Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1905-07-15

Ok M liam" said his wife, her
X 4 head slightly raised and
o. ~& her gray eyes sharp with
&S6ssGR& suppressed excitement
Il should be dreadfully mortified not
to do as much for Elise rs Charles does
for his children. Well, not exactly as
much in every way, no. of course, we
really couldn't expect her to have so
much iewelry and as many nsw frocks.
But to have Elise look old, fashioned
and not have suitable thingA for her
little parties-why it is positiN ely en-
barrassing to her and humiliates me-"
William SOliday avoided his wife's
gaze, and methOdically arranged his
necktie. He was n plain man. with
kindly smile when he was not dis
turbed by his ambitious wife and
daughter.
"Well, William, can't you tell me
whether you can let mo have two
hundred dollars or not this weekY'
Il don't see how l can, Eliza. I've
had hard winter at the store and a
good many accounts overdue. wish
l could make as much money as
Charles, but can't seem to do it, any
way. He is a good talker and smart.
You know, Eliza that I've worked
hard for the last twenty-five years,
early and late"
ooh, don't accuse you of being
lazy" remarked Mrs. Soliday, tartly;
what l would like to see is something
to show for all your work. Charles
doesn't get to his Office till nine and
is always through at five, and makes
at least hundred dollars week in
salary and commissions"
"Ill tell you right now, Eliza. that
though Charles is my cousin, l would
not be in his line of business for
thousand n week. It's no use 10 con.
tinue this talk any longer, Eliza l
hope to be able to supply you and Elise
with all the necessaries of life, and
little more, but as for fitting out Elise
so she can run around with the set that
her cousins belong to, cannot even
attempt it,"
This closed the conversation for that
morning, and while Mrs. Soliday sat in
her room finishing her daughters grad
uating gown, her mind dwelt bitterly
on her cramped life with its petty
economies.
She had really loved William Soil
day, thirty years ago. He was a clerk
then, in her fathers store, and a genial,
honest young fellow. But when the
business was his, he did not seem to
know just how to make it pay. He
bought good line of stock, and he had
TO sell at close margin to compete
with the cheap articles displayed by
his rivals. Then he paid his help Il
fair price, and his roomy, well-ventilat-
ed store cut still deeper into his profits.
She suspected that some of its old
customers had not paid their bills for
a long time; in fact, when man was
out of work or there was sickness,
William never would push his claims,
and sometimes he lost good deal that
way.
AS Eliza Soliday thought her cheeks
burned and the smOuldering fire of dis
content burst into a brighter blaze.
She had not minded the scrimping so
much when Elise was little, her clothes
cost such small amount, and she had
not begun to have her social ambitions
awakened till the last year or two.
The other girls in the class were to
have either handsome piece of Jew
elry or a gold watch as a souvenir of
graduation day, and there were pho
tographs, spreads, class pins, dances,
and the usual Accomplishments of the
festive time.
Charles Soliday's twin daughters had
everything that any one had, and far
more. Their father was to present
them with watches, suitably engraved
and their mother had promised them
elegant gold bracelets, with diamond
studded clasps. They We're to enter
tain the entire class at an informal
dance, followed by supper, at which
each guest would be presented with
specially designed favor.
The girls gowns were to be made by
their mothers fashionable dressmaker,
and nothing would be.acking to COM
plete their stylish appearance. The
dotted Swiss muslin which Mrs. Soil
day was rapidly finishing looked coarse
and cheap in her eyes, and she threw
it on the bed with a completely dis
gusted expression on her handsome
face.
That day Mrs. Soliday spent few
hours with her sister, who lived out in
the suburbs Returning home in the
late afternoon, she was obliged to sit
in closely-crOwded car, and her eyes
were startled by headlines in n special
edition of an evening paper: "Charles
Soliday Arrested. About to Escape
with His Plumber. Denied Wrong.
Doing, but Finally Broke Down and
Confessed"
Mrs Sollday felt her heart stop beat
ing for a moment, then plunge like n
runaway horse. Charles SOllday.
whose wife and daughters she had en-
vied-she could not believe her own
eyes. Mrs. Soliday was too excited 10
remain in the car when it approached
her locality, so signaling to the con-
ductor, she left the car and walked
rapidly toward her home.
Hurrying into the house she was met
by Elsie, who had heard the news.
The girl was as excited as her mother,
and they talked over the astonishing
situation.
isn't ii dreadful for Bertha aud Der
nice" said Elsie, They didn't come