The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-07-18
A TYPE WRITTENLETTER
Mr.. Denham's Queer Way OF Sc
curing a Partner.


When man has battled with power
ty all his life, fearing it as he fought 1t,
feeling for its skinny throat to throt-
tie it. and yet dreading all the while
the coming of the time when 1t would
gain the mastery and throttle him
when such a man Is told that he Ia
rich, it might be imagined he would
i receive the announcement with hilari-
ty When Richard Denham realized
that he was wealthy he became even
| more sobered than usual rand drew q
long breath, as If he had been running
a race and had won 1t. The man who
had brought him the news had no idea
he had told Denham anything novel.
He merely happened to say. you are q
rich man, Mr.. Denham. and will never
miss 1t.
Denham had never before been called
rich man, and up to that moment he
had not thought OF himself as wealthy.
He wrote out the check asked of him,
and his visitor departed gratefully,
leaving the merchant with something
to ponder over. BE was as surprised
with the suddenness of the thing as II
some one had left him legacy. Yet
the money was all of his own accumu-
lating, but his struggle had been SO
long and he had been so hopeless about
1t that from mere habit he exerted all
his energies long after the enemy was
overcome-just as the troops of New
Orleans fought flerc e battle not know
ing the war was over. He had sprung
from such q hopelessly poor family
Poverty had been their inheritance
from generation to generation. 1t was
the invariable legacy that father had
left to son in the Denham family. AL
had accepted their lot with uncom-
planning resignation, until Richard re-
solved he would at least have fght
for IL. And now the hght had been
won. Denham sat In his Office staring
at the dingy wall paper SO long that
when Rogers, the chief clerk, put his
head in and said in deferential voice;
Anything more tonight, Mr.. Denham?"
Denham started as If that question in
that tone had not been asked him every
night for years.
whats that9 what's that?" he Dried.
Rogers was astonished, but was too
well trained to show it.
Anything more tonight. Mr.. Dem
ham?"
''Ahl quite so. No, Rogers, thank
you, nothing more"
Good night, Mr. Denham."
'Eh? Obi yes. Good night, Rogers,
good night"
When Mr.. Denham left his office and
went into the street everything had an
unusual appearance to him. He walked
along, unheeding the direction. he
looked at the fine residences and real
lied that he might have a fine residence
If he wanted 1t. He saw handsome
carriages; he, too. might set up an
equipage. The satisfaction these
thoughts produced was brief OF what
use would fine house or an elegant
carriage be to him? He knew no one
to invite to the house or to ride with
him In the carriage. He began to real
lie how utterly alone In the world he
was He had no friends, no acquaint-
ance even. The running dog. with Its
nose to the ground, sees nothing Of the
surrounding scenery. He knew men In
business way, of course, and doubt
less each of them had home In the SUI
burbs, somewhere, but he could not
take business man by the shoulders
and say to him: Invite me to your
house; am lonely; / want to know
people,"
If he got such an invitation he would
not know what to do with himself. He
was familiar with the counting room
and its language, but the drawing-room
was an unexplored country to him,
where an unknown tongue was spoken.
On the road to wealth he had missed
something, and it was now too late to
go for It. Only the day before he had
heard one of the clerks, who did not
know he was within earshot, allude to
him as ''the old man" He felt as young
as ever he did, but the phrase. SO lightly
spoken, made him catch his breath.
As he was now walking through the
park, and away from the busy streets,
he took off his hat and ran his fingers
through his grizzled hair, looking at
his hand when he had done so, as II the
gray, like wet paint, had come of. lie
thought of a girl he knew once who,
perhaps, would have married him If he
had asked her. as he was tempted to do.
But that had always been the mistake
of the Denhams. They had all mar
ried young except himself, and so sunk
deeper into the mire Of poverty, pressed
down by rapidly increasing progeny.
The girl had married a baker, he re-
membered. Yes, that was long time
ago, The clerk was not far wrong when
he called him an old man. Suddenly
another girl arose before his mental
Visions modern girl-very different
indeed to the one who had married the
baker. She was the only woman in the
world with whom he was on speaking
terms, and he knew her merely because
her light and nimble fingers played the
business sonata of one note on his Office
typewriter. Miss Gale was pretty. Of
course-al typewriter girls are-and 1t
was generally understood in the Office
that she belonged to q good family who
had come down in the world. Her
somewhat independent air deepened
this conviction and kept the clerks at
distance. She was sensible girl, who
realized that the typewriter paid better
than the piano, and accordingly turned
the experiences of her white fingers to
the former instrument Richard Dem
ham sat down upon park bench.
''Why not?" he asked himself There
was no reason against 1t except that
he had not the courage. Nevertheless
he formed desperate resolution
Next day business went on as usual.
Letters were answered. and the time
arrived when Miss Gale came in to see
II he had any further commands that
day Denham hesitated. He felt
vaguely that business office was not
the proper place for proposal; yet he
knew that he would be at disadvan-
tage anywhere else. In the first place
he had no plausible excuse for calling
upon the young woman at home, and,
in the second place, he knew II he once
got there he would be stricken dumb.
1t must either be at his Office or mo-
where.
''Sit down a moment, Miss Gale" he
said at last 81 wanted to consult you
about matter-about q business mat
ter"
Miss Gale seated herself and auto
matically placed on her knee the short
hand writing pad, ready to take down
his instructions. She looked up at him
expectantiy. Denham, In an embar-
rassed manner. ran his fingers through
his hair.
II am thinking" he began, "of tal-
ing a partner The business Ia very
prosperous now. In fact, II has been
so for some time.
'Ysss" said Miss Gale, interrosa-
tsvaly.