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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Unleavened Bread, by Robert Grant
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Unleavened Bread
+
+Author: Robert Grant
+
+Release Date: January 10, 2005  [eBook #14645]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNLEAVENED BREAD***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Audrey Longhurst, Amy Cunningham, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+UNLEAVENED BREAD
+
+by
+
+ROBERT GRANT
+
+Author of _The Bachelor's Christmas_, etc.
+
+Charles Scribner's Sons
+New York
+
+1900
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+BOOK I
+THE EMANCIPATION
+
+
+BOOK II
+THE STRUGGLE
+
+
+BOOK III
+THE SUCCESS
+
+
+
+
+UNLEAVENED BREAD
+
+
+BOOK I.
+
+THE EMANCIPATION
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+Babcock and Selma White were among the last of the wedding guests to
+take their departure. It was a brilliant September night with a touch of
+autumn vigor in the atmosphere, which had not been without its effect on
+the company, who had driven off in gay spirits, most of them in
+hay-carts or other vehicles capable of carrying a party. Their songs and
+laughter floated back along the winding country road. Selma, comfortable
+in her wraps and well tucked about with a rug, leaned back contentedly
+in the chaise, after the goodbyes had been said, to enjoy the glamour of
+the full moon. They were seven miles from home and she was in no hurry
+to get there. Neither festivities nor the undisguised devotion of a city
+young man were common in her life. Consideration she had been used to
+from a child, and she knew herself to be tacitly acknowledged the
+smartest girl in Westfield, but perhaps for that very reason she had
+held aloof from manhood until now. At least no youth in her neighborhood
+had ever impressed her as her equal. Neither did Babcock so impress her;
+but he was different from the rest. He was not shy and unexpressive; he
+was buoyant and self-reliant, and yet he seemed to appreciate her
+quality none the less.
+
+They had met about a dozen times, and on the last six of these occasions
+he had come from Benham, ten miles to her uncle's farm, obviously to
+visit her. The last two times her Aunt Farley had made him spend the
+night, and it had been arranged that he would drive her in the Farley
+chaise to Clara Morse's wedding. A seven-mile drive is apt to promote or
+kill the germs of intimacy, and on the way over she had been conscious
+of enjoying herself. Scrutiny of Clara's choice had been to the
+advantage of her own cavalier. The bridegroom had seemed to her what her
+Aunt Farley would call a mouse-in-the-cheese young man. Whereas Babcock
+had been the life of the affair.
+
+She had been teaching now in Wilton for more than a year. When, shortly
+after her father's death, she had obtained the position of school
+teacher, it seemed to her that at last the opportunity had come to
+display her capabilities, and at the same time to fulfil her
+aspirations. But the task of grounding a class of small children in the
+rudiments of simple knowledge had already begun to pall and to seem
+unsatisfying. Was she to spend her life in this? And if not, the next
+step, unless it were marriage, was not obvious. Not that she mistrusted
+her ability to shine in any educational capacity, but neither Wilton nor
+the neighboring Westfield offered better, and she was conscious of a
+lack of influential friends in the greater world, which was embodied for
+her in Benham. Benham was a western city of these United States, with an
+eastern exposure; a growing, bustling city according to rumor, with an
+eager population restless with new ideas and stimulating ambitions. So
+at least Selma thought of it, and though Boston and New York and a few
+other places were accepted by her as authoritative, she accepted them,
+as she accepted Shakespeare, as a matter of course and so far removed
+from her immediate outlook as almost not to count. But Benham with its
+seventy-five thousand inhabitants and independent ways was a fascinating
+possibility. Once established there the world seemed within her grasp,
+including Boston. Might it not be that Benham, in that it was newer, was
+nearer to truth and more truly American than that famous city? She was
+not prepared to believe this an absurdity.
+
+At least the mental atmosphere of Westfield and even of the somewhat
+less solemn Wilton suggested this apotheosis of the adjacent city to be
+reasonable. Westfield had stood for Selma as a society of serious though
+simple souls since she could first remember and had been one of them.
+Not that she arrogated to her small native town any unusual qualities of
+soul or mind in distinction from most other American communities, but
+she regarded it as inferior in point of view to none, and typical of the
+best national characteristics. She had probably never put into words the
+reasons of her confidence, but her daily consciousness was permeated
+with them. To be an American meant to be more keenly alive to the
+responsibility of life than any other citizen of civilization, and to be
+an American woman meant to be something finer, cleverer, stronger, and
+purer than any other daughter of Eve. Under the agreeable but sobering
+influence of this faith she had grown to womanhood, and the heroic deeds
+of the civil war had served to intensify a belief, the truth of which
+she had never heard questioned. Her mission in life had promptly been
+recognized by her as the development of her soul along individual lines,
+but until the necessity for a choice had arisen she had been content to
+contemplate a little longer. Now the world was before her, for she was
+twenty-three and singularly free from ties. Her mother had died when she
+was a child. Her father, the physician of the surrounding country, a man
+of engaging energy with an empirical education and a speculative habit
+of mind, had been the companion of her girlhood. During the last few
+years since his return from the war an invalid from a wound, her care
+for him had left her time for little else.
+
+No more was Babcock in haste to reach home; and after the preliminary
+dash from the door into the glorious night he suffered the farm-horse to
+pursue its favorite gait, a deliberate jog. He knew the creature to be
+docile, and that he could bestow his attention on his companion without
+peril to her. His own pulses were bounding. He was conscious of having
+made the whirligig of time pass merrily for the company by his spirits
+and jolly quips, and that in her presence, and he was groping for an
+appropriate introduction to the avowal he had determined to make. He
+would never have a better opportunity than this, and it had been his
+preconceived intention to take advantage of it if all went well. All had
+gone well and he was going to try. She had been kind coming over; and
+had seemed to listen with interest as he told her about himself: and
+somehow he had felt less distant from her. He was not sure what she
+would say, for he realized that she was above him. That was one reason
+why he admired her so. She symbolized for him refinement, poetry, art,
+the things of the spirit--things from which in the same whirligig of
+time he had hitherto been cut off by the vicissitudes of the varnish
+business; but the value of which he was not blind to. How proud he would
+be of such a wife! How he would strive and labor for her! His heart was
+in his mouth and trembled on his lip as he thought of the possibility.
+What a joy to be sitting side by side with her under this splendid moon!
+He would speak and know his fate.
+
+"Isn't it a lovely night?" murmured Selma appreciatively. "There they
+go," she added, indicating the disappearance over the brow of a hill of
+the last of the line of vehicles of the rest of the party, whose songs
+had come back fainter and fainter.
+
+"I don't care. Do you?" He snuggled toward her a very little.
+
+"I guess they won't think I'm lost," she said, with a low laugh.
+
+"What d'you suppose your folks would say if you _were_ lost? I mean if I
+were to run away with you and didn't bring you back?" There was a
+nervous ring in the guffaw which concluded his question.
+
+"My friends wouldn't miss me much; at least they'd soon get over the
+shock; but I might miss myself, Mr. Babcock."
+
+Selma was wondering why it was that she rather liked being alone with
+this man, big enough, indeed, to play the monster, yet half school-boy,
+but a man who had done well in his calling. He must be capable; he could
+give her a home in Benham; and it was plain that he loved her.
+
+"I'll tell you something," he said, eagerly, ignoring her suggestion.
+"I'd like to run away with you and be married to-night, Selma. That's
+what I'd like, and I guess you won't. But it's the burning wish of my
+heart that you'd marry me some time. I want you to be my wife. I'm a
+rough fellow along-side of you, Selma, but I'd do well by you; I would.
+I'm able to look after you, and you shall have all you want. There's a
+nice little house building now in Benham. Say the word and I'll buy it
+for us to-morrow. I'm crazy after you, Selma."
+
+The rein was dangling, and Babcock reached his left arm around the waist
+of his lady-love. He had now and again made the same demonstration with
+others jauntily, but this was a different matter. She was not to be
+treated like other women. She was a goddess to him, even in his ardor,
+and he reached gingerly. Selma did not wholly withdraw from the spread
+of his trembling arm, though this was the first man who had ever
+ventured to lay a finger on her.
+
+"I'd have to give up my school," she said.
+
+"They could get another teacher."
+
+"_Could_ they?"
+
+"Not one like you. You see I'm clumsy, but I'm crazy for you, Selma."
+Emboldened by the obvious feebleness of her opposition, he broadened his
+clutch and drew her toward him. "Say you will, sweetheart."
+
+This time she pulled herself free and sat up in the chaise. "Would you
+let me do things?" she asked after a moment.
+
+"Do things," faltered Babcock. What could she mean? She had told him on
+the way over that her mother had chosen her name from a theatrical
+playbill, and it passed through his unsophisticated brain that she might
+be thinking of the stage.
+
+"Yes, do something worth while. Be somebody. I've had the idea I could,
+if I ever got the chance." Her hands were folded in her lap; there was a
+wrapt expression on her thin, nervous face, and a glitter in her keen
+eyes, which were looking straight at the moon, as though they would
+outstare it in brilliancy.
+
+"You shall be anything you like, if you'll only marry me. What is it
+you're wishing to be?"
+
+"I don't know exactly. It isn't anything especial yet. It's the whole
+thing. I thought I might find it in my school, but the experience so far
+hasn't been--satisfying."
+
+"Troublesome little brats!"
+
+"No, I dare say the fault's in me. If I went to Benham to live it would
+be different. Benham must be interesting--inspiring."
+
+"There's plenty of go there. You'd like it, and people would think lots
+of you."
+
+"I'd try to make them." She turned and looked at him judicially, but
+with a softened expression. Her profile in her exalted mood had
+suggested a beautiful, but worried archangel; her full face seemed less
+this and wore much of the seductive embarrassment of sex. To Babcock she
+seemed the most entrancing being he had ever seen. "Would you really
+like to have me come?"
+
+He gave a hoarse ejaculation, and encircling her eagerly with his strong
+grasp pressed his lips upon her cheek. "Selma! darling! angel! I'm the
+happiest man alive."
+
+"You mustn't do that--yet," she said protestingly.
+
+"Yes, I must; I'm yours, and you're mine,--mine. Aren't you, sweetheart?
+There's no harm in a kiss."
+
+She had to admit to herself that it was not very unpleasant after all to
+be held in the embrace of a sturdy lover, though she had never intended
+that their relations should reach this stage of familiarity so promptly.
+She had known, of course, that girls were to look for endearments from
+those whom they promised to marry, but her person had hitherto been so
+sacred to man and to herself that it was difficult not to shrink a
+little from what was taking place. This then was love, and love was, of
+course, the sweetest thing in the world. That was one of the truths
+which she had accepted as she had accepted the beauty of Shakespeare, as
+something not to be disputed, yet remote. He was a big, affectionate
+fellow, and she must make up her mind to kiss him. So she turned her
+face toward him and their lips met eagerly, forestalling the little peck
+which she had intended. She let her head fall back at his pressure on to
+his shoulder, and gazed up at the moon.
+
+"Are you happy, Selma?" he asked, giving her a fond, firm squeeze.
+
+"Yes, Lewis."
+
+She could feel his frame throb with joy at the situation as she uttered
+his name.
+
+"We'll be married right away. That's if you're willing. My business is
+going first-rate and, if it keeps growing for the next year as it has
+for the past two, you'll be rich presently. When shall it be, Selma?"
+
+"You're in dreadful haste. Well, I'll promise to give the selectmen
+notice to-morrow that they must find another teacher."
+
+"Because the one they have now is going to become Mrs. Lewis J. Babcock.
+I'm the luckiest fellow, hooray! in creation. See here," he added,
+taking her hand, "I guess a ring wouldn't look badly there--a real
+diamond, too. Pretty little fingers."
+
+She sighed gently, by way of response. It was comfortable nestling in
+the hollow of his shoulder, and a new delightful experience to be
+hectored with sweetness in this way. How round and bountiful the moon
+looked. She was tired of her present life. What was coming would be
+better. Her opportunity was at hand to show the world what she was made
+of.
+
+"A real diamond, and large at that," he repeated, gazing down at her,
+and then, as though the far away expression in her eyes suggested
+kinship with the unseen and the eternal, he said, admiringly but humbly,
+"It must be grand to be clever like you, Selma. I'm no good at that. But
+if loving you will make up for it, I'll go far, little woman."
+
+"What I know of that I like, and--and if some day, I can make you proud
+of me, so much the better," said Selma.
+
+"Proud of you? You are an angel, and you know it."
+
+She closed her eyes and sighed again. Even the bright avenues of fame,
+which her keen eyes had traversed through the golden moon, paled before
+this tribute from the lips of real flesh and blood. What woman can
+withstand the fascination of a lover's faith that she is an angel? If a
+man is fool enough to believe it, why undeceive him? And if he is so
+sure of it, may it even not be so? Selma was content to have it so,
+especially as the assertion did not jar with her own prepossessions; and
+thus they rode home in the summer night in the mutual contentment of a
+betrothal.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+The match was thoroughly agreeable to Mrs. Farley, Selma's aunt and
+nearest relation, who with her husband presided over a flourishing
+poultry farm in Wilton. She was an easy-going, friendly spirit, with a
+sharp but not wide vision, who did not believe that a likelier fellow
+than Lewis Babcock would come wooing were her niece to wait a lifetime.
+He was hearty, comical, and generous, and was said to be making money
+fast in the varnish business. In short, he seemed to her an admirable
+young man, with a stock of common-sense and high spirits eminently
+serviceable for a domestic venture. How full of fun he was, to be sure!
+It did her good to behold the tribute his appetite paid to the buckwheat
+cakes with cream and other tempting viands she set before him--a
+pleasing contrast to Selma's starveling diet--and the hearty smack with
+which he enforced his demands upon her own cheeks as his mother-in-law
+apparent, argued an affectionate disposition. Burly, rosy-cheeked,
+good-natured, was he not the very man to dispel her niece's vagaries and
+turn the girl's morbid cleverness into healthy channels?
+
+Selma, therefore, found nothing but encouragement in her choice at home;
+so by the end of another three months they were made man and wife, and
+had moved into that little house in Benham which had attracted Babcock's
+eye. Benham, as has been indicated, was in the throes of bustle and
+self-improvement. Before the war it had been essentially unimportant.
+But the building of a railroad through the town and the discovery of oil
+wells in its neighborhood had transformed it in a twinkling into an
+active and spirited centre. Selma's new house was on the edge of the
+city, in the van of real estate progress, one of a row of small but
+ambitious-looking dwellings, over the dark yellow clapboards of which
+the architect had let his imagination run rampant in scrolls and
+flourishes. There was fancy colored glass in a sort of rose-window over
+the front door, and lozenges of fancy glass here and there in the
+facade. Each house had a little grass-plot, which Babcock in his case
+had made appurtenant to a metal stag, which seemed to him the finishing
+touch to a cosey and ornamental home. He had done his best and with all
+his heart, and the future was before them.
+
+Babcock found himself radiant over the first experiences of married
+life. It was just what he had hoped, only better. His imagination in
+entertaining an angel had not been unduly literal, and it was a constant
+delight and source of congratulation to him to reflect over his pipe on
+the lounge after supper that the charming piece of flesh and blood
+sewing or reading demurely close by was the divinity of his domestic
+hearth. There she was to smile at him when he came home at night and
+enable him to forget the cares and dross of the varnish business. Her
+presence across the table added a new zest to every meal and improved
+his appetite. In marrying he had expected to cut loose from his bachelor
+habits, and he asked for nothing better than to spend every evening
+alone with Selma, varied by an occasional evening at the theatre, and a
+drive out to the Farleys' now and then for supper. This, with the
+regular Sunday service at Rev. Henry Glynn's church, rounded out the
+weeks to his perfect satisfaction. He was conscious of feeling that the
+situation did not admit of improvement, for though, when he measured
+himself with Selma, Babcock was humble-minded, a cheerful and uncritical
+optimism was the ruling characteristic of his temperament. With health,
+business fortune, and love all on his side, it was natural to him to
+regard his lot with complacency. Especially as to all appearances, this
+was the sort of thing Selma liked, also. Presently, perhaps, there would
+be a baby, and then their cup of domestic happiness would be
+overflowing. Babcock's long ungratified yearning for the things of the
+spirit were fully met by these cosey evenings, which he would have been
+glad to continue to the crack of doom. To smoke and sprawl and read a
+little, and exchange chit-chat, was poetry enough for him. So contented
+was he that his joy was apt to find an outlet in ditties and
+whistling--he possessed a slightly tuneful, rollicking knack at both--a
+proceeding which commonly culminated in his causing Selma to sit beside
+him on the sofa and be made much of, to the detriment of her toilette.
+
+As for the bride, so dazing were the circumstances incident to the
+double change of matrimony and adaptation to city life, that her
+judgment was in suspension. Yet though she smiled and sewed demurely,
+she was thinking. The yellow clapboarded house and metal stag, and a
+maid-of-all-work at her beck and call, were gratifying at the outset and
+made demands upon her energies. Selma's position in her father's house
+had been chiefly ornamental and social. She had been his companion and
+nurse, had read to him and argued with him, but the mere household work
+had been performed by an elderly female relative who recognized that her
+mind was bent on higher things. Nevertheless, she had never doubted that
+when the time arrived to show her capacity as a housewife, she would be
+more than equal to the emergency. Assuredly she would, for one of the
+distinguishing traits of American womanhood was the ability to perform
+admirably with one's own hand many menial duties and yet be prepared to
+shine socially with the best. Still the experience was not quite so easy
+as she expected; even harassing and mortifying. Fortunately, Lewis was
+more particular about quantity than quality where the table was
+concerned; and, after all, food and domestic details were secondary
+considerations in a noble outlook. It would have suited her never to be
+obliged to eat, and to be able to leave the care of the house to the
+hired girl; but that being out of the question, it became incumbent on
+her to make those obligations as simple as possible. However, the
+possession of a new house and gay fittings was an agreeable realization.
+At home everything had been upholstered in black horse-hair, and regard
+for material appearances had been obscured for her by the tension of her
+introspective tendencies. Lewis was very kind, and she had no reason to
+reproach herself as yet for her choice. He had insisted that she should
+provide herself with an ample and more stylish wardrobe, and though the
+invitation had interested her but mildly, the effect of shrewdly-made
+and neatly fitting garments on her figure had been a revelation. Like
+the touch of a man's hand, fine raiment had seemed to her hitherto
+almost repellant, but it was obvious now that anything which enhanced
+her effectiveness could not be dismissed as valueless. To arrive at
+definite conclusions in regard to her social surroundings was less easy
+for Selma. Benham, in its rapid growth, had got beyond the level
+simplicity of Westfield and Wilton, and was already confronted by the
+stern realities which baffle the original ideal in every American city.
+We like as a nation to cherish the illusion that extremes of social
+condition do not exist even in our large communities, and that the
+plutocrat and the saleslady, the learned professions and the proletariat
+associate on a common basis of equal virtue, intelligence, and culture.
+And yet, although Benham was a comparatively young and an essentially
+American city, there were very marked differences in all these respects
+in its community.
+
+Topographically speaking the starting point of Benham was its
+water-course. Twenty years before the war Benham was merely a cluster of
+frame houses in the valley of the limpid, peaceful river Nye. At that
+time the inhabitants drank of the Nye taken at a point below the town,
+for there was a high fall which would have made the drawing of water
+above less convenient. This they were doing when Selma came to Benham,
+although every man's hand had been raised against the Nye, which was the
+nearest, and hence for a community in hot haste, the most natural
+receptacle for dyestuffs, ashes and all the outflow from woollen mills,
+pork factories and oil yards, and it ran the color of glistening bean
+soup. From time to time, as the city grew, the drawing point had been
+made a little lower where the stream had regained a portion of its
+limpidity, and no one but wiseacres and busybodies questioned its
+wholesomeness. Benham at that time was too preoccupied and too proud of
+its increasing greatness to mistrust its own judgment in matters
+hygienic, artistic, and educational. There came a day later when the
+river rose against the city, and an epidemic of typhoid fever convinced
+a reluctant community that there were some things which free-born
+Americans did not know intuitively. Then there were public meetings and
+a general indignation movement, and presently, under the guidance of
+competent experts, Lake Mohunk, seven miles to the north, was secured as
+a reservoir. Just to show how the temper of the times has changed, and
+how sophisticated in regard to hygienic matters some of the good
+citizens of Benham in these latter days have become, it is worthy of
+mention that, though competent chemists declare Lake Mohunk to be free
+from contamination, there are those now who use so-called mineral
+spring-waters in preference; notably Miss Flagg, the daughter of old
+Joel Flagg, once the miller and, at the date when the Babcocks set up
+their household gods, one of the oil magnates of Benham. He drank the
+bean colored Nye to the day of his death and died at eighty; but she
+carries a carboy of spring-water with her personal baggage wherever she
+travels, and is perpetually solicitous in regard to the presence of
+arsenic in wall-papers into the bargain.
+
+Verily, the world has wagged apace in Benham since Selma first looked
+out at her metal stag and the surrounding landscape. Ten years later the
+Benham Home Beautifying Society took in hand the Nye and those who
+drained into it, and by means of garbage consumers, disinfectants, and
+filters and judiciously arranged shrubbery converted its channel and
+banks into quite a respectable citizens' paradise. But even at that time
+the industries on either bank of the Nye, which flowed from east to
+west, were forcing the retail shops and the residences further and
+further away. To illustrate again from the Flagg family, just before the
+war Joel Flagg built a modest house less than a quarter of a mile from
+the southerly bank of the river, expecting to end his days there, and
+was accused by contemporary censors of an intention to seclude himself
+in magnificent isolation. About this time he had yielded to the plea of
+his family, that every other building in the street had been given over
+to trade, and that they were stranded in a social Sahara of factories.
+So like the easy going yet soaring soul that he was, he had moved out
+two miles to what was known as the River Drive, where the Nye
+accomplishes a broad sweep to the south. There an ambitious imported
+architect, glad of such an opportunity to speculate in artistic effects,
+had built for him a conglomeration of a feudal castle and an old
+colonial mansion in all the grisly bulk of signal failure.
+
+Considering our ideals, it is a wonder that no one has provided a law
+forbidding the erection of all the architecturally attractive, or
+sumptuous houses in one neighborhood. It ought not to be possible in a
+republic for such a state of affairs to exist as existed in Benham. That
+is to say all the wealth and fashion of the city lay to the west of
+Central Avenue, which was so literally the dividing line that if a
+Benhamite were referred to as living on that street the conventional
+inquiry would be "On which side?" And if the answer were "On the east,"
+the inquirer would be apt to say "Oh!" with a cold inflection which
+suggested a ban. No Benhamite has ever been able to explain precisely
+why it should be more creditable to live on one side of the same street
+than on the other, but I have been told by clever women, who were good
+Americans besides, that this is one of the subtle truths which baffle
+the Gods and democracies alike. Central Avenue has long ago been
+appropriated by the leading retail dry-goods shops, huge establishments
+where everything from a set of drawing-room furniture to a hair-pin can
+be bought under a single roof; but at that time it was the social
+artery. Everything to the west was new and assertive; then came the
+shops and the business centre; and to the east were Tom, Dick, and
+Harry, Michael, Isaac and Pietro, the army of citizens who worked in the
+mills, oil yards, and pork factories. And to the north, across the
+river, on the further side of more manufacturing establishments, was
+Poland, so-called--a settlement of the Poles--to reach whom now there
+are seven bridges of iron. There were but two bridges then, one of wood,
+and journeys across them had not yet been revealed to philanthropic
+young women eager to do good.
+
+Selma's house lay well to the south-west of Central Avenue, far enough
+removed from the River Drive and the Flagg mansion to be humble and yet
+near enough to be called looking up. Their row was complete and mainly
+occupied, but the locality was a-building, and in the process of making
+acquaintance. So many strangers had come to Benham that even Babcock
+knew but few of their neighbors. Without formulating definitely how it
+was to happen, Selma had expected to be received with open arms into a
+society eager to recognize her salient qualities. But apparently, at
+first glance, everybody's interest was absorbed by the butcher and
+grocer, the dressmaker and the domestic hearth. That is, the other
+people in their row seemed to be content to do as they were doing. The
+husbands went to town every day--town which lay in the murky
+distance--and their wives were friendly enough, but did not seem to be
+conscious either of voids in their own existence or of the privilege of
+her society. To be sure, they dressed well and were suggestive in that,
+but they looked blank at some of her inquiries, and appeared to feel
+their days complete if, after the housework had been done and the battle
+fought with the hired girl, they were able to visit the shopping
+district and pore over fabrics, in case they could not buy them. Some
+were evidently looking forward to the day when they might be so
+fortunate as to possess one of the larger houses of the district a mile
+away, and figure among what they termed "society people." There were
+others who, in their satisfaction with this course of life, referred
+with a touch of self-righteousness to the dwellers on the River Drive as
+deserving reprobation on account of a lack of serious purpose. This
+criticism appealed to Selma, and consoled her in a measure for the half
+mortification with which she had begun to realize that she was not of so
+much account as she had expected; at least, that there were people not
+very far distant from her block who were different somehow from her
+neighbors, and who took part in social proceedings in which she and her
+husband were not invited to participate. Manifestly they were unworthy
+and un-American. It was a comfort to come to this conclusion, even
+though her immediate surroundings, including the society of those who
+had put the taunt into her thoughts, left her unsatisfied.
+
+Some relief was provided at last by her church. Babcock was by birth an
+Episcopalian, though he had been lax in his interest during early
+manhood. This was one of the matters which he had expected marriage to
+correct, and he had taken up again, not merely with resignation but
+complacency, the custom of attending service regularly. Dr. White had
+been a controversial Methodist, but since his wife's death, and
+especially since the war, he had abstained from religious observances,
+and had argued himself somewhat far afield from the fold of orthodox
+belief. Consequently Selma, though she attended church at Westfield when
+her father's ailments did not require her presence at home, had been
+brought up to exercise her faculties freely on problems of faith and to
+feel herself a little more enlightened than the conventional worshipper.
+Still she was not averse to following her husband to the Rev. Henry
+Glynn's church. The experience was another revelation to her, for
+service at Westfield had been eminently severe and unadorned. Mr. Glynn
+was an Englishman; a short, stout, strenuous member of the Church of
+England with a broad accent and a predilection for ritual, but
+enthusiastic and earnest. He had been tempted to cross the ocean by the
+opportunities for preaching the gospel to the heathen, and he had fixed
+on Benham as a vineyard where he could labor to advantage. His advent
+had been a success. He had awakened interest by his fervor and by his
+methods. The pew taken by Babcock was one of the last remaining, and
+there was already talk of building a larger church to replace the chapel
+where he ministered. Choir boys, elaborate vestments, and genuflections,
+were novelties in the Protestant worship of Benham, and attracted the
+attention of many almost weary of plainer forms of worship, especially
+as these manifestations of color were effectively supplemented by
+evident sincerity of spirit on the part of their pastor. Nor were his
+energy and zeal confined to purely spiritual functions. The scope of his
+church work was practical and social. He had organized from the
+congregation societies of various sorts to relieve the poor; Bible
+classes and evening reunions which the members of the parish were urged
+to attend in order to become acquainted. Mr. Glynn's manner was both
+hearty and pompous. To him there was no Church in the world but the
+Church of England, and it was obvious that as one of the clergy of that
+Church he considered himself to be no mean man; but apart from this
+serious intellectual foible with respect to his own relative importance,
+he was a stimulating Christian and citizen within his lights. His
+active, crusading, and emotional temperament just suited the seething
+propensities of Benham.
+
+His flock comprised a few of the residents of the River Drive district,
+among them the Flaggs, but was a fairly representative mixture of all
+grades of society, including the poorest. These last were specimens
+under spiritual duress rather than free worshippers, and it was a
+constant puzzle to the reverend gentleman why, in the matter of
+attendance, they, metaphorically speaking, sickened and died. It had
+never been so in England. "Bonnets!" responded one day Mrs. Hallett
+Taylor, who had become Mr. Glynn's leading ally in parish matters, and
+was noted for her executive ability. She was an engaging but
+clear-headed soul who went straight to the point.
+
+"I do not fathom your meaning," said the pastor, a little loftily, for
+the suggestion sounded flippant.
+
+"It hurts their feelings to go to a church where their clothes are
+shabby compared with those of the rest of the congregation."
+
+"Yes, but in God's chapel, dear lady, all such distinctions should be
+forgotten."
+
+"They can't forget, and I don't blame them much, poor things, do you?
+It's the free-born American spirit. There now, Mr. Glynn, you were
+asking me yesterday to suggest some one for junior warden. Why not Mr.
+Babcock? They're new comers and seem available people."
+
+Mr. Glynn's distress at her first question was merged in the interest
+inspired by her second, for his glance had followed hers until it rested
+on the Babcocks, who had just entered the vestry to attend the social
+reunion. Selma's face wore its worried archangel aspect. She was on her
+good behavior and proudly on her guard against social impertinence. But
+she looked very pretty, and her compact, slight figure indicated a busy
+way.
+
+"I will interrogate him," he answered. "I have observed them before,
+and--and I can't quite make out the wife. It is almost a spiritual face,
+and yet--"
+
+"Just a little hard and keen," broke in Mrs. Taylor, upon his
+hesitation. "She is pretty, and she looks clever. I think we can get
+some work out of her."
+
+Thereupon she sailed gracefully in the direction of Selma. Mrs. Taylor
+was from Maryland. Her husband, a physician, had come to Benham at the
+close of the war to build up a practice, and his wife had aided him by
+her energy and graciousness to make friends. Unlike some Southerners,
+she was not indolent, and yet she possessed all the ingratiating,
+spontaneous charm of well-bred women from that section of the country.
+Her tastes were aesthetic and ethical rather than intellectual, and her
+special interest at the moment was the welfare of the church. She
+thought it desirable that all the elements of which the congregation was
+composed should be represented on the committees, and Selma seemed to
+her the most obviously available person from the class to which the
+Babcocks belonged.
+
+"I want you to help us," she said. "I think you have ideas. We need a
+woman with sense and ideas on our committee to build the new church."
+
+Selma was not used to easy grace and sprightly spontaneity. It affected
+her at first much as the touch of man; but just as in that instance the
+experience was agreeable. Life was too serious a thing in her regard to
+lend itself casually to lightness, and yet she felt instinctively
+attracted by this lack of self-consciousness and self-restraint. Besides
+here was an opportunity such as she had been yearning for. She had met
+Mrs. Taylor before, and knew her to be the presiding genius of the
+congregation; and it was evident that Mrs. Taylor had discovered her
+value.
+
+"Thank you," she said, gravely, but cordially. "That is what I should
+like. I wish to be of use. I shall be pleased to serve on the
+committee."
+
+"It will be interesting, I think. I have never helped build anything
+before. Perhaps you have?"
+
+"No," said Selma slowly. Her tone conveyed the impression that, though
+her abilities had never been put to that precise test, the employment
+seemed easily within her capacity.
+
+"Ah! I am sure you will be suggestive" said Mrs. Taylor. "I am right
+anxious that it shall be a credit in an architectural way, you know."
+
+Mr. Glynn, who had followed with more measured tread, now mingled his
+hearty bass voice in the conversation. His mental attitude was friendly,
+but inquisitorial; as seemed to him to befit one charged with the cure
+of souls. He proceeded to ask questions, beginning with inquiries
+conventional and domestic, but verging presently on points of faith.
+Babcock, to whom they were directly addressed, stood the ordeal well,
+revealing himself as flattered, contrite, and zealous to avail himself
+of the blessings of the church. He admitted that lately he had been lax
+in his spiritual duties.
+
+"We come every Sunday now," he said buoyantly, with a glance at Selma as
+though to indicate that she deserved the credit of his reformation.
+
+"The holy sacrament of marriage has led many souls from darkness into
+light, from the flesh-pots of Egypt to the table of the Lord" Mr. Glynn
+answered. "And you, my daughter," he added, meaningly, "guard well your
+advantage."
+
+It was agreeable to Selma that the clergymen seemed to appreciate her
+superiority to her embarrassed husband, especially as she thought she
+knew that in England women were not expected to have opinions of their
+own. She wished to say something to impress him more distinctly with her
+cleverness, for though she was secretly contemptuous of his ceremonials,
+there was something impressive in his mandatory zeal. She came near
+asking whether he held to the belief that it was wrong for a man to
+marry his deceased wife's sister, which was the only proposition in
+relation to the married state which occurred to her at the moment as
+likely to show her independence, but she contented herself instead with
+saying, with so much of Mrs. Taylor's spontaneity as she could reproduce
+without practice, "We expect to be very happy in your church."
+
+Selma, however, supplemented her words with her tense spiritual look.
+She felt happier than she had for weeks, inasmuch as life seemed to be
+opening before her. For a few moments she listened to Mr. Glynn unfold
+his hopes in regard to the new church, trying to make him feel that she
+was no common woman. She considered it a tribute to her when he took
+Lewis aside later and asked him to become a junior warden.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+At this time the necessity for special knowledge as to artistic or
+educational matters was recognized grudgingly in Benham. Any reputable
+citizen was considered capable to pass judgment on statues and pictures,
+design a house or public building, and prescribe courses of study for
+school-children. Since then the free-born Benhamite, little by little,
+through wise legislation or public opinion, born of bitter experience,
+has been robbed of these prerogatives until, not long ago, the
+un-American and undemocratic proposition to take away the laying out of
+the new city park from the easy going but ignorant mercies of the
+so-called city forester, who had been first a plumber and later an
+alderman, prevailed. An enlightened civic spirit triumphed and special
+knowledge was invoked.
+
+That was twenty-five years later. Mrs. Hallett Taylor had found herself
+almost single-handed at the outset in her purpose to build the new
+church on artistic lines. Or rather the case should be stated thus:
+Everyone agreed that it was to be the most beautiful church in the
+country, consistent with the money, and no one doubted that it would be,
+especially as everyone except Mrs. Taylor felt that in confiding the
+matter to the leading architect in Benham the committee would be
+exercising a wise and intelligent discretion. Mr. Pierce, the individual
+suggested, had never, until recently, employed the word architect in
+speaking of himself, and he pronounced it, as did some of the committee,
+"arshitect," shying a little at the word, as though it were caviare and
+anything but American. He was a builder, practised by a brief but
+rushing career in erecting houses, banks, schools, and warehouses
+speedily and boldly. He had been on the spot when the new growth of
+Benham began, and his handiwork was writ large all over the city. The
+city was proud of him, and had, as it were, sniffed when Joel Flagg went
+elsewhere for a man to build his new house. Surely, if it were necessary
+to pay extra for that sort of thing, was not home talent good enough?
+Yet it must be confessed that the ugly splendor of the Flagg mediaeval
+castle had so far dazed the eye of Benham that its "arshitect" had felt
+constrained, in order to keep up with the times, to try fancy flights of
+his own. He had silenced any doubting Thomases by his latest effort, a
+new school-house, rich in rampant angles and scrolls, on the brown-stone
+front of which the name _Flagg School_ appeared in ambitious, distorted
+hieroglyphics.
+
+Think what a wealth of imagery in the tossing of the second O on top of
+the L. If artistic novelty and genius were sought for the new church,
+here it was ready to be invoked. Besides, Mr. Pierce was a
+brother-in-law of one of the members of the committee, and, though the
+committee had the fear of God in their hearts in the erection of his
+sanctuary, it was not easy to protest against the near relative of a
+fellow member, especially one so competent.
+
+The committee numbered seven. Selma had been chosen to fill a vacancy
+caused by death, but at the time of her selection the matter was still
+in embryo, and the question of an architect had not been mooted. At the
+next meeting discussion arose as to whether Mr. Pierce should be given
+the job, under the eagle eyes of a sub-committee, or Mrs. Taylor's
+project of inviting competitive designs should be adopted. It was known
+that Mr. Glynn, without meaning disrespect to Mr. Pierce, favored the
+latter plan as more progressive, a word always attractive to Benham ears
+when they had time to listen. Its potency, coupled with veneration, for
+the pastor's opinion, had secured the vote of Mr. Clyme, a banker.
+Another member of the committee, a lawyer, favored Mrs. Taylor's idea
+because of a grudge against Mr. Pierce. The chairman and brother-in-law,
+and a hard-headed stove dealer, were opposed to the competitive plan as
+highfalutin and unnecessary. Thus the deciding vote lay with Selma.
+
+Now that they were on the same committee, Mrs. Taylor could not
+altogether make her out. She remembered that Mr. Glynn had said the same
+thing. Mrs. Taylor was accustomed to conquests. Without actual
+premeditation, she was agreeably conscious of being able to convert and
+sweep most opponents off their feet by the force of her pleasant
+personality. In this case the effect was not so obvious. She was
+conscious that Selma's eyes were constantly fixed upon her, but as to
+what she was thinking Mrs. Taylor felt less certain. Clearly she was
+mesmerized, but was the tribute admiration or hostility? Mrs. Taylor was
+piqued, and put upon her metal. Besides she needed Selma's vote. Not
+being skilled in psychological analyses, she had to resort to practical
+methods, and invited her to afternoon tea.
+
+Selma had never been present at afternoon tea as a domestic function in
+her life. Nor had she seen a home like Mrs. Taylor's. The house was no
+larger than her own, and had cost less. Medicine had not been so
+lucrative as the manufacture of varnish. Externally the house displayed
+stern lines of unadorned brick--the custom-made style of Benham in the
+first throes of expansion before Mr. Pierce's imagination had been
+stirred. Mr. Taylor had bought it as it stood, and his wife had made no
+attempt to alter the outside, which was, after all, inoffensively
+homely. But the interior was bewildering to Selma's gaze in its
+suggestion of cosey comfort. Pretty, tasteful things, many of them
+inexpensive knick-knacks of foreign origin--a small picture, a bit of
+china, a mediaeval relic--were cleverly placed as a relief to the
+conventional furniture. Selma had been used to formalism in household
+garniture--to a best room little used and precise with the rigor of wax
+flowers and black horse-hair, and to a living room where the effect
+sought was purely utilitarian. Her new home, in spite of its colored
+glass and iron stag, was arranged in much this fashion, as were the
+houses of her neighbors which she had entered.
+
+Selma managed to seat herself on the one straight-backed chair in the
+room. From this she was promptly driven by Mrs. Taylor and established
+in one corner of a lounge with a soft silk cushion behind her, and
+further propitiated by the proffer of a cup of tea in a dainty cup and
+saucer. All this, including Mrs. Taylor's musical voice, easy speech,
+and ingratiating friendliness, alternately thrilled and irritated her.
+She would have liked to discard her hostess from her thought as a light
+creature unworthy of intellectual seriousness, but she found herself
+fascinated and even thawed in spite of herself.
+
+"I'm glad to have the opportunity really to talk to you," said Mrs.
+Taylor. "At the church reunions one is so liable to interruptions. If
+I'm not mistaken, you taught school before you were married?"
+
+"For a short time."
+
+"That must have been interesting. It is so practical and definite. My
+life," she added deprecatingly, "has been a thing of threads and
+patches--a bit here and a bit there."
+
+She paused, but without forcing a response, proceeded blithely to touch
+on her past by way of illustration. The war had come just when she was
+grown up, and her kin in Maryland were divided on the issue. Her father
+had taken his family abroad, but her heart was in the keeping of a young
+officer on the Northern side--now her husband. Loss of property and
+bitterness of spirit had kept her parents expatriated, and she, with
+them, had journeyed from place to place in Europe. She had seen many
+beautiful places and beautiful things. At last Major Taylor had come for
+her and carried her off as his bride to take up again her life as an
+American.
+
+"I am interested in Benham," she continued, "and I count on you, Mrs.
+Babcock, to help make the new church what it ought to be
+artistically--worthy of all the energy and independence there is in this
+place."
+
+Selma's eye kindled. The allusion to foreign lands had aroused her
+distrust, but this patriotic avowal warmed her pulses.
+
+"Every one is so busy with private affairs here, owing to the rapid
+growth of the city," pursued Mrs. Taylor, "that there is danger of our
+doing inconsiderately things which cannot easily be set right hereafter.
+An ugly or tawdry-looking building may be an eyesore for a generation. I
+know that we have honest and skilful mechanics in Benham, but as
+trustees of the church funds, shouldn't we at least make the effort to
+get the best talent there is? If we have the cleverest architect here,
+so much the better. An open competition will enable us to find out.
+After all Benham is only one city among many, and a very new city. Why
+shouldn't we take advantage of the ideas of the rest of the country--the
+older portion of the country?"
+
+"Mr. Pierce built our house, and we think it very satisfactory and
+pretty."
+
+Selma's tone was firm, but she eyed her hostess narrowly. She had begun
+of late to distrust the aesthetic worth of the colored glass and metal
+stag, and, though she was on her guard against effrontery, she wished to
+know the truth. She knew that Mr. Pierce, with fine business instinct,
+had already conveyed to her husband the promise that he should furnish
+the varnish for the new church in case of his own selection, which, as
+Babcock had remarked, would be a nice thing all round.
+
+Mrs. Taylor underwent the scrutiny without flinching. "I have nothing to
+say against Mr. Pierce. He is capable within his lights. Indeed I think
+it quite possible that we shall get nothing more satisfactory elsewhere.
+Mr. Flagg's grim pile is anything but encouraging. That may sound like
+an argument against my plan, but in the case of the Flagg house there
+was no competition; merely unenlightened choice on the one side and
+ignorant experimenting on the other."
+
+"You don't seem to think very highly of the appearance of Benham," said
+Selma. The remark was slightly interrogative, but was combative withal.
+She wished to know if everything, from the Flagg mansion down, was open
+to criticism, but she would fain question the authority of the
+censor--this glib, graceful woman whose white, starched cuffs seemed to
+make light of her own sober, unadorned wrists.
+
+This time Mrs. Taylor flushed faintly. She realized that their relations
+had reached a critical point, and that the next step might be fatal. She
+put down her teacup, and leaning forward, said with smiling confidential
+eagerness, "I don't. I wouldn't admit it to anyone else. But what's the
+use of mincing matters with an intelligent woman like you? I might put
+you off now, and declare that Benham is well enough. But you would soon
+divine what I really think, and that would be the end of confidence
+between us. I like honesty and frankness, and I can see that you do. My
+opinion of Benham architecture is that it is slip-shod and mongrel.
+There! You see I put myself in your hands, but I do so because I feel
+sure you nearly agree with me already. You know it's so, but you hate to
+acknowledge it."
+
+Selma's eyes were bright with interest. She felt flattered by the
+appeal, and there was a righteous assurance in Mrs. Taylor's manner
+which was convincing. She opened her mouth to say something--what she
+did not quite know--but Mrs. Taylor raised her hand by way of
+interdiction.
+
+"Don't answer yet. Let me show you what I mean. I'm as proud of Benham
+as anyone. I am absorbed by the place, I look to see it fifty years
+hence--perhaps less--a great city, and a beautiful city too. Just at
+present everything is commercial and--and ethical; yes, ethical. We wish
+to do and dare, but we haven't time to adorn as we construct. That is,
+most of us haven't. But if a few determined spirits--women though they
+be--cry 'halt,' art may get a chance here and there to assert herself.
+Look at this," she said, gliding across the room and holding up a small
+vase of exquisite shape and coloring, "I picked it up on the other side
+and it stands almost for a lost art. The hands and taste which wrought
+it represent the transmitted patience and skill of hundreds of years. We
+like to rush things through in a few weeks on a design hastily conceived
+by a Mr. Pierce because we are so earnest. Now, we won't do it this
+time, will we?"
+
+"No, we won't," said Selma. "I see what you mean. I was afraid at first
+that you didn't give us credit for the earnestness--for the ethical
+part. That's the first thing, the great thing according to my idea, and
+it's what distinguishes us from foreigners,--the foreigners who made
+that vase, for instance. But I agree with you that there's such a thing
+as going too fast, and very likely some of the buildings here aren't all
+they might be. We don't need to model them on foreign patterns, but we
+must have them pretty and right."
+
+"Certainly, certainly, my dear. What we should strive for is
+originality--American originality; but soberly, slowly. Art is evolved
+painfully, little by little; it can't be bought ready-made at shops for
+the asking like tea and sugar. If we invite designs for the new church,
+we shall give the youths of the country who have ideas seething in their
+heads a chance to express themselves. Who knows but we may unearth a
+genius?"
+
+"Who knows?" echoed Selma, with her spiritual look. "Yes, you are right,
+Mrs. Taylor. I will help you. As you say, there must be hundreds of
+young men who would like to do just that sort of thing. I know myself
+what it is to have lived in a small place without the opportunity to
+show what one could do; to feel the capacity, but to be without the
+means and occasion to reveal what is in one. And now that I understand
+we really look at things the same way, I'm glad to join with you in
+making Benham beautiful. As you say, we women can do much if we only
+will. I've the greatest faith in woman's mission in this new,
+interesting nation of ours. Haven't you, Mrs. Taylor? Don't you believe
+that she, in her new sphere of usefulness, is one of the great moving
+forces of the Republic?" Selma was talking rapidly, and had lost every
+trace of suspicious restraint. She spoke as one transfigured.
+
+"Yes, indeed," answered Mrs. Taylor, checking any disposition she may
+have felt to interpose qualifications. She could acquiesce generally
+without violence to her convictions, and she could not afford to imperil
+the safety of the immediate issue--her church. "I felt sure you would
+feel so if you only had time to reflect," she added. "If you vote with
+us, you will have the pleasant consciousness of knowing that you have
+advanced woman's cause just so much."
+
+"You may count on my vote."
+
+Selma stopped on her way home, although it was late, to purchase some
+white cuffs. As she approached, her husband stood on the grass-plot in
+his shirt sleeves with a garden-hose. He was whistling, and when he saw
+her he kissed his hand at her jubilantly,
+
+"Well, sweetheart, where you been?"
+
+"Visiting. Taking tea with Mrs. Taylor. I've promised her to vote to
+invite bids for the church plans."
+
+Babcock looked surprised. "That'll throw Pierce out, won't it?"
+
+"Not unless some one else submits a better design than he."
+
+Lewis scratched his head. "I considered that order for varnish as good
+as booked."
+
+"I'm not sure Mr. Pierce knows as much as he thinks he does," said Selma
+oracularly. "We shall get plans from New York and Boston. If we don't
+like them we needn't take them. But that's the way to get an artistic
+thing. And we're going to have the most artistic church in Benham. I'm
+sorry about the varnish, but a principle is involved."
+
+Babcock was puzzled but content. He cared far more for the
+disappointment to Pierce than for the loss of the order. But apart from
+the business side of the question, he never doubted that his wife must
+be right, nor did he feel obliged to inquire what principle was
+involved. He was pleased to have her associate with Mrs. Taylor, and was
+satisfied that she would be a credit to him in any situation where
+occult questions of art or learning were mooted. He dropped his hose and
+pulled her down beside him on the porch settee. There was a beautiful
+sunset, and the atmosphere was soft and refreshing. Selma felt satisfied
+with herself. As Mrs. Taylor had said, it was her vote which would turn
+the scale on behalf of progress. Other things, too, were in her mind.
+She was not ready to admit that she had been instructed, but she was
+already planning changes in her own domestic interior, suggested by what
+she had seen.
+
+She let her husband squeeze her hand, but her thoughts were wandering
+from his blandishments. Presently she said: "Lewis, I've begun lately to
+doubt if that stag is really pretty."
+
+"The stag? Well, now, I've always thought it tasty--one of the features
+of our little place."
+
+"No one would mistake it for a real deer. It looks to me almost
+comical."
+
+Babcock turned to regard judicially the object of her criticism.
+
+"I like it," he said somewhat mournfully, as though he were puzzled.
+"But if you don't, we'll change the stag for something else. I wish you
+to be pleased first of all. Instead we might have a fountain; two
+children under an umbrella I saw the other day. It was cute. How does
+that strike you?"
+
+"I can't tell without seeing it. And, Lewis, promise me that you won't
+select anything new of that sort until I have looked at it."
+
+"Very well," Babcock answered submissively. But he continued to look
+puzzled. In his estimate of his wife's superiority to himself in the
+subtleties of life, it had never occurred to him to include the choice
+of every-day objects of art. He had eyes and could judge for himself
+like any other American citizen. Still, he was only too glad to humor
+Selma in such an unimportant matter, especially as he was eager for her
+happiness.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+Seven designs for the new church were submitted, including three from
+Benham architects. The leaven of influence exercised by spirits like
+Mrs. Taylor was only just beginning to work, and the now common custom
+of competing outside one's own bailiwick was still in embryo. Mr.
+Pierce's design was bold and sumptuous. His brother-in-law stated
+oracularly not long before the day when the plans were to be opened:
+"Pierce is not a man to be frightened out of a job by frills. Mark my
+words; he will give us an elegant thing." Mr. Pierce had conceived the
+happy thought of combining a Moorish mosque and New England
+meeting-house in a conservative and equitable medley, evidently hoping
+thereby to be both picturesque and traditional. The result, even on
+paper, was too bold for some of his admirers. The chairman was heard to
+remark: "I shouldn't feel as though I was in church. That dome set among
+spires is close to making a theatre of the house of God."
+
+The discomfiture of the first architect of Benham cleared the way for
+the triumph of Mrs. Taylor's taste. The design submitted by Wilbur
+Littleton of New York, seemed to her decidedly the most meritorious. It
+was graceful, appropriate, and artistic; entirely in harmony with
+religious associations, yet agreeably different from every day
+sanctuaries. The choice lay between his and that presented by Mr. Cass,
+a Benham builder--a matter-of-fact, serviceable, but very conventional
+edifice. The hard-headed stove dealer on the committee declared in favor
+of the native design, as simpler and more solid.
+
+"It'll be a massive structure" he said, "and when it's finished no one
+will have to ask what it is. It'll speak for itself. Mr. Cass is a solid
+business man, and we know what we'll get. The other plan is what I call
+dandified."
+
+It was evident to the committee that the stove dealer's final criticism
+comprehended the architect as well as his design. Several
+competitors--Littleton among them--had come in person to explain the
+merits of their respective drawings, and by the side of solid,
+red-bearded, undecorative Mr. Cass, Littleton may well have seemed a
+dandy. He was a slim young man with a delicate, sensitive face and
+intelligent brown eyes. He looked eager and interesting. In his case the
+almost gaunt American physiognomy was softened by a suggestion of poetic
+impulses. Yet the heritage of nervous energy was apparent. His
+appearance conveyed the impression of quiet trigness and gentility. His
+figure lent itself to his clothes, which were utterly inconspicuous,
+judged by metropolitan standards, but flawless in the face of
+hard-headed theories of life, and aroused suspicion. He spoke in a
+gentle but earnest manner, pointing out clearly, yet modestly, the
+merits of his composition.
+
+Selma had never seen a man just like him before, and she noticed that
+from the outset his eyes seemed to be fastened on her as though his
+words were intended for her special benefit. She had never read the
+lines--indeed they had not been written--
+
+"I think I could be happy with a gentleman like you."
+
+Nor did the precise sentiment contained in them shape itself in her
+thought. Yet she was suddenly conscious that she had been starving for
+lack of intellectual companionship, and that he was the sort of man she
+had hoped to meet--the sort of man who could appreciate her and whom she
+could appreciate.
+
+It did not become necessary for Selma to act as Mr. Littleton's
+champion, for the stove dealer's criticism found only one supporter. The
+New Yorker's design for the church was so obviously pretty and suitable
+that a majority of the Committee promptly declared in its favor. The
+successful competitor, who had remained a day to learn the result, was
+solemnly informed of the decision, and then elaborately introduced to
+the members. In shaking hands with him, Selma experienced a shade of
+embarrassment. It was plain that his words to her, spoken with a low
+bow--"I am very much gratified that my work pleases you" conveyed a more
+spiritual significance than was contained in his thanks to the others.
+Still he seemed more at his ease with Mrs. Taylor, who promptly broke
+the ice of the situation by fixing him as a close relative of friends in
+Baltimore. Straightway he became sprightly and voluble, speaking of
+things and people beyond Selma's experience. This social jargon
+irritated Selma. It seemed to her a profanation of a noble character,
+yet she was annoyed because she could not understand.
+
+Mrs. Taylor, having discovered in Mr. Littleton one who should have been
+a friend long before, succeeded in carrying him off to dinner. Yet,
+before taking his leave, he came back to Selma for a few words. She had
+overheard Mrs. Taylor's invitation, and she asked herself why she too
+might not become better acquainted with this young man whose attitude
+toward her was that of respectful admiration. To have a strange young
+man to dine off-hand struck her as novel. She had a general conviction
+that it would seem to Lewis closely allied to light conduct, and that
+only foreigners or frivolous people let down to this extent the bars of
+family life. Now that Mrs. Taylor had set her the example, she was less
+certain of the moral turpitude of such an act, but she concluded also
+that her husband would be in the way at table. What she desired was an
+opportunity for a long, interesting chat about high things.
+
+While she reflected, he was saying to her, "I understand that your
+committee is to supervise my work until the new church is completed, so
+I shall hope to have the opportunity to meet you occasionally. It will
+be necessary for me to make trips here from time to time to see that
+everything is being done correctly by the mechanics."
+
+"Do you go away immediately?"
+
+"It may be that I shall be detained by the arrangements which I must
+make here until day after to-morrow."
+
+"If you would really like to see me, I live at 25 Onslow Avenue."
+
+"Thank you very much." Littleton took out a small memorandum book and
+carefully noted the address. "Mrs. Babcock, 25 Onslow Avenue. I shall
+make a point of calling to-morrow afternoon if I stay--and probably I
+shall."
+
+He bowed and left Selma pleasantly stirred by the interview. His voice
+was low and his enunciation sympathetically fluent. She said to herself
+that she would give him afternoon tea and they would compare ideas
+together. She felt sure that his must be interesting.
+
+Later in the evening at Mrs. Taylor's, when there was a pause in their
+sympathetic interchange of social and aesthetic convictions, Littleton
+said abruptly:
+
+"Tell me something, please, about Mrs. Babcock. She has a suggestive as
+well as a beautiful face, and it is easy to perceive that she is
+genuinely American--not one of the women of whom we were speaking, who
+seem to be ashamed of their own institutions, and who ape foreign
+manners and customs. I fancy she would illustrate what I was saying just
+now as to the vital importance of our clinging to our heritage of
+independent thought--of accepting the truth of the ancient order of
+things without allowing its lies and demerits to enslave us."
+
+"I suppose so," said Mrs. Taylor. "She certainly does not belong to the
+dangerous class of whom you were speaking. I was flattering myself that
+neither did I, for I was agreeing with all you said as to the need of
+cherishing our native originality. Yet I must confess that now that you
+compare me with her (the actual comparison is my own, but you instigated
+it), I begin to feel more doubts about myself--that is if she is the
+true species, and I'm inclined to think she is. Pray excuse this
+indirect method of answering your inquiry; it is in the nature of a
+soliloquy; it is an airing of thoughts and doubts which have been
+harassing me for a fortnight--ever since I knew Mrs. Babcock. Really,
+Mr. Littleton, I can tell you very little about her. She is a new-comer
+on the horizon of Benham; she has been married very recently; I believe
+she has taught school and that she was brought up not far from here. She
+is as proud as Lucifer and sometimes as beautiful; she is profoundly
+serious and--and apparently very ignorant. I fancy she is clever and
+capable in her way, but I admit she is an enigma to me and that I have
+not solved it. I can see she does not approve of me altogether. She
+regards me with suspicion, and yet she threw the casting vote in favor
+of my proposal to open the competition for the church to architects from
+other places. I am trying to like her, for I wish to believe in
+everything genuinely American if I can. There, I have told you all I
+know, and to a man she may seem altogether attractive and inspiring."
+
+"Thank you. I had no conception that I was broaching such a complex
+subject. She sounds interesting, and my curiosity is whetted. You have
+not mentioned the husband."
+
+"To be sure. A burly, easy-going manufacturer of varnish, without much
+education, I should judge. He is manifestly her inferior in half a dozen
+ways, but I understand that he is making money, and he looks kind."
+
+Wilbur Littleton's life since he had come to man's estate had been a
+struggle, and he was only just beginning to make headway. He had never
+had time to commiserate himself, for necessity on the one hand and
+youthful ambition on the other had kept his energies tense and his
+thoughts sane and hopeful. He and his sister Pauline, a year his senior,
+had been left orphans while both were students by the death of their
+father on the battlefield. To persevere in their respective tastes and
+work out their educations had been a labor of love, but an undertaking
+which demanded rigorous self-denial on the part of each. Wilbur had
+determined to become an architect. Pauline, early interested in the
+dogma that woman must no longer be barred from intellectual
+companionship with man, had sought to cultivate herself intelligently
+without sacrificing her brother's domestic comfort. She had succeeded.
+Their home in New York, despite its small dimensions and frugal
+hospitality, was already a favorite resort of a little group of
+professional people with busy brains and light purses. Wilbur was in the
+throes of early progress. He had no relatives or influential friends to
+give him business, and employment came slowly. He had been an architect
+on his own account for two years, but was still obliged to supplement
+his professional orders by work as a draughtsman for others. Yet his
+enthusiasm kept him buoyant. In respect to his own work he was
+scrupulous; indeed, a stern critic. He abhorred claptrap and specious
+effects, and aimed at high standards of artistic expression. This gave
+him position among his brother architects, but was incompatible with
+meteoric progress. His design for the church at Benham represented much
+thought and hope, and he felt happy at his success.
+
+Littleton's familiarity with women, apart from his sister, had been
+slight, but his thoughts regarding them were in keeping with a poetic
+and aspiring nature. He hoped to marry some day, and he was fond of
+picturing to himself in moments of reverie the sort of woman to whom his
+heart would be given. In the shrine of his secret fancy she appeared
+primarily as an object of reverence, a white-souled angel of light clad
+in the graceful outlines of flesh, an Amazon and yet a winsome, tender
+spirit, and above all a being imbued with the stimulating intellectual
+independence he had been taught to associate with American womanhood.
+She would be the loving wife of his bosom and the intelligent sharer of
+his thoughts and aspirations--often their guide. So pure and exacting
+was his ideal that while alive to the value of coyness and coquetry as
+elements of feminine attraction for others, Wilbur had chosen to regard
+the maiden of his faith as too serious a spirit to condescend to such
+vanities; and from a similar vein of appreciation he was prone to think
+of her as unadorned, or rather untarnished, by the gewgaws of
+fashionable dressmaking and millinery. His first sight of Selma had made
+him conscious that here was a face not unlike what he had hoped to
+encounter some day, and he had instinctively felt her to be sympathetic.
+He was even conscious of disappointment when he heard her addressed as
+Mrs. Babcock. Evidently she was a free-born soul, unhampered by the
+social weaknesses of a large city, and illumined by the spiritual grace
+of native womanliness. So he thought of her, and Mrs. Taylor's diagnosis
+rather confirmed than impaired his impression, for in Mrs. Taylor Wilbur
+felt he discerned a trace of antagonism born of cosmopolitan
+prejudice--an inability to value at its true worth a nature not moulded
+on conventional lines. Rigorous as he was in his judgments, and eager to
+disown what was cheap or shallow, mere conventionalism, whether in art
+or daily life, was no less abhorrent to him. Here, he said to himself,
+was an original soul, ignorant and unenlightened perhaps, but endowed
+with swift perception and capable of noble development.
+
+The appearance of Selma's scroll and glass bedizened house did not
+affect this impression. Wilbur was first of all appreciatively an
+American. That is he recognized that native energy had hitherto been
+expended on the things of the spirit to the neglect of things material.
+As an artist he was supremely interested in awakening and guiding the
+national taste in respect to art, but at the same time he was thoroughly
+aware that the peculiar vigor and independence of character which he
+knew as Americanism was often utterly indifferent to, or ignorant of,
+the value of aesthetics. After all, art was a secondary consideration,
+whereas the inward vision which absorbed the attention of the thoughtful
+among his countrymen and countrywomen was an absolute essential without
+which the soul must lose its fineness. He himself was seeking to show
+that beauty, in external material expression, was not merely consistent
+with strong ideals but requisite to their fit presentment. He recognized
+too that the various and variegated departures from the monotonous
+homely pattern of the every-day American house, which were evident in
+each live town, were but so many indicators that the nation was
+beginning to realize the truth of this. His battle was with the
+designers and builders who were guiding falsely and flamboyantly, not
+with the deceived victims, nor with those who were still satisfied
+merely to look inwardly, and ignored form and color. Hence he would have
+been able to behold the Babcocks' iron stag without rancor had the
+animal still occupied the grass-plot. Selma, when she saw the figure of
+her visitor in the door-way, congratulated herself that it had been
+removed. It would have pleased her to know that Mr. Littleton had
+already placed her in a niche above the level of mere grass-plot
+considerations. That was where she belonged of course; but she was
+fearful on the score of suspected shortcomings. So it was gratifying to
+be able to receive him in a smarter gown, to be wearing white cuffs, and
+to offer him tea with a touch of Mrs. Taylor's tormenting urbanity. Not
+so unreservedly as she. That would never do. It was and never would be
+in keeping with her own ideas of serious self-respect. Still a touch of
+it was grateful to herself. She felt that it was a grace and enhanced
+her effectiveness.
+
+A few moments later Selma realized that for the first time since she had
+lived in Benham she was being understood and appreciated. She felt too
+that for the first time she was talking to a kindred spirit--to be sure,
+to one different, and more technically proficient in concrete knowledge,
+possibly more able, too, to express his thoughts in words, but eminently
+a comrade and sympathizer. She was not obliged to say much. Nor were,
+indeed, his actual words the source of her realization. The revelation
+came from what was left unsaid--from the silent recognition by him that
+she was worthy to share his best thoughts and was herself a serious
+worker in the struggle of life. No graceful but galling attitude of
+superiority, no polite indifference to her soul-hunger, no disposition
+to criticise. And yet he was no less voluble, clever, and spirited than
+Mrs. Taylor. She listened with wrapt interest to his easy talk, which
+was ever grave in tone, despite his pleasant sallies. He spoke of Benham
+with quick appreciation of its bustling energy, and let her see that he
+divined its capacity for greatness. This led him to refer with kindling
+eyes to the keen impulse toward education and culture which was
+animating the younger men and women of the country; to the new
+beginnings of art, literature, and scientific investigation. At scarcely
+a hint from her he told briefly of his past life and his hopes, and
+fondly mentioned his sister and her present absorption in some history
+courses for women.
+
+"And you?" he said. "You are a student, too. Mrs. Taylor has told me,
+but I should have guessed it. Duties even more interesting claim you
+now, but it is easy to perceive that you have known that other
+happiness, 'To scorn delights and live laborious days.'"
+
+His words sounded musical, though the quotation from Lycidas was
+unfamiliar to her ears. Her brain was thrilling with the import of all
+he had told her--with his allusions to the intellectual and ethical
+movements of Boston and New York, in which she felt herself by right and
+with his recognition a partner and peer.
+
+"You were teaching school when you married, I believe?" he added.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And before that, if I may ask?"
+
+"I lived at Westfield with my father. It is a small country town, but we
+tried to be in earnest."
+
+"I understand--I understand. You grew up among the trees, and the
+breezes and the brooks, those wonderful wordless teachers. I envy you,
+for they give one time to think--to expand. I have known only city life
+myself. It is stimulating, but one is so easily turned aside from one's
+direct purpose. Do you write at all?"
+
+"Not yet. But I have wished to. Some day I shall. Just now I have too
+many domestic concerns to--"
+
+She did not finish, for Babcock's heavy tread and whistle resounded in
+the hall and at the next moment he was calling "Selma!"
+
+She felt annoyed at being interrupted, but she divined that it would
+never do to show it.
+
+"My husband," she said, and she raised her voice to utter with a sugared
+dignity which would have done credit to Mrs. Taylor,
+
+"I am in the parlor, Lewis."
+
+"Enter your chief domestic concern," said Littleton blithely. "A happy
+home is preferable to all the poems and novels in the world."
+
+Babcock, pushing open the door, which stood ajar, stopped short in his
+melody.
+
+"This is Mr. Littleton, Lewis. The architect of our new church."
+
+"Pleased to make your acquaintance." And by way of accounting for the
+sudden softening of his brow, Babcock added, "I set you down at first as
+one of those lightning-rod agents. There was one here last week who
+wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."
+
+"He has an advantage over me," answered Littleton with a laugh. "In my
+business a man can't solicit orders. He has to sit and wait for them to
+come to him."
+
+"I want to know. My wife thinks a lot of your drawings for the new
+church."
+
+"I hope to make it a credit to your city. I've just been saying to your
+wife, Mr. Babcock, that Benham has a fine future before it. The very
+atmosphere seems charged with progress."
+
+Babcock beamed approvingly. "It's a driving place, sir. The man in
+Benham who stops by the way-side to scratch his head gets left behind.
+When we moved into this house a year ago looking through that window we
+were at the jumping-off place; now you see houses cropping up in every
+direction. It's going to be a big city. Pleased to have you stop to
+supper with us," he added with burly suavity as their visitor rose.
+
+Littleton excused himself and took his leave. Babcock escorted him to
+the front door and full of his subject delayed him on the porch to touch
+once more on the greatness of Benham. There was a clumsy method too in
+this optimistic garrulity, for at the close he referred with some pride
+to his own business career, and made a tender of his business card,
+"Lewis Babcock & Company, Varnishes," with a flourish. "If you do
+anything in my line, pleased to accommodate you."
+
+Littleton departing, tickled by a pleasant sense of humor, caught
+through the parlor window a last glimpse of Selma's inspired face bowing
+gravely, yet wistfully, in acknowledgment of his lifted hat, and he
+strode away under the spell of a brain picture which he transmuted into
+words: "There's the sort of case where the cynical foreigner fails to
+appreciate the true import of our American life. That couple typifies
+the elements of greatness in our every-day people. At first blush the
+husband's rough and material, but he's shrewd and enterprising and
+vigorous--the bread winner. He's enormously proud of her, and he has
+reason to be, for she is a constant stimulus to higher things. Little by
+little, and without his knowing it, perhaps, she will smoothe and
+elevate him, and they will develop together, growing in intelligence and
+cultivation as they wax in worldly goods. After all, woman is our most
+marvellous native product--that sort of woman. Heigho!" Having given
+vent to this sigh, Littleton proceeded to recognize the hopelessness of
+the personal situation by murmuring with a slightly forced access of
+sprightliness
+
+     "If she be not fair for me,
+     What care I how fair she be?"
+
+Still he intended to see more of Mrs. Babcock, and that without
+infringing the tenth or any other commandment. To flirt with a married
+woman savored to him of things un-American and unworthy, and Littleton
+had much too healthy an imagination to rhapsodize from such a
+stand-point. Yet he foresaw that they might be mutually respecting
+friends.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+Selma knew intuitively that an American woman was able to cook a smooth
+custard, write a poem and control real society with one and the same
+brain and hand, and she was looking forward to the realization of the
+apotheosis; but, though she was aware that children are the natural
+increment of wedlock, she had put the idea from her ever since her
+marriage as impersonal and vaguely disgusting. Consequently her
+confinement came as an unwelcome interruption of her occupations and
+plans.
+
+Her connection with the committee for the new church had proved an
+introduction to other interests, charitable and social. One day she was
+taken by Mrs. Taylor to a meeting of the Benham Woman's Institute, a
+literary club recently established by Mrs. Margaret Rodney Earle, a
+Western newspaper woman who had made her home in Benham. Selma came in
+upon some twenty of her own sex in a hotel private parlor hired weekly
+for the uses of the Institute. Mrs. Earle, the president, a large florid
+woman of fifty, with gray hair rising from the brow, fluent of speech,
+endowed with a public manner, a commanding bust and a vigorous,
+ingratiating smile, wielded a gavel at a little table and directed the
+exercises. A paper on Shakespeare's heroines was read and discussed.
+Selections on the piano followed. A thin woman in eye-glasses, the
+literary editor of the _Benham Sentinel_, recited "Curfew must not ring
+to-night," and a visitor from Wisconsin gave an exhibition in melodious
+whistling. In the intervals, tea, chocolate with whipped cream and
+little cakes were dispensed.
+
+Selma was absorbed and thrilled. What could be more to her taste than
+this? At the close of the whistling exercise, Mrs. Earle came over and
+spoke to her. They took a strong fancy to each other on the spot. Selma
+preferred a person who would tell you everything about herself and to
+whom you could tell everything about yourself without preliminaries.
+People like Mrs. Taylor repressed her, but the motherly loquacity and
+comprehension of Mrs. Earle drew her out and thawed at once and forever
+the ice of acquaintanceship. Before she quite realized the extent of
+this fascination she had promised to recite something, and as in a
+dream, but with flushing cheeks, she heard the President rap the table
+and announce "You will be gratified to hear that a talented friend who
+is with us has kindly consented to favor us with a recital. I have the
+honor to introduce Mrs. Lewis Babcock."
+
+After the first flush of nervousness, Selma's grave dignity came to her
+support, and justified her completely in her own eyes. Her father had
+been fond of verse, especially of verse imbued with moral melancholy,
+and at his suggestion she had learned and had been wont to repeat many
+of the occasional pieces which he cut from the newspapers and collected
+in a scrap-book. Her own preference among these was the poem, "O why
+should the spirit of mortal be proud?" which she had been told was a
+great favorite of Abraham Lincoln. It was this piece which came into her
+mind when Mrs. Earle broached the subject, and this she proceeded to
+deliver with august precision. She spoke clearly and solemnly without
+the trace of the giggling protestation which is so often incident to
+feminine diffidence. She treated the opportunity with the seriousness
+expected, for though the Institute was not proof against light and
+diverting contributions, as the whistling performance indicated, levity
+of spirit would have been out of place.
+
+     "'Tis a twink of the eye, 'tis a draught of the breath
+     From the blossom of health to the paleness of death;
+     From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud,
+     O why should the spirit of mortal be proud?"
+
+Selma enjoyed the harmony between the long, slow cadence of the metre
+and the important gravity of the theme. She rolled out the verses with
+the intensity of a seer, and she looked a beautiful seer as well.
+Liberal applause greeted her as she sat down, though the clapping woman
+is apt to be a feeble instrument at best. Selma knew that she had
+produced an impression and she was moved by her own effectiveness. She
+was compelled to swallow once or twice to conceal the tears in her voice
+while listening to the congratulations of Mrs. Earle. The words which
+she had just recited were ringing through her brain and seemed to her to
+express the pitch at which her life was keyed.
+
+Selma was chosen a member of the Institute at the next meeting, and
+forthwith she became intimate with the president. Mrs. Margaret Rodney
+Earle was, as she herself phrased it, a live woman. She supported
+herself by writing for the newspapers articles of a morally utilitarian
+character--for instance a winter's series, published every Saturday,
+"Hints on Health and Culture," or again, "Receipts for the Parlor and
+the Kitchen." She also contributed poetry of a pensive cast, and chatty
+special correspondence flavored with personal allusion. She was one of
+the pioneers in modern society journalism, which at this time, however,
+was comparatively veiled and delicate in its methods. Besides, she was a
+woman of tireless energy, with theories on many subjects and an ardor
+for organization. She advocated prohibition, the free suffrage of woman,
+the renunciation of corsets, and was interested in reforms relating to
+labor, the pauper classes and the public schools. In behalf of any of
+these causes she was ready from time to time to dash off an article at
+short notice or address an audience. But her dearest concern was the
+promotion of woman's culture and the enlargement of woman's sphere of
+usefulness through the club. The idea of the woman's club, which was
+taking root over the country, had put in the shade for the time being
+all her other plans, including the scheme of a society for making the
+golden-rod the national flower. As the founder and president of the
+Benham Institute, she felt that she had found an avocation peculiarly
+adapted to her capacities, and she was already actively in
+correspondence with clubs of a similar character in other cities, in the
+hope of forming a national organization for mutual enlightenment and
+support.
+
+Mrs. Earle received Selma by invitation at her lodgings the following
+day, and so quickly did their friendship ripen that at the end of two
+hours each had told the other everything. Selma was prone instinctively
+to regard as aristocratic and un-American any limitations to confidence.
+The evident disposition on the part of Mrs. Earle to expose promptly and
+without reserve the facts of her past and her plans for the future
+seemed to Selma typical of an interesting character, and she was
+thankful to make a clean breast in her turn as far as was possible. Mrs.
+Earle's domestic experience had been thorny.
+
+"I had a home once, too," she said, "a happy home, I thought. My husband
+said he loved me. But almost from the first we had trouble. It went on
+so from month to month, and finally we agreed to part. He objected, my
+dear, to my living my own life. He didn't like me to take an interest in
+things outside the house--public matters. I was elected on the
+school-board--the only woman--and he ought to have been proud. He said
+he was, at first, but he was too fond of declaring that a woman's place
+is in her kitchen. One day I said to him, 'Ellery, this can't go on. If
+we can't agree we'd better separate. A cat-and-dog life is no life at
+all.' He answered back, 'I'm not asking you to leave me, but if you're
+set on it don't let me hinder you, Margaret. You don't need a man to
+support you. You're as good as a man yourself.' He meant that to be
+sarcastic, I suppose. 'Yes,' said I, 'thank God, I think I can take care
+of myself, even though I am a woman.' That was the end of it. There was
+no use for either of us to get excited. I packed my things, and a few
+mornings later I said to him, 'Good-by, Ellery Earle: I wish you well,
+and I suppose you're my husband still, but I'm going to live my own life
+without let or hindrance from any man. There's your ring.' My holding
+out the ring was startling to him, for he said, 'Aren't you going to be
+sorry for this, Margaret?' 'No,' said I, 'I've thought it all out, and
+it's best for both of us. There's your ring.' He wouldn't take it, so I
+dropped it on the table and went out. Some people miss it, and
+misbelieve I was ever married. That was close on to twenty years ago,
+and I've never seen him since. When the war broke out I heard he
+enlisted, but what's become of him I don't know. Maybe he got a divorce.
+I've kept right on and lived my own life in my own way, and never lacked
+food or raiment. I'm forty-five years old, but I feel a young woman
+still."
+
+Notwithstanding Mrs. Earle's business-like directness and the
+protuberance of her bust in conclusion, by way of reasserting her
+satisfaction with the results of her action, there was a touch of
+plaintiveness in her confession which suggested the womanly author of
+"Hints on Culture and Hygiene," rather than the man-hater. This was lost
+on Selma, who was fain to sympathize purely from the stand-point of
+righteousness.
+
+"It was splendid," she said. "He had no right to prevent you living your
+own life. No husband has that right."
+
+Mrs. Earle brushed her eyes with her handkerchief. "You musn't think, my
+dear, that I'm not a believer in the home because mine has been
+unhappy--because my husband didn't or couldn't understand. The true home
+is the inspirer and nourisher of all that is best in life--in our
+American life; but men must learn the new lesson. There are many
+homes--yours, I'm sure--where the free-born American woman has
+encouragement and the opportunity to expand."
+
+"Oh, yes. My husband lets me do as I wish. I made him promise before I
+accepted him that he wouldn't thwart me; that he'd let me live my own
+life."
+
+Selma was so appreciative of Mrs. Earle, and so energetic and suggestive
+in regard to the scope of the Institute, that she was presently chosen a
+member of the council, which was the body charged with the supervision
+of the fortnightly entertainments. It occurred to her as a brilliant
+conception to have Littleton address the club on "Art," and she broached
+the subject to him when he next returned to Benham and appeared before
+the church committee. He declared that he was too busy to prepare a
+suitable lecture, but he yielded finally to her plea that he owed it to
+himself to let the women of Benham hear his views and opinions.
+
+"They are wives and they are mothers," said Selma sententiously. "It was
+a woman's vote, you remember, which elected you to build our church. You
+owe it to Art; don't you think so?"
+
+A logical appeal to his conscience was never lost on Littleton. Besides
+he was glad to oblige Mrs. Babcock, who seemed so earnest in her desire
+to improve the aesthetic taste of Benham. Accordingly, he yielded. The
+lecture was delivered a few weeks later and was a marked success, for
+Littleton's earnestness of theme and manner was relieved by a graceful,
+sympathetic delivery. Selma, whose social aplomb was increasing every
+day, glided about the rooms with a contented mien receiving
+felicitations and passing chocolate. She enjoyed the distinction of
+being the God behind the curtain.
+
+A few days later the knowledge that she herself was to become a mother
+was forced upon her attention, and was a little irksome. Of necessity
+her new interests would be interrupted. Though she did not question that
+she would perform maternal duties fitly and fully, they seemed to her
+less peculiarly adapted to her than concerns of the intellect and the
+spirit. However, the possession of a little daughter was more precious
+to her than she had expected, and the consciousness that the tiny doll
+which lay upon her breast, was flesh of her flesh and bone of her bone
+affected her agreeably and stirred her imagination. It should be reared,
+from the start, in the creed of soul independence and expansion, and she
+herself would find a new and sacred duty in catering to the needs of
+this budding intelligence. So she reflected as she lay in bed, but the
+outlook was a little marred by the thought that the baby was the living
+image of its father--broad-featured and burly--not altogether desirable
+cast of countenance for a girl. What a pity, when it might just as well
+have looked like her.
+
+Babcock, on his part, was transported by paternity. He was bubbling over
+with appreciation of the new baby, and fondly believed it to be a human
+wonder. He was solicitous on the score of its infantile ailments, and
+loaded it with gifts and toys beyond the scope of its enjoyment. He went
+about the house whistling more exuberantly than ever. There was no speck
+on his horizon; no fly in his pot of ointment. It was he who urged that
+the child should be christened promptly, though Dr. Glynn was not
+disposed to dwell on the clerical barbarism as to the destiny of
+unbaptized infants. Babcock was cultivating a conservative method: He
+realized that there was no object in taking chances. Illogical as was
+the theory that a healthy dog which had bitten him should be killed at
+once, lest it subsequently go mad and he contract hydrophobia, he was
+too happy and complacent to run the risk of letting it live. So it was
+with regard to baby. But Selma chose the name. Babcock preferred in this
+order another Selma, Sophia, after his mother, or a compliment to the
+wife of the President of the United States. But Selma, as the result of
+grave thought, selected Muriel Grace. Without knowing exactly why, she
+asked Mrs. Taylor to be godmother. The ceremony was solemn and inspiring
+to her. She knew from the glass in her room that she was looking very
+pretty. But she was weak and emotional. The baby behaved admirably, even
+when Lewis, trembling with pride, held it out to Mr. Glynn for baptism
+and held it so that the blood rushed to its head. "I baptize thee in the
+name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." She was happy and the
+tears were in her eyes. The divine blessing was upon her and her house,
+and, after all, baby was a darling and her husband a kind, manly soul.
+With the help of heaven she would prove herself their good angel.
+
+When they returned home there was a whistle of old silver of light,
+graceful design, a present from Mrs. Taylor to Muriel. Her aunt, Mrs.
+Farley, compared this to its disparagement with one already purchased by
+Lewis, on the gaudily embossed stem of which perched a squirrel with a
+nut in its mouth. But Selma shook her head. "Both of you are wrong," she
+said with authority. "This is a beauty."
+
+"It doesn't look new to my eyes," protested Mrs. Parley.
+
+"Of course it isn't new. I shouldn't wonder if she bought it while
+travelling abroad in Europe. It's artistic, and--and I shan't let baby
+destroy it."
+
+Babcock glanced from one gift to the other quizzically. Then by way of
+disposing of the subject he seized his daughter in his arms and dandling
+her toward the ceiling cried, "If it's artistic things we must have,
+this is the most artistic thing which I know of in the wide world.
+Aren't you, little sugar-plum?"
+
+Mrs. Farley, with motherly distrust of man, apprehensively followed with
+her eyes and arms the gyrations of rise and fall; but Selma, though she
+saw, pursued the current of her own thought which prompted her to
+examine her wedding-ring. She was thinking that, compared with Mrs.
+Taylor's, it was a cart wheel--a clumsy, conspicuous band of metal,
+instead of a delicate hoop. She wondered if Lewis would object to
+exchange it for another.
+
+With the return of her strength, Selma took up again eagerly the tenor
+of her former life, aiding and abetting Mrs. Earle in the development of
+the Institute. The president was absorbed in enlarging its scope by the
+enrollment of more members, and the establishment of classes in a
+variety of topics--such as literature, science, philosophy, current
+events, history, art, and political economy. She aimed to construct a
+club which should be social and educational in the broadest sense by
+mutual co-operation and energy. Selma, in her eagerness to make the most
+of the opportunities for culture offered, committed herself to two of
+the new topic classes--"Italian and Grecian Art," and "The Governments
+of Civilization," and as a consequence found some difficulty in
+accommodating her baby's nursing hours to these engagements. It was
+indeed a relief to her when the doctor presently pronounced the supply
+of her breast-milk inadequate. She was able to assuage Lewis' regret
+that Muriel should be brought up by hand with the information that a
+large percentage of Benham and American mothers were similarly barren
+and that bottle babies were exceedingly healthy. She had gleaned the
+first fact from the physician, the second from Mrs. Earle, and her own
+conclusion on the subject was that a lack of milk was an indication of
+feminine evolution from the status of the brute creation, a sign of
+spiritual as opposed to animal quality. Selma found Mrs. Earle
+sympathetic on this point, and also practical in her suggestions as to
+the rearing of infants by artificial means, recommendations concerning
+which were contained in one of her series of papers entitled "Mother
+Lore."
+
+The theory of the new classes was co-operation. That is, the members
+successively, turn by turn, lectured on the topic, and all were expected
+to study in the interim so as to be able to ask questions and discuss
+the views of the lecturer. Concerning both Italian and Grecian Art and
+the Governments of Civilization, Selma knew that she had convictions in
+the abstract, but when she found herself face to face with a specific
+lecture on each subject, it occurred to her as wise to supplement her
+ideas by a little preparation. The nucleus of a public library had been
+recently established by Joel Flagg and placed at the disposal of Benham.
+Here, by means of an encyclopaedia and two hand-books, Selma was able in
+three forenoons to compile a paper satisfactory to her self-esteem on
+the dynasties of Europe and their inferiority to the United States, but
+her other task was illumined for her by a happy incident, the promise of
+Littleton to lend her books. Indeed he seemed delightfully interested in
+both of her classes, which was especially gratifying in view of the fact
+that Mrs. Taylor, who was a member of the Institute, had combated the
+new programme on the plea that they were attempting too much and that it
+would encourage superficiality. But Littleton seemed appreciative of the
+value of the undertaking, and he made his promise good forthwith by
+forwarding to her a package of books on art, among them two volumes of
+Ruskin. Selma, who had read quotations from Ruskin on one or two
+occasions and believed herself an admirer of, and tolerably familiar
+with, his writings, was thrilled. She promptly immersed herself in
+"Stones of Venice" and "Seven Lamps of Architecture," sitting up late at
+night to finish them. When she had read these and the article in the
+encyclopaedia under the head of Art, she felt bursting with her subject
+and eager to air her knowledge before the class. Her lecture was
+acknowledged to be the most stirring and thorough of the course.
+
+Reports of its success came back to her from Littleton, who offered to
+assist his pupil further by practical demonstration of the eternal
+architectural fitness and unfitness of things--especially the latter--in
+walks through the streets of Benham. But six times in as many months,
+however. There was no suggestion of coquetry on either side in these
+excursions, yet each enjoyed them. Littleton's own work was beginning to
+assume definite form, and his visits to Benham became of necessity more
+frequent; flying trips, but he generally managed to obtain a few words
+with Selma. He continued to lend her books, and he invited her criticism
+on the slowly growing church edifice. The responsibility of critic was
+an absorbing sensation to her, but the stark glibness of tongue which
+stood her in good stead before the classes of the Institute failed her
+in his presence--the presence of real knowledge. She wished to praise,
+but to praise discriminatingly, with the cant of aesthetic appreciation,
+so that he should believe that she knew. As for the church itself, she
+was interested in it; it was fine, of course, but that was a secondary
+consideration compared with her emotions. His predilection in her favor,
+however, readily made him deaf in regard to her utterances. He scarcely
+heeded her halting, solemn, counterfeit transcendentalisms; or rather
+they passed muster as subtle and genuine, so spell bound was he by the
+Delphic beauty of her criticising expression. It was enough for him to
+watch her as she stood with her head on one side and the worried
+archangel look transfiguring her profile. What she said was lost in his
+reverie as to what she was--what she represented in his contemplation.
+As she looked upon his handiwork he was able to view it with different
+eyes, to discern its weaknesses and to gain fresh inspiration from her
+presence. He felt that it was growing on his hands and that he should be
+proud of it, and though, perhaps, he was conscious in his inner soul
+that she was more to him than another man's wife should be, he knew too,
+that no word or look of his had offended against the absent husband.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+By the end of another six months Littleton's work was practically
+completed. Only the finishing touches to the interior decoration
+remained to be done. The members of Rev. Mr. Glynn's congregation,
+including Mrs. Hallett Taylor, were thoroughly satisfied with the
+appearance of the new church. It was attractive in its lines, yet it was
+simple and, consequently, in keeping with the resources of the treasury.
+There was no large bill for extras to be audited, as possibly would have
+been the case had a hard-headed designer like Mr. Pierce been employed.
+The committee felt itself entitled to the congratulations of the
+community. Nor was the community on the whole disposed to grumble, for
+home talent had been employed by the architect; under rigorous
+supervision, to be sure, so that poor material and slap-dash workmanship
+were out of the question. Still, payments had been prompt, and Benham
+was able to admire competent virtue. The church was a monument of
+suggestion in various ways, artistic and ethical, and it shone neatly
+with Babcock varnish.
+
+One morning Selma set forth by agreement with Littleton, in order to
+inspect some fresco work. Muriel Grace was ailing slightly, but as she
+would be home by mid-day, she bade the hired girl be watchful of baby,
+and kept her appointment. The child had grown dear to her, for Muriel
+was a charming little dot, and Selma had already begun to enjoy the
+maternal delight of human doll dressing, an extravagance in which she
+was lavishly encouraged by her husband. Babcock was glad of any excuse
+to spend money on his daughter, who seemed to him, from day to day, a
+greater marvel of precocity--such a child as became Selma's beauty and
+cleverness and his own practical common-sense.
+
+Selma was in a pensive frame of mind this morning. Two days before she
+had read a paper at the Institute on "Motherhood," which had been
+enthusiastically received. Mrs. Earle had printed a flattering item
+concerning it in the _Benham Sentinel_. It was agreeable to her to be
+going to meet Littleton, for he was the most interesting masculine
+figure in her life. She was sure of Lewis. He was her husband and she
+knew herself to be the apple of his eye; but she knew exactly what he
+was going to say before he said it, and much of what he said grated on
+her. She was almost equally sure of Littleton; that is of his
+admiration. His companionship was a constant pleasure to her. As a
+married woman, and as a Christian and American woman, she desired no
+more than this. But on the other hand, she would fain have this admiring
+companionship continue; and yet it could not. Littleton had told her the
+day before that he was going back to New York and that it was doubtful
+if he would return. She would miss him. She would have the Institute and
+Mrs. Earle still, but her life would be less full.
+
+Littleton was waiting for her at the church entrance. She followed him
+down the nave to the chancel where she listened dreamily to his
+presentation of the merits of the new decoration. He seemed inclined to
+talk, and from this presently branched off to describe with enthusiasm
+the plates of a French book on interior architecture, which he had
+recently bought as a long-resisted but triumphant piece of extravagance.
+Mechanically, they turned from the chancel and slowly made the round of
+the aisles. A short silence succeeded his professional ardor. His
+current of thought, in its reversion to home matters, had reminded him
+afresh of what was perpetually this morning uppermost in his
+consciousness--his coming departure.
+
+"Now," he said, abruptly, "is the most favorable opportunity I shall
+have, Mrs. Babcock, to tell you how much I am your debtor. I shan't
+despair of our meeting again, for the world is small, and good friends
+are sure to meet sooner or later. But the past is secure to me at any
+rate. If this church is in some measure what I have dreamed and wished
+it to be, if my work with all its faults is a satisfaction to myself, I
+wish you to know how much you have contributed to make it what it is."
+
+The words were as a melody in Selma's ears, and she listened greedily.
+Littleton paused, as one seriously moved will pause before giving the
+details of an important announcement. She, thinking he had finished,
+interjected with a touch of modesty, "I'm so glad. But my suggestions
+and criticisms have not been what I meant them to be. It was all new to
+me, you know."
+
+"Oh, yes. It hasn't been so much what you have said in words which has
+helped me, though that has been always intelligent and uplifting. I did
+not look for technical knowledge. You do not possess that, of course.
+There are women in New York who would be able to confuse you with their
+familiarity with these things. And yet it is by way of contrast with
+those very women--fine women, too, in their way--that you have been my
+good angel. There is no harm in saying that. I should be an ingrate,
+surely, if I would not let you know that your sane, simple outlook upon
+life, your independent vision, has kept my brain clear and my soul free.
+I am a better artist and a better man for the experience. Good-by, and
+may all happiness attend you. If once in a while you should find time to
+write to a struggling architect named Littleton, he will be charmed to
+do your bidding--to send you books and to place his professional
+knowledge at your service. Good-by."
+
+He held out his hand with frank effusion. He was obviously happy at
+having given utterance to his sense of obligation. Selma was tingling
+from head to foot and a womanly blush was on her cheek, though the
+serious seraph spoke in her words and eyes. She felt moved to a wave of
+unreserved speech.
+
+"What you have said is very interesting to me. I wish to tell you how
+much I, too, have enjoyed our friendship. The first time we met I felt
+sure we should be sympathetic, and we have been, haven't we? One of the
+fine things about friendships between men and women in this country is
+that they can really get to know each other without--er--harm to either.
+Isn't it? It's such a pleasure to know people really, and I feel as if I
+had known you, as if we had known each other really. I've never known
+any man exactly in that way, and I have always wanted to. Except, of
+course, my husband. And he's extremely different--that is, his tastes
+are not like yours. It's a happiness to me to feel that I have been of
+assistance to you in your work, and you have been equally helpful to me
+in mine. As you say, I have never had the opportunity to learn the
+technical parts of art, and your books have instructed me as to that. I
+have never been in New York, but I understand what you meant about your
+friends, those other women. I suppose society people must be constantly
+diverted from serious work--from the intellectual and spiritual life. Oh
+yes, we ought to write. Our friendship mustn't languish. We must let
+each other know what we are thinking and doing. Good-by."
+
+As Selma walked along the street her heart was in her mouth. She felt
+pity for herself. To just the right person she would have confessed the
+discovery that she had made a mistake and tied herself for life to the
+wrong man. It was not so much that she fancied Littleton which
+distressed her, for, indeed, she was but mildly conscious of
+infatuation. What disturbed her was the contrast between him and
+Babcock, which definite separation now forced upon her attention. An
+indefinable impression that Littleton might think less of her if she
+were to state this soul truth had restrained her at the last moment from
+disclosing the secret. Not for an instant did she entertain the idea of
+being false to Lewis. Her confession would have been but a dissertation
+on the inexorable irony of fate, calling only for sympathy, and in no
+way derogating from her dignity and self-respect as a wife. Still, she
+had restrained herself, and stopped just short of the confidence. He was
+gone, and she would probably not see him again for years. That was
+endurable. Indeed, a recognition of the contrary would not have seemed
+to her consistent with wifely virtue. What brought the tears to her eyes
+was the vision of continued wedlock, until death intervened, with a
+husband who could not understand. Could she bear this? Must she endure
+it? There was but one answer: She must. At the thought she bit her lip
+with the intensity and sternness of a martyr. She would be faithful to
+her marriage vows, but she would not let Lewis's low aims interfere with
+the free development of her own life.
+
+It was after noon when she reached home. She was met at the door by the
+hired girl with the worried ejaculation that baby was choking. The
+doctor was hastily summoned. He at once pronounced that Muriel Grace had
+membranous croup, and was desperately ill. Remedies of various sorts
+were tried, and a consulting physician called, but when Babcock returned
+from his office her condition was evidently hopeless. The child died in
+the early night. Selma was relieved to hear the doctor tell her husband
+that it was a malignant case from the first, and that nothing could have
+averted the result. In response to questions from Lewis, however, she
+was obliged to admit that she had not been at home when the acute
+symptoms appeared. This afforded Babcock an outlet for his suffering. He
+spoke to her roughly for the first time in his life, bitterly suggesting
+neglect on her part.
+
+"You knew she wasn't all right this morning, yet you had to go
+fiddle-faddling with that architect instead of staying at home where you
+belonged. And now she's dead. My little girl, my little girl!" And the
+big man burst out sobbing.
+
+Selma grew deadly pale. No one had ever spoken to her like that before
+in her life. To the horror of her grief was added the consciousness that
+she was being unjustly dealt with. Lewis had heard the doctor's
+statement, and yet he dared address her in such terms. As if the loss of
+the child did not fall equally on her.
+
+"If it were to be done over again, I should do just the same," she
+answered, with righteous quietness. "To all appearances she had nothing
+but a little cold. You have no right to lay the blame on me, her
+mother." At the last word she looked ready to cry, too.
+
+Babcock regarded her like a miserable tame bull. "I didn't mean to," he
+blubbered. "She's taken away from me, and I'm so wretched that I don't
+know what I'm saying. I'm sorry, Selma."
+
+He held out his arms to her. She was ready to go to them, for the angel
+of death had entered her home and pierced her heart, where it should be
+most tender. She loved her baby. Yet, when she had time to think, she
+was not sure that she wished to have another. When the bitterness of his
+grief had passed away, that was the hope which Lewis ventured to
+express, at first in a whisper, and later with reiterated boldness.
+Selma acquiesced externally, but she had her own opinions. Certain
+things which were not included in "Mother Lore," had been confided by
+Mrs. Margaret Rodney Earle by word of mouth in the fulness of their
+mutual soul-scourings, and had remained pigeon-holed for future
+reference in Selma's inner consciousness. Another baby just at this time
+meant interference with everything elevating. There was time enough. In
+a year or two, when she had established herself more securely in the
+social sphere of Benham, she would present her husband with a second
+child. It was best for them both to wait, for her success was his
+success; but it would be useless to try to make that clear to him in his
+present mood.
+
+So she put away her baby things, dropping tears over the little socks
+and other reminders of her sorrow, and took up her life again, keeping
+her own counsel. The sympathy offered her was an interesting experience.
+Mrs. Earle came to her at once, and took her to her bosom; Mrs. Taylor
+sent her flowers with a kind note, which set Selma thinking whether she
+ought not to buy mourning note-paper; and within a week she received a
+visit of condolence from Mr. Glynn, rather a ghastly visit. Ghastly,
+because Lewis sat through it all with red eyes, very much as though he
+were listening to a touching exhortation in church. To be sure, he
+gripped the pastor's hand like a vice, at the end, and thanked him for
+coming, but his silent, afflicted presence had interfered with the free
+interchange of thought which would have been possible had she been alone
+with the clergyman. The subject of death, and the whole train of
+reflections incident to it, were uppermost in her mind, and she would
+have been glad to probe the mysteries of the subject by controversial
+argument, instead of listening to hearty, sonorous platitudes. She
+listened rather contemptuously, for she recognized that Mr. Glynn was
+saying the stereotyped thing in the stereotyped way, without realizing
+that it was nothing but sacerdotal pap, little adapted to an intelligent
+soul. What was suited to Lewis was not fit for her. And yet her baby's
+death had served to dissipate somewhat the immediate discontent which
+she felt with her husband. His strong grief had touched her in spite of
+herself, and, though she blamed him still for his inconsiderate
+accusation, she was fond of him as she might have been fond of some
+loving Newfoundland, which, splendid in awkward bulk, caressed her and
+licked her hand. It was pleasant enough to be in his arms, for the touch
+of man--even the wrong man--was, at times, a comfort.
+
+She took up again with determined interest her relations to the
+Institute, joining additional classes and pursuing a variety of topics
+of study, in regard to some of which she consulted Littleton. She missed
+his presence less than she had expected, especially after they had begun
+to correspond and were able to keep in touch by letter. His letters were
+delightful. They served her in her lecture courses, for they so clearly
+and concisely expressed her views that she was able to use long extracts
+from them word for word. And every now and then they contained a
+respectful allusion which showed that he still retained a personal
+interest in her. So the weeks slipped away and she was reasonably happy.
+She was absorbed and there was nothing new to mar the tenor of her life,
+though she was vaguely conscious that the loss of their little girl had
+widened the breach between her and her husband--widened it for the
+reason that now, for the first time, he perceived how lonely he was. The
+baby had furnished him with constant delight and preoccupation. He had
+looked forward all day to seeing it at night, and questions relating to
+it had supplied a never-ceasing small change of conversation between him
+and her. He had let her go her way with a smile on his face. Selma did
+not choose to dwell on the situation, but it was obvious that Lewis
+continued to look glum, and that there were apt to be long silences
+between them at meals. Now and again he would show some impatience at
+the continuous recurrence of the Institute classes as a bar to some
+project of domesticity or recreation, as though she had not been an
+active member of the Institute before baby was born.
+
+One of the plans in which Mrs. Earle was most interested was a Congress
+of Women's Clubs, and in the early summer of the same year--some four
+months subsequent to the death of Muriel Grace--a small beginning toward
+this end was arranged to take place in Chicago. There were to be six
+delegates from each club, and Selma was unanimously selected as one of
+the delegation from the Benham Women's Institute. The opinion was
+generally expressed that a change would do her good, and there was no
+question that she was admirably fitted to represent the club. Selma, who
+had not travelled a hundred miles beyond Benham in her life, was elated
+at the prospect of the expedition; so much so that she proudly recounted
+to Lewis the same evening the news of her appointment. It never occurred
+to her that he would wish to accompany her, and when he presently
+informed her that he had been wishing to go to Chicago on business for
+some time, and that the date proposed would suit him admirably, she was
+dumfounded. Half of the interest of the expedition would consist in
+travelling as an independent delegation. A husband would be in the way
+and spoil the savor of the occasion. It would never do, and so Selma
+proceeded to explain. She wished to go alone.
+
+"A pack of six women travel by themselves?" blurted Lewis. "Suppose
+there were an accident?" he added, after searching his brain for a less
+feeble argument.
+
+"We should either be killed or we shouldn't be," said Selma firmly. "We
+are perfectly well able to take care of ourselves. Women travel alone
+everywhere every-day--that is, intelligent American women."
+
+Lewis looked a little sad. "I thought, perhaps, it would seem nice for
+you to go with me, Selma. We haven't been off since we were married, and
+I can get away now just as well as not."
+
+"So it would have been if I weren't one of the delegation. I should
+think you would see, Lewis, that your coming is out of the question."
+
+So it proved. Selma set forth for Chicago on the appointed day, made
+many new acquaintances among the delegates, and was pleased to be
+introduced and referred to publicly as Mrs. Selma Babcock--a form of
+address to which she was unaccustomed at Benham. On the night before her
+departure, being in pleasant spirits, she told Lewis that her absence
+would do him good, and that he would appreciate her all the more on her
+return.
+
+She was to be gone a week. The first twenty-four hours passed gloomily
+for Babcock. Then he began to take notice. He noticed that the county
+fair was fixed for the following days. He had hoped to carry Selma
+there, but, as she was not to be had, it seemed to him sensible to get
+what enjoyment from it he could alone. Then it happened that a former
+companion of his bachelor days and his bachelor habits, a commercial
+traveller, whom he had not seen since his marriage, appeared on the
+scene.
+
+"The very man for me!" he ejaculated, jubilantly.
+
+The obscurity of this remark was presently made clear to his friend, who
+had hoped perhaps to enjoy a snug evening at Babcock's domestic hearth,
+but who was not averse to playing a different part--that of cheering up
+a father who had lost his baby, and whose wife had left him in the
+lurch. He assured Babcock that a regular old time outing--a shaking
+up--would do him good, and Babcock was ready to agree with him,
+intending thereby a free-handed two days at the fair. As has been
+intimated, his manner of life before marriage had not been
+irreproachable, but he had been glad of an opportunity to put an end to
+the mildly riotous and coarse bouts which disfigured his otherwise
+commonplace existence. He had no intention now of misbehaving himself,
+but he felt the need of being enlivened. His companion was a man who
+delighted in what he called a lark, and whose only method of insuring a
+lark was by starting in with whiskey and keeping it up. That had been
+also Babcock's former conception of a good time, and though he had dimly
+in mind that he was now a husband and church-member, he strove to
+conduct himself in such a manner as to maintain his self-respect without
+becoming a spoil sport.
+
+During the first day at the fair Babcock managed to preserve this nice
+distinction. On the second, he lost account of his conduct, and by the
+late afternoon was sauntering with his friend among the booths in the
+company of two suspicions looking women. With these same women the pair
+of revellers drove off in top buggies just before dusk, and vanished in
+the direction of the open country.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+Babcock returned to his home twenty-four hours later like a whipped cur.
+He was disgusted with himself. It seemed to him incredible that he
+should have fallen so low. He had sinned against his wife and his own
+self-respect without excuse; for it was no excuse that he had let
+himself be led to drink too much. His heart ached and his cheek burned
+at the recollection of his two days of debauchery. What was to be done?
+If only he were able to cut this ugly sore in his soul out with a knife
+and have done with it forever! But that was impossible. It stared him in
+the face, a haunting reality. In his distress he asked himself whether
+he would not go to Mr. Glynn and make a clean breast of it; but his
+practical instincts answered him that he would none the less have made a
+beast of himself. He held his head between his hands, and stared
+dejectedly at his desk. Some relief came to him at last only from the
+reflection that it was a single fault, and that it need never--it should
+never be repeated. Selma need not know, and he would henceforth avoid
+all such temptations. Terrible as it was, it was a slip, not a
+deliberate fault, and his love for his wife was not in question.
+
+Thus reasoning, he managed by the third day after his return to reach a
+less despondent frame of mind. While busy writing in his office a lady
+was announced, and looking up he encountered the meretricious smile of
+the courtesan with whom he had forgotten himself. She had taken a fancy
+to her victim, and having learned that he was well to do, she had come
+in order to establish, if possible, on a more permanent basis, her
+relations with him. She was a young woman, who had been drifting from
+place to place, and whose professional inclination for a protector was
+heightened by the liking which she had conceived for him. Babcock
+recalled in her smile merely his shame, and regarded her reappearance as
+effrontery. He was blind to her prettiness and her sentimental mood. He
+asked her roughly what she wanted, and rising from his chair, he bade
+her be gone before she had time to answer. Nine out of ten women of her
+class would have taken their dismissal lightly. Some might have answered
+back in tones loud enough to enlighten the clerks, and thus have
+accomplished a pretty revenge in the course of retreat. This particular
+Lesbian was in no humor to be harshly treated. She was a little
+desperate and Babcock had pleased her. It piqued her to be treated in
+such a fashion; accordingly, she held her ground and sat down. She tried
+upon him, alternately, irony and pathos. He was angry but confused under
+the first, he became savage and merciless under the second, throwing
+back in her teeth the suggestion of her fondness, and stigmatizing her
+coarsely. Then she became angry in her turn--angry as a woman whose
+proffered love is spurned. The method for revenge was obvious, and she
+told him plainly what she intended. His wife should know at once how her
+husband passed his time during her absence. She had posted herself, and
+she saw that her shaft hurt. Babcock winced, but mad and incredulous, he
+threatened her with arrest and drove her from the room. She went out
+smiling, but with an ominous look in her eyes, the remembrance of which
+made him ask himself now and again if she could be vicious enough, or
+fool enough, to keep her promise. He dismissed the idea as improbable;
+still the bare chance worried him. Selma was to arrive early the next
+morning, and he had reconciled himself to the conclusion that she need
+never know, and that he would henceforth be a faithful husband. Had he
+not given an earnest of his good faith in his reception of his visitor?
+Surely, no such untoward and unnatural accident would dash the cup of
+returning happiness from his lips. A more clever man would have gone
+straight to police headquarters, instead of trusting to chance.
+
+A night's rest reassured him as to the idleness of the threat, so that
+he was able to welcome Selma at the railroad station with a
+comparatively light heart. She was in high spirits over the success of
+her expedition, and yet graciously ready to admit that she was glad to
+return home--meaning thereby, to her own bed and bathing facilities; but
+the general term seemed to poor Lewis a declaration of wifely devotion.
+He went to his business with the mien of a man who had passed through an
+ordeal and is beginning life again; but when he returned at night, as
+soon as he beheld Selma, he suspected what had happened.
+
+She was awaiting him in the parlor. Though he saw at a glance that she
+looked grave, he went forward to kiss her, but she rose and, stepping
+behind the table, put out her hand forbiddingly.
+
+"What is the matter?" he faltered.
+
+"That woman has been here," was her slow, scornful response.
+
+"Selma, I--" A confusing sense of hopelessness as to what to say choked
+Babcock's attempt to articulate. There was a brief silence, while he
+looked at her imploringly and miserably.
+
+"Is it true what she says? Have you been false to your marriage vows?
+Have you committed adultery?"
+
+"My God! Selma, you don't understand."
+
+"It is an easy question to answer, yes or no?"
+
+"I forgot myself, Selma. I was drunk and crazy. I ask your pardon."
+
+She shook her head coldly. "I shall have nothing more to do with you. I
+cannot live with you any longer."
+
+"Not live with me?"
+
+"Would you live with me if it were I who had forgotten myself?"
+
+"I think I would, Selma. You don't understand. I was a brute. I have
+been wretched ever since. But it was a slip--an accident. I drank too
+much, and it happened. I love you, Selma, with all my heart. I have
+never been false to you in my affection."
+
+"It is a strange time to talk of affection. I went away for a week, and
+in my absence you insulted me by debauchery with a creature like that.
+Love? You have no conception of the meaning of the word. Oh no, I shall
+never live with you again."
+
+Babcock clinched his palms in his distress and walked up and down. She
+stood pale and determined looking into space. Presently he turned to her
+and asked with quiet but intense solicitude, "You don't mean that you're
+going to leave me for one fault, we being husband and wife and the
+little girl in her grave? I said you don't understand and you don't. A
+man's a man, and there are times when he's been drinking when he's
+liable to yield to temptation, and that though he's so fond of his wife
+that life without her would be misery. This sounds strange to a woman,
+and it's a poor excuse. But it ought to count, Selma, when it comes to a
+question of our separating. There would be happy years before us yet if
+you give me another chance."
+
+"Not happy years for me," she replied concisely. "The American woman
+does not choose to live with the sort of man you describe. She demands
+from her husband what he demands from her, faithfulness to the marriage
+tie. We could never be happy again. Our ideal of life is different. I
+have made excuses for you in other things, but my soul revolts at this."
+
+Babcock looked at her for a moment in silence, then he said, a little
+sternly, "You shouldn't have gone away and left me. I'm not blaming you,
+but you shouldn't have gone." He walked to the window but he saw
+nothing. His heart was racked. He had been eager to humiliate himself
+before her to prove his deep contrition, but he had come to the end of
+his resources, and yet she was adamant. Her charge that she had been
+making excuses for him hitherto reminded him that they had not been
+really sympathetic for some time past. With his back turned to her he
+heard her answer:
+
+"It was understood before I agreed to marry you that I was to be free to
+follow my tastes and interests. It is a paltry excuse that, because I
+left you alone for a week in pursuit of them, I am accessory to your
+sin."
+
+Babcock faced her sadly. "The sin's all mine," he said. "I can't deny
+that. But, Selma, I guess I've been pretty lonely ever since the baby
+died."
+
+"Lonely?" she echoed. "Then my leaving you will not matter so much.
+Here," she said, slipping off her wedding-ring, "this belongs to you."
+She remembered Mrs. Earle's proceeding, and though she had not yet
+decided what course to pursue in order to maintain her liberty, she
+regarded this as the significant and definite act. She held out the
+ring, but Babcock shook his head.
+
+"The law doesn't work as quick as that, nor the church either. You can
+get a divorce if you're set on it, Selma. But we're husband and wife
+yet."
+
+"Only the husk of our marriage is left. The spirit is dead," she said
+sententiously. "I am going away. I cannot pass another night in this
+house. If you will not take this ring, I shall leave it here."
+
+Babcock turned to hide the tears which blinded his eyes. Selma regarded
+him a moment gravely, then she laid her wedding-ring on the table and
+went from the room.
+
+She put her immediate belongings into a bag and left the house. She had
+decided to go to Mrs. Earle's lodgings where she would be certain to
+find shelter and sympathy. Were she to go to her aunt's she would be
+exposed to importunity on her husband's behalf from Mrs. Farley, who was
+partial to Lewis. Her mind was entirely made up that there could be no
+question of reconciliation. Her duty was plain; and she would be doing
+herself an injustice were she to continue to live with one so weak and
+regardless of the honor which she had a right to demand of the man to
+whom she had given her society and her body. His gross conduct had
+entitled her to her liberty, and to neglect to seize it would be to
+condemn herself to continuous unhappiness, for this overt act of his was
+merely a definite proof of the lack of sympathy between them, of which
+she had for some time been well aware at heart. As she walked along the
+street she was conscious that it was a relief to her to be sloughing off
+the garment of an uncongenial relationship and to be starting life
+afresh. There was nothing in her immediate surroundings from which she
+was not glad to escape. Their house was full of blemishes from the
+stand-point of her later knowledge, and she yearned to dissociate
+herself, once and for all, from the trammels of her pitiful mistake. She
+barely entertained the thought that she was without means. She would
+have to support herself, of course, but it never occurred to her to
+doubt her ability to do so, and the necessity added a zest to her
+decision. It would be plain sailing, for Mrs. Earle had more than once
+invited her to send copy to the _Benham Sentinel_, and there was no form
+of occupation which would be more to her liking than newspaper work. It
+was almost with the mien of a prisoner escaped from jail that she walked
+in upon her friend and said:
+
+"I have left my husband. He has been unfaithful to me."
+
+In Mrs. Earle, conventional feminine instincts were apt, before she had
+time to think, to get the upper hand of her set theories. "You, poor,
+poor child," she cried extending her arms.
+
+Selma had not intended to weep. Still the opportunity was convenient,
+and her nerves were on edge. She found herself sobbing with her head on
+Mrs. Earle's, bosom, and telling her sad story.
+
+"He was never good enough for you. I have always said so," Mrs. Earle
+murmured stroking her hair.
+
+"I ought to have known from the first that it was impossible for us to
+be happy. Why did I ever marry him? He said he loved me, and I let
+myself be badgered into it," Selma answered through her tears. "Well,
+it's all over now," she added, sitting up and drying her eyes. "He has
+given me back my liberty. I am a free woman."
+
+"Yes, dear, if you are perfectly sure of yourself, there is only one
+course to pursue. Only you should consider the matter solemnly. Perhaps
+in a few days, after he has apologized and shown proper contrition, you
+might feel willing to give him another chance."
+
+Selma was unprepared for Mrs. Earle's sentimentality. "Surely," she
+exclaimed with tragic earnestness, "you wouldn't have me live with him
+after what occurred? Contrition? He said everything he could think of to
+get me to stay, but I made my decision then and there."
+
+Mrs. Earle put her own handkerchief to her eyes. "Women have forgiven
+such things; but I respect you all the more for not being weak. I know
+how you feel. It is hard to do, but if I had it to do over again, I
+would act just the same--just the same. It's a serious responsibility to
+encourage any one to desert a home, but under the circumstances I would
+not live with him another minute, my child--not another minute."
+Thereupon Mrs. Earle protruded her bosom to celebrate the triumph of
+justice in her own mental processes over conventional and maudlin
+scruples. "You will apply for a divorce, I suppose?"
+
+"I have not considered that. All I care for is never to see him again."
+
+"Oh yes, you must get a divorce. It is much better, you know. In my case
+I couldn't, for he did nothing public. A divorce settles matters, and
+puts you back where you were before. You might wish some day to marry
+again."
+
+"I have had enough of marriage."
+
+"It isn't any harm to be a free woman--free in the eye of the law as
+well as of conscience. I know an excellent lawyer--a Mr. Lyons, a
+sympathetic and able man. Besides your husband is bound to support you.
+You must get alimony."
+
+"I wouldn't touch a dollar of his money," Selma answered with scorn. "I
+intend to support myself. I shall write--work."
+
+"Of course you will, dear; and it will be a boon and a blessing to me to
+have you in our ranks--one of the new army of self-supporting,
+self-respecting women. I suppose you are right. I have never had a
+sixpence. But your husband deserves to be punished. Perhaps it is
+punishment enough to lose you."
+
+"He will get over that. It is enough for me," she exclaimed, ardently,
+after a dreamy pause, "that I am separated from him forever--that I am
+free--free--free."
+
+A night's sleep served to intensify Selma's determination, and she awoke
+clearly of the opinion that a divorce was desirable. Why remain fettered
+by a bare legal tie to one who was a husband only in name? Accordingly,
+in company with Mrs. Earle, she visited the office of James O. Lyons,
+and took the initiatory steps to dissolve the marriage.
+
+Mr. Lyons was a large, full-bodied man of thirty-five, with a fat,
+cleanly-shaven, cherubic countenance, an aspect of candor, and keen,
+solemn eyes. His manner was impressive and slightly pontificial; his
+voice resonant and engaging. He knew when to joke and when to be grave
+as an owl. He wore in every-day life a shiny, black frock-coat, a
+standing collar, which yawned at the throat, and a narrow, black tie.
+His general effect was that of a cross between a parson and a shrewd
+Yankee--a happy suggestion of righteous, plain, serious-mindedness,
+protected against the wiles of human society--and able to protect
+others--by a canny intelligence. For a young man he had already a
+considerable clientage. A certain class of people, notably the
+hard-headed, God-fearing, felt themselves safe in his hands. His
+magnetic yet grave manner of conducting business pleased Benham,
+attracting also both the distressed and the bilious portions of the
+community, and the farmers from the surrounding country. As Mrs. Earle
+informed Selma, he was in sympathy with all progressive and stimulating
+ideas, and he already figured in the newspapers politically, and before
+the courts as a friend of the masses, and a fluent advocate of social
+reforms. His method of handling Selma's case was smooth. To begin with,
+he was sympathetic within proper limits, giving her tacitly to
+understand that, though as a man and brother, he deplored the necessity
+of extreme measures, he recognized that she had made up her mind, and
+that compromise was out of the question. To put it concisely, his manner
+was grieved, but practical. He told her that he would represent to
+Babcock the futility of contesting a cause, which, on the evidence, must
+be hopeless, and that, in all probability, the matter could be disposed
+of easily and without publicity. He seemed to Selma a very sensible and
+capable man, and it was agreeable to her to feel that he appreciated
+that, though divorce in the abstract was deplorable, her experience
+justified and called for the protection of the law.
+
+In the meantime Babcock was very unhappy, and was casting about for a
+method to induce his wife to return. He wrote to her a pitiful letter,
+setting forth once more the sorry facts in the best light which he could
+bring to bear on them, and implored her forgiveness. He applied to her
+aunt, Mrs. Farley, and got her to supplement his plea with her
+good-natured intervention. "There are lots of men like that," she
+confided to Selma, "and he's a kind, devoted creature." When this
+failed, he sought Rev. Mr. Glynn as a last resort, and, after he had
+listened to a stern and fervid rating from the clergyman on the lust of
+the flesh, he found his pastor on his side. Mr. Glynn was opposed to
+divorce on general ecclesiastical principles; moreover, he had been
+educated under the law of England, by which a woman cannot obtain a
+divorce from her husband for the cause of adultery unless it be coupled
+with cruelty--a clever distinction between the sexes, which was
+doubtless intended as a cloak for occasional lapses on the part of man.
+It was plain to him, as a Christian and as a hearty soul, that there had
+been an untoward accident--a bestial fault, a soul-debasing carnal sin,
+but still an accident, and hence to be forgiven by God and woman. It was
+his duty to interfere; and so, having disciplined the husband, he
+essayed the more delicate matter of propitiating the wife. And he
+essayed it without a thought of failure.
+
+"I'm afraid she's determined to leave me, and that there's not much
+hope," said Babcock, despondently, as he gripped the clergyman's hand in
+token of his gratitude.
+
+"Nonsense, my man," asserted Mr. Glynn briskly. "All she needs is an
+exhortation from me, and she will take you back."
+
+Selma was opposed to divorce in theory. That is, she had accepted on
+trust the traditional prejudice against it as she had accepted
+Shakespeare and Boston. But theory stood for nothing in her regard
+before the crying needs of her own experience. She had not the least
+intention of living with her husband again. No one could oblige her to
+do that. In addition, the law offered her a formal escape from his
+control and name. Why not avail herself of it? She recollected, besides,
+that her husband's church recognized infidelity as a lawful ground of
+release from the so-called sacrament of marriage. This had come into her
+mind as an additional sanction to her own decision. But it had not
+contributed to that decision. Consequently, when she was confronted in
+Mrs. Earle's lodgings by the errand of Mr. Glynn, she felt that his
+coming was superfluous. Still, she was glad of the opportunity to
+measure ideas with him in a thorough interview free from interruption.
+
+Mr. Glynn's confidence was based on his intention to appeal to the ever
+womanly quality of pity. He expected to encounter some resistance, for
+indisputably here was a woman whose sensibilities had been justly and
+severely shocked--a woman of finer tissue than her husband, as he had
+noted in other American couples. She was entitled to her day in
+court--to a stubborn, righteous respite of indignation. But he expected
+to carry the day in the end, amid a rush of tears, with which his own
+might be mingled. He trusted to what he regarded as the innate
+reluctance of the wife to abandon the man she loved, and to the leaven
+of feminine Christian charity.
+
+As a conscientious hater of sin, he did not attempt to minimize
+Babcock's act or the insult put upon her. That done, he was free to
+intercede fervently for him and to extol the virtue and the advisability
+of forgiveness. This plea, however cogent, was narrow, and once stated
+admitted merely of duplication in the same form. It was indeed no
+argument, merely an appeal, and, in proportion as it failed to move the
+listener, became feeble. Selma listened to him with a tense face, her
+hands clasped before her in the guise of an interested and
+self-scrutinizing spirit. But she betrayed no sign of yielding, or
+symptom of doubt. She shook her head once or twice as he proceeded, and,
+when he paused, asked why she should return to a man who had broken
+faith with her; asked it in such a genuine tone of conviction that Dr.
+Glynn realized the weakness of his own case, and became slightly nettled
+at the same time.
+
+"True," he said, rather sternly, "your husband has committed a hideous,
+carnal sin, but he is genuinely repentant. Do you wish to ruin his life
+forever?"
+
+"His life?" said Selma. "It would ruin my life to return to him. I have
+other plans--plans which will bring me happiness. I could never be happy
+with him."
+
+The clergyman was baffled. Other plans! The words offended him, and yet
+he could not dispute her right to do as she chose. Still he saw fit to
+murmur: "He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his
+life for my sake shall find it."
+
+Selma flushed. To be accused of acting contrary to Christian precepts
+was painful and surprising to her. "Mr. Glynn," she said, "I see you
+don't understand. My husband and I ought never to have married. It has
+all been a dreadful mistake. We have not the same tastes and interests.
+I am sorry for him, but I can never consent to return to him. To do so
+would condemn us both to a life of unhappiness. We were not intended for
+husband and wife, and it is best--yes, more Christian--for us to
+separate. We American women do not feel justified in letting a mistake
+ruin our lives when there is a chance to escape."
+
+Mr. Glynn regarded her in silence for a moment. He was accustomed to
+convince, and he had not succeeded, which to a clergyman is more
+annoying than to most men. Still what she said made his plea seem
+doubtful wisdom.
+
+"Then you do not love your husband?" he said.
+
+"No," said Selma quietly, "I do not love him. It is best to be frank
+with one's self--with you, in such a matter, isn't it? So you see that
+what you ask is out of the question."
+
+Mr. Glynn rose. Clearly his mission had failed, and there was nothing
+more to be said. Being a just man, he hesitated to pass an unkind
+judgment on this bright-faced, pensive woman. She was within her moral
+rights, and he must be careful to keep within his. But he went away
+bewildered and discomfited. Selma would have liked to dismiss the
+subject and keep him longer. She would have been glad to branch off on
+to other ethical topics and discuss them. She was satisfied with the
+result of the interview, for she had vindicated her position and spiked
+Lewis's last gun.
+
+So, indeed, it proved. Mr. Glynn sent for Babcock and told him the naked
+truth, that his wife's love for him was dead and reconciliation
+impossible. He properly refrained from expressing the doubt lurking in
+his own mind as to whether Selma had ever loved her husband. Thus
+convinced of the hopelessness of his predicament, Babcock agreed to Mr.
+Lyons's suggestion not to contest the legal proceedings. The lawyer had
+been diligent, and the necessary evidence--the testimony of the
+woman--was secure. She was ready to carry her revenge to the end,
+hoping, perhaps, that the victim of it would return to her when he had
+lost his wife. Accordingly, a few weeks later, Selma was granted a
+divorce nisi and the right to resume her maiden name. She had decided,
+however, to retain the badge of marriage as a decorous social prefix,
+and to call herself Mrs. Selma White.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+The consciousness that she was dependent for the means of support solely
+on her own exertions was a genuine pleasure to Selma, and she applied
+herself with confidence and enthusiasm to the problem of earning her
+livelihood. She had remained steadfast to her decision to accept nothing
+from her husband except the legal costs of the proceedings, though Mr.
+Lyons explained to her that alimony was a natural and moral increment of
+divorce. Still, after her refusal, he informed her as a man and a friend
+that he respected and admired the independence of her action, which was
+an agreeable tribute. She had fixed definitely on newspaper work as the
+most inviting and congenial form of occupation. She believed herself to
+be well fitted for it. It would afford her an immediate income, and it
+would give her the opportunity which she craved for giving public
+expression to her ideas and fixing attention on herself. There was room
+for more than one Mrs. Earle in Benham, for Benham was growing and
+wide-awake and on the alert for originality of any kind--especially in
+the way of reportorial and journalistic cleverness. Selma had no
+intention of becoming a second Mrs. Earle. That is, she promised herself
+to follow, but not to follow blindly; to imitate judiciously, but to
+improve on a gradually diverging line of progress. This was mere
+generalization as yet. It was an agreeable seething brain consciousness
+for future development. For the moment, however, she counted on Mrs.
+Earle to obtain for her a start by personal influence at the office of
+the _Benham Sentinel_. This was provided forthwith in the form of an
+invitation to prepare a weekly column under the caption of "What Women
+Wear;" a summary of passing usages in clothes. The woman reporter in
+charge of it had just died. Selma's first impulse was to decline the
+work as unworthy of her abilities, yet she was in immediate need of
+employment to avoid running in debt and she was assured by Mrs. Earle
+that she would be very foolish to reject such an offer. Reflection
+caused her to think more highly of the work itself. It would afford her
+a chance to explain to the women of Benham, and indirectly to the
+country at large, that taste in dress was not necessarily inconsistent
+with virtue and serious intentions--a truth of which she herself had
+become possessed since her marriage and which it seemed to her might be
+utilized delightfully in her department. She would endeavor to treat
+dress from the standpoint of ethical responsibility to society, and to
+show that both extravagance and dowdy homeliness were to be avoided.
+Clothes in themselves had grown to be a satisfaction to her, and any
+association of vanity would be eliminated by the introduction of a
+serious artistic purpose into a weekly commentary concerning them.
+Accordingly she accepted the position and entered upon its duties with
+grave zeal.
+
+For each of these contributions Selma was to receive eight dollars--four
+hundred a year, which she hoped to expand to a thousand by creative
+literary production--preferably essays and poetry. She hired a room in
+the same neighborhood as Mrs. Earle, in the boarding-house district
+appurtenant to Central Avenue--that is to say, on the ragged edge of
+Benham's social artery, and set up her new household gods. The interest
+of preparing the first paper absorbed her to the exclusion of everything
+else. She visited all the dress-making and dry-goods establishments in
+town, examined, at a hint from Mrs. Earle, the fashion departments of
+the New York papers, and then, pen in hand, gave herself up to her
+subject. The result seemed to her a happy blending of timely philosophy
+and suggestions as to toilette, and she took it in person to the editor.
+He saw fit to read it on the spot. His brow wrinkled at first and he
+looked dubious. He re-read it and said with some gusto, "It's a novelty,
+but I guess they'll like it. Our women readers have been used to fashion
+notes which are crisp and to the point, and the big houses expect to
+have attention called to the goods they wish to sell. If you'll run over
+this again and set your cold facts in little paragraphs by themselves
+every now and then, I shouldn't wonder if the rest were a sort of
+lecture course which will catch them. It's a good idea. Next time you
+could work in a pathetic story--some references to a dead
+baby--verses--anecdotes--a little variety. You perceive the idea?"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Selma, appropriately sober at the allusion yet ecstatic.
+"That's just what I should like to do. It would give me more scope. I
+wish my articles to be of real use--to help people to live better, and
+to dress better."
+
+"That's right, that's right; and if they make the paper sell, we'll know
+that folks like them," responded the editor with Delphic urbanity.
+
+The first article was a success. That is, Selma's method was not
+interfered with, and she had the satisfaction of reading in the
+_Sentinel_ during the week an item calling gratified attention to the
+change in its "What Women Wear" column, and indicating that it would
+contain new features from week to week. It gave her a pleasant thrill to
+see her name, "Selma White," signed at the end of the printed column,
+and she set to work eagerly to carry out the editor's suggestions. At
+the same time she tried her hand at a short story--the story of an
+American girl who went to Paris to study art, refused to alter her mode
+of life to suit foreign ideas of female propriety, displayed exceptional
+talent as an artist, and finally married a fine-spirited young American,
+to the utter discomfiture of a French member of the nobility, who had
+begun by insulting her and ended with making her an offer of marriage.
+This she sent to the _Eagle_, the other Benham newspaper, for its Sunday
+edition.
+
+It took her a month to compose this story, and after a week she received
+it back with a memorandum to the effect that it was one-half too long,
+but intimating that in a revised form it would be acceptable. This was a
+little depressing, especially as it arrived at a time when the novelty
+of her occupation had worn off and she was realizing the limitations of
+her present life. She had begun to miss the advantages of a free purse
+and the importance of a domestic establishment. She possessed her
+liberty, and was fulfilling her mission as a social force, but her life
+had been deprived of some of its savor, and, though she was thankful to
+be rid of Babcock, she felt the lack of an element of personal devotion
+to herself, an element which was not to be supplied by mere admiration
+on the part of Mrs. Earle and the other members of the Institute. It did
+not suit her not to be able to gratify her growing taste in clothes and
+in other lines of expenditure, and there were moments when she
+experienced the need of being petted and made much of by a man. She was
+conscious of loneliness, and in this mood she pitied herself as a victim
+of untoward circumstances, one who had wasted the freshness of her young
+life, and missed the happiness which the American wife is apt to find
+waiting for her. Under the spell of this nostalgia she wrote a poem
+entitled "The Bitter Sweets of Solitude," and disposed of it for five
+dollars to the _Sentinel_. The price shocked her, for the verses seemed
+flesh of her flesh. Still, five dollars was better than nothing, and she
+discerned from the manner of the newspaper editor that he cared little
+whether she left them or not. It was on that evening that she received a
+letter from Littleton, stating that he was on the eve of leaving New
+York for Benham. He was coming to consult concerning certain further
+interior decorations which the committee had decided to add to the
+church.
+
+Selma's nerves vibrated blissfully as she read the news. For some
+reason, which she had never seen fit definitely to define, she had
+chosen not to acquaint Littleton with the fact of her divorce. Their
+letters had been infrequent during the last six months, for this visit
+had been impending, having been put off from time to time because the
+committee had been dilatory and he otherwise engaged. Perhaps her secret
+motive had been to surprise him, to let him find himself confronted with
+an accomplished fact, which would obviate argument and reveal her
+established in her new career, a happy, independent citizen, without
+ties. At any rate she smiled now at the address on the envelope--Mrs.
+Lewis Babcock. Obviously he was still in the dark as to the truth, and
+it would be her privilege to enlighten him. She began to wonder what
+would be the upshot of his coming, and tears came to her eyes, tears of
+self-congratulation that the narrow tenor of her daily life was to be
+irradiated by a sympathetic spirit.
+
+When Littleton duly appeared at the committee meeting on the following
+day, Selma saw at a glance that he was unaware of what had happened. He
+looked slightly puzzled when one of the members addressed her as Mrs.
+White, but evidently he regarded this as a slip of the tongue. Selma
+looked, as she felt, contented and vivacious. She had dressed herself
+simply, but with effective trigness. To those who knew her experience,
+her appearance indicated courage and becoming self-respect. Public
+opinion, even as embodied in the church committee, while deploring the
+necessity, was not disposed to question the propriety of her action.
+That is, all except Mrs. Taylor. In her, Selma thought she had detected
+signs of coldness, a sort of suspicious reservation of judgment, which
+contrasted itself unpleasantly with the sympathetic attitude of the
+others, who were fain to refer to her, in not altogether muffled
+whispers, as a plucky, independent, little woman. Hence, she was glad
+that Mrs. Taylor happened to be detained at home by illness on this
+afternoon, and that, accordingly, she was free to enjoy unreservedly the
+dramatic nature of the situation. Her heart beat a little faster as the
+chairman, turning to her to ask a question, addressed her unmistakably
+as Mrs. White. She could not refrain from casting half-amused,
+half-pathetic sheep's eyes at Littleton. He started visibly, regarded
+her for, a moment in obvious amazement, then flushed to the roots of his
+hair. She felt the blood rising to her own cheeks, and a sensation of
+mild triumph. The meeting was over and the members were merely lingering
+to tie up the loose threads of the matter arranged for. In a few moments
+Selma found herself with the architect sufficiently apart from the
+others for him to ask:
+
+"Two persons have addressed you this afternoon as Mrs. White. I do not
+understand."
+
+She cast down her eyes, as a woman will when a question of modesty is
+involved, then she raised them and said: "You did not know, then, that I
+had left my husband?"
+
+"Left him?"
+
+"Yes. I have obtained a divorce. He was unfaithful to me."
+
+"I see"--said Littleton with a sort of gasp--"I see. I did not know. You
+never wrote to me."
+
+"I did not feel like writing to any body. There was nothing to be done
+but that."
+
+Littleton regarded her with a perturbed, restless air.
+
+"Then you live no longer at 25 Onslow Avenue?"
+
+"Oh, no. I left there more than six months ago. I live in lodgings. I am
+supporting myself by literary work. I am Mrs. Selma White now, and my
+divorce has been absolute more than a month."
+
+She spoke gravely and quietly, with less than her usual assurance, for
+she felt the spell of his keen, eager scrutiny and was not averse to
+yield at the moment to the propensity of her sex. She wondered what he
+was thinking about. Did he blame her? Did he sympathize with her?
+
+"Where are you going when you leave here?" he asked.
+
+"Home--to my new home. Will you walk along with me?"
+
+"That is what I should like. I am astonished by what you have told me,
+and am anxious to hear more about it, if to speak of it would not wound
+you. Divorced! How you must have suffered! And I did not have the chance
+to offer you my help--my sympathy."
+
+"Yes, I have suffered. But that is all over now. I am a free woman. I am
+beginning my life over again."
+
+It was a beautiful afternoon, and by mutual consent, which neither put
+into words, they diverged from the exact route to Selma's lodging house
+and turned their steps to the open country beyond the city limits--the
+picturesque dell which has since become the site of Benham's public
+park. There they seated themselves where they would not be interrupted.
+Selma told him on the way the few vital facts in her painful story, to
+which he listened in a tense silence, broken chiefly by an occasional
+ejaculation expressive of his contempt for the man who had brought such
+unhappiness upon her. She let him understand, too, that her married
+life, from the first, had been far less happy than he had
+imagined--wretched makeshift for the true relation of husband and wife.
+She spoke of her future buoyantly, yet with a touch of sadness, as
+though to indicate that she was aware that the triumphs of intelligence
+and individuality could not entirely be a substitute for a happy home.
+
+"And what do you expect to do?" he inquired in a bewildered fashion, as
+though her delineation of her hopes had been lost on him.
+
+"Do? Support myself by my own exertions, as I have told you. By writing
+I expect. I am doing very well already. Do you question my ability to
+continue?"
+
+"Oh, no; not that. Only--"
+
+"Only what? Surely you are not one of the men who grudge women the
+chance to prove what is in them--who would treat us like china dolls and
+circumscribe us by conventions? I know you are not, because I have heard
+you inveigh against that very sort of narrow mindedness. Only what?"
+
+"I can't make up my mind to it. And I suppose the reason is that it
+means so much to me--that you mean so much to me. What is the use of my
+dodging the truth, Selma--seeking to conceal it because such a short
+time has elapsed since you ceased to be a wife? Forgive me if I hurt
+you, if it seem indelicate to speak of love at the very moment when you
+are happy in your liberty. I can't help it; it's my nature to speak
+openly. And there's no bar now. The fact that you are free makes clear
+to me what I have not dared to countenance before, that you are the one
+woman in the world for me--the woman I have dreamed of--and longed to
+meet--the woman whose influence has blessed me already, and without whom
+I shall lack the greatest happiness which life can give. Selma, I love
+you--I adore you."
+
+Selma listened with greedy ears, which she could scarcely believe. It
+seemed to her that she was in dream-land, so unexpected, yet entrancing,
+was his avowal. She had been vaguely aware that he admired her more than
+he had allowed himself to disclose, and conscious, too, that his
+presence was agreeable to her; but in an instant now she recognized that
+this was love--the love she had sought, the love she had yearned to
+inspire and to feel. Compared with it, Babcock's clumsy ecstasy and her
+own sufferance of it had been a sham and a delusion. Of so much she was
+conscious in a twinkling, and yet what she deemed proper self-respect
+restrained her from casting herself into his arms. It was, indeed, soon,
+and she had been happy in her liberty. At least, she had supposed
+herself so; and she owed it to her own plans and hopes not to act
+hastily, though she knew what she intended to do. She had been lonely,
+yes starving, for lack of true companionship, and here was the soul
+which would be a true mate to hers.
+
+They were sitting on a grassy bank. He was bending toward her with
+clasped hands, a picture of fervor. She could see him out of the corner
+of her glance, though she looked into space with her gaze of seraphic
+worry. Yet her lips were ready to lend themselves to a smile of blissful
+satisfaction and her eyes to fill with the melting mood of the thought
+that at last happiness had come to her.
+
+The silence was very brief, but Littleton, as would have seemed fitting
+to her, feared lest she were shocked.
+
+"I distress you," he said. "Forgive me. Listen--will you listen?" Selma
+was glad to listen. The words of love, such love as this, were
+delicious, and she felt she owed it to herself not to be won too easily.
+"I am listening," she answered softly with the voice of one face to face
+with an array of doubts.
+
+"Before I met you, Selma, woman but was a name to me. My life brought me
+little into contact with them, except my dear sister, and I had no
+temptation to regret that I could not support a wife. Yet I dreamed of
+woman and of love and of a joy which might some day come to me if I
+could meet one who fulfilled my ideal of what a true woman should be. So
+I dreamed until I met you. The first time I saw you, Selma, I knew in my
+heart that you were a woman whom I could love. Perhaps I should have
+recognized more clearly as time went on that you were more to me even
+then than I had a right to allow; yet I call heaven to witness that I
+did not, by word or sign, do a wrong to him who has done such a cruel
+wrong to you."
+
+"Never by word or sign," echoed Selma solemnly. The bare suggestion that
+Babcock had cause to complain of either of them seemed to her
+preposterous. Yet she was saying to herself that it was easy to perceive
+that he had loved her from the first.
+
+"And since I love you with all my soul must I--should I in justice to
+myself--to my own hopes of happiness, refrain from speaking merely
+because you have so recently been divorced? I must speak--I am speaking.
+It is too soon, I dare say, for you to be willing to think of marriage
+again--but I offer you the love and protection of a husband. My means
+are small, but I am able now to support a wife in decent comfort. Selma,
+give me some hope. Tell me, that in time you may be willing to trust
+yourself to my love. You wish to work--to distinguish yourself. Would I
+be a hindrance to that? Indeed, you must know that I would do every
+thing in my power to promote your desire to be of service to the world."
+
+The time for her smile and her tears had come. He had argued his case
+and her own, and it was clear to her mind that delay would be futile.
+Since happiness was at hand, why not grasp it? As for her work, he need
+not interfere with that. And, after all, now that she had tried it, was
+she so sure that newspaper work--hack work, such as she was pursuing,
+was what she wished? As a wife, re-established in the security of a
+home, she could pick and choose her method of expression. Perhaps,
+indeed, it would not be writing, except occasionally. Was not New York a
+wide, fruitful field, for a reforming social influence? She saw herself
+in her mind's eye a leader of movements and of progress. And that with a
+man she loved--yes, adored even as he adored her.
+
+So she turned to Littleton with her smile and in tears--the image of
+bewitching but pathetic self-justification and surrender. Her mind was
+made up; hence why procrastinate and coyly postpone the desirable, and
+the inevitable? That was what she had the shrewdness to formulate in the
+ecstasy of her transport; and so eloquent was the mute revelation of her
+love that Littleton, diffident reverencer of the modesty of woman as he
+was, without a word from her clasped her to his breast, a victor in a
+breath. As, regardless of the possible invasion of interlopers, he took
+her in his embrace, she felt with satisfaction once more the grasp of
+masculine arms. She let her head fall on his shoulder in delighted
+contentment. While he murmured in succession inarticulate terms of
+endearment, she revelled in the thrill of her nerves and approved her
+own sagacious and commendable behavior.
+
+"Dearest," she whispered, "you are right. We are right. Since we love
+each other, why should we not say so? I love you--I love you. The ugly
+hateful past shall not keep us apart longer. You say you loved me from
+the first; so did I love you, though I did not know it then. We were
+meant for each other--God meant us--did he not? It is right, and we
+shall be so happy, Wilbur."
+
+"Yes, Selma." Words seemed to him an inadequate means for expressing his
+emotions. He pressed his lips upon hers with the adoring respect of a
+worshipper touching his god, yet with the energy of a man. She sighed
+and compared him in her thought with Babcock. How gentle this new lover!
+How refined and sensitive and appreciative! How intelligent and
+gentlemanly!
+
+"If I had my wish, darling," he said, "we should be married to-night and
+I would carry you away from here forever."
+
+She remembered that Babcock had uttered the same wish on the occasion
+when he had offered himself. To grant it then had been out of the
+question. To do so now would be convenient--a prompt and satisfactory
+blotting out of her past and present life--a happy method of solving
+many minor problems of ways and means connected with waiting to be
+married. Besides it would be romantic, and a delicious, fitting crowning
+of her present blissful mood.
+
+He mistook her silence for womanly scruples, and he recounted with a
+little laugh the predicament in which he should find himself on his own
+account were they to be so precipitate. "What would my sister think if
+she were to get a telegram--'Married to-night. Expect us to-morrow?' She
+would think I had lost my senses. So I have, darling; and you are the
+cause. She knows about you. I have talked to her about you."
+
+"But she thinks I am Mrs. Babcock."
+
+"Oh yes. Ha! ha! It would never do to state to whom I was married,
+unless I sent a telegram as long as my arm. Dear Pauline! She will be
+radiant. It is all arranged that she is to stay where she is in the old
+quarters, and I am to take you to a new house. We've decided on that,
+time and again, when we've chanced to talk of what might happen--of 'the
+fair, the chaste and unexpressive she'--my she. Dearest, I wondered if I
+should ever find her. Pauline has always said that she would never run
+the risk of spoiling everything by living with us."
+
+"It would be very nice--and very simple," responded Selma, slowly. "You
+wouldn't think any the worse of me, Wilbur, if I were to marry you
+to-night?"
+
+"The worse of you? It is what I would like of all things. Whom does it
+concern but us? Why should we wait in order to make a public spectacle
+of ourselves?"
+
+"I shouldn't wish that. I should insist on being married very quietly.
+Under all the circumstances there is really no reason--it seems to me it
+would be easier if we were to be married as soon as possible. It would
+avoid explanations and talk, wouldn't it? That is, if you are perfectly
+sure."
+
+"Sure? That I love you? Oh Selma!"
+
+She shut her eyes under the thrill which his kiss gave her. "Then we
+will be married whenever you wish," she said.
+
+It was already late in the afternoon, so that the prospects of obtaining
+a license did not seem favorable. Still it happened that Littleton knew
+a clergyman of his own faith--Unitarian--in Benham, a college classmate,
+whom he suggested as soon as he understood that Selma preferred not to
+be married by Mr. Glynn. They found him at home, and by diligent
+personal effort on his part the necessary legal forms were complied with
+and they were made husband and wife three hours before the departure of
+the evening train for New York. After the ceremony they stepped
+buoyantly, arm in arm in the dusk, along the street to send the telegram
+to Miss Littleton, and to snatch a hasty meal before Selma went to her
+lodgings to pack. There were others in the restaurant, so having
+discovered that they were not hungry, they bought sandwiches and
+bananas, and resumed their travels. The suddenness and surprise of it
+all made Selma feel as if on wings. It seemed to her to be of the
+essence of new and exquisite romance to be walking at the side of her
+fond, clever lover in the democratic simplicity of two paper bags of
+provender and an open, yet almost headlong marriage. She felt that at
+last she was yoked to a spirit who comprehended her and who would
+stimulate instead of repress the fire of originality within her. She had
+found love and she was happy. Meanwhile she had decided to leave Benham
+without a word to anyone, even Mrs. Earle. She would write and explain
+what had happened.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK II.
+
+THE STRUGGLE
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+Littleton had not expected that Selma would accede to his request to be
+married at once, but he was delighted at her decision. He had uttered
+his wish in sincerity, for there was really no reason for waiting, and
+by an immediate marriage they would escape the tedium of an engagement
+during which they could hope to see each other but rarely. He was able
+to support a wife provided they were to live simply and economically. He
+felt sure that Selma understood his circumstances and was no less ready
+than he to forego luxuries in order that they might be all in all to
+each other spiritually as husband and wife. Besides he had hopes that
+his clientage would continue to grow so that he would be able to provide
+all reasonable comforts for his new home. Consequently he drove up from
+the station in New York with a light heart, fondly pointing out to his
+wife this and that building and other objects of interest. He mistook
+her pensive silence for diffidence at the idea of descending suddenly on
+another woman's home--a matter which in this instance gave him no
+concern, for he had unlimited confidence in Pauline's executive ability
+and her tendency not to get ruffled. She had been his good angel,
+domestically speaking, and, indeed, in every way, since they had first
+begun to keep house together, and it had rather amused him to let fall
+such a bombshell as the contents of his telegram upon the regularity of
+her daily life.
+
+"Don't be nervous, darling," he said gayly. "You will find Pauline
+bubbling over with joy at our coming, and everything arranged as though
+we were expected to live there all our lives."
+
+Selma looked at him blankly and then remembered. She was not feeling
+nervous, and Pauline was not in her thoughts. She had been lost in her
+own reflections--lost in the happy consciousness of the contrast between
+her new and her old husband, and in the increasing satisfaction that she
+was actually in New York. How bright and busy the streets looked! The
+throng of eager passers and jostling vehicles against the background of
+brilliant shop-windows bewildered and stimulated her. She was saying to
+herself that here was the place where she was suited to live, and mutely
+acknowledging its superiority to Benham as a centre of life. This was a
+rash, swift conclusion, but Selma prided herself on her capacity to
+arrive at wise judgments by rapid mental processes. So absorbed was she
+in the glittering, stirring panorama that Wilbur's efforts at
+enlightenment were practically wasted. She was in no humor for details;
+she was glorying in the exalted impression which the whole vivid scene
+produced upon her.
+
+His remark caused her to realize that they must be near their
+destination. She had no misgivings on the score of her own reception,
+but she was interested and curious to see Pauline, this wonderful sister
+of whom Wilbur was so fond and so proud. Then her husband cried, "Here
+we are!" and in another moment she found herself in the hearty embrace
+of a large, comely woman who met her at the door. This of course must be
+Pauline. Selma was just a little shocked by the fervor of the greeting;
+for though she delighted in rapid intimacies, unexpected liberties with
+her person were contrary to her conceptions of propriety. Still it was
+delightful to be welcomed so heartily. She returned the embrace warmly
+but with dignity, and allowed herself to be convoyed into the house arm
+in arm with her new relation who seemed, indeed, to be bubbling over
+with joy. It was not until they were in the same room that Selma could
+get a good look at her.
+
+Pauline Littleton was fine looking rather than pretty. She was tall and
+substantial, with an agreeable face, an intelligent brow, a firm yet
+sweet mouth, and steady, honest eyes which now sparkled with pleasure.
+Her physique was very different from her brother's. Selma noticed that
+she was taller than herself and only a little shorter than Wilbur. She
+had Wilbur's smile too, suggesting a disposition to take things
+humorously; but her expression lacked the poetic cast which made him so
+attractive and congenial to herself and excused the existence of the
+lighter vein. Selma did not admire women who were inclined to be stout.
+She associated spareness of person with high thinking, and an abundance
+of flesh as an indication of material or commonplace aims. She reflected
+that Pauline was presumably business-like and a good house-keeper, and,
+very likely, an industrious teacher in her classes, but she set her down
+in her mind as deficient in the finer sensibilities of the spirit
+belonging to herself and Wilbur. It was instinctive with Selma to form a
+prompt estimate of every one she met, and it was a relief to her to come
+to the agreeable conclusion that there was nothing in her
+sister-in-law's appearance to make her discontented with herself. This
+warmed her heart at once toward Pauline. To be sure Pauline manifested
+the same sort of social grace which distinguished Mrs. Hallett Taylor,
+but Selma, though she still regarded this with suspicion, for the reason
+that she had not yet become mistress of it, was secretly content to know
+that she had married into a family which possessed it. Altogether she
+was agreeably impressed by her scrutiny of her new sister, who, in her
+opinion, would not be an irritating rival either in looks or character,
+and yet who was a pleasing and sufficiently serious-minded person--in
+short just the sort of sister-in-law which she yearned to have.
+
+Pauline, on her part, was duly fascinated by the delicate and inspiring
+beauty of her brother's wife. She understood at once why Wilbur had
+chosen her in preference to any one of his own circle. Selma obviously
+symbolized by her grave, tense, thin face the serious ideals of living
+and womanhood, which had been dear to his meditation as a youth and a
+part of his heritage from his New England ancestors. It made her joyous
+to feel that he had found a wife who would be a constant source of
+inspiration to him, for she knew that Wilbur would not be happy with any
+one who fell short of his ideal as to what a woman should be. She knew
+her brother well, and she understood how deeply in earnest he was to
+make the most of his life, and what an exalted vision he entertained as
+to the possibilities for mutual sympathy and help between husband and
+wife.
+
+Partly as a consequence of their limited means, partly owing to
+absorption in their respective studies and interests, the Littletons,
+though of gentle stock, lived simple lives according to New York
+standards. They were aware of the growth of luxury resulting from the
+accumulation of big fortunes since the war. As an architect, Wilbur saw
+larger and more elaborate public and private buildings being erected on
+every side. As a house-keeper and a woman with social interests, Pauline
+knew that the power of money was revolutionizing the public taste in the
+matter of household expenditure; that in the details of domestic life
+there was more color and more circumstance, and that people who were
+well-to-do, and many who were not, were requiring as daily comforts all
+sorts of things to which they had been unaccustomed. But though they
+both thus knew vaguely that the temper of society had changed, and that
+sober citizens and their wives, who, twenty years before, would have
+prated solemnly against a host of gay, enlivening or pretty customs as
+incompatible with American virtue, were now adopting these as rapidly as
+money could procure them--the brother and sister had remained
+comparatively unaffected by the consequences of the transformation
+scene. Certainly their home had. It was old-fashioned in its garniture
+and its gentility. It spoke of a day, not so many years before, when
+high thinking had led to blinking where domestic decoration was
+concerned, and people had bought ugly wooden and worsted things to live
+with because only the things of the spirit seemed of real importance.
+Still time, with its marvellous touch, has often the gift of making
+furniture and upholstery, which were hideous when bought, look
+interesting and cosey when they have become old-fashioned. In this way
+Pauline Wilbur's parlor was a delightful relic of a day gone by. There
+was scarcely a pretty thing in it, as Wilbur himself well knew, yet, as
+a whole, it had an atmosphere--an atmosphere of simple unaffected
+refinement. Their domestic belongings had come to them from their
+parents, and they had never had the means to replenish them. When, in
+due time, they had realized their artistic worthlessness, they had held
+to them through affection, humorously conscious of the incongruity that
+two such modern individuals as themselves should be living in a domestic
+museum. Then, presto! friends had begun to congratulate them on the
+uniqueness of their establishment, and to express affection for it. It
+had become a favorite resort for many modern spirits--artists, literary
+men, musicians, self-supporting women--and Pauline's oyster suppers,
+cooked in her grandmother's blazer, were still a stimulus to high
+thinking.
+
+So matters stood when Selma entered it as a bride. Her coming signified
+the breaking up of the household and the establishment. Pauline had
+thought that out in her clear brain over night since receiving Wilbur's
+telegram. Wilbur must move into a modern house, and she into a modern
+flat. She would keep the very old things, such as the blazer and some
+andirons and a pair of candlesticks, for they were ancient enough to be
+really artistic, but the furniture of the immediate past, her father and
+mother's generation, should be sold at auction. Wilbur and she must, if
+only for Selma's sake, become modern in material matters as well as in
+their mental interests.
+
+Pauline proceeded to unfold this at the dinner-table that evening. She
+had heard in the meanwhile from her brother, the story of Selma's
+divorce and the explanation of his sudden marriage; and in consequence,
+she felt the more solicitous that her sister-in-law's new venture should
+begin propitiously. It was agreed that Wilbur should make inquiries at
+once about houses further uptown, and that his present lease from year
+to year should not be renewed. She said to Selma:
+
+"You have saved us from becoming an old-fashioned bachelor and maid. Our
+friends began to leave this neighborhood five years ago, and there is no
+one left. We are surrounded by boarding-houses and shops. We were
+comfortable, and we were too busy to care. But it would never do for a
+young married couple to begin house-keeping here. You must have a brand
+new house uptown, Selma. You must insist on that. Don't be alarmed,
+Wilbur. I know it will have to be small, but I noticed the other day
+several blocks of new houses going up on the side streets west of the
+Park, which looked attractive and cheap."
+
+"I will look at them," said Wilbur. "Since you seem determined not to
+live with us, and we are obliged to move, we will follow the procession.
+But Selma and I could be happy anywhere." He turned from his sister to
+her as he spoke with a proud, happy look.
+
+Selma said nothing to mar his confidence. She had no intention of living
+either with Pauline or in their present house, and she felt that her
+sister-in-law had shown good sense in recognizing that neither was
+possible. She necessarily had vague ideas as to New York houses and
+locations, but she had seen enough in her drive from the station to
+understand that it was a wonderful and decorative place. Although her
+experience of Benham had taught her that some old things--such as Mrs.
+Hallett Taylor's gleanings from Europe--were desirable, she associated
+new things with progress--especially American progress. Consequently the
+Littleton household possessions had puzzled her, for though she thought
+them ugly, she was resolved not to commit herself too hastily. But now
+that Pauline had sounded a note of warning, the situation was clear.
+They had suffered themselves to fall behind the times, and she was to be
+her husband's good angel by helping him to catch up with them. And it
+was evident that Pauline would be her ally. Selma for the first time
+asked herself whether it might be that Wilbur was a little visionary.
+
+Meanwhile he was saying: "Pauline is right, Selma. I had already asked
+myself if it would not be fairer to you to move uptown where we should
+be in the van and in touch with what is going on. Pauline is gently
+hinting to you that you must not humor me as she has done, and let me
+eat bread and milk out of a bowl in this old curiosity shop, instead of
+following in the wake of fashion. She has spoiled me and now she deserts
+me at the critical moment of my life. Selma, you shall have the most
+charming modern house in New York within my means. It must be love in a
+cottage, but the cottage shall have the latest improvements--hot and
+cold water, tiles, hygienic plumbing and dados."
+
+"Bravo!" said Pauline. "He says I have spoiled him, Selma. Perhaps I
+have. It will be your turn now. You will fail to convert him as I have
+failed, and the world will be the better for it. There are too few men
+who think noble thoughts and practice them, who are true to themselves
+and the light which is in them through thick and thin. But you see, he
+admits himself that he needs to mix with the world a little more.
+Otherwise he is perfect. You know that perhaps, already, Selma. But I
+wish to tell it to you before him. Take care of him, dear, won't you?"
+
+"It was because I felt that his thoughts were nobler than most men's
+that I wished to marry him," Selma replied, seraphically. "But I can see
+that it is sensible to live where your friends live. I shall try not to
+spoil him, Pauline." She was already conscious of a mission which
+appealed to her. She had been content until now in the ardor of her love
+to regard Wilbur as flawless--as in some respects superior to herself;
+but it was a gratification to her to detect this failing, and to
+perceive her opportunity for usefulness. Surely it was important for her
+husband to be progressive and not merely a dreamer.
+
+Littleton looked from one to the other fondly. "Not many men are blessed
+with the love of two such women," he said. "I put myself in your hands.
+I bow my neck to the yoke."
+
+In New York in the early seventies the fashionable quarter lay between
+Eighth and Fortieth Streets, bounded on either side by Fourth and Sixth
+Avenues. Central Park was completed, but the region west of it was, from
+the social stand-point, still a wilderness, and Fifth Avenue in the
+neighborhood of Twenty-third Street was the centre of elegant social
+life. Selma took her first view of this brilliant street on the
+following day on her way to hunt for houses in the outlying district.
+The roar and bustle of the city, which thrilled yet dazed her, seemed
+here softened by the rows of tall, imposing residences in brown stone.
+Along the sunny sidewalks passed with jaunty tread an ever-hurrying
+procession of stylishly clad men and women; and along the roadbed sped
+an array of private carriages conducted by coachmen in livery. It was a
+brilliant day, and New Yorkers were making the most of it.
+
+Selma had never seen such a sight before. Benham faded into
+insignificance in comparison. She was excited, and she gazed eagerly at
+the spectacle. Yet her look, though absorbed, was stern. This sort of
+thing was unlike anything American within her personal experience. This
+avenue of grand houses and this procession of fine individuals and fine
+vehicles made her think of that small section of Benham into which she
+had never been invited, and the thought affected her disagreeably.
+
+"Who are the people who live in these houses?" she asked, presently.
+
+Littleton had already told her that it was the most fashionable street
+in the city.
+
+"Oh, the rich and prosperous."
+
+"Those who gamble in stocks, I suppose." Selma wished to be assured that
+this was so.
+
+"Some of them," said Littleton, with a laugh. "They belong to people who
+have made money in various ways or have inherited it--our well-to-do
+class, among them the first families in New York, and many of them our
+best citizens."
+
+"Are they friends of yours?"
+
+Littleton laughed again. "A few--not many. Society here is divided into
+sets, and they are not in my set. I prefer mine, and fortunately, for I
+can't afford to belong to theirs."
+
+"Oh!"
+
+The frigidity and dryness of the exclamation Littleton ascribed to
+Selma's intuitive enmity to the vanities of life.
+
+"You mustn't pass judgment on them too hastily," he said. "New York is a
+wonderful place, and it's likely to shock you before you learn to
+appreciate what is interesting and fine here. I will tell you a secret,
+Selma. Every one likes to make money. Even clergymen feel it their duty
+to accept a call from the congregation which offers the best salary, and
+probing men of science do not hesitate to reap the harvest from a
+wonderful invention. Yet it is the fashion with most of the people in
+this country who possess little to prate about the wickedness of
+money-getters and to think evil of the rich. That proceeds chiefly from
+envy, and it is sheer cant. The people of the United States are engaged
+in an eager struggle to advance themselves--to gain individual
+distinction, comfort, success, and in New York to a greater extent than
+in any other place can the capable man or woman sell his or her wares to
+the best advantage--be they what they may, stocks, merchandise, law,
+medicine, pictures. The world pays well for the things it wants--and the
+world is pretty just in the long run. If it doesn't like my designs,
+that will be because they're not worth buying. The great thing--the
+difficult thing to guard against in the whirl of this great city, where
+we are all striving to get ahead--is not to sell one's self for money,
+not to sacrifice the thing worth doing for mere pecuniary advantage.
+It's the great temptation to some to do so, for only money can buy fine
+houses, and carriages and jewels--yes, and in a certain sense, social
+preferment. The problem is presented in a different form to every man.
+Some can grow rich honestly, and some have to remain poor in order to be
+true to themselves. We may have to remain poor, Selma mia." He spoke
+gayly, as though that prospect did not disturb him in the least.
+
+"And we shall be just as good as the people who own these houses." She
+said it gravely, as if it were a declaration of principles, and at the
+same moment her gaze was caught and disturbed by a pair of blithe,
+fashionably dressed young women gliding by her with the quiet,
+unconscious grace of good-breeding. She was inwardly aware, though she
+would never acknowledge it by word or sign, that such people troubled
+her. More even than Mrs. Taylor had troubled her. They were different
+from her and they tantalized her.
+
+At the same moment her husband was saying in reply, "Just as good, but
+not necessarily any better. No--other things being equal--not so good.
+We mustn't deceive ourselves with that piece of cant. Some of them are
+frivolous enough, and dishonest enough, heaven knows, but so there are
+frivolous and dishonest people in every class. But there are many more
+who endeavor to be good citizens--are good citizens, our best citizens.
+The possession of money gives them the opportunity to become arbiters of
+morals and taste, and to seek culture under the best advantages. After
+all, an accumulation of money represents brains and energy in some one.
+Look at this swell," he continued, indicating an attractive looking
+young man who was passing. "His grandfather was one of the ablest men in
+the city--an intelligent, self-respecting, shrewd, industrious,
+public-spirited citizen who made a large fortune. The son has had
+advantages which I have never had, and I happen to know that he is a
+fine fellow and a very able one. If it came to comparisons, I should be
+obliged to admit that he's a more ornamental member of society than
+Jones, Brown, or Robinson, and certainly no less useful. Do I shock
+you--you sweet, unswerving little democrat of the democrats?"
+
+It always pleased Selma to be called endearing names, and it suited her
+in her present frame of mind to be dubbed a democrat, for it did not
+suit her to be painfully realizing that she was unable, at one brilliant
+swoop, to take her place as a leader in social influence. Somehow she
+had expected to do this, despite her first difficulties at Benham, for
+she had thought of New York as a place where, as the wife of Littleton,
+the architect, she would at once be a figure of importance. She shook
+her head and said, "It's hard to believe that these people are really in
+earnest; that they are serious in purpose and spirit." Meanwhile she was
+being haunted by the irritating reflection that her clothes and her
+bearing were inferior to those of the women she was passing. Secretly
+she was making a resolve to imitate them, though she believed that she
+despised them. She put her hand through her husband's arm and added,
+almost fiercely, as she pressed closer to him, "We needn't trouble our
+heads about them, Wilbur. We can get along without being rich and
+fashionable, you and I. In spite of what you say, I don't consider this
+sort of thing American."
+
+"Get along? Darling, I was merely trying to be just to them; to let you
+see that they are not so black as they're painted. We will forget them
+forever. We have nothing in common with them. Get along? I feel that my
+life will be a paradise living with you and trying to make some
+impression on the life of this big, striving city. But as to its not
+being American to live like these people--well you know they are
+Americans and that New York is the Mecca of the hard-fisted sons of toil
+from all over the country who have made money. But you're right, Selma.
+Those who go in for show and extravagance are not the best
+Americans--the Americans whom you and I believe in. Sometimes I get
+discouraged when I stop to think, and now I shall have you to keep me
+steadfast to our faith."
+
+"Yes, Wilbur. And how far from here are we to live?"
+
+"Oh, a mile or more. On some side street where the land is cheap and the
+rent low. What do we care for that, Selma mia?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+Shortly before Selma Littleton took up her abode in New York, Miss
+Florence, or, as she was familiarly known, Miss Flossy Price, was an
+inhabitant of a New Jersey city. Her father was a second cousin of
+Morton Price, whose family at that time was socially conspicuous in
+fashionable New York society. Not aggressively conspicuous, as ultra
+fashionable people are to-day, by dint of frequent newspaper
+advertisement, but in consequence of elegant, conservative
+respectability, fortified by and cushioned on a huge income. In the
+early seventies to know the Morton Prices was a social passport, and by
+no means every one socially ambitious knew them. Morton Price's
+great-grandfather had been a peddler, his grandfather a tea merchant,
+his father a tea merchant and bank organizer, and he himself did nothing
+mercantile, but was a director in diverse institutions, representing
+trusts or philantrophy, and was regarded by many, including himself, as
+the embodiment of ornamental and admirable citizenship. He could talk by
+the hour on the degeneracy of state and city politics and the evil deeds
+of Congress, and was, generally speaking, a conservative, fastidious,
+well-dressed, well-fed man, who had a winning way with women and a happy
+faculty of looking wise and saying nothing rash in the presence of men.
+Some of the younger generation were apt, with the lack of reverence
+belonging to youth, to speak of him covertly as "a stuffed club," but no
+echo of this epithet had ever reached the ear of his cousin, David
+Price, in New Jersey. For him, as for most of the world within a radius
+of two hundred miles, he was above criticism and a monument of social
+power.
+
+David Price, Miss Flossy's father, was the president of a small and
+unprogressive but eminently solid bank. Respectable routine was his
+motto, and he lived up to it, and, as a consequence, no more sound
+institution of the kind existed in his neighborhood. He and his
+directors were slow to adopt innovations of any kind; they put stumbling
+blocks in the path of business convenience whenever they could; in
+short, David Price in his humble way was a righteous, narrow, hide-bound
+retarder of progress and worshipper of established local custom.
+Therefore it was a constant source of surprise and worry to him that he
+should have a progressive daughter. There were four other children,
+patterns of quiet, plodding conservatism, but--such is the irony of
+fate--the youngest, prettiest, and his favorite, was an independent,
+opinionated young woman, who seemed to turn a deaf ear to paternal and
+maternal advice of safest New Jersey type. In her father's words, she
+had no reverence for any thing or any body, which was approximately
+true, for she did not hesitate to speak disrespectfully even of the head
+of the house in New York.
+
+"Poppa," she said one day, "Cousin Morton doesn't care for any of us a
+little bit. I know what you're going to say," she added; "that he sends
+you two turkeys every Thanksgiving. The last were terribly tough. I'm
+sure he thinks that we never see turkeys here in New Jersey, and that he
+considers us poor relations and that we live in a hole. If one of us
+should call on him, I know it would distress him awfully. He's right in
+thinking that this is a hole. Nothing ever happens here, and when I
+marry I intend to live in New York."
+
+This was when she was seventeen. Her father was greatly shocked,
+especially as he suspected in his secret soul that the tirade was true
+in substance. He had been the recipient of Thanksgiving turkeys for
+nearly twenty years on the plea that they had been grown on the donor's
+farm in Westchester county, and he had seen fit to invite his
+fellow-directors annually to dine off one of them as a modest notice
+that he was on friendly terms with his aristocratic New York cousin. But
+in all these twenty years turkeys had been the only medium of
+intercourse between them. David Price, on the few occasions when he had
+visited New York, had not found it convenient to call. Once he had
+walked by on the other side of Fifth avenue and looked at the house, but
+shyness and the thought that he had no evening clothes in his valise had
+restrained him from ringing the doorbell.
+
+"You do your cousin Morton great injustice--great injustice, Florence,"
+he answered. "He never forgets to send the turkeys, and as to the rest
+of your speech, I have only to say that it is very disrespectful and
+very foolish. The next time I go to New York I will take you to call on
+your cousins."
+
+"And what would I say to them? No thank you, poppa." The young woman
+shook her head decisively, and then she added, "I'm not going to call on
+them, until I'm fit to. There!"
+
+The ambiguity of this remark gave Mr. Price the opportunity to say that,
+in view of her immediate shortcomings, it was a wise conclusion, but he
+knew what she really meant and was distressed. His feeling toward his
+cousin, though mildly envious, did not extend to self-depreciation, nor
+had it served to undermine his faith in the innate dignity and worth of
+New Jersey family life. He could not only with a straight face, but with
+a kindling eye inveigh against the perils of New York fashionable life,
+and express gratification that no son or daughter of his had wandered so
+far from the fold. It distressed him to think that Florence should be
+casting sheep's eyes at the flesh-pots of Gotham, and so failing to
+appreciate the blessings and safety of a quiet American home.
+
+Miss Flossy continued to entertain and to express opinions of her own,
+and as a result became socially interesting. At eighteen, by her beauty,
+her engaging frankness and lack of self-consciousness, she spread havoc
+among the young men of her native city, several of whom offered her
+marriage. But marriage was far from her thoughts. Life seemed too
+interesting and she wished to see the world. She was erect and alert
+looking, with a compact figure of medium height, large brown eyes and
+rich red hair, and a laughing mouth; also an innocent demeanor, which
+served to give her, by moonlight, the effect of an angel. She succeeded
+in visiting Bar Harbor, where she promptly became a bright particular
+star among the galaxy of young women who at that period were
+establishing the reputation of the summer girl. She continued to be a
+summer girl for four seasons without injury to her own peace of mind. At
+the end of the fourth summer she appeared on close scrutiny to be a
+little worn, and her innocent air seemed a trifle deliberate. She
+returned to her home in New Jersey in not quite her usual spirits. In
+fact she became pensive. She had seen the world, and lo! she found it
+stuffed with sawdust. She was ready to settle down, but the only man
+with whom she would have been willing to settle had never asked her. He
+was the brother of one of the girls who had been forbidden by her mother
+to stay out in canoes with young men after nine at night. The rumor had
+reached Flossy that this same mother had referred to her in "the fish
+pond" at Rodick's as "that dreadful girl." It would have pleased her
+after that to have wrung an offer of marriage from the son and heir, who
+knew her cousins, the Morton Prices, and to whom she would have been
+willing to engage herself temporarily at all events. He was very
+devoted; they stayed out in his canoe until past midnight; he wrote
+verses to her and told her his innermost thoughts; but he stopped there.
+He went away without committing himself, and she was left to chew the
+cud of reflection. It was bitter, not because she was in love with him,
+for she was not. In her heart she knew he bored her a little. But she
+was piqued. Evidently he had been afraid to marry "that dreadful girl."
+She was piqued and she was sad. She recognized that it was another case
+of not being fit. When would she be fit? What was she to do in order to
+become fit--fit like the girl who was not allowed to stay on the water
+after nine o'clock? She had ceased to think of the young man, but the
+image of his sister haunted her. How stylish she was, yet how simple and
+quiet! "I wonder," thought Flossy to herself, "if I could ever become
+like her." The reflection threw her into a brown study in which she
+remained for weeks, and during which she refused the hand of a staid and
+respectable townsman, who, in her father's words, was ready to take her
+with all her follies. David Price was disappointed. He loved this
+independent daughter, and he had hopes that her demure and reticent
+deportment signified that the effervescence of youth had evaporated. But
+it was only an effort on Flossy's part to imitate the young man's
+sister.
+
+At this juncture and just when she was bored and dispirited by the
+process, Gregory Williams appeared on the scene. Flossy met him at a
+dancing party. He had a very tall collar, a very friendly, confident,
+and (toward her) devoted manner, and good looks. It was whispered among
+the girls that he was a banker from New York. He was obviously not over
+thirty, which was young for a banker, but so he presently described
+himself to Flossy with hints of impending prosperity. He spoke glibly
+and picturesquely. He had a convincing eloquence of gesture--a wave of
+the hand which suggested energy and compelled confidence. He had picked
+her out at once to be introduced to, and sympathy between them was
+speedily established. Her wearing, as a red-headed girl, a white horse
+in the form of a pin, in order to prevent the attention of the men to
+whom she talked from wandering, delighted him. He said to himself that
+here was a girl after his own heart. He had admired her looks at the
+outset, but he gazed at her now more critically. He danced every dance
+with her, and they sat together at supper, apart from everybody else.
+Flossy's resolutions were swept away. That is, she had become in an
+instant indifferent to the fact that the New York girl she had yearned
+to imitate would not have made herself so conspicuous. Her excuse was
+that she could not help herself. It was a case of genuine, violent
+attraction, which she made no effort to straggle against.
+
+The attraction was violent on both sides. Gregory Williams was not
+seeking to be married. He had been, until within six months, a broker's
+clerk, and had become a banker on the strength of ten thousand dollars
+bequeathed to him by a grandmother. He and a clerk from another broker's
+office, J. Willett VanHorne, had recently formed a partnership as
+Williams & VanHorne, Bankers and Dealers in Stocks and Bonds. He was not
+seeking to be married, but he intended to be married some day, and it
+was no part of his scheme of life to deny himself anything he wished.
+Support a wife? Of course he could; and support her in the same
+grandiose fashion which he had adopted for himself since he had begun
+business on his own account. He had chosen as a philosophy of life the
+smart paradox, which he enjoyed uttering, that he spent what he needed
+first and supplied the means later; and at the same time he let it be
+understood that the system worked wonderfully. He possessed unlimited
+confidence in himself, and though he was dimly aware that a very small
+turn of the wheel of fortune in the wrong direction would ruin him
+financially, he chose to close his eyes to the possibilities of disaster
+and to assume a bold and important bearing before the world. He had
+implicit faith in his own special line of ability, and he appreciated
+the worth of his partner, VanHorne. He had joined forces with VanHorne
+because he knew that he was the opposite of himself--that he was a
+delving, thorough, shrewd, keen office man--and able too. How genuinely
+able Williams did not yet know. He himself was to be the showy partner,
+the originator of schemes and procurer of business, the brilliant man
+before the world. So there was some method in his madness. And with it
+all went a cheery, incisive, humorous point of view which was congenial
+and diverting to Flossy.
+
+He went away, but he came back once--twice--thrice in quick succession.
+On business, so he said casually to Mr. and Mrs. Price, but his language
+to their daughter was a declaration of personal devotion. It remained
+for her to say whether she would marry him or no. Of one thing she was
+sure without need of reflection, that she loved him ardently. As a
+consequence she surrendered at once, though, curiously enough, she was
+conscious when she permitted him to kiss her with effusion that he was
+not the sort of man she had intended to marry--that he was not fit in
+her sense of the word. Yet she was determined to marry him, and from the
+moment their troth was plighted she found herself his eager and faithful
+ally, dreaming and scheming on their joint account. She would help him
+to succeed; they would conquer the world together; she would never doubt
+his ability to conquer it. And in time--yes, in time they would make
+even the Morton Prices notice them.
+
+And so after some bewildered opposition on the part of Mr. Price, who
+was alternately appalled and fascinated by the magniloquent language of
+his would-be son-in-law, they were married. Flossy gave but a single
+sign to her husband that she understood him and recognized what they
+really represented. It was one evening a few months after they had set
+up housekeeping while they were walking home from the theatre. They had
+previously dined at Delmonico's, and the cost of the evening's
+entertainment, including a bottle of champagne at dinner, their tickets
+and a corsage bouquet of violets for Flossy, had been fifteen dollars.
+Flossy wore a resplendent theatre hat and fashionable cape--one of the
+several stylish costumes with which her husband had hastened to present
+her, and Gregory was convoying her along the Avenue with the air of a
+man not averse to have the world recognize that they were a well set up
+and prosperous couple. Flossy had put her arm well inside his and was
+doing her best to help him produce the effect which he desired, when she
+suddenly said:
+
+"I wonder, Gregory, how long it will be before we're really anybody.
+Now, of course, we're only make believe swell."
+
+Gregory gave an amused laugh. "What a clever little woman! That's just
+what we are. We'll keep it a secret, though, and won't advertise it to
+the world."
+
+"Mum's the word," she replied, giving his arm a squeeze. "I only wished
+you to know that I was not being fooled; that I understood."
+
+Fate ordained that the Williamses and the Littletons should take houses
+side by side in the same block. It was a new block, and at first they
+were the sole occupants. Williams bought his house, giving a mortgage
+back to the seller for all the man would accept, and obtaining a second
+mortgage from a money lender in consideration of a higher rate of
+interest, for practically the remaining value. He furnished his house
+ornately from top to bottom in the latest fashion, incurring bills for a
+portion of the effects, and arranging to pay on the instalment plan
+where he could not obtain full credit. His reasoning was convincing to
+himself and did not alarm Flossy, who was glad to feel that they were
+the owners of the house and attractive furniture. It was that the land
+was sure to improve in value before the mortgage became due, and as for
+the carpets and curtains and other outlays, a few points in the stock
+market would pay for them at any time.
+
+Wilbur Littleton did not possess the ready money to buy; consequently he
+took a lease of his new house for three years, and paid promptly for the
+furniture he bought, the selection of which was gradual. Gregory
+Williams had a marvellous way of entering a shop and buying everything
+which pleased his eye at one fell swoop, but Wilbur, who desired to
+accomplish the best aesthetic effects possible consistent with his
+limited means, trotted Selma from one shop to another before choosing.
+This process of selecting slowly the things with which they were to pass
+their lives was a pleasure to him, and, as he supposed, to Selma. She
+did enjoy keenly at first beholding the enticing contents of the various
+stores which they entered in the process of procuring wall-papers,
+carpets, and the other essentials for house-keeping. It was a revelation
+to her that such beautiful things existed, and her inclination was to
+purchase the most showy and the most costly articles. In the adornment
+of her former home Babcock had given her a free hand. That is, his
+disposition had been to buy the finest things which the shopkeepers of
+Benham called to his attention. She understood now that his taste and
+the taste of Benham, and even her's, had been at fault, but she found
+herself hampered now by a new and annoying limitation, the smallness of
+their means. Almost every thing was very expensive, and she was obliged
+to pass by the patterns and materials she desired to possess, and accept
+articles of a more sober and less engaging character. Many of these, to
+be sure, were declared by Wilbur to be artistically charming and more
+suitable than many which she preferred, but it would have suited her
+better to fix on the rich upholstery and solid furniture, which were
+evidently the latest fashion in household decoration, rather than go
+mousing from place to place, only at last to pick up in the back corner
+of some store this or that object which was both reasonably pretty and
+reasonably cheap. When it was all over Selma was pleased with the effect
+of her establishment, but she had eaten of the tree of knowledge. She
+had visited the New York shops. These, in her capacity of a God-fearing
+American, she would have been ready to anathematize in a speech or in a
+newspaper article, but the memory of them haunted her imagination and
+left her domestic yearnings not wholly satisfied.
+
+Wilbur Littleton's scheme of domestic life was essentially spiritual,
+and in the development of it he felt that he was consulting his wife's
+tastes and theories no less than his own. He knew that she understood
+that he was ambitious to make a name for himself as an architect; but to
+make it only by virtue of work of a high order; that he was unwilling to
+become a time-server or to lower his professional standards merely to
+make temporary progress, which in the end would mar a success worth
+having. He had no doubt that he had made this clear to her and that she
+sympathized with him. As a married man it was his desire and intention
+not to allow his interest in this ambition to interfere with the
+enjoyment of the new great happiness which had come into his life. He
+would be a professional recluse no longer. He would cast off his work
+when he left his office, and devote his evenings to the aesthetic
+delights of Selma's society. They would read aloud; he would tell her
+his plans and ask her advice; they would go now and then to the theatre;
+and, in justice to her, they would occasionally entertain their friends
+and accept invitations from them. With this outlook in mind he had made
+such an outlay as would render his home attractive and cosey--simple as
+became a couple just beginning life, yet the abode of a gentleman and a
+lover of inspiring and pretty things.
+
+As has been mentioned, Littleton was a Unitarian, and one effect of his
+faith had been to make his point of view broad and straightforward. He
+detested hypocrisy and cant, subterfuge and self-delusion. He was
+content to let other people live according to their own lights without
+too much distress on their account, but he was too honest and too
+clear-headed to be able to deceive himself as to his own motives and his
+own conduct. He had no intention to be morbid, but he saw clearly that
+it was his privilege and his duty to be true to both his loves, his wife
+and his profession, and that if he neglected either, he would be so far
+false to his best needs and aspirations. Yet he felt that for the moment
+it was incumbent on him to err on the side of devotion to his wife until
+she should become accustomed to her new surroundings.
+
+The problem of the proper arrangement and subdivision of life in a large
+city and in these seething, modern times is perplexing to all of us.
+There are so many things we would like to do which we cannot; so many
+things which we do against our wills. We are perpetually squinting at
+happiness, but just as we get a delightful vision before our eyes we are
+whisked off by duty or ambition or the force of social momentum to try a
+different view. Consequently our perennial regret is apt to be that we
+have seen our real interests and our real friends as in a panorama, for
+a fleeting moment, and then no more until the next time. For Littleton
+this was less true than for most. His life was deep and stable rather
+than many-sided. To be sure his brain experienced, now and then, the
+dazing effects of trying to confront all the problems of the universe
+and adapt his architectural endeavors to his interpretation of them; and
+he knew well the bewildering difficulties of the process of adjusting
+professional theories to the sterile conditions which workaday practice
+often presented. But this crowding of his mental canvas was all in the
+line of his life purpose. The days were too short, and sometimes left
+him perplexed and harassed by their rush; yet he was still pursuing the
+tenor of his way. The interest of marriage was not, therefore, in his
+case a fresh burden on a soul already laden with a variety of side
+pursuits. He was neither socially nor philanthropically active; he was
+not a club man, nor an athletic enthusiast; he was on no committees; he
+voted on election days, but he did not take an active part in politics.
+For Selma's sake all this must be changed; and he was glad to
+acknowledge that he owed it to himself as well as to her to widen his
+sympathies.
+
+As a first step in reform he began to leave his office daily at five
+instead of six, and, on Saturdays, as soon after two as possible. For a
+few months these brands of time snatched from the furnace of his
+professional ardor were devoted to the shopping relative to
+house-furnishing. When that was over, to walking with Selma; sometimes
+as a sheer round of exercise in company, sometimes to visit a
+print-shop, exhibition of pictures, book-store, or other attraction of
+the hour. But the evening was for him the ideal portion of the day;
+when, after dinner was done, they made themselves comfortable in the new
+library, their living room, and it became his privilege to read aloud to
+her or to compare ideas with her regarding books and pictures and what
+was going on in the world. It had been a dream of Littleton's that some
+day he would re-read consecutively the British poets, and as soon as the
+furniture was all in place and the questions of choice of rugs and
+chairs and pictures had been settled by purchase, he proposed it as a
+definite occupation whenever they had nothing else in view. It delighted
+him that Selma received this suggestion with enthusiasm. Accordingly,
+they devoted their spare evenings to the undertaking, reading aloud in
+turn. Littleton's enunciation was clear and intelligent, and as a happy
+lover he was in a mood to fit poetic thoughts to his own experience, and
+to utter them ardently. While he read, Selma knew that she was ever the
+heroine of his imagination, which was agreeable, and she recognized
+besides that his performance in itself was aesthetically attractive. Yet
+in spite of the personal tribute, Selma preferred the evenings when she
+herself was the elocutionist. She enjoyed the sound of her own voice,
+and she enjoyed the emotions which her utterance of the rhythmic stanzas
+set coursing through her brain. It was obvious to her that Wilbur was
+captivated by her reading, and she delighted in giving herself up to the
+spirit of the text with the reservations appropriate to an enlightened
+but virtuous soul. For instance, in the case of Shelley, she gloried in
+his soaring, but did not let herself forget that fire-worship was not
+practical; in the case of Byron, though she yielded her senses to the
+spell of his passionate imagery, she reflected approvingly that she was
+a married woman.
+
+But Littleton appreciated also that his wife should have the society of
+others beside himself. Pauline introduced her promptly to her own small
+but intelligent feminine circle, and pending Pauline's removal to a
+flat, the Saturday evening suppers were maintained at the old
+establishment. Here Selma made the acquaintance of her husband's and his
+sister's friends, both men and women, who dropped in often after the
+play and without ceremony for a weekly interchange of thought and
+comradeship. Selma looked forward to the first of these occasions with
+an eager curiosity. She expected a renewal of the Benham Institute, only
+in a more impressive form, as befitted a great literary centre; that
+papers would be read, original compositions recited, and many
+interesting people of both sexes perform according to their specialties.
+She confidently hoped to have the opportunity to declaim, "Oh, why
+should the spirit of mortal be proud?" "Curfew must not ring to-night,"
+or some other of her literary pieces.
+
+Therefore, it was almost a shock to her that the affair was so informal,
+and that the company seemed chiefly occupied in behaving gayly--in
+making sallies at each other's expense, which were greeted with
+merriment. They seemed to her like a lot of children let loose from
+school. There were no exercises, and no allusion was made to the
+attainments of the various guests beyond an occasional word of
+introduction by Pauline or Wilbur; and this word was apt to be of
+serio-comic import. Selma realized that among the fifteen people present
+there were representatives of various interesting crafts--writers,
+artists, a magazine editor, two critics of the stage, a prominent
+musician, and a college professor--but none of them seemed to her to act
+a part or to have their accomplishments in evidence, as she would have
+liked. Every one was very cordial to her, and appeared desirous to
+recognize her as a permanent member of their circle, but she could not
+help feeling disappointed at the absence of ceremony and formal events.
+There was no president or secretary, and presently the party went into
+the dining-room and sat around a table, at either end of which Pauline
+and Wilbur presided over a blazer. Interest centred on the preparation
+of a rabbit and creamed oysters, and pleasant badinage flew from tongue
+to tongue. Selma found herself between the magazine editor and a large,
+powerfully built man with a broad, rotund, strong face, who was
+introduced to her as Dr. Page, and who was called George by every one
+else. He had arrived late, just as they were going in to supper, and his
+appearance had been greeted with a murmur of satisfaction. He had placed
+himself between Pauline and her, and he showed himself, to Selma's
+thinking, one of the least dignified of the company.
+
+"My dear Mrs. Littleton," he said, with a counterfeit of great gravity,
+"you are now witnessing an impressive example of the politeness of true
+friendship. There are cynics who assert that the American people are
+lacking in courtesy, and cast in our teeth the superiority of Japanese
+manners. I wish they were here to-night. There is not a single
+individual present, male or female, married or single, who does not
+secretly cherish the amiable belief that he or she can cook things on a
+blazer better than any one else. And yet we abstain from criticism; we
+offer no suggestions; we accept, without a murmur, the proportions of
+cheese and beer and butter inflicted upon us by our hostess and her
+brother, and are silent. We shall even become complimentary later. Can
+the Japanese vie with this?"
+
+The contrast between his eager, grave gaze, and the levity of his words,
+puzzled Selma. He looked interesting, but his speech seemed to her
+trivial and unworthy of the occasion. Still she appreciated that she
+must not be a spoil-sport, and that it was incumbent on her to resign
+herself to the situation, so she smiled gayly, and said: "I am the only
+one then not suffering from self-restraint. I never made a Welsh rabbit,
+nor cooked on a blazer." Then, in her desire for more serious
+conversation, she added: "Do you really think that we, as a people, are
+less polite than the Japanese?"
+
+The doctor regarded her with solemn interest for an instant, as though
+he were pondering the question. As a matter of fact, he was thinking
+that she was remarkably pretty. Then he put his finger on his lips, and
+in a hoarse whisper, said, "Sh! Be careful. If the editorial ear should
+catch your proposition the editorial man would appropriate it. There!"
+he added, as her left-hand neighbor bent toward them in response to the
+summons, "he has heard, and your opportunity to sell an idea to the
+magazine is lost. It is all very fine for him to protest that he has
+heard nothing. That is a trick of his trade. Let us see now if he will
+agree to buy. If he refuses, it will be a clear case that he has heard
+and purloined it. Come, Dennison, here's a chance for a ten
+thousand-word symposium debate, 'Are we, as a nation, less polite than
+the Japanese?' We offer it for a hundred and fifty cash, and cheap at
+the price."
+
+Mr. Dennison, who was a keen-eyed, quiet man, with a brown, closely-cut
+beard, had paused in his occupation of buttering hot toast for the
+impending rabbit, and was smiling quizzically. "If you have literary
+secrets to dispose of, Mrs. Littleton, let me warn you against making a
+confidant of Dr. Page. Had you spoken to me first, there is no knowing
+what I might have--"
+
+"What did I tell you?" broke in the doctor. "A one hundred and
+fifty-dollar idea ruthlessly appropriated. These editors, these
+editors!"
+
+It was tantalizing to Selma to be skirting the edge of themes she would
+have enjoyed to hear treated seriously. She hoped that Mr. Dennison
+would inquire if she really wrote, and at least he would tell her
+something about his magazine and literary life in New York. But he took
+up again his task of buttering toast, and sought to interest her in
+that. Presently she was unable to resist the temptation of remarking
+that the editorship of a magazine must be one of the most interesting of
+all occupations; but he looked at her with his quizzical smile, and
+answered:
+
+"Between you and me, Mrs. Littleton, I will confide to you that a
+considerable portion of the time it is a confounded bore. To tell the
+truth, I much prefer to sit next to you and butter toast."
+
+This was depressing and puzzling to Selma; but after the consumption of
+the rabbit and the oysters there was some improvement in the general
+tone of the conversation. Yet, not so far as she was concerned. Mr.
+Dennison neglected to confide to her the secrets of his prison house,
+and Dr. Page ruthlessly refused to discuss medicine, philosophy, or the
+Japanese. But here and there allusion was made by one or another of the
+company to something which had been done in the world of letters, or
+art, or music, which possessed merit or deserved discouragement. What
+was said was uttered simply, often trenchantly and lightly, but never as
+a dogma, or with the solemnity which Mrs. Earle had been wont to impart
+to her opinions. Just as the party was about to break up, Dr. Page
+approached Selma and offered her his hand. "It is a great pleasure to me
+to have met you," he said, looking into her face with his honest eyes.
+"A good wife was just what Wilbur needed to insure him happiness and a
+fine career. His friends have great confidence in his ability, and we
+intrust him to you in the belief that the world will hear from him--and
+I, for one, shall be very grateful to you."
+
+He spoke now with evident feeling, and his manner suggested the desire
+to be her friend. Selma admired his large physique and felt the
+attraction of his searching gaze.
+
+"Perhaps he did need a wife," she answered with an attempt at the
+sprightliness which he had laid aside. "I shall try not to let him be
+too indifferent to practical considerations."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+"Who is Dr. Page?" asked Selma of her husband when they left the house.
+
+"One of our best friends, and one of the leading physicians in the city.
+The energy of that man is tireless. He is absorbed in his profession.
+The only respite he allows himself are these Saturday evenings, and his
+devotion to his little son who has hip disease. He told me to-night that
+he had finished his day's work only just before he came in. What did you
+think of him? He likes to tease."
+
+"Then he is married?"
+
+"He is a widower."
+
+"He seems interested in you. He was good enough to say that he thought
+you needed a wife."
+
+"Then he must have admired you, Selma. Poor fellow! I wish he might have
+that happiness himself. I'll tell you a secret: He has desired to marry
+Pauline for years. They are devoted friends--but until now that is all.
+His wife was an actress--a handsome creature. Two years after they were
+married she ran away with another man and left him. Left him with one
+little boy, a cripple, on whom he lavishes all the love of his big
+nature."
+
+"How dreadful!"
+
+"Yes, it is a sad story. That was ten years ago. He was very young and
+the woman was very beautiful. It has been the making of him, though, in
+one way. He had the pride and confidence of ability, but he lacked
+sympathy. His experience and the appealing presence of his son have
+developed his nature and given him tenderness. He has not been
+imbittered; he has simply become gentle. And how he works! He is already
+famous in his profession."
+
+"Does Pauline care for him?"
+
+"I don't know her feelings. I am sure she is fond of him, and admires
+him. I fancy, though, that she hesitates to renounce her own ambitions.
+As you are aware, she is greatly interested in her classes, and in
+matters pertaining to the higher education of women. George Page knew
+her at the time of his marriage. I do not mean that he paid her serious
+attention then, but he had the opportunity to ask her instead of the
+other. Now, when she has become absorbed in her life-work, she would
+naturally decline to give it up unless she felt sure that she could not
+be happy without him."
+
+"I would not marry him if I were she," said Selma. "He has given his
+best to the other woman. He is the one at fault, not Pauline. Why should
+she sacrifice her own career in order to console him?"
+
+"She might love him sufficiently to be willing to do so, Selma. Love
+makes women blind to faults. But poor George was scarcely at fault. It
+was a misfortune."
+
+"He made his choice and was deceived. It would be weak of her to give up
+her own life merely because he is lonely. We modern women have too much
+self-respect for that. Love is love, and it is not to be trifled with."
+
+"Yes, love is love," murmured Littleton, "and I am happy in mine."
+
+"That is because neither of us has loved before, you foolish boy. But as
+to this evening, it wasn't at all what I expected. Are your friends
+always like that?"
+
+Littleton laughed. "Did they seem to you frivolous and undignified,
+then?"
+
+"Almost. They certainly said nothing serious."
+
+"It is their holiday--their evening out. They have to be serious during
+the rest of the week--busy with problems and cares, for they are a set
+of hard workers. The stress of life is so rigorous and constant here in
+New York that we have learned not to take our pleasure sadly. When you
+become accustomed to their way you will realize that they are no less
+serious at heart because they frolic now and then."
+
+Selma was silent a moment; then she said, "That reminds me; have you
+found out about our next-door neighbors yet?"
+
+"He is a banker named Williams, I believe."
+
+"I saw his wife pass the window this morning. She was beautifully
+dressed. They must be rich."
+
+"I dare say."
+
+"But they live in the same style of house as ours."
+
+"Bankers have mysterious ways of making money. We cannot compete with
+those."
+
+"I suppose not. I was thinking that she had the same manner as some of
+your friends this evening, only more pronounced. She stopped to speak to
+some one just in front of the house, so I could observe her. I should
+think she was frivolous, but fascinating. That must be the New York
+manner, and, consequently, she may be very much in earnest."
+
+"It isn't given to every woman to be attractive all the time just
+because she looks in earnest, as it is to you, dearest. But you musn't
+be too severe on the others."
+
+"On the contrary, I think I shall like Mrs. Williams. She may teach us
+to be practical. You know that is what your friends would like to have
+me help you to be, Wilbur."
+
+"Then they did talk a word or two of sense?"
+
+"They said that. Do you think it is true that you are visionary?"
+
+"It is your duty to tell me so, Selma, when you think it, just as I have
+told you that we can afford to laugh now and then. Come, begin."
+
+"I haven't been your wife long enough yet. I shall know better by the
+end of another six months."
+
+A fortnight elapsed before Selma made the acquaintance of Mrs. Gregory
+Williams. It was not a chance meeting. Flossy rang the bell deliberately
+one afternoon and was ushered in, thereby bridging over summarily the
+yawning chasm which may continue to exist for an indefinite period
+between families in the same block who are waiting to be introduced.
+
+"I said to my husband last night, Mrs. Littleton, that it was ridiculous
+for us to be living side by side without knowing one another, and that I
+was going to call. We moved in three weeks before you, so I'm the one
+who ought to break the ice. Otherwise we might have stared at each other
+blankly for three months, looked at each other sheepishly out of the
+corner of our eyes for another three, half bowed for six months, and
+finally, perhaps, reached the stage where we are now. Neighbors should
+be neighborly, don't you think so?"
+
+"Indeed I do. Of course I knew you by sight; and I felt I should like to
+make your acquaintance." Selma spoke with enthusiasm. Here was some one
+whose social deftness was no less marked than Mrs. Hallett Taylor's,
+and, to her mind, more brilliant, yet whom she felt at once to be
+congenial. Though she perceived that her neighbor's clothes made her own
+apparel seem dull, and was accordingly disposed to be on her guard, she
+realized instinctively that she was attracted by the visitor.
+
+"That is very nice of you," said Flossy. "I told my
+husband--Gregory--the other day that I was sure you were something
+literary--I mean Mr. Littleton, of course--and when he found out that he
+was I said we must certainly cultivate you as an antidote to the banking
+business. Gregory's a banker. It must be delightful to plan houses. This
+room is so pretty and tasteful."
+
+"It isn't wholly furnished yet. We are buying things by degrees, as we
+find pieces which we like."
+
+"We bought all our things in two days at one fell swoop," said Flossy
+with a gay laugh. "Gregory gave the dealers carte blanche. That's his
+way," she added with a touch of pride. "I dare say the house would have
+been prettier if we could have taken more time. However, it is all paid
+for now. Some of it was bought on the instalment plan, but Gregory
+bought or sold something in stocks the next week which covered the
+furniture and paid for a present for me of this besides," she said,
+indicating her seal-skin cape. "Wasn't he a dear?"
+
+Selma did not know precisely what the instalment plan was, but she
+understood that Mr. Williams had been distinctly clever in his wife's
+estimation. She perceived that Mrs. Williams had the same light, half
+jocular manner displayed by Wilbur's friends, and that she spoke with
+bubbling, jaunty assurance, which was suggestive of frivolity. Still
+Wilbur had intimated that this might be the New York manner, and clearly
+her neighbor had come in a friendly spirit and was duly appreciative of
+the distinction of being literary. Besides, her ready disposition to
+talk about herself and her affairs seemed to Selma the sign of a
+willingness to be truly friendly. The seal-skin cape she wore was very
+handsome, and she was more conspicuously attired from head to foot than
+any woman with whom Selma had ever conversed. She was pretty, too--a
+type of beauty less spiritual than her own--with piquant, eager
+features, laughing, restless gray eyes, and light hair which escaped
+from her coquettish bonnet in airy ringlets. If they had met three years
+earlier Selma would certainly have regarded her as an incarnation of
+volatility and servility to foreign fashions. Now, though she classed
+her promptly as a frivolous person, she regarded her with a keen
+curiosity not unmixed with self-distress, and the reflection came to her
+that a little of the New York manner might perhaps be desirable when in
+New York.
+
+"Yes, it's beautiful," she replied, referring to the cape.
+
+"Gregory is always making me presents like that. He gave me this
+bracelet yesterday. He saw it in the shop-window and went in and bought
+it. Speaking of husbands, you won't mind my saying that I think Mr.
+Littleton is very distinguished looking? I often see him pass the window
+in the morning."
+
+"Of course _I_ think so," said Selma. "I suppose it would seem flat if I
+were to say that I admired Mr. Williams's appearance also."
+
+"The truth is no harm. Wouldn't it be nice if we should happen to become
+friends? We are the pioneers in this block, but I hear three other
+houses have been sold. I suppose you own your house?"
+
+"I believe not. We have a lease of it."
+
+"That's a pity, because Gregory bought ours on a mortgage, thinking the
+land is sure to become more valuable. He hopes to be able to sell some
+day for a great deal more than he paid for it. May I ask where you lived
+before you were married?"
+
+Selma told her briefly.
+
+"Then you are almost Western. I felt sure you weren't a New Yorker, and
+I didn't think you were from Boston. You have the Boston earnest
+expression, but somehow you're different. You don't mind my analyzing
+you, do you? That's a Boston habit by the way. But I'm not from Boston.
+I've lived all my life in New Jersey. So we are both strangers in New
+York. That is, I'm the same as a stranger, though my father is a cousin
+of the Morton Prices. We sent them wedding cards and they called one day
+when I was out. I shall return the call and find them out, and that will
+be the last move on either side until Gregory does something remarkable.
+I'm rather glad I wasn't at home, because it would have been awkward.
+They wouldn't have known what to say to me, and they might have felt
+that they ought to ask me to dinner, and I don't care to have them ask
+me until they're obliged to. Do I shock you running on so about my own
+affairs?" Flossy asked, noticing Selma draw herself up sternly.
+
+"Oh no, I like that. I was only thinking that it was very strange of
+your cousins. You are as good as they, aren't you?"
+
+"Mercy, no. We both know it, and that's what makes the situation so
+awkward. As Christians, they had to call on me, but I really think they
+are justified in stopping there. Socially I'm nobody."
+
+"In this country we are all free and equal."
+
+"You're a dear--a delicious dear," retorted Flossy, with a caressing
+laugh. "There's something of the sort in the Declaration of
+Independence, but, as Gregory says, that was put in as a bluff to
+console salesladies. Was everybody equal in Benham, Mrs. Littleton?"
+
+"Practically so," said Selma, with an air of haughtiness, which was
+evoked by her recollection of the group of houses on Benham's River
+Drive into which she had never been invited. "There were some people who
+were richer than others, but that didn't make them better than any one
+else."
+
+"Well, in New York it's different. Of course, every body has the same
+right to vote or to be elected President of the United States, but
+equality ends there. People here are either in society or out of it, and
+society itself is divided into sets. There's the conservative
+aristocratic set, the smart rapid set, the set which hasn't much money,
+but has Knickerbocker or other highly respectable ancestors, the new
+millionaire set, the literary set, the intellectual philanthropic set,
+and so on, according to one's means or tastes. Each has its little
+circle which shades away into the others, and every now and then there
+is a big entertainment to which they all go."
+
+"I see," said Selma, coldly.
+
+"Now, to make it plain, I will confide to you in strictest confidence
+that Gregory and I aren't yet really in any set. We are trying to get a
+footing and are holding on by our teeth to the fringe of the social
+merry-go-round. I wouldn't admit it to any one but you; but as you are a
+stranger like myself and in the same block, I am glad to initiate you
+into the customs of this part of the country," Flossy gave a merry toss
+to her head which set her ringlets bobbing, and rose to go.
+
+"And in what set are your cousins?" asked Selma.
+
+"If you wish to hear about them, I shall have to sit down again. The
+Morton-Prices belong to the ultra-conservative, solid, stupid,
+aristocratic set--the most dignified and august of all. They are almost
+as sacred as Hindoo gods, and some people would walk over red-hot coals
+to gain admission to their house. And really, it's quite just in one way
+that incense should be burnt before them. You mustn't look so disgusted,
+because there's some sense in it all. As Gregory says, it's best to look
+things squarely in the face. Most of the people in these different sets
+are somebodies because either their grandfathers or they have done
+something well--better than other people, and made money as a
+consequence. And when a family has made money or won distinction by its
+brains and then has brushed its teeth twice a day religiously for two
+generations, the members of it, even though dull, are entitled to
+respect, don't you think so?"
+
+Selma, who brushed her teeth but once a day, looked a little sharp at
+Flossy.
+
+"It makes money of too much importance and it establishes class
+distinctions. I don't approve of such a condition of affairs at all."
+
+Flossy shrugged her shoulders. "I have never thought whether I approve
+of it or not. I am only telling you what exists. I don't deny that money
+counts for a great deal, for, as Gregory says, money is the measure of
+success. But money isn't everything. Brains count and refinement, and
+nice honorable ways of looking at things. Of course, I'm only telling
+you what my ambition is. People have different kinds of bees in their
+bonnets. Some men have the presidential bee; I have the social bee. I
+should like to be recognized as a prominent member of the charmed circle
+on my own merits and show my cousins that I am really worthy of their
+attention. There are a few who are able to be superior to that sort of
+thing, who go on living their own lives attractively and finely, without
+thinking of society, and who suddenly wake up some day to find
+themselves socially famous--to find that they have been taken up. That's
+the best way, but one requires to be the right sort of person and to
+have a lot of moral courage. I can imagine it happening to you and your
+husband. But it would never happen to Gregory and me. We shall have to
+make money and cut a dash in order to attract attention, and by-and-by,
+if we are persistent and clever enough, we may be recognized as
+somebodies, provided there is something original or interesting about
+us. There! I have told you my secret and shocked you into the bargain. I
+really must be going. But I'll tell you another secret first: It'll be a
+pleasure to me to see you, if I may, because you look at things
+differently and haven't a social bee. I wish I were like that--really
+like it. But then, as Gregory would say, I shouldn't be myself, and not
+to be one's self is worse than anything else after all, isn't it? You
+and your husband must come and dine with us soon."
+
+After Mrs. Williams had gone, Selma fell into a brown study. She had
+listened to sentiments of which she thoroughly disapproved, and which
+were at variance with all her theories and conceptions. What her
+friendly, frivolous visitor had told her with engaging frankness
+offended her conscience and patriotism. She did not choose to admit the
+existence of these class-distinctions, and she knew that even if they
+did exist, they could not possibly concern Wilbur and herself. Even Mrs.
+Williams had appreciated that Wilbur and her literary superiority put
+them above and beyond the application of any snobbish, artificial,
+social measuring-tape. And yet Selma's brow was clouded. Her thought
+reverted to the row of stately houses on either side of Fifth Avenue,
+into none of which she had the right of free access, in spite of the
+fact that she was leading her life attractively and finely, without
+regard to society. She thought instinctively of Sodom and Gomorrah, and
+she saw righteously with her mind's eye for a moment an angel with a
+flaming sword consigning to destruction these offending mansions and
+their owners as symbols of mammon and contraband to God.
+
+That evening she told Wilbur of Mrs. Williams's visit. "She's a bright,
+amusing person, and quite pretty. We took a fancy to each other. But
+what do you suppose she said? She intimated that we haven't any social
+position."
+
+"Very kind of her, I'm sure. She must be a woman of
+discrimination--likewise something of a character."
+
+"She's smart. So you think it's true?"
+
+"What? About our social position? Ours is as good as theirs, I fancy."
+
+"Oh yes, Wilbur. She acknowledges that herself. She admires us both and
+she thinks it fine that we don't care for that sort of thing. What she
+said was chiefly in connection with herself, but she intimated that
+neither they, nor we, are the--er--equals of the people who live on
+Fifth Avenue and thereabouts. She's a cousin of the Morton Prices,
+whoever they may be, and she declared perfectly frankly that they were
+better than she. Wasn't it funny?"
+
+"You seem to have made considerable progress for one visit."
+
+"I like that, you know, Wilbur. I prefer people who are willing to tell
+me their real feelings at once."
+
+"Morton Price is one of the big bugs. His great grandfather was among
+the wise, shrewd pioneers in the commercial progress of the city. The
+present generation are eminently respectable, very dignified, mildly
+philanthropic, somewhat self-indulgent, reasonably harmless, decidedly
+ornamental and rather dull."
+
+"But Mrs. Williams says that she will never be happy until her relations
+and the people of that set are obliged to take notice of her, and that
+she and her husband are going to cut a dash to attract attention. It's
+her secret."
+
+"The cat which she let out of the bag is a familiar one. She must be
+amusing, provided she is not vulgar."
+
+"I don't think she's vulgar, Wilbur. She wears gorgeous clothes, but
+they're extremely pretty. She said that she called on me because she
+thought that we were literary, and that she desired an antidote to the
+banker's business, which shows she isn't altogether worldly. She wishes
+us to dine with them soon."
+
+"That's neighborly."
+
+"Why was it, Wilbur, that you didn't buy our house instead of hiring
+it?"
+
+"Because I hadn't money enough to pay for it."
+
+"The Williamses bought theirs. But I don't believe they paid for it
+altogether. She says her husband thinks the land will increase in value,
+and they hope some day to make money by the rise. I imagine Mr. Williams
+must be shrewd."
+
+"He's a business man. Probably he bought, and gave a mortgage back. I
+might have done that, but we weren't sure we should like the location,
+and it isn't certain yet that fashion will move in just this direction.
+I have very little, and I preferred not to tie up everything in a house
+we might not wish to keep."
+
+"I see. She appreciates that people may take us up any time. She thinks
+you are distinguished looking."
+
+"If she isn't careful, I shall make you jealous, Selma. Was there
+anything you didn't discuss?"
+
+"I regard you as the peer of any Morton Price alive. Why aren't you?"
+
+"Far be it from me to discourage such a wifely conclusion. Provided you
+think so, I don't care for any one else's opinion."
+
+"But you agree with her. That is, you consider because people of that
+sort don't invite us to their houses, they are better than we."
+
+"Nothing of the kind. But there's no use denying the existence of social
+classes in this city, and that, though I flatter myself you and I are
+trying to make the most of our lives in accordance with the talents and
+means at our disposal, we are not and are not likely to become, for the
+present at any rate, socially prominent. That's what you have in mind, I
+think. I don't know those people; they don't know me. Consequently they
+do not ask me to their beautiful and costly entertainments. Some day,
+perhaps, if I am very successful as an architect, we may come more in
+contact with them, and they will have a chance to discover what a
+charming wife I have. But from the point of view of society, your
+neighbor Mrs. Williams is right. She evidently has a clear head on her
+shoulders and knows what she desires. You and I believe that we can get
+more happiness out of life by pursuing the even tenor of our way in the
+position in which we happen to find ourselves."
+
+"I don't understand it," said Selma, shaking her head and looking into
+space with her spiritual expression. "It troubles me. It isn't American.
+I didn't think such distinctions existed in this country. Is it all a
+question of money, then? Do intelligence and--er--purpose count for
+nothing?"
+
+"My dear girl, it simply means that the people who are on top--the
+people who, by force of success, or ability, or money, are most
+prominent in the community, associate together, and the world gives a
+certain prominence to their doings. Here, where fortunes have been made
+so rapidly, and we have no formal aristocracy, money undoubtedly plays a
+conspicuous part in giving access to what is known as society. But it is
+only an entering wedge. Money supplies the means to cultivate manners
+and the right way of looking at things, and good society represents the
+best manners and, on the whole, the best way of looking at things."
+
+"Yes. But you say that we don't belong to it."
+
+"We do in the broad, but not in the narrow sense. We have neither the
+means nor the time to take part in fashionable society. Surely, Selma,
+you have no such ambition?"
+
+"I? You know I disapprove of everything of the sort. It is like Europe.
+There's nothing American in it."
+
+"I don't know about that. The people concerned in it are Americans. If a
+man has made money there is no reason why he shouldn't build a handsome
+house, maintain a fine establishment, give his children the best
+educational advantages, and choose his own friends. So the next
+generation becomes more civilized. It isn't the best Americanism to
+waste one's time in pursuing frivolities and excessive luxury, as some
+of these people do; but there's nothing un-American in making the most
+of one's opportunities. As I've said to you before, Selma, it's the way
+in which one rises that's the important thing in the individual
+equation, and every man must choose for himself what that shall be. My
+ambition is to excel in my profession, and to mould my life to that end
+without neglecting my duties as a citizen or a husband. If, in the end,
+I win fame and fortune, so much the better. But there's no use in
+worrying because other people are more fashionable than we."
+
+"Of course. You speak as if you thought I was envious of them, Wilbur.
+What I don't understand is why such people should be allowed to exist in
+this country."
+
+"We're a free people, Selma. I'm a good democrat, but you must agree
+that the day-laborer in his muddy garb would not find himself at ease in
+a Fifth Avenue drawing-room. On that account shall we abolish the
+drawing-room?"
+
+"We are not day-laborers."
+
+"Not precisely; but we have our spurs to win. And, unlike some people in
+our respectable, but humble station, we have each other's love to give
+us courage to fight the battle of life bravely. I had a fresh order
+to-day--and I have bought tickets for to-night at the theatre."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+Almost the first persons at the theatre on whom Selma's eyes rested were
+the Gregory Williamses. They were in a box with two other people, and
+both Flossy and her husband were talking with the festive air peculiar
+to those who are willing to be noticed and conscious that their wish is
+being gratified. Flossy wore a gay bonnet and a stylish frock,
+supplemented by a huge bunch of violets, and her husband's evening dress
+betrayed a slight exaggeration of the prevailing fashion in respect to
+his standing collar and necktie. Selma had never had a thorough look at
+him before, and she reflected that he was decidedly impressive and
+handsome. His face was full and pleasant, his mustache large and
+gracefully curved, and his figure manly. His most distinguishing
+characteristic was a dignity of bearing uncommon in so young a man,
+suggesting that he carried, if not the destiny of republics on his
+shoulders, at least, important financial secrets in his brain. The man
+and woman with them were almost elderly and gave the effect of being
+strangers to the city. They were Mr. and Mrs. Silas S. Parsons. Mr.
+Parsons was a prosperous Western business man, who now and then visited
+New York, and who had recently become a customer of Williams's. He had
+dealt in the office where Williams was a clerk, and, having taken a
+fancy to him, was disposed to help the new firm. Gregory had invited
+them to dinner and to the theatre, by way of being attentive, and had
+taken a box instead of stalls, in order to make his civility as
+magnificent as the occasion would permit. A box, besides being a
+delicate testimonial to his guest, would cause the audience to notice
+him and his wife and to ask who they were.
+
+In the gradual development of the social appetite in this country a
+certain class has been evolved whose drawing-room is the floor of the
+leading theatres. Society consists for them chiefly in being present
+often at theatrical performances in sumptuous dress, not merely to
+witness the play, but to be participants in a social function which
+enhances their self-esteem. To be looked at and to look on these
+occasions takes the place with them of balls and dinner parties. They
+are not theatregoers in the proper sense, but social aspirants, and the
+boxes and stalls are for them an arena in which for a price they can
+show themselves in their finery and attractions, for lack of other
+opportunities.
+
+Our theatres are now in the full blaze of this harmless appropriation
+for quasi-ballroom uses. At the time when Selma was a New York bride the
+movement was in its infancy. The people who went to the theatre for
+spectacular purposes no less than to see the actors on the stage were
+comparatively few in number. Still the device was practised, and from
+the very fact that it was not freely employed, was apt to dazzle the
+eyes of the uninitiated public more unreservedly than to-day. The sight
+of Mrs. Williams in a box, in the glory of her becoming frock and her
+violets, caused even so stern a patriot and admirer of simplicity as
+Selma to seize her husband's arm and whisper:
+
+"Look." What is more she caught herself a moment later blushing with
+satisfaction on account of the friendly bow which was bestowed on her.
+
+Wilbur Littleton's ambitions were so definite and congenial that the
+sight of his neighbors' splendor neither offended nor irritated him. He
+did not feel obliged to pass judgment on them while deriving amusement
+from their display, nor did he experience any qualms of regret that he
+was not able to imitate them. He regarded Flossy and her husband with
+the tolerant gaze of one content to allow other people to work out their
+salvation, without officious criticism, provided he were allowed the
+same privilege, and ready to enjoy any features of the situation which
+appealed to his sense of humor or to his human sympathy. Flossy's frank,
+open nod and ingenuous face won his favor at once, especially as he
+appreciated that she and Selma had found each other attractive, and
+though he tabooed luxury and fashionable paraphernalia where he was
+immediately concerned, it occurred to him that this evidently
+wide-awake, vivacious-looking couple might, as friends, introduce just
+the right element of variety into their lives. He had no wish to be a
+banker himself, nor to hire boxes at the theatre, but he was disposed to
+meet half-way these entertaining and gorgeous neighbors.
+
+Selma, in spite of her wish to watch the play, found her glance
+returning again and again to the occupants of the box, though she
+endeavored to dispose of the matter by remarking presently that she
+could not understand why people should care to make themselves so
+conspicuous, particularly as the seats in the boxes were less desirable
+for seeing the stage than their own.
+
+"We wouldn't care for it, but probably it's just what they like," said
+Wilbur. "Some society reporter may notice them; in which case we shall
+see in the Sunday newspaper that Mr. Gregory Williams and party occupied
+a private box at the Empire Theatre last Tuesday evening, which will be
+another straw toward helping them to carry out their project of
+attracting attention. I like the face of your new friend, my dear. I
+mean to say that she looks unaffected and honest, and as if she had a
+sense of humor. With those three virtues a woman can afford to have some
+faults. I suppose she has hers."
+
+Littleton felt that Selma was disposed to fancy her neighbor, but was
+restrained by conscientious scruples due to her dislike for society
+concerns. He had fallen in love with and married his wife because he
+believed her to be free from and superior to the petty weaknesses of the
+feminine social creed; but though extremely proud of her uncompromising
+standards, he had begun to fear lest she might indulge her point of view
+so far as to be unjust. Her scornful references from time to time to
+those who had made money and occupied fine houses had wounded his own
+sense of justice. He had endeavored to explain that virtue was not the
+exclusive prerogative of the noble-minded poor, and now he welcomed an
+opportunity of letting her realize from personal experience that society
+was not so bad as it was painted.
+
+Selma returned Mrs. Williams's call during the week, but did not find
+her at home. A few days later arrived a note stamped with a purple and
+gold monogram inviting them to dinner. When the evening arrived they
+found only a party of four. A third couple had given out at the last
+minute, so they were alone with their hosts. The Williams house in its
+decoration and upholstery was very different from their own. The
+drawing-room was bright with color. The furniture was covered with light
+blue plush; there were blue and yellow curtains, gay cushions, and a
+profusion of gilt ornamentation. A bear-skin, a show picture on an
+easel, and a variety of florid bric-a-brac completed the brilliant
+aspect of the apartment. Selma reflected at once that that this was the
+sort of drawing-room which would have pleased her had she been given her
+head and a full purse. It suggested her home at Benham refurnished by
+the light of her later experience undimmed by the shadow of economy. On
+the way down to dinner she noticed in the corner of the hall a suit of
+old armor, and she was able to perceive that the little room on one side
+of the front door, which they learned subsequently was Mr. Williams's
+den, contained Japanese curiosities. The dinner-table shone with glass
+and silver ware, and was lighted by four candles screened by small pink
+shades. By the side of Flossy's plate and her own was a small bunch of
+violets, and there was a rosebud for each of the men. The dinner, which
+was elaborate, was served by two trig maids. There were champagne and
+frozen pudding. Selma felt almost as if she were in fairy-land. She had
+never experienced anything just like this before; but her exacting
+conscience was kept at bay by the reflection that this must be a further
+manifestation of the New York manner, and her self-respect was
+propitiated by the cordiality of her entertainers. The conversation was
+bubbling and light-hearted on the part of both Mr. and Mrs. Williams.
+They kept up a running prattle on the current fads of the day, the
+theatre, the doings of well-known social personages, and their own
+household possessions, which they naively called to the attention of
+their guests, that they might be admired. But Selma enjoyed more than
+the general conversation her talk with the master of the house, who
+possessed all the friendly suavity of his wife and also the valuable
+masculine trait of seeming to be utterly absorbed in any woman to whom
+he was talking. Gregory had a great deal of manner and a confidential
+fluency of style, which gave distinction even to commonplace remarks.
+His method did not condescend to nudging when he wished to note a point,
+but it fell only so far short of it as he thought social elegance
+required. His conversation presently drifted, or more properly speaking,
+flowed into a graphic and frank account of his own progress as a banker.
+He referred to past successful undertakings, descanted on his present
+roseate responsibilities, and hinted sagely at impending operations
+which would eclipse in importance any in which he had hitherto been
+engaged. In answer to Selma's questions he discoursed alluringly
+concerning the methods of the Stock Exchange, and gave her to understand
+that for an intelligent and enterprising man speculation was the high
+road to fortune. No doubt for fools and for people of mediocre or torpid
+abilities it was a dangerous trade; but for keen and bold intellects
+what pursuit offered such dazzling opportunities?
+
+Selma listened, abhorrent yet fascinated. It worried her to be told that
+what she had been accustomed to regard as gambling should be so quickly
+and richly rewarded. Yet the fairy scene around her manifestly confirmed
+the prosperous language of her host and left no room for doubt that her
+neighbors were making brilliant progress. Apparently, too, this business
+of speculation and of vast combinations of railroad and other capital,
+the details of which were very vague to her, was, in his opinion, the
+most desirable and profitable of callings.
+
+"Do you know," she said, "that I have been taught to believe that to
+speculate in stocks is rather dreadful, and that the people of the
+country don't approve of it." She spoke smilingly, for the leaven of the
+New York manner was working, but she could not refrain from testifying
+on behalf of righteousness.
+
+"The people of the country!" exclaimed Gregory, with a smile of
+complacent amusement. "My dear Mrs. Littleton, you must not let yourself
+be deceived by the Sunday school, Fourth of July, legislative or other
+public utterances of the American people. It isn't necessary to shout it
+on the house-tops, but I will confide to you that, whatever they may
+declaim or publish to the contrary, the American people are at heart a
+nation of gamblers. They don't play little horses and other games in
+public for francs, like the French, for the law forbids it, but I don't
+believe that any one, except we bankers and brokers, realizes how widely
+exists the habit of playing the stock-market. Thousands of people, big
+and little, sanctimonious and highly respectable, put up their margins
+and reap their profits or their losses. Oh no, the country doesn't
+approve of it, especially those who lose. I assure you that the letters
+which pass through the post-office from the godly, freeborn voters in
+the rural districts would tell an eloquent story concerning the wishes
+of the people of the country in regard to speculation."
+
+Flossy was rising from table as he finished, so he accompanied the close
+of his statement with a sweeping bow which comported with his jaunty
+dignity.
+
+"I am afraid you are a wicked man. You ought not to slander the American
+people like that," Selma answered, pleased as she spoke at the light
+touch which she was able to impart to her speech.
+
+"It's true. Every word of it is true," he said as she passed him. He
+added in a low tone--"I would almost even venture to wager a pair of
+gloves that at some time or other your husband has had a finger in the
+pie."
+
+"Never," retorted Selma.
+
+"What is that Gregory is saying?" interrupted Flossy, putting her arm
+inside Selma's. "I can see by his look that he has been plaguing you."
+
+"Yes, he has been trying to shatter my ideals, and now he is trying to
+induce me to make an odious bet with him."
+
+"Don't, for you would be certain to lose. Gregory is in great luck
+nowadays."
+
+"That is evident, for he has had the good fortune to make the
+acquaintance of Mrs. Littleton," said Williams gallantly.
+
+The two men were left alone with their cigars. After these were lighted,
+as if he were carrying out his previous train of thought, Gregory
+remarked, oracularly, at the end of a puff: "Louisville and Nashville is
+certain to sell higher."
+
+Littleton looked blank for a moment. He knew so little of stocks that at
+first he did not understand what was meant. Then he said, politely:
+"Indeed!"
+
+"It is good for a ten-point rise in my opinion," Williams continued
+after another puff. He was of a liberal nature, and was making a present
+of this tip to his guest in the same spirit of hospitality as he had
+proffered the dinner and the champagne. He was willing to take for
+granted that Littleton, as a gentleman, would give him the order in case
+he decided to buy, which would add another customer to his list. But his
+suggestion was chiefly disinterested.
+
+"I'm afraid I know very little about such matters," Littleton responded
+with a smile. "I never owned but ten shares of stock in my life." Then,
+by way, perhaps, of showing that he was not indifferent to all the good
+things which the occasion afforded, he said, indicating a picture on the
+opposite wall: "That is a fine piece of color."
+
+Williams, having discharged his obligations as a host, was willing to
+exchange the stock-market as a topic for his own capacity as a lightning
+appreciator and purchaser of objects of art.
+
+"Yes," he said, urbanely, "that is a good thing. I saw it in the
+shop-window, asked the price and bought it. I bought two other pictures
+at the same time. 'I'll take that, and that, and that,' I said, pointing
+with my cane. The dealer looked astonished. He was used, I suppose, to
+having people come in and look at a picture every day for a fortnight
+before deciding. When I like a thing I know it. The three cost me
+eighteen hundred dollars, and I paid for them within a week by a turn in
+the market."
+
+"You were very fortunate," said Littleton, who wished to seem
+sympathetic.
+
+Meanwhile the two wives had returned to the drawing-room arm in arm, and
+established themselves on one of those small sofas for two, constructed
+so that the sitters are face to face. They had taken a strong fancy to
+each other, especially Flossy to Selma, and in the half hour which
+followed they made rapid progress toward intimacy. Before they parted
+each had agreed to call the other by her Christian name, and Selma had
+confided the story of her divorce. Flossy listened with absorbed
+interest and murmured at the close:
+
+"Who would have thought it? You look so pure and gentle and refined that
+a man must have been a brute to treat you like that. But you are happy
+now, thank goodness. You have a husband worthy of you."
+
+Each had a host of things still unsaid when Littleton and Williams
+joined them.
+
+"Well, my dear," said Wilbur as they left the house, "that was a sort of
+Arabian Nights entertainment for us, wasn't it? A little barbaric, but
+handsome and well intentioned. I hope it didn't shock you too much."
+
+"It struck me as very pleasant, Wilbur. I think I am beginning to
+understand New York a little better. Every thing costs so much here that
+it seems necessary to make money, doesn't it? I don't see exactly how
+poor people get along. Do you know, Mr. Williams wished to bet me a pair
+of gloves that you buy stocks sometimes."
+
+"He would have lost his bet."
+
+"So I told him at once. But he didn't seem to believe me. I was sure you
+never did. He appears to be very successful; but I let him see that I
+knew it was gambling. You consider it gambling, don't you?"
+
+"Not quite so bad as that. Some stock-brokers are gamblers; but the
+occupation of buying and selling stocks for a commission is a well
+recognized and fashionable business."
+
+"Mr. Williams thinks that a great many Americans make money in
+stocks--that we are gamblers as a nation."
+
+"I am, in my heart, of the same opinion."
+
+"Oh, Wilbur. I find you are not so good a patriot as I supposed."
+
+"I hate bunkum."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"Saying things for effect, and professing virtue which we do not
+possess."
+
+Selma was silent a moment. "What does champagne cost a bottle?"
+
+"About three dollars and a half."
+
+"Do you really think their house barbaric?"
+
+"It certainly suggests to me heterogeneous barbaric splendor. They
+bought their upholstery as they did their pictures, with free-handed
+self-confidence. Occasionally they made a brilliant shot, but oftener
+they never hit the target at all."
+
+"I think I like brighter colors than you do, Wilbur," mused Selma. "I
+used to consider things like that as wrong; but I suppose that was
+because our fathers wished Europe to understand that we disapproved of
+the luxury of courts and the empty lives of the nobility. But if people
+here with purpose have money, it would seem sensible to furnish their
+houses prettily."
+
+"Subject always to the crucifying canons of art," laughed Littleton.
+"I'm glad you're coming round to my view, Selma. Only I deny the ability
+of the free-born American, with the overflowing purse, to indulge his
+newly acquired taste for gorgeous effects without professional
+assistance."
+
+"I suppose so. I can see that their house is crude, though I do think
+that they have some handsome things. It must be interesting to walk
+through shops and say: 'I'll take that,' just because it pleases you."
+
+During her first marriage Selma had found the problem of dollars and
+cents a simple one. The income of Lewis Babcock was always larger than
+the demands made upon it, and though she kept house and was familiar
+with the domestic disbursements, questions of expenditure solved
+themselves readily. She had never been obliged to ask herself whether
+they could afford this or that outlay. Her husband had been only too
+eager to give her anything she desired. Consideration of the cost of
+things had seemed to her beneath her notice, and as the concern of the
+providing man rather than the thoughtful American wife and mother. After
+she had been divorced the difficulty in supplying herself readily with
+money had been a dismaying incident of her single life. Dismaying
+because it had seemed to her a limitation unworthy of her aspirations
+and abilities. She had married Littleton because she believed him her
+ideal of what a man should be, but she had been glad that he would be
+able to support her and exempt her from the necessity of asking what
+things cost.
+
+By the end of their first year and a half of marriage, Selma realized
+that this necessity still stood, almost like a wolf at the door, between
+her and the free development of her desires and aspirations. New York
+prices were appalling; the demands of life in New York still more so.
+They had started house-keeping on a more elaborate scale than she had
+been used to in Benham. As Mrs. Babcock she had kept one hired girl; but
+in her new kitchen there were two servants, in deference to the desire
+of Littleton, who did not wish her to perform the manual work of the
+establishment. Men rarely appreciate in advance to the full extent the
+extra cost of married life, and Littleton, though intending to be
+prudent, found his bills larger than he had expected. He was able to pay
+them promptly and without worry, but he was obliged to make evident to
+Selma that the margin over and above their carefully considered expenses
+was very small. The task of watching the butcher's book and the
+provision list, and thinking twice before making any new outlay, was
+something she had not bargained for. All through her early life as a
+girl, the question of money had been kept in the background by the
+simplicity of her surroundings. In her country town at home they had
+kept no servants. A woman relative had done the work, and she had been
+free to pursue her mental interests and devote herself to her father.
+She had thought then that the existence of domestic servants was an act
+of treason against the institutions of the country by those who kept
+them. Yet she had accepted, with glee, the hired-girl whom Babcock had
+provided, satisfying her own democratic scruples by dubbing her "help,"
+and by occasionally offering her a book to read or catechising her as to
+her moral needs. There is probably no one in the civilized world more
+proud of the possession of a domestic servant than the American woman
+who has never had one, and no one more prompt to consign her to the
+obscurity of the kitchen after a feeble pretence at making her feel at
+home. Selma was delighted to have two instead of one, and, after
+beholding Mrs. Williams's trig maids, was eager to see her own arrayed
+in white caps and black alpaca dresses. Yet, though she had become keen
+to cultivate the New York manner, and had succeeded in reconciling her
+conscience to the possession of beautiful things by people with a
+purpose, it irked her to feel that she was hampered in living up to her
+new-found faith by the bugbear of a lean purse. She had expected, as
+Wilbur's wife, to figure quickly and gracefully in the van of New York
+intellectual and social progress. Instead, she was one among thousands,
+living in a new and undeveloped locality, unrecognized by the people of
+whom she read in the newspapers, and without opportunities for
+displaying her own individuality and talents. It depressed her to see
+the long lines of houses, street after street, and to think that she was
+merely a unit, unknown by name, in this great sea of humanity--she,
+Selma Littleton, free-born American, conscious of virtue and power. This
+must not be; and she divined clearer and clearer every day that it need
+not be if she had more money.
+
+It began to be annoying to her that Wilbur's professional progress was
+not more rapid. To be sure he had warned her that he could not hope to
+reach the front rank at once; that recognition must be gradual; and that
+he must needs work slowly in order to do himself justice. She had
+accepted this chiefly as a manifestation of modesty, not doubting that
+many orders would be forthcoming, especially now that he had the new
+stimulus of her love and inspiration. Instead there had been no marked
+increase in the number of his commissions; moreover he had been
+unsuccessful in two out of three competitions for minor public buildings
+for which he had submitted designs. From both the pecuniary and
+professional point of view these failures had been a disappointment. He
+was in good spirits and obviously happy, and declared that he was doing
+as well as he could reasonably expect; yet on his discouraged days he
+admitted that the cost of retaining his draughtsmen was a drain on the
+profit side of his ledger.
+
+In contrast with this the prosperity of her neighbors the Williamses was
+a little hard to bear. The sudden friendship developed into neighborly
+intimacy, and she and Flossy saw much of each other, dropping in
+familiarly, and often walking and shopping together. The two men were on
+sufficiently cordial terms, each being tolerant of the other's
+limitations, and seeking to recognize his good points for the sake of
+the bond between their wives. The return dinner was duly given, and
+Selma, hopeless of imitating the barbaric splendor, sought refuge in the
+reflection that the aesthetic and intellectual atmosphere of her table
+would atone for the lack of material magnificence, and limited her
+efforts to a few minor details such as providing candles with colored
+shades and some bonbon dishes. It was plain that Flossy admired her
+because she recognized her to be a fine and superior soul, and the
+appreciation of this served to make it more easy not to repine at the
+difference between their entertainments. Still the constant acquisition
+of pretty things by her frank and engaging friend was an ordeal which
+only a soul endowed with high, stern democratic faith and purpose could
+hope to endure with equanimity. Flossy bought new adornments for her
+house and her person with an amiable lavishness which required no
+confession to demonstrate that her husband was making money. She made
+the confession, though, from time to time with a bubbling pride, never
+suspecting that it could harass or tempt her spiritual looking friend.
+She prattled artlessly of theatre parties followed by a supper at one of
+the fashionable restaurants, and of new acquaintances whom she
+entertained, and through whom her social circle was enlarged, without
+divining that the sprightly narration was a thorn in the flesh of her
+hearer. Selma was capricious in her reception of these reports of
+progress. At times she listened to them with grave, cold eyes, which
+Flossy took for signals of noble disdain and sought to deprecate by
+wooing promises to be less worldly. At others she asked questions with a
+feverish, searching curiosity, which stimulated Mrs. Williams's free and
+independent style into running commentaries on the current course of
+social events and the doings and idiosyncracies of contemporary leaders
+of fashion whom she had viewed from afar. One afternoon Selma saw from
+her window Flossy and her husband drive jubilantly away in a high cart
+with yellow wheels drawn by a sleek cob, and at the same moment she
+became definitely aware that her draught from the cup of life had a
+bitter taste. Why should these people drive in their own vehicle rather
+than she? It seemed clear to her that Wilbur could not be making the
+best use of his talents, and that she had both a grievance against him
+and a sacred duty to perform in his and her own behalf. Justice and
+self-respect demanded that their mutual light should no longer be hid
+under a bushel.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+Pauline Littleton was now established in her new lodgings. Having been
+freed by her brother's marriage from the responsibilities of a
+housewife, she was able to concentrate her attention on the work in
+which she was interested. Her classes absorbed a large portion of her
+time. The remainder was devoted to writing to girls in other cities who
+sought her advice in regard to courses of study, and to correspondence,
+consultation, and committee meetings with a group of women in New York
+and elsewhere, who like herself were engrossed in educational matters.
+She was glad to have the additional time thus afforded her for pursuing
+her own tastes, and the days seemed too short for what she wished to
+accomplish. She occupied two pleasant rooms within easy walking distance
+of her brother's house. Her classes took her from home four days in the
+week, and two mornings in every seven were spent at her desk with her
+books and papers, in the agreeable labor of planning and correspondence.
+
+Naturally one of her chief desires was to be on loving terms with her
+brother's wife, and to do everything in her power to add to Selma's
+happiness. She summoned her women friends to meet her sister-in-law at
+afternoon tea. All of these called on the bride, and some of them
+invited her to their houses. They were busy women like Pauline herself,
+intent in their several ways on their vocations or avocations. They were
+disposed to extend the right hand of fellowship to Mrs. Littleton, whom
+they without exception regarded as interesting in appearance, but they
+had no leisure for immediate intimacy with her. Having been introduced
+to her and having scheduled her in their minds as a new and desirable
+acquaintance, they went their ways, trusting chiefly to time to renew
+the meeting and to supply the evidence as to the stranger's social
+value. Busy people in a large city are obliged to argue that new-comers
+should win their spurs, and that great minds, valuable opinions, and
+moving social graces are never crushed by inhumanity, but are certain
+sooner or later to gain recognition. Therefore after being very cordial
+and expressing the hope of seeing more of her in the future, every one
+departed and left Selma to her duties and her opportunities as
+Littleton's wife, without having the courtesy to indicate that they
+considered her a superior woman.
+
+Pauline regarded this behavior on the part of her friends as normal, and
+having done her social duty in the afternoon tea line, without a
+suspicion that Selma was disappointed by the experience, she gave
+herself up to the congenial undertaking of becoming intimate with her
+sister-in-law. She ascribed Selma's reserve, and cold, serious manner
+partly to shyness due to her new surroundings, and partly to the
+spiritual rigor of the puritan conscience and point of view. She had
+often been told that individuals of this temperament possessed more
+depth of character than more emotional and socially facile people, and
+she was prepared to woo. In comparison with Wilbur, Pauline was
+accustomed to regard herself as a practical and easy-going soul, but she
+was essentially a woman of fine and vigorous moral and mental purpose.
+Like many of her associates in active life, however, she had become too
+occupied with concrete possibilities to be able to give much thought to
+her own soul anatomy, and she was glad to look up to her brother's wife
+as a spiritual superior and to recognize that the burden lay on herself
+to demonstrate her own worthiness to be admitted to close intimacy on
+equal terms. Wilbur was to her a creature of light, and she had no doubt
+that his wife was of the same ethereal composition.
+
+Pauline was glad, too, of the opportunity really to know a countrywoman
+of a type so different from her own friends. She, like Wilbur, had heard
+all her life of these interesting and inspiring beings; intense,
+marvellously capable, peerless, free-born creatures panoplied in
+chastity and endowed with congenital mental power and bodily charms, who
+were able to cook, educate children, control society and write
+literature in the course of the day's employment. The newspapers and
+popular opinion had given her to understand that these were the true
+Americans, and caused her to ask herself whether the circle to which she
+herself belonged was not retrograde from a nobler ideal. In what way she
+did not precisely understand, except that she and her friends did not
+altogether disdain nice social usages and conventional womanly ways.
+But, nevertheless, the impression had remained in her mind that she must
+be at fault somehow, and it interested her that she would now be able to
+understand wherein she was inferior.
+
+She went to see Selma as often as she could, and encouraged her to call
+at her lodgings on the mornings when she was at home, expecting that it
+might please her sister-in-law to become familiar with the budding
+educational enterprises, and that thus a fresh bond of sympathy would be
+established between them. Selma presented herself three or four times in
+the course of the next three months, and on the first occasion expressed
+gratifying appreciation of the cosiness of the new lodgings.
+
+"I almost envy you," she said, "your freedom to live your own life and
+do just what you like. It must be delightful away up here where you can
+see over the tops of the houses and almost touch the sky, and there is
+no one to disturb the current of your thoughts. It must be a glorious
+place to work and write. I shall ask you to let me come up here
+sometimes when I wish to be alone with my own ideas."
+
+"As often as you like. You shall have a pass key."
+
+"I should think," said Selma, continuing to gaze, with her far away
+look, over the vista of roofs which the top story of the apartment house
+commanded, "that you would be a great deal happier than if you had
+married him."
+
+The pause which ensued caused her to look round, and add jauntily, "I
+have heard, you know, about Dr. Page."
+
+A wave of crimson spread over Pauline's face--the crimson of wounded
+surprise, which froze Selma's genial intentions to the core.
+
+"I didn't think you'd mind talking about it," she said stiffly.
+
+"There's nothing to talk about. Since you have mentioned it, Dr. Page is
+a dear friend of mine, and will always continue to be, I hope."
+
+"Oh, I knew you were nothing but friends now," Selma answered. She felt
+wounded in her turn. She had come with the wish to be gracious and
+companionable, and it had seemed to her a happy thought to congratulate
+Pauline on the wisdom of her decision. She did not like people who were
+not ready to be communicative and discuss their intimate concerns.
+
+The episode impaired the success of the first morning visit. At the
+next, which occurred a fortnight later, Pauline announced that she had a
+piece of interesting news.
+
+"Do you know a Mr. Joel Flagg in Benham?"
+
+"I know who he is," said Selma. "I have met his daughter."
+
+"It seems he has made a fortune in oil and real estate, and is desirous
+to build a college for women in memory of his mother, Sarah Wetmore. One
+of my friends has just received a letter from a Mrs. Hallett Taylor, to
+whom Mr. Flagg appears to have applied for counsel, and who wishes some
+of us who are interested in educational matters to serve as an advisory
+committee. Probably you know Mrs. Taylor too?"
+
+"Oh yes. I have been at her house, and I served with her on the
+committee which awarded Wilbur the church."
+
+"Why, then you are the very person to tell us all about her. I think I
+remember now having heard Wilbur mention her name."
+
+"Wilbur fancied her, I believe."
+
+"Your tone rather implies that you did not. You must tell me everything
+you know. My friend has corresponded with her before in regard to some
+artistic matters, but she has never met her. Her letter suggests a
+lady."
+
+"I dare say you would like Mrs. Taylor," said Selma, gravely. "She is
+attractive, I suppose, and seemed to know more or less about European
+art and pictures, but we in Benham didn't consider her exactly an
+American. If you really wish to know my opinion, I think that she was
+too exclusive a person to have fine ideas."
+
+"That's a pity."
+
+"If she lived in New York she would like to be one of those society
+ladies who live on Fifth Avenue; only she hasn't really any conception
+of what true elegance is. Her house there, except for the ornaments she
+had bought abroad, was not so well furnished as the one I lived in. I
+wonder what she would think if she could look into the drawing-room of
+my friend Mrs. Williams."
+
+"I see," said Pauline, though in truth she was puzzled. "I am sorry if
+she is a fine lady, but people like that, when they become interested,
+are often excellent workers. It is a noble gift of Mr. Flagg's--$500,000
+as a foundation fund. He's a good American at all events. Wilbur must
+certainly compete for the buildings, and his having first met you there
+ought to be an inspiration to him to do fine work."
+
+Selma had been glad of the opportunity to criticise Mrs. Hallett Taylor,
+whom she had learned, by the light of her superior social knowledge, to
+regard as an unimportant person. Yet she had been conscious of a
+righteous impulse in saying what she thought of her. She knew that she
+had never liked Mrs. Taylor, and she was not pleased to hear that Mr.
+Flagg had selected her from among the women of Benham to superintend the
+administration of his splendid gift. Benham had come to seem to her
+remote and primitive, yet she preferred, and was in the mood, to think
+that it represented the principles which were dear to her, and that she
+had been appreciated there far better than in her present sphere. She
+was still tied to Benham by correspondence with Mrs. Earle. Selma had
+written at once to explain her sudden departure, and letters passed
+between them at intervals of a few weeks--letters on Selma's part fluent
+with dazzled metropolitan condescension, yet containing every now and
+then a stern charge against her new fellow-citizens on the score of
+levity and worldliness.
+
+The donation for the establishment of Wetmore College was made shortly
+after another institution for the education of women in which Pauline
+was interested--Everdean College--had been opened to students. The
+number of applicants for admission to Everdean had been larger than the
+authorities had anticipated, and Pauline, who had been one of the
+promoters and most active workers in raising funds for and supervising
+the construction of this labor of love, was jubilant over the outlook,
+and busy in regard to a variety of new matters presented for solution by
+the suddenly evolved needs of the situation. Among these was the
+acquisition of two or three new women instructors; and it occurred to
+Pauline at once that Selma might know of some desirable candidate. Selma
+appeared to manifest but little interest in this inquiry at the time,
+but a few months subsequent to their conversation in regard to Mrs.
+Taylor she presented herself at Pauline's rooms one morning with the
+announcement that she had found some one. Pauline, who was busy at her
+desk, asked permission to finish a letter before listening; so there was
+silence for a few minutes, and Selma, who wore a new costume of a more
+fashionable guise than her last, reflected while she waited that the
+details of such work as occupied her sister-in-law must be tedious.
+Indeed, she had begun to entertain of late a sort of contempt for the
+deliberate, delving processes of the Littletons. She was inclined to ask
+herself if Wilbur and Pauline were not both plodders. Her own idea of
+doing things was to do them quickly and brilliantly, arriving at
+conclusions, as became an American, with prompt energy and despatch. It
+seemed to her that Wilbur, in his work, was slow and elaborate, disposed
+to hesitate and refine instead of producing boldly and immediately. And
+his sister, with her studies and letter-writing, suggested the same
+wearisome tendency. Why should not Wilbur, in his line, act with the
+confident enterprise and capacity to produce immediate, ostensible
+results which their neighbor, Gregory Williams, displayed? As for
+Pauline, of course she had not Wilbur's talent and could not, perhaps,
+be expected to shine conspicuously, but surely she might make more of
+herself if only she would cease to spend so much time in details and
+cogitation, with nothing tangible to show for her labor. Selma
+remembered her own experience as a small school teacher, and her
+thankfulness at her escape from a petty task unworthy of her
+capabilities, and she smiled scornfully to herself, as she sat waiting,
+at what she regarded Pauline's willingness to spend her energies in such
+inconspicuous, self-effacing work. Indeed, when Pauline had finished her
+letter and announced that she was now entirely at leisure, Selma felt
+impelled to remark:
+
+"I should think, Pauline, that you would give a course of lectures on
+education. We should be glad to have them at our house, and your friends
+ought to be able to dispose of a great many tickets." Such a thing had
+never occurred to Selma until this moment, but it seemed to her, as she
+heard her own words, a brilliant suggestion, both as a step forward for
+Pauline and a social opportunity for herself.
+
+"On education? My dear Selma, you have no idea of the depths of my
+ignorance. Education is an enormous subject, and I am just beginning to
+realize how little I know concerning it. People have talked and written
+about education enough. What we need and what some of us are trying to
+do is to study statistics and observe results. I am very much obliged to
+you, but I should only make myself a laughing-stock."
+
+"I don't think you would. You have spent a great deal of time in
+learning about education, and you must have interesting things to say.
+You are too modest and--don't you think it may be that you are not quite
+enterprising enough? A course of lectures would call public attention to
+you, and you would get ahead faster, perhaps. I think that you and
+Wilbur are both inclined to hide your light under a bushel. It seems to
+me that one can be conscientious and live up to one's ideals without
+neglecting one's opportunities."
+
+"The difficulty is," said Pauline, with a laugh, "that I shouldn't
+regard it as an opportunity, and I am sure it wouldn't help me to get
+ahead, as you call it, with the people I desire to impress, to give
+afternoon tea or women-club lectures. I don't know enough to lecture
+effectively. As to enterprise, I am busy from morning until night. What
+more can a woman do? You mustn't hurry Wilbur, Selma. All he needs is
+time to let the world see his light."
+
+"Very likely. Of course, if you don't consider that you know enough
+there is nothing to be said. I thought of it because I used to lecture
+in Benham, at the Benham Institute, and I am sure it helped me to get
+ahead. I used to think a great deal about educational matters, and
+perhaps I will set you the example by giving some lectures myself."
+
+"That would be very interesting. If a person has new ideas and has
+confidence in them, it is natural to wish to let the world hear them."
+
+Pauline spoke amiably, but she was disposed to regard her sister with
+more critical eyes. She felt no annoyance at the patronizing tone toward
+herself, but the reference to Wilbur made her blood rebel. Still she
+could not bear to harbor distrust against that grave face with its
+delicate beauty and spiritualized air, which was becomingly accommodated
+to metropolitan conditions by a more festive bonnet than any which she
+herself owned. Yet she noticed that the thin lips had an expression of
+discontent, and she wondered why.
+
+Recurring to the errand on which she had come, Selma explained that she
+had just received a letter from Benham--from her friend, Mrs. Margaret
+Rodney Earle, an authoress and a promulgator of advanced and original
+ideas in respect to the cause of womanhood, asking if she happened to
+know of an opening for a gifted young lady in any branch of intellectual
+work.
+
+"I thought at once of Everdean," said Selma, "and have come to give you
+the opportunity of securing her."
+
+Pauline expressed her thanks cordially, and inquired if Mrs. Earle had
+referred to the candidate's experience or special fitness for the duties
+of the position.
+
+"She writes that she is very clever and gifted. I did not bring the
+letter with me, but I think Mrs. Earle's language was that Miss Bailey
+will perform brilliantly any duties which may be intrusted to her."
+
+"That is rather general," said Pauline. "I am sorry that she didn't
+specify what Miss Bailey's education has been, and whether she has
+taught elsewhere."
+
+"Mrs. Earle wouldn't have recommended her if she hadn't felt sure that
+she was well educated. I remember seeing her at the Benham Institute on
+one of the last occasions when I was present. She delivered a whistling
+solo which every one thought clever and melodious."
+
+"I dare say she is just the person we are looking for," said Pauline,
+leniently. "It happens that Mrs. Grainger--my friend to whom Mrs. Taylor
+wrote concerning Mr. Flagg's gift--is to make Mrs. Taylor a visit at
+Benham next week, in order to consider the steps to be taken in regard
+to Wetmore College. She and Miss Bailey can arrange to meet, and that
+will save Miss Bailey the expense of a journey to New York, at the
+possible risk of disappointment."
+
+"I thought," said Selma, "that you would consider yourselves fortunate
+to secure her services."
+
+"I dare say we shall be very fortunate, Selma. But we cannot engage her
+without seeing her and testing her qualifications."
+
+Selma made no further demur at the delay, but she was obviously
+surprised and piqued that her offer should be treated in this elaborate
+fashion. She was obliged to acknowledge to herself that she could not
+reasonably expect Pauline to make a definite decision without further
+inquiry, but she had expected to be able to report to Mrs. Earle that
+the matter was as good as settled--that, if Miss Bailey would give a few
+particulars as to her accomplishments, the position would be hers.
+Surely she and Mrs. Earle were qualified to choose a school-teacher.
+Here was another instance of the Littleton tendency to waste time on
+unimportant details. She reasoned that a woman with more wide-awake
+perceptions would have recognized the opportunity as unusual, and would
+have snapped up Miss Bailey on the spot.
+
+The sequel was more serious. Neither Selma nor Pauline spoke of the
+matter for a month. Then it was broached by Pauline, who wrote a few
+lines to the effect that she was sorry to report that the authorities of
+Everdean, after investigation, had concluded not to engage the services
+of Miss Bailey as instructor. When Selma read the note her cheeks burned
+with resentment. She regarded the decision as an affront. Pauline dined
+with them on the evening of that day, and at table Selma was cold and
+formal. When the two women were alone, Selma said at once, with an
+attempt at calmness:
+
+"What fault do you find with my candidate?"
+
+"I think it possible that she might have been satisfactory from the mere
+point of scholarship," judicially answered Pauline, who did not realize
+in the least that her sister-in-law was offended, "though Mrs. Grainger
+stopped short of close inquiry on that score, for the reason that Miss
+Bailey failed to satisfy our requirements in another respect. I don't
+wish to imply by what I am going to say anything against her character,
+or her capacity for usefulness as a teacher under certain conditions,
+but I confide to you frankly, Selma, that we make it an absolute
+condition in the choice of instructors for our students that they should
+be first of all lady-like in thought and speech, and here it was that
+she fell short. Of course I have never seen Miss Bailey, but Mrs.
+Grainger reported that she was--er--impossible."
+
+"You mean that your friend does not consider her a lady? She isn't a
+society lady, but I did not suppose an American girl would be refused a
+position as a teacher for such a reason as that."
+
+"A lady is a lady, whether she is what you term a society lady or not.
+Mrs. Grainger told us that Miss Bailey's appearance and manners did not
+suggest the womanly refinement which we deem indispensable in those who
+are to teach our college students. Five years ago only scholarship and
+cleverness were demanded, but experience has taught the educators of
+women that this was a mistake."
+
+"I presume," said Selma, with dramatic scorn, "that Mrs. Hallett Taylor
+disapproved of her. I thought there would be some such outcome when I
+heard that she was to be consulted."
+
+"Mrs. Taylor's name was not mentioned," answered Pauline, in
+astonishment. "I had no idea, Selma, that you regarded this as a
+personal matter. You told me that you had seen Miss Bailey but once."
+
+"I am interested in her because--because I do not like to see a cruel
+wrong done. You do not understand her. You allow a prejudice, a
+class-prejudice, to interfere with her career and the opportunity to
+display her abilities. You should have trusted Mrs. Earle, Pauline, She
+is my friend, and she recommended Miss Bailey because she believed in
+her. It is a reflection on me and my friends to intimate that she is not
+a lady."
+
+She bent forward from the sofa with her hands clasped and her lips
+tightly compressed. For a moment she gazed angrily at the bewildered
+Pauline, then, as though she had suddenly bethought her of her New York
+manner, she drew herself up and said with a forced laugh--"If the reason
+you give were not so ridiculous, I should be seriously offended."
+
+"Offended! Offended with Pauline," exclaimed Littleton, who entered the
+room at the moment. "It cannot be that my two guardian angels have had a
+falling out." He looked from one to the other brightly as if it were
+really a joke.
+
+"It is nothing," said Selma.
+
+"It seems," said Pauline with fervor, "that I have unintentionally hurt
+Selma's feelings. It is the last thing in the world I wish to do, and I
+trust that when she thinks the matter over she will realize that I am
+innocent. I am very, very sorry."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+"Why don't you follow the advice of Mr. Williams and buy some shares of
+stock?" asked Selma lightly, yet coaxingly, of her husband one day in
+the third year of their marriage. The Williamses were dining with them
+at the time, and a statement by Gregory, not altogether without motive,
+as to the profits made by several people who had taken his advice,
+called forth the question. He and his wife were amiably inclined toward
+the Littletons, and were proud of the acquaintance. Among their other
+friends they boasted of the delightful excursions into the literary
+circle which the intimacy afforded them. They both would have been
+pleased to see their neighbors more amply provided with money, and
+Gregory, partly at the instance of Flossy, partly from sheer good-humor
+in order to give a deserving but impractical fellow a chance to better
+himself, threw out tips from time to time--crumbs from the rich man's
+table, but bestowed in a friendly spirit. Whenever they were let fall,
+Selma would look at Wilbur hoping for a sign of interest, but hitherto
+they had evoked merely a smile of refusal or had been utterly ignored.
+
+Her own question had been put on several occasions, both in the company
+of the tempter and in the privacy of the domestic hearth, and both in
+the gayly suggestive and the pensively argumentative key. Why might they
+not, by means of a clever purchase in the stock market, occasionally
+procure some of the agreeable extra pleasures of life--provide the ready
+money for theatres, a larger wardrobe, trips from home, or a modest
+equipage? Why not take advantage of the friendly advice given? Mr.
+Williams had made clear that the purchase of stocks on a sufficient
+margin was no more reprehensible as a moral proposition than the
+purchase of cargoes of sugar, cotton, coffee or tea against which
+merchants borrowed money at the bank. In neither instance did the
+purchaser own outright what he sought to sell at an advance; merely in
+one case it was shares, in the other merchandise. Of course it was
+foolish for inexperienced country folk with small means to dabble in
+stocks and bonds, but why should not city people who were clever and had
+clever friends in the business eke out the cost of living by shrewd
+investments? In an old-fashioned sense it might be considered gambling;
+but, if it were true, as Wilbur and Mr. Williams both maintained, that
+the American people were addicted to speculation, was not the existence
+of the habit strong evidence that the prejudice against it must be
+ill-founded? The logical and the patriotic conclusion must needs be that
+business methods had changed, and that the American nation had been
+clever enough to substitute dealings in shares of stock, and in
+contracts relating to cereals and merchandise for the methods of their
+grandfathers who delivered the properties in bulk.
+
+To this condensation of Gregory's glib sophistries on the lips of his
+wife, Wilbur had seemed to turn a deaf ear. It did not occur to him, at
+first, that Selma was seriously in earnest. He regarded her suggestions
+of neglected opportunities, which were often whimsically uttered, as
+more than half playful--a sort of make-believe envy of the meteoric
+progress in magnificence of their friendly neighbors. He was even glad
+that she should show herself appreciative of the merits of civilized
+comfort, for he had been afraid lest her ascetic scruples would lead her
+judgments too far in the opposite direction. He welcomed them and
+encouraged her small schemes to make the establishment more festive and
+stylish in appearance, in modest imitation of the splendor next door.
+But constant and more sombre reference to the growing fortunes of the
+Williamses presently attracted his attention and made him more
+observant. His income sufficed to pay the ordinary expenses of quiet
+domestic life, and to leave a small margin for carefully, considered
+amusements, but he reflected that if Selma were yearning for greater
+luxury, he could not afford at present to increase materially her
+allowance. It grieved him as a proud man to think that the woman he
+loved should lack any thing she desired, and without a thought of
+distrust he applied himself more strenuously to his work, hoping that
+the sum of his commissions would enable him presently to gratify some of
+her hankerings--such, for instance, as the possession of a horse and
+vehicle. Selma had several times alluded with a sigh to the satisfaction
+there must be in driving in the new park. Babcock had kept a horse, and
+the Williamses now drove past the windows daily in a phaeton drawn by
+two iron gray, champing steeds. He said to himself that he could
+scarcely blame Selma if she coveted now and then Flossy's fine
+possessions, and the thought that she was not altogether happy in
+consequence of his failure to earn more kept recurring to his mind and
+worried him. No children had been born to them, and he pictured with
+growing concern his wife lonely at home on this account, yet without
+extra income to make purchases which might enable her to forget at times
+that there was no baby in the house. Flossy had two children, a boy and
+a girl, two gorgeously bedizened little beings who were trundled along
+the sidewalk in a black, highly varnished baby-wagon which was reputed
+by the dealer who sold it to Gregory to have belonged to an English
+nobleman. Wilbur more than once detected Selma looking at the babies
+with a wistful glance. She was really admiring their clothes, yet the
+thought of how prettily she would have been able to dress a baby of her
+own was at times so pathetic as to bring tears to her eyes, and cause
+her to deplore her own lack of children as a misfortune.
+
+As the weeks slipped away and Wilbur realized that, though he was
+gaining ground in his profession, more liberal expenditures were still
+out of the question, he reached a frame of mind which made him yearn for
+a means of relief. So it happened that, when Selma asked him once more
+why he did not follow the advice proffered and buy some stocks, he
+replied by smiling at Gregory and inquiring what he should buy. During
+the dinner, which had been pleasant, Wilbur's eye had been attracted by
+the brilliancy of some new jewels which Mrs. Williams wore, and he had
+been conscious of the wish that he were able to make a present like that
+to his own wife.
+
+"You take my breath away. Wonders will never cease," responded Gregory,
+while both the women clapped their hands. "But you musn't buy anything;
+you must sell," he continued. "VanHorne and I both came to the
+conclusion to-day that it is time for a turn on the short side of the
+market. When the public are crazy and will buy any thing, then is the
+time to let them have all they wish."
+
+"What, then, am I to sell?" asked Wilbur "I am a complete lamb, you
+know." He was already sorry that he had consented, but Selma's manifest
+interest restrained him from turning the matter into a joke.
+
+"Leave it all to me," said Williams with a magnificent gesture.
+
+"But you will need some money from me."
+
+"Not at all. If you would feel better, you may send me a check or a bond
+for a thousand dollars. But it isn't necessary in your case."
+
+"I will bring you in a bond to-morrow--one of the very few I own."
+
+Wilbur having delivered his security the first thing in the morning,
+heard nothing further from Williams for a fortnight. One day he received
+a formal account of certain transactions executed by Williams and
+VanHorne for Wilbur Littleton, Esq., and a check for two thousand
+dollars. The flush which rose to his cheeks was induced partly by
+pleasure, partly by shame. His inclination, as he reflected, was to
+return the check, but he recognized presently that this was a foolish
+idea, and that the only thing to be done was to deposit it. He wrote a
+grateful note of acknowledgment to Williams, and then gave himself up to
+the agreeable occupation of thinking what he should buy for Selma with
+the money. He decided not to tell her of his good fortune, but to treat
+her to a surprise. His first fancy was in favor of jewelry--some
+necklace or lustrous ornament for the hair, which would charm the
+feminine eye and might make Selma even more beautiful than she already
+appeared in evening dress. His choice settled on a horse and buggy as
+more genuinely useful. To be sure there was the feed of the animal to be
+considered; but he would be able to reserve sufficient money to cover
+this cost for some months, and by the end of that time he would perhaps
+be able to afford the outlay from his income. Horse-flesh and vehicles
+were not in his line, but he succeeded by investigation in procuring a
+modest equipment for seven hundred dollars, which left him three hundred
+for fodder, and the other thousand. This he had decided to hand over to
+Selma as pin money. It was for her sake that he had consented to
+speculate, and it seemed meet that she should have the satisfaction of
+spending it.
+
+He carried out his surprise by appearing one afternoon before the door
+and inviting her to drive. Selma became radiant at the news that the
+horse and buggy were hers, though, when the particulars of the purchase
+were disclosed she said to herself that she wished Wilbur had allowed
+her to choose the vehicle. She would have preferred one more stylish and
+less domestic looking. She flung her arms about his neck and gave him a
+kiss on their return to show her satisfaction.
+
+"You see how easy it is, Wilbur," she said as she surveyed the check
+which he had handed her.
+
+"It was not I, it was Williams."
+
+"No, but you could, if you would only think so. I have the greatest
+confidence in you, dear," she added, looking eagerly into his face; "but
+don't you sometimes go out of your way to avoid what is enterprising
+and--er--modern, just because it is modern?"
+
+"Gambling is as old as the hills, Selma."
+
+"Yes. And if this were gambling--the sort of gambling you mean, do you
+think I would allow you to do it? Do you think the American people would
+tolerate it for a minute?" she asked triumphantly.
+
+"It seems to me that your admiration for the American people sometimes
+makes you a little weak in your logic," he answered with good-humor. He
+was so pleased by Selma's gratification that he was disposed to exorcise
+his scruples.
+
+"I have always told you that I was more of a patriot than you, Wilbur."
+
+The bond had not been returned by Williams at the time he sent the
+money, and some fortnight later--only a few days in fact after this
+drive, Littleton received another cheque for $500 and a request that he
+call at the office.
+
+"I thought you would like to see the instruments of torture at work--the
+process of lamb-shearing in active operation," Williams explained as he
+shook hands and waved him into his private room. After a few easy
+remarks on the methods of doing business the broker continued, "I
+flatter myself that for so small an investment and so short a time, I
+have done tolerably well for you."
+
+"I scarcely know how to express my thanks and my admiration for your
+skill. Indeed I feel rather awkwardly about--"
+
+"That's all right, my dear fellow. It's my business; I get my
+commission. Still I admit friendly regard--and this is why I suggested
+your dropping in--by introducing the personal equation, makes one
+nervous. If instead of closing out your account, I had in each instance
+held on, you would have made more money. I was glad to take this
+responsibility at first because you were a neophyte at the business, but
+I think it will be more satisfactory both for you and for me that in
+future transactions you should give me the word when to reap the profit.
+Of course you shall have all the information which I possess and my
+advice will be at your command, but where a man's money is concerned his
+own head is apt to be the wisest counsellor. Now I took the liberty
+yesterday of selling for you two hundred shares of Reading railroad. You
+can cover to-day at a profit of one point--about $200. I do not urge it.
+On the contrary I believe that the market, barring occasional rallies,
+is still on the downward track. I wish, however, to put you in a
+position where you can, if you desire, take advantage of the full
+opportunities of the financial situation and save myself from feeling
+that I have robbed you by my friendly caution."
+
+"In other words you don't wish to speculate with my money," said
+Littleton. "You wish me to paddle my own canoe."
+
+Williams' real desire was to escape the bother of personally
+superintending an insignificant account. His circumlocution was a suave
+way of stating that he had done all that could be expected of a neighbor
+and benevolent friend, and that the ordinary relation of broker and
+customer ought now be established. As for Littleton, he perceived that
+he was not free to retire from the market on the profits of friendly
+regard unless he was prepared to fly in the face of advice and buy in
+his two hundred Reading railroad. To do so would be pusillanimous;
+moreover to retire and abstain from further dealings would make
+Williams' two cheques more obviously a charitable donation, and the
+thought of them was becoming galling. Above all there were Selma's
+feelings to be considered. The possession of the means to afford her
+happiness was already a sweet argument in favor of further experiments.
+
+And so it happened that during the next nine months Littleton became a
+frequenter of the office of Williams & VanHorne. He was not among those
+who hung over the tape and were to be seen there daily; but he found
+himself attracted as the needle by the magnet to look in once or twice a
+week to ascertain the state of the market. His ventures continued to be
+small, and were conducted under the ken of Williams, and though the
+occasional rallies referred to by the broker harassed Wilbur's spirit
+when they occurred, the policy of selling short proved reasonably
+remunerative in the course of half a dozen separate speculations. In
+round figures he added another $2,500 to that which Williams had made
+for him. The process kept him on pins and needles, and led him to scan
+the list of stock quotations before reading anything else in the
+newspaper. Selma was delighted at his success, and though he chose not
+to tell her the details of his dealings, she watched him furtively,
+followed the general tendency of the market, and when she perceived that
+he was in good spirits, satisfied sufficiently her curiosity by
+questions.
+
+On the strength of this addition to their pecuniary resources, Selma
+branched out into sundry mild extravagances. She augmented her wardrobe,
+engaged an additional house-maid and a more expensive cook, and
+entertained with greater freedom and elaboration. She was fond of going
+to the theatre and supping afterward at some fashionable restaurant
+where she could show her new plumage and be a part of the gay,
+chattering rout at the tables consuming soft-shelled crabs and
+champagne. She was gradually increasing her acquaintance, chiefly among
+the friends of the Williamses, people who were fond of display and
+luxury and who seemed to have plenty of money. In this connection she
+was glad to avail herself of the reputation of belonging to the literary
+circle, and she conceived the plan of mingling these new associates with
+Wilbur's former set--to her thinking a delightful scheme, which she
+inaugurated by means of a dinner party. She included among the guests
+Pauline and Dr. Page, and considered that she had acted gracefully in
+putting them side by side at table, thus sacrificing the theory of her
+entertainment to her feminine interest in romance. In her opinion it was
+more than Pauline deserved, and she was proud of her generosity. There
+were fourteen in the company, and after dinner they were regaled by a
+young woman who had brought a letter of introduction to Selma from Mrs.
+Earle, who read from her own poems. The dinner was given for her, and
+her seat was between Wilbur and Mr. Dennison, the magazine editor. Selma
+had attended a dinner-party at the Williamses a fortnight earlier where
+there had been music in the drawing-room by a ballad-singer at a cost of
+$100 (so Flossy had told her in confidence). A poetess reading from her
+own works, a guest and not invited in after dinner on a business
+footing, appealed to Selma as more American, and less expensive. She, in
+her secret soul, would have liked to recite herself, but she feared to
+run the gauntlet of the New York manner. The verses were intense in
+character and were delivered by the young woman with a hollow-eyed
+fervor which, as one of the non-literary wing of the company stated,
+made one creep and weep alternately. There was no doubt that the
+entertainment was novel and acceptable to the commercial element, and to
+Selma it seemed a delightful reminder of the Benham Institute. She was
+curious to know what Mr. Dennison thought, though she said to herself
+that she did not really care. She felt that anything free and earnest in
+the literary line was likely to be frowned on by the coterie to which
+her husband's people belonged. Nevertheless she seized an opportunity to
+ask the editor if he did not think the verses remarkable.
+
+"They are certainly remarkable," answered Mr. Dennison. After a brief
+pause he added, "Being a strictly truthful person, Mrs. Littleton, I do
+not wish to seek shelter behind the rampart which your word 'remarkable'
+affords. A dinner may be remarkable--remarkably good, like the one I
+have just eaten, or remarkably bad. Some editors would have replied to
+you as I have done, and yet been capable of a mental reservation
+unflattering to the ambitious young woman to whom we have been
+listening. But without wishing to express an opinion, let me remind you
+that poetry, like point-lace, needs close scrutiny before its merits can
+be defined. I thought I recognized some ancient and well-worn flowers of
+speech, but my editorial ear and eye may have been deceived. She has
+beautiful hair at all events."
+
+     "'Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare;
+      And beauty draws us by a single hair.'
+
+"You cynical personage! I only hope she may prove a genius and that you
+will realize when too late that you might have discovered her," said
+Selma, looking into his face brightly with a knowing smile and tapping
+her fan against her hand. She was in a gay humor at the success of the
+entertainment, despite the non-committal attitude of this censor, and
+pleased at the appositeness of her quotation. Her figure had filled out
+since her marriage. She was almost plump and she wore a single short fat
+curl pendent behind her ear.
+
+A few months subsequent to this dinner party Flossy announced one day
+that Mr. Silas S. Parsons, whom Selma had seen with the Williamses at
+the theatre nearly three years before, had come to live in New York with
+his wife and daughter. Flossy referred to him eagerly as one of her
+husband's most valuable customers, a shrewd, sensible, Western business
+man, who had made money in patent machinery and was superbly rich. He
+had gone temporarily to a hotel, but he was intending to build a large
+house on Fifth Avenue near the park. Selma heard this announcement with
+keen interest, asking herself at once why Wilbur should not be the
+architect. Why not, indeed? She promptly reasoned that here was her
+chance to aid her husband; that he, if left to his own devices, would do
+nothing to attract the magnate's attention, and that it behooved her, as
+an American wife and a wide-awake, modern woman, to let Mr. Parsons know
+his qualifications, and to prepossess him in Wilbur's favor by her own
+attractions. The idea appealed to her exceedingly. She had been hoping
+that some opportunity to take an active part in the furtherance of
+Wilbur's career would present itself, for she felt instinctively that
+with her co-operation he would make more rapid progress. Here was
+exactly the occasion longed for. She saw in her mind's eye Mr. Parsons's
+completed mansion, stately and beautiful, the admired precursor of a
+host of important edifices--a revolutionizing monument in contemporary
+architecture. Wilbur would become the fashion, and his professional
+success be assured, thanks to the prompt ability of his wife to take
+advantage of circumstances. So she would prove herself a veritable
+helpmate, and the bond of marital sympathy would be strengthened and
+refreshed.
+
+To begin with, Selma hinted to Mrs. Williams that Mr. Parsons might do
+worse than employ Wilbur to design his house. Flossy accepted the
+suggestion with enthusiasm and promised her support, adding that Mr.
+Parsons was a person of sudden and strong fancies, and that if he were
+to take a fancy to Wilbur, the desired result would be apt to follow.
+Selma quickly decided that Mr. Parsons must be made to like her, for she
+feared lest Wilbur's quiet, undemonstrative manner would fail to attract
+him. Evidently he admired the self-confidence and manly assertion of
+Gregory Williams, and would be liable to regard Wilbur as lacking in
+force and enterprise. The reflection that she would thus be working--as
+necessarily she would--for the eternal progress of truth, added a
+pleasant savor to the undertaking, for it was clear that her husband was
+an ideal architect for the purpose, and she would be doing a true
+service to Mr. Parsons in convincing him that this was so. Altogether
+her soul was in an agreeable flutter, notwithstanding that her neighbor
+Flossy had recently received invitations to two or three large balls,
+and been referred to in the society columns of the newspapers as the
+fascinating and clever wife of the rising banker Gregory Williams.
+
+The Littletons were promptly given by Flossy the opportunity to make the
+acquaintance of the Parsons family. Mr. Parsons was a ponderous man of
+over sixty, with a solid, rotund, grave face and a chin whisker. He was
+absorbed in financial interests, though he had retired from active
+business, and had come to New York to live chiefly to please his wife
+and daughter. Mrs. Parsons, who was somewhat her husband's junior, was a
+devotee, or more correctly, a debauchee, of hotel life. Since the time
+when they had become exceedingly rich, about ten years before, they had
+made a grand tour of the hotels of this country and Europe. By so doing
+Mrs. Parsons and her daughter felt that they became a part of the social
+life of the cities which they visited. Although they had been used to
+plain, if not slovenly, house-keeping before the money came, both the
+wife and daughter had evolved into connoisseurs of modish and luxurious
+hotel apparatus and garniture. They had learned to revel in many
+courses, radiantly upholstered parlors, and a close acquaintance with
+the hotel register. Society for them, wherever they went, meant finding
+out the names of the other guests and dressing for them, being on easy
+terms with the head waiter and elevator boy, visiting the theatres, and
+keeping up a round of shopping in pursuit of articles of apparel. They
+wore rich garments and considerable jewelry, and plastered
+themselves--especially the daughter--with bunches of violets or roses
+self-bestowed. Mrs. Parsons was partial to perfume, and they both were
+addicted to the free consumption of assorted bonbons. To be sure they
+had made some acquaintances in the course of their peregrinations, but
+one reason for moving to New York was that Mrs. Parsons had come to the
+melancholy conclusion that neither the princes of Europe nor the sons of
+American leading citizens were paying that attention to her daughter
+which the young lady's charms seemed to her to merit. If living lavishly
+in hotels and seeing everybody right and left were not the high-road to
+elegant existence and hence to a brilliant match for Lucretia, Mrs.
+Parsons was ready to try the effect of a house on Fifth Avenue, though
+she preferred the comforts of her present mode of life. Still one
+advantage of a stable home would be that Mr. Parsons could be constantly
+with them, instead of an occasional and intermittent visitor
+communicated with more frequently by electricity than by word of mouth.
+While Mr. Parsons was selecting the land, she and Lucretia had abandoned
+themselves to an orgy of shopping, and with an eye to the new house,
+their rooms at the hotel were already littered with gorgeous fabrics,
+patterns of wall-paper and pieces of pottery.
+
+Selma's facility in the New York manner was practised on Silas Parsons
+with flattering success. He was captivated by her--more so than by
+Flossy, who amused him as a flibbertigibbet, but who seemed to him to
+lack the serious cast of character which he felt that he discerned
+beneath the sprightliness of this new charmer. Mr. Parsons was what he
+called a "stickler" for the dignity of a serious demeanor. He liked to
+laugh at the theatre, but mistrusted a daily point of view which savored
+of buffoonery. He was fond of saying that more than one public man in
+the United States had come to grief politically from being a joker, and
+that the American people could not endure flippancy in their
+representatives. He liked to tell and listen to humorous stories in the
+security of a smoking-room, but in his opinion it behooved a citizen to
+maintain a dignified bearing before the world. Like other self-made men
+who had come to New York--like Selma herself--he had shrunk from and
+deplored at first the lighter tone of casual speech. Still he had grown
+used to it, and had even come to depend on it as an amusement. But he
+felt that in the case of Selma there was a basis of ethical earnestness,
+appropriate to woman, beneath her chatty flow of small talk. That she
+was comparatively a new-comer accounted partially for this impression,
+but it was mainly due to the fact that she still reverted after her
+sallies of pleasantry to a grave method of deportment.
+
+Selma's chief hospitality toward the Parsonses took the form of a
+theatre party, which included a supper at Delmonico's after the play. It
+was an expensive kind of entertainment, which she felt obliged to
+justify to Wilbur by the assertion that the Williamses had been so civil
+she considered it would be only decent to show attention to their
+friends. She was unwilling to disclose her secret, lest the knowledge of
+it might make Wilbur offish and so embarrass her efforts. There were
+eight in the party, and the affair seemed to Selma to go off admirably.
+She was enthralled by the idea of using her own personal magnetism to
+promote her husband's business. She felt that it was just the sort of
+thing she would like and was fitted for, and that here was an
+opportunity for her individuality to display itself. She devoted herself
+with engaging assiduity to Mr. Parsons, pleased during the active
+process of propitiation by the sub-consciousness that her table was one
+of the centres of interest in the large restaurant. She had dressed
+herself with formal care, and nothing in the way of compliment could
+have gratified her more than the remark which Mr. Parsons made, as he
+regarded her appreciatively, when he had finished his supper, that she
+suggested his idea of Columbia. Selma glowed with satisfaction. The
+comparison struck her as apt and appropriate, and she replied with a
+proud erection of her head, which imparted to her features their
+transcendental look, and caused her short curl to joggle tremulously, "I
+suppose I see what you mean, Mr. Parsons."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+One evening, four or five days after this supper party, Wilbur laid down
+the book which he was pretending to read, and said, "Selma, I have come
+to the conclusion that I must give up dabbling in stocks. I am being
+injured by it--not financially, for, as you know, I have made a few
+thousand dollars--but morally."
+
+"I thought you were convinced that it was not immoral," answered Selma,
+in a constrained voice.
+
+"I do not refer to whether speculation is justifiable in itself, but to
+its effect on me as an individual--its distraction to my mind and
+consequent interference with my professional work."
+
+"Oh."
+
+"For a year now, the greater portion of the time, I have had some
+interest in the market, and as a consequence, have felt impelled to look
+in on Williams and VanHorne every day--sometimes oftener. I am unable to
+dismiss my speculations from my thoughts. I find myself wondering what
+has happened to the stocks I am carrying, and I am satisfied that the
+practice is thoroughly demoralizing to my self-respect and to my
+progress. I am going to give it up."
+
+"I suppose you must give it up if it affects you like that," responded
+Selma drily. "I don't see exactly why it should."
+
+"It may seem foolish to you, but I am unable to put my ventures out of
+my mind. The consequences of loss would be so serious to me that I
+suppose my imagination becomes unduly active and apprehensive. Also, I
+find myself eager to secure large gains. I must renounce Aladdin's lamp
+from this day forth, my dear, and trust to my legitimate business for my
+income."
+
+Selma folded her hands and looked grave. "It's disappointing that you
+feel so just when we are beginning to get on, Wilbur."
+
+"I have realized, Selma, that you have enjoyed and--er--been made
+happier by the freedom to spend which this extra money has afforded you.
+But I know, when you reflect, you will understand that I am right, and
+that it would be disastrous to both of us if I were to continue to do
+what I believe demoralizing. It is a mortification to me to ask you to
+retrench, but I said to myself that Selma would be the first to insist
+on our doing so if she knew my feelings, and it makes me happy to be
+sure of your approval."
+
+Littleton spoke with a tender plaintiveness which betrayed that in his
+secret soul he was less confident on this score than his words declared,
+or than he himself supposed. "Of course," he added, earnestly, "I shall
+hope that it will not make much difference. My business is slowly, but
+steadily, improving, and I am doing more this year than last. I am
+bending all my energies on my plans for Wetmore College. If I win in
+that competition, I shall make a reputation and a respectable
+commission."
+
+"You have been on those plans three months."
+
+"Yes, and shall not finish them for another two. I wish to do my best
+work, and I shall be glad not to hear quotations of the ticker in my
+brain. You desire me to be thorough, surely, Selma _mia_?"
+
+"Oh, yes. Only, you know people very often spoil things by pottering
+over them."
+
+"I never potter. I reject because I am dissatisfied rather than offer a
+design which does not please me, but I do not waste my time."
+
+"Call it over-conscientiousness then. I wish you to do your best work,
+of course, but one can't expect to do best work invariably. Everything
+was going so nicely that you must perceive it will be inconvenient to
+have to economize as we did before."
+
+Littleton looked at his wife with a glance of loving distress. "You
+wouldn't really care a button. I know you wouldn't, Selma," he said,
+stoutly.
+
+"Of course not, if it were necessary," she answered. "Only I don't wish
+to do so unless it is necessary. I am not controverting your decision
+about the stocks, though I think your imagination, as you say, is to
+blame. I would rather cut my right hand off than persuade you to act
+contrary to your conscience. But it _is_ inconvenient, Wilbur, you must
+admit, to give up the things we have become accustomed to."
+
+"We shall be able to keep the horse. I am certain of that."
+
+"I wish you to see my side of it. Say that you do," she said, with
+shrill intensity.
+
+"It is because I do see it that I am troubled, Selma. For myself I am no
+happier now than I was when we lived more simply. I can't believe that
+you will really find it a hardship to deny yourself such extravagances
+as our theatre party last week. Being a man," he added, after a pause,
+"I suppose I may not appreciate how important and seductive some of
+these social observances appear to a woman, and heaven knows my chief
+wish in life is to do everything in my power to make you happy. You must
+be aware of that, dearest. I delight to work hard for your sake. But it
+seems almost ludicrous to be talking of social interests to you, of all
+women. Why, at the time we were married, I feared that you would cut
+yourself off from reasonable pleasures on account of your dislike of
+everything frivolous. I remember I encouraged you not to take too
+ascetic a view of such things. So I am bound to believe that your side
+is my side--that we both will find true happiness in not attempting to
+compete with people whose tastes are not our tastes, and whose aims are
+not our aims."
+
+"Then you think I have deteriorated," she said, with a superior smile.
+
+"I think of you as the most conscientious woman I ever met. It was only
+natural that you should be spurred by our neighbors, the Williamses, to
+make a better showing socially before the world. I have been glad to see
+you emulous up to a certain point. You must realize though, that we
+cannot keep pace with them, even if we so desire. Already they are in
+the public eye. He appears to have made considerable money, and his
+views on the stock-market are given prominence by the press. He and his
+wife are beginning to be recognized by people who were ignorant of their
+existence four years ago. You told me last week that Mrs. Williams had
+attended one of the fashionable balls, and I saw in yesterday's
+newspaper a description of her toilette at another. It begins to look as
+if, in a few years more, their ambition might be realized, and the doors
+of the Morton Price mansion open wide to admit this clever country
+cousin to the earthly paradise. It must be evident to you, Selma, that
+very shortly we shall see only the dust of their chariot-wheels in the
+dim social distance. Williams told me to-day that he has bought a house
+near the park."
+
+"He has bought a new house? They are going to move?" exclaimed Selma,
+sitting up straight, and with a fierce light in her eyes.
+
+"Yes. He was going home to tell his wife. It seems that they have been
+talking vaguely of moving for some time. An acquaintance happened to
+offer him a house, and Williams closed the bargain on the spot in his
+customary chain-lightning style. I shall be sorry to have them go on
+some accounts, for they have always been friendly, and you seem fond of
+the wife, but we shall find it easier, perhaps, when they are gone, to
+live according to our own ideas."
+
+"Flossy has not been quite so nice lately," said Selma; "I am afraid she
+is disposed to put on airs."
+
+"Her head may have been turned by her success. She has a kind heart, but
+a giddy brain in spite of its cleverness."
+
+"Flossy has been getting on, of course. But so are we getting on. Why
+should they be recognized, as you call it, any more than we? In time, I
+mean. Not in the same way, perhaps, since you don't approve of the sort
+of things--"
+
+"Since I don't approve? Why, Selma, surely--"
+
+"Since _we_ don't approve, then. I only mean that Gregory Williams has
+shown initiative, has pushed ahead, and is--er--the talk of the town. I
+expect you to be successful, too. Is there any reason on earth why the
+door of the Morton Prices should open wide to her and not to me?"
+
+"I suppose not, if--if you wish it."
+
+She made a gesture of impatience and gazed at him a moment with an
+imperious frown, then suddenly, with the litheness of a cat, she slipped
+from her chair to the floor at his feet, and leaning against his knee,
+looked up into his face.
+
+"You dear boy, I am going to tell you something. You said to me once
+that if ever the time came when I thought you visionary, I was to let
+you know. Of course I understand you are worth a thousand _Gregorys_;
+but don't you think you would get on faster if you were a little more
+aggressive in your work?--if you weren't so afraid of being superficial
+or sensational? You were intimating a few minutes ago," she added,
+speaking rapidly under the stress of the message she burned to deliver,
+"that I seemed changed. I don't believe I am changed. But, if I seem
+different, it is because I feel so strongly that those who wish to
+succeed must assert themselves and seize opportunities. There is where
+it seems to me that Mr. Williams has the advantage over you, Wilbur. One
+of the finest and most significant qualities of our people, you know, is
+their enterprise and aggressiveness. Architecture isn't like the stock
+business, but the same theory of progress must be applicable to both.
+Don't you think I may be right, Wilbur? Don't you see what I mean?"
+
+He stroked her hair and answered gently, "What is it that I am not doing
+which you think I might do?"
+
+Selma snuggled close to him, and put her hand in his. She was vibrating
+with the proud consciousness of the duty vouchsafed to her to guide and
+assist the man she loved. It was a blissful and a precious moment to
+her. "If I were you," she said, solemnly, "I should build something
+striking and original, something which would make everyone who beheld it
+ask, 'what is the architect's name?' I would strike out boldly without
+caring too much what the critics and the people of Europe would say. You
+musn't be too afraid, Wilbur, of producing something American, and you
+mustn't be too afraid of the American ways of doing things. We work more
+quickly here in everything, and--and I still can't help feeling that you
+potter a little. Necessarily I don't know about the details of your
+business, but if I were you, instead of designing small buildings or
+competing for colleges and churches, where more than half the time
+someone else gets the award, I should make friends with the people who
+live in those fine houses on Fifth Avenue, and get an order to design a
+splendid residence for one of them. If you were to make a grand success
+of that, as you surely would, your reputation would be made. You ask me
+why I like to entertain and am willing to know people like that. It is
+to help you to get clients and to come to the front professionally. Now
+isn't that sensible and practical and right, too?"
+
+Her voice rang triumphantly with the righteousness of her plea.
+
+"Selma, dear, if I am not worldly-wise enough, I am glad to listen to
+your suggestions. But art is not to be hurried. I cannot vulgarize my
+art. I could not consent to that."
+
+"Of course not, Wilbur. Not worldly-wise enough is just the phrase, I
+think. You are so absorbed in the theory of fine things that I am sure
+you often let the practical opportunities to get the fine things to do
+slip."
+
+"Perhaps, dear. I will try to guard against it." Wilbur took her hands
+in his and looked down tenderly into her face. His own was a little
+weary. "Above everything else in life I wish, to make you happy," he
+said.
+
+"I am happy, you dear boy."
+
+"Truly?"
+
+"Yes, truly. And if something happens which I am nearly sure will
+happen, I shall be happier still. It's a secret, and I mustn't tell you,
+but if it does happen, you can't help agreeing that your wife has been
+clever and has helped you in your profession."
+
+"Helped me? Ah, Selma," he said, folding her in his arms, "I don't think
+you realize how much you are to me. In this modern world, what with
+self-consciousness, and shyness and contemporary distaste for fulsome
+expression, it is difficult to tell adequately those we love how we feel
+toward them. You are my darling and my inspiration. The sun rises and
+sets with you, and unless you were happy, I could never be. Each man in
+this puzzling world must live according to his own lights, and I,
+according to mine, am trying to make the most of myself, consistent with
+self-respect and avoidance of the low human aims and time-serving
+methods upon which our new civilization is supposed to frown. If I am
+neglecting my lawful opportunities, if I am failing to see wisely and
+correctly, I shall be grateful for counsel. Ah, Selma, for your sake,
+even more than for my own, I grieve that we have no children. A baby's
+hands would, I fancy, be the best of counsellors and enlighteners."
+
+"If children had come at first, it would have been very nice. But
+now--now I think they might stand in the way of my being of help to you.
+And I am so anxious to help you, Wilbur."
+
+As a result of this conversation Littleton devoted himself more
+assiduously than ever to his work. He was eager to increase his earnings
+so that his income should not be curtailed by his decision to avoid
+further ventures in the stock-market. He was troubled in soul, for
+Selma's accusation that he was visionary haunted him. Could it be that
+he was too scrupulous, too uncompromising, and lacked proper enterprise?
+Self-scrutiny failed to convince him that this was so, yet left a
+lurking doubt which was harassing. His clear mind was too modest to
+believe in its own infallibility, for he was psychologist enough to
+understand that no one can be absolutely sure that his perspective of
+life is accurate. Possibly he was sacrificing his wife's legitimate
+aspirations to too rigid canons of behavior, and to an unconscious lack
+of initiative. On the other hand, as a positive character, he believed
+that he saw clearly, and he could not avoid the reflection that, if this
+was the case, he and Selma were drifting apart--the more bitter
+alternative of the two, and a condition which, if perpetuated, would
+involve the destruction of the scheme of matrimonial happiness, the
+ideal communion of two sympathetic souls, in which he was living as a
+proud partner. Apparently he was in one of two predicaments; either he
+was self deceived, which was abhorrent to him as a thoughtful grappler
+with the eternal mysteries, or he had misinterpreted the character of
+the woman whose transcendent quality was a dearer faith to him than the
+integrity of his own manhood.
+
+So it was with a troubled heart that he applied himself to more rigorous
+professional endeavor. Like most architects he had pursued certain lines
+of work because orders had come to him, and the chances of employment
+had ordained that his services should be sought for small churches,
+school-houses and kindred buildings in the surrounding country rather
+than for more elaborate and costly structures. On these undertakings it
+was his habit to expend abundant thought and devotion. The class of work
+was to his taste, for, though the funds at his disposal were not always
+so large as he desired for artistic effects, yet he enjoyed the
+opportunity of showing that simplicity need not be homely and
+disenchanting, but could wear the aspect of grace and poetry. Latterly
+he had been requested to furnish designs for some blocks of houses in
+the outlying wards of the city, where the owners sought to provide
+attractive, modern flats for people with moderate means. Various
+commissions had come to him, also, to design decorative work, which
+interested him and gave scope to his refined and aspiring imagination,
+and he was enthusiastically absorbed in preparing his competitive plans
+for the building of Wetmore College. His time was already well occupied
+by the matters which he had in hand. That is, he had enough to do and
+yet did not feel obliged to deny himself the luxury of deliberate
+thoroughness in connection with each professional undertaking. Save for
+the thought that he must needs earn more in order to please Selma, he
+would have been completely happy in the slow but flattering growth of
+his business, and in feeling his way securely toward greater success.
+Now, however, he began to ask himself if it were not possible to hasten
+this or that piece of work in order to afford himself the necessary
+leisure for new employment. He began also to consider whether he might
+not be able, without loss of dignity, to put himself in the way of
+securing more important clients. To solicit business was not to be
+thought of, but now and again he put the question to himself whether he
+had not been too indifferent as to who was who, and what was what, in
+the development of his business.
+
+While Littleton was thus mulling over existing conditions, and
+subjecting his conduct to the relentless lens of his own conscience and
+theories, Selma announced to him jubilantly, about a fortnight
+subsequent to their conversation, that her secret was a secret no
+longer, and that Mr. Parsons desired to employ him to build an imposing
+private residence on Fifth Avenue near the Park. Mr. Parsons confirmed
+this intelligence on the following day in a personal interview. He
+informed Littleton that he was going to build in order to please his
+wife and daughter, and intimated that expense need not stand in the way
+of the gratification of their wishes. After the business matters were
+disposed of he was obviously ready to intrust all the artistic details
+to his architect. Consequently Littleton enjoyed an agreeable quarter of
+an hour of exaltation. He was pleased at the prospect of building a
+house of this description, and the hope of being able to give free scope
+to his architectural bent without molestation made that prospect
+roseate. He could desire no better opportunity for expressing his ideas
+and proving his capacity. It was an ideal chance, and his soul thrilled
+as he called up the shadowy fabric of scheme after scheme to fill the
+trial canvas of his fantasy. Nor did he fail to award due credit to
+Selma for her share in the transaction; not to the extent, perhaps, of
+confessing incapacity on his own part, but by testifying lovingly to her
+cleverness. She was in too good humor at her success to insist on his
+humiliation in set terms. The two points in which she was most vitally
+interested--the advantage of her own interference and the consequent
+prompt extension of her husband's field of usefulness--had been
+triumphantly proved, and there was no need that the third--Wilbur's lack
+of capacity to battle and discriminate for himself--should be
+emphasized. Selma knew what she thought in her own mind, and she
+entertained the hope that this lesson might be a lamp to his feet for
+future illumination. She was even generous enough to exclaim, placing
+her hands on his shoulders and looking into his face with complacent
+fervor:
+
+"You might have accomplished it just as well yourself, Wilbur."
+
+Littleton shook his head and smiled. "It was a case of witchery and
+fascination. He probably divined how eager you were to help me, and he
+was glad to yield to the agreeable spell of your wifely devotion."
+
+"Oh, no," said Selma. "I am sure he never guessed for one moment of what
+I was thinking. Of course, I did try to make him like me, but that was
+only sensible. To make people like one is the way to get business, I
+believe."
+
+Littleton's quarter of an hour of exaltation was rudely checked by a
+note from Mrs. Parsons, requesting an interview in regard to the plans.
+When he presented himself he found her and her daughter imbued with
+definite ideas on the subject of architects and architecture. In the
+eyes of Mrs. Parsons the architect of her projected house was nothing
+but a young man in the employ of her husband, who was to guide them as
+to measurements, carpentry, party-walls and plumbing, but was otherwise
+to do her bidding for a pecuniary consideration, on the same general
+basis as the waiter at the hotel or the theatre ticket-agent. As to
+architecture, she expected him to draw plans just as she expected
+dealers in carpets or wall-papers to show her patterns in easy
+succession. "I don't care for that; take it away." "That is rather
+pretty, but let me see something else." What she said to Littleton was,
+"We haven't quite decided yet what we want, but, if you'll bring some
+plans the next time you call, we'll let you know which we like best.
+There's a house in Vienna I saw once, which I said at the time to
+Lucretia I would copy if I ever built. I've mislaid the photograph of
+it, but I may be able to tell you when I see your drawings how it
+differed from yours. Lucretia has a fancy for something Moorish or
+Oriental. I guess Mr. Parsons would prefer brown-stone, plain and
+massive, but he has left it all to us, and both daughter and I think
+we'd rather have a house which would speak for itself, and not be mixed
+up with everybody else's. You'd better bring us half a dozen to choose
+from, and between me and you and Lucretia, we'll arrive at something
+elegant and unique."
+
+This was sadly disillusionizing to Littleton, and the second experience
+was no less so. The refined outline sketches proffered by him were
+unenthusiastically surveyed and languidly discarded like so many
+wall-papers. It was evident that both the mother and daughter were
+disappointed, and Littleton presently divined that their chief objection
+was to the plainness of the several designs. This was made unmistakably
+obvious when Mrs. Parsons, after exhibiting a number of photographs of
+foreign public buildings with which she had armed herself, surveyed the
+most ornate, holding it out with her head on one side, and exclaimed
+impressively, "This is more the sort of thing we should like. I think
+Mr. Parsons has already explained to you that he desired our house to be
+as handsome as possible."
+
+"I had endeavored to bear that in mind," Littleton retorted with spirit.
+"I believe that either of these plans would give you a house which would
+be handsome, interesting and in good taste."
+
+"It does not seem to me that there is anything unique about any of
+them," said Mrs. Parsons, with a cold sniff intended to be conclusive.
+Nor did Littleton's efforts to explain that elaboration in a private
+residence was liable to detract from architectural dignity and to
+produce the effect of vulgarity fall upon receptive soil. The rich man's
+wife listened in stony silence, at times raising her lorgnette to
+examine as a curiosity this young man who was telling her--an American
+woman who had travelled around the world and seen everything to be
+seen--how she ought to build her own house. The upshot of this interview
+was that Littleton was sent away with languid instructions to try again.
+He departed, thinking melancholy thoughts and with fire in his soul,
+which, for Selma's sake, he endeavored to keep out of his eyes.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+The departure of the Williamses to a smarter neighborhood was a trial
+for Selma. She nursed the dispiriting reflection that she and Wilbur
+might just as well be moving also; that a little foresight and
+shrewdness on her husband's part would have enabled him to sell at a
+handsome profit the house in which they were living; and that there was
+no reason, except the sheer, happy faculty of making the most of
+opportunities, to account for the social recognition which Flossy and
+her husband were beginning to receive. It had not been easy to bear with
+equanimity during the last year the ingenuous, light-hearted warblings
+in which Flossy had indulged as an outlet to her triumphant spirits, and
+to listen to naive recitals of new progress, as though she herself were
+a companion or ladies' maid, to whom such developments could never
+happen. She was weary of being merely a recipient of confidences and a
+sympathetic listener, and more weary still of being regarded as such by
+her self-absorbed and successful neighbor. Why should Flossy be so
+dense? Why should she play second fiddle to Flossy? Why should Flossy
+take for granted that she did not intend to keep pace with her? Keep
+pace, indeed, when, if circumstances would only shape themselves a
+little differently, she would be able speedily to outstrip her volatile
+friend in the struggle for social preferment.
+
+Not unnaturally their friendship had been somewhat strained by the
+simmering of these thoughts in Selma's bosom. If a recipient of
+confidences becomes tart or cold, ingenuous prattle is apt to flow less
+spontaneously. Though Flossy was completely self-absorbed, and
+consequently glad to pour out her satisfaction into a sympathetic ear,
+she began to realize that there was something amiss with her friend
+which mere conscientious disapproval of her own frivolities did not
+adequately explain. It troubled her somewhat, for she liked the
+Littletons and was proud of her acquaintance with them. However, she was
+conscious of having acquitted herself toward them with liberality, and,
+especially now that her social vista was widening, she was not disposed
+at first to analyze too deeply the cause of the lack of sympathy between
+them. That is, she was struck by Selma's offish manner and frigid
+silences, but forgot them until they were forced upon her attention the
+next time they met. But as her friend continued to receive her bubbling
+announcements with stiff indifference, Flossy, in her perplexity, began
+to bend her acute mental faculties more searchingly on her idol. A fixed
+point of view will keep a shrine sacred forever, but let a worshipper's
+perspective be altered, and it is astonishing how different the features
+of divinity will appear. Flossy had worshipped with the eyes of faith.
+Now that her adoration was rejected without apparent cause, her
+curiosity was piqued, and she sought an interpretation of the mystery
+from her clever wits. As she observed Selma more dispassionately her
+suspicion was stirred, and she began to wonder if she had been burning
+incense before a false goddess. This doubt was agitating her mind at the
+time when they moved from the street.
+
+Selma was unconscious of the existence of this doubt as she had been
+largely unconscious of her own sour demeanor. She had no wish to lose
+the advantages of intimate association with the Williamses. On the
+contrary, she expected to make progress on her own account by admission
+into their new social circle. She went promptly to call, and saw fit to
+show herself tactfully appreciative of the new establishment and more
+ready to listen to Flossy's volubility. Flossy, who was radiant and
+bubbling over with fresh experiences which she was eager to impart, was
+glad to dismiss her doubt and to give herself up to the delights of
+unbridled speech. She took Selma over her new house, which had been
+purchased just as it stood, completely furnished, from the previous
+owner, who had suffered financial reverses. "Gregory bought it because
+it was really a bargain," she said. "It will do very well for the
+present, but we intend to build before long. I am keeping my eye on your
+husband, and am expecting great things from the Parsons house. Do you
+know, I believe in Mr. Littleton, and feel sure that some day we shall
+wake up and find him famous."
+
+This was amiable, particularly as Flossy was very busily engaged in
+contemplating the brilliant progress of Gregory Williams and his wife.
+But Selma returned home feeling sore and dissatisfied. Flossy had been
+gracious, but still dense and naively condescending. Selma chose to
+foresee that her friend would neglect her, and her foresight was
+correct. The call was not returned for many weeks, although Flossy had
+assured her when they separated that distance would make no difference
+in their intimacy. But in the first place, her doubts recurred to Flossy
+after the departure of her visitor, and in the second, the agitations
+incident to her new surroundings, fortified by these doubts, made
+neglect easy. When she did call, Selma happened to be out. A few days
+later an invitation to dine with the Williamses arrived. Selma would
+have preferred to remain at home as a rebuke, but she was miserably
+conscious that Flossy would not perceive the point of the refusal. So
+she went, and was annoyed when she realized that the guests were only
+people whom she knew already--the Parsonses, and some of Gregory
+Williams's former associates, whom she had met at the old house. It was
+a pleasant dinner, apparently, to all except Selma. The entertainment
+was flatteringly lavish, and both the host and hostess with suavity put
+in circulation, under the rose, the sentiment that there are no friends
+like old friends--a graceful insincerity which most of them present
+accepted as true. Indeed, in one sense it was not an insincerity, for
+Gregory and his wife entertained cordial feelings toward them all. But
+on the other hand, Selma's immediate and bitter conclusion was also
+true, that the company had been invited together for the reason that, in
+the opinion of Flossy, they would not have harmonized well with anyone
+else.
+
+Said Wilbur as they drove away from the house--"Barring a few moments of
+agony in the society of my tormentor, Mrs. Parsons, I had a pleasant
+evening. They were obviously potting their old acquaintance in one pie,
+but to my thinking it was preferable to being sandwiched in between some
+of their new friends whom we do not know and who know nothing of us. It
+was a little evident, but on the whole agreeable."
+
+Selma, shrouded in her wraps, made no reply at first. Suddenly she
+exclaimed, with, fierceness, "I consider it rank impertinence. It was as
+much as to say that they do not think us good enough to meet their new
+friends."
+
+Littleton, who still found difficulty in remembering that his wife would
+not always enjoy the humor of an equivocal situation, was sorry that he
+had spoken. "Come, Selma," he said, "there's no use in taking that view
+of the matter. You would not really care to meet the other people."
+
+"Yes, I would, and she knows it. I shall never enter her house again."
+
+"As to that, my dear, the probabilities are that we shall not be asked
+for some time. You know perfectly well that, in the nature of things,
+your intimacy with Mrs. Williams must languish now that she lives at a
+distance and has new surroundings. She may continue to be very fond of
+you, but you can't hope to see very much of her, unless I am greatly
+mistaken in her character."
+
+"She is a shallow little worldling," said Selma, with measured
+intensity.
+
+"But you knew that already. The fact that she invited us to dinner and
+did not ignore our existence altogether shows that she likes us and
+wishes to continue the friendship. I've no doubt she believes that she
+is going to see a great deal of us, and you should blame destiny and the
+force of fashionable circumstances, not Flossy, if you drift apart."
+
+"She invited us because she wished to show off her new house."
+
+"Not altogether. You musn't be too hard on her."
+
+Selma moved her shoulders impatiently, and there was silence for some
+moments broken only by the tapping of her foot. Then she asked, "How
+nearly have you finished the plans for the Parsons house?"
+
+Wilbur's brow clouded under cover of the night. He hesitated an instant
+before replying, "I am sorry to say that Mrs. Parsons and I do not seem
+to get on very well together. Her ideas and mine on the subject of
+architecture are wide apart, as I have intimated to you once or twice. I
+have modified my plans again, and she has made airy suggestions which
+from my point of view are impossible. We are practically at loggerheads,
+and I am trying to make up my mind what I ought to do."
+
+There was a wealth of condensation in the word 'impossible' which
+brought back unpleasantly to Selma Pauline's use of the same word in
+connection with the estimate which had been formed of Miss Bailey.
+"There can be only one thing to do in the end," she said, "if you can't
+agree. Mrs. Parsons, of course, must have her house as she wishes it. It
+is her house, Wilbur."
+
+"It is her house, and she has that right, certainly. The question is
+whether I am willing to allow the world to point to an architectural
+hotch-potch and call it mine."
+
+"Isn't this another case of neglecting the practical side, Wilbur? I am
+sure you exaggerate the importance of the changes she desires. If I were
+building a house, I should expect to have it built to suit me, and I
+should be annoyed if the architect stood on points and were captious."
+Selma under the influence of this more congenial theme had partially
+recovered her equanimity. Her duty was her pleasure, and it was clearly
+her duty to lead her husband in the right path and save him from
+becoming the victim of his own shortcomings.
+
+Wilbur sighed. "I have told her," he said, "that I would submit another
+entirely new sketch. It may be that I can introduce some of her and her
+daughter's splurgy and garish misconceptions without making myself
+hopelessly ridiculous."
+
+He entered the house wearily, and as he stood before the hall table
+under the chandelier, Selma took him by the arm and turning him toward
+her gazed into his face. "I wish to examine you. Pauline said to me
+to-day that she thinks you are looking pale. I don't see that you are;
+no more so than usual. You never were rosy exactly. Do you know I have
+an idea that she thinks I am working you to death."
+
+"Pauline? What reason has she to think anything of the kind? Besides, I
+am perfectly well. It is a delight to work for a woman like you,
+dearest." He took her face between his hands and kissed her tenderly;
+yet gravely, too, as though the riddle of life did not solve itself at
+the touch of her lips. "You will be interested to hear," he added, "that
+I shall finish and send off the Wetmore College plans this week."
+
+"I am glad they are off your hands, for you will have more time for
+other work."
+
+"Yes. I think I may have done something worth while," he said,
+wistfully.
+
+"And I shall try not to be annoyed if someone else gets the award," she
+responded, smoothing down the sheen of her evening dress and regarding
+herself in the mirror.
+
+"Of course someone else may have taken equal pains and done a better
+thing. It is necessary always to be prepared for that."
+
+"That is the trouble. That is why I disapprove of competitions."
+
+"Selma, you are talking nonsense," Littleton exclaimed with sudden
+sternness.
+
+The decision in his tone made her start. The color mounted to her face,
+and she surveyed him for an instant haughtily, as though he had done her
+an injury. Then with an oratorical air and her archangel look, she said,
+"You do not seem to understand, Wilbur, that I am trying to save you
+from yourself."
+
+Littleton was ever susceptible to that look of hers. It suggested
+incarnate conscientiousness, and seemed incompatible with human
+imperfection or unworthy ambitions. He was too wroth to relent
+altogether, but he compressed his lips and returned her look
+searchingly, as though he would scrutinize her soul.
+
+"I'm bound to believe, I do believe, that you are trying to help me,
+Selma. I need your advice and help, even against myself, I dare say. But
+there are some matters of which you cannot judge so well as I. You must
+trust my opinion where the development of my professional life is
+concerned. I shall not forget your caution to be practical, but for the
+sake of expediency I cannot be false to what I believe true. Come, dear,
+let us go to bed."
+
+He put his hand on her arm to lead her upstairs, but she turned from it
+to collect her fan and gloves. Looking, not at him, but at herself in
+the mirror, she answered, "Of course. I trust, though, that this does
+not mean you intend to act foolishly in regard to the Parsons house."
+
+"I have already told you," he said, looking back, "that I am going to
+make another attempt to satisfy that exasperating woman and her
+daughter."
+
+"And you can satisfy them, I'm sure, if you only choose to," said Selma,
+by way of a firm, final observation.
+
+Littleton's prophecy in regard to the waning of friendship between his
+wife and Mrs. Williams proved to be correct. Propinquity had made them
+intimate, and separation by force of circumstances put a summary end to
+frequent and cordial intercourse between them. As he had predicted,
+their first invitation to the new house was still the last at the end of
+three months, and save for a few words on one occasion in the street,
+Selma and Flossy did not meet during that period. But during that same
+three months Selma's attention was constantly attracted to the
+Williamses by prominent newspaper allusions to their prosperity and
+growing fashionable prestige. What they did and where they went were
+chronicled in the then new style journalistic social gossip, and the
+every-day world was made familiar with his financial opinions and his
+equipages and her toilettes. The meeting in the street was an ordeal for
+Selma. Flossy had been shopping and was about to step into her carriage,
+the door of which was held open by an imposing liveried footman, when
+the two women nearly collided.
+
+"I have not seen you for an age," Flossy exclaimed, with the genuine
+ring of regret in her tone, with which busy people partially atone for
+having left undone the things they ought or would like to have done.
+"Which way are you going? Can't I take you somewhere?"
+
+Selma glanced sternly at the snug coupe and stylish horses. "No, we
+don't seem to meet very often," she said drily. "I'm living, though, at
+the same place," she added, with a determination to be sprightly.
+
+"Yes, I know; I owe you a call. It's dreadful of me. I've been intending
+to come, but you can't imagine how busy I've been. Such a number of
+invitations, and new things to be done. I'm looking forward to giving
+you a full account of my experiences."
+
+"I've read about them in the newspapers."
+
+"Oh, yes. Gregory is always civil to reporters. He says that the
+newspapers are one of the great institutions of the country, and that it
+is sensible to keep in touch with them. I will confide to you that I
+think the whole business vulgar, and I intend some day, when we are
+firmly established, to be ugly to them. But at present the publicity is
+rather convenient and amusing," she exclaimed, with a gay shake of her
+head, which set her ringlets bobbing.
+
+"I should think it would be unpleasant to have the details of one's
+appearance described by the press."
+
+Flossy's doubts had returned in full force during the conversation. She
+said to herself, "I wonder if that is true? I wonder if it wouldn't be
+the very thing she would like?" But she answered blithely, "Oh, one gets
+used to it. Then I can't take you anywhere? I'm sorry. Some day I hope
+my round of gayety will cease, so that we can have a quiet evening
+together. I miss your husband. I always find him suggestive and
+interesting."
+
+"'Her round of gayety! A quiet evening together!'" murmured Selma as she
+walked away. "Wilbur is right; purse-proud, frivolous little thing! She
+is determined to destroy our friendship."
+
+Four weeks subsequent to this meeting the newspapers contained a fulsome
+account of a dancing party given by Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Williams--"an
+elegant and recherche entertainment," in the language of the reporter. A
+list of the company followed, which Selma scrutinized with a brow like a
+thunder-cloud. She had acquired a feverish habit of perusing similar
+lists, and she recognized that Flossy's guests--among the first of whom
+were Mr. and Mrs. Morton Price and the Misses Price--were chiefly
+confined to persons whom she had learned to know as members of
+fashionable society. She read, in the further phraseology of the
+reporter, that "it was a small and select affair." At the end of the
+list, as though they had been invited on sufferance as a business
+necessity, were the Parsonses; but these were the only former associates
+of the Williamses. Selma had just finished her second reading of this
+news item when her meditation was interrupted by the voice of her
+husband, who had been silent during dinner, as though he had some matter
+on his mind, and was at the moment sitting close by, on the other side
+of the lamp which lighted the library table.
+
+"I fear you will be disappointed, Selma, but I have informed Mr. Parsons
+definitely this morning, that he must get another architect. The ideas
+of his wife and daughter are hopelessly at variance with mine. He seemed
+to be sorry--indeed, I should think he was a reasonable and sensible
+man--but he said that he was building to please Mrs. Parsons, and we
+both agreed that under the circumstances it was necessary that she
+should make a fresh start. He asked me to send my bill, and we parted on
+the best of terms. So it is all over, and except from the point of view
+of dollars and cents, I am very glad. Only the remembrance that you had
+set your heart on my making this my masterpiece, prevented me from
+throwing over the contract weeks ago. Tell me, Selma _mia_, that you
+approve of what I have done and congratulate me." He pulled forward his
+chair so that he might see her face without interference from the lamp
+and leaned toward her with frank appeal.
+
+"Yes, I had set my heart on it, and you knew it. Yet you preferred to
+give up this fine opportunity to show what you could do and to get
+business worth having rather than sacrifice your own ideas as to how a
+house should be built to the ideas of the women who were to live in it.
+I dare say I should agree with them, and that the things which they
+wished and you objected to were things I would have insisted on having."
+
+Littleton started as though she had struck him in the face. "Selma! My
+wife! Do you realize what you are saying?"
+
+"Perfectly."
+
+"Then--then--. Why, what have I said, what have I done that you should
+talk like this?"
+
+"Done? Everything. For one thing you have thrown away the chance for
+getting ahead in your profession which I procured for you. For another,
+by your visionary, unpractical ways, you have put me in the position
+where I can be insulted. Read that, and judge for yourself." She held
+out to him the newspaper containing the account of the dancing party,
+pointing with her finger to the obnoxious passage.
+
+With nervous hands Littleton drew the page under the light. "What is all
+this about? A party? What has it to do with our affairs?"
+
+"It has this to do with them--if you had been more practical and
+enterprising, our names would have been on that list."
+
+"I am glad they are not there."
+
+"Yes, I know. You would be content to have us remain nobodies all our
+days. You do not care what becomes of my life, provided you can carry
+out your own narrow theory of how we ought to live. And I had such faith
+in you, too! I have refused to believe until now that you were not
+trying to make the most of your opportunities, and to enable me to make
+the most of mine."
+
+"Selma, are you crazy? To think that you, the woman I have loved with
+all my soul, should be capable of saying such things to me! What does it
+mean?"
+
+She was quick to take advantage of his phrase. "Have loved? Yes, I know
+that you do not love me as you did; otherwise you could not have refused
+to build that house, against my wish and advice. It means this, Wilbur
+Littleton, that I am determined not to let you spoil my life. You forget
+that in marrying you I gave up my own ambitions and hopes for your sake;
+because--because I believed that by living together we should be more,
+and accomplish more, than by living apart. You said you needed me, and I
+was fool enough to believe it."
+
+The fierce tragedy in her tone lapsed into self-pity under the influence
+of her last thought, and Littleton, eager in his bewilderment for some
+escape from the horror of the situation, put aside his anger and
+dropping on his knees beside her tried to take her hands.
+
+"You are provoked, my darling. Do not say things which you will be sorry
+for to-morrow. I call God to witness that I have sought above all else
+to make you happy, and if I have failed, I am utterly miserable. I have
+needed you, I do need you. Do not let a single difference of opinion
+spoil the joy of both our lives and divide our hearts."
+
+She pulled her hands away, and shunning his endearment, rose to her
+feet.
+
+"I am provoked, but I know what I am saying. A single difference of
+opinion? Do you not see, Wilbur, that none of our opinions are the same,
+and that we look at everything differently? Even your religion and the
+God you call to witness are not mine. They are stiff and cold; you
+Unitarians permit your consciences to deaden your emotions and belittle
+your outlook on life. When I went with Mr. Parsons the other day to the
+Methodist church, I could not help thinking how different it was. I was
+thrilled and I felt I could do anything and be anything. My mother was a
+Methodist. They sang 'Onward Christian Soldiers,' and it was glorious."
+She paused a moment and, with an exalted look, seemed to be recalling
+the movement of the hymn. "With you, Wilbur, and the people like
+you--Pauline is the same--everything is measured and pondered over, and
+nothing is spontaneous. I like action, and progress and prompt, sensible
+conclusions. That is the American way, and the way in which people who
+succeed get on. But you won't see it--you can't see it. I've tried to
+explain it to you, and now--now it's too late. We're nobodies, and, if
+our hearts are divided, that's fate I suppose. It's a very cruel fate
+for me. But I don't choose to remain a nobody."
+
+Littleton's expression as she talked had changed from astonishment to
+anger, and from anger to a sternness which gave his words of response
+the effect of calm and final decision. "You have said so many things
+with which I do not agree, and which I should have to dispute, that I
+will not attempt to argue with you concerning them. One thing is clear,
+both of us have made a horrible mistake. Each has misunderstood the
+other. You are dissatisfied with me; I realize suddenly that you are
+utterly different from what I supposed. I am overwhelmed, but your words
+make plain many things which have distressed and puzzled me." He paused
+as though in spite of the certainty of his tone, he hoped that she would
+see fit to deny his conclusions. "We have made a mistake and we shall
+both be miserable--that must needs be--but we must consider whether
+there is any method by which we can be less unhappy. What would you like
+to have me do, Selma? We have no children, thank heaven! Would it be
+more agreeable to live apart from me and receive support? A divorce does
+not seem necessary. Besides, our misconception of each other would
+not be a legal cause."
+
+Selma flushed at the reference to divorce. Littleton's sad, simple
+statement wore on the surface no sign of a design to hark back to her
+experience with her first husband, yet she divined that it must be in
+his thoughts and she resented the recurrence. Moreover, separation,
+certainly for the present, went beyond her purpose.
+
+"I have no wish for divorce or separation. I see no reason why we should
+not continue to live as we are," she answered. "To separate would cause
+scandal. It is not necessary that people should know we have made a
+mistake. I shall merely feel more free now to live my own life--and
+there is no telling that you may not some day see things from my point
+of view and sympathize with me more." She uttered the last words with a
+mixture of pathos and bright solicitation.
+
+Littleton shook his head. "I agree with you that to go on as we are is
+our best course. As you say, we ought, if possible, to keep the
+knowledge of our sorrow to ourselves. God knows that I wish I could hope
+that our life could ever be as it was before. Too many things have
+become plain to me in the last half-hour to make that possible. I could
+never learn to accept or sympathize with your point of view. There can
+be no half-love with me, Selma. It is my nature to be frank, and as you
+are fond of saying, that is the American way. I am your husband still,
+and while I live you shall have my money and my protection. But I have
+ceased to be your lover, though my heart is broken."
+
+"Very well," said Selma, after a painful pause. "But you know, Wilbur,"
+she added in a tone of eager protestation, "that I do not admit for a
+moment that I am at fault. I was simply trying to help you. You have
+only yourself to blame for your unhappiness and--and for mine. I hope
+you understand that."
+
+"Yes, I understand that you think so," he said sadly.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+The breach between Littleton and his wife was too serious to be healed,
+for he was confronted by the conviction that Selma was a very different
+being from the woman whom he had supposed that he was marrying. He had
+been slow to harbor distrust, and loath, even in the face of her own
+words, to admit that he had misinterpreted her character; but this last
+conversation left no room for doubt. Selma had declared to him,
+unequivocally, that his ideas and theory of life were repugnant to her,
+and that, henceforth, she intended to act independently of them, so far
+as she could do so, and yet maintain the semblance of the married state.
+It was a cruel shock and disappointment to him. At the time of his
+marriage he would have said that the least likely of possible happenings
+would be self-deception as to the character of the woman he loved. Yet
+this was precisely what had befallen him.
+
+Having realized his mistake, he did not seek to flinch from the bitter
+truth. He saw clearly that their future relations toward each other must
+be largely formal; that tender comradeship and mutual soul alliance were
+at an end. At the same time his simple, direct conscience promptly
+indicated to him that it was his duty to recognize Selma's point of view
+and endeavor to satisfy it as far as he could without sacrifice of his
+own principles. He chose to remember that she, too, had made a mistake,
+and that he was not the kind of husband whom she desired; that his
+tastes were not her tastes, nor his ambitions her's; that she had tastes
+and ambitions of her own which he, as the man to whom she was bound by
+the law, must not disregard. Thus reasoning, he resolved to carry out
+the scheme of life which she appeared to despise, but also to work hard
+to provide her with the means to fulfil her own aims. She craved money
+for social advancement. She should have it from him, for there was no
+other source from which she could obtain it. The poignancy of his own
+sorrow should not cause him to ignore that she had given up her own
+career and pursuits in order to become his wife, and was now
+disappointed and without independent resources. His pride was sorely
+wounded, his ideals shattered and his heart crushed; yet, though he
+could not forbear from judging Selma, and was unconscious of having
+failed in his obligations to her as a husband and a man, he saw what she
+called her side, and he took up the thread of life again under the spur
+of an intention to give her everything but love.
+
+On her part Selma felt aggrieved yet emancipated. She had not looked for
+any such grave result from her vituperation. She had intended to reprove
+his surrender of the Parsons's contract, in direct opposition to her own
+wishes, with the severity it deserved, and to let him understand clearly
+that he was sacrificing her happiness, no less than his own, by his
+hysterical folly. When the conversation developed stubborn resistance on
+his part, and she realized that he was defending and adhering to his
+purpose, a righteous sense of injury became predominant in her mind over
+everything else. All her past wrongs cried for redress, and she rejoiced
+in the opportunity of giving free vent to the pent up grievances which
+had been accumulating for many months. Even then it was startling to her
+that Wilbur should suddenly utter the tragic ultimatum that their
+happiness was at an end, and hint at divorce. She considered that she
+loved him, and it had never occurred to her that he could ever cease to
+love her. Rather than retract a word of her own accusations she would
+have let him leave her, then and there, to live her own life without
+protection or support from him, but his calmer decision that they should
+continue to live together, yet apart, suited her better. In spite of his
+resolute mien she was sceptical of the seriousness of the situation. She
+believed in her heart that after a few days of restraint they would
+resume their former life, and that Wilbur, on reflection, would
+appreciate that he had been absurd.
+
+When it became apparent that he was not to be appeased and that his
+threat had been genuine, Selma accepted the new relation without demur,
+and prepared to play her part in the compact as though she had been
+equally obdurate in her outcry for her freedom. She met reserve with
+reserve, maintaining rigorously the attitude that she had been wronged
+and that he was to blame. Meantime she watched him narrowly, wondering
+what his grave, sad demeanor and solicitous politeness signified. When
+presently it became plain to her that not merely she was to be free to
+follow her own bent, but that he was ready to provide her with the means
+to carry out her schemes, she regarded his liberality as weakness and a
+sign that he knew in his heart that she was in the right. Immediately,
+and with thinly concealed triumph, she planned to utilize the new
+liberty at her disposal, purging any scruples from her conscience by the
+generous reflection that when Wilbur's brow unbent and his lips moved
+freely she would forgive him and proffer him once more her conjugal
+counsel and sympathy. She was firmly of the opinion that, unless he thus
+acknowledged his shortcomings and promised improvement, the present
+arrangement was completely to her liking, and that confidence and
+happiness between them would be utterly impossible. She shed some tears
+over the thought that unkind circumstances had robbed her of the love by
+which she had set such store and which she, on her part, still
+cherished, but she comforted herself with the retort that its loss was
+preferable to sacrificing weakly the development of her own ideas and
+life to its perpetuation.
+
+Her flush of triumph was succeeded, however, by a discontented mood,
+because cogitation constrained her to suspect that her social progress
+might not be so rapid as her first rosy visions had suggested. She
+counted on being able to procure the participation of Wilbur
+sufficiently to preserve the appearance of domestic harmony. This would
+be for practical purposes a scarcely less effective furtherance of her
+plans than if he were heartily in sympathy with them. Were there not
+many instances where busy husbands took part in the social undertakings
+of their wives, merely on the surface, to preserve appearances? The
+attitude of Wilbur seemed reasonably secure. That which harassed her as
+the result of her reflections and efforts to plan was the unpalatable
+consciousness that she did not know exactly what to do, and that no one,
+even now that she was free, appeared eager to extend to her the hand of
+recognition. She was prompt to lay the blame of this on her husband. It
+was he who, by preventing her from taking advantage of the social
+opportunities at their disposal, had consigned her to this eddy where
+she was overlooked. This seemed to her a complete excuse, and yet,
+though she made the most of it, it did not satisfy her. Her helplessness
+angered her, and aroused her old feelings of suspicion and resentment
+against the fashionable crew who appeared to be unaware of her
+existence. She was glad to believe that the reason they ignored her was
+because she was too serious minded and spiritual to suit their frivolous
+and pleasure-loving tastes. Sometimes she reasoned that the sensible
+thing for her to do was to break away from her present life, where
+convention and caste trammelled her efforts, and make a name for herself
+as an independent soul, like Mrs. Margaret Rodney Earle and other
+free-born women of the Republic. With satisfaction she pictured herself
+on the lecture platform uttering burning denunciation of the un-American
+social proclivities of this shallow society, and initiating a crusade
+which should sweep it from existence beneath the ban of the moral sense
+of the thoughtful people of the country.
+
+But more frequently she nursed her resentment against Mrs. Williams, to
+whom she ascribed the blame of her isolation, reasoning that if Flossy
+had been a true friend, not even Wilbur's waywardness would have
+prevented her social recognition and success. That, instead, this
+volatile, fickle prattler had used her so long as she needed her, and
+then dropped her heartlessly. The memory of Flossy's ball still rankled
+deeply, and appeared to Selma a more obvious and more exasperating
+insult as the days passed without a sign of explanation on the part of
+her late neighbor, and as her new projects languished for lack of a few
+words of introduction here and there, which, in her opinion, were all
+she needed to ensure her enthusiastic welcome as a social leader. The
+appreciation that without those words of introduction she was helpless
+for the time being focused her resentment, already keen, on the
+successful Flossy, whose gay doings had disappeared from the public
+prints in a blaze of glory with the advent of the Lenten season.
+Refusing to acknowledge her dependence, Selma essayed several spasmodic
+attempts to assert herself, but they proved unsatisfactory. She made the
+most of Mr. Parsons's predilection for her society, which had not been
+checked by Wilbur's termination of the contract. She was thus enabled to
+affiliate with some of their new friends, but she was disagreeably
+conscious that she was not making real progress, and that Mr. and Mrs.
+Parsons and their daughter had, like herself, been dropped by the
+Williamses--dropped skilfully and imperceptibly, yet none the less
+dropped. Two dinner parties, which she gave in the course of a fortnight
+to the most important of these new acquaintances, by way of manifesting
+to Wilbur her intention to enjoy her liberty at his expense, left her
+depressed and sore.
+
+It was just at this time that Flossy took it into her head to call on
+her--one of her first Lenten duties, as she hastened to assure Selma,
+with glib liveliness, as soon as she entered. Flossy was in too exalted
+a frame of mind, too bubbling over with the desire to recite her
+triumphs, to have in mind either her doubts concerning Selma or the need
+of being more than mildly apologetic for her lack of devotion. She felt
+friendly, for she was in good humor, and was naively desirous to be
+received in the same spirit, so that she might unbosom herself
+unreservedly. Sweeping into the room, an animated vision of smiling,
+stylish cordiality, she sought, as it were, to carry before her by force
+of her own radiant mood all obstacles to an amiable reception.
+
+"My dear, we haven't met for ages. Thank heaven, Lent has come, and now
+I may see something of you. I said to Gregory only yesterday that I
+should make a bee-line for your house, and here I am. Well, dear, how
+are you? All sorts of things have happened, Selma, since we've had a
+real chat together. Do you remember my telling you--of course you
+do--not long after Gregory and I were married that I never should be
+satisfied until one thing happened? Well, you may congratulate me; it
+has happened. We dined a week ago to-night with my cousins--the Morton
+Prices--a dinner of fourteen, all of them just the people I wished to
+know. Wasn't it lovely? I have waited for it to come, and I haven't
+moved a finger to bring it about, except to ask them to my dancing
+party--I had to do that, for after all they are my relations. They
+accepted and came and I was pleased by it; but they could easily have
+ignored me afterward if they had wished. What really pleased me, Selma,
+was their asking me to one of their select dinners, because--because it
+showed that we are--"
+
+Flossy's hesitation was due partly to the inherent difficulty of
+expressing her thought with proper regard for modesty. With her rise in
+life she had learned that unlimited laudation of self was not altogether
+consistent with "fitness," even in such a confidential interview as the
+present. But she was also disconcerted by the look in Selma's eyes--a
+look which, at first startled into momentary friendliness by the
+suddenness of the onslaught, had become more and more lowering until it
+was unpleasantly suggestive of scornful dislike. While she thus
+faltered, Selma drily rounded out the sentence with the words, "Because
+it showed that you are somebodies now."
+
+Flossy gave an embarrassed little laugh. "Yes, that's what I meant. I
+see you have a good memory, and it sounds nicer on your lips than it
+would on mine."
+
+"You have come here to-day on purpose to tell me this?" said Selma.
+
+"I thought you would be interested to hear that my cousins had
+recognized me at last. I remember, you thought it strange that they
+should take so little notice of me." Flossy's festive manner had
+disappeared before the tart reception of her confidences, and her keen
+wits, baffled in their search for flattery, recalled the suspicions
+which were only slumbering. She realized that Selma was seriously
+offended with her, and though she did not choose to acknowledge to
+herself that she knew the cause, she had already guessed it. An
+encounter at repartee had no terrors for her, if necessary, and the
+occasion seemed to her opportune for probing the accumulating mysteries
+of Selma's hostile demeanor. Yet, without waiting for a response to her
+last remark, she changed the subject, and said, volubly, "I hear that
+your husband has refused to build the new Parsons house because Mrs.
+Parsons insisted on drawing the plans."
+
+Selma's pale, tense face flushed. She thought for a moment that she was
+being taunted.
+
+"That was Mr. Littleton's decision, not mine."
+
+"I admire his independence. He was quite right. What do Mrs. Parsons or
+her daughter know about architecture? Everybody is laughing at them. You
+know I consider your husband a friend of mine, Selma."
+
+"And we were friends, too, I believe?" Selma exclaimed, after a moment
+of stern silence.
+
+"Naturally," responded Flossy, with a slightly sardonic air, prompted by
+the acerbity with which the question was put.
+
+"Then, if we were friends--are friends, why have you ceased to associate
+with us, simply because you live in another street and a finer house?"
+
+Flossy gave a gasp. "Oh," she said to herself, "it's true. She is
+jealous. Why didn't I appreciate it before?"
+
+"Am I not associating with you now by calling on you, Selma?" she said
+aloud. "I don't understand what you mean."
+
+"You are calling on me, and you asked us to dinner to meet--to meet just
+the people we knew already, and didn't care to meet; but you have never
+asked us to meet your new friends, and you left us out when you gave
+your dancing party."
+
+"You do not dance."
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"I have never associated you with dancing. I assumed that you did not
+dance."
+
+"What grounds had you for such an assumption?"
+
+"Really, Selma, your catechism is most extraordinary. Excuse my smiling.
+And I don't know how to answer your questions--your fierce questions any
+better. I didn't ask you to my party because I supposed that you and
+your husband were not interested in that sort of thing, and would not
+know any of the people. You have often told me that you thought they
+were frivolous."
+
+"I consider them so still."
+
+"Then why do you complain?"
+
+"Because--because you have not acted like a friend. Your idea of
+friendship has been to pour into my ears, day after day, how you had
+been asked to dinner by this person and taken up by that person, until I
+was weary of the sound of your voice, but it seems not to have occurred
+to you, as a friend of mine, and a friend and admirer of my husband, to
+introduce us to people whom you were eager to know, and who might have
+helped him in his profession. And now, after turning the cold shoulder
+on us, and omitting us from your party, because you assumed I didn't
+dance, you have come here this morning, in the name of friendship, to
+tell me that your cousins, at last, have invited you to dinner. And yet
+you think it strange that I'm not interested. That's the only reason you
+came--to let me know that you are a somebody now; and you expected me,
+as a friend and a nobody, to tell you how glad I am."
+
+Flossy's eyes opened wide. Free as she was accustomed to be in her own
+utterances, this flow of bitter speech delivered with seer-like
+intensity was a new experience to her. She did not know whether to be
+angry or amused by the indictment, which caused her to wince
+notwithstanding that she deemed it slander. Moreover the insinuation
+that she had been a bore was humiliating.
+
+"I shall not weary you soon again with my confidences," she answered.
+"So it appears that you were envious of me all the time--that while you
+were preaching to me that fashionable society was hollow and
+un-American, you were secretly unhappy because you couldn't do what I
+was doing--because you weren't invited, too. Oh, I see it all now; it's
+clear as daylight. I've suspected the truth for some time, but I've
+refused to credit it. Now everything is explained. I took you at your
+word; I believed in you and your husband and looked up to you as
+literary people--people who were interested in fine and ennobling
+things. I admired you for the very reason that I thought you didn't
+care, and that you didn't need to care, about society and fashionable
+position. I kept saying to you that I envied you your tastes, and let
+you see that I considered myself your real inferior in my determination
+to attract attention and oblige society to notice us. I was guileless
+and simpleton enough to tell you of my progress--things I would have
+blushed to tell another woman like myself--because I considered you the
+embodiment of high aims and spiritual ideas, as far superior to mine as
+the poetic star is superior to the garish electric light. I thought it
+might amuse you to listen to my vanities. Instead, it seems you were
+masquerading and were eating your heart out with envy of me--poor me.
+You were ambitious to be like me."
+
+"I wouldn't be like you for anything in the world."
+
+"You couldn't if you tried. That's one of the things which this
+extraordinary interview has made plain beyond the shadow of a doubt. You
+are aching to be a social success. You are not fit to be. I have found
+that out for certain to-day."
+
+"It is false," exclaimed Selma, with a tragic intonation. "You do not
+understand. I have no wish to be a social success. I should abhor to
+spend my life after the manner of you and your associates. What I object
+to, what I complain of, is that, in spite of your fine words and
+pretended admiration of me, you have preferred these people, who are
+exclusive without a shadow of right, to me who was your friend, and that
+you have chosen to ignore me for the sake of them, and behaved as if you
+thought I was not their equal or your equal. That is not friendship, it
+is snobbishness--un-American snobbishness."
+
+"It is very amusing. Amusing yet depressing," continued Flossy, without
+heed to this asseveration. "You have proved one of my ideals to be a
+delusion, which is sad." She had arisen and stood gently swaying pendent
+by its crook her gay parasol, with her head on one side, and seeming for
+once to be choosing her words judicially. "When we met first and I
+nearly rushed into your arms, I was fascinated, and I said to myself
+that here was the sort of American woman of whom I had dreamed--the sort
+of woman I had fondly imagined once that I might become. I saw you were
+unsophisticated and different from the conventional women to whom I was
+accustomed, and, even at first, the things you said every now and then
+gave me a creepy feeling, but you were inspiring to look at--though now
+that the scales have fallen from my eyes I wonder at my infatuation--and
+I continued to worship you as a goddess on a pedestal. I used to say to
+Gregory, 'there's a couple who are to the manner born; they never have
+to make believe. They are genuinely free and gentle souls.' Your
+husband? I can't believe that I have been deluded in regard to him,
+also. I just wonder if you appreciate him--if it is possible that he has
+been deluded, also. That's rank impertinence, I know; but after all, we
+are unbosoming our thoughts to each other to-day, and may as well speak
+openly. You said just now that it was his decision not to go on with the
+Parsons house. Did you disapprove of it?"
+
+"Yes, I disapproved of it," answered Selma with flashing eyes. "And what
+if I did?"
+
+She rose and stood confronting her visitor as though to banish her from
+the house.
+
+"I'm going," said Flossy. "It's none of my concern of course, and I'm
+aware that I appear very rude. I'm anxious though not to lose faith in
+your husband, and now that I've begun to understand you, my wits are
+being flooded with light. I was saying that you were not fit to be a
+social success, and I'm going to tell you why. No one else is likely to,
+and I'm just mischievous and frank enough. You're one of those American
+women--I've always been curious to meet one in all her glory--who
+believe that they are born in the complete panoply of flawless
+womanhood; that they are by birthright consummate house-wives, leaders
+of the world's thought and ethics, and peerless society queens. All this
+by instinct, by heritage, and without education. That's what you
+believe, isn't it? And now you are offended because you haven't been
+invited to become a leader of New York society. You don't understand,
+and I don't suppose you ever will understand, that a true lady--a
+genuine society queen--represents modesty and sweetness and
+self-control, and gentle thoughts and feelings; that she is evolved by
+gradual processes from generation to generation, not ready made. Oh, you
+needn't look at me like that. I'm quite aware that if I were the genuine
+article I shouldn't be talking to you in this fashion. But there's hope
+for me because I'm conscious of my shortcomings and am trying to correct
+them; whereas you are satisfied, and fail to see the difference between
+yourself and the well-bred women whom you envy and sneer at. You're
+pretty and smart and superficial and--er--common, and you don't know it.
+I'm rather dreadful, but I'm learning. I don't believe you will ever
+learn. There! Now I'm going."
+
+"Go!" cried Selma with a wave of her arm. "Yes, I am one of those women.
+I am proud to be, and you have insulted by your aspersions, not only me,
+but the spirit of independent and aspiring American womanhood. You don't
+understand us; you have nothing in common with us. You think to keep us
+down by your barriers of caste borrowed from effete European courts, but
+we--I--the American people defy you. The time will come when we shall
+rise in our might and teach you your place. Go! Envy you? I would not
+become one of your frivolous and purposeless set if you were all on your
+bended knees before me."
+
+"Oh, yes you would," exclaimed Flossy, glancing back over her shoulder.
+"And it's because you've not been given the chance that we have
+quarrelled now."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+The morning after her drastic interview with Mrs. Williams, Selma
+studied herself searchingly in her mirror. Of all Flossy's candid
+strictures the intimation that she was not and never would be completely
+a lady was the only one which rankled. The effrontery of it made her
+blood boil; and yet she consulted her glass in the seclusion of her
+chamber in order to reassure herself as to the spiteful falsity of the
+criticism. Wild horses would not have induced her to admit even to
+herself that there was the slightest ground for it; still it rankled,
+thereby suggesting a sub-consciousness of suspicion on the look out for
+just such a calumny.
+
+She gave Littleton her own version of the quarrel. Her explanation was
+that she had charged Flossy with a lack of friendship in failing to
+invite her to her ball, and convicted her of detestable snobbery; that
+she had denounced this conduct in vigorous language, that they had
+parted in anger, and that all intercourse between them was at an end.
+
+"We understand each other now," she added. "I have felt for some time
+that we were no longer sympathetic; and that something of this kind was
+inevitable. I am glad that we had the chance to speak plainly, for I was
+able to show her that I had been waiting for an excuse to cut loose from
+her and her frivolous surroundings. I have wearied my spirit long enough
+with listening to social inanities, and in lowering my standards to hers
+for the sake of appearing friendly and conventional. That is all over
+now, thank heaven."
+
+It did not occur to Selma that there was any inconsistency in these
+observations, or that they might appear a partial vindication of her
+husband's point of view. The most salient effect of her encounter with
+Flossy had been suddenly to fuse and crystallize her mixed and seemingly
+contradictory ambitions into utter hostility to conventional fashionable
+society. Even when her heart had been hungering for an invitation to
+Flossy's ball, she considered that she despised these people, but the
+interview had served to establish her in the glowing faith that they, by
+their inability to appreciate her, had shown themselves unworthy of
+further consideration. The desire which she had experienced of late for
+a renewal of her intimacy with Mrs. Earle and a reassertion of her
+former life of independent feminine activity had returned to her,
+coupled with the crusading intention to enroll herself openly once more
+in the army of new American women, whose impending victorious campaign
+she had prophesied in her retort to Mrs. Williams's maledictions. She
+had, in her own opinion, never ceased to belong to this army, and she
+felt herself now more firmly convinced than ever that the course of life
+of those who had turned a cold shoulder on her was hostile to the spirit
+of American institutions. So far as her husband was concerned,
+imaginative enterprise and the capacity to take advantage of
+opportunities still seemed to her of the essence of fine character.
+Indeed, she was not conscious of any change in her point of view. She
+had resented Flossy's charge that she desired to be a social success,
+and had declared that her wounded feelings were solely due to Flossy's
+betrayal of friendship, not to balked social ambition. Consequently it
+was no strain on her conscientiousness to feel that her real sentiments
+had always been the same.
+
+Nevertheless she scrutinized herself eagerly and long in her mirror, and
+the process left her serious brow still clouded. She saw in the glass
+features which seemed to her suggestive of superior womanhood, a slender
+clear-cut nose, the nostrils of which dilated nervously, delicately
+thin, compressed lips, a pale, transparent complexion, and clear,
+steel-like, greenish-brown eyes looking straight and boldly from an
+anxious forehead surmounted with a coiffure of elaborately and smoothly
+arranged hair. She saw indisputable evidence that she had ceased to be
+the ethically attractive, but modishly unsophisticated and physically
+undeveloped girl, who had come to New York five years before, for her
+figure was compact without being unduly plump, her cheeks becomingly
+oval, and her toilette stylish. There were rings on her fingers, and her
+neck-gear was smart. Altogether the vision was satisfactory, yet she
+recognized as she gazed that her appearance and general effect were not
+precisely those of Flossy, Pauline, or Mrs. Hallett Taylor. She had
+always prided herself on the distinction of her face, and admired
+especially its freedom from gross or unintellectual lines. She did not
+intend to question its superiority now; but Flossy's offensive words
+rang in her ears and caused her to gnaw her lips with annoyance. What
+was the difference between them? Flossy had dared to call her common and
+superficial; had dared to insinuate that she never could be a lady. A
+lady? What was there in her appearance not lady-like? In what way was
+she the inferior of any of them in beauty, intelligence or character?
+Rigorous as was the scrutiny, the face in the mirror seemed to her an
+unanswerable refutation of the slander. What was the difference? Was it
+that her eyes were keener and brighter, her lips thinner and less
+fleshly, her general expression more wide-awake and self-reliant? If so,
+were these not signs of superiority; signs that they, not she, were
+deficient in the attributes of the best modern womanhood in spite of
+their affectation of exclusiveness?
+
+The result of this process of self-examination in her looking-glass,
+which was not limited to a single occasion, established more firmly than
+ever in Selma's opinion the malignant falsity of the imputation, and yet
+she was still haunted by it. She was tortured by the secret thought
+that, though her ambition had been to become just like those other
+women, she was still distinguishable from them; and moreover, that she
+was baffled in her attempt to analyze the distinction. Distinguishable
+even from Flossy--from Flossy, who had slighted and then reviled her!
+Why had she ever faltered in her distrust of these enemies of true
+American society? Yet this lingering sense of torture served to whet her
+new-found purpose to have done with them forever, and to obtain the
+recognition and power to which she was entitled, in spite of their
+impertinence and neglect.
+
+The announcement was made to her by Wilbur at about this time that his
+plans for Wetmore College had been accepted, and that he was to be the
+architect of the new buildings. As he told her his face showed a
+tremulous animation which it had not worn for many weeks, and he
+regarded her for a moment with shy eagerness, as though he half hoped
+that this vindication of his purposes by success might prompt her to
+tender some sort of apology, and thus afford him the chance to persuade
+himself that he had been mistaken after all in his judgment of her.
+
+"You must be very much pleased," she said. "And so am I, of course."
+Then, after a moment of reflective abstraction, she asked with sudden
+eagerness, "How long will it take to build them?"
+
+"Two or three years, I suppose."
+
+"And you would be obliged to go frequently to Benham?"
+
+"In order to oversee the work I should have to make short trips there
+from time to time."
+
+"Yes. Wilbur," she exclaimed, with her exalted expression, "why
+shouldn't we go to Benham to live? I have been thinking a great deal
+lately about what we said to each other that time when you felt so
+badly, and I have come to the conclusion that our living in New York is
+what is really the trouble. I have the feeling, Wilbur, that in some
+other place than this cruel, conventional city we should be happier than
+we are now--indeed, very happy. Has it ever occurred to you? You see,
+New York doesn't understand me; it doesn't understand you, Wilbur. It
+sneers at our aspirations. Benham is a growing, earnest city--a city
+throbbing with the best American spirit and energy. I suggest Benham
+because we both know it so well. The college buildings would give you a
+grand start, and I--we both would be in our proper sphere."
+
+Littleton had started at the suggestion. As a drowning man will grasp at
+a straw, his grieving soul for an instant entertained the plan as a
+panacea for their woes. But his brow grew grave and sad under the
+influence of reflection as she proceeded to set forth her reasons in her
+wrapt fashion. If he had not learned to remain cold under the witchery
+of her intense moods, he no longer hesitated to probe her fervid
+assertions with his self-respecting common-sense.
+
+"I would he willing to go to the ends of the earth, Selma," he answered,
+"if I believed that by so doing you and I could become what we once were
+to each other. But I cannot see why we should hope to be happier in
+Benham than here, nor do I agree with you that this is not our proper
+sphere. I do not share your sentiments in regard to New York; but
+whatever its faults, New York is the place where I have established
+myself and am known, and where the abilities which I possess can be
+utilized and will be appreciated soonest. Benham is twenty-five years
+behind this city in all things which concern art and my professional
+life, as you well know."
+
+Selma flushed. "On the contrary, I have reason to believe that Benham
+has made wonderful progress in the last five years. My friends there
+write that there are many new streets and beautiful buildings, and that
+the spirit of the place is enthusiastic and liberal, not luxurious and
+sneering. You never appreciated Benham at its true worth, Wilbur."
+
+"Perhaps not. But we chose New York."
+
+"Then you insist on remaining here?"
+
+"I see no reason for sacrificing the fruits of the past five years--for
+pulling myself up by the roots and making a fresh start. From a
+professional point of view, I think it would be madness."
+
+"Not even to save our happiness?" Selma's eyes swam and her lips
+trembled as she spoke. She felt very miserable, and she yearned with the
+desire that her husband would clasp her in his arms in a vast embrace,
+and tell her that she was right and that he would go. She felt that if
+he did, the horror of the past would be wiped out and loving harmony be
+restored.
+
+Wilbur's lips trembled, too. He gazed at her for a moment without
+speaking, in conflict with himself; then passing his hand across his
+forehead, as though he would sweep away a misty spell from his eyes,
+said, "Be sensible, Selma. If we could be happy in Benham, we should be
+happy here."
+
+"Then you refuse?"
+
+"For the present, yes."
+
+"And I must remain here to be insulted--and a nobody."
+
+"For God's sake, Selma, let us not renew that discussion. What you ask
+is impossible at present, but I shall remember that it is your wish, and
+when I begin my work at Benham the circumstances and surroundings may be
+such that I shall feel willing to move."
+
+Selma turned to the table and took up a book, dissatisfied, yet buoyed
+by a new hope. She did not observe the tired lines on her husband's
+face--the weariness of a soul disappointed in its most precious
+aspirations.
+
+Within the next month it happened that a terrible and unusual fatality
+was the occasion of the death of both Mrs. Parsons and her daughter.
+They were killed by a fall of the elevator at the hotel in which they
+were living--one of those dire casualties which are liable to happen to
+any one of us in these days of swift and complicated apparatus, but
+which always seem remote from personal experience. This cruel blow of
+fate put an end to all desire on the part of the bereaved husband and
+father to remain in New York, whither he had come to live mainly to
+please his women folk, as he called them. As soon as he recovered from
+the bewilderment of the shock, Mr. Parsons sent for the architect who
+had taken Littleton's place, and who had just begun the subservient task
+of fusing diverse types of architecture in order to satisfy an American
+woman's appetite for startling effect, and told him to arrange to
+dispose of the lot and its immature walls to the highest bidder. His
+precise plans for the future were still uncertain when Selma called on
+him, and found comfort for her own miseries in ministering to his
+solitude, but he expressed an inclination to return to his native
+Western town, as the most congenial spot in which to end his days.
+Selma, whose soul was full of Benham, suggested it as an alternative,
+enlarging with contagious enthusiasm on its civic merits. The crushed
+old man listened with growing attention. Already the germs of a plan for
+the disposition of his large property were sprouting in his mind to
+provide him with a refuge from despondency. He was a reticent man, not
+in the habit of confiding his affairs until ready to act, but he paid
+interested heed to Selma's eulogy of the bustling energy and rapid
+growth of Benham. His preliminary thought had been that it would make
+him happy to endow his native town, which was a small and inconspicuous
+place, with a library building. But, as his visitor referred to the
+attractions and admirable public spirit of the thriving city, which was
+in the same State as his own home, he silently reasoned that residence
+there need not interfere with his original project, and that he might
+find a wide and more important field for his benefactions in a community
+so representative of American ideas and principles.
+
+Selma's visits of condolence to Mr. Parsons were interrupted by the
+illness of her own husband. In reflecting, subsequently, she remembered
+that he had seemed weary and out of sorts for several days, but her
+conscious attention was invoked by his coming home early in the
+afternoon, suffering from a violent chill, and manifestly in a state of
+physical collapse. He went to bed at once; Selma brought blankets and a
+hot-water bottle, and Dr. George Page was sent for. Dr. Page was the one
+of Littleton's friends whom Selma had unsuccessfully yearned to know
+better. She had never been able to understand him exactly, but he
+fascinated her in spite of--perhaps because of--his bantering manner.
+She found difficulty in reconciling it with his reputation for hard work
+and masterly skill in his profession. She was constantly hoping to
+extract from him something worthy of his large, solid face, with its
+firm mouth and general expression of reserve force, but he seemed always
+bent on talking nonsense in her society, and more than once the
+disagreeable thought had occurred to her that he was laughing at her. He
+had come to the house after her marriage now and then, but during the
+past year or two she had scarcely seen him. The last time when they had
+met, Selma had taxed him with his neglect of her.
+
+His reply had been characteristically elusive and unsatisfactory. "I
+will not attempt to frame excuses for my behavior, Mrs. Littleton, for
+no reason which I could offer would be a justification."
+
+But on the present occasion his greeting was grave and eager.
+
+"Wilbur sick? I feared as much. I warned Pauline two months ago that he
+was overworking, and only last week I told him that he would break down
+if he did not go away for a fortnight's rest."
+
+"I wish you had spoken to me."
+
+Selma noted with satisfaction that there was no raillery in his manner
+now. He bent his gaze on her searchingly.
+
+"Have you not noticed that he looked ill and tired?"
+
+She did not flinch. Why indeed should she? "A little. He tired himself,
+I think, over the designs for Wetmore College, which he did in addition
+to his other work. But since the award was made it has seemed to me that
+he was looking better."
+
+She started to lead the way to Wilbur's room, but the doctor paused, and
+regarding her again fixedly, as though he had formed a resolution to
+ferret the secrets of her soul, said laconically:
+
+"Is he happy?"
+
+"Happy?" she echoed.
+
+"Has he anything on his mind, I mean--anything except his work?"
+
+"Nothing--that is," she added, looking up at her inquisitor
+with bright, interested eyes, "nothing except that he is very
+conscientious--over-conscientious I sometimes think." To be bandying
+psychological analyses with this able man was an edifying experience
+despite her concern for Wilbur.
+
+"I see," he answered dryly, and for an instant there was a twinkle in
+his eyes. Yet he added, "To make a correct diagnosis it is important to
+know all the facts of the case."
+
+"Of course," she said solemnly, reassured in her belief that she was
+being consulted and was taking part in the treatment of her husband's
+malady.
+
+She accompanied Dr. Page to Wilbur's bed-side. He conversed in a cheery
+tone with his friend while he took his temperature and made what seemed
+to her a comparatively brief examination. Selma jumped to the conclusion
+that there was nothing serious the matter. The moment they had left the
+room, the doctor's manner changed, and he said with alert concern:
+
+"Your husband is very ill; he has pneumonia. I am going to send for a
+nurse."
+
+"A nurse? I will nurse him myself, Dr. Page."
+
+It seemed to her the obvious thing to do. She spoke proudly, for it
+flashed into her mind that here was the opportunity to redeem the
+situation with Wilbur. She would tend him devotedly and when he had been
+restored to health by her loving skill, perhaps he would appreciate her
+at her worth, and recognize that she had thwarted him only to help him.
+
+The doctor's brow darkened, and he said with an emphasis which was
+almost stern: "Mrs. Littleton, I do not wish to alarm you, but it is
+right that you should know that Wilbur's symptoms are grave. I hope to
+save his life, but it can be saved only by trained skill and attendance.
+Inexperienced assistance, however devoted, would be of no use in a case
+like this."
+
+"But I only wished to nurse him."
+
+"I know it; I understand perfectly. You supposed that anyone could do
+that. At least that you could. I shall return in an hour at the latest
+with a nurse who was trained for three years in a hospital to fit her to
+battle for valuable lives."
+
+Selma flushed with annoyance. She felt that she was being ridiculed and
+treated as though she were an incapable doll. She divined that by his
+raillery he had been making fun of her, and forthwith her predilection
+was turned to resentment. Not nurse her husband? Did this brow-beating
+doctor realize that, as a girl, she had been the constant attendant of
+her invalid father, and that more than once it had occurred to her that
+her true mission in life might be to become a nurse? Training? She would
+prove to him that she needed no further training. These were her
+thoughts, and she felt like crying, because he had humiliated her at a
+time like this. Yet she had let Dr. Page go without a word. She returned
+to Wilbur and established herself beside his bed. He tried to smile at
+her coming.
+
+"I think I shall be better to-morrow. It is only a heavy cold," he said,
+but already he found difficulty in speaking.
+
+"I have come to nurse you. The blankets and hot-water bottle have made
+you warmer, haven't they? Nod; you mustn't talk."
+
+"Yes," he whispered huskily.
+
+She felt his forehead, and it was burning. She took his hand and saying,
+"Sh! You ought not to talk," held it in her own. Then there was silence
+save for Wilbur's uneasy turning. It was plain that he was very
+uncomfortable. She realized that he was growing worse, and though she
+chose to believe that the doctor had exaggerated the seriousness of the
+case in order to affront her, the thought came that he might die. She
+had never considered such a possibility before. What should she do? She
+would be a widow without children and without means, for she knew that
+Wilbur had laid up little if anything. She would have to begin life over
+again--a pathetic prospect, yet interesting. Even this conjecture of
+such a dire result conjured up a variety of possible methods of
+livelihood and occupation which sped through her mind.
+
+The return of Dr. Page with a nurse cut short these painful yet
+engrossing speculations. His offensive manner appeared to have exhausted
+itself, but he proceeded to install his companion in Wilbur's room.
+Selma would have liked to turn her out of the house, but realized that
+she could not run the risk of taking issue with him at a time when her
+husband's life might be in danger. With an injured air yet in silence
+she beheld the deliberate yet swift preparations. Once or twice Dr. Page
+asked her to procure for him some article or appliance likely to be in
+the house, speaking with a crisp, business-like preoccupation which
+virtually ignored her existence, yet was free from offence. His soul
+evidently was absorbed by his patient, whom he observed with alert
+watchfulness, issuing brief directions now and then to his white-capped,
+methodical, and noiseless assistant. Selma sat with her hands before her
+in a corner of the bed-room, practically ignored. The shadows deepened
+and a maid announced dinner. Dr. Page looked at his watch.
+
+"I shall pass the night here," he said.
+
+"Is he worse?"
+
+"The disease is making progress and must run its course. This is only
+the beginning. You should eat your dinner, for you will need your
+strength," he added with simple graciousness.
+
+"But I am doing nothing," she blurted.
+
+"If there is anything you can do I will let you know."
+
+Their eyes met. His were gray and steady, but kind. She felt that he
+chose to treat her like a child, yet that he was trying to be
+considerate. She was galled, but after all, he was the doctor, and
+Wilbur had the utmost confidence in him, so she must submit. She ate her
+dinner, and when she returned preparations were being made for the
+night. The nurse was to use a lounge at the foot of Wilbur's bed. Dr.
+Page asked permission to occupy the dressing-room adjoining, so as to be
+within easy call. He established himself there with a book, returning at
+short intervals to look at his patient. Selma had resumed her seat. It
+was dark save for a night lamp. In the stillness the only sounds were
+the ticking of the clock on the mantel-piece and Wilbur's labored
+breathing. It seemed as though he were struggling for his life. What
+should she do if he died? Why was she debarred from tending him? It was
+cruel. Tears fell on her hand. She stared into the darkness, twisting
+her fingers, until at last, as though to show her independence, she
+stepped to the bed on tip-toe. Wilbur's eyes were open. He put out his
+hand, and, taking hers, touched it to his burning lips.
+
+"Good-night, Selma," he murmured.
+
+She stooped and kissed his brow. "I am here beside you, Wilbur."
+
+A figure stood behind her. She turned, expecting to encounter the
+white-capped sentinel. It was Dr. Page. He touched her gently on the
+arm. "We must let him rest now. You can do no good. Won't you go to
+bed?"
+
+"Oh, no. I shall sit with him all night."
+
+"Very well. But it is important that you should not speak to him," he
+said with another touch of emphasis.
+
+She resumed her seat and sat out the night, wide-awake and conscious of
+each movement on Wilbur's part. He was restless and moaning. Twice the
+nurse summoned the doctor, and two or three times he came to the
+bed-side of his own accord. She felt slighted, and once, when it seemed
+to her that Wilbur was in distress and anxious for something, she
+forestalled the nurse.
+
+"He wishes water," Selma said sternly, and she fetched a glass from the
+table and let him drink.
+
+Dr. Page took breakfast with her. She was conscious that somehow her
+vigil had affected his estimate of her, for his speech was frank and
+direct, as though he considered her now more fit to be treated with
+confidence.
+
+"He is very ill, but he is holding his own. If you will lie down for a
+few hours, I will call you to take Miss Barker's place while she rests."
+
+This was gratifying, and tended to assuage her bitterness. But the
+doctor appeared to her anxious, and spent only a few minutes at table.
+He said as he rose,
+
+"Excuse me, but Pauline--does she know?"
+
+"I will send her word."
+
+Selma would have been glad to dispense with the presence of her
+sister-in-law. Their relations had not been sympathetic since the
+episode of Miss Bailey, and, though Pauline still dined at the house
+once a week, the intercourse between them had become reserved and
+perfunctory. She grudged sharing with her what might be Wilbur's last
+hours. She grudged, too, permitting her to help to nurse him, especially
+now that her own capabilities were in the way of being recognized, for
+she remembered Dr. Page's partiality for her. Still, she appreciated
+that she must let her know.
+
+Pauline arrived speedily, and Selma found herself sobbing in her arms.
+She was pleased by this rush of feeling on her own part, and, confirmed
+in her belief that her sister-in-law was cold because she did not break
+down, and, shrinking from her efforts to comfort her, she quickly
+regained her self-control. Pauline seemed composed and cheerful, but the
+unceasing watchfulness and manifest tension of the doctor were
+disconcerting, and as the afternoon shadows deepened, the two women sat
+grave and silent, appalled by the suspicion that Wilbur's condition was
+eminently critical. Yet Dr. Page volunteered to say to them presently:
+
+"If his heart holds out, I am hopeful that he will pull through."
+
+Dr. Page had given up all his duties for the sake of Wilbur. He never
+left the house, manifestly devoting, as shown by the unflagging,
+absorbed scrutiny with which he noted every symptom and change, the
+fullest measure of his professional skill and a heart-felt purpose to
+save his friend's life if human brain or human concentration could
+avail. And yet he stated to Pauline in Selma's hearing that, beyond
+keeping up the patient's strength by stimulants, science was practically
+helpless, and that all they could do was to wait.
+
+And so they sat, still and unemployed watchers, while day turned into
+darkness. From time to time, by the night-lamp, Selma saw Pauline
+smiling at her as though in defiance of whatever fate might have in
+store. Selma herself felt the inclination neither to smile nor to weep.
+She sat looking before her with her hands clasped, resenting the
+powerlessness of the few remedies used, and impatient of the inactivity
+and relentless silence. Why did not the doctor adopt more stringent
+measures? Surely there was something to be done to enable Wilbur to
+combat the disease. Dr. Page had the reputation of being a skilful
+physician, and, presumably, was doing his best; but was it not possible,
+was it not sensible, to suppose there was a different and better way of
+treating pneumonia--a way which was as superior to the conventional and
+stereotyped method as the true American point of view was superior in
+other matters?
+
+It came over her as a conviction that if she were elsewhere--in Benham,
+for instance--her husband could be readily and brilliantly cured. This
+impassive mode of treatment seemed to her of one piece with the entire
+Littleton surroundings, the culmination of which was Pauline smiling in
+the face of death. She yearned to do something active and decided. Yet,
+how helpless she was! This arbitrary doctor was following his own
+dictates without a word to anyone, and without suspecting the existence
+of wiser expedients.
+
+In a moment of rebellion she rose, and swiftly approaching Wilbur's bed,
+exclaimed, fervently: "Is there not something we can do for you,
+darling? Something you feel will do you good?"
+
+The sufferer faintly smiled and feebly shook his head, and at the same
+moment she was drawn away by a firm hand, and Dr. Page whispered: "He is
+very weak. Entire rest is his only chance. The least exertion is a drain
+on his vitality."
+
+"Surely there must be some medicine--some powerful application which
+will help his breathing," she retorted, and she detected again the
+semblance of laughter in the doctor's eyes.
+
+"Everything which modern science can do is being done, Mrs. Littleton."
+
+What was there but to resume her seat and helpless vigil? Modern
+science? The word grated on her ears. It savored to her of narrow
+medical tyranny, and distrust of aspiring individuality. Wilbur was
+dying, and all modern science saw fit to do was to give him brandy and
+wait. And she, his wife--the one who loved him best in the world, was
+powerless to intervene. Nay, she had intervened, and modern science had
+mocked her.
+
+Selma's eyes, like the glint of two swords, bent themselves on her
+husband's bed. A righteous anger reinforced her grieving heart and made
+her spirit militant, while the creeping hours passed. Over and over she
+pursued the tenor of her protest until her wearied system sought refuge
+in sleep. She was not conscious of slumbering, but she reasoned later
+that she must have slept, for she suddenly became conscious of a touch
+on the shoulder and a vibrant utterance of her name.
+
+"Selma, Selma, you must come at once."
+
+Her returning wits realized that it was Pauline who was arousing her and
+urging her to Wilbur's bed-side. She sprang forward, and saw the light
+of existence fading from her husband's eyes into the mute dulness of
+death. Dr. Page was bending over him in a desperate, but vain, effort to
+force some restorative between his lips. At the foot of the bed stood
+the nurse, with an expression which betrayed what had occurred.
+
+"What is it, Wilbur? What have they done to you? What has happened?"
+Selma cried, looking from one to the other, though she had discerned the
+truth in a flash. As she spoke, Dr. Page desisted from his undertaking,
+and stepped back from the bed, and instantly Selma threw herself on her
+knees and pressed her face upon Littleton's lifeless features. There was
+no response. His spirit had departed.
+
+"His heart could not stand the strain. That is the great peril in
+pneumonia," she heard the doctor murmur.
+
+"He is dead," she cried, in a horrified outburst, and she looked up at
+the pitying group with the gaze of an afflicted lioness. She caught
+sight of Pauline smiling through her tears--that same unprotesting,
+submissive smile--and holding out her hands to her. Selma, rising,
+turned away, and as her sister-in-law sought to put her arm about her,
+evaded the caress.
+
+"No--no," she said. Then facing her, added, with aggrieved conviction:
+
+"I cannot believe that Wilbur's death was necessary. Why was not
+something energetic done?"
+
+Pauline flushed, but, ascribing the calumny to distress, she held her
+peace, and said, simply:
+
+"Sh! dear. You will understand better by and by."
+
+
+
+
+BOOK III.
+
+THE SUCCESS
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+It had never occurred to Selma that she might lose her husband. Even
+with his shortcomings he was so important to her from the point of view
+of support, and her scheme of life was so interwoven with his, she had
+taken for granted that he would live as long as she desired. She felt
+that destiny had a second time been signally cruel to her, and that she
+was drinking deeply of the cup of sorrow. She was convinced that Wilbur,
+had he lived, would have moved presently to Benham, in accordance with
+her desire, and that they would then have been completely happy again.
+Instead he was dead and under the sod, and she was left to face the
+world with no means save $5,000 from his life insurance and the natural
+gifts and soul which God had given her.
+
+She appreciated that she was still a comparatively young woman, and
+that, notwithstanding her love for Wilbur, she had been unable as his
+wife to exhibit herself to the world in her true light. She was free
+once more to lead her own life, and to obtain due recognition for her
+ideas and principles. She deplored with a grief which depleted the curve
+of her oval cheeks the premature end of her husband's artistic
+career--an aspiring soul cut off on the threshold of success--yet,
+though of course she never squarely made the reflection, she was aware
+that the development of her own life was more intrinsically valuable to
+the world than his, and that of the two it was best that he should be
+taken. She was sad, sore against Providence, and uncertain as to the
+future. But she was keenly conscious that she had a future, and she was
+eager to be stirring. Still, for the moment, the outlook was perplexing.
+What was she to do? First, and certainly, she desired to shake the dust
+of New York from her feet at the earliest opportunity. She inclined
+toward Benham as a residence, and to the lecture platform, supplemented
+by literature, and perhaps eventually the stage, as a means of
+livelihood. She believed in her secret soul that she could act. Her
+supposed facility in acquiring the New York manner had helped to
+generate that impression. It seemed to her more than probable that with
+a little instruction as to technical stage business she could gain fame
+and fortune almost at once as an actress of tragedy or melodrama. Comedy
+she despised as unworthy of her. But the stage appealed to her only on
+the ground of income. The life of an actress lacked the ethical
+character which she liked to associate with whatever she did. To be
+sure, a great actress was an inspiring influence. Nevertheless she
+preferred some more obviously improving occupation, provided it would
+afford a suitable support. Yet was it fitting that she should be
+condemned to do hack work for her daily bread instead of something to
+enlighten and uplift the community in which she lived? She considered
+that she had served her apprenticeship by teaching school and writing
+for the newspapers, and she begrudged spending further time in
+subordinate work. Better on the whole a striking success on the stage
+than this, for after she had made a name and money she could retire and
+devote herself to more congenial undertakings. Nevertheless her
+conscience told her that a theatrical career must be regarded as a last
+resort, and she appreciated the importance of not making a hasty
+decision as to what she would do. The lease of her house would not
+expire for six months, and it seemed to her probable that even in New
+York, where she was not understood, someone would realize her value as a
+manager of some intellectual or literary movement and make overtures to
+her. She wrote to Mrs. Earle and received a cordial response declaring
+that Benham would welcome her with open arms, a complimentary though
+somewhat vague certificate. She sent a line also to Mr. Dennison,
+informing him that she hoped soon to submit some short stories for his
+magazine, and received a guarded but polite reply to the effect that he
+would be glad to read her manuscripts.
+
+While she was thus deliberating and winding up her husband's affairs,
+Mr. Parsons, who had been absent from New York at the time of Wilbur's
+decease, called and bluntly made the announcement that he had bought a
+house in Benham, was to move there immediately, and was desirous that
+she should live with him as his companion and housekeeper on liberal
+pecuniary terms.
+
+"I am an old man," he said, "and my health is not what it used to be. I
+need someone to look after me and to keep me company. I like your chatty
+ways, and, if I have someone smart and brisk around like you, I sha'n't
+be thinking so often that I'm all alone in the world. It'll be dull for
+you, I guess; but you'll be keeping quiet for the present wherever you
+are; and when the time comes that you wish to take notice again I won't
+stand in the way of your amusing yourself."
+
+To this homely plea Selma returned a beatific smile. It struck her as an
+ideal arrangement; a golden opportunity for him, and convenient and
+promising for her. In the first place she was accorded the mission of
+cheering and guarding the declining years of this fine old man, whom she
+had come to look on with esteem and liking. And at the same time as his
+companion--the virtual mistress of his house, for she knew perfectly
+well that as a genuine American he was not offering her a position less
+than this--she would be able to shape her life gradually along congenial
+lines, and to wait for the ripe occasion for usefulness to present
+itself. In an instant a great load was lifted from her spirit. She was
+thankful to be spared conscientious qualms concerning the career of an
+actress, and thankful to be freed at one bound from her New York
+associations--especially with Pauline, whose attitude toward her had
+been further strained by her continued conviction that Wilbur's life
+might have been saved. Indeed, so completely alleviating was Mr.
+Parsons's proposition that, stimulated by the thought that he was to be
+a greater gainer from the plan than she, Selma gave rein to her emotions
+by exclaiming with fervor:
+
+"Usually I like to think important plans over before coming to a
+decision; but this arrangement seems to me so sensible and natural and
+mutually advantageous, Mr. Parsons, that I see no reason why I shouldn't
+accept your offer now. God grant that I may be a worthy daughter to
+you--and in some measure take the place of the dear ones you have lost."
+
+"That's what I want," he said. "I took a liking to you the first time we
+met. Then it's settled?"
+
+"Yes. I suppose," she added, after a moment's hesitation--speaking with
+an accent of scorn--"I suppose there may be people--people like those
+who are called fashionable here--who will criticise the arrangement on
+the ground--er--of propriety, because I'm not a relation, and you are
+not very old. But I despise conventions such as that. They may be
+necessary for foreigners; but they are not meant for self-respecting
+American women. I fancy my sister-in-law may not wholly approve of it,
+but I don't know. I shall take pleasure in showing her and the rest that
+it would be wicked as well as foolish to let a flimsy suggestion of evil
+interfere with the happiness of two people situated as we are."
+
+Mr. Parsons seemed puzzled at first, as though he did not understand
+exactly what she meant, but when she concluded he said:
+
+"You come to me, as you have yourself stated, on the footing of a
+daughter. If folk are not content to mind their own business, I guess we
+needn't worry because they don't happen to be suited. There's one or two
+relations of mine would be glad to be in your shoes, but I don't know of
+anything in the Bible or the Constitution of the United States which
+forbids an old man from choosing the face he'll have opposite to him at
+table."
+
+"Or forbids the interchange of true sympathy--that priceless privilege,"
+answered Selma, her liking for a sententious speech rising paramount
+even to the pleasure caused her by the allusion to her personal
+appearance. Nevertheless it was agreeable to be preferred to his female
+cousins on the score of comeliness.
+
+Accordingly, within six months of her husband's death, the transition to
+Benham was accomplished, and Selma was able to encounter the
+metaphorically open arms, referred to by Mrs. Earle, without feeling
+that she was a less important person than when she had been whisked off
+as a bride by Littleton, the rising architect. She was returning as the
+confidential, protecting companion of a successful, self-made old man,
+who was relying on her to make his new establishment a pleasure to
+himself and a credit to the wide-awake city in which he had elected to
+pass his remaining days. She was returning to a house on the River Drive
+(the aristocratic boulevard of Benham, where the river Nye makes a broad
+sweep to the south); a house not far distant from the Flagg mansion at
+which, as Mrs. Lewis Babcock, she had looked askance as a monument
+inimical to democratic simplicity. Wilbur had taught her that it was
+very ugly, and now that she saw it again after a lapse of years she was
+pleased to note that her new residence, though slightly smaller, had a
+more modern and distinguished air.
+
+The new house was of rough-hewn red sandstone, combining solid dignity
+and some artistic merit, for Benham had not stood still architecturally
+speaking. The River Drive was a grotesque, yet on the whole encouraging
+exhibit. Most of the residences had been designed by native talent, but
+under the spur of experiment even the plain, hard-headed builders had
+been constrained to dub themselves "architects," and adopt modern
+methods; and here and there stood evidences that the seed planted by
+Mrs. Hallett Taylor and Littleton had borne fruit, for Benham possessed
+at least half a dozen private houses which could defy criticism.
+
+The one selected by Mr. Parsons was not of these half dozen; but the
+plain, hard-headed builder who had erected it for the original owner was
+shrewd and imitative, and had avoided ambitious deviations from the type
+he wished to copy--the red sandstone, swell front variety, which ten
+years before would have seemed to the moral sense of Benham unduly
+cheerful. Mr. Parsons was so fortunate as to be able to buy it just
+after it had been completed, together with a stable and half an acre of
+ground, from one of the few Benhamites whose financial ventures had
+ended in disaster, and who was obliged to sell. It was a more ambitious
+residence than Mr. Parsons had desired, but it was the most available,
+inasmuch as he could occupy it at once. It had been painted and
+decorated within, but was unfurnished. Mr. Parsons, as a practical
+business man, engaged the builder to select and supply the bedroom and
+solid fittings, but it occurred to him to invite Selma to choose the
+furnishings for what he called the show rooms.
+
+Selma was delighted to visit once more the New York stores, free from
+the bridle of Wilbur's criticism and unrestrained by economy. She found
+to her satisfaction that the internal decoration of the new house was
+not unlike that of the Williamses' first habitation--that is, gay and
+bedizened; and she was resolved in the selection of her draperies and
+ornaments to buy things which suggested by their looks that they were
+handsome, and whose claim to distinction was not mere sober
+unobtrusiveness. She realized that some of her purchases would have made
+Wilbur squirm, but since his death she felt more sure than ever that
+even where art was concerned his taste was subdued, timid, and
+unimaginative. For instance, she believed that he would not have
+approved her choice of light-blue satin for the upholstery of the
+drawing-room, nor of a marble statue--an allegorical figure of Truth,
+duly draped, as its most conspicuous ornament.
+
+Selma was spared the embarrassment of her first husband's presence.
+Divorce is no bar to ordinary feminine curiosity as to the whereabouts
+of a former partner for life, and she had proved no exception to the
+rule. Mrs. Earle had kept her posted as to Babcock's career since their
+separation, and what she learned had tended merely to demonstrate the
+wisdom and justice of her action. As a divorced man he had, after a
+time, resumed the free and easy, coarse companionship to which he had
+been partial before his marriage, and had gradually become a heavy
+drinker. Presently he had neglected his business, a misfortune of which
+a rival concern had been quick to take advantage. The trend of his
+affairs had been steadily downhill, and had come to a crisis three
+months before Littleton's death, when, in order to avoid insolvency, he
+sold out his factory and business to the rival company, and accepted at
+the same hands the position of manager in a branch office in a city
+further west. Consequently, Selma could feel free from molestation or an
+appeal to her sensibilities. She preferred to think of Babcock as
+completely outside her life, as dead to her, and she would have disliked
+the possibility of meeting him in the flesh while shopping on Central
+avenue. It had been the only drawback to her proposed return to Benham.
+
+During the years of Selma's second marriage Benham had waxed rapidly in
+population and importance. People had been attracted thither by the
+varied industries of the city--alike those in search of fortune, and
+those offering themselves for employment in the mills, oil-works, and
+pork factories; and at the date of Littleton's death it boasted over one
+hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. It was already the second city
+of the State in point of population, and was freely acknowledged to be
+the most wide-awake and enterprising. The civic spirit of Benham was
+reputed to be constantly and increasingly alert and progressive,
+notwithstanding the river Nye still ran the color of bean-soup above
+where it was drawn for drinking purposes, and the ability of a plumber,
+who had become an alderman, to provide a statue or lay out a public park
+was still unquestioned by the majority. Even to-day, when trained
+ability has obtained recognition in many quarters, the Benhamites at
+large are apt to resent criticism as aristocratic fault-finding; yet at
+this time that saving minority of souls who refused to regard everything
+which Benham did as perfection, and whose subsequent forlorn hopes and
+desperately won victories have little by little taught the community
+wisdom, if not modesty, was beginning to utter disagreeable strictures.
+
+Mrs. Margaret Rodney Earle, when she opened her arms to Selma and folded
+her to her bosom with a hug of welcome, was raging inwardly against this
+minority, and they had not been many minutes together before she gave
+utterance to her grievance.
+
+"You have come just in time to give us your sympathy and support in an
+important matter, my dear. Miss Bailey has been nominated for the School
+Board at the instance of the Executive Committee of the Benham
+Institute. We supposed that she would have plain sailing, for many of
+the voters have begun to recognize the justice of having one or two
+women on the School Board, and by hard work we had succeeded in getting
+her name put on the Democratic ticket. Judge, then, of our feelings when
+we learned that the Reform Club had decided to blacklist and refuse to
+support at the polls three of the six names on the ticket, including our
+Luella Bailey, on the ground of lack of experience in educational
+matters. The Reform Club has nominated three other persons--one of them
+a woman. And who do you suppose is the head and front of this unholy
+crusade?"
+
+"It sounds like Mrs. Hallett Taylor," answered Selma, sternly.
+
+"How did you know? What made you think so? How clever of you, Selma!
+Yes, she is the active spirit."
+
+"It was she who was at the bottom of Miss Bailey's rejection when she
+was my candidate for a position at Everdean College."
+
+"To be sure. I remember. This Reform Club, which was started a year or
+so ago, and which sets itself up as a censor of what we are trying to do
+in Benham, has nominated a Miss Snow, who is said to have travelled
+abroad studying the school systems of Europe."
+
+"As if that would help us in any way."
+
+"Precisely. She has probably come home with her head full of
+queer-fangled notions which would be out of keeping with our
+institutions. Just the reason why she shouldn't be chosen. We are
+greatly troubled as to the result, dear, for though we expect to win,
+the prejudice of some men against voting for a woman under any
+circumstances will operate against our candidate, so that this action of
+the Reform Club may possibly be the means of electing one of the men on
+the Republican ticket instead of Luella. Miss Snow hasn't the ghost of a
+chance. But that isn't all. These Reform Club nominations are
+preliminary to a bill before the Legislature to take away from the
+people the right to elect members of the school committee, and
+substitute an appointive board of specialists to serve during long terms
+of good behavior. As Mr. Lyons says, that's the real issue involved.
+It's quixotic and it isn't necessary. Haven't we always prided ourselves
+on our ability to keep our public schools the best in the world? And is
+there any doubt, Selma, that either you or I would be fully qualified to
+serve on the School Board though we haven't made any special study of
+primers and geographies? Luella Bailey hasn't had any special training,
+but she's smart and progressive, and the poor thing would like the
+recognition. We fixed on her because we thought it would help her to get
+ahead, for she has not been lucky in obtaining suitable employment. As
+Mr. Lyons says, a serious principle is involved. He has come out strong
+against the movement and declares that it is a direct menace to the
+intelligence of the plain people of the United States and a subtle
+invasion of their liberties."
+
+"Mr. Lyons? What Mr. Lyons is that?"
+
+"Yes, dear, it is the same one who managed your affair. Your Mr. Lyons.
+He has become an important man since you left Benham. He speaks
+delightfully, and is likely to receive the next Democratic nomination
+for Congress. He is in accord with all liberal movements, and a foe of
+everything exclusive, unchristian or arbitrary. He has declared his
+intention to oppose the bill when it is introduced, and I shall devote
+myself body and soul to working against it in case Luella Bailey is
+defeated. It is awkward because Mrs. Taylor is a member of the
+Institute, though she doesn't often come, and the club has never been in
+politics. But here when there was a chance to do Luella Bailey a good
+turn, and I'd been able through some of my newspaper friends to get her
+on the ticket, it seems to me positively unchristian--yes, that's the
+word--to try to keep her off the board. There are some things of course,
+Luella couldn't do--and if the position were superintendent of a
+hospital, for instance, I dare say that special training would be
+advantageous, though nursing can be picked up very rapidly by a keen
+intelligence: but to raise such objections in regard to a candidate for
+the School Board seems to me ridiculous as well as cruel. What
+we need there are open, receptive minds, free from fads and
+prejudice--wide-awake, progressive enthusiastic intellects. It worries
+me to see the Institute dragged into politics, but it is my duty to
+resist this undemocratic movement."
+
+"Surely," exclaimed Selma, with fire. "I am thankful I have come in time
+to help you. I understand exactly. I have been passing through just such
+experiences in New York--encountering and being rebuffed by just such
+people as those who belong to this Reform Club. My husband was beginning
+to see through them and to recognize that we were both tied hand and
+foot by their narrowness and lack of enthusiasm when he died. If he had
+lived, we would have moved to Benham shortly in order to escape from
+bondage. And one thing is certain, dear Mrs. Earle," she continued with
+intensity, "we must not permit this carping spirit of hostility to
+original and spontaneous effort to get a foothold in Benham. We must
+crush it, we must stamp it out."
+
+"Amen, my dear. I am delighted to hear you talk like that. I declare you
+would be very effective in public if you were roused."
+
+"Yes, I am roused, and I am willing to speak in public if it becomes
+necessary in order to keep Benham uncontaminated by the insidious canker
+of exclusiveness and the distrust of aspiring souls which a few narrow
+minds choose to term untrained. Am _I_ untrained? Am _I_ superficial and
+common? Do _I_ lack the appearance and behavior of a lady?"
+
+Selma accompanied these interrogatories with successive waves of the
+hand, as though she were branding so many falsehoods.
+
+"Assuredly not, Selma. I consider you"--and here Mrs. Earle gasped in
+the process of choosing her words--"I consider you one of our best
+trained and most independent minds--cultured, a friend of culture, and
+an earnest seeker after truth. If you are not a lady, neither am I,
+neither is anyone in Benham. Why do you ask, dear?" And without waiting
+for an answer, Mrs. Earle added with a touch of material wisdom, "You
+return to Benham under satisfactory, I might say, brilliant auspices.
+You will be the active spirit in this fine house, and be in a position
+to promote worthy intellectual and moral movements."
+
+"Thank heavens, yes. And to combat those which are unworthy and
+dangerous," exclaimed Selma, clasping her fingers, "I can count on the
+support of Mr. Parsons, God bless him! And it would seem at last as if I
+had, a real chance--a real chance at last. Mrs. Earle--Cora--I know you
+can keep a secret. I feel almost as though you were my mother, for there
+is no one else now to whom I can talk like this. I have not been happy
+in New York. I thought I was happy at first, but lately we have been
+miserable. My marriage--er--they drove my husband to the wall, and
+killed him. He was sensitive and noble, but not practical, and he fell a
+victim to the mercenary despotism of our surroundings. When I tried to
+help him they became jealous of me, and shut their doors in our faces."
+
+"You poor, poor child. I have suspected for some time that something was
+wrong."
+
+"It nearly killed me. But now, thank heaven, I breathe freely once more.
+I have lost my dear husband, but I have escaped from that prison-house;
+and with his memory to keep me merciless, I am eager to wage war against
+those influences which are conspiring to fetter the free-born soul and
+stifle spontaneity. Luella Bailey must be elected, and these people be
+taught that foreign ideas may flourish in New York, but cannot obtain
+root in Benham."
+
+Mrs. Earle wiped her eyes, which were running over as the result of this
+combination of confidence and eloquence.
+
+"If you don't mind my saying so, Selma, I never saw anyone so much
+improved as you. You always had ideas, and were well equipped, but now
+you speak as though you could remove mountains if necessary. It's a
+blessing for us as well as you that you're back among us once more."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+When Selma uttered her edict that Luella Bailey must be elected she did
+not know that the election was only three days off. When she was told
+this by Mrs. Earle, she cast about feverishly during a few hours for the
+means to compass certain victory, then promptly and sensibly disclaimed
+responsibility for the result, suggesting even that her first appearance
+as a remover of mountains be deferred to the time when the bill should
+be before the Legislature. As she aptly explained to Mrs. Earle, the
+canvass was virtually at an end, she was unacquainted with the practical
+features of the situation, and was to all intents a stranger in Benham
+after so long an absence. Mrs. Earle was unable to combat the logic of
+these representations, but she obtained from Selma a ready promise to
+accompany the Benham Institute to the final rally on the evening before
+election day and sit in a prominent place on the platform. The Institute
+was to attend as a body by way of promoting the cause of its candidate,
+for though the meeting was called in aid of the entire Democratic
+municipal ticket, Hon. James O. Lyons, the leading orator of the
+occasion, had promised to devote special attention to Miss Bailey, whose
+election, owing to the attitude of the Reform Club, was recognized as in
+doubt. Selma also agreed to accompany Mrs. Earle in a hack on the day
+itself, and career through the city in search of recalcitrant or
+indifferent female voters, for the recently acquired right of Benham
+women to vote for members of the School Board had not as yet been
+exercised by any considerable number of the emancipated sex.
+
+As a part of the programme of the meeting the Benham Institute, or the
+major portion of it (for there were a few who sympathized openly with
+Mrs. Taylor), filed showily on to the platform headed by Mrs. Earle, who
+waved her pocket handkerchief at the audience, which was the occasion
+for renewed hand-clapping and enthusiasm. Selma walked not far behind
+and took her seat among the forty other members, who all wore white silk
+badges stamped in red with the sentiment "A vote for Luella Bailey is a
+vote for the liberty of the people." Her pulses were throbbing with
+interest and pleasure. This was the sort of thing she delighted in, and
+which she had hoped would be a frequent incident of her life in New
+York. It pleased her to think how naturally and easily she had taken her
+place in the ranks of these earnest, enthusiastic workers, and that she
+had merely to express a wish in order to have leadership urged upon her.
+Matters had shaped themselves exactly as she desired. Mr. Parsons not
+only treated her completely as an equal, but consulted her in regard to
+everything. He had already become obviously dependent on her, and had
+begun to develop the tendencies of an invalid.
+
+The exercises were of a partisan cast. The theory that municipal
+government should be independent of party politics had been an adage in
+Benham since its foundation, and been disregarded annually by
+nine-tenths of the population ever since. This was a Democratic
+love-feast. The speakers and the audience alike were in the best of
+spirits, for there was no uncertainty in the minds of the party prophets
+as to the result of the morrow's ballot--excepting with regard to Miss
+Bailey. The rest of the ticket would unquestionably be elected;
+accordingly all hands and voices were free to focus their energies in
+her behalf and thus make the victory a clean sweep. Nevertheless the
+earlier speakers felt obliged to let their eloquence flow over the whole
+range of political misgovernment from the White House and the national
+platform down, although the actual issue was the choice of a mayor,
+twelve aldermen and a school committee, so that only casual reference
+was made to the single weak spot on the ticket until the Hon. James O.
+Lyons rose to address the meeting. The reception accorded him was more
+spontaneous and effusive than that which had been bestowed on either of
+his predecessors, and as he stood waiting with dignified urbanity for
+the applause to subside, some rapturous admirer called for three cheers,
+and the tumult was renewed.
+
+Selma was thrilled. Her acquaintance with Mr. Lyons naturally heightened
+her interest, and she observed him eagerly. Time had added to his
+corporeal weight since he had acted as her counsel, and enhanced the
+sober yet genial decorum of his bearing. His slightly pontifical air
+seemed an assurance against ill-timed levity. His cheeks were still fat
+and smooth shaven, but, like many of the successful men of Benham, he
+now wore a chin beard--a thick tuft of hair which in his case tapered so
+that it bore some resemblance to the beard of a goat, and gave a
+rough-and-ready aspect to his appearance suggestive alike of smart,
+solid worth and an absence of dandified tendencies. Mr. Parsons had a
+thicker beard of the same character, which Selma regarded with favor as
+a badge of serious intentions.
+
+"My friends," he began when the applause had subsided; then paused and
+surveyed his audience in a manner which left them in doubt as to whether
+he was struggling with emotion or busy in silent prayer. "My friends, a
+month ago to-day the citizens of Benham assembled to crown with
+appropriate and beautiful services the monument which they, the
+survivors, have erected with pious hands to perpetuate the memory of
+those who laid down their lives to keep intact our beloved union of
+States and to banish slavery forever from the confines of our aspiring
+civilization. A week ago an equally representative assembly, without
+regard to creed or party, listened to the exercises attending the
+dedication of the new Court House which we have raised to Justice--that
+white-robed goddess, the guardian of the liberties of the people. Each
+was a notable and significant event. On each occasion I had the honor to
+say a few poor words. We celebrated with bowed heads and with garlands
+the deeds of the heroic dead, and now have consecrated ourselves to the
+opportunities and possibilities of peace under the law--to the
+revelation of the temper of our new civilization which, tried in the
+furnace of war, is to be a grand and vital power for the advancement of
+the human race, for the righteous furtherance of the brotherhood of man.
+What is the hope of the world?" he asked. "America--these United States,
+a bulwark against tyranny, an asylum for the aspiring and the
+downtrodden. The eyes of the nations are upon us. In the souls of the
+survivors and of the sons and daughters of the patriots who have died in
+defence of the liberties of our beloved country abide the seed and
+inspiration for new victories of peace. Our privilege be it as the heirs
+of Washington and Franklin and Hamilton and Lincoln and Grant to set the
+nations of the earth an example of what peace under the law may
+accomplish, so that the free-born son of America from the shores of Cape
+Cod to the western limits of the Golden Gate may remain a synonym for
+noble aims and noble deeds, for truth and patriotism and fearlessness of
+soul."
+
+The speaker's words had been uttered slowly at the outset--ponderous,
+sonorous, sentence by sentence, like the big drops before a heavy
+shower. As he warmed to his theme the pauses ceased, and his speech
+flowed with the musical sweep of a master of platform oratory. When he
+spoke of war his voice choked; in speaking of peace he paused for an
+appreciable moment, casting his eyes up as though he could discern the
+angel of national tranquillity hovering overhead. Although this opening
+peroration seemed scarcely germane to the occasion, the audience
+listened in absorbed silence, spell-bound by the magnetism of his
+delivery. They felt sure that he had a point in reserve to which these
+splendid and agreeable truths were a pertinent introduction.
+
+Proceeding, with his address, Mr. Lyons made a panegyric on these United
+States of America, from the special standpoint of their dedication to
+the "God of our fathers," a solemn figure of speech. The sincerity of
+his patriotism was emphasized by the religious fervor of his deduction
+that God was on the side of the nation, and the nation on the side of
+God. Though he abstained from direct strictures, both his manner and his
+matter seemed to serve a caveat, so to speak, on the other nations by
+declaring that for fineness of heart and thought, and deed, the world
+must look to the land "whose wide and well-nigh boundless prairies were
+blossoming with the buds of truth fanned by the breeze of liberty and
+fertilized by the aspirations of a God-fearing and a God-led population.
+What is the hope of the world, I repeat?" he continued. "The plain and
+sovereign people of our beloved country. Whatever menaces their
+liberties, whatever detracts from their, power and infringes on their
+prerogatives is a peril to our institutions and a step backward in the
+science of government. My friends, we are here to-night to protest
+against a purpose to invade those liberties--a deliberately conceived
+design to take away from the sovereign people of this city one of their
+cherished privileges--the right to decide who shall direct the policy of
+our free public-school system, that priceless heritage of every
+American. I beg to remind you that this contest is no mere question of
+healthy rivalry between two great political parties; nor again is it
+only a vigorous competition between two ambitious and intelligent women.
+A ballot in behalf of our candidate will be a vote of confidence in the
+ability of the plain people of this country to adopt the best
+educational methods without the patronizing dictation of aboard of
+specialists nurtured on foreign and uninspiring theories of instruction.
+A ballot against Miss Luella Bailey, the competent and cultivated lady
+whose name adds strength and distinction to our ticket, and who has been
+needlessly and wantonly opposed by those who should be her proud
+friends, will signify a willingness to renounce one of our most precious
+liberties--the free man's right to choose those who are to impart to his
+children mastery of knowledge and love of country. I take my stand
+to-night as the resolute enemy of this aristocratic and un-American
+suggestion, and urge you, on the eve of election, to devote your
+energies to overwhelming beneath the shower of your fearless ballots
+this insult to the intelligence of the voters of Benham, and this menace
+to our free and successful institutions, which, under the guidance of
+the God of our fathers, we purpose to keep perpetually progressive and
+undefiled."
+
+A salvo of enthusiasm greeted Mr. Lyons as he concluded. His speeches
+were apt to cause those whom he addressed to feel that they were no
+common campaign utterances, but eloquent expressions of principle and
+conviction, clothed in memorable language, as, indeed, they were. He was
+fond of giving a moral or patriotic flavor to what he said in public,
+for he entertained both a profound reverence for high moral ideas and an
+abiding faith in the superiority of everything American. He had arrayed
+himself on the threshold of his legal career as a friend and champion of
+the mass of the people--the plain and sovereign people, as he was apt to
+style them in public. His first and considerable successes had been as
+the counsel for plaintiffs before juries in accident cases against large
+corporations, and he had thought of himself with complete sincerity as a
+plain man, contesting for human rights before the bar of justice, by the
+sheer might of his sonorous voice and diligent brain. His political
+development had been on the same side. Latterly the situation had become
+a little puzzling, though to a man of straightforward intentions, like
+himself, not fundamentally embarrassing. That is, the last four or five
+years had altered both the character of his practice and his
+circumstances, so that instead of fighting corporations he was now the
+close adviser of a score of them; not the defender of their accident
+cases, but the confidential attorney who was consulted in regard to
+their vital interests, and who charged them liberal sums for his
+services. He still figured in court from time to time in his capacity of
+the plain man's friend, which he still considered himself to be no less
+than before, but most of his time was devoted to protecting the legal
+interests of the railroad, gas, water, manufacturing, mining and other
+undertakings which, the rapid growth of Benham had forgotten. And as a
+result of this commerce with the leading men of affairs in Benham, and
+knowledge of what was going on, he had been able to invest his large
+fees to the best advantage, and had already reaped a rich harvest from
+the rapid rise in value of the securities of diverse successful
+enterprises. When new projects were under consideration he was in a
+position to have a finger in the pie, and he was able to borrow freely
+from a local bank in which he was a director.
+
+He was puzzled--it might be said distressed--how to make these rewards
+of his professional prominence appear compatible with his real political
+principles, so that the plain and sovereign people would recognize as
+clearly as he that there was no inconsistency in his having taken
+advantage of the opportunities for professional advancement thrown in
+his way. He was ambitious for political preferment, sharing the growing
+impression that he was well qualified for public office, and he desired
+to rise as the champion of popular ideas. Consequently he resented
+bitterly the calumnies which had appeared in one or two irresponsible
+newspapers to the effect that he was becoming a corporation attorney and
+a capitalist. Could a man refuse legitimate business which was thrust
+upon him? How were his convictions and interest in the cause of
+struggling humanity altered or affected by his success at the bar? Hence
+he neglected no occasion to declare his allegiance to progressive
+doctrine, and to give utterance to the patriotism which at all times was
+on tap in his emotional system. He had been married, but his wife had
+been dead a number of years, and he made his home with his aged mother,
+to whom he was apt to refer with pious tremulousness when he desired to
+emphasize some domestic situation before a jury. As a staunch member of
+the Methodist Church, he was on terms of intimate association with his
+pastor, and was known as a liberal contributor to domestic and foreign
+missions.
+
+Selma was genuinely carried away by the character of his oratory. His
+sentiments were so completely in accord with her own ideas that she felt
+he had left nothing unsaid, and had put the case grandly. Here at last
+was a man who shared with her the convictions with which her brain was
+seething--a man who was not afraid to give public expression to his
+views, and who possessed a splendid gift of statement. She had felt sure
+that she would meet sympathy and kindred spirits in Benham, but her
+experience in New York had so far depressed her that she had not allowed
+herself to expect such a thorough-going champion. What a contrast his
+solid, devotional, yet business-like aspect was to the quizzical
+lightness of the men in New York she had been told were clever, like Dr.
+Page and Mr. Dennison! He possessed Wilbur's ardor and reverence, with a
+robustness of physique and a practical air which Wilbur had
+lacked--lacked to his and her detriment. If Wilbur had been as vigorous
+in body as he ought to have been, would he have died? She had read
+somewhere lately that physical delicacy was apt to react on the mind and
+make one's ideas too fine-spun and unsubstantial. Here was the advantage
+which a man like Mr. Lyons had over Wilbur. He was strong and thickset,
+and looked as though he could endure hard work without wincing. So could
+she. It was a great boon, an essential of effective manhood or
+womanhood. These thoughts followed in the wake of the enthusiasm his
+personality had aroused in her at the close of his address. She scarcely
+heard the remarks of the next speaker, the last on the programme. Her
+eyes kept straying wistfully in the direction of Mr. Lyons, and she
+wondered if there would be an opportunity when the meeting was over to
+let him know how much she approved of what he had said, and how
+necessary she felt the promulgation, of such ideas was for the welfare
+of the country.
+
+She was aroused from contemplation by the voice of Mrs. Earle, who, now
+that everybody was standing up preliminary to departure, bent over her
+front bench on the platform to whisper, "Wasn't Mr. Lyons splendid?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," said Selma. "I should like so much to make his
+acquaintance, to compare notes with him and thank him for his brave,
+true words."
+
+"I know he'd be pleased to meet you. I'll try to catch his eye. I wish
+some of those Reform Club people could have heard what he thought of
+them. There! He's looking this way. I'm going to attract his attention."
+Whereupon Mrs. Earle began to nod in his direction energetically. "He
+sees us now, and has noticed you. I shouldn't wonder if he has
+recognized you. Follow me close, Selma, and we'll be able to shake hands
+with him."
+
+By dint of squeezing and stertorous declarations of her desire, Mrs.
+Earle obtained a gradual passage through the crowd. Many from the
+audience had ascended to the platform for the purpose of accosting the
+speakers, and a large share of the interest was being bestowed on Mr.
+Lyons, who was holding an impromptu reception. When at last Mrs. Earle
+had worked her way to within a few feet of him, her wheezing condition
+and bulk announced her approach, and procured her consideration from the
+others in the line, so that she was able to plant herself pervasively
+and firmly in front of her idol and take possession of him by the fervid
+announcement, "You were simply unanswerable. Eloquent, convincing, and
+unanswerable. And I have brought with me an old friend, Mrs. Littleton,
+who sympathizes with your superb utterances, and wishes to tell you so."
+
+As Selma stepped forward in recognition of this introduction she
+vibrated to hear Mr. Lyons say, without a sign of hesitation, "A friend
+whom it is a pleasure to welcome back to Benham, Mrs. Littleton, I am
+pleased to meet you again."
+
+Selma had hoped, and felt it her due, that he would recognize her. Still
+his having done so at once was a compliment which served to enhance the
+favorable opinion which she had already formed regarding him.
+
+"I have been longing for months, Mr. Lyons," she said, "to hear someone
+say what you have said to-night. I am concerned, as we all are of
+course, in Miss Bailey's election, and your advocacy of her cause was
+most brilliant; but what I refer to--what interested, me especially, was
+the splendid protest you uttered against all movements to prevent the
+intelligence of the people from asserting itself. It gave me
+encouragement and made me feel that the outlook for the future is
+bright--that our truths must prevail."
+
+It was a maxim with Lyons that it was desirable to remember everyone he
+met, and he prided himself on his ability to call cordially by name
+clients or chance acquaintances whom he had not seen for years. Nature
+had endowed him with a good memory for names and faces, but he had
+learned to take advantage of all opportunities to brush up his wits
+before they were called into flattering, spontaneous action. When his
+glance, attracted by Mrs. Earle's remote gesticulation, rested on
+Selma's face, he began to ask himself at once where he had seen it
+before. In the interval vouchsafed by her approach he recalled the
+incident of the divorce, that her name had been Babcock, and that she
+had married again, but he was still groping for the name of her husband
+when the necessary clew was supplied by Mrs. Earle, and he was able to
+make his recognition of her exhaustive. He noticed with approval her
+pretty face and compact figure, reflecting that the slight gain in flesh
+was to her advantage, and noticed also her widow's mourning. But her
+eager, fluent address and zealous manner had prevented his attention
+from secretly wandering with business-like foresight to the next persons
+in the line of those anxious to shake his hand, and led him to regard
+her a second time. He was accustomed to compliments, but he was struck
+by the note of discriminating companionship in her congratulation. He
+believed that he had much at heart the very issue which she had touched
+upon, and it gratified him that a woman whose appearance was so
+attractive to him should single out for sympathetic enthusiasm what was
+in his opinion the cardinal principle involved, instead of expatiating
+on the assistance he had rendered Miss Bailey. Lyons said to himself
+that here was a kindred spirit--a woman with whom conversation would be
+a pleasure; with whom it would be possible to discourse on terms of
+mental comradeship. He was partial to comely women, but he did not
+approve of frivolity except on special and guarded occasions.
+
+"I thank you cordially for your appreciation," he answered. "You have
+grasped the vital kernel of my speech and I am grateful for your good
+opinion."
+
+Even in addressing the other sex, Lyons could not forget the
+responsibility of his frock-coat and that it was incumbent upon him to
+be strictly serious in public. Nevertheless his august but glib demeanor
+suited Selma's mood better than more obvious gallantry, especially as
+she got the impression, which he really wished to convey, that he
+admired her. It was out of the question for him to prolong the situation
+in the face of those waiting to grasp his hand, but Lyons heard with
+interest the statement which Mrs. Earle managed to whisper hoarsely in
+his ear just as he turned to welcome the next comer, and they were swept
+along:
+
+"She is one of our brightest minds. The poor child has recently lost her
+husband, and has come to keep Mr. Parsons company in his new house--an
+ideal arrangement."
+
+The identity of Mr. Parsons was well known to Lyons. He had met him
+occasionally in the past in other parts of the State in connection with
+business complications, and regarded him as a practical, intelligent
+citizen whose name would be of value to an aspirant for Congressional
+honors. It occurred to him as he shook hands with those next in line and
+addressed them that it would be eminently suitable if he should pay his
+respects to this new-comer to Benham by a visit. By so doing he world
+kill two birds with one stone, for he had reasoned of late that he owed
+it to himself to see more of the other sex. He had no specific
+matrimonial intentions; that is, he was not on the lookout for a wife;
+but he approved of happy unions as one of the great bulwarks of the
+community, and was well-disposed to encounter a suitable helpmate. He
+should expect physical charms, dignity, capacity and a sympathetic mind;
+a woman, in short, who would be an ornament to his home, a Christian
+influence in society and a companion whose intelligent tact would be
+likely to promote his political fortunes. And so it happened that in the
+course of the next few days he found himself thinking of Mrs. Littleton
+as a fine figure of a woman. This had not happened to him before since
+the death of his wife, and it made him thoughtful to the extent of
+asking "Why not?" For in spite of his long frock-coat and proper
+demeanor, passion was not extinct in the bosom of the Hon. James O.
+Lyons, and he was capable on special and guarded occasions of telling a
+woman that he loved her.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+Miss Luella Bailey was not elected. The unenlightened prejudice of man
+to prefer one of his own sex, combined with the hostility of the Reform
+Club, procured her defeat, notwithstanding that the rest of her ticket
+triumphed at the polls. There was some consolation for her friends in
+the fact that her rival, Miss Snow, had a considerably smaller number of
+votes than she. Selma solaced herself by the reflection that, as she had
+been consulted only at the twelfth hour, she was not responsible for the
+result, but she felt nerved by the defeat to concentrate her energies
+against the proposed bill for an appointed school board.
+
+Her immediate attention and sympathy were suddenly invoked by the
+illness of Mr. Parsons, who had seemed lacking in physical vigor for
+some weeks, and whose symptoms culminated in a slight paralysis, which
+confined him to his bed for a month, and to his house during the
+remainder of the autumn. Selma rejoiced in this opportunity to develop
+her capacities as a nurse, to prove how adequate she would have been to
+take complete charge of her late husband, had Dr. Page chosen to trust
+her. She administered with scrupulous regularity to the invalid such
+medicines as were ordered, and kept him cheerful by reading and
+conversation, so that the physician in charge complimented her on her
+proficiency. Trained nurses were unknown in Benham at this time, and any
+old or unoccupied female was regarded as qualified to watch over the
+sick. Selma appreciated from what she had observed of the conduct of
+Wilbur's nurse that there was a wrong and a right way of doing things,
+but she blamed Dr. Page for his failure to appreciate instinctively that
+she was sure to do things suitably. It seemed to her that he had lacked
+the intuitive gift to discern latent capabilities--a fault of which the
+Benham practitioner proved blameless.
+
+From the large, sunny chamber in which Mr. Parsons slowly recovered some
+portion of his vitality, Selma could discern the distant beginnings of
+Wetmore College, pleasantly situated on an elevation well beyond the
+city limits on the further side of the winding river. An architect had
+been engaged to carry out Wilbur's plans, and she watched the outlines
+of the new building gradually take shape during the convalescence of her
+benefactor. She recognized that the college would be theoretically a
+noble addition to the standing of Benham as a city of intellectual and
+aesthetic interests, but it provoked her to think that its management was
+in the hands of Mrs. Hallett Taylor and her friends, between whom and
+herself she felt that a chasm of irreconcilable differences of opinion
+existed. Mrs. Taylor had not called on her since her return. She
+believed that she was glad of this, and hoped that some of the severely
+indignant criticism which she had uttered in regard to the Reform Club
+movement had reached her ears. Or was Mrs. Taylor envious of her return
+to Benham as the true mistress of this fine establishment on the River
+Drive, so superior to her own? Nevertheless, it would have suited Selma
+to have been one of the trustees of this new college--her husband's
+handiwork in the doing of which he had laid down his promising life--and
+the fact that no one had sought her out and offered her the honor as a
+fitting recognition of her due was secretly mortifying. The Benham
+Institute had been prompt to acknowledge her presence by giving a
+reception in her honor, at which she was able to recite once more, "Oh,
+why should the Spirit of Mortal be proud?" with old-time success, and
+she had been informed by Mrs. Earle that she was likely to be chosen one
+of the Vice-Presidents at the annual meeting. But these Reform Club
+people had not even done her the courtesy to ask her to join them or
+consider their opinions. She would have spurned the invitation with
+contempt, but it piqued her not to know more about them; it distressed
+her to think that there should exist in Benham an exclusive set which
+professed to be ethically and intellectually superior and did not
+include her, for she had come to Benham with the intention of leading
+such a movement, to the detriment of fashion and frivolity. With Mr.
+Parsons's money at her back, she was serenely confident that the houses
+of the magnates of Benham--the people who corresponded in her mind's eye
+to the dwellers on Fifth Avenue--would open to her. Already there had
+been flattering indications that she would be able to command attention
+there. She had expected to find this so; her heart would have been
+broken to find it otherwise. Still, her hope in shaking the dust of New
+York from her feet had been to find in Benham an equally admirable and
+satisfactory atmosphere in regard to mental and moral progress. She had
+come just in time, it is true, to utter her vehement protest against
+this exclusive, aristocratic movement--this arrogant affectation of
+superiority, and to array herself in battle line against it, resolved to
+give herself up with enthusiasm to its annihilation. Yet the sight of
+the college buildings for the higher education of women, rising without
+her furtherance and supervision, and under the direction of these
+people, made her sad and gave her a feeling of disappointment. Why had
+they been permitted to obtain this foothold? Someone had been lacking in
+vigilance and foresight. Thank heaven, with her return and a strong,
+popular spirit like Mr. Lyons in the lead, these unsympathetic,
+so-called reformers would speedily be confounded, and the intellectual
+air of Benham restored to its original purity.
+
+One afternoon while Selma's gaze happened to be directed toward the
+embryo college walls, and she was incubating on the situation, Mr.
+Parsons, who had seemed to be dozing, suddenly said:
+
+"I should like you to write to Mr. Lyons, the lawyer, and ask him to
+come to see me."
+
+"I will write to-night. You know he called while you were ill."
+
+"Yes, I thought him a clever fellow when we met two or three times on
+railroad matters, and I gather from what you told me about his speech at
+the political meeting that he's a rising man hereabouts. I'm going to
+make my will, and I need him to put it into proper shape."
+
+"I'm sure he'd do it correctly."
+
+"There's not much for him to do except to make sure that the language is
+legal, for I've thought it all out while I've been lying here during
+these weeks. Still, it's important to have in a lawyer to fix it so the
+people whom I don't intend to get my money shan't be able to make out
+that I'm not in my right mind. I guess," he added, with a laugh, "that
+the doctor will allow I've my wits sufficiently for that?"
+
+"Surely. You are practically well now."
+
+Mr. Parsons was silent for a moment. He prided himself on being
+close-mouthed about his private affairs until they were ripe for
+utterance. His intention had been to defer until after the interview
+with his lawyer any statement of his purpose, but it suddenly occurred
+to him that it would please him to unbosom his secret to his companion
+because he felt sure in advance that she would sympathize fully with his
+plans. He had meant to tell her when the instrument was signed. Why not
+now?
+
+"Selma," he said, "I've known ever since my wife and daughter died that
+I ought to make a will, but I kept putting it off until it has almost
+happened that everything I've got went to my next of kin--folk I'm fond
+of, too, and mean to remember--but not fond enough for that. If I give
+them fifty thousand dollars apiece--the three of them--I shall rest easy
+in my grave, even if they think they ought to have had a bigger slice.
+It's hard on a man who has worked all his days, and laid up close to a
+million of dollars, not to have a son or a daughter, flesh of my flesh,
+to leave it to; a boy or a girl given at the start the education I
+didn't get, and who, by the help of my money, might make me proud, if I
+could look on, of my name or my blood. It wasn't to be, and I must grin
+and bear it, and do the next best thing. I caught a glimpse of what that
+thing was soon after I lost my wife and daughter, and it was the thought
+of that more than anything which kept me from going crazy with despair.
+I'm a plain man, an uneducated man, but the fortune I've made has been
+made honestly, and I'm going to spend it for the good of the American
+people--to contribute my mite toward helping the cause of truth and good
+citizenship and free and independent ideas which this nation calls for.
+I'm going to give my money for benevolent uses."
+
+"Oh, Mr. Parsons," exclaimed Selma, clasping her hands, "how splendid!
+how glorious! How I envy you. It was what I hoped."
+
+"I knew you would be pleased. I've had half a mind once or twice to let
+the cat out of the bag, because I guessed it would be the sort of thing
+that would take your fancy; but somehow I've kept mum, for fear I might
+be taken before I'd been able to make a will. And then, too, I've been
+of several minds as to the form of my gift. I thought it would suit me
+best of all to found a college, and I was disappointed when I learned
+that neighbor Flagg had got the start of me with his seminary for women
+across the river. I wasn't happy over it until one night, just after the
+doctor had gone, the thought came to me, 'Why, not give a hospital?' And
+that's what it's to be. Five hundred thousand dollars for a free
+hospital in the City of Benham, in memory of my wife and daughter.
+That'll be useful, won't it? That'll help the people as much as a
+college? And, Selma," he added, cutting off the assuring answer which
+trembled on her tongue and blazed from her eyes, "I shan't forget you.
+After I'm gone you are to have twenty thousand dollars. That'll enable
+you, in case you don't marry, to keep a roof over your head without
+working too hard."
+
+"Thank you. You are very generous," she said. The announcement was
+pleasant to her, but at the moment it seemed of secondary importance.
+Her enthusiasm had been aroused by the fact and character of his public
+donation, and already her brain was dancing with the thought of the
+prospect of a rival vital institution in connection with which her views
+and her talents would in all probability be consulted and allowed to
+exercise themselves. Her's, and not Mrs. Taylor's, or any of that
+censorious and restricting set. In that hospital, at least, ambition and
+originality would be allowed to show what they could do unfettered by
+envy or paralyzed by conservatism. "But I can't think of anything now,
+Mr. Parsons, except the grand secret you have confided to me. A
+hospital! It is an ideal gift. It will show the world what noble uses
+our rich, earnest-minded men make of their money, and it will give our
+doctors and our people a chance to demonstrate what a free hospital
+ought to be. Oh, I congratulate you. I will write to Mr. Lyons at once."
+
+A note in prompt response stated the hour when the lawyer would call. On
+his arrival he was shown immediately to Mr. Parsons's apartments, with
+whom he was closeted alone. Selma managed to cross the hall at the
+moment he was descending, and he was easily persuaded to linger and to
+follow her into the library.
+
+"I was anxious to say a few words to you, Mr. Lyons," she said. "I know
+the purpose for which Mr. Parsons sent for you. He has confided to me
+concerning his will--told me everything. It is a noble disposition of
+his property. A free hospital for Benham is an ideal selection, and one
+envies him his opportunity."
+
+"Yes. It is a superb and generous benefaction."
+
+"I lay awake for hours last night thinking about it; thinking
+particularly of the special point I am desirous to consult you in regard
+to. I don't wish to appear officious, or to say anything I shouldn't,
+but knowing from what I heard you state in your speech the other day
+that you feel as I do in regard to such matters, I take the liberty of
+suggesting that it seems to me of very great importance that the
+management of this magnificent gift should be in proper hands. May I ask
+you without impropriety if you will protect Mr. Parsons so that captious
+or unenthusiastic persons, men or women, will be unable to control the
+policy of his hospital? He would wish it so, I am sure. I thought of
+mentioning the matter to him myself, but I was afraid lest it might
+worry him and spoil the satisfaction of his generosity or retard his
+cure. Is what I ask possible? Do I make myself clear?"
+
+"Perfectly--perfectly. A valuable suggestion," he said. "I am glad that
+you have spoken--very glad. Alive as I am to the importance of
+protecting ourselves at all points, I might not have realized this
+particular danger had you not called it to my attention. Perhaps only a
+clever woman would have thought of it."
+
+"Oh, thank you. I felt that I could not keep silence, and run the risk
+of what might happen."
+
+"Precisely. I think I can relieve your mind by telling you--which under
+the circumstances is no breach of professional secrecy, for it is plain
+that the testator desires you to know his purpose--that Mr. Parsons has
+done me the honor to request me to act as the executor of his will. As
+such I shall be in a position to make sure that those to whom the
+management of his hospital is intrusted are people in whom you and I
+would have confidence."
+
+"Ah! That is very satisfactory. It makes everything as it should be, and
+I am immensely relieved."
+
+"Now that you have spoken," he added, meeting her eager gaze with a
+propitiating look of reflective wisdom, "I will consider the
+advisability of taking the further precaution of advising the testator
+to name in his will the persons who shall act as the trustees of his
+charity. That would clinch the matter. The selection of the individuals
+would necessarily lie with Mr. Parsons, but it would seem eminently
+natural and fitting that he should name you to represent your sex on
+such a board. I hope it would be agreeable to you to serve?"
+
+Selma flushed. "It would be a position which I should prize immensely.
+Such a possibility had not occurred to me, though I felt that some
+definite provision should be made. The responsibility would be congenial
+to me and very much in my line."
+
+"Assuredly. If you will permit me to say so, you are just the woman for
+the place. We have met only a few times, Mrs. Littleton, but I am a man
+who forms my conclusions of people rapidly, and it is obvious to me that
+you are thoughtful, energetic, and liberal-minded--qualities which are
+especially requisite for intelligent progress in semi-public work. It is
+essentially desirable to enlist the co-operation of well-equipped women
+to promote the national weal."
+
+Lyons departed with an agreeable impression that he had been talking to
+a woman who combined mental sagacity and enterprise with considerable
+fascination of person. This capable companion of Mr. Parsons was no
+coquettish or simpering beauty, no mere devotee of fashionable manners,
+but a mature, well-poised character endowed with ripe intellectual and
+bodily graces. Their interview suggested that she possessed initiative
+and discretion in directing the course of events, and a strong sense of
+moral responsibility, attributes which attracted his interest. He was
+obliged to make two more visits before the execution of the will, and on
+each occasion he had an opportunity to spend a half-hour alone in the
+society of Selma. He found her gravely and engagingly sympathetic with
+his advocacy of democratic principles; he told her of his ambition to be
+elected to Congress--an ambition which he believed would be realized the
+following autumn. He confided to her, also, that he was engaged in his
+leisure moments in the preparation of a literary volume to be entitled,
+"Watchwords of Patriotism," a study of the requisites of the best
+citizenship, exemplified by pertinent extracts from the public
+utterances of the most distinguished American public servants.
+
+Selma on her part reciprocated by a reference to the course of lectures
+on "Culture and Higher Education," which she had resolved to deliver
+before the Benham Institute during the winter. In these lectures she
+meant to emphasize the importance of unfettered individuality, and to
+comment adversely on the tendencies hostile to this fundamental
+principle of progress which she had observed in New York and from which
+Benham itself did not appear to her to be entirely exempt. After
+delivering these lectures in Benham she intended to repeat them in
+various parts of the State, and in some of the large cities elsewhere,
+under the auspices of the Confederated Sisterhood of Women's Clubs of
+America, the Sorosis which Mrs. Earle had established on a firm basis,
+and of which at present she was second vice-president. As a token of
+sympathy with this undertaking, Mr. Lyons offered to procure her a free
+pass on the railroads over which she would be obliged to travel. This
+pleased Selma greatly, for she had always regarded free passes as a sign
+of mysterious and enviable importance.
+
+Two months later Selma, as secretary of the sub-committee of the
+Institute selected to oppose before the legislature the bill to create
+an appointed school board, had further occasion to confer with Mr.
+Lyons. He agreed to be the active counsel, and approved of the plan that
+a delegation of women should journey to the capital, two hours and a
+half by rail, and add the moral support of their presence at the hearing
+before the legislative committee.
+
+The expedition was another gratification to Selma--who had become
+possessed of her free pass. She felt that in visiting the state-house
+and thus taking an active part in the work of legislation she was
+beginning to fulfil the larger destiny for which she was qualified. Side
+by side with Mrs. Earle at the head of a delegation of twenty Benham
+women she marched augustly into the committee chamber. The contending
+factions sat on opposite sides of the room. Through its middle ran a
+long table occupied by the Committee on Education to which the bill had
+been referred. Among the dozen or fifteen persons who appeared in
+support of the bill Selma perceived Mrs. Hallett Taylor, whom she had
+not seen since her return. She was disappointed to observe that Mrs.
+Taylor's clothes, though unostentatious, were in the latest fashion. She
+had hoped to find her dowdy or unenlightened, and to be able to look
+down on her from the heights of her own New York experience.
+
+The lawyer in charge of the bill presented lucidly and with skill the
+merits of his case, calling to the stand four prominent educators from
+as many different sections of the State, and several citizens of
+well-known character, among them Babcock's former pastor, Rev. Henry
+Glynn. He pointed out that the school committee, as at present
+constituted, was an unwieldy body of twenty-four members, that it was
+regarded as the first round in the ladder of political preferment, and
+that the members which composed it were elected not on the ground of
+their fitness, but because they were ambitious for political
+recognition.
+
+The legislative committee listened politely but coldly to these
+statements and to the testimony of the witnesses. It was evident that
+they regarded the proposed reform with distrust.
+
+"Do you mean us to understand that the public schools of this State are
+not among the best, if not the best, in the world?" asked one member of
+the committee, somewhat sternly.
+
+"I recognize the merits of our school system, but I am not blind to its
+faults," responded the attorney in charge of the bill. He was a man who
+possessed the courage of his convictions, but he was a lawyer of tact,
+and he knew that his answer went to the full limit of what he could
+safely utter by way of qualification without hopelessly imperilling his
+cause.
+
+"Are not our public schools turning out yearly hundreds of boys and
+girls who are a growing credit to the soundness of the institutions of
+the country?" continued the same inquisitor.
+
+Here was a proposition which opened such a vista of circuitous and
+careful speech, were he to attempt to answer it and be true to
+conscience without being false to patriotism, that Mr. Hunter was driven
+to reply, "I am unable to deny the general accuracy of your statement."
+
+"Then why seek to harass those who are doing such good work by
+unfriendly legislation?"
+
+The member plainly felt that he had disposed of the matter by this
+triumphant interrogation, for he listened with scant attention to a
+repetition of the grounds on which, relief was sought.
+
+Mr. Lyons's method of reply was a surprise to Selma. She had looked for
+a fervid vindication of the principle of the people's choice, and an
+eloquent, sarcastic setting forth of the evils of the exclusive and
+aristocratic spirit. He began by complimenting the members of the
+committee on their ability to deal intelligently with the important
+question before them, and then proceeded to refer to the sincere but
+mistaken zeal of the advocates of the bill, whom he described as people
+animated by conscientious motives, but unduly distrustful of the
+capacity of the American people. His manner suggested a desire to be at
+peace with all the world and was agreeably conciliatory, as though he
+deprecated the existence of friction. He said that he would not do the
+members of the committee the injustice to suppose that they could
+seriously favor the passage of a bill which would deprive the
+intelligent average voter of one of his dearest privileges; but that he
+desired to put himself on record as thinking it a fortunate
+circumstance, on the whole, that the well-intentioned promoters of the
+bill had brought this matter to the attention of the legislature, and
+had an opportunity to express their views. He believed that the hearing
+would be productive of benefit to both parties, in that on the one hand
+it would tend to make the voters more careful as to whom they selected
+for the important duties of the school board, and on the other
+would--he, as a lover of democratic institutions, hoped--serve to
+convince the friends of the bill that they had exaggerated the evils of
+the situation, and that they were engaged in a false and hopeless
+undertaking in seeking to confine by hard and fast lines the spontaneous
+yearnings of the American people to control the education of their
+children. "We say to these critics," he continued, "some of whom are
+enrolled under the solemn name of reformers, that we welcome their zeal
+and offer co-operation in a resolute purpose to exercise unswerving
+vigilance in the selection of candidates for the high office of
+guardians of our public schools. So far as they will join hands with us
+in keeping undefiled the traditions of our forefathers, to that extent
+we are heartily in accord with them, but when they seek to override
+those traditions and to fasten upon this community a method which is
+based on a lack of confidence in democratic theories, then I--and
+gentlemen, I feel sure that you--are against them."
+
+Lyons sat down, having given everyone in the room, with the exception of
+a few discerning spirits on the other side, the impression that he had
+intended to be pre-eminently fair, and that he had held out the olive
+branch when he would have been justified in using the scourge. The
+inclination to make friends, to smooth over seamy situations and to
+avoid repellent language in dealing with adversaries, except in
+corporation cases before juries and on special occasions when defending
+his political convictions, had become a growing tendency with him now
+that he was in training for public office. Selma did not quite know what
+to make of it at first. She had expected that he would crush their
+opponents beneath an avalanche of righteous invective. Instead he took
+his seat with an expression of countenance which was no less benignant
+than dignified. When the hearing was declared closed, a few minutes
+later, he looked in her direction, and in the course of his passage to
+where she was sitting stopped to exchange affable greetings with
+assemblymen and others who came in his way. At his approach Mrs. Earle
+uttered congratulations so comprehensive that Selma felt able to refrain
+for the moment from committing herself. "I am glad that you were
+pleased," he said. "I think I covered the ground, and no one's feelings
+have been hurt." As though he divined what was passing through Selma's
+mind, he added in an aside intended only for their ears, "It was not
+necessary to use all our powder, for I could tell from the way the
+committee acted that they were with us."
+
+"I felt sure they would be," exclaimed Mrs. Earle. "And, as you say, it
+is a pleasure that no one's feelings were hurt, and that we can all part
+friends."
+
+"Which reminds me," said Lyons, "that I should be glad of an
+introduction to Mrs. Taylor as she passes us on her way out. I wish to
+assure her personally of my willingness to further her efforts to
+improve the quality of the school board."
+
+"That would be nice of you," said Mrs. Earle, "and ought to please and
+encourage her, for she will be disappointed, poor thing, and after all I
+suppose she means well. There she is now, and I will keep my eye on
+her."
+
+"But surely, Mr. Lyons," said Selma, dazed yet interested by this
+doctrine of brotherly love, "don't you think our school committee
+admirable as it is?"
+
+"A highly efficient body," he answered. "But I should be glad to have
+our opponents--mistaken as we believe them to be--appreciate that we no
+less than they are zealous to preserve the present high standard. We
+must make them recognize that we are reformers and in sympathy with
+reform."
+
+"I see," said Selma. "For, of course, we are the real reformers. Convert
+them you mean? Be civil to them at least? I understand. Yes, I suppose
+there is no use in making enemies of them." She was thinking aloud.
+Though ever on her guard to resent false doctrine, she was so sure of
+the loyalty of both her companions that she could allow herself to be
+interested by this new point of view--a vast improvement on the New York
+manner because of its ethical suggestion. She realized that if Mr. Lyons
+was certain of the committee, it was right, and at the same time
+sensible, not to hurt anyone's feelings unnecessarily--although she felt
+a little suspicious because he had asked to be introduced to Mrs.
+Taylor. Indeed, the more she thought of this attitude, on the assumption
+that the victory was assured, the more it appealed to her conscience and
+intelligence; so much so that when Mrs. Earle darted forward to detain
+Mrs. Taylor, Selma was reflecting with admiration on his magnanimity.
+
+She observed intently the meeting between Mr. Lyons and Mrs. Taylor. He
+was deferential, complimentary, and genial, and he made a suave,
+impressive offer of his personal services, in response to which Mrs.
+Taylor regarded him with smiling incredulity--a smile which Selma
+considered impertinent. How dared she treat his courtly advances with
+flippant distrust!
+
+"Are you aware, Mr. Lyons," Mrs. Taylor was saying, "that one of the
+present members of the school board is a milkman, and another a
+carpenter--both of them persons of very ordinary efficiency from an
+educational standpoint? Will you co-operate with us, when their terms
+expire next year and they seek re-election, to nominate more suitable
+candidates in their stead?"
+
+"I shall be very glad when the time comes to investigate carefully their
+qualifications, and if they are proved to be unworthy of the confidence
+of the people, to use my influence against them. You may rely on
+this--rely on my cordial support, and the support of these ladies," he
+added, indicating Mrs. Earle and Selma, with a wave of his hand, "who,
+if you will permit me to say so, are no less interested than you in
+promoting good government."
+
+"Oh, yes, indeed. We thought we were making an ideal choice in Miss
+Luella Bailey," said Mrs. Earle with effusion. "If Mrs. Taylor had seen
+more of her, I feel sure she would have admired her, and then our
+Institute would not have been dragged into politics."
+
+Mrs. Taylor did not attempt to answer this appeal. Instead she greeted
+Selma civilly, and said, "I was sorry to hear that you were against us,
+Mrs. Littleton. We were allies once in a good cause, and in spite of Mr.
+Lyons's protestations to the contrary, I assure you that this is another
+genuine opportunity to improve the existing order of things. At least,"
+she added, gayly but firmly, "you must not let Mr. Lyons's predilection
+to see everything through rose-colored spectacles prevent you from
+looking into the matter on your own account."
+
+"I have done so already," answered Selma, affronted at the suggestion
+that she was uninformed, yet restrained from displaying her annoyance by
+the sudden inspiration that here was an admirable opportunity to
+practise the proselytizing forbearance suggested by Mr. Lyons. The idea
+of patronizing Mrs. Taylor from the vantage-ground of infallibility,
+tinctured by magnanimous condescension, appealed to her. "I have made a
+thorough study of the question, and I never could look at it as you do,
+Mrs. Taylor. I sided with you before because I thought you were
+right--because you were in favor of giving everyone a chance of
+expression. But now I'm on the other side for the same reason--because
+you and your friends are disposed to deprive people of that very thing,
+and to regard their aspirations and their efforts contemptuously, if I
+may say so. That's the mistake we think you make--we who, as Mr. Lyons
+has stated, are no less eager than you to maintain the present high
+character of everything which concerns our school system. But if you
+only would see things in a little different light, both Mrs. Earle and I
+would be glad to welcome you as an ally and to co-operate with you."
+
+Selma had not expected to make such a lengthy speech, but as she
+proceeded she was spurred by the desire to teach Mrs. Taylor her proper
+place, and at the same time to proclaim her own allegiance to the
+attitude of optimistic forbearance.
+
+"I knew that was the way they felt," said Lyons, ingratiatingly. "It
+would be a genuine pleasure to us all to see this unfortunate difference
+of opinion between earnest people obviated."
+
+Mrs. Taylor, as Selma was pleased to note, flushed at her concluding
+offer, and she answered, drily, "I fear that we are too far apart in our
+ideas to talk of co-operation. If our bill is defeated this year, we
+shall have to persevere and trust to the gradual enlightenment of public
+sentiment. Good afternoon."
+
+Selma left the State-house in an elated frame of mind. She felt that she
+had taken a righteous and patriotic stand, and it pleased her to think
+that she was taking an active part in defending the institutions of the
+country. She chatted eagerly as she walked through the corridors with
+Mr. Lyons, who, portly and imposing, acted as escort to her and Mrs.
+Earle, and invited them to luncheon at a hotel restaurant. Excitement
+had given her more color than usual, to which her mourning acted as a
+foil, and she looked her best. Lyons was proud of being in the company
+of such a presentable and spirited appearing woman, and made a point of
+stopping two or three members of the legislature and introducing them to
+her. When they reached the restaurant he established them at a table
+where they could see everybody and be seen, and he ordered scolloped
+oysters, chicken-salad, ice-cream, coffee, and some bottles of
+sarsaparilla. Both women were in high spirits, and Selma was agreeably
+conscious that people were observing them. Before the repast was over a
+messenger brought a note to Mr. Lyons, which announced that the
+legislative committee had given the petitioners leave to withdraw their
+bill, which, in Selma's eyes, justified the management of the affair,
+and set the seal of complete success on an already absorbing and
+delightful occasion.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+Her mourning and the slow convalescence of Mr. Parsons deprived Selma of
+convincing evidence in regard to her social reception in Benham, for
+those socially prominent were thus barred from inviting her to their
+houses, and her own activities were correspondingly fettered. Indeed,
+her circumstances supplied her with an obvious salve for her proper
+dignity had she been disposed to let suspicion lie fallow. As it was a
+number of people had left cards and sent invitations notwithstanding
+they could not be accepted, and she might readily have believed, had she
+chosen--and as she professed openly to Mr. Parsons--that everyone had
+been uncommonly civil and appreciative.
+
+She found herself, however, in spite of her declared devotion to her
+serious duties, noting that the recognition accorded to Mr. Parsons and
+herself was not precisely of the character she craved. The
+visiting-cards and invitations were from people residing on the River
+Drive and in that neighborhood, indeed--but from people like the Flaggs,
+for instance, who, having acquired large wealth and erected lordly
+dwellings, were eager to dispense good-natured, lavish hospitality
+without social experience. Her sensitive ordeal in New York had
+quickened her social perceptions, so that whereas at the time of her
+departure from Benham as Mrs. Littleton she regarded her present
+neighborhood as an integral class, she was now prompt to separate the
+sheep from the goats, and to remark that only the goats seemed conscious
+of her existence. With the exception of Mrs. Taylor, who had called when
+she was out, not one of a certain set, the outward manifestations of
+whose stately being were constantly passing her windows, appeared to
+take the slightest interest in her. Strictly speaking, Mrs. Taylor was
+of this set, yet apart from it. Hers was the exclusive intellectual and
+aesthetic set, this the exclusive fashionable set--both alike execrable
+and foreign to the traditions of Benham. As Selma had discovered the one
+and declared war against it, so she promised herself to confound the
+other when the period of her mourning was over, and she was free to
+appear again in society. Once more she congratulated herself that she
+had come in time to nip in the bud this other off-shoot of aristocratic
+tendencies. As yet either set was small in number, and she foresaw that
+it would be an easy task to unite in a solid phalanx of
+offensive-defensive influence the friendly souls whom these people
+treated as outsiders, and purge the society atmosphere of the miasma of
+exclusiveness. In connection with the means to this end, when the winter
+slipped away and left her feeling that she had been ignored, and that
+she was eager to assume a commanding position, she began to take more
+than passing thought of the attentions of Mr. Lyons. That he was
+interested by her there could be no doubt, for he plainly went out of
+his way to seek her society, calling at the house from time to time, and
+exercising a useful, nattering superintendence over her lecture course
+in the other cities of the State, in each of which he appeared to have
+friends on the newspaper press who put agreeable notices in print
+concerning her performance. She had returned to Benham believing that
+her married life was over; that her heart was in the grave with Wilbur,
+and that she would never again part with her independence. The notice
+which Mr. Lyons had taken of her from the outset had gratified her, but
+though she contrasted his physical energy with Wilbur's lack of vigor,
+it had not occurred to her to consider him in the light of a possible
+husband. Now that a year had passed since Wilbur's death, she felt
+conscious once more, as had happened after her divorce, of the need of a
+closer and more individual sympathy than any at her command. Her
+relations with Mr. Parsons, to be sure, approximated those of father and
+daughter, but his perceptions were much less acute than before his
+seizure; he talked little and ceased to take a vital interest in current
+affairs. She felt the lack of companionship and, also, of personal
+devotion, such personal devotion as was afforded by the strenuous,
+ardent allegiance of a man. On the other hand she was firmly resolved
+never to allow the current of her own life to be turned away again by
+the subordination of her purposes to those of any other person, and she
+had believed that this resolution would keep her indifferent to
+marriage, in spite of any sensations of loneliness or craving for
+masculine idolatry. But as a widow of a year's standing she was now
+suddenly interested by the thought that this solid, ambitious,
+smooth-talking man might possibly satisfy her natural preference for a
+mate without violating her individuality. She began to ask herself if he
+were not truly congenial in a sense which no man had ever been to her
+before; also, to ask if their aspirations and aims were not so nearly
+identical that he would be certain as her husband to be proud of
+everything she did and said, and to allow her to work hand in hand with
+him for the furtherance of their common purpose. She did not put these
+questions to herself until his conduct suggested that he was seeking her
+society as a suitor; but having put them, she was pleased to find her
+heart throb with the hope of a stimulating and dear discovery.
+
+Certain causes contributed to convince her that this hope rested on a
+sure foundation--causes associated with her present life and point of
+view. She felt confident first of all of the godliness of Mr. Lyons as
+indicated not only by his sober, successful life, and his enthusiastic,
+benignant patriotism, but by his active, reverent interest in the
+affairs of his church--the Methodist Church--to which Mr. Parsons
+belonged, and which Selma had begun to attend since her return to
+Benham. It had been her mother's faith, and she had felt a certain
+filial glow in approaching it, which had been fanned into pious flame by
+the effect of the ministration. The fervent hymns and the opportunities
+for bearing testimony at some of the services appealed to her needs and
+gave her a sense of oneness with eternal truth, which had hitherto been
+lacking from her religious experience. In judging Wilbur she was
+disposed to ascribe the defects of his character largely to the coldness
+and analyzing sobriety of his creed. She had accompanied him to church
+listlessly, and had been bored by the unemotional appeals to conscience
+and quiet subjective designations of duty. She preferred to thrill with
+the intensity of words which now roundly rated sin, now passionately
+called to mind the ransom of the Saviour, and ever kept prominent the
+stirring mission of evangelizing ignorant foreign people. It appeared
+probable to Selma that, as the wife of one of the leading
+church-members, who was the chairman of the local committee charged with
+spreading the gospel abroad, her capacity for doing good would be
+strengthened, and the spiritual availability of them both be enhanced.
+
+Then, too, Mr. Lyons's political prospects were flattering. The thought
+that a marriage with him would put her in a position to control the
+social tendencies of Benham was alluring. As the wife of Hon. James O.
+Lyons, Member of Congress, she believed that she would be able to look
+down on and confound those who had given her the cold shoulder. What
+would Flossy say when she heard it? What would Pauline? This was a form
+of distinction which would put her beyond the reach of conspiracy and
+exclusiveness; for, as the wife of a representative, selected by the
+people to guard their interests and make their laws, would not her
+social position be unassailable? And apart from these considerations, a
+political future seemed to her peculiarly attractive. Was not this the
+real opportunity for which she had been waiting? Would she be justified
+in giving it up? In what better way could her talents be spent than as
+the helpmate and intellectual companion of a public man--a statesman
+devoted to the protection and development of American ideas? Her own
+individuality need not, would not be repressed. She had seen enough of
+Mr. Lyons to feel sure that their views on the great questions of life
+were thoroughly in harmony. They held the same religious opinions. Who
+could foretell the limit of their joint progress? He was still a young
+man--strong, dignified, and patriotic--endowed with qualities which
+fitted him for public service. It might well be that a brilliant future
+was before him--before them, if she were his wife. If he were to become
+prominent in the councils of the nation--Speaker of the
+House--Governor--even President, within the bounds of possibility, what
+a splendid congenial scope his honors would afford her own versatility!
+As day by day she dwelt on these points of recommendation, Selma became
+more and more disposed to smile on the aspirations of Mr. Lyons in
+regard to herself, and to feel that her life would develop to the best
+advantage by a union with him. Until the words asking her to be his wife
+were definitely spoken she could not be positive of his intentions, but
+his conduct left little room for doubt, and moreover, was marked by a
+deferential soberness of purpose which indicated to her that his views
+regarding marriage were on a higher plane than those of any man she had
+known. He referred frequently to the home as the foundation on which
+American civilization rested, and from which its inspiration was largely
+derived, and spoke feelingly of the value to a public man of a
+stimulating and dignifying fireside. It became his habit to join her
+after morning service and to accompany her home, carrying her
+hymn-books, and he sent her from time to time, through the post,
+quotations which had especially struck his fancy from the speeches he
+was collecting for his "Watchwords of Patriotism."
+
+Another six months passed, and at its close Lyons received the expected
+nomination for Congress. The election promised to be close and exciting.
+Both parties were confident of victory, and were preparing vigorously to
+keep their adherents at fever pitch by rallies and torch-light
+processions. Although the result of the caucus was not doubtful, it was
+understood between Lyons and Selma that he would call at the house that
+evening to let her know that he had been successful. She was waiting to
+receive him in the library. Mr. Parsons had gone to bed. His condition
+was not promising. He had recently suffered another slight attack of
+paralysis, which seemed to indicate that he was liable at any time to a
+fatal seizure.
+
+Lyons entered smilingly. "So far so good," he exclaimed.
+
+"Then you have won?"
+
+"Oh, yes. As I told you, it was a foregone conclusion. Now the fight
+begins."
+
+Selma, who had provided a slight refection, handed him a cup of tea. "I
+feel sure that you will be chosen," she said. "See if I am not right.
+When is the election?"
+
+"In six weeks. Six weeks from to-morrow."
+
+"Then you will go to Washington to live?"
+
+"Not until the fourth of March."
+
+"I envy you. If I were a man I should prefer success in politics to
+anything else."
+
+He was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Will you help me to achieve
+success? Will you go with me to Washington as my wife?"
+
+His courtship had been formal and elaborate, but his declaration was
+signally simple and to the point. Selma noticed that the cup in his hand
+trembled. While she kept her eyes lowered, as women are supposed to do
+at such moments, she was wondering whether she loved him as much as she
+had loved Wilbur? Not so ardently, but more worthily, she concluded, for
+he seemed to her to fulfil her maturer ideal of strong and effective
+manhood, and to satisfy alike her self-respect and her physical fancy. A
+man of his type would not split hairs, but proceed straight toward the
+goal of his ambition without fainting or wavering. Why should she not
+satisfy her renewed craving to be yoked to a kindred spirit and
+companion who appreciated her true worth?
+
+"I cannot believe," he was saying, "that my words are a surprise to you.
+You can scarcely have failed to understand that I admired you extremely.
+I have delayed to utter my desire to make you my wife because I did not
+dare to cherish too fondly the hope that the love inspired in me could
+be reciprocated, and that you would consent to unite your life to mine
+and trust your happiness to my keeping. If I may say so, we are no boy
+and girl. We understand the solemn significance of marriage; what it
+imports and what it demands. Of late I have ventured to dream that the
+sympathy in ideas and identity of purpose which exist between us might
+be the trustworthy sign of a spiritual bond which we could not afford to
+ignore. I feel that without you the joy and power of my life will be
+incomplete. With you at my side I shall aspire to great things. You are
+to me the embodiment of what is charming and serviceable in woman."
+
+Selma looked up. "I like you very much, Mr. Lyons. You, in your turn,
+must have realized that, I think. As you say, we are no boy and girl.
+You meant by that, too, that we both have been married before. I have
+had two husbands, and I did not believe that I could ever think of
+marriage again. I don't wish you to suppose that my last marriage was
+not happy. Mr. Littleton was an earnest, talented man, and devoted to
+me. Yet I cannot deny that in spite of mutual love our married life was
+not a success--a success as a contribution to accomplishment. That
+nearly broke my heart, and he--he died from lack of the physical and
+mental vigor which would have made so much difference. I am telling you
+this because I wish you to realize that if I should consent to comply
+with your wishes, it would be because I was convinced that true
+accomplishment--the highest accomplishment--would result from the union
+of our lives as the result of our riper experience. If I did not
+believe, Mr. Lyons, that man and woman as we are--no longer boy and
+girl--a more perfect scheme of happiness, a grander conception of the
+meaning of life than either of us had entertained was before us, I would
+not consider your offer for one moment."
+
+"Yes, yes, I understand," Lyons exclaimed eagerly. "I share your belief
+implicitly. It was what I would have said only--"
+
+Despite his facility as an orator, Lyons left this sentence incomplete
+in face of the ticklish difficulty of explaining that he had refrained
+from suggesting such a hope to a widow who had lost her husband only two
+years before. Yet he hastened to bridge over this ellipsis by saying,
+"Without such a faith a union between us must fall short of its sweetest
+and grandest opportunities."
+
+"It would be a mockery; there would be no excuse for its existence,"
+cried Selma impetuously. "I am an idealist, Mr. Lyons," she said
+clasping her hands. "I believe devotedly in the mission and power of
+love. But I believe that our conception of love changes as we grow. I
+welcomed love formerly as an intoxicating, delirious potion, and as such
+it was very sweet. You have just told me of your own feelings toward me,
+so it is your right to know that lately I have begun to realize that my
+association with you has brought peace into my life--peace and religious
+faith--essentials of happiness of which I have not known the blessings
+since I was a child. You have dedicated yourself to a lofty work; you
+have chosen the noble career of a statesman--a statesman zealous to
+promote principles in which we both believe. And you ask me to share
+with you the labors and the privileges which will result from this
+dedication. If I accept your offer, it must be because I know that I
+love you--love you in a sense I have not loved before--may the dead
+pardon me! If I accept you it will be because I wish to perpetuate that
+faith and peace, and because I believe that our joint lives will realize
+worthy accomplishment." Selma looked into space with her wrapt gaze,
+apparently engaged in an intense mental struggle.
+
+"And you will accept? You do feel that you can return my love? I cannot
+tell you how greatly I am stirred and stimulated by what you have said.
+It makes me feel that I could never be happy without you." Lyons put
+into this speech all his solemnity and all his emotional beneficence of
+temperament. He was genuinely moved. His first marriage had been a love
+match. His wife--a mere girl--had died within a year; so soon that the
+memory of her was a tender but hazy sentiment rather than a formulated
+impression of character. By virtue of this memory he had approached
+marriage again as one seeking a companion for his fireside, and a
+comely, sensible woman to preside over his establishment and promote his
+social status, rather than one expecting to be possessed by or to
+inspire a dominant passion. Yet he, too, regarded himself distinctly as
+an idealist, and he had lent a greedy ear to Selma's suggestion that
+mature mutual sympathy and comradeship in establishing convictions and
+religious aims were the source of a nobler type of love than that
+associated with early matrimony. It increased his admiration for her,
+and gave to his courtship, the touch of idealism which--partly owing to
+his own modesty as a man no longer in the flush of youth--it had lacked.
+He nervously stroked his beard with his thick hand, and gave himself up
+to the spell of this vision of blessedness while he eagerly watched
+Selma's face and waited for her answer. To combine moral purpose and
+love in a pervasive alliance appealed to him magnetically as a religious
+man.
+
+Selma, as she faced Lyons, was conscious necessarily of the contrast
+between him and her late husband. But she was attuned to regard his
+coarser physical fibre as masculine vigor and a protest against
+aristocratic delicacy, and to derive comfort and exaltation from it.
+
+"Mr. Lyons," she said, "I will tell you frankly that the circumstances
+of married life have hitherto hampered the expression of that which is
+in me, and confined the scope of my individuality within narrow and
+uncongenial limits. I am not complaining; I have no intention to rake up
+the past; but it is proper you should know that I believe myself capable
+of larger undertakings than have yet been afforded me, and worthy of
+ampler recognition than I have yet received. If I accept you as a
+husband, it will be because I feel confident that you will give my life
+the opportunity to expand, and that you sympathize with my desire to
+express myself adequately and to labor hand in hand, side by side, with
+you in the important work of the world."
+
+"That is what I would have you do, Selma. Because you are worthy of it,
+and because it is your right."
+
+"On that understanding it seems that we might be very happy."
+
+"I am certain of it. You fill my soul with gladness," he cried, and
+seizing her hand he pressed it to his lips and covered it with kisses,
+but she withdrew it, saying, "Not yet--not yet. This step represents so
+much to me. It means that if I am mistaken in you, my whole life will be
+ruined, for the next years should be my best. We must not be too hasty.
+There are many things to be thought of. I must consider Mr. Parsons. I
+cannot leave him immediately, if at all, for he is very dependent on
+me."
+
+"I had thought of that. While Mr. Parsons lives, I realize that your
+first duty must be to him."
+
+The reverential gravity of his tone was in excess of the needs of the
+occasion, and Selma understood that he intended to imply that Mr.
+Parsons would not long need her care. The same thought was in her own
+mind, and it had occurred to her in the course of her previous
+cogitations in regard to Lyons, that in the event of his death it would
+suit her admirably to continue to occupy the house as its real mistress.
+She looked grave for a moment in her turn, then with a sudden access of
+coyness she murmured, "I do not believe that I am mistaken in you."
+
+"Ah," he cried, and would have folded her in his arms, but she evaded
+his onset and said with her dramatic intonation, "The knights of old won
+their lady-loves by brilliant deeds. If you are elected a member of
+Congress, you may come to claim me."
+
+Reflection served only to convince Selma of the wisdom of her decision
+to try matrimony once more. She argued, that though a third marriage
+might theoretically seem repugnant if stated as a bald fact, the actual
+circumstances in her case not merely exonerated her from a lack of
+delicacy, but afforded an exhibition of progress--a gradual evolution in
+character. She felt light-hearted and triumphant at the thought of her
+impending new importance as the wife of a public man, and she interested
+herself exuberantly in the progress of the political campaign. She was
+pleased to think that her stipulation had given her lover a new spur to
+his ambition, and she was prepared to believe that his victory would be
+due to the exhaustive efforts to win which the cruel possibility of
+losing her obliged him to make.
+
+This was a campaign era of torch-light processions. The rival factions
+expressed their confidence and enthusiasm by parading at night in a
+series of battalions armed with torches--some resplendently flaring,
+some glittering gayly through colored glass--and bearing transparencies
+inscribed with trenchant sentiments. The houses of their adherents along
+the route were illuminated from attic to cellar with rows of candles,
+and the atmosphere wore a dusky glow of red and green fire. To Selma all
+this was entrancing. She revelled in it as an introduction to the more
+conspicuous life which she was about to lead. She showed herself a
+zealous and enthusiastic partisan, shrouding the house in the darkness
+of Erebus on the occasion when the rival procession passed the door, and
+imparting to every window the effect of a blaze of light on the
+following evening--the night before election--when the Democratic party
+made its final appeal to the voters. Standing on a balcony in evening
+dress, in company with Mrs. Earle and Miss Luella Bailey, whom she had
+invited to view the procession from the River Drive, Selma looked down
+on the parade in an ecstatic mood. The torches, the music, the fireworks
+and the enthusiasm set her pulses astir and brought her heart into her
+mouth in melting appreciation of the sanctity of her party cause and her
+own enviable destiny as the wife of an American Congressman. She held in
+one hand a flag which she waved from time to time at the conspicuous
+features of the procession, and she stationed herself so that the Bengal
+lights and other fireworks set off by Mr. Parsons's hired man should
+throw her figure into conspicuous relief. The culminating interest of
+the, occasion for her was reached when the James O. Lyons Cadets, the
+special body of youthful torch-bearers devoted to advertising the merits
+of her lover, for whose uniforms and accoutrements he had paid, came in
+sight.
+
+They proved to be the most flourishing looking organization in line.
+They were preceded by a large, nattily attired drum corps; their ranks
+were full, their torches lustrous, and they bore a number of
+transparencies setting forth the predominant qualifications of the
+candidate for Congress from the second district, the largest of which
+presented his portrait superscribed with the sentiment, "A vote for
+James O. Lyons is a vote in support of the liberties of the plain
+people." On the opposite end of the canvas was the picture of the king
+of beasts, with open jaws and bristling mane, with the motto, "Our
+Lyons's might will keep our institutions sacred." In the midst of this
+glittering escort the candidate himself rode in an open barouche on his
+way to the hall where he was to deliver a final speech. He was bowing to
+right and left, and constant cheers marked his progress along the
+avenue. Selma leaned forward from the balcony to obtain the earliest
+sight of her hero. The rolling applause was a new, intoxicating music in
+her ears, and filled her soul with transport. She clapped her hands
+vehemently; seized a roman-candle, and amid a blaze of fiery sparks
+exploded its colored stars in the direction of the approaching carriage.
+Then with the flag slanted across her bosom, she stood waiting for his
+recognition. It was made solemnly, but with the unequivocal
+demonstration of a cavalier or knight of old, for Lyons stood up, and
+doffing his hat toward her, made a conspicuous salute. A salvo of
+applause suggested to Selma that the multitude had understood that he
+was according to her the homage due a lady-love, and that their cheers
+were partly meant for her. She put her hand to her bosom with the
+gesture of a queen of melodrama, and culling one from a bunch of roses
+Lyons had sent her that afternoon threw it from the balcony at the
+carriage. The flower fell almost into the lap of her lover, who clutched
+it, pressed it to his lips, and doffed his hat again. The episode had
+been visible to many, and a hoarse murmur of interested approval crowned
+the performance. The glance of the crowds on the sidewalk was turned
+upward, and someone proposed three cheers for the lady in the balcony.
+They were given. Selma bowed to either side in delighted acknowledgment,
+while the torches of the cadets waved tumultuously, and there was a
+fresh outburst of colored fires.
+
+"I can't keep the secret any longer," she exclaimed, turning to her two
+companions. "I'm engaged to be married to Mr. Lyons."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+Lyons was chosen to Congress by a liberal margin. The Congressional
+delegation from his State was almost evenly divided between the two
+parties as the result of the election, and the majorities in every case
+were small. Consequently the more complete victory of Lyons was a
+feather in his cap, and materially enhanced his political standing.
+
+The sudden death of Mr. Parsons within a week of the election saved
+Selma's conscience from the strain of arranging a harmonious and
+equitable separation from him. She had felt that the enlargement of her
+sphere of life and the opportunity to serve her country which this
+marriage offered were paramount to any other considerations, but she was
+duly conscious that Mr. Parsons would miss her sorely, and she was
+considering the feasibility of substituting Miss Bailey as his companion
+in her place, when fate supplied a different solution. Selma had pledged
+her friends to secrecy, so that Mr. Parsons need know nothing until the
+plans for his happiness had been perfected, and he died in ignorance of
+the interesting matrimonial alliance which had been fostered under his
+roof. By the terms of his will Selma was bequeathed the twenty thousand
+dollars he had promised her. She and Mr. Lyons, with a third person, to
+be selected by them, were appointed trustees of the Free Hospital with
+which he had endowed Benham, and Mr. Lyons was nominated as the sole
+executor under the will.
+
+Selma's conception that her third betrothal was coincident with
+spiritual development, and that she had fought her way through hampering
+circumstances to a higher plane of experience, had taken firm hold of
+her imagination. She presently confessed to Lyons that she had not
+hitherto appreciated the full meaning of the dogma that marriage was a
+sacrament. She evinced a disposition to show herself with him at church
+gatherings, and to cultivate the acquaintance of his pastor. She felt
+that she had finally secured the opportunity to live the sober, simple
+life appropriate to those who believed in maintaining American
+principles, and in eschewing luxurious and effete foreign innovations;
+the sort of life she had always meant to live, and from which she had
+been debarred. She had now not only opportunity, but a responsibility.
+As the bride of a Congressman, it behooved her both to pursue virtue for
+its own sake and for the sake of example. It was incumbent on her to
+preserve and promote democratic conditions in signal opposition to
+so-called fashionable society, and at the same time to assert her own
+proper dignity and the dignity of her constituents by a suitable outward
+show.
+
+This last subtlety of reflection convinced Selma that they ought to
+occupy the house on the River Drive. Lyons himself expressed some doubts
+as to the advisability of this. He admitted that he could afford the
+expense, and that it was just such a residence as he desired, but he
+suggested that their motives might not be understood, and he questioned
+whether it were wise, with the State so close, to give his political
+enemies the chance to make unjust accusations.
+
+"Of course you ought to understand about this matter better than I," she
+said; "but I have the feeling, James, that your constituents will be
+disappointed if we don't show ourselves appreciative of the dignity of
+your position. We both agree that we should make Benham our home, and
+that it will be preferable if I visit Washington a month or two at a
+time during the session rather than for us to set up housekeeping there,
+and I can't help believing that the people will be better pleased if
+you, as their representative, make that home all which a beautiful home
+should be. They will be proud of it, and if they are, you needn't mind
+what a few fault-finders say. I have been thinking it over, and it seems
+to me that we shall make a mistake to let this house go. It just suits
+us. I feel sure that in their hearts the American people like to have
+their public men live comfortably. This house is small compared to many
+in New York, and I flatter myself that we shall be able to satisfy
+everyone that we are rootedly opposed to unseemly extravagance of
+living."
+
+Lyons yielded readily to this argument. He had been accustomed to simple
+surroundings, but travel and the growth of Benham itself had
+demonstrated to him that the ways of the nation in respect to material
+possessions and comforts had undergone a marked change since his youth.
+He had been brought in contact with this new development in his capacity
+of adviser to the magnates of Benham, and he had fallen under the spell
+of improved creature comforts. Still, though he cast sheep's eyes at
+these flesh pots, he had felt chary, both as a worker for righteousness
+and an ardent champion of popular principles, of countenancing them
+openly. Yet his original impulse toward marriage had been a desire to
+secure an establishment, and now that this result was at hand he found
+himself ambitious to put his household on a braver footing, provided
+this would do injury neither to his moral scruples nor to his political
+sincerity. The problem was but another phase of that presented to him by
+his evolution from a jury lawyer, whose hand and voice were against
+corporations, to the status of a richly paid chamber adviser to
+railroads and banking houses. He was exactly in the frame of mind to
+grasp at the euphemism offered by Selma. He was not one to be convinced
+without a reason, but his mind eagerly welcomed a suggestion which
+justified on a moral ground the proceeding to which they were both
+inclined. The idea that the people would prefer to see him as their
+representative living in a style consistent with the changes in manners
+and customs introduced by national prosperity, affording thereby an
+example of correct and elevating stewardship of reasonable wealth, by
+way of contrast to vapid society doings, came to him as an illumination
+which dissipated his doubts.
+
+The wedding took place about three months after the death of Mr.
+Parsons. In her renovated outlook regarding matrimony, Selma included
+formal preparations for and some pomp of circumstances at the ceremony.
+It suited her pious mood that she was not required again to be married
+off-hand, and that she could plight her troth in a decorous fashion,
+suitably attired and amid conventional surroundings. Her dress was a
+subject of considerable contemplation. She guided her lover's generosity
+until it centred on a diamond spray for her hair and two rings set with
+handsome precious stones. She did not discourage Miss Luella Bailey from
+heralding the approaching nuptials in the press. She became Mrs. Lyons
+in a conspicuous and solemn fashion before the gaze of everybody in
+Benham whom there was any excuse for asking to the church. After a
+collation at the Parsons house, the happy pair started on their
+honeymoon in a special car put at their service by one of the railroads
+for which the bridegroom was counsel. This feature delighted Selma.
+Indeed, everything, from the complimentary embrace of her husband's
+pastor to the details of her dress and wedding presents, described with
+elaborate good will in the evening newspapers, appeared to her
+gratifying and appropriate.
+
+They were absent six weeks, during which the Parsons house was to be
+redecorated and embellished within and without according to instructions
+given by Selma before her departure. Their trip extended to California
+by way of the Yosemite. Selma had never seen the wonders of the far
+western scenery, and this appropriate background for their sentiment
+also afforded Lyons the opportunity to inspect certain railroad lines in
+which he was financially interested. The atmosphere of the gorgeous
+snow-clad peaks and impressive chasms served to heighten still further
+the intensity of Selma's frame of mind. She managed adroitly on several
+occasions to let people know who they were, and it pleased her to
+observe the conductor indicating to passengers in the common cars that
+they were Congressman Lyons and his wife on their honeymoon. She was
+looking forward to Washington, and as she stood in the presence of the
+inspiring beauties of nature she was prone to draw herself up in
+rehearsal of the dignity which she expected to wear. What were these
+mountains and canyons but physical counterparts of the human soul? What
+but correlative representatives of grand ideas, of noble lives devoted
+to the cause of human liberty? She felt that she was very happy, and she
+bore testimony to this by walking arm in arm with her husband, leaning
+against his firm, stalwart shoulder. It seemed to her desirable that the
+public should know that they were a happy couple and defenders of the
+purity of the home. On their way back the train was delayed on
+Washington's birthday for several hours by a wash-out, and presently a
+deputation made up of passengers and townspeople waited on Lyons and
+invited him to deliver an open-air address. He and Selma, when the
+committee arrived, were just about to explore the neighborhood, and
+Lyons, though ordinarily he would have been glad of such an opportunity,
+looked at his wife with an expression which suggested that he would
+prefer a walk with her. The eyes of the committee followed his,
+appreciating that he had thrown the responsibility of a decision on his
+bride. Selma was equal to the occasion. "Of course he will address you,"
+she exclaimed. "What more suitable place could there be for offering
+homage to the father of our country than this majestic prairie?" She
+added, proudly, "And I am glad you should have the opportunity to hear
+my husband speak."
+
+Some letters requiring attention were forwarded to Lyons at one of the
+cities where they stopped. As they lay on his dressing-table Selma
+caught sight of the return address, Williams & Van Horne, printed on the
+uppermost envelope. The reminder aroused a host of associations. Flossy
+had not been much in her thoughts lately, yet she had not failed to
+plume herself occasionally with the reflection that she could afford now
+to snap her fingers at her. She had wondered more than once what Flossy
+would think when she heard that she was the wife of a Representative.
+
+"Do you know these people personally?" she inquired, holding up the
+envelope.
+
+"Yes. They are my--er--financial representatives in New York. I have
+considerable dealings with them."
+
+Selma had not up to this time concerned herself as to the details of her
+husband's affairs. He had made clear to her that his income from his
+profession was large, and she knew that he was interested in a variety
+of enterprises. That he should have connections with a firm of New York
+brokers was one more proof to her of his common sense and capacity to
+take advantage of opportunities.
+
+"Mr. Littleton used to buy stocks through Williams and Van Horne--only a
+few. He was not very clever at it, and failed to make the most of the
+chances given him to succeed in that way. We knew the Williamses at one
+time very well. They lived in the same block with us for several years
+after we were married."
+
+"Williams is a capable, driving sort of fellow. Bold, but on the whole
+sagacious, I think," answered Lyons, with demure urbanity. It was rather
+a shock to him that his wife should learn that he had dealings in the
+stock market. He feared lest it might seem to her inconsistent with his
+other propensities--his religious convictions and his abhorrence of
+corporate rapacity. He preferred to keep such transactions private for
+fear they should be misunderstood. At heart he did not altogether
+approve of them himself. They were a part of his evolution, and had
+developed by degrees until they had become now so interwoven with his
+whole financial outlook that he could not escape from them at the moment
+if he would. Indeed some of them were giving him anxiety. He had
+supposed that the letter in question contained a request for a
+remittance to cover depreciation in his account. Instead he had read
+with some annoyance a confidential request from Williams that he would
+work for a certain bill which, in his capacity as a foe of monopoly, he
+had hoped to be able to oppose. It offended his conscience to think that
+he might be obliged secretly to befriend a measure against which his
+vote must be cast. As has been intimated, he would have preferred that
+his business affairs should remain concealed from his wife. Yet her
+remarks were unexpectedly and agreeably reassuring. They served to
+furnish a fresh indication on her part of intelligent sympathy with the
+perplexities which beset the path of an ambitious public man. They
+suggested a subtle appreciation of the reasonableness of his behavior,
+notwithstanding its apparent failure to tally with his outward
+professions.
+
+Selma's reply interrupted this rhapsody.
+
+"I ought to tell you, I suppose, that I quarrelled with Mrs. Williams
+before I left New York. Or, rather, she quarrelled with me. She insulted
+me in my own house, and I was obliged to order her to leave it."
+
+"Quarrelled? That is a pity. An open break? Open breaks in friendship
+are always unfortunate." Lyons looked grieved, and fingered his beard
+meditatively.
+
+"I appreciate," said Selma, frankly, "that our falling out will be an
+inconvenience in case we should meet in Washington or elsewhere, since
+you and Mr. Williams have business interests in common. Of course,
+James, I wish to help you in every way I can. I might as well tell you
+about it. I think she was jealous of me and fancied I was trying to cut
+her out socially. At all events, she insinuated that I was not a lady,
+because I would not lower my standards to hers, and adopt the frivolous
+habits of her little set. But I have not forgotten, James, your
+suggestion that people in public life can accomplish more if they avoid
+showing resentment and strive for harmony. I shall be ready to forget
+the past if Mrs. Williams will, for my position as your wife puts me
+beyond the reach of her criticism. She's a lively little thing in her
+way, and her husband seems to understand about investments and how to
+get ahead."
+
+They went direct to Washington without stopping at Benham. It was
+understood that the new session of Congress was to be very short, and
+they were glad of an opportunity to present themselves in an official
+capacity at the capital as a conclusion to their honeymoon, before
+settling down at home. Selma found a letter from Miss Bailey, containing
+the news that Pauline Littleton had accepted the presidency of Wetmore
+College, the buildings of which were now practically completed. Selma
+gasped as she read this. She had long ago decided that her
+sister-in-law's studies were unpractical, and that Pauline was doomed to
+teach small classes all her days, a task for which she was doubtless
+well fitted. She resented the selection, for, in her opinion, Pauline
+lacked the imaginative talent of Wilbur, and yet shared his subjective,
+unenthusiastic ways. More than once it had occurred to her that the
+presidency of Wetmore was the place of all others for which she herself
+was fitted. Indeed, until Lyons had offered himself she had cherished in
+her inner consciousness the hope that the course of events might
+demonstrate that she was the proper person to direct the energies of
+this new medium for the higher education of women. It irritated her to
+think that an institution founded by Benham philanthropy, and which
+would be a vital influence in the development of Benham womanhood,
+should be under the control of one who was hostile to American theories
+and methods. Selma felt so strongly on the subject that she thought of
+airing her objections in a letter to Mr. Flagg, the donor, but she
+concluded to suspend her strictures until her return to Benham. She
+sent, however, to Miss Bailey, who was now regularly attached to one of
+the Benham newspapers, notes for an article which should deplore the
+choice by the trustees of one who was unfamiliar and presumably out of
+sympathy with Benham thought and impulse.
+
+Selma's emotions on her arrival in Washington were very different from
+those which she had experienced in New York as the bride of Littleton.
+Then she had been unprepared for, dazed, and offended by what she saw.
+Now, though she mentally assumed that the capital was the parade ground
+of American ideas and principles, she felt not merely no surprise at the
+august appearance of the wide avenues, but she was eagerly on the
+lookout, as they drove from the station to the hotel, for signs of
+social development. The aphorism which she had supplied to her husband,
+that the American people prefer to have their representatives live
+comfortably, dwelt in her thoughts and was a solace to her. Despite her
+New York experience, she had the impression that the doors of every
+house in Washington would fly open at her approach as the wife of a
+Congressman. She did not formulate her anticipations as to her
+reception, but she entertained a general expectation that their presence
+would be acknowledged as public officials in a notable way. She dressed
+herself on the morning after their arrival at the hotel with some
+showiness, so as to be prepared for flattering emergencies. She had said
+little to her husband on the subject, for she had already discovered
+that, though he was ambitious that they should appear well, he was
+disposed to leave the management of social concerns to her. His
+information had been limited to bidding her come prepared for the
+reception to be given at the White House at the reassembling of
+Congress. Selma had brought her wedding-dress for this, and was looking
+forward to it as a gala occasion.
+
+The hotel was very crowded, and Selma became aware that many of the
+guests were the wives and daughters of other Congressmen, who seemed to
+be in the same predicament as herself--that is, without anyone to speak
+to and waiting in their best clothes for something to happen. Lyons knew
+a few of them, and was making acquaintances in the corridors, with some
+of whom he exchanged an introduction of wives. As she successively met
+these other women, Selma perceived that no one of them was better
+dressed than herself, and she reflected with pleasure that they would
+doubtless be available allies in her crusade against frivolity and
+exclusiveness.
+
+Presently she set out with her husband to survey the sights of the city.
+Naturally their first visit was to the Capitol, in the presence of which
+Selma clutched his arm in the pride of her patriotism and of her
+pleasure that he was to be one of the makers of history within its
+splendid precincts. The sight of the stately houses of Congress,
+superbly dominated by their imposing dome, made them both walk proudly,
+lost, save for occasional vivid phrases of admiration, in the
+contemplation of their own possible future. What greater earthly prize
+for man than political distinction among a people capable of monuments
+like this? What grander arena for a woman eager to demonstrate truth and
+promote righteousness? There was, of course, too much to see for any one
+visit. They went up to the gallery of the House of Representatives and
+looked down on the theatre of Lyons's impending activities. He was to
+take his seat on the day after the morrow as one of the minority party,
+but a strong, vigorous minority. Selma pictured him standing in the
+aisle and uttering ringing words of denunciation against corporate
+monopolies and the money power.
+
+"I shall come up here and listen to you often. I shall be able to tell
+if you speak loud enough--so that the public can hear you," she said,
+glancing at the line of galleries which she saw in her mind's eye
+crowded with spectators. "You must make a long speech very soon."
+
+"That is very unlikely indeed. They tell me a new member rarely gets a
+chance to be heard," answered Lyons.
+
+"But they will hear you. You have something to say."
+
+Lyons squeezed her hand. Her words nourished the same hope in his own
+breast. "I shall take advantage of every opportunity to obtain
+recognition, and to give utterance to my opinions."
+
+"Oh yes, I shall expect you to speak. I am counting on that."
+
+On their way down they scanned with interest the statues and portraits
+of distinguished statesmen and heroes, and the representations of famous
+episodes in American history with which the walls of the landings and
+the rotunda are lined.
+
+"Some day you will be here," said Selma. "I wonder who will paint you or
+make your bust. I have often thought," she added, wistfully, "that, if I
+had given my mind to it, I could have modelled well in clay. Some day
+I'll try. It would be interesting, wouldn't it, to have you here in
+marble with the inscription underneath, 'Bust of the Honorable James O.
+Lyons, sculptured by his wife?'"
+
+Lyons laughed, but he was pleased. "You are making rapid strides, my
+dear. I am sure of one thing--if my bust or portrait ever is here, I
+shall owe my success largely to your devotion and good sense. I felt
+certain of it before, but our honeymoon has proved to me that we were
+meant for one another."
+
+"Yes, I think we were. And I like to hear you say I have good sense.
+That is what I pride myself on as a wife."
+
+On their return to the hotel Selma was annoyed to find that no one but a
+member of her husband's Congressional delegation had called. She had
+hoped to find that their presence in Washington was known and
+appreciated. It seemed to her, moreover, that they were not treated at
+the hotel with the deference she had supposed would be accorded to them.
+To be sure, equality was of the essence of American doctrine;
+nevertheless she had anticipated that the official representatives of
+the people would be made much of, and distinguished from the rest of the
+world, if not by direct attention, by being pointed out and looked at
+admiringly. Still, as Lyons showed no signs of disappointment, she
+forbore to express her own perplexity, which was temporarily relieved by
+an invitation from him to drive. The atmosphere was mild enough for an
+open carriage, and Selma's appetite for processional effect derived some
+crumbs of comfort from the process of showing herself in a barouche by
+the side of her husband. They proceeded in an opposite direction from
+the Capitol, and after surveying the outside of the White House, drove
+along the avenues and circles occupied by private residences. Selma
+noticed that these houses, though attractive, were less magnificent and
+conspicuous than many of those in New York--more like her own in Benham;
+and she pictured as their occupants the families of the public men of
+the country--a society of their wives and daughters living worthily,
+energetically, and with becoming stateliness, yet at the same time
+rebuking by their example frivolity and rampant luxury. She observed
+with satisfaction the passage of a number of private carriages, and that
+their occupants were stylishly clad. She reflected that, as, the wife of
+a Congressman, her place was among them, and she was glad that they
+recognized the claims of social development so far as to dress well and
+live in comfort. Before starting she had herself fastened a bunch of red
+roses at her waist as a contribution to her picturesqueness as a public
+woman.
+
+While she was thus absorbed in speculation, not altogether free from
+worrying suspicions, in spite of her mental vision as to the occupants
+of these private residences, she uttered an ejaculation of surprise as a
+jaunty victoria passed by them, and she turned her head in an eager
+attempt to ascertain if her surprise and annoyance were well-founded.
+The other vehicle was moving rapidly, but a similar curiosity impelled
+one of its occupants to look hack also, and the eyes of the two women
+met.
+
+"It's she; I thought it was."
+
+"Who, my dear?" said Lyons.
+
+"Flossy Williams--Mrs. Gregory Williams. I wonder," she added, in a
+severe tone, "what she is doing here, and how she happens to be
+associating with these people. That was a private carriage."
+
+"Williams has a number of friends in Washington, I imagine. I thought it
+likely that he would be here. That was another proof of your good sense,
+Selma--deciding to let bygones be bygones and to ignore your
+disagreement with his wife."
+
+"Yes, I know. I shall treat her civilly. But my heart will be broken,
+James, if I find that Washington is like New York."
+
+"In what respect?"
+
+"If I find that the people in these houses lead exclusive, un-American,
+godless lives. It would tempt me almost to despair of our country," she
+exclaimed, with tragic emphasis.
+
+"I don't understand about social matters, Selma. I must leave those to
+you. But," he added, showing that he shrewdly realized the cause of her
+anguish better than she did herself, "as soon as we get better
+acquainted, I'm sure you will find that we shall get ahead, and that you
+will be able to hold your own with anybody, however exclusive."
+
+Selma colored at the unflattering simplicity of his deduction. "I don't
+desire to hold my own with people of that sort. I despise them."
+
+"I know. Hold your own, I mean, among people of the right sort by force
+of sound ideas and principles. The men and women of to-day," he
+continued, with melodious asseveration, "are the grand-children of those
+who built the splendid halls we visited this morning as a monument to
+our nation's love of truth and righteousness. A few frivolous, worldly
+minded spirits are not the people of the United States to whom we look
+for our encouragement and support."
+
+"Assuredly," answered Selma, with eagerness. "It is difficult, though,
+not to get discouraged at times by the behavior of those who ought to
+aid instead of hinder our progress as a nation."
+
+For a moment she was silent in wrapt meditation, then she asked:
+
+"Didn't you expect that more notice would be taken of our arrival?"
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"In some way befitting a member of Congress."
+
+Lyons laughed. "My dear Selma, I am one new Congressman among several
+hundred. What did you expect? That the President and his wife would come
+and take us to drive?"
+
+"Of course not." She paused a moment, then she said: "I suppose that, as
+you are not on the side of the administration, we cannot expect much
+notice to be taken of us until you speak in the House. I will try not to
+be too ambitious for you, James; but it would be easier to be patient,"
+she concluded, with her far-away look, "if I were not beginning to fear
+that this city also may be contaminated just as New York is."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+The incidents of the next two days previous to her attendance at the
+evening reception at the White House restored Selma's equanimity. She
+had the satisfaction of being present at the opening ceremonies of the
+House of Representatives, and of beholding her husband take the oath of
+office. She was proud of Lyons as she looked down on him from the
+gallery standing in the aisle by his allotted seat. He was holding an
+improvised reception, for a number of his colleagues showed themselves
+desirous to make his acquaintance. She noticed that he appeared already
+on familiar terms with some of his fellow-members; that he drew men or
+was drawn aside for whispered confidences; that he joked knowingly with
+others; and that always as he chatted his large, round, smooth face,
+relieved by its chin beard, wore an aspect of bland dignity and shrewd
+reserve wisdom. It pleased her to be assisting at the dedication of a
+fresh page of national history--a page yet unwritten, but on which she
+hoped that her own name would be inscribed sooner or later by those who
+should seek to trace the complete causes of her husband's usefulness and
+genius.
+
+Another source of satisfaction was the visit paid them the day before at
+the hotel by one of the United States Senators from their own State--Mr.
+Calkins. The two political parties in their own State were so evenly
+divided that one of the Senators in office happened to be a Republican
+and his colleague a Democrat. Mr. Calkins belonged to her husband's
+party, yet he suggested that they might enjoy a private audience with
+the President, with whom, notwithstanding political differences of
+opinion, Mr. Calkins was on friendly terms. This was the sort of thing
+which Selma aspired to, and the experience did much to lighten her
+heart. She enjoyed the distinction of seeing guarded doors open at their
+approach, and of finding herself shaking hands with the chief magistrate
+of the nation at a special interview. The President was very affable,
+and was manifestly aware of Lyons's triumph at the expense of his own
+party, and of his consequent political importance. He treated the matter
+banteringly, and Selma was pleased at her ability to enter into the
+spirit of his persiflage and to reciprocate. In her opinion solemnity
+would have been more consistent with his position as the official
+representative of the people of the United States, and his jocose
+manifestations at a time when serious conversation seemed to be in order
+was a disappointment, and tended to confirm her previous distrust of him
+as the leader of the opposite party. She had hoped he would broach some
+vital topics of political interest, and that she would have the
+opportunity to give expression to her own views in regard to public
+questions. Nevertheless, as the President saw fit to be humorous, she
+was glad that she understood how to meet and answer his bantering
+sallies. She felt sure that Lyons, were he ever to occupy this dignified
+office, would refrain from ill-timed levity, but she bore in mind also
+the policy of conciliation which she had learned from her husband, and
+concealed her true impressions. She noticed that both Lyons and Mr.
+Calkins forebore to show dissatisfaction, and she reflected that, though
+the President's tone was light, there was nothing else in his appearance
+or bearing to convict him of sympathy with lack of enthusiasm and with
+cynicism. It would have destroyed all the enjoyment of her interview had
+she been forced to conclude that a man who did not take himself and his
+duties seriously could be elected President of the United States. She
+was not willing to believe this; but her suspicions were so far aroused
+that she congratulated herself that her political opponents were
+responsible for his election. Nevertheless she was delighted by the
+distinction of the private audience, and by the episode at its close,
+which gave her opportunity to show her individuality. Said the President
+gallantly as she was taking leave:
+
+"Will you permit me to congratulate Congressman Lyons on his good
+fortune in the affairs of the heart as well as in politics?"
+
+"If you say things like that, Mr. President," interjected Lyons, "you
+will turn her head; she will become a Republican, and then where should
+I be?"
+
+While she perceived that the President was still inclined to levity, the
+compliment pleased Selma. Yet, though she appreciated that her husband
+was merely humoring him by his reply, she did not like the suggestion
+that any flattery could affect her principles. She shook her head
+coquettishly and said:
+
+"James, I'm sure the President thinks too well of American women to
+believe that any admiration, however gratifying, would make me lukewarm
+in devotion to my party."
+
+This speech appeared to her apposite and called for, and she departed in
+high spirits, which were illuminated by the thought that the
+administration was not wholly to be trusted.
+
+On the following evening Selma went to the reception at the White House.
+The process of arrival was trying to her patience, for they were obliged
+to await their turn in the long file of carriages. She could not but
+approve of the democratic character of the entertainment, which anyone
+who desired to behold and shake hands with the Chief Magistrate was free
+to attend. Still, it again crossed her mind that, as an official's wife,
+she ought to have been given precedence. Their turn to alight came at
+last, and they took their places in the procession of visitors on its
+way through the East room to the spot where the President and his wife,
+assisted by some of the ladies of the Cabinet, were submitting to the
+ordeal of receiving the nation. There was a veritable crush, in which
+there was every variety of evening toilette, a display essentially in
+keeping with the doctrines which Selma felt that she stood for. She took
+occasion to rejoice in Lyons's ear at the realization of her
+anticipations in this respect. At the same time she was agreeably
+stimulated by the belief that her wedding dress was sumptuous and
+stylish, and her appearance striking. Her hair had been dressed as
+elaborately as possible; she wore all her jewelry; and she carried a
+bouquet of costly roses. Her wish was to regard the function as the
+height of social demonstration, and she had spared no pains to make
+herself effective. She had esteemed it her duty to do so both as a
+Congressman's wife and as a champion of moral and democratic ideas.
+
+The crowd was oppressive, and three times the train of her dress was
+stepped on to her discomfiture. Amid the sea of faces she recognized a
+few of the people she had seen at the hotel. It struck her that no one
+of the women was dressed so elegantly as herself, an observation which
+cheered her and yet was not without its thorn. But the music, the
+lights, and the variegated movement of the scene kept her senses
+absorbed and interfered with introspection, until at last they were
+close to the receiving party. Selma fixed her eyes on the President,
+expecting recognition. Like her husband, the President possessed a gift
+of faces and the faculty of rallying all his energies to the important
+task of remembering who people were. An usher asked and announced the
+names, but the Chief Magistrate's perceptions were kept hard at work.
+His "How do you do, Congressman Lyons? I am very glad to see you here,
+Mrs. Lyons," were uttered with a smiling spontaneity, which to his own
+soul meant a momentary agreeable relaxation of the nerves of memory,
+resembling the easy flourish with which a gymnast engaged in lifting
+heavy weights encounters a wooden dumb-bell. But though his eyes and
+voice were flattering, Selma had barely completed the little bob of a
+courtesy which accompanied her act of shaking hands when she discovered
+that the machinery of the national custom was not to halt on their
+account, and that she must proceed without being able to renew the half
+flirtatious interview of the previous day. She proceeded to courtesy to
+the President's wife and to the row of wives of members of the Cabinet
+who were assisting. Before she could adequately observe them, she found
+herself beyond and a part once more of a heterogeneous crush, the
+current of which she aimlessly followed on her husband's arm. She was
+suspicious of the device of courtesying. Why had not the President's
+wife and the Cabinet ladies shaken hands with her and given her an
+opportunity to make their acquaintance? Could it be that the
+administration was aping foreign manners and adopting effete and
+aristocratic usages?
+
+"What do we do now?" she asked of Lyons as they drifted along.
+
+"I'd like to find Horace Elton and introduce him to you. I caught a
+glimpse of him further on just before we reached the President. Horace
+knows all the ropes and can tell us who everybody is."
+
+Selma had heard her husband refer to Horace Elton on several occasions
+in terms of respectful and somewhat mysterious consideration. She had
+gathered in a general way that he was a far reaching and formidable
+power in matters political and financial, besides being the president
+and active organizer of the energetic corporation known as the
+Consumers' Gas Light Company of their own state. As they proceeded she
+kept her eyes on the alert for a man described by Lyons as short,
+heavily built, and neat looking, with small side whiskers and a
+close-mouthed expression. When they were not far from the door of exit
+from the East room, some one on the edge of the procession accosted her
+husband, who drew her after him in that direction. Selma found herself
+in a sort of eddy occupied by half a dozen people engaged in observing
+the passing show, and in the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Williams.
+It was Mr. Williams who had diverted them. He now renewed his
+acquaintance with her, exclaiming--"My wife insisted that she had met
+you driving with some one she believed to be your husband. I had heard
+that Congressman Lyons was on his bridal tour, and now everything is
+clear. Flossy, you were right as usual, and it seems that our hearty
+congratulations are in order to two old friends."
+
+Williams spoke with his customary contagious confidence. Selma noted
+that he was stouter and that his hair was becomingly streaked with gray.
+Had not her attention been on the lookout for his wife she might have
+noticed that his eye wore a restless, strained expression despite his
+august banker's manner and showy gallantry. She did observe that the
+moment he had made way for Flossy he turned to Lyons and began to talk
+to him in a subdued tone under the guise of watching the procession.
+
+The two women confronted each other with spontaneous forgetfulness of
+the past. There was a shade of haughtiness in Selma's greeting. She was
+prepared to respect her husband's policy and to ignore the circumstances
+under which they had parted, but she wished Flossy to understand that
+this was an act of condescension on her part as a Congressman's wife,
+whose important social status was beyond question. She was so thoroughly
+imbued with this sense of her indisputable superiority that she readily
+mistook Flossy's affability for fawning; whereas that young woman's
+ingenuous friendliness was the result of a warning sentence from Gregory
+when Selma and her husband were seen approaching--"Keep a check on your
+tongue, Floss. This statesman with a beard like a goat is likely to have
+a political future."
+
+"I felt sure it was you the other day," Flossy said with smiling
+sprightliness, "but I had not heard of your marriage to Mr. Lyons."
+
+"We were married at Benham six weeks ago. We are to live in Benham. We
+have bought the house there which belonged to Mr. Parsons. We have just
+returned from visiting the superb scenery of the Yosemite and the Rocky
+Mountains, and it made me prouder than ever of my country. If
+Congressman Lyons had not been obliged to be present at the opening of
+Congress, we should have spent our honeymoon in Europe."
+
+"Gregory and I passed last summer abroad yachting. We crossed on a
+steamer and had our yacht meet us there. Isn't it a jam to-night?"
+
+"There seem to be a great many people. I suppose you came on from New
+York on purpose for this reception?"
+
+"Mercy, no. We are staying with friends, and we hadn't intended to come
+to-night. But we had been dining out and were dressed, so we thought
+we'd drop in and show our patriotism. It's destruction to clothes, and
+I'm glad I haven't worn my best."
+
+Selma perceived Flossy's eye making a note of her own elaborate costume,
+and the disagreeable suspicion that she was overdressed reasserted
+itself. She had already observed that Mrs. Williams's toilette, though
+stylish, was comparatively simple. How could one be overdressed on such
+an occasion? What more suitable time for an American woman to wear her
+choicest apparel than when paying her respects to the President of the
+United States? She noticed that Flossy seemed unduly at her ease as
+though the importance of the ceremony was lost on her, and that they
+group of people with whom Flossy had been talking and who stood a little
+apart were obviously indulging in quiet mirth at the expense of some of
+those in the procession.
+
+"Are the friends with whom you are staying connected with the
+Government?" Selma asked airily.
+
+"Official people? Goodness, no. But I can point out to you who everybody
+is, for we have been in Washington frequently during the last three
+sessions. Gregory has to run over here on business every now and then,
+and I almost always come with him. To-night is the opportunity to see
+the queer people in all their glory--the woolly curiosities, as Gregory
+calls them. And a sprinkling of the real celebrities too," she added.
+
+Selma's inquiry had been put with a view to satisfy herself that
+Flossy's friends were mere civilians. But she was glad of an opportunity
+to be enlightened as to the names of her fellow-officials, though she
+resented Flossy's flippant tone regarding the character of the
+entertainment. While she listened to the breezy, running commentary by
+which Flossy proceeded to identify for her benefit the conspicuous
+figures in the procession she nursed her offended sensibilities.
+
+"I should suppose," she said, taking advantage of a pause, "that on such
+an occasion as this everybody worth knowing would be present."
+
+Flossy gave Selma one of her quick glances. She had not forgotten the
+past, nor her discovery of the late Mrs. Littleton's real grievance
+against her and the world. Nor did she consider that her husband's
+caveat debarred her from the amusement of worrying the wife of the Hon.
+James O. Lyons, provided it could be done by means of the truth
+ingenuously uttered. She said with a confidential smile--
+
+"The important and the interesting political people have other
+opportunities to meet one another--at dinner parties and less
+promiscuous entertainments than this, and the Washington people have
+other opportunities to meet them. Of course the President is a dear, and
+everyone makes a point of attending a public reception once in a while,
+but this sort of thing isn't exactly an edifying society event. For
+instance, notice the woman in the pomegranate velvet with two diamond
+sprays in her hair. That's the wife of Senator Colman--his child wife,
+so they call her. She came to Washington six years ago as the wife of a
+member of the House from one of the wild and woolly States, and was
+notorious then in the hotel corridors on account of her ringletty raven
+hair and the profusion of rings she wore. She used to make eyes at the
+hotel guests and romp with her husband's friends in the hotel parlors,
+which was the theatre of her social activities. Her husband died, and a
+year ago she married old Senator Colman, old enough to be her
+grandfather, and one of the very rich and influential men in the Senate.
+Now she has developed social ambition and is anxious to entertain. They
+have hired a large house for the winter and are building a larger one.
+As Mrs. Polsen--that was her first husband's name--she was invited
+nowhere except to wholesale official functions like this. The wife of a
+United States Senator with plenty of money can generally attract a
+following; she is somebody. And it happens that people are amused by
+Mrs. Cohnan's eccentricities. She still overdresses, and makes eyes, and
+she nudges those who sit next her at table, but she is good-natured,
+says whatever comes into her head, and has a strong sense of humor. So
+she is getting on."
+
+"Getting on among society people?" said Selma drily.
+
+Flossy's eyes twinkled. "Society people is the generic name used for
+them in the newspapers. I mean that she is making friends among the
+women who live in the quarter where I passed you the other day."
+
+Selma frowned. "It is not necessary, I imagine, to make friends of that
+class in order to have influence in Washington,--the best kind of
+influence. I can readily believe that people of that sort would interest
+most of our public women very little."
+
+"Very likely. I don't think you quite understand me, Mrs. Lyons, or we
+are talking at cross purposes. What I was trying to make clear is that
+political and social prominence in Washington are by no means
+synonimous. Of course everyone connected with the government who
+desires to frequent Washington society and is socially available is
+received with open arms; but, if people are not socially available, it
+by no means follows that they are able to command social recognition
+merely because they hold political office,--except perhaps in the case
+of wives of the Cabinet, of the Justices of the Supreme Court, or of
+rich and influential Senators, where a woman is absolutely bent on
+success and takes pains. I refer particularly to the wives, because a
+single man, if he is reasonably presentable and ambitious, can go about
+more or less, even if he is a little rough, for men are apt to be
+scarce. But the line is drawn on the women unless they are--er--really
+important and have to be tolerated for official reasons. Now every woman
+who is not _persona grata_, as the diplomats say, anywhere else, is apt
+to attend the President's reception in all her finery, and that's why I
+suggested that this sort of thing isn't exactly an edifying social
+event. It's amusing to come here now and then, just as it's amusing to
+go to a menagerie. You see what I mean, don't you?" Flossy asked, plying
+her feathery fan with blithe nonchalance and looking into her
+companion's face with an innocent air.
+
+"I understand perfectly. And who are these people who draw the line?"
+
+"It sometimes happens," continued Flossy abstractedly, without appearing
+to hear this inquiry, "that they improve after they've been in
+Washington a few years. Take Mrs. Baker, the Secretary of the Interior's
+wife, receiving to-night. When her husband came to Washington three
+years ago she had the social adaptability of a solemn horse. But she
+persevered and learned, and now as a Cabinet lady she unbends, and is no
+longer afraid of compromising her dignity by wearing becoming clothes
+and smiling occasionally. But you were asking who the people are who
+draw the line. The nice people here just as everywhere else; the people
+who have been well educated and have fine sensibilities, and who believe
+in modesty, and unselfishness and thorough ways of doing things. You
+must know the sort of people I mean. Some of them make too much of mere
+manners, but as a class they are able to draw the line because they draw
+it in favor of distinction of character as opposed to--what shall I call
+it?--haphazard custom-made ethics and social deportment."
+
+Flossy spoke with the artless prattle of one seeking to make herself
+agreeable to a new-comer by explaining the existing order of things, but
+she had chosen her words as she proceeded with special reference to her
+listener's case. There was nothing in her manner to suggest that she was
+trifling with the feelings of the wife of Hon. James O. Lyons, but to
+Selma's sensitive ear there was no doubt that the impertinent and
+unpatriotic tirade had been deliberately aimed at her. The closing words
+had a disagreeably familiar sound. Save that they fell from seemingly
+friendly lips they recalled the ban which Flossy had hurled at her at
+the close of their last meeting--the ban which had decided her to
+declare unwavering hostility against social exclusiveness. Its veiled
+reiteration now made her nerves tingle, but the personal affront stirred
+her less than the conclusion, which the whole of Flossy's commentary
+suggested, that Washington--Washington the hearth-stone of American
+ideals, was contaminated also. Flossy had given her to understand that
+the houses which she had assumed to be occupied by members of the
+Government were chiefly the residences of people resembling in character
+those whom she had disapproved of in New York. Flossy had intimated that
+unless a woman were hand in glove with these people and ready to lower
+herself to their standards, she must be the wife of a rich Senator to be
+tolerated. Flossy had virtually told her that a Congressman's wife was
+nobody. Could this be true? The bitterest part of all was that it was
+evident Flossy spoke with the assurance of one uttering familiar truths.
+Selma felt affronted and bitterly disappointed, but she chose to meet
+Mrs. Williams's innocent affability with composure; to let her see that
+she disagreed with her, but not to reveal her personal irritation. She
+must consider Lyons, whose swift political promotion was necessary for
+her plans. It was important that he should become rich, and if his
+relations with the firm of Williams & Van Horne tended to that end, no
+personal grievance of her own should disturb them. Even Flossy had
+conceded that the wives of the highest officials could not be ignored.
+
+"I fear that we look at these matters from too different a standpoint to
+discuss them further," she responded, with an effort at smiling ease.
+"Evidently you do not appreciate that to the majority of the strong
+women of the country whose husbands have been sent to Washington as
+members of the Government social interests seem trivial compared with
+the great public questions they are required to consider. These women
+doubtless feel little inclination for fashionable and--or--frivolous
+festivities, and find an occasion like this better suited to their
+conception of social dignity."
+
+A reply by Flossy to this speech was prevented by the interruption of
+Lyons, who brought up Mr. Horace Elton for introduction to his wife.
+Selma knew him at once from his likeness to the description which her
+husband had given. He was portly and thick-set, with a large neck, a
+strong, unemotional, high-colored face, and closely-shaven, small side
+whiskers. He made her a low bow and, after a few moments of
+conversation, in the course of which he let fall a complimentary
+allusion to her husband's oratorical abilities and gave her to
+understand that he considered Lyons's marriage as a wise and enviable
+proceeding, he invited her to promenade the room on his arm. Mr. Elton
+had a low but clear and dispassionate voice, and a concise utterance.
+His remarks gave the impression that he could impart more on any subject
+if he chose, and that what he said proceeded from a reserve fund of
+special, secret knowledge, a little of which he was willing to confide
+to his listener. He enlightened Selma in a few words as to a variety of
+the people present, accompanying his identification with a phrase or two
+of comprehensive personal detail, which had the savor of being unknown
+to the world at large.
+
+"The lady we just passed, Mrs. Lyons, is the wife of the junior Senator
+from Nevada. Her husband fell in love with her on the stage of a mining
+town theatrical troupe. That tall man, with the profuse wavy hair and
+prominent nose, is Congressman Ross of Colorado, the owner of one of the
+largest cattle ranches in the Far West. It is said that he has never
+smoked, never tasted a glass of liquor, and never gambled in his life."
+
+In the course of these remarks Mr. Elton simply stated his interesting
+facts without comment. He avoided censorious or satirical allusions to
+the people to whom he called Selma's attention. On the contrary, his
+observations suggested sympathetically that he desired to point out to
+her the interesting personalities of the capital, and that he regarded
+the entertainment as an occasion to behold the strong men and women of
+the country in their lustre and dignity. As they passed the lady in
+pomegranate velvet, Selma said, in her turn, "That is Mrs. Colman, I
+believe. Senator Colman's child wife." She added what was in her
+thoughts, "I understand that the society people here have taken her up."
+
+"Yes. She has become a conspicuous figure in Washington. I remember her,
+Mrs. Lyons, when she was Addie Farr--before she married Congressman
+Polsen of Kentucky. She was a dashing looking girl in those days, with
+her black eyes and black ringlets. I remember she had a coltish way of
+tossing her head. The story is that when she accepted Polsen another
+Kentuckian--a young planter--who was in love with her, drank laudanum.
+Now, as you say, she is being taken up socially, and her husband, the
+Senator, is very proud of her success. After all, if a woman is
+ambitious and has tact, what can she ask better than to be the wife of a
+United States Senator?" He paused a moment, then, with a gallant
+sidelong glance at his companion, resumed in a concise whisper, which
+had the effect of a disclosure, "Prophecies, especially political
+prophecies, are dangerous affairs, but it seems to me not improbable
+that before many years have passed the wife of Senator Lyons will be
+equally prominent--be as conspicuous socially as the wife of Senator
+Colman."
+
+Selma blushed, but not wholly with pleasure. Socially conspicuous before
+many years? The splendid prophecy, which went beyond the limit of Horace
+Elton's usual caution--for he combined the faculty of habitual
+discretion with his chatty proclivities--was dimmed for Selma by the
+rasping intimation that she was not conspicuous yet. Worse still, his
+statement shattered the hope, which Flossy's fluent assertions had
+already disturbed, that she was to find in Washington a company of
+congenial spirits who would appreciate her at her full value forthwith,
+and would join with her and under her leadership in resisting the
+encroachments of women of the stamp of Mrs. Williams.
+
+"I am very ambitious for my husband, Mr. Elton, and of course I have
+hoped--do hope that some day he will be a Senator. What you said just
+now as to the power of his voice to arouse the moral enthusiasm of the
+people seemed to be impressively true. I should be glad to be a
+Senator's wife, for--for I wish to help him. I wish to demonstrate the
+truth of the principles to which both our lives are dedicated. But I
+hoped that I might help him now--that my mission might be clear at once.
+It seems according to you that a Congressman's wife is not of much
+importance; that her hands are tied."
+
+"Practically so, unless--unless she has unusual social facility, and the
+right sort of acquaintances. Beauty, wealth and ambition are valuable
+aids, but I always am sorry for women who come here without friends,
+and--er--the right sort of introduction. At any rate, to answer your
+question frankly, a Congressman's wife has her spurs to win just as he
+has. If you were to set up house-keeping, here, Mrs. Lyons, I've no
+doubt that a woman of your attractions and capabilities would soon make
+a niche for herself. You have had social experience, which Addie Farr,
+for instance, was without."
+
+"I lived in New York for some years with my husband, Mr. Littleton, so I
+have a number of Eastern acquaintances."
+
+"I remember you were talking with Mrs. Gregory Williams when I was
+introduced to you. The people with whom she is staying are among the
+most fashionable in Washington. What I said had reference to the wife of
+the every-day Congressman who comes to Washington expecting recognition.
+Not to Mrs. James O. Lyons."
+
+Selma bit her lip. She recognized the death-knell of her cherished
+expectations. She was not prepared to acknowledge formally her
+discomfiture and her disappointment. But she believed that Mr. Elton,
+though a plain man, had comprehensive experience and that he spoke with
+shrewd knowledge of the situation. She felt sure that he was not trying
+to deceive or humiliate her. It was clear that Washington was
+contaminated also.
+
+"I dare say I should get on here well enough after a time, though I
+should find difficulty in considering that it was right to give so much
+time to merely social matters. But Mr. Lyons and I have already decided
+that I can be more use to him at present in Benham. There I feel at
+home. I am known, and have my friends, and there I have important
+work--literary lectures and the establishment of a large public hospital
+under way. If the time comes, as you kindly predict, that my husband is
+chosen a United States Senator, I shall be glad to return here and
+accept the responsibilities of our position. But I warn you, Mr.
+Elton,--I warn the people of Washington," she added with a wave of her
+fan, while her eyes sparkled with a stern light "that when I am one of
+their leaders, I shall do away with some of the--er--false customs of
+the present administration. I shall insist on preserving our American
+social traditions inviolate."
+
+Here was the grain of consolation in the case, which she clutched at and
+held up before her mind's eye as a new stimulus to her patriotism and
+her conscience. Both Mr. Elton and Flossy had indicated that there was a
+point at which exclusiveness was compelled to stop in its haughty
+disregard of democratic ideals. There were certain women whom the people
+who worshipped lack of enthusiasm and made an idol of cynicism were
+obliged to heed and recognize. They might be able to ignore the
+intelligence and social originality of a Congressman's wife, but they
+dared not turn a cold shoulder on the wife of a United States Senator.
+And if a woman--if she were to occupy this proud position, what a
+satisfaction it would be to assert the power which belonged to it;
+assert it in behalf of the cause for which she had suffered so much! Her
+disappointment tasted bitterly in her mouth, and she was conscious of
+stern revolt; but the new hope had already taken possession of her
+fancy, and she hastened to prove it by the ethical standard without
+which all hopes were valueless to her. Even now had anyone told her that
+the ruling passion of her life was to be wooed and made much of by the
+very people she professed to despise, she would have spurned the accuser
+as a malicious slanderer. Nor indeed would it have been wholly true.
+Mrs. Williams had practically told her this at their last meeting in New
+York, and its utterance had convinced her on the contrary of repugnance
+to them, and of her desire to be the leader of a social protest against
+them. Now here, in Washington of all places, she was confronted by the
+bitter suggestion that she was without allies, and that her enemies were
+the keepers of the door which led to leadership and power. Despondency
+stared her in the face, but a splendid possibility--aye probability was
+left. She would not forsake her principles. She would not lower her
+flag. She would return to Benham. Washington refused her homage now, but
+it should listen to her and bow before her some day as the wife of one
+of the real leaders of the State, whom Society did not dare to ignore.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+At the close of the fortnight of her stay in Washington subsequent to
+the reception at the White House, Selma found herself in the same frame
+of mind as when she parted from Mr. Elton. During this fortnight her
+time was spent either in sight seeing or at the hotel. The exercises at
+the Capitol were purely formal, preliminary to a speedy adjournment of
+Congress. Consequently her husband had no opportunity to distinguish
+himself by addressing the house. Of Flossy she saw nothing, though the
+two men had several meetings. Apparently both Lyons and Williams were
+content with a surface reconciliation between their wives which did not
+bar family intercourse. At least her husband made no suggestion that she
+should call on Mrs. Williams, and Flossy's cards did not appear. Beyond
+making the acquaintance of a few more wives and daughters in the hotel,
+who seemed as solitary as herself, Selma received no overtures from her
+own sex. She knew no one, and no one sought her out or paid her
+attention. She still saw fit to believe that if she were to establish
+herself in Washington and devote her energies to rallying these wives
+and daughters about her, she might be able to prove that Flossy and Mr.
+Elton were mistaken. But she realized that the task would be less simple
+than she had anticipated. Besides she yearned to return to Benham, and
+take up again the thread of active life there. Benham would vindicate
+her, and some day Benham would send her back to Washington to claim
+recognition and her rightful place.
+
+Lyons himself was in a cheerful mood and found congenial occupation in
+visiting with his wife the many historical objects of interest, and in
+chatting in various hotel corridors with the public men of the country,
+his associates in Congress. His solicitude in regard to the account
+which Williams was carrying for him had been relieved temporarily by an
+upward turn in the stock market, and the impending prompt adjournment of
+Congress had saved him from the necessity of taking action in regard to
+the railroad bill which Williams had solicited him to support. Moreover
+Selma had repeated to him Horace Elton's prophecy that it was not
+unlikely that some day he would become Senator. To be sure he recognized
+that a remark like this uttered to a pretty woman by an astute man of
+affairs such as Elton was not to be taken too seriously. There was no
+vacancy in the office of Senator from his state, and none was likely to
+occur. At the present time, if one should occur, his party in the state
+legislature was in a minority. Hence prophecy was obviously a random
+proceeding. Nevertheless he was greatly pleased, for, after all, Elton
+would scarcely have made the speech had he not been genuinely well
+disposed. A senatorship was one of the great prizes of political life,
+and one of the noblest positions in the world. It would afford him a
+golden opportunity to leave the impress of his convictions on national
+legislation, and defend the liberties of the people by force of the
+oratorical gifts which he possessed. Elton had referred to these gifts
+in complimentary terms. Was it not reasonable to infer that Elton would
+be inclined to promote his political fortunes? Such an ally would be
+invaluable, for Elton was a growing power in the industrial development
+of the section of the country where they both lived. He had continued to
+find him friendly in spite of his own antagonism on the public platform
+to corporate power. A favorite and conscientious hope in his political
+outlook was that he might be able to make capital as well as labor
+believe him to be a friend without alienating either; that he might
+obtain support at the polls from both factions, and thus be left free
+after election to work out for their mutual advantage appropriate
+legislation. He had avowed himself unmistakably the champion of popular
+principles in order to win the confidence of the common people, but his
+policy of reasonable conciliation led him to cast sheep's eyes at vested
+interests when he could do so without exposing himself to the charge of
+inconsistency. Many of his friends were wealthy men, and his private
+ambition was to amass a handsome fortune. That had been the cause of his
+speculative ventures in local enterprises which promised large returns,
+and in the stock market. Horace Elton was a friend of but three years'
+standing; one of the men who had consulted him occasionally in regard to
+legal matters since he had become a corporation attorney. He admired
+Elton's strong, far-reaching grasp of business affairs, his capacity to
+formulate and incubate on plans of magnitude without betraying a sign of
+his intentions, and his power to act with lightning despatch and
+overwhelming vigor when the moment for the consummation of his purposes
+arrived. He also found agreeable Elton's genial, easy-going ways outside
+of business hours, which frequently took the form of social
+entertainment at which expense seemed to be no consideration and
+gastronomic novelties were apt to be presented. Lyons attended one of
+these private banquets while in Washington--a dinner party served to a
+carefully chosen company of public men, to which newspaper scribes were
+unable to penetrate. This same genial, easy-going tendency of Elton's to
+make himself acceptable to those with whom he came in contact took the
+form of a gift to Mrs. Lyons of a handsome cameo pin which he presented
+to her a day or two after their dialogue at the President's reception,
+and for which, as he confidentially informed Selma, he had been seeking
+a suitable wearer ever since he had picked it up in an out-of-the-way
+store in Brussels the previous summer.
+
+On the day of their departure Selma, as she took a last look from the
+car window at the Capitol and the Washington Monument, said to her
+husband: "This is a beautiful city--worthy in many respects of the
+genius of the American people--but I never wish to return to Washington
+until you are United States Senator."
+
+"Would you not be satisfied with Justice of the Supreme Court?" asked
+Lyons, gayly.
+
+"I should prefer Senator. If you were Senator, you could probably be
+appointed to the Supreme Court in case you preferred that place. I am
+relying on you, James, to bring me back here some day."
+
+She whispered this in his ear, as they sat with heads close together
+looking back at the swiftly receding city. Selma's hands were clasped in
+her lap, and she seemed to her lover to have a dreamy air--an air
+suggesting poetry and high ethical resolve such as he liked to associate
+with her and their scheme of wedded life. It pleased him that his wife
+should feel so confident that the future had in store for him this great
+prize, and he allowed himself to yield to the pathos of the moment and
+whisper in reply:
+
+"I will say this, Selma. My business affairs look more favorable, and,
+if nothing unforeseen happens, I do not see why we shouldn't get on
+reasonably fast. Nowadays, in order to be a United States Senator
+comfortably, it is desirable in the first place to have abundant means."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"We must be patient and God-fearing, and with your help, dear, and your
+sympathy, we may live to see what you desire come to pass. Of course, my
+ambition is to be Senator, and--and to take you back to Washington as a
+Senator's wife."
+
+Selma had not chosen to confide to Lyons in set terms her social
+grievance against the capital of her country. But she was glad to
+perceive from his last words that he understood she was not satisfied
+with the treatment accorded her, and that he also was looking forward to
+giving her a position which would enable her to rebuke the ungodly and
+presumptuous.
+
+"Thank you, James," she answered. "When that time comes we shall be able
+to teach them a number of things. For the present though, I feel that I
+can be of best service to you and to the truths which we are living for
+by interesting myself in whatever concerns Benham. We believe in Benham,
+and Benham seems inclined to believe in us and our ideas."
+
+The ensuing year passed uneventfully. Lyons was able to be at home from
+the first of April to the reassembling of Congress in the following
+December. He was glad to give himself up to the enjoyment of his
+handsome establishment. He resumed the tenor of his professional
+practice, feeling that as a sober-minded, married citizen he had become
+of more importance to the community, and he was eager to bear witness to
+his sense of responsibility. He took a more active part in soliciting
+contributions for evangelizing benighted countries, and he consented on
+several occasions to deliver an address on "Success in Life" to
+struggling young men of Benham and the surrounding towns. His easy flow
+of words, his dignity and his sober but friendly mien made him a
+favorite with audiences, and constantly broadened his circle of
+acquaintance.
+
+Selma, on her side, took up the organization of the Free Hospital
+provided by Mr. Parsons. Her husband left the decision of all but legal
+and financial questions to her and Miss Luella Bailey, who, at Selma's
+request, was made the third member of the board of trustees. She decided
+to call in a committee of prominent physicians to formulate a programme
+of procedure in matters purely medical; but she reserved a right of
+rejection of their conclusions, and she insisted on the recognition of
+certain cardinal principles, as she called them. She specified that no
+one school of medicine should dictate the policy of the hospital as
+regards the treatment of patients. To the young physician whom she
+selected to assist her in forming this administrative board she stated,
+with stern emotion: "I do not intend that it shall be possible in this
+hospital for men and women to be sacrificed simply because doctors are
+unwilling to avail themselves of the latest resources of brilliant
+individual discernment. I know what it means to see a beloved one die,
+who might have been saved had the physician in charge been willing to
+try new expedients. The doors of this hospital must be ever open to
+rising unconventional talent. There shall be no creeds nor caste of
+medicine here."
+
+She also specified that the matron in charge of the hospital should be
+Mrs. Earle, whose lack of trained experience was more than
+counterbalanced by her maternal, humanitarian spirit, as Selma expressed
+it. She felt confident that Mrs. Earle would choose as her assistants
+competent and skilful persons, and at the same time that her broad point
+of view and sympathetic instincts would not allow her to turn a deaf ear
+to aspiring but technically ignorant ability. This selection of Mrs.
+Earle was a keen pleasure to Selma. It seemed to her an ideal selection.
+Mrs. Earle was no longer young, and was beginning to find the constant
+labor of lecture and newspaper work exhausting. This dignified and
+important post would provide her with a permanent income, and would
+afford her an attractive field for her progressive capabilities.
+
+Selma's choice of young Dr. Ashmun as the head of the medical board was
+due to a statement which came to her ears, that he was reviled by some
+of the physicians of Benham because he had patented certain discoveries
+of his own instead of giving his fellow-practitioners the benefit of his
+knowledge. Selma was prompt to detect in this hostility an envious
+disposition on the part of the regular physicians to appropriate the
+fruits of individual cleverness and to repress youthful revolt against
+conventional methods. Dr. Ashmun regarded his selection as the
+professional chief of this new institution as a most auspicious
+occurrence from the standpoint of his personal fortunes. He was
+ambitious, ardent, and keen to attract attention, with an abundant fund
+of energy and a nervous, driving manner. He was, besides, good looking
+and fluent, and he quickly perceived the drift of Selma's intentions in
+regard to the hospital, and accommodated himself to them with
+enthusiasm. They afforded him the very opportunity which he most
+desired--the chance to assert himself against his critics, and to obtain
+public notice. The watchword of liberty and distrust of professional
+canons suited his purposes and his mood, and he threw himself eagerly
+into the work of carrying out Selma's projects.
+
+As a result of the selection of Dr. Ashmun and of the other members of
+the administrative board, who were chosen with a view to their
+availability as sympathetic colleagues, letters of protest from several
+physicians appeared in the newspapers complaining that the new hospital
+was being conducted on unscientific and shallow principles, disapproved
+of by the leading men of the profession. Selma was indignant yet
+thrilled. She promptly took steps to refute the charge, and explained
+that the hostility of these correspondents proceeded from envy and
+hide-bound reluctance to adopt new and revolutionizing expedients.
+Through the aid of Mrs. Earle and Miss Luella Bailey a double-leaded
+column in the Benham _Sentinel_ set forth the merits of the new
+departure in medicine, which was cleverly described as the revolt of the
+talented young men of the profession from the tyranny of their
+conservative elders. Benham became divided in opinion as to the merits
+of this controversy, and Selma received a number of anonymous letters
+through the post approving her stand in behalf of advanced, independent
+thought. Among the physicians who were opposed to her administration of
+the hospital she recognized with satisfaction the name of a Dr. Paget,
+who, as she happened to know, was Mrs. Hallett Taylor's medical adviser.
+
+Another matter in which Selma became interested was the case of Mrs.
+Hamilton. She was a woman who had been born in the neighborhood of
+Benham, but had lived for twenty years in England, and had been tried in
+England by due process of law for the murder of her husband and
+sentenced to imprisonment for life. Some of the people of the state who
+had followed the testimony as reported in the American newspapers had
+decided that she ought not to have been convicted. Accordingly a
+petition setting forth the opinion of her former neighbors that she was
+innocent of the charge, and should as an American citizen be released
+from custody, was circulated for signature. A public meeting was held
+and largely attended, at which it was resolved to send a monster
+petition to the British authorities with a request for Mrs. Hamilton's
+pardon, and also to ask the government at Washington to intercede on
+behalf of the unfortunate sufferer. The statement of the case appealed
+vividly to Selma, and at the public meeting, which was attended chiefly
+by women, she spoke, and offered the services of her husband to lay the
+matter before the President. It was further resolved to obtain the names
+of influential persons all over the country in order that the petition
+might show that the sentiment that injustice had been done was national
+as well as local.
+
+Selma espoused the case with ardor, and busied herself in obtaining
+signatures. She called on Miss Flagg and induced her to sign by the
+assurance that the verdict was entirely contrary to the evidence. She
+then had recourse to her former sister-in-law, conceiving that the
+signature of the President of Wetmore College would impress the English.
+She and Pauline had already exchanged visits, and Pauline had shown no
+umbrage at her marriage. The possibility of being rebuffed on this
+occasion did not occur to Selma. She took for granted that Pauline would
+be only too glad to give her support to so deserving a petition, and she
+considered that she was paying her a compliment in soliciting her name
+for insertion among the prominent signers. Pauline listened to her
+attentively, then replied:
+
+"I am sorry for the woman, if she is innocent: and if she has been
+falsely accused, of course she ought to be released. But what makes you
+think she is innocent, Selma?"
+
+"The testimony did not justify her conviction. Every one is of that
+opinion."
+
+"Have you read the testimony yourself, Selma?"
+
+"No, Pauline."
+
+"Or your husband?"
+
+"My husband is satisfied from what others have told him, just as I am,
+that this poor American woman is languishing in prison as the result of
+a cruel miscarriage of justice, and that she never committed the crime
+of which she has been found guilty. My husband has had considerable
+legal experience."
+
+Pauline's questions were nettling, and Selma intended by her response to
+suggest the presumptuousness of her sister-in-law's doubts in the face
+of competent authority.
+
+"I realize that your husband ought to understand about such matters, but
+may one suppose that the English authorities would deliberately allow an
+innocent woman to remain in prison? They must know that the friends of
+Mrs. Hamilton believe her innocent. Why should we on this side of the
+water meddle simply because she was born an American?"
+
+"Why?" Selma drew herself up proudly. "In the first place I believe--we
+believe--that the English are capable of keeping her in prison on a
+technicality merely because she is there already. They are worshippers
+of legal form and red tape, my husband says. And as to meddling, why is
+it not our duty as an earnest and Christian people to remonstrate
+against the continued incarceration of a woman born under our flag and
+accustomed to American ideas of justice? Meddling? In my opinion, we
+should be cowards and derelict in our duty if we did not protest."
+
+Pauline shook her head. "I cannot see it so. It seems to me an
+interference which may make us seem ridiculous in the eyes of the
+English, as well as offensive to them. I am sorry, Selma, not to be able
+to do as you wish."
+
+Selma rose with burning cheeks, but a stately air. "If that is your
+decision, I must do without your name. Already we have many signatures,
+and shall obtain hundreds more without difficulty. We look at things
+differently, Pauline. Our point of view has never been the same.
+Ridiculous? I should be proud of the ridicule of people too selfish or
+too unenlightened to heed the outcry of aspiring humanity. If we had to
+depend on your little set to strike the note of progress, I fear we
+should sit with folded hands most of the time."
+
+"I do not know what you mean by my little set," said Pauline with a
+smile. "I am too busy with my college duties to belong to any set. I see
+my friends occasionally just as you see yours; and as to progress--well,
+I fear that you are right in your statement that we shall never look at
+things alike. To me progress presupposes in the individual or the
+community attaining it a prelude of slow struggle, disheartening doubts,
+and modest reverence for previous results--for the accumulated wisdom of
+the past."
+
+"I mean by your set the people who think as you do. I understand your
+point of view. I should have liked," she added, "to ask you to share
+with me the responsibility of directing the policy of the Benham Free
+Hospital, had I not known that you would listen to the voice of
+conservative authority in preference to that of fearless innovation."
+
+"I certainly should have hesitated long before I overruled the
+experience of those who have devoted their lives to conscientious effort
+to discover truth."
+
+"That illustrates admirably the difference between us, Pauline. No one
+is more eager to aid the discovery of truth than I, but I believe that
+truth often is concealed from those who go on, day after day, following
+hum-drum routine, however conscientious. I recognized that Dr. Ashmun
+was a live man and had fresh ideas, so I chose him as our chief of
+staff, notwithstanding the doctors were unfriendly to him. As a result,
+my hospital has individuality, and is already a success. That's the sort
+of thing I mean. Good-by," she said, putting out her hand. "I don't
+expect to convert you, Pauline, to look at things my way, but you must
+realize by this time that it is the Benham way."
+
+"Yet the leading physicians of Benham disapprove of your plans for the
+management of the hospital," said Pauline firmly.
+
+"But the people of Benham approve of them. I prefer their sanction to
+that of a coterie of cautious, unenthusiastic autocrats."
+
+Selma, true to her intentions, did not return to Washington with her
+husband when Congress reassembled in December. While she was absorbed
+with her philanthropic plans in Benham, Lyons was performing his public
+duties; seeking to do the country good service, and at the right moment
+to attract attention to himself. The opportunity to make a speech along
+the line of his public professions in behalf of labor against corporate
+monopoly did not offer itself until late in the session. He improved the
+few minutes allowed him to such advantage that he was listened to with
+close attention, and was at once recognized as one of the persuasive and
+eloquent speakers of the minority. Before Congress adjourned he obtained
+another chance to take part in debate, by which he produced an equally
+favorable impression. The newspapers of the country referred approvingly
+to his cogent gift of statement and dignified style of delivery. Both
+the bills against which he spoke were passed by the Republican majority,
+but echoes of his words came back from some of their constituents, and
+Lyons was referred to as certain to be one of the strong men of the
+House if he returned to Congress. He went home at the close of the
+session in a contented frame of mind so far as his political prospects
+were concerned, but he was not free to enjoy the congratulations
+accorded him for the reason that his business ventures were beginning to
+give him serious solicitude. The trend of the stock market was again
+downward. In expectation of a rise from the previous depression, he had
+added to the line of shares which Williams & Van Horne were carrying for
+him. A slight rise had come, sufficient to afford him a chance to escape
+from the toils of Wall street without loss. But he needed a profit to
+rehabilitate his ventures in other directions--his investments in the
+enterprises of his own state, which had now for some months appeared
+quiescent, if not languishing, from a speculative point of view.
+Everything pointed, it was said, to a further advance as soon as
+Congress adjourned. So he had waited, and now, although the session was
+over, the stock market and financial undertakings of every sort appeared
+suddenly to be tottering. He had not been at home a month before prices
+of all securities began to shrink inordinately and the business horizon
+to grow murky with the clouds of impending disaster. To add to his
+worry, Lyons was conscious that he had pursued a fast and loose mental
+coarse in regard to the railroad bill in which his broker, Williams, was
+interested. He had given Williams to understand that he would try to see
+his way to support it; yet in view of his late prominence in Washington,
+as a foe of legislation in behalf of moneyed interests, he was more than
+ever averse to casting a vote in its favor. The bill had not been
+reached before adjournment, a result to which he had secretly
+contributed, but it was certain to be called up shortly after Congress
+reassembled. It disturbed him to feel that his affairs in New York were
+in such shape that Williams could embarrass him financially if he chose.
+It disturbed him still more that he appeared to himself to be guilty of
+bad faith. His conscience was troubled, and his favorite palliative of
+conciliation did not seem applicable to the case.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+Until this time the course of financial events in Benham since its
+evolution from a sleepy country town began had been steadily prosperous.
+There had been temporary recessions in prices, transient haltings in the
+tendency of new local undertakings to double and quadruple in value. A
+few rash individuals, indeed, had been forced to suspend payments and
+compound with their creditors. But there had been no real set back to
+commercial enthusiasm and speculative gusto. Those who desired to borrow
+money for progressive enterprises had found the banks accommodating and
+unsuspicious, and to Benham initiative it yet appeared that the
+development of the resources of the neighborhood by the unwearying,
+masterful energy of the citizens was still in its infancy.
+
+But now, after a few months of inactivity, which holders of speculative
+securities had spoken of as another healthy breathing spell, the
+tendency of prices had changed. Had not merely halted, but showed a
+radical tendency to shrink; even to tumble feverishly. Buyers were
+scarce, and the once accommodating banks displayed a heartless
+disposition to scrutinize collateral and to ask embarrassing questions
+in regard to commercial paper. Rates of interest on loans were
+ruthlessly advanced, and additional security demanded. A pall of
+dejection hung over Benham. Evil days had come; days the fruit of a long
+period of inflation. A dozen leading firms failed and carried down with
+them diverse small people. Amid the general distrust and anxiety all
+eyes were fixed on Wall street, the so-called money centre of the
+country, the Gehenna where this cyclone had first manifested itself. The
+newspapers, voicing Benham public opinion, cast vituperation at the
+bankers and brokers of Wall street, whose unholy jugglings with fortune
+had brought this commercial blight on the community. Wall street had
+locked up money; consequently funds were tight in Benham, and the plans
+of its honest burghers to promote enterprise and develop the lawful
+industries of the country were interrupted. So spoke public opinion,
+and, at the same time, hundreds of private letters were being despatched
+through the Benham Post Office in response to requests for more margins
+on stocks held for the honest burghers by the fraternity of Wall street
+gamblers. There was private wailing and gnashing of teeth also, for in
+the panic a few of these bankers and brokers had been submerged, and the
+collateral of Benham's leading citizens had been swept away.
+
+The panic itself was brief as panics always are, but it left behind it
+everywhere a paralyzed community. So far as Benham was concerned, only a
+few actually failed, but, in a host of instances, possessors of property
+who had thought themselves wealthy a year before found that they were
+face to face with the knotty problem of nursing their dwarfed resources
+so as to avoid eventual insolvency. Everything had shrunk fifty--often
+one hundred--per cent., for the basis of Benham's semi-fabulous
+development had been borrowed money. Many of Benham's leading citizens
+were down to hard pan, so to speak. Their inchoate enterprises were
+being carried by the banks on the smallest margins consistent with the
+solvency of those institutions, and clear-headed men knew that months of
+recuperation must elapse before speculative properties would show life
+again. Benham was consequently gloomy for once in despite of its native
+buoyancy. It would have arisen from the ashes of a fire as strenuous as
+a young lion. But, with everybody's stocks and merchandise pledged to
+the money lenders, enterprise was gripped by the throat. In the pride of
+its prosperity Benham had dreamed that it was a law unto itself, and
+that even Wall street could not affect its rosy commercial destinies. It
+appeared to pious owners of securities almost as though God had deserted
+his chosen city of a chosen country.
+
+Lyons was among those upon whom the harrow of this fall in prices and
+subsequent hand-to-mouth struggle with the banks pressed with unpleasant
+rigor. In business phraseology he was too much extended. Consequently,
+as the margins of value of the securities on which he had borrowed
+dropped away, he was kept on tenter-hooks as to the future. In case the
+process of shrinkage went much further, he would be required to supply
+more collateral; and, if the rate of money did not fall, the banks would
+refuse to renew his notes as they became due, unless he could furnish
+clear evidence of his solvency. He was owing over one hundred and fifty
+thousand dollars on paper secured only by the stock and bonds of
+brand-new enterprises, which had no market negotiability. From the money
+which he had borrowed he had sent, from time to time, to Williams and
+Van Horne an aggregate of forty thousand dollars to protect some two
+thousand shares of railroad stocks. Williams had especially commended
+the shares of the coal-carrying roads to his attention, and the drop in
+prices had been uniformly severe in these properties. Instead of being
+the possessor of a stable quarter of a million, which he considered to
+be the value of his property at the time of his election to Congress,
+Lyons suddenly realized that he was on the brink of a serious financial
+collapse through which he might lose everything before he could
+discharge his liabilities. It seemed cruel to him, for he believed that
+all his ventures were sound, and that if he were not forced to sacrifice
+his possessions, their future value would attest his sagacity. But at
+present the securities of speculative enterprises were practically
+worthless as procurers of ready money. The extreme circumstances had
+come upon him with startling rapidity, so that he found himself in the
+unpleasant predicament of having used for temporary relief some of the
+bonds belonging to the Parsons estate which he held as executor. He had
+forwarded these to Williams merely as a matter of convenience before he
+had become anxious, expecting to be able to replace them with funds
+coming to him within thirty days from a piece of real estate for which
+he had received an offer. He had held off in the hope of obtaining a
+higher price. The following week, when signs of danger were multiplying,
+he had found the would-be purchaser unwilling to buy at any price.
+Realizing the compromising position in which he had placed himself by
+his action, he had cast about feverishly for the means to redeem the
+hypothecated securities, but all his resources were taxed of a sudden by
+the advent of the panic. It occurred to him to ask Selma to allow
+substitution of the twenty thousand dollars, which had been apportioned,
+to her as her legacy, for the bonds, but at first he had shrunk from the
+mortification of disclosing his condition to her, and now that the
+situation had developed, he feared that he might be obliged to borrow
+this money from her for the protection of his other interests. It gave
+him sore concern that he, a champion of moral ideas, a leading church
+member, and a Representative of the Federal Government should be put in
+such an equivocal position. Here again there was no opportunity for
+conciliation, and dignified urbanity was of no avail. If the condition
+of drooping prices and general distrust, a sort of commercial dry-rot,
+which had succeeded the panic, continued much longer he would be driven
+to the wall unless relief were forthcoming. Nor was it much consolation
+that many others were on the verge of failure. Financial insolvency for
+him would mean the probable loss of his seat in Congress, and the
+serious interruption of his political career. From what source could he
+hope for relief? The preparations for the autumn campaign were already
+being considered, and there was likelihood of another close contest
+between the two political parties. But for the worry occasioned by his
+plight, he would have resumed the contest with hopeful ardor,
+appreciating that the pecuniary distress of the community would be
+likely to work to his advantage. His own nomination was assured; his
+re-election appeared probable. But after it what could he expect but the
+deluge?
+
+One source of the effectiveness of Horace Elton was that he was wont to
+exercise foresight, and make his plans in advance while other men were
+slumbering. He had been prepared for the panic because he had been
+expecting it for more than a year, and the ship of his financial
+fortunes was close reefed to meet the fury of the overdue gale. Also he
+was quick to recognize that the wide-spread depreciation of values would
+inevitably be followed by a period of business inactivity which would
+throw out of employment a large number of wage earners whose ballots as
+a consequence would be cast against the political party in power. As far
+back as the time when he made the acquaintance of Selma at Washington
+and selected her as the wearer of his cameo pin, he had been incubating
+on a scheme for the consolidation of the gas companies in the cities and
+towns of the state into one large corporation. For this corporation he
+required a liberal charter, which the next legislature would be invited
+to grant. He expected to be able to procure this franchise from the
+legislature, but he judged that the majority in favor of the bill would
+not be large enough to pass it over the Governor's veto. Accordingly it
+was of the first importance that the Governor should be friendly to the
+measure.
+
+This was the year of the Presidential election. Both political parties
+were seeking to nominate their strongest candidates for the various
+federal and state offices. A promoter of large business schemes was at a
+disadvantage in a campaign where party feelings ran high and national
+issues were involved, and Elton knew it. He commonly chose an off year
+in politics for the consummation of his business deals. But he had
+chosen to push his bill this year for the reason that he wished to be in
+a position to buy out the sub-companies cheaply. The community was
+pressed for ready money, and many men who would be slow in prosperous
+times to extract gas shares from their tin boxes and stockings would be
+glad to avail themselves of a reasonable cash offer. Elton was a
+Republican on national issues. His experience had been that the
+Republican Party was fundamentally friendly to corporations, in spite of
+occasional pious ejaculations in party platforms to the contrary. He had
+a Republican candidate for Governor in mind who would be faithful to his
+interests; but this candidate was put aside in the convention in
+deference to the sentiment that only a man of first-rate mental and
+moral calibre could command the allegiance of independent voters, whose
+co-operation seemed essential to party success. The Republican state
+convention was held three weeks prior to the date fixed for that of
+their opponents. Within twenty-four hours subsequent to the nomination
+of Hon. John Patterson as the Republican candidate for Governor, while
+the party organs were congratulating the public on his selection, and
+the leaders of the party were endeavoring to suppress the murmurs of the
+disappointed lower order of politicians who, in metaphorical phrase,
+felt that they were sewed up in a sack for another two years by the
+choice of this strong citizen, one of the most widely circulated
+democratic newspapers announced in large type on its front page that
+Hon. James O. Lyons was the only Democrat who could defeat him in the
+gubernatorial contest. Behind the ledger sheet of this newspaper--which
+was no other than the Benham _Sentinel_--lurked the keen intelligence of
+Horace Elton. He knew that the candidate of his own party would never
+consent to indicate in advance what his action on the gas bill would be,
+and that he would only prejudice his chances of obtaining favorable
+action when the time arrived by any attempt to forestall a decision.
+This did not suit Horace Elton. He was accustomed to be able to obtain
+an inkling before election that legislation in which he was interested
+would not encounter a veto. His measures were never dishonest. That is,
+he never sought to foist bogus or fraudulent undertakings upon the
+community. He was seeking, to be sure, eventual emolument for himself,
+but he believed that the franchise which he was anxious to obtain would
+result in more progressive and more effectual public service. He had
+never before felt obliged to refrain from asking direct or indirect
+assurance that his plans would be respected by the Governor. Yet he had
+foreseen the possibility of just such an occurrence. The one chance in a
+hundred had happened and he was ready for it. He intended to contribute
+to the Republican national campaign fund, but he did not feel that the
+interests of his State would suffer if he used all the influences at his
+command to secure a Governor who would be friendly to his scheme, and
+Congressman Lyons appeared to him the most available man for his
+purpose.
+
+It had already occurred to Lyons that his nomination as Governor was a
+possibility, for the leaders of the party were ostensibly looking about
+for a desirable Democrat with whom to confront Patterson, and had shown
+an intention to turn a cold shoulder on the ambition of several
+aspirants for this honor who might have been encouraged in an ordinary
+year as probable victors. He knew that his name was under consideration,
+and he had made up his mind that he would accept the nomination if it
+were offered to him. He would regret the interruption of his
+Congressional career, but he felt that his election as Governor in a
+presidential year after a close contest would make him the leader of the
+party in the State, and, in case the candidate of his party were chosen
+President, would entitle him to important recognition from the new
+administration. Moreover, if he became Governor, his financial status
+would be strengthened. The banks would be more likely to accommodate one
+in such a powerful position, and he might be able to keep his head above
+water until better times brought about a return of public confidence and
+a recovery in prices. Yet he felt by no means sure that even as Governor
+he could escape betraying his financial embarrassment, and his mind was
+so oppressed by the predicament in which he found himself that he made
+no effort on his own part to cause the party leaders to fix their choice
+on him. Nor did he mention the possibility of his selection to Selma.
+Mortification and self-reproach had made him for the moment inert as to
+his political future, and reluctant to confide his troubles to her.
+
+The clarion declaration of the Benham _Sentinel_ in favor of Lyons
+evoked sympathetic echoes over the State, which promptly convinced the
+political chieftains that he was the strongest candidate to pit against
+Patterson. The enthusiasm caused by the suggestion of his name spread
+rapidly, and at the end of a week his nomination at the convention was
+regarded as certain.
+
+The championship of the _Sentinel_ was a complete surprise to Selma. She
+had assumed that her husband would return to Washington, and that
+political promotion for the present was out of the question. When she
+saw her husband's features looking out at her from a large cut on the
+front page of the morning newspaper, and read the conspicuous heading
+which accompanied it--"The _Sentinel_ nominates as Governor the Hon.
+James O. Lyons of Benham, the most eloquent orator and most
+public-spirited citizen of the State"--her heart gave a bound, and she
+eagerly asked herself, "Why not?" That was just what they needed, what
+she needed to secure her hold on the social evolution of Benham. As the
+wife of the Governor of the State she would be able to ignore the people
+who held aloof from her, and introduce the reforms in social behavior on
+which her heart was set.
+
+"James, have you seen this?" she asked, eagerly.
+
+Lyons was watching her from across the breakfast table. He had seen it,
+and had laid the newspaper within her reach.
+
+"Yes, dear. It is very complimentary, isn't it?"
+
+"But what does it mean? Are you to be Governor? Did you know of it,
+James?"
+
+"I knew that my name, with others, had been mentioned by those who were
+looking for a candidate whom we can elect. But this nomination of the
+_Sentinel_ comes from a clear sky. Would you like to have me Governor,
+Selma?"
+
+"Yes, indeed. If the chance is offered you, James, you will surely
+accept it. It would please me immensely to see you Governor. We should
+not be separated then part of the year, and--and I should be able here
+in Benham to help you as your wife ought to help you. I know," she
+added, "that you have been looking forward to the next session of
+Congress, in the hope of distinguishing yourself, but isn't this a finer
+opportunity? Doesn't it open the door to splendid possibilities?"
+
+Lyons nodded. His wife's eager presentation of the case confirmed his
+own conclusions. "It is an important decision to make," he said, with
+gravity. "If I am not elected, I shall have lost my place in the
+Congressional line, and may find difficulty in recovering it later. But
+if the party needs me, if the State needs me, I must not think of that.
+I cannot help being gratified, encouraged by the suggestion that my
+fellow-citizens of my political faith are turning to me as their
+standard-bearer at this time when great public issues are involved. If I
+can serve God and my country in this way, and at the same time please
+you, my wife, what can I ask better?"
+
+He spoke with genuine feeling and reverence, for it was in keeping with
+his religious tendencies to recognize in advance the solemn
+responsibilities of high office, and to picture himself as the agent of
+the heavenly powers. This attitude of mind always found Selma
+sympathetic and harmonious. Her eyes kindled with enthusiasm, and she
+replied:
+
+"You view the matter as I would have you view it, James. If this trust
+is committed to us by Providence, it is our duty to accept it as lovers
+of our country and promoters of true progress."
+
+"It would seem so. And in some ways," he said, as though he felt the
+impulse to be reasonably frank toward Providence in his acceptance of
+the trust, "my election as Governor would be advantageous to my
+political and business interests. I have not sought the office," he
+added with dignified unction, "but my knowledge of local conditions
+leads me to believe that this action of the _Sentinel_ signifies that
+certain powerful influences are working in my favor. I shall be able to
+tell you more accurately in regard to this before long."
+
+Lyons happened to know that the Benham _Sentinel_ had enlarged its plant
+two years previous, and that Horace Elton was still the holder of its
+notes for borrowed money. The transaction had passed through his bank,
+and in the course of his mental search for reasons to account for the
+sudden flat-footed stand of the newspaper, the thought came into his
+mind and dwelt there that Elton was at the bottom of it. If so, what was
+Elton's reason? Why should Elton, a Republican, desire his nomination?
+Surely not to compass his defeat.
+
+In this connection Elton's friendship and the prophecy made to Selma as
+to his political future occurred to him and forbade an invidious
+supposition. "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and thou shalt be what thou
+art promised!" Lyons left Selma with the conviction that he would find
+Elton to be mainly responsible for what had taken place. Shortly after
+reaching his office he received a note from him asking for an
+appointment. Punctually at twelve o'clock Elton arrived and was shown
+into Lyons's private room. Lyons gave orders that he was not to be
+disturbed, for he believed that the results of the interview were likely
+to have a serious bearing on his career as a statesman.
+
+Both men were of heavy physique, but as they sat facing each other an
+observer would have remarked that Elton's visage possessed a clean-cut
+compactness of expression despite its rotund contour. His closely
+trimmed whiskers, his small, clear, penetrating eyes, and the effect of
+neatness conveyed by his personal appearance were so many external
+indications of his mental lucidity and precision.
+
+In contrast Lyons's moon-shaped face, emphasized by its smooth-shaven
+mobile mouth, below which his almost white chin beard hung pendent,
+expressed a curious interplay of emotional sanctity, urbane shrewdness,
+and solemn self-importance.
+
+"Governor Lyons, at your service," said Elton, regarding him steadily.
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"I know so, if you desire it."
+
+"The nomination, you mean?"
+
+"The election by a comfortable majority."
+
+Lyons breathed hard with satisfaction. "If the people of the State
+choose to confide their interests to my custody, I shall not refuse to
+serve them."
+
+"So I supposed. You may be wondering, Lyons, why I, a Republican, should
+be talking like this. I will tell you. Observation has led me to believe
+that the people of this State will elect a Democratic Governor this
+year. The hard times will hurt the administration. Consequently, as your
+friend and my own friend, I have taken the liberty to indicate to the
+managers of your party their strongest man. I am responsible for what
+you saw on the front page of the _Sentinel_ this morning. There need not
+be much difficulty," he added, significantly, "in securing emphatic
+endorsement throughout the State of the _Sentinel's_ preference."
+
+Lyons looked grave. "You must be aware that our views on public
+questions--especially those which concern the relations of capital and
+labor--are not the same."
+
+"Certainly. I tell you frankly that while, from a humanitarian point of
+view, I respect your desire to relieve the inequalities of modern
+civilization, as a business man and a man of some property I do not
+regard the remedies presented by your party platform as just or
+adequate. I recognize that your opinions are hostile to corporate
+interests, but I have gathered also that you are disposed to be
+reasonable and conciliatory; that you are not inclined to regard all men
+and all measures as dangerous, merely because they have means or are
+introduced in the name of capital."
+
+"It has always seemed to me that a conciliatory spirit secures the most
+definite results for the public," assented Lyons.
+
+"Precisely. See here, Lyons," Elton said, leaning forward across the
+table at which they were sitting, "I wish to be entirely frank with you.
+You know me well enough to understand that I have not offered you my
+support in any philanthropic spirit. I could not have deceived you as to
+this had I tried. I am a practical man, and have an axe to grind. I am
+urging your election as Governor because I believe you to possess
+intelligent capacity to discriminate between what is harmful to the
+community and what is due to healthy, individual enterprise--the energy
+which is the sap of American citizenship. We capitalists have no fear of
+an honest man, provided he has the desire and the ability to protect
+legitimate business acumen against the slander of mere demagogues. I
+have a bill here," he added, drawing a printed document from his pocket,
+"which I am desirous to see passed by the next legislature. It embodies
+a charter authorizing the acquisition and merger in one corporation of
+all the gas companies of this State, and an extension of corporate
+powers so as to cover all forms of municipal lighting. Were your hands
+not tied by your prospective election, I should be glad to offer you an
+opportunity to become one of the incorporators, for I believe that the
+undertaking will be lucrative. That, of course, is out of the question.
+Now then, this is a perfectly honest bill. On its face, to be sure, it
+secures a valuable franchise for the petitioners, and consequently may
+encounter some opposition. But, on the other hand, no one who considers
+the matter candidly and closely can fail to recognize that the great
+public will secure cheaper gas and more efficient service as the result
+of the consolidation. And there is where I felt that I could count on
+your intelligence. You would not allow the plea that capitalists were
+interested in obtaining a profitable franchise to obscure the more vital
+consideration that the community will be the true gainers."
+
+Lyons bowed graciously, and stroked his beard. "What is it you wish me
+to do?" he asked.
+
+"To read the bill in the first place; to convince yourself that what I
+have told you is true; to satisfy yourself that the measure is
+essentially harmless. The bill is not long. Read it now and let me hear
+your objections. I have some papers here to look over which will occupy
+me a quarter of an hour, if you can spare me the time."
+
+Lyons acquiesced, and proceeded to peruse slowly the document. When he
+had finished it he folded it solemnly and returned it to Elton. "It is a
+bill framed in the interest of capital, but I cannot say that the public
+will be prejudiced by it. On the contrary, I should judge that the price
+of gas in our cities and towns would be lowered as a consequence of the
+reduction in running expenses caused by the projected consolidation.
+What is it that you wish me to do?"
+
+"Agree to sign the bill as it now stands if it passes the legislature."
+
+Lyons rested his head on his hand and his mouth moved tremulously. "If I
+am elected governor," he said, "I wish to serve the people honestly and
+fearlessly."
+
+"I am sure of it. I ask you to point out to me in what manner this bill
+trenches upon the rights of the people. You yourself have noted the
+crucial consequence: It will lower the price of gas. If at the same time
+I am benefited financially, why should I not reap the reasonable reward
+of my foresight?"
+
+"I will sign the bill, Elton, if it comes to me for signature. I may be
+criticised at first, but the improved public service and reduction of
+the gas bills will be my justification, and show that I have not been
+unmindful of the interests of the great public whose burdens my party is
+seeking to lighten."
+
+"I shall count on you, then," said Elton, after a pause. "The failure of
+the bill at the last stage when I was expecting its passage might affect
+my affairs seriously."
+
+"If the legislature does its part, I will do mine," responded Lyons,
+augustly. "I will sign the bill if it comes to me in the present form."
+
+"I thank you, Governor."
+
+Lyons looked confused but happy at the appellation.
+
+"By the way," said Elton, after he had returned the papers to his
+pocket, "these are trying times for men with financial obligations. It
+is my custom to be frank and not to mince matters where important
+interests are concerned. A candidate for office in this campaign will
+need the use of all his faculties if he is to be successful. I should be
+very sorry for the sake of my bill to allow your mind to be distracted
+by solicitude in regard to your private affairs. Some of the best and
+most prudent of our business men are pressed to-day for ready money. I
+am in a position to give you temporary assistance if you require it. In
+justice to my interests you must not let delicacy stand in the way of
+your accepting my offer."
+
+Lyons's bosom swelled with the tide of returning happiness. He had
+scarcely been able to believe his ears. Yet here was a definite,
+spontaneous proposition to remove the incubus which weighed upon his
+soul. Here was an opportunity to redeem the bonds of the Parsons estate
+and to repair his damaged self-respect. It seemed to him as though the
+clouds of adversity which had encompassed him had suddenly been swept
+away, and that Providence was smiling down at him as her approved and
+favorite son. His emotion choked his speech. His lip trembled and his
+eyes looked as though they would fill with tears. After a brief pause he
+articulated that he was somewhat pressed for ready money. Some
+explanation of his affairs followed, the upshot of which was that Elton
+agreed to indorse Lyons's promissory notes held by the banks to the
+amount of $60,000, and to accept as collateral for a personal loan of
+$40,000 certain securities of new local enterprises which had no present
+marketable value. By this arrangement his property was amply protected
+from sacrifice; he would be able to adjust his speculative account in
+New York; and he could await with a tranquil soul the return of
+commercial confidence. Lyons's heart was overflowing with satisfaction.
+He pressed Elton's hand and endeavored to express his gratitude with
+appropriate grandiloquence. But Elton disclaimed the obligation,
+asserting that he had acted merely from self-interest to make the
+election of his candidate more certain.
+
+The loan of $40,000 was completed within forty-eight hours, and before
+the end of another week Lyons had rescued the bonds of the Parsons
+estate from pawn, and disposed of his line of stocks carried by Williams
+& Van Horne. They were sold at a considerable loss, but he made up his
+mind to free his soul for the time being from the toils and torment of
+speculation and to nurse his dwarfed resources behind the bulwark of
+Elton's relief fund until the financial situation cleared. He felt as
+though he had grown ten years younger, and without confiding to Selma
+the details of these transactions he informed her ecstatically that,
+owing to certain important developments, due partly to the friendliness
+of Horace Elton, the outlook for their future advancement had never been
+so bright. When a month later he was nominated as Governor he threw
+himself into the contest with the convincing ardor of sincere,
+untrammelled faith in the reforms he was advocating. His speeches
+reflected complete concentration of his powers on the issues of the
+campaign and evoked enthusiasm throughout the State by their eloquent
+arraignment of corporate rapacity at the expense of the sovereign
+people. In several of his most telling addresses he accused the national
+administration of pandering to the un-American gamblers who bought and
+sold stocks in Wall street.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+Lyons was chosen Governor by a large majority, as Elton had predicted.
+The Republican Party was worsted at the polls and driven out of power
+both at Washington and in the State. Lyons ran ahead of his ticket,
+receiving more votes than the presidential electors. The campaign was
+full of incidents grateful to Selma's self esteem. Chief among these was
+the conspicuous allusions accorded her by the newspapers. The campaign
+itself was a fervid repetition of the stirring scenes of two years
+previous. Once more torch-light processions in vociferous serried
+columns attested the intensity of party spirit. Selma felt herself an
+adept through her former experience, and she lost no opportunity to show
+herself in public and bear witness to her devotion to her husband's
+cause. It pleased her to think that the people recognized her when she
+appeared on the balcony or reviewing stand, and that her presence evoked
+an increase of enthusiasm.
+
+But the newspaper publicity was even more satisfying, for it centred
+attention unequivocally on her. Columns of descriptive matter relative
+to her husband's personality began to appear as soon as it became
+obvious that he was to be Governor. These articles aimed to be
+exhaustive in their character, covering the entire scope of his past
+life, disclosing pitiless details in regard to his habits, tastes, and
+private concerns. Nothing which could be discovered or ferreted out was
+omitted; and most of these biographies were illuminated by a variety of
+more or less hideous cuts showing, for example, his excellency as he
+looked as a school boy, his excellency as a fledgling attorney, the
+humble home where his excellency was born, and his excellency's present
+stately but hospitable residence on Benham's River Drive. Almost every
+newspaper in the State took its turn at contributing something which it
+conceived to be edifying to this reportorial budget. And after the
+Governor, came the turn of the Governor's lady, as she was called.
+
+Selma liked best the articles devoted exclusively to herself; where she
+appeared as the special feature of the newspaper issue, not merely as an
+adjunct to her husband. But she liked them all, and she was most
+benignant in her reception of the several newspaper scribes, principally
+of her own sex, who sought an interview for the sake of copy. She
+withheld nothing in regard to her person, talents, household, or tastes
+which would in her opinion be effective in print. She had a photograph
+of herself taken in simple, domestic matronly garb to supplement those
+which she already possessed, one of which revealed the magnificence of
+the attire she wore at the President's Reception; another portrayed
+Littleton's earnest bride, and still a fourth disclosed her as the
+wistful, aspiring school-mistress on the threshold of womanhood. These,
+and the facts appropriate to them, she meted out to her biographers from
+time to time, lubricating her amiable confidences with the assertion
+that both she and her husband felt that the people were entitled to be
+made familiar with the lives of their public representatives. As the
+result of her gracious behavior, her willingness to supply interesting
+details concerning herself, and her flattering tendency to become
+intimate on the spot with the reporters who visited her, the newspaper
+articles in most cases were in keeping with Selma's prepossessions.
+Those which pleased her most emphasized in the first place her
+intellectual gifts and literary talents, intimating delicately that she
+had refused brilliant offers for usefulness with her pen and on the
+lecture platform in order to become the wife of Congressman Lyons, to
+whom her counsel and high ideals of public service were a constant
+stimulus. Emphasized in the second place her husband's and her own pious
+tastes, and strong religious convictions, to which their constant church
+attendance and the simple sanctity of their American home bore
+testimony. Emphasized in the third place--reproducing ordinarily a
+sketch and cut of her drawing-room--her great social gifts and graces,
+which had made her a leader of society in the best sense of the word
+both in Benham and in New York. A few of the articles stated in
+judicious terms that she had been twice a widow. Only one of them set
+this forth in conspicuous and opprobrious terms: "Her Third Husband! Our
+Chief Magistrate's Wife's Many Marriages!" Such was the unsympathetic,
+alliterative heading of the malicious statement which appeared in an
+opposition organ. It did no more than recall the fact that she had
+obtained a divorce from her first husband, who had in his despair taken
+to drink, and intimate that her second husband had not been altogether
+happy. Selma wept when she read the article. She felt that it was cruel
+and uncalled for; that it told only half the truth and traduced her
+before the American people. She chose to conceive that it had been
+inspired by Pauline and Mrs. Hallett Taylor, neither of whom had sent
+her a word of congratulation on her promotion to be the Governor's wife.
+Who but Pauline knew that her marriage with Littleton had not been
+completely harmonious? Who but Mrs. Taylor or one of her set would have
+the malice to insinuate that she had been merciless to Babcock? This was
+one libel in a long series of complimentary productions. The
+representation of the family group was made complete by occasional
+references to the Governor elect's mother--"Mother Lyons, the venerable
+parent of our chief magistrate." Altogether Selma felt that the picture
+presented to the public was a truthful and inspiring record of pious and
+enterprising American life, which showed to the community that its
+choice of a Governor had been wise and was merited.
+
+Close upon the election and these eulogistic biographies came the
+inauguration, with Lyons's eloquent address. Selma, of course, had
+special privileges--a reserved gallery in the State House, to which she
+issued cards of admission to friends of her own selection. Occupying in
+festal attire the centre of this conspicuous group, she felt that she
+was the cynosure of every eye. She perceived that she was constantly
+pointed out as the second personage of the occasion. To the few
+legislators on the floor whom she already knew she took pains to bow
+from her seat with gracious cordiality, intending from the outset to aid
+her husband by captivating his friends and conciliating the leaders of
+the opposition party. On her way to and from the gallery she was joined
+by several members, to each of whom she tried to convey subtly the
+impression that she purposed to take an earnest interest in legislative
+affairs, and that her husband would be apt to consult her in regard to
+close questions. On the morning after the inauguration she had the
+satisfaction of seeing her own portrait side by side with that of her
+husband on the front page of two newspapers, a flattering indication, as
+she believed, that the press already recognized her value both as a
+helpmate to him and an ornament to the State. She took up her life as
+the Governor's lady feeling that her talents and eagerness to do good
+had finally prevailed and that true happiness at last was in store for
+her. She was satisfied with her husband and recognized his righteous
+purpose and capacity as a statesman, but she believed secretly that his
+rapid success was due in a large measure to her genius. Her prompting
+had inspired him to make a notable speech in his first Congress. Her
+charms and clever conversation had magnetized Mr. Elton so that he had
+seen fit to nominate him for Governor. A fresh impulse to her
+self-congratulation that virtue and ability were reaping their reward
+was given a few weeks later by the announcement which Lyons read from
+the morning newspaper that the firm of Williams & Van Horne had failed
+disastrously. The circumstances attending their down-fall were
+sensational. It appeared that Van Horne, the office partner, who managed
+the finances, had shot himself as the culmination of a series of
+fraudulent hypothecations of securities and misrepresentations to which
+it was claimed that Williams was not a party. The firm had been
+hopelessly insolvent for months, and had been forced to the wall at last
+by a futile effort on the part of Van Horne to redeem the situation by a
+final speculation on a large scale. It had failed owing to the
+continuation of the state of dry rot in the stock market, and utter ruin
+followed.
+
+The regret which Lyons entertained as he read aloud the tragic story was
+overshadowed in his mind by his own thankfulness that he had redeemed
+the bonds and settled his account with them before the crash came. He
+was so absorbed by his own emotions that he failed to note the
+triumphant tone of his wife's ejaculation of amazement. "Failed!
+Williams & Van Horne failed! Oh, how did it happen? I always felt sure
+that they would fail sooner or later."
+
+Selma sat with tightly folded hands listening to the exciting narrative,
+which Lyons read for her edification with the urbanely mournful emphasis
+of one who has had a narrow escape. He stopped in the course of it to
+relieve any solicitude which she might be feeling in regard to his
+dealings with the firm, by the assertion that he had only two months
+previous closed out his account owing to the conviction that prudent
+investors were getting under cover. This assurance gave the episode a
+still more providential aspect in Selma's eyes. In the first flush of
+her gratitude that Flossy had been superbly rebuked for her frivolous
+existence, she had forgotten that they were her husband's brokers.
+Moreover the lack of perturbation in his manner was not calculated to
+inspire alarm. But the news that Lyons had been shrewd enough to escape
+at the twelfth hour without a dollar's loss heightened the justice of
+the situation. She listened with throbbing pulses to the particulars.
+She could scarcely credit her senses that her irrepressible and
+light-hearted enemy had been confounded at last--confronted with
+bankruptcy and probable disgrace. She interrupted the reading to express
+her scepticism regarding the claim that Williams had no knowledge of the
+frauds.
+
+"How could he be ignorant? He must have known. He must have bribed the
+reporters to put that in so as to arouse the sympathy of some of their
+fashionable friends. Van Horne is dead, and the lips of the dead are
+sealed."
+
+Selma spoke with the confidence born of bitterness. She was pleased with
+her acumen in discerning the true inwardness of the case. Her husband
+nodded with mournful acquiescence. "It would seem," he said, "as if he
+must have had an inkling, at least, of what was going on."
+
+"Of course he had. Gregory Williams, with all his faults, was a
+wide-awake man. I always said that."
+
+Lyons completed the reading and murmured with a sigh, which was half
+pity, half grateful acknowledgment of his own good fortune--"It's a bad
+piece of business. I'm glad I had the sense to act promptly."
+
+Selma was ruminating. Her steel bright eyes shone with exultation. Her
+sense of righteousness was gratified and temporarily appeased. "They'll
+have to sell their house, of course, and give up their horses and
+steam-yacht? I don't see why it doesn't mean that Flossy and her husband
+must come down off their pedestal and begin over again? It follows,
+doesn't it, that the heartless set into which they have wormed their way
+will drop them like hot coals?"
+
+All these remarks were put by Selma in the slightly interrogative form,
+as though she were courting any argument to the contrary which could be
+adduced in order to knock it in the head. But Lyons saw no reason to
+differ from her verdict. "It means necessarily great mortification for
+them and a curtailment of their present mode of life," he said. "I am
+sorry for them."
+
+"Sorry? Of course, James, it is distressing to hear that misfortune has
+befallen any person of one's acquaintance, and so far as Gregory
+Williams himself is concerned I have no wish to see him punished simply
+because he has been worldly and vainglorious. You thought him able in a
+business way, and liked to meet him. But as for her, Flossy, his wife,"
+Selma continued, with a gasp, "it would be sheer hypocrisy for me to
+assert that I am sorry for her. I should deem myself unworthy of being
+considered an earnest-minded American woman if I did not maintain that
+this disgrace which has befallen them is the logical and legitimate
+consequence of their godless lives--especially of her frivolity and
+presumptuous indifference to spiritual influences. That woman, James, is
+utterly hostile to the things of the spirit. You have no conception--I
+have never told you, because he was your friend, and I was willing to
+let bygones be bygones on the surface on your account--you have no
+conception of the cross her behavior became to me in New York. From
+almost the first moment we met I saw that we were far apart as the poles
+in our views of the responsibilities of life. She sneered at everything
+which you and I reverence, and she set her face against true progress
+and the spread of American principles. She claimed to be my friend, and
+to sympathize with my zeal for social truth, yet all the time she was
+toadying secretly the people whose luxurious exclusiveness made me
+tremble sometimes for the future of our country. She and her husband
+were prosperous, and everything he touched seemed to turn to gold. It
+may sound irreverent, James, but there was a time during my life in New
+York when I was discouraged; when it seemed as though heaven were
+mocking me and my husband in our homely struggle against the forces of
+evil, and bestowing all its favors on a woman whose example was a menace
+to American womanhood! Sorry? Why should I be sorry to see justice
+triumph and shallow iniquity rebuked? I would give Florence Williams
+money if she is in want, but I am thankful, very thankful, that her
+heartless vanity has found its proper reward."
+
+Lyons fingered his beard. "I didn't know she was as bad as that, Selma.
+Now that they have come to grief, we are not likely to be brought in
+contact with them, and in all probability they will pass out of our
+lives. Williams was smart and entertaining, but I never liked his taking
+advantage of the circumstances of my having an account in his office to
+urge me to support a measure at variance with my political convictions."
+
+"Precisely. The trouble with them both, James, is that they have no
+conscience; and it is eminently just they should be made to realize that
+people who lack conscience cannot prosper in this country in the long
+run. 'They have loosed the awful lightnings of his terrible swift
+sword.'"
+
+"I say 'amen' to that assuredly, Selma," Lyons answered. His
+predilection to palliate equivocal circumstances was never proof against
+clear, evidence of moral delinquency. When his religious scruples were
+finally offended, he was grave and unrelenting.
+
+The downfall of the Williamses continued to be a sweet solace and source
+of encouragement to Selma. It made her, when taken in conjunction with
+her own recent progress, feel that the whirligig of time was working in
+her behalf after all; and that if she persevered, not merely Flossy, but
+all those who worshipped mammon, and consequently failed to recognize
+her talents, would be made to bite the dust. At the moment these enemies
+seemed to have infested Benham. Numerically speaking, they were
+unimportant, but they had established an irritating, irregular skirmish
+line, one end of which occupied Wetmore College, another held secret
+midnight meetings at Mrs. Hallett Taylor's. Rumors of various
+undertakings, educational, semi-political, artistic, or philanthropic,
+agitated or directed by this fringe of society, came to her ears from
+time to time, but she heard them as an outsider. When she became the
+Governor's wife she had said to herself that now these aristocrats would
+be compelled to admit her to their counsels. But she found, to her
+annoyance, that the election made no difference. Neither Pauline nor
+Mrs. Taylor nor any of the coterie had asked her to join them, and she
+was unpleasantly conscious that there were people on the River Drive who
+showed no more desire to make her acquaintance than when she had been
+Mrs. Lewis Babcock. What did this mean? It meant simply--she began to
+argue--that she must hold fast to her faith and bide her time. That if
+she and her friends kept a bold front and resisted the encroachments of
+this pernicious spirit, Providence would interfere presently and
+confound these enemies of social truth no less obviously than it had
+already overwhelmed Mrs. Gregory Williams. As the wife of the Governor,
+she was clearly in a position to maintain this bold front effectively.
+Every mail brought to her requests for her support, and the sanction of
+her signature to social or charitable enterprises. Her hospital was
+flourishing along the lines of the policy which she had indicated, and
+was feeling the advantage of her political prosperity. She was able to
+give the petition in behalf of Mrs. Hamilton, which contained now
+twenty-five thousand signatures, fresh value and solemnity by means of
+an autograph letter from the Governor's wife, countersigned by the
+Governor. This, with the bulky list of petitioners, she addressed and
+despatched directly to Queen Victoria. Her presence was in constant
+demand at all sorts of functions, at many of which she had the
+opportunity to make a few remarks; to express the welcome of the State,
+or to utter words of sympathy and encouragement to those assembled. In
+the second month of her husband's administration, she had the
+satisfaction of greeting, in her double capacity as newly-elected
+President of the Benham Institute and wife of the Governor, the
+Federation of Women's Clubs of the United States, on the occasion of its
+annual meeting at Benham. This federation was the incorporated fruit of
+the Congress of Women's Clubs, which Selma had attended as a delegate
+just previous to her divorce from Babcock, and she could not refrain
+from some exultation at the progress she had made since then as she sat
+wielding the gavel over the body of women delegates from every State in
+the Union. The meeting lasted three days. Literary exercises alternated
+with excursions to points of interest in the neighborhood, at all of
+which she was in authority, and the celebration was brought to a
+brilliant close by a banquet, to which men were invited. At this Selma
+acted as toastmaster, introducing the speakers of the occasion, which
+included her own husband. Lyons made a graceful allusion to her
+stimulating influence as a helpmate and her executive capacity, which
+elicited loud applause. Succeeding this meeting of the Federation of
+Women's Clubs came a series of semi-public festivities under the
+patronage of women--philanthropic, literary or social in character--for
+the fever to perpetuate in club form every congregation, of free-born
+citizens, except on election day, had seized Benham in common with the
+other cities of the country in its grasp, to each of which the
+Governor's wife was invited as the principal guest of honor. Selma thus
+found a dozen opportunities to exhibit herself to a large audience and
+testify to her faith in democratic institutions.
+
+On the 22d of February, Washington's birthday, she held a reception at
+their house on River Drive, for which cards had been issued a fortnight
+previous. She pathetically explained to the reporters that, had the
+dimensions and resources of her establishment permitted, she and the
+Governor would simply have announced themselves at home to the community
+at large; that they would have preferred this, but of course it would
+never do. The people would not be pleased to see a rabble confound the
+hospitality of the chief magistrate and his wife. The people demanded
+proper dignity from their representatives in office. The list of
+invitations which Selma sent out was, however, comprehensive. She aimed
+to invite everyone of social, public, commercial or political
+importance. A full band was in attendance, and a liberal collation was
+served. Selma confided to some of her guests, who, she thought, might
+criticise the absence of wine, that she had felt obliged, out of
+consideration for her husband's political prospects, to avoid wounding
+the feelings of total abstainers. The entertainment lasted from four to
+seven, and the three hours of hand-shaking provided a delicious
+experience to the hostess. She gloried in the consciousness that this
+crush of citizens, representing the leaders of the community in the
+widest sense, had been assembled by her social gift, and that they had
+come to offer their admiring homage to the clever wife of their
+Governor. It gratified her to think that Pauline and Mrs. Taylor and the
+people of that class, to all of whom she had sent cards, should behold
+her as the first lady of the State, and mistress of a beautiful home,
+dispensing hospitality on broad, democratic lines to an admiring
+constituency. When Mr. Horace Elton approached, Selma perpetrated a
+little device which she had planned. As they were in the act of shaking
+hands a very handsome rose fell--seemingly by chance--from the bouquet
+which she carried. He picked it up and tendered it to her, but Selma
+made him keep it, adding in a lower tone, "It is your due for the
+gallant friendship you have shown me and my husband." She felt as though
+she were a queen bestowing a guerdon on a favorite minister, and yet a
+woman rewarding in a woman's way an admirer's devotion. She meant Elton
+to appreciate that she understood that his interest in Lyons was largely
+due to his partiality for her. It seemed to her that she could recognize
+to this extent his chivalrous conduct without smirching her blameless
+record as an American housewife.
+
+Meantime the Governor was performing his public duties with becoming
+dignity and without much mental friction. The legislature was engaged in
+digesting the batch of miscellaneous business presented for its
+consideration, among which was Elton's gas consolidation bill. Already
+the measure had encountered some opposition in committee, but Lyons was
+led to believe that the bill would be passed by a large majority, and
+that its opponents would be conciliated before his signature was
+required. Lyons's reputation as an orator had been extended by his term
+in the House of Representatives and his recent active campaign, and he
+was in receipt of a number of invitations from various parts of the
+country to address august bodies in other States. All of these were
+declined, but when, in the month of April, opportunity was afforded him
+to deliver a speech on patriotic issues on the anniversary of the battle
+of Lexington, he decided, with Selma's approval, to accept the
+invitation. He reasoned that a short respite from the cares of office
+would be agreeable; she was attracted by the glamour of revisiting New
+York as a woman of note. New York had refused to recognize her
+superiority and to do her homage, and New York should realize her
+present status, and what a mistake had been made. The speech was a
+success, and the programme provided for the entertainment of the orator
+and his wife included the hospitality of several private houses. Selma
+felt that she could afford to hold her head high and not to thaw too
+readily for the benefit of a society which had failed to appreciate her
+worth when it had the chance. She was the wife now of one of the leading
+public men of the nation, and in a position to set fashions, not to ask
+favors. Nevertheless she chose on the evening before their return to
+Benham to show herself at dinner at Delmonico's, just to let the world
+of so-called fashion perceive her and ask who she was. There would
+doubtless be people there who knew her by sight, and who, when they were
+told that she was now the wife of Governor Lyons, would regret if not be
+ashamed of their short-sightedness and snobbery. She wore a striking
+dress; she encouraged her husband's willingness to order an elaborate
+dinner, including champagne (for they were in a champagne country), and
+she exhibited a sprightly mood, looking about her with a knowing air in
+observation of the other occupants of the dining-room.
+
+While she was thus engaged the entrance of a party of six, whom the head
+waiter conducted with a show of attention to a table which had evidently
+been reserved for them, fettered Selma's attention. She stared unable to
+believe her eyes, then flushed and looked indignant. Her attention
+remained rivetted on this party while they laid aside their wraps and
+seated themselves. Struck by the annoyed intensity of his wife's
+expression, Lyons turned to follow the direction of her gaze.
+
+"What is the matter?" he said.
+
+For a few moments Selma sat silent with compressed lips, intent on her
+scrutiny.
+
+"It's an outrage on decency," she murmured, at last. "How dare she show
+herself here and entertain those people?"
+
+"Of whom are you talking, Selma?"
+
+"The Williamses. Flossy Williams and her husband. The two couples with
+them live on Fifth Avenue, and used to be among her exclusive friends.
+Her husband has just ordered the dinner. I saw him give the directions
+to the waiter. It is monstrous that they, who only a few months ago
+failed disgracefully and were supposed to have lost everything, should
+be going on exactly as if nothing had happened."
+
+"People in New York have the faculty of getting on their feet again
+quickly after financial reverses," said Lyons, mildly. "Like as not some
+of Williams's friends have enabled him to make a fresh start."
+
+"So it seems," Selma answered, sternly. She sat back in her chair with a
+discouraged air and neglected her truffled chicken. "It isn't right; it
+isn't decent."
+
+Lyons was puzzled by her demeanor. "Why should you care what they do?"
+he asked. "We can easily avoid them for the future."
+
+"Because--because, James Lyons, I can't bear to see godless people
+triumph. Because it offends me to see a man and woman, who are
+practically penniless through their own evil courses, and should be
+discredited everywhere, able to resume their life of vanity and
+extravagance without protest."
+
+While she was speaking Selma suddenly became aware that her eyes had met
+those of Dr. George Page, who was passing their table on his way out.
+Recognition on both sides came at the same moment, and Selma turned in
+her chair to greet him, cutting off any hope which he may have had of
+passing unobserved. She was glad of the opportunity to show the company
+that she was on familiar terms with a man so well known, and she had on
+her tongue what she regarded as a piece of banter quite in keeping with
+his usual vein.
+
+"How d'y do, Dr. Page? We haven't met for a long time. You do not know
+my husband, Governor Lyons, I think. Dr. Page used to be our family
+physician when I lived in New York, James. Everyone here knows that he
+has a very large practice."
+
+Selma was disposed to be gracious and sprightly, for she felt that Dr.
+Page must surely be impressed by her appearance of prosperity.
+
+"I had heard of your marriage, and of your husband's election. I
+congratulate you. You are living in Benham, I believe, far from this
+hurly-burly?"
+
+"Yes, a little bird told me the other day that a no less distinguished
+person than Dr. Page had been seen in Benham twice during the last three
+months. Of course a Governor's wife is supposed to know everything which
+goes on, and for certain reasons I was very much interested to hear this
+bit of news. I am a very discreet woman, doctor. It shall go no
+further."
+
+The physician's broad brow contracted slightly, but his habitual
+self-control concealed completely the inclination to strangle his
+bright-eyed, over-dressed inquisitor. He was the last man to shirk the
+vicissitudes of playful speech, and he preferred this mood of Selma's to
+her solemn style, although his privacy was invaded.
+
+"I should have remembered," he said, "that there is nothing in the world
+which Mrs. Lyons does not know by intuition."
+
+"Including the management of a hospital, Dr. Page. Perhaps you don't
+know that I am the managing trustee of a large hospital?"
+
+"Yes, I was informed of that in Benham. I should scarcely venture to
+tell you what my little bird said. It was an old fogy of a bird, with a
+partiality for thorough investigation and scientific methods, and a
+thorough distrust of the results of off-hand inspiration in the
+treatment of disease."
+
+"I dare say. But we are succeeding splendidly. The next time you come to
+Benham you must come to see me, and I will take you over our hospital. I
+don't despair yet of converting you to our side, just as you evidently
+don't despair of inducing a certain lady some day to change her mind. I,
+for one, think that she is more fitted by nature to be a wife than a
+college president, so I shall await with interest more news from my
+little bird." Selma felt that she was talking to greater advantage than
+almost ever before. Her last remark banished every trace of a smile from
+her adversary's face, and he stood regarding her with a preternatural
+gravity, which should have been appalling, but which she welcomed as a
+sign of serious feeling on his part. She felt, too, that at last she had
+got the better of the ironical doctor in repartee, and that he was
+taking his leave tongue-tied. In truth, he was so angry that he did not
+trust himself to speak. He simply glared and departed.
+
+"Poor fellow," she said, by way of explanation to Lyons, "I suppose his
+emotion got the better of him, because he has loved her so long. That
+was the Dr. Page who has been crazy for years to marry Pauline
+Littleton. When he was young he married a woman of doubtful character,
+who ran away from him. I used to think that Pauline was right in
+refusing to sacrifice her life for his sake. But he has been very
+constant, and I doubt if she has originality enough to keep her position
+as president of Wetmore long. He belongs to the old school of medicine.
+It was he who took care of Wilbur when he died. I fancy that case may
+have taught him not to mistrust truth merely because it isn't labelled.
+But I bear him no malice, because I know he meant to do his best. They
+are just suited for each other, and I shall be on his side after this."
+
+The interest of this episode served to restore somewhat Selma's
+serenity, but she kept her attention fixed on the table where the
+Williamses were sitting, observing with a sense of injury their gay
+behavior. To all appearances, Flossy was as light-hearted and volatile
+as ever. Her attire was in the height of fashion. Had adversity taught
+her nothing? Had the buffet of Providence failed utterly to sober her
+frivolous spirit? It seemed to Selma that there could be no other
+conclusion, and though she and Lyons had finished dinner, she was unable
+to take her eyes off the culprits, or to cease to wonder how it was
+possible for people with nothing to continue to live as though they had
+everything. Her moral nature was stirred to resentment, and she sat
+spell-bound, seeking in vain for a point of consolation.
+
+Meantime Lyons, like a good American, had sent for an evening paper, and
+was deep in its perusal. A startled ejaculation from him aroused Selma
+from her nightmare. Her husband was saying to her across the table:
+
+"My dear, Senator Calkins is dead." He spoke in a solemn, excited
+whisper.
+
+"Our Senator Calkins?"
+
+"Yes. This is the despatch from Washington: 'United States Senator
+Calkins dropped dead suddenly in the lobby of the Senate chamber, at ten
+o'clock this morning, while talking with friends. His age was 52. The
+cause of his death was heart-failure. His decease has cast a gloom over
+the Capital, and the Senate adjourned promptly out of respect to the
+memory of the departed statesman.'"
+
+"What a dreadful thing!" Selma murmured.
+
+"The ways of Providence are inscrutable," said Lyons. "No one could have
+foreseen this public calamity." He poured out a glass of ice-water and
+drank it feverishly.
+
+"It's fortunate we have everything arranged to return to-morrow, for of
+course you will be needed at home."
+
+"Yes. Waiter, bring me a telegram."
+
+"What are you going to do?"
+
+"Communicate to Mrs. Calkins our sympathy on account of the death of her
+distinguished husband."
+
+"That will be nice," said Selma. She sat for some moments in silence
+observing her husband, and spell-bound by the splendid possibility which
+presented itself. She knew that Lyons's gravity and agitation were not
+wholly due to the shock of the catastrophe. He, like herself, must be
+conscious that he might become the dead Senator's successor. He poured
+out and drained another goblet of ice-water. Twice he drew himself up
+slightly and looked around the room, with the expression habitual to him
+when about to deliver a public address. Selma's veins were tingling with
+excitement. Providence had interfered in her behalf again. As the wife
+of a United States Senator, everything would be within her grasp.
+
+"James," she said, "we are the last persons in the world to fail in
+respect to the illustrious dead, but--of course you ought to have
+Senator Calkins's place."
+
+Lyons looked at his wife, and his large lips trembled. "If the people of
+my State, Selma, feel that I am the most suitable man for the vacant
+senatorship, I shall be proud to serve them."
+
+Selma nodded appreciatively. She was glad that her husband should
+approach the situation with a solemn sense of responsibility.
+
+"They are sure to feel that," she said. "It seems to me that you are
+practically certain of the party nomination, and your party has a clear
+majority of both branches of the Legislature."
+
+Lyons glanced furtively about him before he spoke. "I don't see at the
+moment, Selma, how they can defeat me."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+The body of Senator Calkins was laid to rest with appropriate ceremonies
+in the soil of his native State, and his virtues as a statesman and
+citizen were celebrated in the pulpit and in the public prints. On the
+day following the funeral the contest for his place began in dead
+earnest. There had been some quiet canvassing by the several candidates
+while the remains were being transported from Washington, but public
+utterance was stayed until the last rites were over. Then it transpired
+that there were four candidates in the field; a Congressman, an
+ex-Governor, a silver-tongued orator named Stringer, who was a member of
+the upper branch of the State Legislature and who claimed to be a true
+defender of popular rights, and Hon. James O. Lyons. Newspaper comment
+concerning the candidacy of these aspirants early promulgated the
+doctrine that Governor Lyons was entitled to the place if he desired it.
+More than one party organ claimed that his brilliant services had given
+him a reputation beyond the limit of mere political prestige, and that
+he had become a veritable favorite son of the State. By the end of a
+fortnight the ex-Governor had withdrawn in favor of Lyons; while the
+following of the Congressman was recognized to be inconsiderable, and
+that he was holding out in order to obtain terms. Only the
+silver-tongued orator, Stringer, remained. On him the opposition within
+the party had decided to unite their forces. To all appearances they
+were in a decided minority. There was no hope that the Republican
+members of the Legislature would join them, for it seemed scarcely good
+politics to rally to the support of a citizen whose statesmanship had
+not been tested in preference to the Governor of the State. It was
+conceded by all but the immediate followers of Stringer that Lyons would
+receive the majority vote of either house, and be triumphantly elected
+on the first joint ballot.
+
+And yet the opposition to the Governor, though numerically small, was
+genuine. Stringer was, as he described himself, a man of the plain
+people. That is he was a lawyer with a denunciating voice, a keen mind,
+and a comprehensive grasp on language, who was still an attorney for
+plaintiffs, and whose ability had not yet been recognized by
+corporations or conservative souls. He was where Lyons had been ten
+years before, but he had neither the urbanity, conciliatory tendencies,
+nor dignified, solid physical properties of the Governor. He was pleased
+to refer to himself as a tribune of the people, and his thin, nervous
+figure, clad in a long frock-coat, with a yawning collar and black whisp
+tie, his fiery utterance and relentless zeal, bore out the character. He
+looked hungry, and his words suggested that he was in earnest, carrying
+conviction to some of his colleagues in the Legislature. The election at
+which Lyons had been chosen chief magistrate had brought into this State
+government a sprinkling of socialistic spirits, as they were called, who
+applauded vigorously the thinly veiled allusions which Stringer made in
+debate to the lukewarm democracy of some of the party leaders. When he
+spoke with stern contempt of those who played fast and loose with sacred
+principles--who were staunch friends of the humblest citizens on the
+public platform, and behind their backs grew slyly rich on the revenues
+of wealthy corporations, everyone knew that he was baiting the Governor.
+These diatribes were stigmatized as in wretched taste, but the
+politicians of both parties could not help being amused. They admitted
+behind their hands that the taunt was not altogether groundless, and
+that Lyons certainly was on extremely pleasant terms with prosperity for
+an out and out champion of popular rights. Nevertheless the leading
+party newspapers termed Stringer a demagogue, and accused him of
+endeavoring to foment discord in the ranks of the Democracy by
+questioning the loyalty of a man who had led them to notable victory
+twice in the last three years. He was invited to step down, and to
+season his aspirations until he could present a more significant public
+record. What had he done that entitled him to the senatorship? He had
+gifts undeniably, but he was young and could wait. This was a taking
+argument with the legislators, many of whom had grown gray in the party
+service, and Lyons's managers felt confident that the support accorded
+to this tribune of the people would dwindle to very small proportions
+when the time came to count noses.
+
+Suddenly there loomed into sight on the political horizon, and came
+bearing down on Lyons under full sail, Elton's bill for the
+consolidation of the gas companies. The Benham _Sentinel_ had not been
+one of the promoters of Lyons's senatorial canvass, but it had not
+espoused the cause of any of his competitors, and latterly had referred
+in acquiescent terms to his election as a foregone conclusion. He had
+not happened to run across Elton during these intervening weeks, and
+preferred not to encounter him. He cherished an ostrich-like hope that
+Elton was in no haste regarding the bill, and that consequently it might
+not pass the legislature until after his election as Senator. If he were
+to come in contact with Elton, the meeting might jog the busy magnate's
+memory. It was a barren hope. Immediately after the _Sentinel_ announced
+that Governor Lyons was practically sure to be the next United States
+Senator, the gas bill was reported favorably by the committee which had
+it in charge, and was advanced rapidly in the House. Debate on its
+provisions developed that it was not to have entirely plain sailing,
+though the majority recorded in its favor on the first and second
+readings was large. It was not at first regarded as a party measure. Its
+supporters included most of the Republicans and more than half of the
+Democrats. Yet the opposition to it proceeded from the wing of the
+Democracy with which Stringer was affiliated. Elton's interest in the
+bill was well understood, and the work of pledging members in advance,
+irrespective of party, had been so thoroughly done, that but for the
+exigencies of the senatorial contest it would probably have slipped
+through without notice as a harmless measure. As it was, the opposition
+to it in the lower branch was brief and seemed unimportant. The bill
+passed the House of Representatives by a nearly two-thirds vote and went
+promptly to the Senate calendar. Then suddenly it became obvious to
+Lyons not merely that Elton was bent on securing its passage while the
+present Governor was in office, but that his rival, Stringer, had
+conceived the cruel scheme of putting him in the position, by a hue and
+cry against monopoly and corporate interests, where his election to the
+senatorship would be imperilled if he did not veto the measure. By a
+caustic speech in the Senate Stringer drew public attention to the
+skilfully concealed iniquities of the proposed franchise, and public
+attention thus aroused began to bristle. Newspapers here and there
+throughout the state put forth edicts that this Legislature had been
+chosen to protect popular principles, and that here was an opportunity
+for the Democratic party to fulfil its pledges and serve the people.
+Stringer and his associates were uttering in the Senate burning words
+against the audacious menace of what they termed the franchise octopus.
+Did the people realize that this bill to combine gas companies, which
+looked so innocent on its face, was a gigantic scheme to wheedle them
+out of a valuable franchise for nothing? Did they understand that they
+were deliberately putting their necks in the grip of a monster whose
+tentacles would squeeze and suck their life-blood for its own
+enrichment? Stringer hammered away with fierce and reiterated invective.
+He had no hope of defeating the bill, but he confidently believed that
+he was putting his adversary, the Governor, in a hole. It had been
+noised about the lobbies by the friends of the measure earlier in the
+session that the Governor was all right and could be counted on.
+Stringer reasoned that Lyons was committed to the bill; that, if he
+signed it, his opponents might prevent his election as Senator on the
+plea that he had catered to corporate interests; that if he vetoed it,
+he would lose the support of powerful friends who might seek to revenge
+themselves by uniting on his opponent. Stringer recognized that he was
+playing a desperate game, but it was his only chance. One thing was
+evident already: As a result of the exposure in the Senate, considerable
+public hostility to the bill was manifesting itself. Petitions for its
+defeat were in circulation, and several Senators who had been supposed
+to be friendly to its passage veered round in deference to the views of
+their constituents. Its defeat had almost become a party measure. A
+majority of the Democrats in the Senate were claimed to be against it.
+Nevertheless there was no delay on the part of those in charge in
+pushing it to final action. They had counted noses, and their margin of
+support had been so liberal they could afford to lose a few deserters.
+After a fierce debate the bill was passed to be engrossed by a majority
+of eleven. The Democrats in the Senate were just evenly divided on the
+ballot.
+
+What would the Governor do? This was the question on everyone's lips.
+Would he sign or veto the bill? Public opinion as represented by the
+newspapers was prompt to point out his duty. The verdict of a leading
+party organ was that, in view of all the circumstances, Governor Lyons
+could scarcely do otherwise than refuse to give his official sanction to
+a measure which threatened to increase the burdens of the plain people.
+The words "in view of all the circumstances" appeared to be an euphemism
+for "in view of his ambition to become United States Senator." Several
+journals declared unequivocally that it would become the duty of the
+party to withdraw its support from Governor Lyons in case he allowed
+this undemocratic measure to become law. On the other hand, certain
+party organs questioned the justice of the outcry against the bill,
+arguing that the merits of the case had been carefully examined in the
+Legislature and that there was no occasion for the Governor to disturb
+the result of its action. On the day after the bill was sent to the
+chief magistrate, an editorial appeared in the Benham _Sentinel_
+presenting an exhaustive analysis of its provisions, and pointing out
+that, though the petitioners might under certain contingencies reap a
+reasonable profit, the public could not fail in that event to secure a
+lower price for gas and more effective service. This article was quoted
+extensively throughout the State, and was ridiculed or extolled
+according to the sympathies of the critics. Lyons received a marked copy
+of the _Sentinel_ on the morning when it appeared. He recognized the
+argument as that which he had accepted at the time he promised to sign
+the bill if he were elected Governor. In the course of the same day a
+letter sent by messenger was handed to him in the executive chamber. It
+contained simply two lines in pencil in Elton's handwriting--"It
+continues to be of vital importance to my affairs that the pending bill
+should receive your signature." That was obviously a polite reminder of
+their agreement; an intimation that the circumstances had not altered,
+and that it was incumbent on him to perform his part of their compact.
+Obviously, too, Horace Elton took for granted that a reminder was
+enough, and that he would keep his word. He had promised to sign the
+bill. He had given his word of honor to do so, and Elton was relying on
+his good faith.
+
+The situation had become suddenly oppressive and disheartening. Just
+when his prospects seemed assured this unfortunate obstacle had appeared
+in his path, and threatened to confound his political career. He must
+sign the bill. And if he signed it, in all probability he would lose the
+senatorship. His enemies would claim that the party could not afford to
+stultify itself by the choice of a candidate who favored monopolies. He
+had given his promise, the word of a man of honor, and a business man.
+What escape was there from the predicament? If he vetoed the bill, would
+he not be a liar and a poltroon? If he signed it, the senatorship would
+slip through his fingers. The thought occurred to him to send for Elton
+and throw himself on his mercy, but he shrank from such an interview.
+Elton was a business man, and a promise was a promise. He had enjoyed
+the consideration for his promise; his notes were secure and the
+hypothecated bonds had been redeemed. He was on his feet and Governor,
+thanks to Elton's interposition, and now he was called on to do his
+part--to pay the fiddler. He must sign the bill.
+
+Lyons had five days in which to consider the matter. At the end of that
+time if he neither signed nor vetoed the bill, it would become law
+without his signature. He was at bay, and the time for deliberation was
+short. An incubus of disappointment weighed upon his soul and clouded
+his brow. His round, smooth face looked grieved. It seemed cruel to him
+that such an untoward piece of fortune should confront him just at the
+moment when this great reward for his political services was within his
+grasp and his opportunities for eminent public usefulness assured. He
+brooded over his quandary in silence for twenty-four hours. On the
+second day he concluded to speak of the matter to Selma. He knew that
+she kept a general run of public affairs. Not infrequently she had asked
+him questions concerning measures before the Legislature, and he was
+pleasantly aware that she was ambitious to be regarded as a politician.
+But up to this time there had been no room for question as to what his
+action as Governor should be in respect to any measure. It had happened,
+despite his attitude of mental comradeship with his wife, that he had
+hitherto concealed from her his most secret transactions. He had left
+her in the dark in regard to his true dealings with Williams & Van
+Horne; he had told her nothing as to his straitened circumstances, the
+compact by which he had been made Governor, and his relief at the hands
+of Elton from threatened financial ruin. Reluctance, born of the theory
+in his soul that these were accidents in his life, not typical
+happenings, had sealed his lips. He was going to confide in her now not
+because he expected that Selma's view of this emergency would differ
+from his own, but in order that she might learn before he acted that he
+was under an imperative obligation to sign the bill. While he was
+sitting at home in the evening with the topic trembling on his tongue,
+Selma made his confession easy by saying, "I have taken for granted that
+you will veto the gas bill."
+
+Selma had indeed so assumed. In the early stages of the bill she had
+been ignorant of its existence. During the last fortnight, since the
+controversy had reached an acute phase and public sentiment had been
+aroused against its passage, she had been hoping that it would pass so
+that Lyons might have the glory of returning it to the Legislature
+without his signature. She had reasoned that he would be certain to veto
+the measure, for the bill was clearly in the interest of monopoly, and
+though her nerves were all on edge with excitement over the impending
+election of a Senator, she had not interfered because she took for
+granted that it was unnecessary. Even when Lyons, after reading the
+article in the _Sentinel_, had dropped the remark that the measure was
+really harmless and the outcry against it unwarranted, she had supposed
+that he was merely seeking to be magnanimous. She had forgotten this
+speech until it was recalled by Lyons's obvious state of worry during
+the last few days. She had noticed this at first without special
+concern, believing it due to the malicious insinuations of Stringer. Now
+that the bill was before him for signature there could be no question as
+to his action. Nevertheless her heart had suddenly been assailed by a
+horrible doubt, and straightway her sense of duty as a wife and of duty
+to herself had sought assurance in a crucial inquiry.
+
+"I was going to speak to you about that this evening. I wish to tell you
+the reasons which oblige me to sign the bill," he answered. Lyons's
+manner was subdued and limp. Even his phraseology had been stripped of
+its stateliness.
+
+"Sign the bill?" gasped Selma. "If you sign it, you will lose the
+senatorship." She spoke like a prophetess, and her steely eyes snapped.
+
+"That is liable to be the consequence I know. I will explain to you,
+Selma. You will see that I am bound in honor and cannot help myself."
+
+"In honor? You are bound in honor to your party--bound in honor to me to
+veto it."
+
+"Wait a minute, Selma. You must hear my reasons. Before I was nominated
+for Governor I gave Horace Elton my word, man to man, that I would sign
+this gas bill. It is his bill. I promised, if I were elected Governor,
+not to veto it. At the time, I--I was financially embarrassed. I did not
+tell you because I was unwilling to distress you, but--er--my affairs in
+New York were in disorder, and I had notes here coming due. Nothing was
+said about money matters between Elton and me until he had agreed to
+support me as Governor. Then he offered to help me, and I accepted his
+aid. Don't you see that I cannot help myself? That I must sign the
+bill?"
+
+Selma had listened in amazement. "It's a trap," she murmured. "Horace
+Elton has led you into a trap." The thought that Elton's politeness to
+her was a blind, and that she had been made sport of, took precedence in
+her resentment even of the annoyance caused her by her husband's deceit.
+
+"Why did you conceal all this from me?" she asked, tragically.
+
+"I should not have done so, perhaps."
+
+"If you had told me, this difficulty never would have arisen. Pshaw! It
+is not a real difficulty. Surely you must throw Elton over. Surely you
+must veto the bill."
+
+"Throw him over," stammered Lyons. "You don't understand, Selma. I gave
+my word as a business man. I am under great obligations to him." He told
+briefly the details of the transaction; even the hypothecation of the
+Parsons bonds. For once in his life he made a clean breast of his
+bosom's perilous stuff. He was ready to bear the consequences of his
+plight rather than be false to his man's standard of honor, and yet his
+wife's opposition had fascinated as well as startled him. He set forth
+his case--the case which meant his political checkmate, then waited.
+Selma had risen and stood with folded arms gazing into distance with the
+far away look by which she was wont to subdue mountains.
+
+"Have you finished?" she asked. "What you are proposing to do is to
+sacrifice your life--and my life, James Lyons, for the sake of
+a--er--fetish. Horace Elton, under the pretence of friendship for us,
+has taken advantage of your necessities to extract from you a promise to
+support an evil scheme--a bill to defraud the plain American people of
+their rights--the people whose interests you swore to protect when you
+took the oath as Governor. Is a promise between man and man, as you call
+it, more sacred than everlasting truth itself? More binding than the tie
+of principle and political good faith? Will you refuse to veto a bill
+which you know is a blow at liberty in order to keep a technical
+business compact with an over-reaching capitalist, who has no sympathy
+with our ideas? I am disappointed in you, James. I thought you could see
+clearer than that."
+
+Lyons sighed. "I examined the bill at the time with some care, and did
+not think it inimical to the best public interest; but had I foreseen
+the objections which would be raised against it, I admit that I never
+would have agreed to sign it."
+
+"Precisely. You were taken in." She meant in her heart that they had
+both been taken in. "This is not a case of commercial give and take--of
+purchase and sale of stocks or merchandise. The eternal verities are
+concerned. You owe it to your country to break your word. The triumph of
+American principles is paramount to your obligation to Elton. Whom will
+this gas bill benefit but the promoters? Your view, James, is the
+old-fashioned view. Just as I said to you the other day that Dr. Page is
+old-fashioned in his views of medicine, so it seems to me, if you will
+forgive my saying so, you are, in this instance, behind the times. And
+you are not usually behind the times. It has been one of the joyous
+features of my marriage with you that you have not lacked American
+initiative and independence of conventions. I wish you had confided in
+me. You were forced to give that promise by your financial distress.
+Will you let an old-fashioned theory of private honor make you a traitor
+to our party cause and to the sovereign people of our country?"
+
+Lyons bowed his head between his hands. "You make me see that there are
+two sides to the question, Selma. It is true that I was not myself when
+Elton got my promise to sign the bill. My mind had been on the rack for
+weeks, and I was unfit to form a correct estimate of a complicated
+public measure. But a promise is a promise."
+
+"What can he do if you break it? He will not kill you."
+
+"He will not kill me, no; but he will despise me." Lyons reflected, as
+he spoke, that Elton would be unable to injure him financially. He
+would, be able to pay his notes when they became due, thanks to the
+improvement in business affairs which had set in since the beginning of
+the year.
+
+"And your party--the American people will despise you if you sign the
+bill. Whose contempt do you fear the most?"
+
+"I see--I see," he murmured. "I cannot deny there is much force in your
+argument, dear. I fear there can be no doubt that if I let the bill
+become law, public clamor will oblige the party to throw me over and
+take up Stringer or some dark horse. That means a serious setback to my
+political progress; means perhaps my political ruin."
+
+"Your political suicide, James. And there is another side to it,"
+continued Selma, pathetically. "My side. I wish you to think of that. I
+wish you to realize that, if you yield to this false notion of honor,
+you will interfere with the development of my life no less than your
+own. As you know, I think, I became your wife because I felt that as a
+public woman working, at your side in behalf of the high purposes in
+which we had a common sympathy, I should be a greater power for good
+than if I pursued alone my career as a writer and on the lecture
+platform. Until to-day I have felt sure that I had made no mistake--that
+we had made no mistake. Without disrespect to the dead, I may say that
+for the first time in my life marriage has meant to me what it should
+mean, and has tended to bring out the best which is in me. I have grown;
+I have developed; I have been recognized. We have both made progress.
+Only a few days ago I was rejoicing to think that when you became a
+United States Senator, there would be a noble field for my abilities as
+well as yours. We are called to high office, called to battle for great
+principles and to lead the nation to worthy things. And now, in a moment
+of mental blindness, you are threatening to spoil all. For my sake, if
+not for your own, James, be convinced that you do not see clearly. Do
+not snatch the cup of happiness from my lips just as at last it is full.
+Give me the chance to live my own life as I wish to live it."
+
+There was a brief silence. Lyons rose and let fall his hand on the table
+with impressive emphasis. His mobile face was working with emotion; his
+eyes were filled with tears. "I will veto the bill," he said,
+grandiloquently. "The claims of private honor must give way to the
+general welfare, and the demands of civilization. You have convinced me,
+Selma--my wife. My point of view was old-fashioned. Superior ethics
+permit no other solution of the problem. Superior ethics," he repeated,
+as though the phrase gave him comfort, "would not justify a statesman in
+sacrificing his party and his own powers--aye, and his political
+conscience--in order to keep a private compact. I shall veto the bill."
+
+"Thank God for that," she murmured.
+
+Lyons stepped forward and put his arm around her. "You shall live your
+own life as you desire, Selma. No act of mine shall spoil it."
+
+"Superior ethics taught you by your wife! Your poor, wise wife in whom
+you would not confide!" She tapped him playfully on his fat cheek.
+"Naughty boy!"
+
+"There are moments when a man sees through a glass, darkly," he
+answered, kissing her again. "This is a solemn decision for us, Selma.
+Heaven has willed that you should save me from my own errors, and my own
+blindness."
+
+"We shall be very happy, James. You will be chosen Senator, and all will
+be as it should be. The clouds on my horizon are one by one passing
+away, and justice is prevailing at last. What do you suppose I heard
+to-day? Pauline Littleton is to marry Dr. Page. Mrs. Earle told me so.
+Pauline has written to the trustees that after the first of next January
+she will cease to serve as president of Wetmore; that by that time the
+college will be running smoothly, so that a successor can take up the
+work. There is a chance now that the trustees will choose a genuine
+educator for the place--some woman of spontaneous impulses and a large
+outlook on life. Pauline's place is by the domestic hearth. She could
+never have much influence on progress."
+
+"I do not know her very well," said Lyons. "But I know this, Selma, you
+would be just the woman for the place if you were not my wife. You would
+make an ideal president of a college for progressive women."
+
+"I am suited for the work, and I think I am progressive," she admitted.
+"But that, of course, is out of the question for me as a married woman
+and the wife of a United States Senator. But I am glad, James, to have
+you appreciate my strong points."
+
+On the following day Lyons vetoed the gas bill. His message to the
+Legislature described it as a measure which disposed of a valuable
+franchise for nothing, and which would create a monopoly detrimental to
+the rights of the public. This action met with much public approval. One
+newspaper expressed well the feeling of the community by declaring that
+the Governor had faced the issue squarely and shown the courage of his
+well-known convictions. The Benham _Sentinel_ was practically mute. It
+stated merely in a short editorial that it was disappointed in Governor
+Lyons, and that he had played into the hands of the demagogues and the
+sentimentalists. It suggested to the Legislature to show commendable
+independence by passing the bill over his veto. But this was obviously a
+vain hope.
+
+The vote in the House against the veto not merely fell short of the
+requisite two-thirds, but was less than a plurality, showing that the
+action of the chief magistrate had reversed the sentiment of the
+Legislature. The force of Stringer's opposition was practically killed
+by the Governor's course. He had staked everything on the chance that
+Lyons would see fit to sign the bill. When the party caucus for the
+choice of a candidate for Senator was held a few days later, his
+followers recognized the hopelessness of his ambition and prevailed on
+him to withdraw his name from consideration. Lyons was elected Senator
+of the United States by a party vote by the two branches of the
+Legislature assembled in solemn conclave. Apparently Elton had realized
+that opposition was useless, and that he must bide his time for revenge.
+Booming cannon celebrated the result of the proceedings, and Selma,
+waiting at home on the River Drive, received a telegram from the capital
+announcing the glad news. Her husband was United States Senator, and the
+future stretched before her big with promise. She had battled with life,
+she had suffered, she had held fast to her principles, and at last she
+was rewarded.
+
+Lyons returned to Benham by the afternoon train, and a salute of one
+hundred guns greeted him on his arrival. He walked from the station like
+any private citizen. Frequent cheers attended his progress to his house.
+In the evening the shops and public buildings were illuminated, and the
+James O. Lyons Cadets, who considered themselves partly responsible for
+his rapid promotion, led a congratulatory crowd to the River Drive. The
+Senator-elect, in response to the music of a serenade, stepped out on
+the balcony. Selma waited behind the window curtain until the enthusiasm
+had subsided; then she glided forth and showed herself at his elbow. A
+fresh round of cheers for the Senator's wife followed. It was a glorious
+night. The moon shone brightly. The street was thronged by the populace,
+and glittered with the torches of the cadets. Lyons stood bareheaded.
+His large, round, smooth face glistened, and the moonbeams, bathing his
+chin beard, gave him the effect of a patriarch, or of one inspired. He
+raised his hand to induce silence, then stood for a moment, as was his
+habit before speaking, with an expression as though he were struggling
+with emotion or busy in silent prayer.
+
+"Fellow citizens of Benham," he began, slowly, "compatriots of the
+sovereign State which has done me to-day so great an honor, I thank you
+for this precious greeting. You are my constituents and my brothers. I
+accept from your hands this great trust of office, knowing that I am but
+your representative, knowing that my mission is to bear constant witness
+to the love of liberty, the love of progress, the love of truth which
+are enshrined in the hearts of the great American people. Your past has
+been ever glorious; your future looms big with destiny. Still leaning on
+the God of our fathers, to whom our patriot sires have ever turned, and
+whose favors to our beloved country are seen in your broad prairies tall
+with fruitful grain, and your mighty engines of commerce, I take up the
+work which you have given me to do, pledged to remain a democrat of the
+democrats, an American of the Americans."
+
+Selma heard the words of this peroration with a sense of ecstasy. She
+felt that he was speaking for them both, and that he was expressing the
+yearning intention of her soul to attempt and perform great things. She
+stood gazing straight before her with her far away, seraph look, as
+though she were penetrating the future even into Paradise.
+
+
+
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