The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1886-11-20
TURNING \ CORNER.
By THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH.
From the Nclc YORK Star.

! BY THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH.
From the N,tc YORK Star
Peter Duke, of the firm of Duke \
Co.-his only son, Phillip, was the com
pany busy prosperous man.
The firm was making money very fast
in the soap line, and desired to make
more. He was a plain, honest and
| hard working man, apt to boast that he
had started business with only a hun
dred dollars in cash, and now had null
tplled the original capital by thousands.
He spent little time IN Boosting, how
ever, being too busy in his effort to
make the whole world wash itself clean
with Dukes kimola, as he called his
soap, and to force every laundress to
use his konia, powder whose deter
gent qualities were well known. Peter
did not know the meaning of these
words, but they sounded well. He had
paid literary Bohemian ten dollars to
invent him something sonorous. The
latter had turned to a Greek English
dictionary, and found these under the
head of SOAP Peter was pleased,
and so was the Bohemian-with the ten
dollars and dozen cakes of the soap
thrown in. The soap itself was good.
The aim of an expert soap boiler is to
reconcile solidity of structure with a
large volume of enclosed water. Some
of them increase the weight of the COM
pound by the addition of extraneous
matter, but Peter was honest and left
out the dirt. His sale of kimOlia was
great, and SO was The profit.
Besides son, Peter had fair daueh-
ter, and, next to his soap factory and
his shekels, he loved her. And Mill
Cent-her mother, now dead and gone,
had picked up the name from an Eng
lish society novel-was quite lovable
person. She was good looking, fairly
educated, and put on a good style
Through her school acquaintance and
her fathers money, she went into a
very respectable set, and, as sht looked
well, dressed we'll and talked well, mad
plenty of pocket money and prospec-
tive portion of some size, and a present
tongue of her own, if needed, they
forbore to turn up their noses at soap
At first, those who were poor and prouC
and proud poverty is frequently inso
lent-undertook to snub her a little
but she gave snub for snub, and then
leaning against the valuable pile of soa T
bars, defied them. Whether because
of her manners or her fathers money
she had many masculine admirers
Chief among these was Myndert var
Stopel, the great operator in Wal
street, whose huge fortune was built W
of the wrecks of railway and other cor
poratons. He had met her at Ions
Branch the summer before, and though
to use his own words, that she had g;
head of 60 in her, Myndert, though
he prided himself on his noble Dutcl
ancestry-the first of his forefathers wa
Cornelis Pietersie, with no Tan at all
thought more of slaughtering the bear
in "the Street." And he had slaught
cred them to some purpose. He wa
forty years old, short, stout and red
faced, with loud voice and obtrusiv
Misunderstanding but the imaginary
shrewd- looking man of affairs. He hac
begun as boy in brokers' office, ros'
TO be a clerk, went from there to thu
curbstone, ana then to seat in thu
Exchange, and lis wealth was very ia
up in the millions. He had been too
busy to think of marriage, but he had ;
remarkably fast horse, and ,hy SHOULD
he not buy a wife? AIllicent rattle
rebuffed his advances, but he knew thu
value of money and bided his time.
There was rival in the field. Myn
dert did not know it, though if he hac
known he would have depised such ;
competitor. This vas Frank Moore
the general manager employed by the
firm, who was highly valued because he
was faithful, trustworthy and knew al
about the work. He had good sal,
airy and slight commission on the
sales of the Roma, which he had in.
vented. Prudent, though not parsi
monious, Frank had managed to save
some money, and had $4,000 saved ii
bond and mortgage. beside over s. 600
in bank waiting for good investment
a very good match he might hope &c
make, but to think of marrying MilI.
cent, and a handsome fortune, seemed
preposterous.
Millicent did rot think so. Frank
who came and went q familiar visitor
to the house and a great crony o
Phillip, had known her since she was {
little girl, and in this case, at least fami-
lariIy did not breed contempt. The
two had very good understanding will
one another and tho cenipr nnlya g.,