Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-04-01

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 4 little child lGU SlOlCIV and painfully
 brCdthtng hts life aIUGy.
 Winter again; the city dull, listless and sodden of aspect in the gloom of January evening. In the country and natures quiet places the dusk was throw ing veil over the cheerlessness of earth, as friend covers friends deficiencies with love; but here in the haunts of men garish electric lights made plain the misery. The air was a depressing compound which defied analysis, but was apparently composed of equal parts of snow, drizzle and stinging sleet; the wind caught it in sudden whirls and dashed it around corners and into the eyes and the coat collars of wayfarers with gusty malevolence.
 l The streets were comparatively de- serted, only such people being abroad as could not help themselves, and these plodded along with bent heads and si- lent curses on tle night. Even the poor creatures who daily "till the field of hu- man sympathy" kept close within the shelter of four walls, no matter how for lorn, and left the clements to hold Wal l DuISlS HE IlG III lIlG dlOL1Os
 In a comfortable easy chair in tho handsome parlor of an elegant up town mansion, sat Ethel Cumberland reading a novel. Since her second marriage life had gone pleasantly with her and she was content. Cecil never worried her about things beyond her comprehen- sion, or required other ailments for his spiritual sustenance than that which she was able and willing to furnish; he was a commonplace man and his de- sires were easily under stood and satisfied.
 He liked a pretty wife, handsome house, a good dinner with fine wine and jolly company; he liked high stepping horses, a natty turnout and the smile of Vanity Fair. Ethel's tastes were similar, and their lives so far had fitted into each other without a single crevjce. The Cumberlands were grim and unbending, it is true, and after that one concession to fraternal feeling, made no more; they held themselves rigidly aloof from the pair, and invested all intercourse with paralyzing formality. ESsel did not care l pin for them or their opinion; if they chose to be old fogyish and disagreeable they were quite welcome to indulge their fancy. AS long as society smiled upon her, Madame Ethel was superbly indif- ferent to the Cumberland frown.
 Cecil worried over il, as men will worry, who have been accustomed to the adulation of their womankind, when that adulation is withdrawn. He grumbled and fumed over their damned nonsense" as he called it, and bored his wife no little with conjectures as to their reasons for being stiff and unpleas- ant when nobody else was.
 Since her return from her wedding trip, which had heightened to four months amid the delights of Paris, Mrs. Cumberland had found time for only one short visit to her little son. There had been such an accumulation of social duties and engagements that pilgrimages over to Brooklyn were out of the ques- tion; and besides she disliked. Mrs. Creswell, Thorne's aunt, who had charge of the boy, and who had the bad taste, Ethel felt sure, to disapprove of her. It was too bad of Nesbit to put the child so far away and with 8 personsswhom she did not like; it amounted to a total sepa- ration, for of course it would be impossi- ble for her to make such journey often.
 When her time should be less occu- pied, she would write to Nesbit about it. meanwhile her maternal solicitude found ample pacifcation in sending a servant across at intervals to carry toys and con. fectionery to the little fellow, and to in quire after his welfare.
 The portieres were drawn aside to ad init MT. Cumberland, in smoking jacket and slippers, yawning and very much bored. He was a large, heavy looking man, very dependent on outside things for his entertainment. Failing to at. tract his wife's attention, he lounged over to the window and drew aside the velvet curtain. The atmosphere was heavy, and the light in front of the house appeared to hold itself aloof from the environment in a sulky, self con tained way. All down the street the other lamps looked like the ghosts oi lights that had burned and died in past . ages.
 A little girl with 8 bag of apples in he, frostbitten hands came hastily around the corner and, going with her hea( down against the sleet, butted into aI elderly gentleman, with a big umbrella who was driving along in an opposit' direction. The gentleman gave the chile an indignant shove, which caused her t, seat herself violently upon the pave ment; the bag banged hard against tn bricks and delivered up it's trust, and tn apples scudded away into the gutter. -
 Cecil laughed amusedly as the httl, creature picked herself up crying, ana proceeded to institute search for tn, nisai1s treasure. A kindly policeman who 0ouhtians had children Of hio own g,qpa4 en h19 beat aad helped hnF