The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1906-12-28

do to have our engagement announced
yet. shall give large reception
soon and tell everybody. You will
have to come and help me. Let the
Home and the Ladies' Thursday go
for once"
Il shall, of course, receive with you
Margaret" replied her aunt. "But
about Brtram Wingate, l do not
think you are acting right. He seems
to care sincerely.
"Oh, not really. l think" said Mar
garet lightly "He just thinks it looks 8
we'll to be good deal at our house.
You know he believes that things like
that help him in his profession. He
lives at the West for tue sound of it.
Has little bit of Il room at the very
top, the boys say. And they say his
Office boy takes his breakfast to the
Office from Russell's. He calls it bis
second breakfast and says he acquired
the habit when studying in France
but the boys think"
"Margaret!' exclaimed Miss Red
mond sharply.
Il didn't mean to gossip, really,
Aunt Madge," said Margaret hastily.
II don't care what he does, although
it seems foolish for bright man to
try to keep up with the things he can't
afford. Men wouldn't think any the
less of him for sticking to his work
now and when be has succeeded he
can put on all the frills be likes.
There, I must he going now. You
have made me feel quite uncomfortable
about that Invitation TO the New
Years dinner, though truly it was
only out of charity. / half expected
Mr.. Wingate would be here to accept
in person, he SO dotes on going to teas
in business hours, but perhaps the
fates will be kind and he'll refuse.
Good bye, l must run on. Don't
forget your promise about the recep-
tion.
As Miss Redmond and Margaret
Little moved away Bessie Shaw re-
turned and it was some time before
Wingate could excuse himself from
the discussion of cotillion favors and
escaped into the cold twilight.
Although he had quite convinced
himself that he cared for Margaret,
rather than John Little's heiress,
Wingate found his indignation at her
misapprehension of his motives quite
swallowed up in the misery Of realiza
tion that be was being laughed at for
the very pretentions which he had fiat
tered himself were assuring his sue.
cess. He turned away from the hand.
some house on Park avenue and walk
ed briskly toward the outskirts of the
city. There was some satisfaction in
crunching the snow under his feet and
in feeling the sting OF the splitting
sleet which cut his cheeks, where the
red OF angry humiliation burned
through the tan so carefully acquired
on the Minnetonkas links. For six
years ho had struggled for position
in society. He had dropped old friends
and cultivated men in whom he felt no
real interest; be had been errand boy
for the matrons and cavalier for the
buds; be had joined more clubs than
be could afford and had pinched in
many ways to make up for the expen-
ditures. He had told countless stories
of his life at Harvard, but never spoke
of his family in Dakota. He had often
referred to his trip abroad, without
limiting that he had been tutor to d
rich youth; be Lad told dreamy tales
of a winter in Mexico, carefully con-
cealing the fact that he had been as
sistant to an invalid architect. He
had talked witty of plays and operas,
gathering his ideas from the daily pa
pers rather than from observation.
Indeed, he had done everything in his
power to seem a man OF the world and
favorite in society.
And now, when he bad thought his
position assured-when he had dream
ed of spending John Little's millions
with perfect taste and passing his days
in an atmosphere of wealth and leisure
with the grace of one "to the manner
born," he found that he did not seem
"to belong anywhere" and was to be
given New Years dinner out of char.
ity, while little Charlie Lefingwell
who never managed to get beyond bis
Freshman year at Yale. whose only
accomp lishment was driving an auto.
mobile and whose one aim in life was
to increase his already large fortune
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