Waterbury Democrat., 1902-12-26
HzE577QS7f$f z f6e Machine

I'VE been ordered to report to
 you, sir, for orders,' said a beyish and somewhat difident voice.
 5Head Y of ' Department r..Williams looked up irritably. Things had been going amisss on the swholesale crock cry floor that morning. An invoice customer, and there had been a chol- eric letter in consequence; and by mistake another. small ; invoice had been charged. to an, ,out=of-town deal CT whose lcredit had been recently black1isted. se Two errors like that in one morning, especially in s such a methedicals and = clecklike-work de partment as the wholesale crockery, was enough to upset the equanimity of it's chief. rt True, he was head of the department, and senior clerk in service, but there were gray-haired men under. him swho were in every way&competent to take hiss place at the desk,:. and he ,could:. never quite, get over the incongruitys of his posl-i tion over them. .4ssas s:f:s :E @ ss:s s:s <
 s.sYou're TO good" he said, brusque-. ey, as he shot quick, k,,comprehens look at the frailf figure. before him; Eve want a strong Sman who is able to lift boxes and handle heavy crock pry.'' X. :s s:sssEss S"I'll do the best I can, sir.'' s
 l''0h, of ceurse;Ss that's understood. Well, if they've sent you to me I must make the best x of it.. Here, Eom,''; to a broad-sheuldered man who wass wheeling a heavy truck pcress fthes floor. take this''-he was about tessay. young man. but in his tmpatience substituted stduffer'' in- stead-"and show him about unpack- Ing and distributing that new lot of Dresden. And, oh, say" as the new man reddened and turned to fellew bis guide, whats your name?''
 '.Williams. :. -Sssss
 ssH'mi',,y The. chief turned to his books again, and made the third er- Tor of that morning, charging a Eozen plates where he should have credited them. He did not like so many. namesakes, and there were all ready three or four Williamses in the Establishment. !. We'll, : thank good- hessls this was not poor cousin khoSwoulds1oek to him for favor.
 EsPresently the mail was, brought in, hnd several papers, and, l, a letter were tossedson his desk. He. picked up the letter and sopened it carelessly; but as he did so -his5 indifference became amazement, ands he glanced. quickly back at the addresstto assure himself of tsFreality. Yes, there it was, gsMr. John. Williams, at @: Burton & Erue's,'n and the sinvitatien l. was as straightforward and direct as the most skeptical could wish, a cordial request for his: company at an in Formal Thanksgiving dinner on the morrow, and signed by ''Mrs. Thorn ayke Ware. .,.a-ess,s.ss7
 He drew long breath. All the 22 years of his life had been passed in the city, but he had never received an invitation like this before-nor, in aeed, many Invitations of any kind. He was entirely alone in the world. and since he had entered the employ of Burton 6 True, as sweeper in the basement 12 years before, he had given all the force of his strong, de termined nature to the mastery of the business. Society and social in- tercourse had been closed-and, as he thought, an undesired-book to him; but this cordially worded in vitationk brought him thrill such as had never come to him through any of his promotions from one depart ment to another. But still he could not quite understand it. The other clerks received invitations, but they were something entirely different from this. Mrs. Thorndyke Ware nas very wealthy and very exclusive, and this invitation was one which he knew even Mir. Burton and Mir True themselves might have been glad to receive. The only solution he could imagine was that, as lie had been the Shipping clerk who had had charge bf the packing of many costly articles for the Ware mansion, this might be meant as token of appreciation. for b{s services-but this explanation eas anything but satisfactory