, 1885-03-08

dsfsrshce to his wishes she simpiided her
style OF dress, put her thick hair tidilN of
her face, and discarded all iswslry save hsf
wedding ring and q little brooch given her
by old Mary. Sarcastic and unkind as was
Reuben 3 tone In speaking TO her, she IN
doubtsdly prohtsd by his fault finding, and
after a time she discovered that Luke was
right In saying bis fathers bark was worse
than his Bit. More than slca, when scns
ANAL domestic difficulty p~srplexsd b>r,
Reuben's watchful old eyes perceived IL. and
she found herself at the same time snaried
at as a fool and helped out Of her ~quandary.
Again, the old schoolmaster took
very kindly TO his grandson. and
Gwen, who was kssnly conscious OF her
own want Of education. was ready to put
up with much ohurlishnsss to herself for the
sake Of the boy taught by Eeuben, whose
learning inspired her with profound reepect
Often when she busted his book shelves,
where Horace, Virgil, Cicero, Thomas a
Kempis, Shakespeare, one or two works on
education, and a little old-fashioned volume
of Bacon's Essays and Locke's Conduct OF
the Understanding" leant side by side in
friendly tolerance OF ons another's c~ontsst,.
she would scan their titles and read a page
here and there. wishing she had had more
schooling, and hat Peter might grow up
book wise
One day Rsuben caught her at 1t.
Put the book back" he explained per
smptorily. "All the years we lived together
tina old woman never so much as opened q
b65k o mins, and here are you, a gal that
can hardly spell her own ~outlandish name,
poking into them, spelling 'em, and
wasting your timer
IL wasn't hurtin' EN-, father" said Gwen
earnestly; but unluckiiy she had laid his
favorite Shakespeare open, face down
ward on the table, and the old man broke
out afresh.
whats the use OF trying to make any
thing Of youl Surely, any fool 'ud know 1t
hurts u book to lay it sol Get alongl I'll
put the shelf right myself; never you touch
1t again"
aVery we'll. father" said Gwen quietly;
shut l was only thiakin' O. Peter. and won
derin' II pir'aps some day you'd teach 'un
whats In the books"
AWen, wslll' said Reuben, somewhat
Modified, "he's q good little chap, and sharp
enough too. He puts me in mind OF Luke
when be was n little 'un. but he'll hardly
come up TO his father. Luke's got a first
class head, II only he'd stick to steady work,
and not take up so with inventions that'n
never come to any good. He's a fine lad
he ought to nave married a woman o.
breeding"
~ W. - AoA " 80 -" -
Rsubsn's CULVER OF abuse, this was the one
that wounded her most cruelty. Tn sting
of the words lay In their partial truth, for
she knew hat her kind, clever young
husband might have made a better
match. And yet she loved him SO
dearly, and strove 20 hard to
be worthy OF himi 1t vexed her. too. to
hear Reuben speak so slightingly of Luke's
Inventions, for. as a matter Of fact, the
young engineer had sold the patents Of va
rious small labor saving contrivances for
considerable sums. Only in one case had he
failed, and it was hard that Reuben should
seem to remember that SO much better than
the successes. Gwen delighted In her hus-
bands work, and rather than let him be dis
turbed by domestic worries, played out all
her womanis tact In the endeavor to make
1t appear to him that the ~lt-finding to
which Reuben sometimes subjected her.
even In his sons presence, was merely the
froth on a calm sea OF good understanding.
She little imagined, however, that this
view Of the matter was Reuben's own, till
ono day to her establishment, a neighbor re-
marked:
"Old Mr.. Sparrow thinks a deal
OF you, Mrs. Sparrow, doesn't hei
He drops in now and again, and tells Us
what = good manager you are, and how
comfortable you make him. He says you
ara wonderful thoughtful for such a young
woman"
Gwen could hardly answer for surprise,
but the discovery that Reuben praised her
behind her back encouraged her greatly, and
she tried harder than ever to improve, not
only in her management of the house, but in
speech, style and manner.
you are becoming quite a lady, Gwen, p"
said Luke one evening; whereat she flushed
IL H. - - -...-N - .
dubious significance, which Gwen chose to
interpret as an expression of assent.
"Some day, father. I'll speak quite correct
quite correctly, 1 mean"
II hope so,p said Luke, SO eagerly that
Gwen looked quickly up at him, and per
ceived the strange excitement in bis eyes.
Il hope 30, he repeated, drawing a deep
breath, "for l believe / am going to make
my fortune, and that would be a uft-up in
the world for us all"
Rsuben's face assumed its most skeptical
expression
"You ought To be shrswdsr than to bslisvs
in fortune-making, boy. Nothing but
steady, s~traightfor war . work pays nova
days"
And isn't it straightforward work to plod
away at the elements of invention for yearsf"
said Luke, warmly ito get to know every
discovered application Of science to me-
chanics, so as to DO familiar with ones tools,
as 1t were, and then to effect original com
binationsl / don't want to boast, but my
small inventions haven't failed, and l am
justified in believing my big ones won't |
have invented an electric tram-car which Is
bound to surersede all others"
aAh, well, my lad, If the patent fetchss
you the money 1t has cost you, III congrat.
ulAte you"
Luke was accustomed TO his fathers in
credulity, but tonight 1t seemed TO affect
him painfully.
"You must try to have faith in me,
father" he said, e~ndeavoring to speak
calmly, "for / have made up my mind not
to sell the patent, but to work IL myself, To
do which l must throw up my present
~clerkship and start an office on my own &C
count 1t may involve living on very little
for awhile, but 1t must pay in the end.
Luke's face was fun Of the exaltation
which proceeds from the sense OF great
achievement-the look OF the man who
originates, whether artist, poet, or inventor.
Gwen, with worshiping eyes, knelt beside
him, and drew bis arm around her shoulder.
"You will trust me, little woman, and put
up with being on short-commons for a bitf'
said Luke. smiling down at her.
Rsuben's thin lips were pressed togs Their
as he sat and grimly watched the pair. AT
last he stood up, pushed his chair back, and
addressed them with deliberate, chilling
contempt.
Luke, you're a fool Your wife's never
been anything else, so l needn't say the
same Of her. But for q man who has
ono grain Of sense to throw up a
good place for the sake OF pushing
arubbishy invention, that's what call tho
act Of a fool, and Pm ashamed to have such
= fool for my son. II you think I'M going to
spend my little savings to keep you out OF
the w~orkhouse, while YOU'RE waiting for a
fortune that's to be made out OF a tram-car,
you're a fool for that, too. As soon rs ever
you can't pay up, l wash my hands of you,