, 1896-03-12
NO ONE KNEW HIM.

was really what she said"
These were the words of Florence
Larkin TO her brother. George had in,
trusted her with that difficult commits
sion-to find ont why Gertrude was of
and on with him-why she was some,
times so cordial and sweet and some.
times SO distant And poor Florence had
to explain to George that Gertrude had
virtually said that he was too common.
place. She could moi marry q man that
nobody knew and nobody talked about.
He was good. he was successful, he was
kind, he was everything that Miss Edge,
worth would require in one of her
novels, but be did not attract peoples
attention. Nobody ever heard Of George
Larkin.
After Florence had explained this in
the minutest way possible twice, George
seemed to understand what she wa3talk
ing about.
Does she want to see my name in
the newspapers?'
ence.
Does she want me to ride down
Broadway il plate armor and nail On
the doors of Trinity a notice that she is
the pretticst girl i'll the world:"
"She did not say SO" said Florence.
docs she want to see me more:''
Il should think you would do better
if you went there less" said Florence.
IF all she wants is to have me talked
about, she shall have her way!" And
George Larkin flounced ont of the room.
Ten days after. rs Gertrude Clark
came down, rather late, to her breakfast,
the servant brought in a pile of letters
on the salver. Gertrude's little sister
counted them there were 23. "What in
the world has bappened?' said she.
The little sister cut them open, aud
Gertrude read:
DEAR Miss CIARK-I think you know Mr..
George L.arkin. VIII you have the k;ndioss TO
put his address on the note inclosadg
DEAR Miss CLARK-Do you know your friend
Mr.. Llrlsin well enough to ask him to CONF
round to our reception: II il very informal,
but we shall I've 80 pleased TO see hiG.
DEAR Miss CLAIui-l am so annoyed tEat ]
forget Mr.. Larkin's first name. want to send
him a card for our party. May / trouble you
for his addIpssf
Twenty-:hrce notes that contained
such references to George!
Yet for these ten days past George
had not sent her-Do, not IL carnation.
He did send her Il note to excuse him
self from driving with her i'll the park.
He was not even at her aunt's regular
family party, where he had begged her
to have him invited. George had Who'll,
ly dropped out of her life, and Gertrude
had begun to wish that he had not drop
ped out.
The reader shall know what had hap
pened. The reader shall know how n
nice girl may be suddenly walked up to
find that her lover is not the unimpor-
tant person which in his humility he
had made her believe. The reader shall
know how IL young man got himself
named from one end of "A continent to
the other.
All this happened in II very largo city
of 1000, 600 people, which is the capt.
tai Of a very large country, which coun-
try is 9 to the republic of Altruria.
This country was governed partly by
the principles of the nation of Altruria,
partly by the principles of the devil
and partly by a sort of happy 60 lucky
system which had worked very we'll for
100 years. In tho course of the happy
go lucky arrangements it found itself
in a scrape for the sort of ready money
that it wanted. 1t bad some ready
money, which the people did not much
like, and it wanted some ready money
made of beaten gold. And so the chief
magistrate of this happy go lucky
country had issued his proposals for
what was called popular Loan"
Nobody knew very well how the pop
ular loan was to be taken up, but every
body was quite sure that his next door
pie went so far rs to say how much Mr..
Jones ought to subscribe and how much
the Widow Smith ought to subscribe.
But, up till the moment when Gertrude
sent that unkiud message to George by
Florence. nobody knew very we'll how the
thing was going to turn out. 1t might
be that the popular loan would all be
taken mp by u set of sharpers, or it might
be that il would not be taken at all. 1t
lulkut De ina ~ NUulu De q very ulpUpu'
lar loan. And everybody was very curl.
GUS to see.
There was once an occasion when all
the nations Of the world agreed that ev-
cry person in the world should scream
as loud as he could at IL particular in
slant Of time. When the instant came,
there was a horrible stiffness over the
mundane creation. For everybody. in
stead Of screaming himself, had listened
to hear somebody else scream, and no
one screamed but a dumb man in China
and a deaf woman in the Sandwich Is
lands.
1t was something like this about the
popular loan. But at lust the great day
came when, at Washington, they opened
the bids.
Now, the credit Of this nation was
pretty good and pretty bad. In very
bright, gilt edged times it could borrow
money ut less than 8 per cent. In those
times when there was trouble about the
sort Of money that it would give and
taxa 1t generally had to pay "a on $lo4
that In to say. it, 4 per cents were