The Mount Holly news., 1914-08-04
TOMS DAY DREAM
BY MAY C. RiNewALT.

and new double baby carriage had
to be bought. and there had never
been a time since when he felt that
he could afford to begin again.
And after all-if you have a lively
imagination by way Of a match-an
after-dinner day dream soothes tired
nerves in almost the same fashion
has the same bright. steady CLEAN to
II as the glow at the end of Havana.
OF course Tom Norton's after-dinner
day dream was going back east to Osh-
kosh.
Not that I'd ever want to live there
again" he would begin from the depths
OF his arm chair as he got out the day
dream from the pocket next his heart
and at once lighted up. mo stree,
California for mine! But just to see
the little town again-a two weeks
visit. say"
And with vociferous little puffs of
enthusiasm and silent little pulls of
thought, Tom would dilate upon the
joys OF an eastern winter blizzard and
the glories of an eastern summer
thunderstorm until you felt quite
apologetic over the tameness of a
California earthquake.
The attitude of Norton's women
folks" toward the after-dinner day
dream-his CULVER was SO tightly
packed with daughters that there was
no room for son and heir-differed
as widely as an opinion upon the weed
itself at a female-of-the-species sym
postum
His wife looked upon It with the
same resigned expression with which
she listened TO Toms conundrums and
Jokes.
sophonisba, the highbrow OF the
family In her seventh year at college
studying for her Doctors degree,
thought 1t waste of time that father
should spend improving his mind
reading the classics.
Maria. the settlement worker, re-
garded 1t as selfish indulgence.
If instead Of lounging idly about
after dinner"-Tom was a commuter
who took the 1880 train in the morH
ing and did not get home until the
6:45-"Popsy would only give an hour
or so to the study of civic betterment
or some of the great humanitarian
questions Of the dayl"
Angelina, the beauty Of the six SIS
ters, who had social aspirations, was
heartily ashamed of 1t, particularly
when Norton had the bad taste to in
dulge in his hobby before company.
Rosie and Posie, the twins, who
looked so alike that you could never
have told one from the other If the
other had not had small mole on
her chin. declared dads day dream
the funniest ever and giggled over
1t as they giggled over everything in
life from flying machine down to
Judie's new puppy.
AS for Frances, the youngest off,
spring. she simply ignored the whole
matter, with that indifference, not to
say guinness, that was characteristic.
Unquestionably Frances was the
queer duck of the family.
"The sort of GIRL" Tom would sigh
to himself. that somehow you can't
figure out"
A tall. awkward young person, with
lusterless pale brown hair, near
sighted eyes that necessitated conspic-
uously ugly spectacles since she hadn't
the right kind of nose for a pince-
nez; and a reinforced concrete rigidity
of chin.
The chin asserted itself shortly after
Frances graduation from high school,
when the young lady who possessed
1t took away the breath of all family
traditions by announcing her deter
mination to become stenographer.
Il want to be independently have
money of my own to spend as
please" she glumly answered the scan
daliEed Angelina I'm not intellectual
like Soph, and even If / could get a
certificate would make dead failure
at school teaching. / haven't Rosie's
talent for playing ragtime or Posies
genius for painting posters. But can
learn to thump machine and make
little dots and curved lines as we'll as
anybody. And l want to be independ-
ent," she reiterated; ito have money
of my own to spend as l please"
Why Frances should so lust after
filthy lucre remained family mystery
even after she had finished her train
ing and been working several months
for wage.
Indifferent to dress, she continued
to wear plain as pipestem clothes. sell
dom went to theater or concert,
walked to and from the station to save
car fare, and ate a cold lunch carried
from home.
Fran always was a tight wad,"
shifted Angelina as she tried on new
pink silk dressing sacque trimmed in
real Val.
"A tight wad or a deep wad?" gig
gled Rosie. Il saw her poring over
a bank book the other day, and have
hunch she's saving up for some big
thing that she's set her heart on. Like
I did for my piano, you know, only l
never could have saved enough If
daddy hadn't been such a generous
dear in helping me out
Maybe she's got the globe-trotting
fever and is planning to go round the
world" contributed Posie, continuing
the gigglee. 'T wish she'd take me
with her as far as Paris. Angie, do
you think If I coax him real hard
father will let me have a year at the
academy
Not until he gives me my promised
trip to Alaska. puss-in-boots," retorted
Angelina with pleased smile thrown
over her shoulder at the pink refiec-
ton in the mirror. "Unless that gen.
tleman wishes to get himself into
heap of trouble"
But all this time the after-dinner
day dream given such prominence in
the opening paragraphs of our little
story has been laid on the shelf, shame
fully neglected.
Neglected by US. that is, not by Tom
Norton.
The more impossible its realization
had become, the dearer In his eyes
that after-dinner day dream had
grown.
And to treat himself to 30 expen-
sive luxury as a trip back east had
seemed more impossible each year.
Tom had forged ahead In business. OF
course. But they had moved into a
larger house New conditions required
new expenditures. The cost OF living
scared higher. AS we have hinted, his
growing family had growing ambi-
tions.
So the pears had gone by from his
young married manhood to middle age
until this autumn, when Tom Norton
and his sixtieth birthday Unexpectedly
came face to face
AS he sank back in his arm chair
after dinner that birthday night, for
the first time the cherished day dream
refused to light.
Perhaps the clammy dampnese of
l0xu urirffo thot pravonfad Ito f0n{tiu o.