Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-22

here's a pleasant surprise. Here's Miss
Annendale. Take her to the billiard room
with you-and don't you boys choke her
with your cigar smoke"
Truly the spirit of the Hill Rise girls
was broken. Old Crunden-to quote his
own violent phrase-had smashed down all
their nonsense. Separate them and they
were at the mercy of a rude world. Only
when they were together could they hold
their own. No more might they whistle
or call by Christian name from house to
house; run In upon each other for counsel
and support; rarely might they move in
couples. never as full pack. Their hats
and frocks were no longer of one pattern;
the old costume note was lost; the Hill
Rise girls were lapsing into the general
aspect of any other girls.
The success of the judds was typical of
other peoples success. The Granvilles.
the Beaumonts. the Meldews now visited
the Paynes. the Mills and the Franks. In
a year the Hill Rise girls were glad to
go wherever you asked them. Falling
thus into the arms of that black-coated
throng which streamed out of Medford
every morning and worked In London all
day, the Hill Rise girls soon began to DO
without the least trouble that which In
the grand old time had presented insur-
mountable difficulties. They began to
get married.
1t is but the first step that costs pang
in these matters. When once Miss Gran
vile addressed Miss Judd as Muriel, II
was painless transition to the calling or
Miss judas brother Herbert. During the
last two years there had been more be-
trothals in the high families than TOT
the six previous years. The bells OF st
Barnabas soon made sweet bell music
for Ethel Page. Mabel Blake Lii Meldew.
etc; and for all these yelled and wreathed
patricians the bridegroom was a season
ticket owner, who sat on an off"e stool:
No one was surprised when Miss Amen
f,,ayN ,,,,tf nf
Mr.. Tubby Frank. He too habitually
wore a black coat, used season ticket
and sat on a leather-seated stool. He
was employed by a firm of accountants
who held annual audits for one OF the
smaller public offices; and Miss Amen
dale, drawing. was therefore able to de-
scribe her future husband as something
under government. But you know what
the civil service is nowadays. Tubby and
are going to have nothing to live on
but bread and cheese and love-"
AS happy and contented wives, or with
prospects of attaining sooner or later to
welded bliss. perhaps the Hill Rise girls,
if they in their turn analysed causes and
consequences, were now grateful to, ratn-
er than angry with, Mr.. Crunden for set
ting them on the roll down hill.
"'Tis an i'll wind said Mr.. Selby. that
blows nobody good" This was when Mrs.
Padfield took number 4. River View. And
Mrs. Padfield was followed into River
Three Of the neglected houses of this
bloomy and unfortunate terrace thus
found tenants. thanks to Mr.. Crunden..
"'Tis just the other way about to what
expected" said Selby. "Ye've emptied
your own houses to fill mine, young Crun-
den. Twill be the making of meme
taask, in paying interest on the mort
cages, will be light now to what 1t was
and me poor young wife will have her
treat once in a way with the rest OF the
world."'
Indeed, to any candid and unprejudiced
observer it must have been apparent that
many people in Medford besides old Sci
by and the marriageable young ladies had
derived benefits from Crunden's initiative
If, still tracing things back to their
source, you ascribed the advent OF the
London and Suburban Trust to Crunden
you found more and more people VINO
should have thanked him instead Of up
braiding him. The sleepy town seemed
to have shaken off its torpor Madford--
when compared with its stagnant past
was plainly booming. In less than three
years G11,C00 had been added to the rat
able value of the municipal borough, and
the borough rate had fallen 4d. in the 81.
Population had been drawn to Medford;
over two hundred new families had come
into Medford, and not one Family nad
gone out of it. Wherever you turned you
could see evidences Of prosperity-from the
brick and tile yards down by the river to
the new toy department at Selkrks eX-
tended premises. Trade haG never been
so brisk; all the shops were thriving; the
weekly circu' alton of the Medford AdVer-
tiser had gone up nearly thousand; the
railway company was giving a better train
service and promised further to increase
and accelerate 1t. Certainly the place was
now overbuilt but it would soon fill up;
and the prosperous town could afford TO
wait in patience for the filling-up process,
even If delay meant ruin to Mr.. Crupden.
Mr.. Hone of the Advertiser was the
first observant person who candldly con-
fessed that there had been unitarian
gains as well as sentimental losses from
the changes on the HILL Mr.. Hope had
come to Kings Cottage for an affable
business chat with Crunden's clerk. 1t
distressed Mr.. Hope to see all the Crun-
den printing go to Mr.. Mees. the station
err These pamphlets, leaflets, and so
forth-"excellently written pieces. Mr.. Vim
cent" Why not let Mr.. Hope run them
off at the Advertiser office? AT least let
Mr.. Hope have fair share of the or
ders And Mr.. Hope scoffed at Mees and
his spectacled son-not printers at all
stationers. who pottered about in back
room with a hand press, like children
playing.
"Really, I doubt if Mees has advanced
far either in technique or machinery.
from Caxton in Westminster Abbey. You
know the picture. Mr.. Vincent-a very
beautiful thing, with which used to re-
fresh my eyes as lad-on the walls OF
the National Gallery-often and often
when studying shorthand at the Pitman
school. Whereas in the Advertiser
works we can challenge comparison with
the up-to-date machinery of big Lon
don daily. Give us a chance, Mr.. Vim
cent of showing what we can do"
"We'n think about it, said Jack:
Though, upon my life, I don't see why
we should reward you for slanging US
every week for three years. Cd Mees
gave US more or less friendly on-dits from
the first
Then Mr. Hope talked very pompously
about his organ and very bitterly OF MS
rivals sheet. You must not speak of tn
vertiser. He told Mr.. Vincent that an
organ of public opinion, such as the Ad-
vertiser, was a mighty engine-it needed
very slkillful guidance.
"Well," said Jack, crudely, will you
| reverse your mighty engine and go full
speed astern-if we make it worth your
while by sending down few orders?"
But at this crudenesS Mr. Hope was for
a moment offended.
Not for thousands of pounds, said
Hope stanchly, would I tamper with my
trust or print one line that did not con-
vey my firm conviction
"Of course" said Jack. laughing. only
my joke
81 do not however, pretend to infalli-
bility, Mr.. Vincent Temporal mutantur.
And this I can say at once. 1t is ny
business to gauge public opin. on-and for
some little time I have detected symp-
toms of a change in public opinion. l
should call it the turn of the tloe,' said
Mr.. Hope. with excessive pomposty. ITO
on q nylnr