he made no protest against it it s a sight better than he said and if it comes easier to you fellows i ve no objection ain t bad there s a kind of swing to it and you can t get it very far wrong the other s a good name spoiled and it s a name i ve a fancy for saving for her i gave it to her � i ll save it for her and it shall be a thing between us two call her if you like so it fell out that mr s oriental sealed her fate and gradually by a natural process was abandoned for even tom using it upon all ordinary occasions having in this manner begun life a day rarely passed in which she did not spend an hour or so in the post office each afternoon during the first few months of her existence tom brought her forth attired in all her and it was not long before the day came when he began to cherish the fancy that she knew when the time for her visit was near and enjoyed it when it came she looks as if he did he said to she wouldn t go to sleep yesterday after i came into the room and i ll swear i saw her eyes following me as i walked about and when i carried her in after she was dressed she turned her head over her shoulder to look round her and smiled when she had done it and found nothing was missing oh she knows well enough when she gets in there the fancy was a wonderfully pleasant one to him and when as time went on she developed a bright baby habit of noticing all about her and expressing her pleasure in divers soft little sounds he was a happier man than he had ever thought to be his greatest pleasure was the certain in connection with the de claim knowledge that she had first noticed himself � that her first greeting had been given to him that her first conscious caress had been his she was a loving little creature showing her affection earlier than most children do before she could sit upright she recognised his in and out and when he took her in his arms to walk to and fro with her as was his habit at night she dropped her tiny head upon his shoulders with a soft yielding to his tenderness which never failed to the of his heart there s something in her face he used to say to himself something that s not in every child s face it s a look about her eyes and mouth that seems to tell a man that she understands him � whether his spirits are up or down but his spirits were not often down in those days the rooms at the back no longer wore an air of loneliness and the evenings never hung heavily on his hands in the course of a few months he sent to for a high chair and tried the experiment of his small companion up in it at his side when he ate his supper it was an experiment which succeeded very well and filled him with triumph from her place in the kitchen could hear during every meal the sound of conversation of the most animated description tom s big kind voice rambling cheerily and replied to by the soft and murmuring of the child he was never tired of her never willing to give her up what i might have given to others if they d cared for it was his thought i give to her and she knows it it seemed too that she did know it that from her first gleaming of consciousness she had turned to him as her friend her protector and her best beloved when she in connection with the de claim heard his footsteps she turned in s arms or in her cradle to look for him and when she saw his face her whole little body towards him one afternoon when she was about eight months old he left her at the usual time who was working had spread a big red shawl upon the floor and seated her upon it and when tom went out of the room she sat still playing in the quiet way peculiar to her with the gay fringe she gave him a long earnest look as he crossed the threshold a look which he remembered afterwards as having been more thoughtful than usual and which must have represented a large amount of serious speculation mingled with desire tom went into the store and proceeded to the performance of his usual duty of entertaining his customers he was in a jovial mood and having a larger number of visitors than ordinarily was kept employed in settling the political problems of the day and of all public difficulties what s most wanted at the head of things he proclaimed is a man that s capable of himself mis if you choose that job can cut it off for you a man who ain t afraid of work help yourself jim lord where d this post office be if some men had to engineer it � a man who would stand at things and loaf instead of taking right hold for heaven s sake bill don t hurry ll give you the tea as soon as he s cut off his wife s dress that s the kind of men we want in office now � in every kind of office � in every kind of office if there s one thing no use for on god s green earth it s a man with no energy just kick that box over here so i get my feet on it in connection with the de claim he was sitting near the door which connected 