The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1890-01-10

self to be as anxious as you to get rid Of our
blessed first born"
ut is because love her that am so desi-
rous Of seeing her happy and setaed-not to
get rid Of her."
"Yes, suppose so; and I'm brute" said
the husband swell, IL Phil has been wait
ing until he should be certain about his own
condition financially, he will not need to wait
much longer. / don't know whether it's
through brains, or tact, or what's called low
er's luck, but he's been doing SO well among
railroad people that in common decency
must either raise his salary largely or give
! him an interest in the business"
"Well, really, you speak as if the business
depended upon him."
"For month or two he's been taking all
the orders; I've been simply sort of clerk,
to distribute them among mills, or find out
where iron could be had for those who wanted
it h, haste. He's after an order now-from
the Lake and Outside road-that let him
attempt at first merely to keep him from
growing conceited. 1t seemed too great and
difficult a job to place any hope on, but am
beginning to half believe he'll succeed. If he
does I'll simply be compelled to give him an
interest in the business; If don't some Of my
competitors will coax him away from me-"
"Whatl after all you have done for himp
"Tuti tutl the favor is entirely on the other
side Had some outsider brought me the or
ders which that boy has taken, l would have
had to pay twenty times as much in commits
sions as Pills salary has amounted to- What
do you think of Edgar Tramlay & Co. for a
business sign, or even 'Tramlay g. Haynp"
81 suppose it will have to be. y said the lady,
without any indication of qualification, land,
If it must be, the sooner the better, for it
can't help making Lucias position more GER
tain. Ii 1t doesn't do SO at once, l shall be-
lieve it my duty to speak to the young man. T"
"Dcatl don't, l implorem exclaimed the
merchant. HE will thing
"What he may think Is Of no consequence, n
said Mrs. Iramlay. TT is time that he should
know what city etiquette demands"
"But it isn't necessary, is it, that he should
know how matter-of-fact ald cold hearted
we city people can be about matters which
country people think should be approached
with the utmost heart and delicacya Don't
let him know what a mercenary, self serving
lot of wretches we are, until he is so fixed
that he can't run away"
Edgar, the subject is not one to be joked
about, assure you"
"And l assure you, my dear, that I'm not
more than half joking-not a bit more"
81 shall not say more than thousands Of
the most loving and discreet mothers have
been obliged to say in similar circumstances, ~
said Mrs. Tramlay. "If ysu cannot trust me
to discharge this duty delicately, perhaps you
will have the kindness to undertake it YOUR
SELF"
"The very thing!" said Tramlay. "If he
must have unpleasant recollections of one Of
us l would rather it wouldn't be his mother
in-law. The weight Of precedent is against
you, don't you knowa-though not through
any fault of yours"
"Wilf you seriously promise to speak to
hint At once?-this very weekY'
II promise" said Tramlay solemnly, at the
same time wickedly making number of
mental reservations.
"Then if there should be any mistake it
will not be too late to recall poor Mr.. Marge,"
said Mrs. Tramlay.
my dear wife," said Tramlay, tenderly,
81 know Marge has some good qualities, but
l beg you to remember that by the time our
daughter ought to be in the very prime of
her beauty and spirits, unless her health fails,
Marge will be nearly 70 years cid. / can't
bear the thought Of our darling being doomed
to be nurse to an old man just when she will
be most fit for the companionship and SYM
patty of a husband Suppose that ten years
ago, when you boosted you didn't feel day
older than when you were %, had been
twenty years older than am now, and hang
ing like dead weight about your neck? Be-
tween us we have had enough to do in bring
ing up our children properly; what would
you have done had all the responsibility come
upon you alones And you certainly don't
care to think Of the probability Of Lu being
left widow before she fairly reaches middle
ageT'
Handsome widows frequently marry
again, especially if their first husbands were
well off,"
"Wifer'
Mrs. Tramlay looked guilty, and avoided
her husbands eye. She could not avoid his
encircling arm, though, nor the meaning of
his voice as he said:
SIS there no God but society,""
81 didn't mean to-" whispered Mrs. Tram
lay "All mothers are looking out for their
daughters; don't think fathers understand
how necessary it is If you had shown more
interest in Lucia's future 1 might not have
been so anxious. Fathers never seem to
think that their daughters ought to have
husbands"
Fathers don't like girls to marry before
they are women" said Tramiay. "Even
now wish Lu might not marry until she is
several years older.n
Mercy" exclaimed Mrs. Tramlay.
"Would you want the poor child to 60
through several more years of late parties,
and dancing, and dressinga Why, she'd be-
come desperate and want to go into nun
merry or become u novelist, or reformer, or
something"
"Whata Is society really so dreadful to q
young girl2" asked the husband.
4 \
after the novelty wears off, said Mrs. Tram
lay, "unless she is fond of flirting, or gets into
one Of the prosy sets where they talk about
nothing but books and music and pictures and
blue china and such things"
"Live and learn" quoted the merchant
"Next time become young man and marry
I'll bring up my family in the country. My
sisters had at least horses and trees and birds
and flowers and chickens to amuse them, and
not one of them married until she was twenty
FIVE"
Mrs Tramlay maintained ciscreet silence