| Show THE Q ar BT X robert strong reported millionaire stood in the bay window of one of chi cagos mantione one brilliant sunshiny december morning there had been a light fall of snow the night before the breezes had played with it and distributed tri buted it most unequally the millionaire lio was watching hi enterprising young neighbor over the way who inhabited the poorest house on the street and who was out shoveling snow from his sidewalk mr strong was in a meditative mood although i surrounded by every evidence of wealth and luxury he did not look nor act like a man who was perfectly satisfied with life he had been pacing up and down the room more like some animal than like a prosperous member of the board of trade it is time that hobbis was here he was baying as he walked up and down making an occasional pause at the window why does he not come I 1 am anxious to know my fate wealth or poverty which is it to be for the future that fellow over there shoveling snow for exercise works on salary and lias no business cares I 1 wonder who is happier he or I 1 bow wo are hampered by our environment I 1 would really like to take a shovel and dispose of those drifts still reposing undisturbed on our front steps the exercise would do me good but what a shocking thing it would be the servants the family the whole community would be shocked inexpressibly shocked A hundred dollar bill would hardly induce one butler to BO far compromise bis dignity as to shovel snow and if I 1 should do it I 1 have half a mind to try him with a bill and see what the effect would be lie is fond of money A hundred dollare so easily earned would be a temp tuition I 1 am curious to know what ha would do the experiment would probably result in his giving notice and mary would be sorry to lose him I 1 wonder when I 1 saw her last she seldom takes breakfast with me last night I 1 came home late he had gone for tha evening and came home later still yesterday did I 1 see her yesterday yes we passed each other in the hall and said good morning and good byl wa had an hour together sunday blessed be sunday I 1 mary and I 1 are on the best of terms we have not quarreled for ten I 1 thick we love each other but we are both co busy she has the care of this great ahouee and company and Bocie tyl I 1 have business interests and the club and a little politics so our home life gets lost somewhere I 1 wonder if we are any happier than we were in the old simple days when we lived for each other instead of for servants and society was that the doorbell I 1 not breathe freely again until I 1 know whether that sale goes through if the deal goes against us my godl it cant go against if it does I 1 shall bo II 11 hobbeh would only cornel A man needs nerves of steel in these days to bear the strain of business if the deal goes he will come himself that we may plan together it it tails he will write A messenger will bring the news that youir man over there works as if he enjoyed it biow he makes the snow clyl here comes his wife happy creatures they have no dignity to be compromised he can shovel snow and ahe can sweep it without shocking the whole community what a beautiful morning the air is like wine and the sunshine turns the snow into ten thousand glittering diamonds surely that was the doorbell can it be hobbes I 1 must not look too delighted lest he should buesa how near ruin I 1 am it was not hobbes but his daughter lucy who entered the room do you like the snow lucy he asked a she came and abood by hie nide at the window no papa I 1 dont like it at all I 1 can hardly walk to school tee sidewalks are in such a condition if it was a little farther I 1 should order the carriage that would hardly pay for three blocks your mother walked two miles every day that she was in high Bc hooLi biow perfectly dreadful that must have beell why she take a car it was a country town and there were no cars 0 papal just looka those people in the cottano are both out working in the snow he goes ahead and shovels and she follows with a broom it too bad they are so poor they have to work so hard I 1 always feel for such people do you how about those who are glad to see the snow that they may earn a few pennies shoveling it they are wretched of course nobody expects them to be happy our neighbors the snow look happy he remarked they always do but I 1 should bo perfectly miserable if I 1 were so poor there arc three children and they only keep one girl she trims her own hats and hardly ever has a new dress and when ahe does ahe has to make it herself they cant be so very poor continued her father the lot that cottage stands on must be worth ten thousand dollars at least it is editha father wants to buy it to enlarge his yard and has offered that but it has always been her home her father gave it to her and her mother died there and they wont sell she want tho cottage torn down they are not poor the way folks are that accept old clothes and provisions she has a piano and books but they are too poor to have a good time they cant keep a carriage or go into society or travel in europe there was a moments silence ilia daughters views were something of a surprise to mr strong when are you going to got mamma those diamonds you promised her asked lucy turning away from the window 1 I dont know Is she suffering for them I 1 am short of money just now they are only twenty thousand dollars which is exactly four time the amount of money which could bo allotted to each family in the united states by equal division of all th e property it contains 1 I dont understand you papa very likely hotl but if all the property in the united states should be equally divided among all the people in it there would be about one thousand dollars apiece the average family contains five members so you aee when your mother wears those awen ty thousand dollar diamonds she will be wearing the capital of twenty people or of four families what do you maan by that papa do you mean that if mamma has twenty thousand dollars worth of diamonds twenty other people will have to go without anything at all that ia about the size of it my dear it there are twenty people and twenty peaches to be divided among them and one man takes half of the peaches there will not be but ten left for the other nineteen people will there 1 I should not like that if I 1 was one of taft other people but I 1 do want mam xoa to bt her diamond sl mra yaa smith asa beamut elul diamonds and they are not half 0 o rich as you are papal 1 I fear you do not realize tha value of money perhaps hotl I 1 hope I 1 never will I 1 should hate to be peorl by by edith is on her stops and we RO together A moment later the butler appeared baring a letter on a silver tray ue brings my death warrant 1 was the thought that parsed through mr tit mind II obbes did not come he has written the deal has failed it is my death warrant ue waited until the butler bad left the room and then opened the letter with trembling finders it was as he feared the deal had failed lie sank into a chair and covered his face with his hands caring nothing about particulars it was enough to know that he was lost all the world must know his financial distress tomorrow to morrow ruined ruined could he face the world and begin again could ho face his own family the words of his daughter 1 I should hate to be poor rang in his ears in his mental distress those carelessly spoken words uttered without thought weighed more than they should it seemed to him that they expressed the sentiments of the whole family how could he tell them that his wealth had vanished even quicker than it had come lie started up and paced the floor his thoughts acting like whips to scourge him on in this his hour of despair his whole life passed in review before him he thought of the high hopes of his youth when he had wished to be numbered among those who fought for justice and truth and the rights of the people in the mad scramble for wealth he had ceased to oe justie had dishonored truth he had trampled upon the rights of he had sold the best part of himself for wealth and now even that the price of hia infamy was gone his life had been a failure from first to last a miserable failures fai lurel measured by the highest standard it had always been a failure even though his check had been good for a million measured by the lower standard of worldly success tomorrow to morrow men would write upon his brow failure it was unendurable why should he continue to live when life had lost its value with a sudden re solve born of bell contempt and despair he stepped into another room and came back with a revolver and yet he could not go out of life bitout one last word to mary poor mary she might take it bardl he would assure her that it was not through lack of love for her that ho ended his existence but what reason could he give for deserting his post at her aide he sat down to his writing desk and took out some paper dear mary he wrote and then words failed him how could he tell her he stared blankly at the paper after all would it not be the act of a coward to leave his family alone to fight poverty had he a right to do it suddenly a soft white hand glided past his seized the revolver and removed it robert robert what is the matter what are you about to do cried his wife in distress john told me that he brought you a letter and then you began to walk up and down the room with a revolver in your handl why you come and tell me about it you have no right to try to bear trouble alone what is it robert dear her arms were around hi sneek and ahe was covering his face with kisses it means mary that we are peorl this house will have to be sold you will have no carriage no diamonds no trips to europe J shall not save enough out of the general wreck to pay the running expenses of this house for another six months we are poor mary poor our wealth has taken wings to itself and flown away atharea nothing left but the little house your father gave you and perhaps two or three thousand to start me in business in a humble way but robert you have no reason to despair we have health strength the children and each other the best gifts of life are still ours do you know robert I 1 have thought sometimes that it would be better for the children if we were not quite so rich the possession of great wealth tends to make us forgetful of our common humanity we will move back into the littly house in which we were so happy and let the social bubble float without us we will live for ourselves and our children while you are with us deir we will be happy whether we are rich or not love conquered the crisis was past robert strong decided to live and to so order his future that self condemnation should not be his portion banner of gold |
