The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-05-16


place. She looked over her plain,
scanty wardrobe She looked at her
self in the glass. And then she looked
again at the folded paper which said
she was worth million. She went
back over the dull routine Of her life.
Sarah had reached the age when most
women are happy wives and mothers
But, for her, the years had held moth
ing but hard work. Even the romances
of happy lives written in books had not
interested her. She had not understood
them. All her thought had been con-
centrated upon her work. That was
at an end now, and she realized for the
first time that something was missing
out Of her life. Immediately she missed
the something she began vaguely to
long for it. Her woman's nature
seemed to awake, and with It's awak-
ening came to Sarah Jenkins the first
really unhappy moments of her life.
She began to compare herself with
other women. They had never in
terested her very much before. But
now she seemed, all at once, to keenly
realize that they were different from
her. She went again to the glass and
looked at herself For the first time it
occurred to her that she was very
plain; that the dressing of her hair was
unbecoming, and that her gown fitted
badly and was not like other women's
gowns Sarah did not possess ribbon
or bit Of lace or a jewel Her room
had none of the pretty trinlxets with
which women like to surround them
selves. She stood looking in the glass
for five minutes, thinking. Then she
put on her hat, went out on the street
and walked straight to one of the
stores. where she purchased an entire
suit of clothing, from hat to gloves.
81 want something handsome" she
said to the saleswoman; something
that fits me and is becoming.
This done, she went back to her
room, dressed herself IN the new things
and then deliberately placed one after
another of her possessions upon the
CRATE fire. Within an hour she had not
one solitary thing that she had ever
owned before.
She left the house without word of
farewell, and when she reached the
sidewalk she stood for moment won
dering where she would go. She had
not friend in the great city. All the
people she knew were merely business
acquaintance She had only the
clothes she wore and-a million dol
laas
It is matter of wonder, even to
those who realize 1t best, what mira
Gle may be wrought with money. In
three months from the day that Sarah
stood in the street with nothing save
her inheritance she was owner and
mistress of one of the best-appointed
houses in New York. There was no
lack now of fine dresses and laces and
jewels; no lack of people who called,
leaving cards and invitations, and no
lack of men who were ready to pay
court and compliments to her.
These three months had been rev.
citation to Sarah. 1t was her first ex-
perience with the social world. But
her long business training had given
her keen insight into things and had.
taught her to form quick and nearly
always correct opinions of people.
For the first month she was inter-
ested. The second she was bored, and
the third she was thoroughly unhappy
and dissatisfied The functions of so
ciety she found wearisome. The po-
lite lies that people continually told
each other Disguised her. The light
ness with which society regarded what
she considered crimes shocked her. She
found herself longing for something
that was genuine and good, and won
dering whether any body was really
honest.
This state of things became intol-
cradle to the plain, practical business
woman. She thought it all over one
night, as she sat alone in her luxurious
chamber 1t was different, vastly diff
ferent, from the room where she did
her thinking three months before.
Was this what she had missed then
and longed for-to sit alone in the
midst of all this splendor and wonder
what she should do with herself; to
realize that not one of all the new
friends who swarmed about her and
readily accepted her hospitality really
cared button for her? Could she
spend all the years of her life this
way? No. She could not and she
would not
Sarah Jenkins arrived at conclusions
quickly. Early the next morning she
sent for her lawyer.
81 want you to sell this house for
me, she said.
why" replied the lawyer, you
have only just bought it.
mo matter, want to sell it. {"
Are you going away?"
mo. | am going to buy another
house that will suit me better. !"
''This isn't handsome enough for
her." thought the lawyer. Put beg
gar on horseback" Aloud he said
every we'll, Miss Jenkins I'll attend
to it.
Sarah's next move was to look for
her new house She found 1t, an un-
pretentious dwelling in a quiet side
street She had it put In perfect
order, and furnished prettily and neat
", but without touch of gorgeous
ness anywhere. Meanwhile the hand
some up town house with all its fur
nishings had been sold, and one day
Sarah walked into the Office where she
had spent so many years. 1t was her
office now, and her business. She said
to the young man who had taken her
place:
s'You will take charge OF the ship
ping at the same salary you have now
I will occupy this place hereafter, and
she took off her hat, seated herself on
the high stool, and began picking up
the threads of the old life just where
she had dropped them.
'sThis is the first happy day / have
known for three months" she said to
George Howe, the old bookkeeper, as
she went out that night He was a
grave, staid man of fifty, who had been
with the house for nearly thirty years
No one knew much about him. He
said, one Christmas, when asked about
his gifts, that there was no one to give
him anything.
why" asked the inquirer, haven't
you any folks?"
81 have no one In the world but my
self, said George Howe, and he turned
again to his books.
That was all he had ever said about
himself to anyone. Indeed, he never
said much about anything. During all
the years that he had sat in the same
office with Sarah Jenkins he had only
spoken to her upon matters Of busi-
ness, and she regarded him in very
much the same way that she did the
big ledger in front of him.
So, when Sarah volunteered the re-
mark concerning her happiness, George
was surprised somewhat, but he an
swered, pleasantly: 1T Is good to see
YOU back here. I have missed you
very much"
All the way home Sarah thought OF
those words: Il have missed you very
much" No one had ever said that to