News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-12-09
TURNING A CORNER.
BY THOMAS DUNN ENGL ,sH.

Peter Duke, of the fl m of Duke &
Co.-(hls only son Philip, was the com
palyl, was busy and prosperous man.
Ihe hrm was making money very fast in
the soap line, and desired to make
more. He was plain, honest and hard
working man, apt to boast that he had
started business with only hundred
dollars in cash and now had multiplied
the original capital by thousands. He
spent little time in boasting, however.
being too busy in his effort to make the
whole world wash itself clean with
Dukes Kimolia, as he called his SOAP
and to force every laundress to use his
konla, "a powder whose detergent quail
ties were well known. Peter did not
know the meaning of these words. but
they sounded well. He had paid a lit
eIary Bohemian ten dollars to invent
him something sonorous. The latter
had turned to a Greek English diction-
airy, 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 Ifse was good. The aim of
an expert soap boiler is to reconcile
solidity of structure with large vol
ume of inclosed water. Some of them
increased the weight of the compound
by the addition of extTaneous matter,
but Peter was honest and left out the
dirt. His sale of Kimolia was great,
and so was the profit.
Besides a son, Peter had a fair daugh-
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 a 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 very
respectable set, and as she looked well,
dressed we'll and talked well, had plen-
ty of pocket money and a prospective
portion of some size, and a present
tongue of her own, if needed, they for
bore to turn up their noses at soap. At
first those who were poor and proud
and proud poverty is frequently inso-
lent-undertook to snub her a little; but
she gave snub for snub, and then, lean
ing against the valuable pile of soap
bars, defied them. Whether because OF
her manners or her fathers money, she
had many masculine admirers. Chief
among these was Myndert van Stopel,
the great operator in Wall street, whose
huge fortune was built up of the wrecks
of railway and other corporations. He
bad met her at Long Branch the sum
mer before, and thought, to use his
own words, that she had ''heap of &C
in her." Myn ert, though he prided
himself on his noble Dutch ancestry
the first of his forefathers was Cornelis
Pietersie, with no Vda at although
more of slaughtering the bears in ''the
Street" And he had slaughtered them
TO some purpose He was forty years
old, short, stout and red faced, with
loud voice and obstructive manners
everything but the imaginary, shrewd-
looki man of affairs. He had begun
as boy in brokers' office, lose to be a
clerk, went from there to the curb stone
and then to seat in the Exchange, and
his wealth was very far up in the mil
lions. He had been too busy to think
of marriage, but he had remarkably
fast horse, and why should he not buy
a wife2 Millicent rather rebuffed his
advances, but he knew the value o1
money and bided his time.
There was a rival in the field, Myn-
dert did not KIN W it, though if he had
known he would have despised such a
competitor This was 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 salary
and slight commission on the sales Ui
the Konia, hich he had invented,
Prudent, though not parsimonious
Frank had managed to save some mon
ey, and had 5000 0 saved in bond ano
mortgage, beside over $4,000 in bank
waiting for a good investment. A verI
good match he might hope to make
but TO think of marrying Millicent anC
o handsome fortune seemed prepOster
Ous
Milicent did not think So Frank
who.came and went familiar visitor t.
the house and great crony of Philip
had known her since she was little girl
and in this case at least familiarity die
not breed contempt The two had
very good understanding with one an
other and The senior Duke, for a time
was not well informed in the premises
But such things will leak out, aud a
last the elder Duke heard of it. II
bubbled up like the compound in one o
his kettles and interviewed his daughte
on the matter.
''See ere, Milly," he said, 'pm no
angry; but l want you and Moore t
stop your philandering nonsense. Yo
ought to make a better match. Moor
is very nice young fellow, | own, II
find it hard to replace him IN the factory
ButI don't want him for son-in-law
You, ought to look for some one higher.
Higher, papa. Do you want me t
be married by son of Ansk. Frank
six foot and an inch"
Stuff you know what mean. Don
talk that way to me. There Is VA
stopel, who is half crazy after you
10 you mean to give uD millions TO
notl,ing1"