh, dim, quiet, he was an unnotlco-
George Danced Well and Miss Morgan
Seemed to Float
nble part of this festival, and nlthongb
there were a dozen or more mlddle
nged men present, not casunlly to h
distinguished from him In general as
pect, he wns probnbly the Inst person
In tho big house at whom a strangei
would hnve glnnced twice. Tt did nol
enter George's mind to mention to
Miss Morgan that this was his father,
or to say anything whatever aboul
him.
Mr. Mlnnfer shook his son's hand
unobtrusively In passing.
"I'll take Uncle John home," he
said In a low voice. "Then I guess
I'll go on home myself I'm nol o
great hand nt parlies, you kuaw
Good night, George."
"George murmured a friendly enough
good night without pnuslng. Ordi
narily he wns not ashamed of the Min
afers; he seldom thought about them
tit all, for he belonged, as most Amer
ican children do, to the mother's fam
ily but he was anxious not to linger
with Miss Morgan In the vicinity ol
old John, whom he felt to be u dis
grace. lie pushed brusquely through the
fringe of calculating youths who were
gathered In the arches, watching for
chances lo dance only "with girls who
would soon be taken off their hands,
nnd led his stranger lady out upon the
Hour. They caught the, time Instantly,
nnd woro away In the waltz.
Georgo danced well, and Miss Mor
gan seemed to float ns part of the mu
hie the very dove Itself of "La Palo
ma;" George became conscious of
hi range feelings within him: an exal
tation or soul, tender but Indefinite,
rtnd seemingly located In tho upper
part of bis diaphrugem.
The stopping ol the- music came
upon him llko the waking to un alarm
clock; for instantly six or seven of
the calculating persons about the en
try ways Ijore down upon Miss Morgan
to secure dances. George had to do
with one already established as a
belle. It seemed.
"did times starting
over again! My Lord!"
all
l'1'U BE CO.NTIMu.D.)
One for Mamma.
I sent my small (laughter Into tho
front room to do some dusting. Noi
hearing her around, I stepped quietly
Into the room and found her sitting
Idly by the window with her work
unllulshcd. 1 said to her: "Don't
you know Satan finds work for Idlo
hands to do?" Sho quickly replied:
"He must be something like you."
Exchcngo. i
