ELISA ARMSTRONG
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 The Very Young 
 Man and the Angel 
 Child 
 
 BY ELISA ARMSTRONG *OU| 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE 
 TEACUP CLUB." ETC 
 
 Published in New York by 
 Dodge Publishing Company at 
 One Hundred fSL Fifty Fifth Avenue
 
 [The Very Young Man and the Angel Child] 
 
 COPYRI3HT IN THE YEAR 
 NINETEEN HUNDRED BY 
 DODGE PUBLISHING CO
 
 PS 
 3^63 
 
 15he 
 
 Very Yoving MQL!\ 
 
 a.nd the 
 
 Angel Child 
 
 Chapter I 
 
 "SOME girls are born bachelors; some 
 achieve bachelorhood, and some have it thrust 
 upon them," remarked Belinda, sententiously. 
 "I am of the first class; you belong to the 
 second, while Miss Adams is a fair exponent 
 of the third. Dolly, we shall have to move 
 again." 
 
 "I suppose so, dear;" the voice from the 
 couch was very meek; "but really now, 
 Belinda, it was not my fault, was it?" 
 
 "H'm, I suppose not. But I do wish you 
 could manage to work a little of the sympathy 
 7 
 
 525006 
 
 UBRAKX
 
 The Very Yo\mg Ma.n 
 
 out of your voice perhaps elocution lessons 
 would effect that; as for your eyes goggles, 
 and goggles only, might conceal that yearn 
 ing expression, which proves so fatal. 1 do 
 wish that you could contrive to look a little 
 less like a heroine out of a job, Dolly." 
 
 "I'll try, dear. Belinda, what do you sup 
 pose he is doing now?" 
 
 "Eating his dinner," said Belinda, crossly; 
 "that is what a man usually does, when he 
 says he is about to commit suicide. Well, 
 after all, some restaurant dinners are as deadly 
 as anything I know. I shall commence flat- 
 hunting first thing to-morrow morning." 
 
 "But suppose he comes again, while you are 
 away, Belinda? He said " 
 
 "Fiddlesticks!" replied Belinda, briskly; 
 "put him to taking down curtains. If he does, 
 that step-ladder of ours would take the senti 
 ment out of anybody. And, Dolly " 
 
 "Yes, dear." 
 
 "If you ever discover another literary genius, 
 living in the same apartment house, I'll never 
 forgive you, as long as I live." 
 8
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "But, Belinda, I only said that his work was 
 beautiful and that editors ought to appreciate 
 it, if they did not. I don't see why he should 
 decide that he could not live without me, just 
 because of that. Oh, dear, I am afraid that he 
 is poor, too ! I wish " 
 
 "Of course he is," retorted Belinda, unfeel 
 ingly; "he wouldn't be so anxious to marry, 
 if he wasn't. There, don't look so I didn't 
 mean it, and the exercise of flat-hunting will 
 do me good. We need another closet anyhow, 
 and a better light for your easel. I I'm de 
 lighted to move, and, if you want, I'll see him 
 this evening and tell him that there is really 
 no hope and I'll bribe the janitor to tell him 
 that you are out to-morrow. But, Dolly, do 
 learn to say 'No' with a capital, and not 
 *n no/ with a very small 'n,' as you usually 
 do. Let me see ; how many times have I given 
 the coup-de-grace for you ? There was young 
 Wells, who serenaded you until the police in 
 terfered; Tom Nolan, who sent his best friend 
 to propose for him; the widower, who why, 
 Dolly, darling, don't cry ! I'll settle him in the 
 9
 
 morning 1 , and tell you what, you shall go and 
 stay with your sister, while I attend to the mov 
 ing there! Look here, Dolly, I'll go and 
 look at that vacant flat in the building where 
 Miss Adams lives. She says there isn't a man 
 in it who even looks up to see who is coming, 
 when he hears the rustle of skirts on the stairs. 
 I think it would be the very place for us." 
 
 "I am sure of it," wailed Dolly; "do let us 
 go at once, Belinda dear!" And so the deci 
 sion was reached. 
 
 It seemed to Belinda, a day or two later, 
 when she stood amid the wreck of all her 
 dearest Lares and Penates, that she was a kind 
 of a female Wandering Jew. 
 
 "This is five times we have moved in the two 
 years that Dolly and I have spent together, 
 not counting the regular summer flittings," 
 she sighed. "Well, I think I've found the 
 right place, at last; and it is lucky, too, for 
 the couch is a bit wobbly, and I doubt if the 
 large jars will stand many more trips to the 
 man who mends china. It does seem to me 
 JO
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 that we'd have saved money by investing in 
 a frame building which could be moved bodily, 
 every time the young man next door or across 
 the way, took to proposing to Dolly more than 
 once a week!" So saying, she gathered up 
 the afternoon teakettle, a growing plant, her 
 satchel, a few old and valuable tea cups, a hand 
 mirror, a forgotten hat, and her umbrella, and 
 went her weary way to the new abode. 
 
 "Well, thank goodness, the furniture is 
 here," she said, as she staggered into the hall. 
 "Dolly will reach here not later than seven 
 o'clock, and we can at least find a pile of 
 cushions on which to sleep the sleep of the ex 
 hausted, to-night !" 
 
 The janitor met her on the landing, suave 
 and jaunty : 
 
 "Walk in, mum, whether it bees yez or th' 
 scrubwoman. The movers was afther break- 
 in' your looking-glass, an' sorra a bit oov luck 
 will yez have in th' house; but it's glad Oi 
 am t' see yez here. Oi'd have been afther 
 settin' things in order a bit, boot for th' misery 
 in me side, thot made me take a wee drop of 
 M
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 th' crayther, an' it's not Dinnis Rafferty thot 
 would demane himself by seekin' th' society 
 oov ladies, when he's had a drop." With 
 which, he went peacefully away, to carry the 
 news to the tenants on the floor below, leav 
 ing Belinda with a racking headache and no 
 prospect of dinner, while the furniture was 
 piled, sharp edges out, in the middle of the 
 floor. Then, after surveying it, she broke 
 down and wept, just like an ordinary woman. 
 
 "It do be bachelor gurrls they call their- 
 selves," the janitor informed the Very Young 
 Man, who answered his knock ; "an' it's think- 
 in' oov resoignin' Oi'd be, if it wasn't for th' 
 laving oov Musther Tracy an' yoursel'. Th' 
 loocksmith was here th' afthernoon puttin' on 
 exthra fastenin's t' th' dures, an' it's a doirect 
 reflection on my honesty, it is. Th' sofy 
 pillows is piled everywheres, an' it's a soight 
 oov bating them roogs will take. Oi con get 
 along will enough wid th' ould maids loike 
 Miss Adams, bless 'em they're paceable 
 enough, whin they don't want ye t' crawl oonder 
 J2
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 th' beds t' hoont for burglars, an' savin' whin 
 they sees moice in th' rooms; boot how this 
 new koind '11 do, Oi dunno." And he went 
 away, shaking his head sadly. 
 
 "Bachelor girls, is it?" sighed the Very 
 Young Man. "Well, they won't invite us to 
 Sunday evening tea, or beg us to help them 
 get up little dances, anyhow; and that's one 
 comfort. Now, I don't mind acting as beater 
 in one of Miss Adams' grand burglar hunts, 
 once in a while, because that is exciting; but 
 I shall refuse to be roused from my rosy 
 dreams more than once a week, to go down to 
 the front door and let in bachelor girls who 
 have gone to the theater alone and forgotten 
 their latch-keys. Even my sweet temper " 
 
 "Your sweet what?" came a drowsy voice 
 from the sofa. 
 
 "Temper. Did you think I said 'smile'? 
 No, even my sweet temper will not stand 
 Hello, what's that?" 
 
 "Sounds like a knock, though it might be 
 a ghostly warning. You might investigate
 
 and find out." The voice was drowsier than 
 ever. 
 
 The Very Young Man threw a pillow, with 
 unerring aim, before he went to open the door. 
 Just as he laid his hand on the knob, a sweet 
 voice called, on the other side of the door. 
 
 "Don't be afraid to open it, darling; it is 
 only me! I couldn't get here sooner, and 
 Oh, my goodness gracious!" For the door 
 flew open, and the Very Young Man stood on 
 the threshold. 
 
 "I oh, I beg your pardon for my stupid 
 mistake," Dolly faltered. "I was looking for 
 Miss Manly, and I must have stopped one 
 flight too soon;" and, still apologizing, she 
 faded away up the stairs. 
 
 "When you are quite through wagging your 
 head at vacancy, dear boy, you .might come 
 in," came a suave voice from the sofa; "I feel 
 a draught. What was it?" 
 
 "The very prettiest girl I ever saw in my 
 
 life," the Very Young Man replied. "Say, 
 
 Tracy, I er almost met Miss Manly at Mrs. 
 
 Smithson's musical? last winter, and I'm going 
 
 J4
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 up to see what I can do for them. It's a 
 shame for Rafferty to neglect new tenants, and 
 acquaintances of mine, too, in that fashion; 
 I'll complain to the agent, if he does. I'll 
 be back in half an hour;" he was struggling 
 into his coat, as he spoke. 
 
 "If ever I speak to another girl, unneces 
 sarily, you may order a strait-jacket for me!" 
 The voice was evidently quoting; "and fur 
 thermore " the rest of the speech was cut 
 
 off by the hurried closing of a door. 
 
 "And I never felt so foolish in my life," 
 finished Dolly. "What do you suppose he 
 thought of me for calling out like that?" 
 
 "I'm sure I don't know," Belinda replied, 
 absently; "it doesn't greatly matter, anyhow. 
 Dolly, this alcove is three inches shorter than 
 the old one, after all. How shall we manage 
 to squeeze the couch in? Oh, dear, a man is 
 useful sometimes, if only to scold when things 
 go wrong. Do you think you could find the 
 janitor's bell ?" 
 
 "That must be him now !" Dolly cried, joy-
 
 The Very Yo\mg Man 
 
 fully. "Do you know how to get this door 
 unfastened, Belinda?" 
 
 After some minutes, spent in turning the 
 new acquisition alternately to the right and 
 left, the door sprung open unexpectedly, re 
 vealing the Very Young Man on the thresh 
 old. 
 
 "I was passing the door, and as I remem 
 bered meeting Miss Manly at Mrs. Smithson's 
 musicale, last winter, I thought I would step 
 in to see if I could be of any help," he said. 
 "My name is Sweeting." He fixed his eyes 
 resolutely on Belinda, as he spoke, pointedly 
 refusing to see Dolly's blushes. 
 
 "I'm sure I don't remember you," Belinda 
 replied, ungratefully; "however, I'd be glad 
 to see any able-bodied man, at this moment. 
 If you will help us to move a few of these 
 things, I shall be eternally grateful, as soon as 
 ever I reach my normal state of equanimity. 
 I think the chafing-dish is resting under that 
 screen and on the portrait of my great-great 
 grandfather. We can talk of Mrs. Smith- 
 son while you work." 
 
 16
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 At the end of two hours, the Very Young 
 Man rested from his labors, and wiped the 
 sweat from his brow with a handkerchief 
 which he had- previously used to dust the 
 carved chair. 
 
 "I fear that I must run away now," he re 
 marked; "my friend Tracy and I are going 
 to the theater this evening, and " 
 
 "To-morrow I think you mean," Belinda 
 said. "It is ten o'clock now. Well, really, 
 I am very much obliged for your efforts to help 
 us. Of course, the janitor would have known 
 how to set up the couch without tipping over 
 the screen, and he would probably have made 
 fewer indelible scratches on the mahogany 
 table. Still, one cannot have everything, and 
 I know that you have tried to help us." 
 
 "Yes, we are very grateful," Dolly said, 
 speaking for the first time within the hour. 
 And her eyes were even more grateful than her 
 tones. 
 
 "Look here, Dolly Watterson," Belinda 
 cried, when the door closed behind the Very 
 Young Man, "I have moved for the last 
 J7
 
 The Very Young 
 
 time for at least two years. I signed a lease 
 on purpose, so I couldn't; and if you let that 
 young man fall in love with you, I I'll leave 
 you to get rid of him yourself there!" And 
 she refused to say another word on the sub 
 ject, although Dolly accused her of lack of ap 
 preciation for neighborly kindness, and other 
 crimes, equally base. 
 
 Scarcely was this little tilt over, when there 
 came a nerve-racking series of taps and tattoos 
 on the door. 
 
 "Who is it?" Belinda cried. "No, Dolly, 
 I will not have you open it until I know who 
 it is. What if " 
 
 "It's Edward Faversham Wycoff," a shrill 
 voice replied, "and I want to get in this 
 minute !" 
 
 Again the fastenings of the door were con 
 quered and it swung open to admit a small boy, 
 with an angelic countenance, somewhat marred 
 by traces of caramels; he was attired in his 
 night garments and also wore a heavenly 
 smile. 
 
 "Mamma has just run in to see Miss Adams
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 for a minute," he announced, "and I came down 
 here because I knew I'd have plenty of time 
 for a nice visit before she gets back and misses 
 me. I wanted to see you pretty bad, because 
 I guess mamma won't let me or papa have any 
 thing to do with you. I heard the janitor tell 
 her that you was bachelors, an' she often tells 
 papa when he comes home at night, that he 
 has to give up them bachelors right here an' 
 now. They're not good frien's for a married 
 man, you know. Say, do you sleep in that 
 box? An' what d'ye do with all them sofa 
 pillows? guess you can have a pillow-fight 
 every night, like papa an' I do when mamma 
 just goes out for a skirt, binding, on bargain 
 days, an' never gets back until seven o'clock in 
 the evening." 
 
 Belinda gasped: "Stop him, Dolly, or he'll 
 tell us his entire family history! I feel as if 
 I had been listening at somebody's door ?" 
 
 "Oh, bless you, mamma doesn't mind," the 
 
 Angel Child retorted. "She says you might 
 
 as well live in a glass case as in an apartment 
 
 house, anyhow. She tells papa lots of; things 
 
 19
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 that happens in the house, at dinner, espe 
 cially when he says the meat's tough, or she 
 wants him to take her to the theater." 
 
 Belinda wrung her hands : "Look here ; do 
 you like fruit cake?" she asked. "Yes, Dolly, 
 I know it's bad for his little internal economy, 
 but these revelations are worse for our morals." 
 
 "Won't youY mamma be very anxious about 
 you, dear?" Dolly asked. 
 
 "Oh, she won't miss me. She's gone to 
 ask Miss Adams all about you. I heard her 
 tell papa that she hadn't the energy to collect 
 the information at first hand, so she'd ask her, 
 an' what she didn't know wouldn't be no 
 loss." 
 
 Belinda had now fished out the cake box 
 from between the cedar chest and Dolly's paint 
 box. She pressed a huge slice into the willing 
 hand of her small guest. 
 
 "I'll sit on your lap to eat it," he said to 
 Dolly. "Your cheeks are awful nice an' pink, 
 I guess she's better'n you are, but I like ^ou 
 best," 
 
 "Most people do," Belinda murmured. 
 20
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Solid virtues seem to weigh little in the scale 
 against pink cheeks and fluffy curls. Never 
 mind, Dolly; you needn't look so guilty. If 
 only one of us could have them, I'd rather it 
 was you than me. Mercy, what's that?" 
 
 "It sounds like mamma," calmly replied the 
 Angel Child; "you needn't be scared, though. 
 Papa says her bark is worse than her bite." 
 
 "Yes, he's here, all safe!" Belinda called. 
 "Dolly, do help me to get these locks opened. 
 It seems to me that I had better apprentice 
 myself to a burglar, before I have any more of 
 'em put on." 
 
 This time, a fluffy-haired little matron stood 
 on the threshold. "I'm sure I don't know 
 what you'll think of me," she said. "I just 
 ran in to see Miss Adams in the next flat, for 
 a moment, and Edward ran away. I don't 
 know what I ought to do with him." 
 
 "But, mamma, you didn't tell me not to 
 come down here." The smile was rendered 
 more seraphic by the fruit cake. 
 
 "How should I ever think of such a thing, 
 when you were in bed," his mother groaned. 
 2*
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 "I've been all over the building hunting for 
 him," she explained; "and only came here as 
 a last resort, before notifying the police." 
 
 "Well, you might as well come here first, 
 after this, mamma. One of 'em keeps fruit 
 cake in a band box, an' the other one is awful 
 pretty. I don't believe they are the kind of 
 bachelors you told papa to let alone, in future." 
 
 "The dear little fellow seems to have taken 
 a fancy to us," said Dolly, weakly, in the aw 
 ful pause which fell upon them. "I am glad, 
 for I am very fond of children, and so is 
 Belinda." 
 
 "Yes, I'll come to see you often," went on 
 the Angel Child, in calm unconsciousness. 
 "Do you like to play fire? Because, if you 
 do, I'll climb out of our dining-room window, 
 an' come down the fire-escape, callin' 'fire,' an' 
 you can " 
 
 "Edward Faversham Wycoff!" cried his 
 mother, "if you ever let me catch you doing 
 such a thing, I'll " 
 
 The Angel Child freed himself from Dolly, 
 ran to his mother and put his arms about her. 
 22
 
 And the Ange2 Child 
 
 'Then, you might stop me by buying that 
 police patrol wagon I want so bad then, I'll 
 not be tempted," he said, coaxingly. 
 
 "I'll get it for you to-morrow, if you promise 
 never, never to go near that fire-escape, until 
 you're twenty-one years old. I am sure I 
 don't know what you will think of me," she 
 added, turning to Belinda. "I am really very 
 strict with him, but Well, if you had a child 
 like him, you'd " 
 
 "Do exactly as you do, no doubt," promptly 
 answered Belinda. "Must you go?" 
 
 As the door opened for the egress of the 
 guests, an elderly man passed it. 
 
 "Well, young gentleman, in trouble again?" 
 he said, cheerfully. 
 
 "No, he isn't, but I am," the Matron replied ; 
 "think of choosing this hour and fashion to 
 call upon the new tenants, when I had a new 
 gown and a delightful anecdote, all ready for 
 the occasion !" 
 
 "Ah, well, Mrs. Wycoff, just try being phil 
 osophical and " 
 
 "Thank you, I shall the very next time 
 23
 
 The Very Yo\mg Man 
 
 that any one else is in trouble. No doubt, I 
 shall find it very consoling!" was the retort. 
 And the philosopher went chuckling up the 
 stairs. Miss Adams passed him, coming 
 down, a weight of care upon her brow. 
 
 "Let me in, girls," she called, through the 
 Keyhole. "It's late, I know ; but I thought I'd 
 better warn you that your doors might not be 
 securely locked and you would be on your 
 guard. No, don't bother, after all, to undo 
 the bolts ; I can't leave my flat unprotected. I 
 only wanted to tell you that I saw a strange 
 man on the opposite side of the street to-day, 
 looking over here very hard. He might have 
 been planning to rob and murder us all in our 
 beds to-night, for aught I know. Oh, yes, he 
 was respectable enough, in appearance, but he 
 might be all the more dangerous for that. 
 And I saw a very rough looking person carry 
 ing in coal for the janitor to-day who knows 
 what he may have been up to in the cellar? 
 Of course, I don't want to alarm you, but an 
 ounce of prevention, you know. Well, good 
 night and pleasant dreams. 
 24
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 Belinda and Dolly looked at each other, 
 with blanched faces. 
 
 "Oh, Belinda," Dolly cried, "if you are 
 murdered the very first night after moving 
 on my account, I shall never forgive myself 
 while I live!" 
 
 "N-never mind, I am not afraid," Belinda 
 said, though her looks belied her; "and, any 
 how, dear, I doubt if they'd kill me and leave 
 you to call the police. Goodness, another 
 knock! Who is it?" she called. 
 
 "I am dot yanitor's wife," was the reply; 
 "an' I cooms oop to see what I can do mit 
 you." 
 
 The bolts flew open this time. A stout 
 figure and a friendly face filled the doorway. 
 
 "Isn't it rather late?" Dolly asked, mildly. 
 
 "Id is, put I sleeps not undil I finds out you 
 vas comfordables. Dot RafFerdy, he vos a 
 good man, put he vas only an Irishman, after 
 all. I married him ven I vos a vidow, an' 
 lonesomes; but I loogs oud for de velfares of 
 dose tenands meinselfs. You tell me ven he 
 does his duty not, an' I makes him do it. L 
 25
 
 The Very Yoxing Ma.n 
 
 hear dot Irish an' Shermans always fights, put 
 I say to dot Rafferdy, de veek afder I marries 
 him, Ven ve fights, I gets de pest of id, not?' 
 an' afder dot, we nefer fighds any more." 
 
 "That must be very nice for you," Belinda 
 said, seeing that Dolly was speechless. 
 
 "Id is goot for Rafferdy, too. I tells him so 
 efery day. Are you comfordables ?" 
 
 "Not very," Dolly answered, "Miss Adams 
 says she thinks there are burglars about, and 
 we are so afraid of burglars." 
 
 "You needn' pe afraid of burglars mit me 
 in de house ; if I hears you screams, I cooms oop 
 an' I sends dot burglars apout deir pusiness 
 righd off. Are you married?" 
 
 "I am not married," Belinda answered, 
 firmly; "we are both bachelor maids, and we 
 are proud of it." 
 
 "Dot is vat dot Rafferdy said. Veil, I gitess 
 id is all righd for dose vat liges id. An old 
 maid is a voman dot can't ged a husband, an' 
 a bachelor maid is von dot doan vant von, 
 eh? Veil, I vill tells you dis: id all depends 
 upon de husband. Good-nighd. I cooms oop
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 in de mornings, an' helps you, an' Rafferdy, he 
 cooms, too." 
 
 "Well, I never !" Belinda cried, sinking into 
 a chair. "Fasten the door carefully, Dolly; 
 I haven't the strength to do the locks justice, 
 after that." 
 
 When the lights were out and Belinda had 
 ceased to smell gas, Dolly was aroused from 
 her first sleep, by a punch from Belinda's 
 elbow. 
 
 "I hear some one in the hall. Are you sure 
 that you fastened the back window?" she 
 breathed. 
 
 "So sure, that I shall not get up and look 
 once more," was the firm reply. And turning 
 over, she slept, to be once more aroused by the 
 sound of shattered china, as Belinda, return 
 ing from a tour of exploration, miscalculated 
 the distance between the improvised couch and 
 the table on which was piled the best bric-a- 
 brac and their old shoes, which the movers 
 had thoughtfully rescued from the pile of 
 debris in the kitchen and brought along. 
 
 "Well, never mind," Belinda sighed; "if that
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 was a burglar, the noise has frightened him 
 away, and that is something. Dolly, has it 
 occurred to you that there are some rather 
 queer people in this building?" 
 
 There was no reply : the limit of Dolly's en 
 durance was reached. She slept.
 
 Chapter II 
 
 "GOOD-MORNING/' said the Angel Child, 
 pleasantly. "I thought perhaps you'd like to 
 have me come an' eat breakfast with you." 
 
 The Very Young Man looked up from his 
 paper, in surprise. "Isn't it rather early for a 
 call?" he asked, mildly. 
 
 "Well, I s'pose it is; but, then, breakfast 
 always is early, you know. I had to come 
 early to come to breakfast. You see, I broke 
 mamma's little vase the one that stands on the 
 table in the parlor. It's so ugly that I'm afraid 
 it's very valuable indeed. I picked up all the 
 pieces carefully, and then I thought that I'd 
 better not be there when she found it; so I 
 thought an' thought, an' I knew you'd be glad 
 t' see me, so I came. Shall I sit here?" 
 
 "But how did you get in?" asked the Very 
 Young Man. "You don't ride through the air 
 on an enchanted carpet, do you?" 
 29
 
 The Very Young 
 
 "We haven't an enchanted carpet. I guess 
 mamma's waiting for a bargain sale to buy 
 one. I came down on the elevator that the 
 ice an' things comes up on. I didn't want t' 
 come out th' front way, because mamma' d see 
 me. I just got out in your kitchen, an' here 
 I am it was very easy. Have you any more 
 of that orange marmalade I like so much?" 
 
 "Plenty of it. Help yourself, old man. 
 But won't your mother be uneasy about you?" 
 
 "Yes, I s'pose she'll be ter'ble anxious; but 
 that's all the better for me. She'll be pretty 
 mad about that vase, until she thinks I'm lost. 
 Then she'll begin t' cry, an' say, 'What's a 
 mere vase, anyhow, in comparison to my child ?' 
 It'll be time fer me t' go home then." 
 
 "But you don't want your mother to cry, 
 do you ?" 
 
 "Well, I don't know," replied the Angel 
 Child, calmly. "Papa says he guesses it 
 doesn't hurt ladies to cry. I know we went t' 
 th' matinee once, an' th' lights was turned low 
 an' th' music played, an' th' little boy said, 
 'Who will care fer us now, mother?' An' 
 30
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 mamma cried awful ; but when we come away, 
 she said, 'Oh, wasn't that perfectly beauti 
 ful !' " 
 
 "Seems to me, that you are an incipient phi 
 losopher, old man," remarked the Very Yoimg 
 Man, when he, too, had wiped a tear away. 
 "Have some more orange marmalade, won't 
 you?" 
 
 "Thank you ; I've had some more while you 
 were laughing. I can see the bottom of the 
 jar now, but it doesn't really matter, because 
 I've eaten almost all I can." 
 
 "Then, perhaps I'd better take you upstairs 
 and explain to your mother that it was really 
 an accident about that vase." 
 
 "No, thank you. She'd laugh while you 
 were there, but you'd have t' go away after 
 awhile, an' I'd be left with her. I guess I'll 
 wait a little longer. Miss Adams has been 
 telling her how I should be brought up, an' 
 she's always pretty strict fer a day or two 
 after that, because she says she wants t' show 
 that old maid that she can bring up a child as 
 good as anybody. Aren't you sorry fer young
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 people's children, Mr. Sweeting? Mr. Hardy 
 is ; I heard him tell Mrs. Rafferdy so, the other 
 day. He said, 'Well, well, everybody must 
 learn by experience, an' th' only wonder is that 
 more children aren't killed by th' experiment.' 
 He gave me a quarter then, so I guess he must 
 mean me. I like people that gives me quarters. 
 Dolly gave me one yesterday do you know 
 Dolly, Mr. Sweeting?" 
 
 The Very Young Man turned pink. "I 
 know Miss Watterson slightly," he said, 
 gravely. "I think it would be more proper for 
 you to call her 'Miss Dolly," though." 
 
 "Oh, Dolly doesn't mind I told her that 
 I was going t' call her 'Dolly,' an' she jest 
 laughed. It sounds nice when Dolly laughs. 
 I kissed her, when I come away. I don't like 
 much to be kissed, but I don't really mind when 
 she kisses me." 
 
 "Happy youth," said a voice behind him; 
 "they kiss us when we don't appreciate it, ^nd 
 they won't kiss us, when we do ! Good morn 
 ing, Master Wycoff. To what may we ascribe 
 the honor of this early visit?" 
 32
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Oh, it's you, is it, Mr. Tracy? I'm afraid 
 you won't find any marmalade for your break 
 fast; I've eaten so much of it, that I might 
 just as well finish it, while I'm about it. I 
 came here, because I was afraid mamma an* 
 I would have a little unpleasantness about a 
 vase that got broke while I was looking at it." 
 
 "A little unpleasantness, eh? What do you 
 mean by a little unpleasantness?" 
 
 "Well, that's what papa calls it when mamma 
 cries, an' says she wishes she'd a-known when 
 she was well off but girls never does! Did 
 you ever have anybody talk like that to you, 
 Mr. Sweeting?" 
 
 "No, he never did, and he never will," put 
 in Mr. Tracy, promptly. "You see, Master 
 Wycoff, Mr. Sweeting has no opinion of girls 
 at present. He never means to speak to one, 
 if he can help it, while he lives. Of course, 
 he must make an exception when one of them 
 calls him /darling,' through a door, but " 
 
 "Oh!" the Angel Child was getting beyond 
 his depth, and he knew it. "Dolly calls me 
 'darling,' an' I don't mind it. She mustn't 
 33
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 do it before the other kids, though. They 
 might call 'darling' after me, in th' street, if 
 she did. They don't seem t' like my hair, 
 somehow. I hate curls myself, but mamma 
 thinks they're sweet. She puts up her hair 
 at night in funny little kid things that she 
 hides in a drawer in th' day. An' sometimes 
 she says t' the other ladies, don't they pity 
 women that hasn't got naturally curly hair? 
 An' they always say, indeed they do. I guess 
 I must have said something pretty funny, 
 haven't I?" 
 
 "I think you have, old man; but I wouldn't 
 repeat it to your mother, if I were you. She 
 mightn't think it as funny as we do. How is 
 your father?" the Very Young Man said. 
 
 "I guess he's pretty well this morning, 
 thank you. Aunt Alice an' Mr. Brownston 
 came t' dinner at our house las' night, an' 
 mamma told him in th' morning he'd have t' 
 wear evening dress that funny spike-tailed 
 coat, you know. Papa said he'd rather hang 
 pictures than do it, but mamma cried an' Faid 
 he'd rather do anything than what she wanted 
 34
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 him t' do. After she'd cried awhile, papa put 
 down his paper an' said, 'Oh, well, get the 
 thing out, an' I'll make a monkey of myself in 
 it!' Then mamma said, no, she didn't want 
 him t' wear it, if he didn't want t' ; he could 
 be jest as uncivilized as he wanted to ; she didn't 
 care. By 'n' by, papa said he'd rather wear it 
 than anything else, an' would she like him 
 t' bring some roses home with him when he 
 came? You know, Mr. Brownston is going 
 t' marry Aunt Alice at least if he isn't, he 
 ought t' be, an' papa ought really t' give him 
 a hint. Mamma said she asked him t' dinner 
 t' let him see that Aunt Alice's people were as 
 good as his ever dared to be. She had a lot 
 of nice things, an' she told me I'd have t' 
 wait, nex' time there was company, if I said 
 anything about not having ice cream every 
 day." 
 
 "And did you say anything about it?" asked 
 the Very Young Man, after he had caught 
 his breath. 
 
 "No, I didn't. I did one pretty bad thing, 
 though. You know, mamma, she hasn't any 
 35
 
 The Very Young Ma.i\ 
 
 ice cream forks, an' Aunt Alice told her they 
 always use 'em at Mr. Brownston's house, so 
 mamma borrowed Miss Adams' for th' 'casion. 
 She sent me down after 'em, in the afternoon, 
 but Miss Adams said she'd come up with me 
 an' bring 'em. She was afraid I might drop 
 some of 'em in th' hall. After Miss Adams 
 was gone, mamma said she guessed what she 
 was afraid of was that she wouldn't know just 
 what we was going t' have fer dinner." 
 
 "And did she?" enquired Tracy, gravely. 
 
 "I guess she did. She asked mamma if she 
 mightn't go into the kitchen a minute, t' see 
 if it was decorated just like hers was. Mamma 
 told papa that she didn't mind, anyhow, for 
 Miss Adams was awful good that time T had 
 th' croup, an' she let me play with the clock 
 that's on th' parlor mantel an' doesn't go. I 
 liked the dinner, an' I told Mr. Brownston 
 I wished him an' Aunt Alice would come an' 
 take dinner with us every day. He looked 
 awful queer, when I said that, like you look 
 when something has gone down your Sunday 
 throat, you know. Aunt Alice didn't seem t' 
 36
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 hear, though I said it real loud. Mamma got 
 pink, like she does when papa tells people about 
 her bargains, an' said, 'Edward!' When she 
 calls me 'Baby,' or 'Ned/ it's all right, but 
 when she says, 'Edward,' like that, it's better 
 t' mind, an' I did. The ice cream was good, 
 but we're never t' have any more, because I 
 said to mamma, 'Did Miss Adams have it every 
 day, because she had those cute little forks to 
 eat it with.' I'm afraid I'm a lot of trouble to 
 my mother, Mr. Sweeting." 
 
 "I'm afraid you are, old man. I shouldn't 
 wonder if that was her at the door now. Oh, 
 it's you, is it, Rafferty? Yes, he's here. Is 
 his mother very anxious about him?" 
 
 "She is thot, sor. She's afther saying thot 
 she'll niver see her choild again, an' phen 
 she does, she'll give him something thot'll kape 
 him frim running away for wan whoile." 
 
 "Has papa gone t' th' office, Mr. Rafferdy?" 
 asked the Angel Child, with some anxiecy. 
 
 "He hos thot. Yez haven't annything thot's 
 good for a pain in moi soide, hov yez, sor? 
 Th' rugs thot thim young ladies hos, do be th' 
 37
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 ould bhoy t' shake, an' thot wan wid th' glasses, 
 she's th' girrul thot can see a spheck av dirt 
 a moile off. But for Musther Tracy an' ye- 
 self, Oi'd be resoignin' t'noight. Thank ye, 
 sor; th' saint's bed in Hivin, an' may yez be a 
 long toime going to it!" And, with the 
 pleasant chink of coin in his pocket, he melted 
 away. 
 
 "I guess I'd belter go now," remarked the 
 Angel Child, thoughtfully. "It'll be safe. 
 When mamma says she's going t' punish me, 
 she isn't so likely t' do it. It's when she 
 doesn't say anything, but just pulls off her slip 
 per, that I get it. Well, good-bye." And 
 he went his placid way. 
 
 "Well, I suppose you'll be reading law all 
 day?" said Tracy, as he struggled into his 
 coat. "I envy you; I've got to interview a 
 man to-day on such a pleasant topic, that I 
 shall probably be brought home in an ambu 
 lance. I'm to ask him how a man feels when 
 he marries a woman he thought was worth 
 a million, and finds that her money was chiefly 
 invested in castles in Spain. The newspaper 
 38
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 business is played out, I tell you. I mean to 
 drop it and go into something else, right 
 away." 
 
 The Very Young Man smiled cheerfully: 
 "I've heard you say something like that twice 
 a day, when it wasn't oftener, for two years. 
 I guess you'll hold on awhile longer. Yes, 
 I shall read hard all day, and you needn't envy 
 me." 
 
 It happened that on his way to his desk, he 
 stopped at the window. There he stood, in 
 deep thought for ten minutes. At the end of 
 that time, he said: 
 
 "Oh, hang it, I will. I don't believe Raf- 
 ferty will go near them, and I heard Miss 
 Manly tell him yesterday that she wanted the 
 curtains hung. If a B. A. isn't able to hang 
 curtains, I don't know what he is good for! 
 And I'd like to see whether her eyes are gray 
 or blue, by daylight." 
 
 "Oh, it's you, is it, Mr. Sweeting?" Belinda 
 sighed, a few moments later. "I hoped it was 
 the janitor." 
 
 "I'm sure that Miss Manly doesn't mean that 
 39
 
 The Very Young 
 
 she isn't glad to see you, Mr. Sweeting," 
 Dolly came to the rescue. "You see, we are 
 rather worried about our curtains. We have 
 been here five days now, and no curtains adorn 
 our windows yet. The janitor always says 
 he'll hang them right away, but he goes out 
 for a step-ladder or a screw-driver, or some 
 thing, and doesn't return. When we go down 
 to ask about it, we can only find his wife, and 
 she asks us so many questions about our affairs, 
 that we come away without having properly 
 stated the case." 
 
 "Why, how very odd," said the Very Young 
 Man, mendaciously. "I like nothing better 
 than hanging curtains, and er as I am an 
 old acquaintance of Miss Manly, I dropped in 
 to see if there was anything I could do for 
 you." 
 
 "Oh, if you only would," Dolly sighed. "I 
 am sure that you could do it much better than 
 the janitor, anyhow brains will tell, you 
 know." 
 
 "At any rate, he can try," said Belinda, 
 briskly. "Since you know so much about it, 
 40
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 I suppose you can just go on and do it by your 
 self. The step-ladder is over there with a few 
 things on it. You can get it out, -can't you?" 
 
 "Oh, easily." He could just discern its out 
 line. "But I I thought if Miss Watterson 
 would just sit here and direct me, I could do 
 better." 
 
 "Dolly is busy sewing on rings. You go 
 on with the curtain-hanging, and I can direct 
 from here. Dear me, it does seem that it 
 takes us a great while to get fixed up here 
 longer than it has ever done before. And 
 we have moved so often. That is the bottom 
 of the curtain, Mr. Sweeting, not the top/' 
 
 "Oh, I I see. So you have moved fre 
 quently, Miss Manly? I suppose you are hard 
 to please." 
 
 "Miss Dolly is rather hard to please, and 
 that I believe you could hang them better, 
 if you put one on each side of the window, 
 Mr. Sweeting." 
 
 "I Oh, yes, yes, I see now. There arc so 
 many ways of hanging curtains, you know," 
 he was surreptitiously wiping his perspiring
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 brow. "So Miss Watterson is hard to please, 
 is she? Now, suppose you tell me, for in 
 stance, why you left your last place." He 
 heroically concealed his anguish when a hidden 
 pin dug itself into his palm. 
 
 "Well, let me see. I believe it was chiefly 
 because he had red ears and large hands, wasn't 
 it, Dolly? And he read po " 
 
 "Oh, Belinda, how can you!" The eyes 
 were certainly blue, and there was a big tear 
 in each of them. 
 
 "I suppose it is a joke, which I fail to un 
 derstand, Miss Manly," said the Very Young 
 Man, stiffly. "It seems a pity, though, to 
 tease a person who is of so acutely sensitive an 
 organization." 
 
 Belinda groaned inwardly, "Oh, what a 
 rfoose I am! I only meant to give him a 
 friendly warning, and now I have convinced 
 l:im that I am cruel to her. The next thing 
 will be a desire to protect her and then she 
 will be begging me to see her safely out of the 
 street door when she is going anywhere alone! 
 Why should a girl who has made up her mind 
 42
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 not to marry anybody, have such eyes and such 
 lashes?" Aloud, she said, "Oh, yes, it was 
 merely a silly joke. If I were in your p'ace, 
 Mr. Sweeting, I should choose two curtains 
 which match, for the same window. The one 
 on the left, belongs in the next room. It 
 seems to me, that as an expert on the hanging 
 of curtains, you might know that." 
 
 "I er I have always hung colored curtains 
 before," responded the Very Young Man, as 
 cheerfully as he could. "Perhaps if Miss Wat- 
 terson has finished sewing on rings, she 
 might " 
 
 "I'll come and attend to it myself," replied 
 Belinda, briskly; "that is the way to have a 
 thing done properly, as every well-mannered 
 copy-book will tell you. And I think you had 
 better take them both down and begin over 
 again, if you don't mind, Mr. Sweeting." 
 
 Dolly raised her eyes for an instant, but 
 there was sympathy in that glance. Yes, they 
 were certainly blue, or was it gray-blue? It 
 did not occur to the Very Young Man that he
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 was by no means the first person who had in 
 terested himself in the question. 
 
 "I am a mere cumberer of the ground," re 
 marked Belinda, after a long pause. "Really, 
 Dolly, there is no adequate reason for my ex 
 istence. Henceforth, I mean to be of some use 
 in the world, and I " 
 
 "Oh, we are not going back to the slum- 
 visiting, are we?" cried Dolly, apprehensively. 
 "I don't believe we did a bit of good when we 
 did it. And, oh, Mr. Sweeting, the boys were 
 perfectly horrid! And I never did get ac 
 customed to going into other people's houses, 
 without an invitation, even if they were poor. 
 I I don't believe that very poor people like ad 
 vice any better than any one else there!" 
 
 "Oh, yes, really, I would not do slum-visit 
 ing, if I were you, Miss Manly!" cried the 
 Very Young Man, fervently. "You know 
 there are always diseases going about there. 
 What if Miss Watterson caught scarlet fever, 
 or something like that? And you might catch 
 it yourself, too, you know," he added, as an 
 afterthought. 
 
 44
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Possibly," said Belinda, dryly. "I am not 
 aware that I am an immune. As it happened, 
 however, I was not thinking of slum-visitmg. 
 It has occurred to me that the art of conversa 
 tion is almost extinct. You have noticed it, 
 have you not?" 
 
 "Well, er I went to an afternoon tea the 
 other day, and " 
 
 "I did not say 'talk/ " said Belinda, stiffly; 
 "I said 'conversation.' It seems to me, that 
 the person who causes two epigrams to be 
 made, where only one had existed before, 
 would be a benefactor to the human race. 
 Dolly, I think I shall establish a salon/' 
 
 "How very nice of you, dear," replied Dolly, 
 dutifully, "but, oh, Belinda, I never made an 
 epigram in my life !" 
 
 "Oh, well, the conversation will not be all 
 epigrams, you know. Of course, a salon 
 would be rather a different matter now, from 
 what it was in the eighteenth century. It 
 might even be a good deal like a regular 'day' 
 only no one would say, 'How very sweet of 
 
 45
 
 The Very Young Msxn 
 
 you to come,' and and things like that, you 
 know." 
 
 "I er no doubt," replied the Very Young 
 Man, vaguely; "I suppose you would consent 
 to take an apprentice or two in the art of con 
 versation, Miss Manly? Perhaps in time, Miss 
 Watterson and I might learn to make brilliant 
 impromptu speeches, with as little preparation 
 as any one." 
 
 "Perhaps," said Belinda, absently. "I shall 
 ask Mr. Tracy to come, Dolly ; newspaper men 
 are so brilliant, aren't they?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, always," replied Dolly, dutifully. 
 
 "Oh, now, you know, Miss Watterson, Tracy 
 is all sorts of a good fellow, but he isn't 
 brilliant. I wouldn't be a friend of his, if I 
 let you think that. And he he isn't very 
 fond of the socoety of young ladies, either." 
 
 "So much the better," cried Belinda, 
 blithely ; "we are not mere young ladies ; we are 
 bachelor girls, with no nonsense about us. I 
 shall certainly ask Mr. Tracy. Then, there 
 is Mr. Hardy, who lives on the fifth floor. As 
 soon as Miss, Adams introduced him to us, I 
 46
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 felt that he would be an acquisition; he is a 
 person about whom there is no nonsense at all. 
 I was struck by the sensible way in which he 
 talked to you, Dolly. Then, of course, there 
 is Miss Adams. She is reading a book on the 
 salons of famous women now, on purpose. Of 
 course," she added, modestly, "we shall not 
 expect to become a factor in politics or or 
 anything like that; but we shall, I hope, prove 
 that there are women with brains and tact to 
 day, as well as in the past. Then, there is Mrs. 
 Wycoff, and her husband, too. He can make 
 as good a rarebit as I ever tasted, and a person 
 who can make a good rarebit, can do anything. 
 I shall ask Mae and Evelyn, too, Dolly ; it may 
 benefit them. Oh, dear, there is some one at 
 the door ! Hold that fold just as it is, until I 
 come back, Mr. Sweeting, please." 
 
 The Very Young Man sat down on the top 
 of the step-ladder, with the folds held care 
 fully in his hand. He had been wishing that 
 Miss Manly would go away and let him talk 
 to Dolly, and now that the thing had actually 
 
 47
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 happened, he could not think of a thing to say. 
 And Dolly sat demurely sewing. 
 
 "Miss Watterson," he said, suddenly, "do 
 
 you " The eyes were gray, after all; it 
 
 was the blackness of the lashes which made 
 them some times seem blue ! They were look 
 ing curiously at him now. "Do you like hay- 
 rides?" he finished, lamely. 
 
 "Do I like what?" Dolly asked, as if suspi 
 cious of his sanity. 
 
 "Hay-rides." He felt the blood mount to 
 his forehead. "In in summer, you know. 
 Lots of people do." 
 
 "No doubt. I have never tried one myself, 
 so I can't say. Why, here is Edward ! Where 
 did you come from, darling?" 
 
 "I came in, while Miss Manly was talking 
 to Mrs. Rafferdy in the hall. I am going out 
 with mamma, because she is afraid to trust me 
 out of her sight. She has gone back now to 
 see if she locked the dining-room window, for 
 sure. Why, Mr. Sweeting, what are you 
 doing here? Mr. Tracy said you never meant 
 to speak to a girl again, unless she called vou 
 48
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 'darling/ through a door! Did you do that, 
 Dolly?" 
 
 And before either Dolly or the Very Young 
 Man could frame adequate reply, the Angel 
 Child had responded to an imperative call from 
 the stairs. The eyes were bent upon the work 
 now, and the ear over which two tiny curls 
 hovered so distractingly, was very pink indeed. 
 The next moment, Belinda was in the room. 
 "Don't let me keep you any longer, Mr. Sweet 
 ing," she said. "Mrs. Rafferty has promised 
 to send her husband up at once, and I have 
 decided to take down those curtains and put 
 them in the other room. It was very good of 
 you to try to help us, I am sure ; but you must 
 .have work to do, and I must not keep you any 
 longer. Why, Dolly Watterson, your face is 
 scarlet, and you do look so queer. I believe 
 you have a fever, this very minute! She 
 looks as if she had, doesn't she, Mr. Sweet- 
 ing?" 
 
 "I I am quite well, dear," faltered Dolly. 
 "But I am afraid that Mr. Sweeting will think 
 us rather ungrateful, won't he?" 
 49
 
 The Very Young MQLI\ 
 
 "Oh, not at all, not at all !" cried the Very 
 Young Man, so fervently that his conscience 
 must have given him a twinge. "You you 
 are quite sure that there is nothing more I can 
 do for you?" 
 
 "You may come to the salon, if you like," 
 Belinda answered, with more cordiality than 
 she had shown before. "He is sure to like 
 Evelyn, is he not, Dolly?" 
 
 When the door had closed behind the guest, 
 Belinda stood, thoughtful. 
 
 "After all, he is not a bad sort of a person, 
 is he?" she said; "he didn't seem to have much 
 to say, when I was out of the room, did he? 
 He was looking bored when I came back. I 
 am glad that I asked him to come to the salon. 
 He and Evelyn will get on finely, I am sure. 
 I shall tell her all about him to-day." 
 
 The Very Young Man went soberly down 
 the stairs. He read very hard indeed for three- 
 quarters of an hour. At the end of that time, 
 he spoke, with his eyes still on the page be 
 fore him. 
 
 "If I had that little wretch here, I'd half 
 50
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 kill him!" he said; then he added, inconse- 
 quently, "And Miss Manly need not be uneasy 
 I shall not give her too much of my society ! 
 I shall limit my acquaintance to an occasional 
 formal call, in future." 
 
 About half an hour later, he said suddenly : 
 "Well, I shall go just once, anyhow ; merely 
 to let her see that I am not the idiot I ap 
 peared this morning!" It is probable that the 
 last remark had no reference to Belinda.
 
 Chapter III 
 
 "THERE is no freedom like unto that of the 
 bachelor girl," observed Belinda, as she went 
 about the room moving chairs and settling 
 sofa pillows. "Now, if we had husbands, they 
 would always want to sit in the chimney- 
 corner, when we wished to go out, or in the 
 seat of the scornful when we wanted to enter 
 tain guests. We could have no salon, if we 
 were married, Dolly." 
 
 "But, then, nobody would much care to 
 come to it, if we were old maids, would they?" 
 queried Dolly. "Belinda, I I wonder if we 
 shall be old maids by and by?" 
 
 Belinda made no immediate reply; she had 
 gone instead to answer a knock at the door. 
 
 The Matron and the Philosopher stood, smil 
 ing, on the threshold. 
 
 "We have come for a cup of tea and an 
 53
 
 The Very Young 
 
 epigram," said the lady. "I like lemon in the 
 former and spice in the latter, if you please." 
 
 "Is that quite fair?" demanded the Phi 
 losopher. "My own idea of the salon is, that 
 it is a sort of a literary basket-party. The 
 hostess, in this case, is evidently prepared to 
 furnish the tea; therefore, I consider it but 
 right that we bring our own epigrams. But 
 you look thoughtful, Miss Watterson. Are 
 you 'uneasy lest you forget a carefully prepared 
 impromptu speech? Or are you merely re 
 signed to the necessity of listening to speeches 
 which appear brilliant to their makers?" 
 
 "Neither. I I was wondering whether 
 bachelor girls become old maids, when 
 when they no longer seem young, even to them 
 selves !" 
 
 "Or their elder sisters? My dear young 
 lady, I should define the bachelor girl as a fe 
 male who refused to marry, and an old maid 
 as one who would cheerfully accept anything 
 rather than her own fate. The old maid may, 
 therefore, become a bachelor girl; but the 
 bachelor girl can never become an old maid." 
 54
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Oh!" said Dolly. "Well, I must say that 
 it is much pleasanter to be a bachelor girl than 
 an old maid. But, Mr. Hardy, if the masculine 
 bachelor is, as he says, the happiest of human 
 beings, why is he usually so cynical about 
 everything?" 
 
 "H'm I can only suppose that since cyni 
 cism is the reverse of socialism, and matri 
 mony is practical socialism, he is merely vindi 
 cating his own opinion." 
 
 "Ah, if the most of us cultivated our morals 
 as carefully as we do our opinions, the world 
 would need fewer reformatories," sighed the 
 Matron. "Well, I have noticed one similar 
 ity between the bachelor and the old m.iid: 
 he may be selfish in most things, but he is 
 quite willing to have his birthdays five years 
 apart." 
 
 "While the married man delegates that privi 
 lege to his wife. After all, I doubt if any 
 one over thirty and under ninety really enjoys 
 a birthday." 
 
 "Unless he is in receipt of a pension," ob 
 served Tracy, who had just entered. "But, 
 55
 
 The Very Yoving Ma.i\ 
 
 really, since we are not quarreling, I see no 
 reason why we should mention birthdays at 
 all." 
 
 "We were speaking of bachelor girls, I 
 think," smiled the Matron. "I suppose the 
 connection was the fact that they do allow 
 themselves birthdays in moderation." 
 
 "Well, for my part, I had as lief have a per 
 sonal birthday as to buy a thing I really want 
 myself and present it, as a consolation prize to 
 some one else," sighed Evelyn Whiting. 
 
 "Ah, that is one advantage of having a hus 
 band," said the Matron, cheerfully. "You 
 can give him the thing you want, and then take 
 care of it for him." 
 
 "And your maiden aunt is sure to remind you 
 of your birthday, anyhow," said Mae Blossom. 
 "Well, all things have some good in them, I 
 suppose. I know of nothing so well calcu 
 lated to console one for the fact that her pil 
 grimage is well nigh over, as the gift of a 
 maiden aunt." 
 
 "I once knew a woman who well, ab- 
 
 56
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 stracted a few years when her husband asked 
 her exact age," began the Matron. 
 
 "Did you ever know one who did not?" 
 queried Evelyn. 
 
 "And he gave her a string of pearls, ss a 
 birthday present," went on the Matron, not 
 heeding the interruption; "one pearl for each 
 year, you know. The string would have been 
 exactly the right length if she had told him 
 the truth. As it was, she had to take her own 
 money and buy the rest of them." 
 
 "Husbands are not usually so willing to take 
 their wives at their word," remarked Mae. 
 
 "Especially when it is the last one," hinted 
 Tracy. 
 
 "Well, I suppose that even bachelor girls 
 have their own troubles," observed the Matron. 
 "Why, think of it, there is really no one to 
 blame when things go wrong !" 
 
 "Oh, yes; there is usually the janitor," re 
 plied Belinda. "You can say a good deal to 
 the janitor if the agent is assured of your 
 financial reliability." 
 
 "I suppose that one might occasionally be 
 57
 
 The Very Young 
 
 tempted to pity the lot of the janitor if one 
 had never lived in an apartment building," 
 sighed Tracy. "As it is, we need our pity 
 for ourselves. If we sometimes make things 
 hot for him, he in turn makes it very cold for 
 us." 
 
 "The pleasantest apartment building I ever 
 lived in, was tenanted by fourteen bachelor 
 girls," said Belinda. "There was one draw 
 back, however," she added; "the janitor was 
 changed so often that we never got within two 
 names of his own when we addressed the latest 
 official." 
 
 "Well, I know one thing; I should not like 
 to be the wife of a janitor," said the Matron, 
 suddenly. "Of course the average man re 
 quires a great deal of keeping in order; but 
 I never yet knew a woman who wanted any 
 assistance in the work." 
 
 "Or tolerated it, when offered," responded 
 Tracy. 
 
 "True," agreed the Matron. "Why, Ed 
 ward, what are you doing here? I thought 
 
 I told you " 
 
 5S
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 'I guess you did, mamma," said the Angel 
 Child, who had suddenly appeared upon the 
 scene ; "but you told me so many other things, 
 too, that I forgot them all. That's what papa 
 says, you know, when you tell him to order meat 
 an' embroidery silks, on the same day. Is that 
 pound cake, in the plate behind the teapot, 
 Dolly? Yes, I think I could eat some of it. 
 I have been to see Mr. Sweeting, but he didn't 
 offer me anything nice. He'll be up in a little 
 while, I think, Dolly. He's trying to find a 
 collar that really suits him, and I got tired of 
 waiting, and came on ahead. I hope you will 
 excuse me for sitting with my back to you, 
 mamma. I'd rather not see you, when you 
 motion to me that I've had enough cake. 
 Somehow, we don't agree upon some subjects, 
 you know, and papa says, when that's the case, 
 it is better t' agree t' disagree. Why, there 
 is Mr. Tracy! I wasn't sure but that he had 
 gone t' see somebody that Mr. Sweeting doesn't 
 like. He said that he never in his life saw a 
 man that was so easily flattered by a word 
 from a pretty girl. Do you flatter, Dolly? I 
 59
 
 The Very Young 
 
 suppose you do, because you are the prettiest 
 one that's here, and Miss Adams is Why are 
 you pulling at my sleeve, mamma?" 
 
 "In my childhood, children were seen not 
 heard," observed Miss Adams, in a judicial 
 tone. "Little boys " 
 
 "I guess things have changed a good deal, 
 since you were a child, Miss Adams," said the 
 Angel Child, sweetly. "Papa says that they 
 have had time to change. Why, what is the 
 matter now, mamma? I guess papa must be 
 right when he says he hopes there will be 
 something good to eat, when he goes out with 
 you. He says you won't let him open his 
 mouth, except to put something in it. Oh, 
 dear, have I done something perfec'ly awful 
 again? I s'pose you'd better try t' bring me 
 up as Miss Adams wants you to I don't seem 
 t' be a credit t' you, as it is. Why, here is Mr. 
 Sweeting ! I thought maybe you cou^ln't find 
 a collar t' suit you, after all, and were not 
 coming. He's only going t' stay a little while, 
 Miss Manly; he says he supposes you merely 
 want him t' talk to the frumps, while th' rest of 
 60
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 you listen to Mr. Tracy's epigrams. What is 
 an epigram, Mr. Tracy?" 
 
 "An epigram, Master Wycoff, is a clever 
 thing, when you have made it yourself, and 
 an awful bore when somebody else has thought 
 of it first. Take my advice, and never, never 
 make one, if you wish to retain one friend, 
 rather than a number of acquaintances." 
 
 "The epigram marks the first downward 
 step on the path which leads to continuous 
 afternoon teas," remarked the Philosopher; 
 "but is it not remarkable how long one will 
 last? Not so long as an anecdote, it is true, 
 but, carefully preserved, I have known one to 
 be the sole conversational dependence of a 
 good looking man, for an entire season. The 
 shortness of other people's memories for wit 
 not their own, is the greatest protection your 
 brilliant conversationalist can have." 
 
 "When in doubt, repeat your epigram, eh?" 
 said the Matron. 
 
 "Mayn't I help you a little, Miss Watter- 
 son?" asked the Very Young Man. "I think 
 there is a neat thing concerning reigning and
 
 The Very Young 
 
 pouring, somewhere in the back of my mind; 
 but it doesn't seem to adjust itself to the situa 
 tion, so I might lift the kettle or something 
 for you, instead of paying you tactful com 
 pliments. Sometimes, I fear that my brains 
 are very primitive indeed. Has it been like this 
 all the time?" 
 
 "Oh, quite. Sometimes I have been dread 
 fully afraid that I'd have to answer some of 
 them; but they didn't wait long enough for 
 me to think of the proper thing." 
 
 "Don't you ever make such a mistake, Miss 
 Watterson. Your clever person prefers to 
 answer himself; just as a professional benuty 
 had rather see herself in the mirror, than an 
 other beauty in the flesh. I am told that the 
 class in conversation is a fad, nowadays. It 
 seems to me that if people really wish to make 
 themselves popular, they will take lessons in 
 listening, instead." 
 
 "Oh, but listening comes very easy, indeed, 
 when you happen to live with a very clever 
 person, Mr. Sweeting." 
 
 "It does," sighed the Very Young Man. 
 62
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "I assure you that since I have been with 
 Tracy, my own voice only sounds natural to 
 me in monosyllables. But for the janitor, I 
 might, in time, forget articulate speech; and 
 then, no doubt, I would become a very popular 
 person among clever conversationalists." 
 
 "Oh, speaking of Mr. Rafferty, how is the 
 misery in his side?" asked Dolly. "I haven't 
 seen him to-day, and I am anxious to know 
 if the new medicine did him any good." 
 
 "He says that he got well so soon after be 
 ginning to take it, that he doesn't know, not 
 having given it a fair trial." 
 
 "Look at Dolly; she's laughing!" cried the 
 Angel Child. "She hasn't laughed once, since 
 I came in; only smiled, like you do, mamma, 
 when papa's friends come to see him and say 
 things that make him laugh so hard, and then, 
 when they are gone, you say, 'What on earth 
 did you see funny in that man's stories?' 
 Don't you like Mr. Tracy's epigrams, Dolly?" 
 
 "Sweet child," murmured Tracy, to Evelyn ; 
 "what a pity that only the good die young !" 
 
 "Well, luckily, apartment buildings are not
 
 The Very Yo\mg Ma.n 
 
 like Noah's ark, in one respect, Mr. Tracy ; the 
 specimens are not two of a kind. Think how 
 much worse it would be if he were twins. 
 There is nothing so bad that it might not be 
 worse, except your own troubles, to be sure. 
 Now, I live in the house with a future prima 
 donna. The dear girl, her mother, and her 
 teacher are very sure of her future. Her 
 mother often tells us that we will some day 
 have to pay fabulous sums for tickets to hear 
 her sing." 
 
 "And shall you do it?" 
 
 "Perhaps. One can always talk at a con 
 cert, you know. To be sure, I am taking elo 
 cution lessons, myself; but, then, I never prac 
 tise more than six hours a day, so that is a 
 very different matter. I think one should al 
 ways consider the other people who live in the 
 house, don't you? I do, and for that reason 
 I often practice late at night, after they are in 
 bed, or early in the morning, before they are 
 up. I can't say that they appreciate my for 
 bearance, however. Still, my own approving 
 conscience is sufficient reward." 
 64
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "It is quite enough for most people who in 
 habit apartment or boarding-houses," smiled 
 Tracy. 
 
 "I suppose so. I am quite sure, at any rate, 
 that none of my neighbors have ever heard 
 me recite, for when I did scenes from 'Romeo 
 and Juliet,' and recited 'The Goblins '11 Git 
 You,' and 'Curfew/ for a charity, not long 
 ago, none of them would even buy a ticket. 
 Wasn't it horrid of them?" 
 
 "I know a woman who lives in the apart 
 ment house with her own mother-in-law," said 
 the Matron, gloomily. "Life is worth so lit 
 tle to her that she eats rarebit, made by an 
 amateur, at midnight and goes home smil- 
 ing." 
 
 "All the world loathes a mother-in-law," 
 mused the Philosopher. "I suppose that there 
 must be mothers-in-law who are not family 
 villains " 
 
 "Just as there are poor and honest plum 
 bers," suggested Tracy. 
 
 "And polite ticket sellers," added Miss 
 Adams. 
 
 65
 
 The Very Yoxing Ma.n 
 
 "And fairies and brownies," said the Angel 
 Child, thoughtfully. "Dear me, I guess I 
 must be what papa calls an unconscious hu 
 morist, because everybody laughs when I say 
 things. Everybody, that is, but the people I 
 say them to, and I suppose they think it isn't 
 polite to laugh." 
 
 "Exactly, my dear fellow," said Tracy. 
 "The majority of us had rather laugh at others 
 than with them, you know." 
 
 "By the way," said Evelyn, suddenly, "have 
 you ever noticed that the person who wears 
 flat-heeled, thick-soled shoes always has a 
 sense of humor?" 
 
 "While the one who wears high-heeled, 
 paper-soled ones, has none?" said the Matron. 
 "H'm yes, I suppose that is what might be 
 called cause and effect. Ah, well, I am sure 
 that if I had not a sense of the ridiculous, I 
 should be coldly furnishing forth an epitaph at 
 this moment. You see, my husband fell in 
 love with my dimpled hands, and then, when 
 we were married, he was astonished that I 
 could neither cook nor sew !" 
 66
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Man is an illogical beast, anyhow you put 
 it," observed the Philosopher. "I've known a 
 man to marry a girl because she was a flirt, and 
 then divorce her for the same reason." 
 
 "True. Well, he talked so much of his 
 mother's industry, that I decided to emulate 
 it." 
 
 "So you learned to cook and sew, did you?" 
 asked Belinda. 
 
 "I I tried, dear. Finally, just as I was 
 developing the utmost originality in the culi 
 nary line, my husband begged me to give 
 it up. He he said that he didn't believe that 
 Lucretia Borgia used secret poisons at all. He 
 was sure that she was merely learning to cook, 
 when all her friends died so suddenly." 
 
 "And, then you made him a dressing gown, 
 didn't you?" queried the Philosopher, with a 
 far-away look in his eyes. 
 
 "Why, yes. I did. How did you guess 
 that?" 
 
 "In all marriages there is what might be 
 termed the Stone Age, which is the stage at 
 which the young husband asks for bread and 
 67
 
 The Very Young Ma.ni 
 
 receives an amateur biscuit. The Age of 
 Iron in his soul comes when he must ac 
 tually wear a garment made by the partner 
 of his griefs. But, then, a dressing gown need 
 not really fit, you know," he added sooth 
 ingly. 
 
 "Harold thought otherwise. He offered to 
 to wear it all through Lent. That made me 
 so angry that I promptly sold it to the ragman, 
 and took the money and went to a matinee." 
 
 "Which was a good idea, since you were 
 just in the mood to sympathize with the woes 
 of the heroine," observed Evelyn. 
 
 "I was still more so, when I reached home 
 and found Harold demanding his dressing 
 gown." 
 
 "I see," sighed the Philosopher; "he had re 
 pented, after he had smoked a really good 
 cigar. I wonder if women will ever learn 
 what a friend tobacco really is ?" 
 
 "Not until a smokeless cigar has been in 
 vented," said the Matron, promptly. "Har 
 old had not repented, however; he said he 
 was glad the thing was gone, but where had 
 68
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 I put the important business letter he had left 
 in the pocket of it !" 
 
 "You needn't tell us the rest, unless you 
 choose," sighed Mae; "we need not be seventh 
 daughters to guess what followed." 
 
 "I won't, then. I will merely add that in 
 consequence of the loss of that letter, he missed 
 a stroke of business which would have netted 
 him a couple of hundred dollars. He he al 
 ways said that he had meant to buy me a 
 diamond with that money." 
 
 "And you can never, never prove that he did 
 not!" groaned Evelyn. 
 
 "I cannot. I wouldn't have minded so 
 much, if he had not insisted that it was all my 
 own fault. I can do without diamonds, if 
 I have to, but nobody likes to be told a thing 
 is her fault, you know." 
 
 "Oh, you poor, poor thing!" cried Mae. 
 "And all because you had taken the trouble 
 to make your husband a dressing gown! I 
 had no idea that men were so unkind." She 
 looked severely at the Very Young Man, who 
 quailed visibly before her glance. 
 69
 
 The Very Yo\mg Man 
 
 "Perhaps he may have another stroke of 
 fortune, and buy you the diamond another 
 time," said Dolly, hopefully. 
 
 "A diamond on the finger is worth two at 
 the jeweler's, dear. It is very sweet of you, 
 though, to be so optimistic about it." 
 
 "Most people are optimistic concerning the 
 woes of others," said Evelyn, briskly. 
 
 "Well, after all, the bachelor girl may have 
 fewer diamonds than the married woman," said 
 Belinda, "but she 
 
 "Is more afraid of burglars?" finished 
 Tracy. "Yes, I've noticed that myself." 
 
 "Anyhow, it is the men who are burglars," 
 said Miss Adams. "You never heard of a fe 
 male burglar, did you?" 
 
 "I've often wondered that the bachelor girl 
 is continually calling upon others to notice the 
 joys of her lot," said the Philosopher. "Does 
 she, by any chance, imagine that the mere man 
 fails to envy the creature who can make a home 
 out of a latch-key and a few sofa pillows?" 
 
 "And who has the courage to go out in a 
 rainy-day dress by day, and a theater hat by 
 70
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 night!" cried Tracy. "Say what you will 
 about Man; he may not be a mouse-fearing 
 animal ; but he quails before such a small thing 
 as public opinion." 
 
 "I saw a man in a rainy-day dress, all bright 
 plaid, like mamma's, the other day," said the 
 Angel Child, suddenly. "Dolly said he was a 
 Scotchman. I don't see what they are laugh 
 ing at now, mamma, do you ? You always tell 
 me that children must not laugh at grown 
 folks, but grown folks are always laughing 
 at children. Yes, thank you, Dolly; I will 
 have a lump of sugar. I have had several al 
 ready, while you were talking to Mr. Sweet 
 ing. You always seem to agree with Mr. 
 Sweeting, and Miss Belinda always disagrees 
 with Mr. Hardy. I think that is funny, when 
 they are not even related to each other, don't 
 you? Papa says " 
 
 "It is time to go home, I am sure," said the 
 Matron, hastily. "Well, I know one thing, 
 Dolly; the bachelor girl can make the best tea 
 in creation." 
 
 "I know that," observed the Philosopher, 
 71
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 "but I can't understand why she gives it to 
 that despised animal, Man !" 
 
 "The bachelor girl does not despise Man," 
 cried Belinda, hotly; "she she merely looks 
 upon him as a brother." 
 
 "Then, she is perfectly justified in criticis 
 ing him," said Tracy, smiling. "No man is a 
 hero to his sister, I am sure." 
 
 "It seems to me that the bachelor girl wants 
 all the privileges of the forum, without re 
 linquishing the ones of the chimney-corner," 
 sighed the Philosopher; "and she usually gets 
 everything she asks. Luckily for the rest of 
 us, she sometimes " 
 
 "Changes her mind. I know what you are 
 about to say! That is always the last argu 
 ment of a man. Well, if she does change her 
 mind occasionally, that proves nothing!" 
 
 "Except that she has changed her mind," 
 laughed Tracy, as he made his escape. 
 
 72
 
 Chapter IV 
 
 "Io is dot saloon I vants to know aboudt, 
 Miss Manly," said the janitor's wife. "I hears 
 aboudt it, und I hears aboudt it, und I vants 
 to know vat id is. Is id one of dem saloons 
 mit beer und free lunch, or is id one of dem 
 saloons mit tea und talkings aboudt dings 
 vich nopody understands? I vants to know, 
 because dot Rafferdy, he is nodt veil, und, if 
 I vas again a lonesome vidow, I vants a goot 
 husband again, not? und I dinks maype I 
 likes me to marry a preacher nexdt dime 
 bud if I lives in de house mit a saloon, dot 
 preacher, he mightdn't likes it, eh?" 
 
 "You are perfectly safe, Mrs. Rafferty," re 
 plied Belinda, smiling. "I am sure that no 
 preacher would object to our salon. If you 
 have any trouble, at any time, in proving your 
 case, you may refer him to me. But I thought 
 Mr. Rafferty was a great deal better. Is he 
 worse again?" 
 
 "He vas petter yesterday, und he vill pe 
 73
 
 The Very Young 
 
 petter to-morrow, I dinks. But Mrs. Wycoff, 
 she vas gomplaining aboudt her gas range, 
 und Miss Adams, she vants her vindows vashed, 
 und he is nodt so veil to-day. Put Mr. Tracy 
 und Mr. Sweetings, dey Vands somedings done 
 in deir fladt, und dey pays so veil, dot I dinks 
 he vill feel petter to-morrow. Bud if you see 
 Mrs. Wycoff und Miss Adams, you mighd tell 
 dem dot he is very pad, indeed, yoost now." 
 And, shaking her head, she started towards the 
 stairs. 
 
 Belinda halted her, before she had gone many 
 steps. "I can't see, Mrs. Rafferty, why you 
 are so anxious about another husband," she 
 said; "you have already had two, and for my 
 part, I have had none at all, and I get along 
 very well without one." 
 
 "Dot is yoost id, my tear young ladys; you 
 haf nefer had a husband, und you know nod 
 how useful dey are. For me, I haf got indo 
 dot marrying habid, und I get nod veil along 
 midoud a husband. You are young und hand 
 some, und you haf blendy of friends. Me, 
 I am old und nod pretty I needs some von dot 
 74
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 cannot get away !" And she creaked her way, 
 triumphantly, down the groaning stairs. 
 
 Belinda stood, absorbed in thought, for some 
 moments, and then Dolly was astonished by a 
 whirlwind which descended, weeping, upon, 
 her, as she sat peacefully at her embroidery. 
 
 "Oh, Dolly!" Belinda cried, "tell me 'this 
 moment, did you ever, for one single instant, 
 want to marry any of them ?" 
 
 "To marry any of who?" cried Dolly, re 
 gardless of grammar, in her amazement. 
 
 "Oh, 'them the poet, the widower, or " 
 
 "Goosie, of course I didn't want to marry 
 any of them. What has put such a ridiculous 
 idea into your head?" 
 
 "I I think it was Mrs. Rafferty. She says 
 that a husband is is a very useful thing. She 
 has had two, and she really ought to know 
 better than I, who have had none at all. 
 When she said that, it occurred to me that you 
 might have wanted to marry one of them, and 
 I might have said something to keep you from 
 it." 
 
 "You said a great many things, if I re- 
 75
 
 The Very Young Ma.i\ 
 
 member rightly, dear. However, I did not 
 mind. You know I I never told you about 
 any of them until after they had bothered me 
 a good deal. So " 
 
 "Oh, you darling, I am so relieved! I 
 thought that perhaps I had been refusing young 
 men for you, when Mercy, Edward! where 
 did you come from?" 
 
 "I came in at the door, Miss Belinda. You 
 were in suda a hurry to speak to Dolly, that 
 you left it wide open. Do you know, I am 
 afraid your luncheon must have disagreed with 
 you. At least, that is what mamma says when 
 I makes a fuss about anything. Sometimes it 
 seems to me that all the really nice things are 
 unwholesome. When she eats rarebit and 
 things like that, it gives mamma an attack of 
 the nerves. Does temper always get to be 
 nerves, when people are grown up, Dolly?" 
 
 "It depends upon who has them, with the 
 most of us, I'm afraid, Edward. But why do 
 you ask?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing, only Mr. Sweeting told Mr. 
 Tracy that he had acted like like some kind 
 76
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 of an idiot I couldn't exac'ly understand 
 what kind at the salon, the other day. Mr. 
 Tracy smiled and said, very politely, 'It seems 
 to me, that your temper hasn't improved, of 
 late, old man.' Then, I guess Mr. Sweeting 
 saw me, and he muttered something about his 
 nerves. Mr. Tracy laughed and said some 
 thing about Her. I suppose he meant Mr. 
 Sweeting's mother, don't you? At any rate, 
 she doesn't approve of smoking, and he is 
 never, never going to smoke another cigar, 
 as long as he lives, though doing without them 
 makes him a little nervous, at first. Why, 
 Dolly, how red your face is! It wasn't so a 
 moment ago; was it, Miss Belinda? What 
 is the matter? You look just as mamma does 
 when I tell company what she has said to papa 
 before they came. It makes mamma feel as if 
 she'd like to go through the floor, but the 
 company never seems to mind. They say I 
 am such an old-fashioned child. I think it is 
 rather hard on mamma to have an old- 
 fashioned child, when she is so particular about 
 the latest styles, don't you ?" 
 77
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 "Very," said Dolly, absently. "No, as I 
 said before, Belinda, I shall never, never want 
 to marry anybody. To live and die a bachelor 
 maid, is the height of my ambition." 
 
 "Mr. Sweeting is going to be a bachelor, 
 too. He thinks that girls are the silliest tlr'ngs 
 he ever knew he told me so, a long time ago 
 that day that he was packing up the em 
 broidered smoking cap, an' the hand'erchief 
 case, an' all th' photographs, you know. Why, 
 here is Mr. Sweeting now! Come in, do," 
 he cried, with great hospitality; "I was just 
 talking to Dolly about you." 
 
 "I suppose it is a case of 'save me from my 
 friends/ Miss Watterson," said the Very 
 Young Man, trying to look hopeful. 
 
 "Isn't Dolly a friend of yours, Mr. Sweet 
 ing? I thought she was. She always laughs 
 when you make a joke, and papa says there is 
 no greater proof of friendship than that. I 
 came up here, because I had spilled your ink 
 over the papers on your desk, and the cloth 
 I used to wipe it up, seemed to have a lot of 
 embroidery on it. I knew that you'd be a 
 73
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 good deal worried, when you found it out; 
 and it's best for people to be alone, when they 
 are worried about anything. I am awfully 
 sorry I did it, but papa says it's no use cry 
 ing about spilled milk, and I guess spilled ink 
 is about the same. I'd rather you wouldn't 
 tell mamma anything about it, though, if \ou 
 please. She has gone shopping, and I was 
 playing war-ship in the bathtub, and the water 
 ran over a good deal. So it is quite damp up 
 there now, and I'm afraid we'll have trouble, 
 as it is, when she gets home." 
 
 The Very Young Man looked at Dolly and 
 laughed; as for Dolly, her look of sympathy 
 for Mrs. Wycoff melted into smiles and dim 
 ples. Belinda, after an absent-minded sort of 
 greeting for the guest, disappeared; and the 
 easy-chair near Dolly looked very inviting. 
 The Very Young Man forgot that he had a 
 great deal of reading to do that afternoon, as 
 he sank into it. 
 
 "Now, isn't this jolly?" he cried. "A great 
 deal jollier than when all those people are here. 
 Do you know, Miss Watterson, I flatter myself 
 79
 
 The Very Yoxing Man 
 
 that I am a good judge of character, and I 
 think you are the most sympathetic person I 
 ever knew." 
 
 The shadows grew deeper and deeper, and 
 the gas logs shone like the eyes of a dragon, 
 through the gloom. The Very Young Man 
 was talking to Dolly about his Ideals, and 
 Dolly's few remarks showed the depth of her 
 understanding of them, though their acquaint 
 ance was so recent. He was just explaining, 
 at some length, the influence a true friend, 
 provided that friend was a woman, could ex 
 ercise over a fellow, when Belinda bounced 
 into the room. 
 
 "Here are you two sitting, and burglars have 
 been all over the place!" she cried. 
 
 "What!" The Very Young Man was on 
 his feet, looking about him in amazement. 
 "Burglars, Miss Manly! Where are they? 
 
 "As if I knew!" returned Belinda, hotly. 
 "They forgot to leave their visiting-cards be 
 hind. I went up to see Miss Adams for a mo 
 ment, and I I left the hall door open, think- 
 80
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 ing that a man could at least keep burglars 
 away. Now, I come back, to find that the flat 
 has been looted and you two in the parlor, 
 talking about friendship!" 
 
 "Are you sure that they are gone?" cried 
 the Very Young Man, as he ran into the next 
 room, followed by Belinda, who pressed a 
 poker, kept for such emergencies, into his un 
 willing hand. 
 
 In the dining-room and bedrooms, a scene 
 of confusion met his eyes. Drawers and 
 closets were open and their contents scattered 
 everywhere upon the floor; whoever had done 
 the work, had done it thoroughly. 
 
 No trace of the burglars was found, though 
 Miss Adams, who followed in the wake of the 
 search party, cried hysterically: "Look out; 
 there he comes !" and took to a chair, with her 
 skirts gathered about her, every time a closet 
 door was opened. There was no open win 
 dow, and no fastenings which had been tam 
 pered with, to show the manner of egress 
 adopted by the unwelcome visitors. 
 
 "They have simply walked out of the front
 
 The Very Yo\mg 
 
 door, as they came in," said Belinda, with the 
 calmness of despair. She sat down and folded 
 her hands helplessly. 
 
 "And gone upstairs, to hide in my flat, ready 
 to murder me to-night," returned Miss Adams, 
 with the air of one seated on a remote pinnacle 
 of gloom. They both looked reproachfully at 
 the Very Young Man, and lapsed into silence. 
 
 "If anny wan of yez is afther suspectin' 
 meself, it's twinty certificates of good carack- 
 ter I kin be showin' yez," remarked the jani 
 tor, with an air of unnecessary belligerency. 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Rafferty, I am sure that no one 
 ever thought of such a thing!" cried Dolly, 
 horrified. 
 
 Belinda had regained her tongue. "You 
 had nothing to do with it, Mr. Rafferty," she 
 sighed. The Very Young Man again felt her 
 eye upon him, and quailed. 
 
 "Hadn't we better find out just what is miss 
 ing, Miss Manly?" he suggested. "The police 
 must, of course, be notified at once, and ' 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Sweeting, you will not leave us
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 until we are quite sure that they are gone?" 
 Dolly cried. 
 
 "I shall not leave until you are quite safe, 
 Miss Watterson." He suddenly felt that the 
 situation was not without its mitigations. He 
 took out a pencil and prepared to make a list 
 of missing articles on the back of a letter. 
 
 "And be sure not to disturb any of the 
 clues," said Miss Adams, with the air of a 
 general; "they will be useful at the trial, you 
 know." 
 
 "Id is dot bolice I haf sent for alretry," 
 said Mrs. Rafferty, putting her head in at the 
 door, but poised for flight, in case any linger 
 ing burglars appeared. 
 
 "Haf you de ped looked under, Miss 
 Manly?" she asked, as if with sudden inspira 
 tion. 
 
 "The beds are both folding ones, Mrs. Raf 
 ferty; they take as long to open as a safe 
 would. If I had kept my valuables in one of 
 them, they would be here now!" 
 
 "You were going to make a list, you know," 
 hinted Miss Adams. 
 
 83
 
 The Very Young 
 
 "Oh, dear, to think that it is all my fault !" 
 wailed Dolly, wringing her hands. "Don't 
 say that you forgive me, Belinda ; I really don't 
 deserve it." 
 
 "It is not your fault," said Belinda, firmly; 
 "it all goes to show that Man is a superfluous 
 animal. We have never had burglars before, 
 and the moment Mr. Sweeting comes in, they 
 walk in after him and carry off everything of 
 value." 
 
 The worm showed faint signs of turning. 
 "If the front door had been locked, or even 
 closed " he began. 
 
 "Yes, Belinda; you see it was not really 
 his fault," cried Dolly, eagerly. "The door 
 was open, you know." 
 
 But Belinda was beyond the reach of logic. 
 "How could the door be closed, when he had 
 just come through it?" she demanded. 
 
 "Of course it couldn't," agreed Miss Adams. 
 "I am surprised at you, Dolly." 
 
 "Perhaps they they didn't get the things 
 you care for most," suggested the Very Young 
 
 84
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 Man, after a pause. He was quite unable to 
 say the first things which came into his mind. 
 
 "Of course they have taken the things I care 
 for most," Belinda said, dolefully; "they al 
 ways do! Oh, Dolly, I wish Mr. Tracy were 
 here. I am sure he would do something." 
 
 "Or even Mr. Hardy," sighed Miss Adams. 
 "I am quite sure that he would not allow the 
 villains to escape, without making some ef 
 fort." 
 
 The Very Young Man glanced longingly 
 at the door; then back at Dolly, whose eyes 
 were fixed anxiously upon him. 
 
 "At any rate, if you make a list of the arti 
 cles, the police may be able to get them back 
 for you," he hinted. 
 
 Belinda fell to examining the drawers and 
 other receptacles which stood open. She ap 
 proached each one as if it were a tomb. 
 
 "Oh, my grandfather's candlesticks!" she 
 groaned. "And the spoons which belonged 
 to my great-aunt !" 
 
 "And your new fur cape, and the solid silver 
 teapot!" wailed Miss Adams. "I suppose it 
 85
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 is in the melting pot now." She evidently re 
 ferred to the teapot, and not to the cape. 
 
 "Of course it is! And my pearl pin, and 
 the lovely turquoise comb that my sister gave 
 me! I kept them in an old pair of shoes, on 
 the floor of the closet in my room " 
 
 "The very place an experienced burglar 
 would look for them first," said Miss Adams, 
 with evident relish. "It is not worth while 
 to go to look for them, Belinda ; of course Lhey 
 are gone. Put them down on your list, Mr. 
 Sweeting." 
 
 "Oh, you poor, poor darling!" cried Dolly. 
 "I can never, never forgive myself!" 
 
 "I ah, doubt if Miss Manly's possessions 
 have suffered more than your own, Miss Wat- 
 terson," said the Very Young Man, dryly. 
 
 "Why, I I never once thought of my 
 things! Do you suppose that my new hat 
 
 is " She never finished the sentence. At 
 
 that instant Mrs. Wycoff flew into the room, 
 her hat awry and her face a study in distress. 
 
 "Where is my child?" she cried, wildly. 
 "The burglars have taken him, I know they 
 86
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 have! I've hunted for him everywhere, and 
 they say he was here!" 
 
 The three women looked at each other, 
 breathless. No one had thought of the child 
 and he was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 The Matron turned to Belinda. "Where 
 is my child?" she repeated. 
 
 "I I don't know. He was here, when I 
 left ; he was talking to Mr. Sweeting and " 
 
 "Then, what have you done with him?" 
 demanded the Matron, wheeling and facing the 
 Very Young Man. "You were here, and I 
 shall hold you responsible for his recover} !" 
 
 The Very Young Man, looking about him 
 for a place of retreat, stumbled over a huge 
 bundle, which no one had noticed, behind the 
 door, in the confusion. 
 
 "Hello, here is the silver! Here are all 
 the things!" he called, cheerfully. "It's all 
 right, Miss Manly!" 
 
 "Don't open it here!" shrieked Miss 
 Adams. "There may be dynamite in it, and 
 no silver at all! I read of a case where bur 
 glars used dynamite, not long ago." 
 87
 
 The Very Young Ma.i\ 
 
 "I think they were robbing a bank, not a 
 flat then, Miss Adams," replied the Very 
 .Young Man, meekly. "Anyhow, the silver 
 seems to be here, and " 
 
 "But what is a little trumpery silver, com 
 pared to my child !" cried Mrs. Wycoff. "Oh, 
 they have left it and taken him instead. I see 
 it as plain as day. Why do you all stand 
 there? Why don't you do something?" 
 
 "I I'll go for the janitor," said Belinda, 
 meekly. "He must do something, else I shall 
 complain to the agent. Ring the bell, Dolly ; I 
 can't remember whether it is three times for the 
 
 janitor, or three times for heat, and four 
 
 Oh, here he is ! Why don't you do something, 
 Mr. Rafferty? If I were a man, I would, 
 and not stand there, staring like like a gar 
 goyle!" 
 
 "It's th' cellar windows Oi was afther look 
 ing at, Miss, t' see which way th' dirthy blag- 
 gards was afther a-goin', an' how they got in at 
 all, at all," was the dignified reply. "Masther 
 Wycoff is it? An' phat is thot oonder th' 
 lounge, Miss?" 
 
 88
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "My child!" cried Mrs. Wycoff, wildly. 
 "Merciful heavens, have they killed him?" 
 She was evidently about to faint, and Dolly 
 put her into the nearest chair, while Miss 
 Adams went for water. 
 
 It was the Very Young Man who dragged 
 the Angel, Child once more to the light of 
 day. "Hello, old man, what's the matter? 
 Asleep?" he queried, cheerfully. 
 
 The Angel Child was very dusty and dis 
 heveled, but smiling; he rubbed his eyes with 
 his by no means immaculate fingers. "Why, 
 what's the matter here?" he demanded. "You 
 are not going t' faint, when papa isn't here, 
 are you, mamma? There isn't much harm 
 done in the bathroom; indeed there isn't!'* 
 
 Mrs. Wycoff cast her consolers right and left, 
 and pounced upon him. 
 
 "Oh, my darling, to think that they might 
 have stolen you!" she wailed. "I'll never, 
 never let you out of my sight again, until you 
 are twenty-one years old!" 
 
 "To think that the dear child might have 
 been stolen," said Dolly, to the Very Young
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 Man. "Oh, I should never have forgiven my 
 self as long as I lived, if he had been." 
 
 "But we are losing time," said Miss Adams, 
 with a business-like air. "We must examine 
 every possible spot for clues of the burglars, 
 so that when the police come, they will lose 
 no time." 
 
 "And you had better go carefully through 
 that bundle, Miss Manly," said the Very 
 Young Man; "your valuables may not all be 
 there, and " 
 
 "That's all right, Miss Manly; they are all 
 there," said the Angel Child, calmly. "There 
 wasn't any real burglars, you know. You see, 
 I got tired of listening to Mr. Sweeting telling 
 Dolly about the influence of Woman, and I 
 didn't want to be home when mamma got 
 there, so I thought I'd play burglar a while, 
 and " 
 
 "Edward Faversham Wycoff, you naughty 
 boy, do you mean to say that you piled all those 
 things up in a bundle and then crawled under 
 the couch and went to sleep, frightening me 
 
 90
 
 Arvd the Angel Child 
 
 to death?" his mother cried. She had ceased 
 to weep, and sat up very straight. 
 
 "Why, yes, I did," sobbed the Angel Child; 
 "but I didn't mean any harm ; indeed, I didn't. 
 I played somebody was coming, and hid under 
 the couch, and th' next thing I knew, Mr. 
 Sweeting pulled me out, and you were all here. 
 Why, mamma, what are you doing? I don't 
 want to go home; I want to stay with Dolly. 
 
 "You shall see what I am going to do, when 
 I have got you upstairs," his mother said, 
 firmly. 
 
 "Oh, Belinda, I am so glad that your lovely 
 things are safe," cried Dolly. "I am sure that 
 Mr. Sweeting - " 
 
 "Yes, they are safe by accident," said 
 Belinda, calmly. "If burglars had got in, I 
 am sure that Mr. Sweeting would never have 
 heard them." 
 
 "Yes, I hope you will be more careful after 
 this, Mr. Sweeting," said Miss Adams. "An 
 other time, the things - " 
 
 "What's all this?" said a voice from the 
 91
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 doorway. "And which way did the burglars 
 go ? Hello, this looks like Dirty Jim's work 1" 
 The Very Young Man turned, to see two 
 policemen entering the room. Another glance 
 told him that he alone was left to explain the 
 situation. 
 
 92
 
 Chapter V 
 
 "THE person with a pet virtue is a great 
 bore," remarked the Philosopher. "Espe 
 cially when you happen to live in the house 
 with him," he added. "Standing on tiptoe, 
 with ringer on lip, to admire a lofty virtue is 
 all very well, once in a while; but everything 
 grows monotonous, when it is no longer volun 
 tary, but obligatory." 
 
 "True," said Tracy, thoughtfully. "I have 
 known people who hanged themselves, but I 
 have never known one who was willing to be 
 hanged." 
 
 "I suppose that we are all more or less prone 
 to look at our virtues through a magnifying 
 glass," remarked the Matron. 
 
 "A very harmless and often necessary oc 
 cupation, dear lady; still, I consider it unwise 
 to require others to do the same. Well, well, 
 one good thing may be said of vice: it is at 
 least modest concerning its own achievements." 
 93
 
 The Very Young M<xn 
 
 "Especially when placed in the dock," said 
 Tracy. 
 
 "Exactly. It is in family life that the ex 
 cessive virtue is at its worst. Take for in 
 stance, unselfishness, which is, in moderation, 
 the most companionable of the virtues ; a mem 
 ber of a family, so to speak, adopts that par 
 ticular virtue, and what is the result? The 
 others become riotously selfish, and conse 
 quently unpleasant to everyone for no one 
 likes a selfish person, save himself, and he is 
 prejudiced. Who is to blame for this state 
 of affairs? The unselfish member, of course, 
 though he would never admit it. Oh, no, he 
 hugs his martyrdom and calls attention to it; 
 whereas he is tempter, not victim." 
 
 "But the remedy might be an opposition 
 virtue," suggested Tracy. "Surely, one exces 
 sive virtue might be an antidote for another. 
 But why did you select unselfishness as a rep 
 resentative vicious virtue? For my part, I 
 believe that excessive cleanliness has broken 
 up as many homes as golf." 
 
 The Philosopher sighed. "Some subiects 
 94
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 are too painful for discussion," he replied. 
 "My own grandmother was a New England 
 woman. I have often thought that her chief 
 pleasure in contemplating the hereafter was, 
 not that she might see her enemies punished, 
 but the hope that to her would be delegated the 
 polishing of some of the angelic crowns." 
 
 "It is all very well for you men to talk 
 about excessive cleanliness," said the Matron, 
 flushing; "but the top of the piano is not the 
 place for soiled linen. I know that I have no 
 secrets from any of you, because the mega 
 phone I mean the air shaft acts the part of 
 confidant to all of us. But a man may be a 
 compendium of all the ordinary virtues, and 
 yet need a woman with a dust-pan to follow 
 his every step." 
 
 "A cause in which lovely woman is always 
 ready to sacrifice herself," said Tracy, with a 
 fine smile. "I suppose that Man may be 
 roughly described as an untidy animal, with 
 seventeen pockets in his garments. Perhaps 
 his shortcomings in the matter of tidiness may 
 be the real root of Mormonism, after all." 
 95
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 "Hardly, since Mormonism was established 
 by Man himself," returned the Philosopher. 
 "Well, it seems to me, that economy is the 
 dreariest virtue of them all. .When exercised 
 vicariously, it leads " 
 
 "People with slender appetites, to feed help 
 less boarders upon anecdotes, cold bread and 
 preserves, for Sunday evening tea? Indeed, 
 it does !" cried Evelyn. "Was it boarding that 
 made you a philosopher, Mr. Hardy?" 
 
 "At least, I was not a philosopher when I 
 boarded, Miss Whiting. At present, however, 
 I was thinking of the economy of the landlord, 
 who reduces the heat of the apartment house, 
 in which he does not reside, until the inhabi 
 tants thereof give up their sittings at church 
 and contemplate calmly, even joyously, a future 
 spent in the warmest of climates." 
 
 "I have often thought," said Tracy; "that 
 future legislation will compel the landlord to 
 live in his own apartment house, thus forcing 
 him to realize that hardwood floors are not 
 conductors of heat, and that highly decorated 
 front halls are frequently the outward and 
 96
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 visible sign of bedrooms apparently built with 
 a view to their utilization as dark rooms by 
 amateur photographers." 
 
 "But then one can always move, when one 
 is not satisfied," said the Matron, cheerfully. 
 
 The Philosopher shuddered. "One of the 
 strangest things about your fascinating sex is 
 the fact that, while you may grow tender over 
 drowning flies, you do not hesitate to doom, 
 for the sake of an extra closet, or another bed 
 room, the man who has never done you wrong, 
 who has even, in his clumsy way, been good to 
 you, to all the horrors of moving. Person 
 ally, I prefer to remain in a house where the 
 heating apparatus may be used as a refrig 
 erating plant, in summer, rather than fly, via 
 moving vans, to ills I already know so well." 
 
 "I guess that's because you are not married, 
 Mr. Hardy," said the Angel Child, who was 
 very quiet, and on his best behavior. "Papa 
 says he likes to move, once in a while, so 
 that mamma has a new subjec' to worry about. 
 He says she isn't happy, unless she has some 
 thing to be unhappy about, and Did you 
 97
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 speak, mamma, or did you just tell me to stop 
 talking?" 
 
 "I fancy one might as well expect to find a 
 gown which is really comfortable and fash 
 ionable too, as an apartment house which was 
 not apparently designed by a misanthropist," 
 said Mae, speaking very rapidly, as if she 
 feared the words might be taken from her 
 mouth. "I never knew an architect, but I 
 have somehow always thought of them as a 
 race of disappointed old bachelors, who re 
 venged themselves on the wo^ld by destroy 
 ing family life and comfort, by designing 
 modern apartment houses." 
 
 "And still, it must require some training 
 to enable one to design the Perfect house," said 
 Evelyn, thoughtfully. "I once knew a woman 
 who designed her own house, and yet, when 
 they moved into it, they had to sleep in the 
 closets and store their clothes in the bedrcoms 
 which was really not convenient, you know." 
 
 "The Perfect house, my dear young lady, 
 is the one you mean to design for yourself, 
 next year," said the Philosopher, warmly. 
 98
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Take my advice, and never, never let it go 
 further than the intention." 
 
 "Oh, but I am quite sure that I could design 
 a Perfect house," said Miss Adams. "Women 
 are the only true architects, after all." 
 
 "Then why on earth have they never under 
 taken it as a profession?" asked the Philoso 
 pher, looking mystified. 
 
 "Because they can be a great deal more com 
 fortable with some one else to blame for the 
 imperfections of a house," replied Evelyn, 
 promptly. "There is no use in undertaking 
 a thing yourself, when you can make some 
 one else do it, and then blame him, when you 
 change your mind." 
 
 "I have always wanted to design a house," 
 said Dolly, blushing very much at sound of 
 her own voice. "I should have plenty of win 
 dows in it, and in each bedroom there should 
 be two places where a bed might be placed, 
 without closing either door or windows." 
 
 "And a clothes-press in every hall!" cried 
 the Matron. "And stairs up which one could 
 
 99
 
 The Very Young 
 
 really disappear, when callers arrived unex 
 pectedly !" 
 
 "Yes, and there should be a nice view from 
 each window," cried Miss Adams. "And 
 catches on them, which really fasten, too!" 
 
 "And a place where vegetables could really 
 be kept!" cried Belinda. "And hardwood 
 floors, electric bells, all modern devices known 
 to plumbers, and locks which could not be 
 picked ! Such a house could be planned easily, 
 I am sure, and would cost very little." 
 
 "A mere song," agreed the Matron. 
 
 The Philosopher shook his head sorrow 
 fully. "Architecture, like philanthropy, is best 
 let alone, unless you are sure of being able to 
 leave to others the contemplation of your 
 failures," he sighed. "But have we not wan 
 dered a good way, from virtues to architec 
 ture?" 
 
 "I think we were merely engaged in proving 
 that faulty architecture goes far towards cul 
 tivating virtues which would otherwise be un 
 necessary," replied Belinda. 
 
 "Dear me," sighed Dolly; "are virtues ever 
 JOO
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 unnecessary? Life is such a comolex matter 
 already. Why will you clever people keep on 
 making it more complex for the rest of us, 
 rather than more simple ? I suppose that I am 
 very stupid, or worse yet, old-fashioned; but 
 I don't expect any sympathy for " 
 
 "Sympathy? Perish the thought!" cried 
 Tracy. "Show me a sympathetic person, and 
 I will show you a dangerous person. Do you 
 know, Miss Watterson, that sympathy is only 
 another name for flattery? And flattery, in 
 the hands of a woman under fifty, is more 
 dangerous than an automobile." 
 
 "You oughtn't to say that to Dolly, Mr. 
 Tracy; she is a very sympathetic person Mr. 
 Sweeting says so, and he ought to know, be 
 cause she sympathizes with him," said the 
 Angel Child. "Why, mamma, you surely don't 
 mind if I just repeat what he said, do you? 
 Dolly didn't mind at all ; she said she thought it 
 a shame that people had to study so hard before 
 they were admitted to the bar. What is a bar, 
 Mr. Tracy? I know that Mr. Rafferty is ad 
 mitted to one, because Mrs. Rafferty said the 
 JOJ
 
 other day, that it would be better for him if he 
 spent more time at his work and less at the bar, 
 Doesn't Mr. Sweeting know as much as Mr. 
 Rafferty?" 
 
 "Well, really, Master Wycoff, since I am 
 not Mr. Rafferty's wife, I hesitate to criticise 
 him. As for Mr. Sweeting, we disagree upon 
 most subjects, and I decline to incriminate 
 myself by pronouncing upon his mental acquire 
 ments or capacity." 
 
 "Oh !" said the Angel Child, looking mysti 
 fied. "You forgot to tell th' ladies that he isn't 
 coming to-day, didn't you? He says if you 
 were not a lady, Miss Belinda, he would ex 
 pect you to apologize to him for the things 
 you said to him, the day I had such a good 
 time playing burglar, and such a bad time with 
 mamma afterwards. And Miss Adams is a 
 
 cat. She Why, mamma, I don't see why 
 
 you look at me in that way; Mr. Sweeting 
 said it, and you said yourself, the other day, 
 that she was kittenish and it amounts to the 
 same thing !" 
 
 J02
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Little boys," began Miss Adams, with 
 heightened color, "should " 
 
 "Oh, I know what you are going to say, 
 Miss Adams; I have heard it often before. 
 'Little boys should be seen, not heard.' Well, 
 I don't know why God gave me a tongue, if 
 I'm never to use it. Yes, thank you, Dolly, 
 I will have another piece of cake. I guess 
 you must really be a sympathetic sort of a per 
 son, and you don't get much chance to talk 
 yourself, when Miss Belinda is around, do 
 you?" 
 
 "Speaking of sympathy, Mr. Tracy, it does 
 seem to me that men begrudge each other a 
 word of sympathy, as much as girls begrudge 
 each other new gowns. And yet, so long as 
 he keeps it out of the courts and the morgue, 
 you never hear anyone speak of man's jealousy 
 of man," remarked Evelyn. 
 
 "Oh, really, Miss Whiting, you don't ex 
 pect me to give away all the secrets of my 
 prison house, do you? I only know that you 
 can generally tell by the way a fellow con 
 descends to the ordinary affairs of life, at 
 JOS
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 breakfast, that some nice girl has been sym 
 pathizing with him over night, and he is still 
 on a pedestal. I suppose it is a melancholy 
 proof of fallen human nature, but somehow 
 you long to punch his head '" 
 
 "Instead of criticising his hat? I see. A 
 girl usually acts that way the first time she 
 is engaged, before she finds out that there is 
 many a slip between the ring and the license. 
 Still, if you don't mind a little snubbing, it 
 is the very time to ask her a favor she is sure 
 to grant it, out of sheer pity. But if it is the 
 loan of her newest waist or anything like that, 
 to show to your dressmaker, that you ask, you 
 had better take it with you and not wait for it 
 to be sent, for she will never think of it, or 
 you again, until they have their first quarrel 
 and then she will only remember to change her 
 mind." 
 
 "Oh, by the way, Mrs. Wycoff," said Mae, 
 "I think your sister Alice must be really en 
 gaged to Mr. Brownston. I met her yesterday, 
 and she told me that my new hat was awfully
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 becoming. Only a girl who was perfectly! 
 happy herself, would " 
 
 "Yes, but it was awfully on one side, dear," 
 broke in Evelyn; "somehow, I thought she 
 noticed that before she spoke. And she hasn't 
 a ring yet, for she was wearing an old pair 
 of gloves, and it stands to reason that if she 
 had it, she wouldn't have even worn new ones. 
 Of course, I don't ask any questions, Mrs. 
 Wycoff, but " 
 
 "I couldn't answer them, if you did, my dear. 
 You see, the affair has reached a point where 
 her family can only keep silence, and watch 
 that she doesn't set the house afire, burning 
 up old souvenirs, or go out in one boot and 
 one shoe, during one of her fits of abstraction. 
 I think that Mr. Brownston is nerving him 
 self up to the point of telling her what she al 
 ready knows so well, since he has confided his 
 secret to everyone else he knows. I don't see 
 how the poor girl will ever appear decently sur 
 prised, when he does manage to tell her per 
 sonally." 
 
 Tracy stiuddered. "Why doesn't somebo'dy 
 J05
 
 The Very Yoxing 
 
 tell the poor fellow ?" he asked. "I don't dcubt 
 that he is afraid to break it to her, believing 
 that it will be a great surprise. Has it ever 
 occurred to you, Hardy, that man is a blun 
 dering animal?" 
 
 "Frequently, my dear fellow; especially when 
 I take my sister to help me select a wedding 
 present, or when I turn around suddenly in an 
 apartment house parlor. After all, I begin 
 to see that the members of the fair sex can 
 not devote too much sympathy to us." 
 
 "Possibly not. Well, everything has it com 
 pensations. I often think that Hope was not 
 the only good gift left in Pandora's box. A 
 sense of humor goes as far as a fur-lined coat 
 towards making a fellow comfortable under 
 adverse circumstances. And you can enjoy 
 your sense of humor at the expense of others, 
 whereas your coat must be procured at your 
 own." 
 
 "Mamma hasn't any sense of humor," the 
 Angel Child said, suddenly. "Papa says she 
 wouldn't try to make pies, if she had." 
 
 "I have as fine a sense of humor as anybody,"
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 declared the Matron ; "only the things that hap 
 pen to other people are so much funnier than 
 the ones that happen to me. That is not my 
 fault, I am sure." 
 
 "Of course it isn't," said Tracy, gallantly; 
 "and I am sure that your pies " 
 
 "Indeed they are, Mr. Tracy. I shall send 
 you one to-morrow, and you must give me 
 an unprejudiced opinion on it." 
 
 Tracy deftly turned a shudder into a cough. 
 "Nothing would give me greater pleasure, I 
 assure you; but the doctor has strictly for 
 bidden me to even look at a pie. And I must 
 follow his instructions in something, you 
 know. No doubt, however, Mr. Sweeting 
 would be delighted to deliver an opinion on 
 the subject." 
 
 "Do you know, Mr. Tracy, Dolly thinks you 
 impose on Mr. Sweeting; she told him so the 
 other day, and he didn't deny it, either," spoke 
 the Angel Child. "And it does seem hard," 
 he continued, with a sigh, "that mamma will 
 never give me more than one piece of pie, when 
 I am the only person that ever asks for it, too ! 
 J07
 
 The Very Young Ma.i\ 
 
 She tells me it is unwholesome, and I don't see 
 why she cries when papa won't eat it." 
 
 "Oh, do you know," broke in Evelyn, "I 
 have a friend who always gives her husband 
 pie for dinner when she wants a bill paid or 
 theater tickets ordered. She " 
 
 "I er hope there is no insanity in your 
 friend's family, Miss Whiting," observed 
 Tracy; "the courts might take it as evidence 
 if, at any time " 
 
 "None at all. You see, she always has 
 remedies at hand, and when Le is out of danger, 
 he is so thankful, that he is willing to do any 
 thing she asks. I don't know a young married 
 woman anywhere who pays her bills as 
 promptly and goes to the theater as often as 
 she does." 
 
 "And yet, they say that women have no 
 sense of humor," sighed Tracy. "But such is 
 the modesty of true genius, that I doubt if 
 your friend is even aware that she is a humor 
 ist." 
 
 "I think that dear Alys is fully aware of 
 
 JOS
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 all her good points, and even of some which 
 do not exist," replied Evelyn, smiling. 
 
 "But, then, you know, her mother has been 
 married three times, and she started in matri 
 mony with an unfair advantage," said Mae. 
 "In consequence of this, the dear girl is so so 
 tactful, that she can hardly tell the truth even 
 to the doctor." 
 
 "What a deteriorating effect matrimony has 
 upon some women," said Miss Adams, shak 
 ing her head, more in sorrow than in anger. 
 
 "What can you expect since they marry 
 men?" queried Tracy, smiling. 
 
 "I hope you don't confound cynicism with 
 humor, Mr. Tracy," spoke the Matron; "for 
 my own part, I think placards should announce 
 the dwelling-place of the cynic, just as they 
 do the abode of the smallpox or scarlet-fever 
 patient." 
 
 "I am not a cynic, dear lady ; merely a news 
 paper man. The interviewer, the physician 
 and the police court judge sometimes come to 
 see things a bit out of proportion. You see, we 
 get into the habit of leaving our rose-colored 
 J09
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 glasses at home, when we go out to face the 
 vanity, the wretchedness and the vice of hu 
 manity. And sometimes, when we are off duty 
 and try to readjust the glasses once more, we 
 find the injury to the optic nerve is permanent 
 and we can no longer see through them." 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Tracy, how dreadful !" cried Dolly. 
 "Let me give you a fresh cup of tea ; I am sure 
 that yours is quite cold. And won't you take 
 that easy-chair over yonder? I am sure that 
 it is more comfortable." 
 
 "Thank you, Miss Watterson; but I have 
 not even a crumpled tea-leaf to inconvenience 
 me. And you really must not reward me for 
 speaking of unpleasant things." 
 
 "You were speaking of Pandora's box, a 
 while ago," said the Philosopher. "It has oc 
 curred to me that it might have contained, 
 in some unsuspected corner, a package of tea; 
 surely, nothing is more comforting than a cup 
 of it, unless it be a pair of old boots, or a sizable 
 check, filled out by some one else." 
 
 "It depends on the kind of tea," demurred 
 Evelyn, "I have tasted some which was cal- 
 
 no
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 culated to make one go out and commit murder, 
 and then glory in the fact. Has it ever oc 
 curred to you, Mr. Hardy, that a great many 
 crimes are committed in the name of hospi 
 tality?" 
 
 "It has; it has," sighed the Philosopher, 
 "You see, I have a great many ycung married 
 friends, and they invite me to dinner." 
 
 "So have I," said Tracy, gloomily. "I've 
 often wondered why people are so prodigal 
 with invitations before they have learned how 
 to give a really good dinner, and so niggardly 
 with them, after they have learned!" 
 
 "The latter is the more inexplicable, since 
 they only learn how to do it by experimenting 
 on their bachelor friends." 
 
 "Possibly that is why they no longer invite 
 them," observed Evelyn, thoughtfully; "one 
 really dyspeptic guest can destroy the jollity 
 of an entire party, you know." 
 
 "True," the Philosopher agreed. "Ah, well, 
 young physicians learn by means of sometimes 
 fatal experiment ; why should not young house 
 keepers enjoy the same privilege?"
 
 The Very Yo\mg Man 
 
 The Angel Child slid off his chair and 
 wakened from the slumber into which he had 
 fallen. 
 
 "Why, is that Mr. Hardy still talking?" he 
 asked, as he rubbed his eyes. "I think he must 
 talk in his sleep, like you say I do, mamma. 
 Oh, dear, have I said anything very bad? If 
 I have, I wish you'd tell me now, and I'll stay 
 down here with Dolly until you've forgotten it. 
 I think that cake is going to make me sick any 
 how, and I might just as well eat a little more, 
 while I am about it. I think you might let 
 me, mamma, because if I am very sick, you 
 will not have to go to Grandma WycofFs whist 
 
 party. You said " his voice died away on 
 
 the stair. 
 
 "Who was it that said conversation was 
 merely the concealment of one's thoughts?" 
 Tracy asked, dreamily. 
 
 "I don't know," replied the Philosopher; 
 "but I begin to see that there may have been 
 mitigating circumstances in the murder of the 
 young princes in the Tower. Take my word 
 for it, Richard the Third was not such a bad fel 
 low as Shakespeare has made him appear." 
 
 in
 
 CHatpter VI 
 
 "AFTER all, philanthropy is the only door to 
 true happiness," remarked Belinda, as she 
 handed the Philosopher a cup of tea. 
 
 The Philosopher smiled: "I suppose that 
 even a philanthropist may be happy when he 
 has ceased to expect gratitude." 
 
 "Nonsense; the only happy philanthropist is 
 the dead philanthropist," observed Tracy. 
 "However, when an enthusiast gets through 
 sowing his philanthropical wild oats and settles 
 down to be merely charitable, he is really some 
 good in the world." 
 
 The Philosopher nodded : "The poor had 
 rather absorb dinners than theories, any day 
 in the week, Miss Manly; a fact which shows 
 that the poor are human, if they are not agreea 
 ble. I doubt if a hungry person ever takes 
 much interest in the scheme which is to revolu 
 tionize social conditions in the next cenuiry. 
 
 m
 
 The Very Yo\mg Ma.n 
 
 But you have evidently a philanthropical 
 scheme on hand, and it is as useless to argue 
 with a philanthropist as " 
 
 "It is to reason with a hired girl," broke 
 in the Matron; "of course it is. Well, I have 
 just lost a bargain, and I am feeling as pes 
 simistic as an old maid whose seventeen-year- 
 old niece is about to be married. Tell me your 
 plans, Belinda, and I will, at least, be polite 
 about them." 
 
 "Philanthropy can afford to smile at flip 
 pancy," said Belinda, loftily. "My plan is 
 very simple and very practical. I have de 
 cided to devote my future spare time to the 
 Art education of poor boys, who will be led 
 by degrees to desire the refinements which they 
 see about me, and who will thus be elevated 
 socially and intellectually, at the same time." 
 
 The Matron sat suddenly upright. 
 "Belinda Manly, you don't mean to say that 
 you mean to bring them here?" 
 
 Belinda cast one wavering look at the sofa 
 pillows which were her most cherished posses 
 sions. "Here," she said firmly. "I shall be- 
 114
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 gin to-morrow, and Dolly will help me. I 
 shall explain Art to them, with the aid of really 
 good pictures, and Dolly will teach them to 
 appreciate Bach." 
 
 "You are wise to take your pupils young," 
 said the Philosopher. "Bach and the old 
 masters are not loved in a day. May I ask 
 what has turned your ideas into this channel ?" 
 
 "You may. I was in the parlor this morn 
 ing, dusting the bric-a-brac, when I heard a 
 tap at the door. I happened to have in my 
 hand that lovely pipe rack which represents 
 the Seven Deadly Sins the one my aunt sent 
 me from Rome, last winter, you remember 
 and I went without putting it down. On the 
 threshold stood a ragged boy, with the loveli 
 est eyes I ever saw." 
 
 "It is odd that one's philanthropical instincts 
 always go out towards beautiful eyes," mused 
 the Philosopher. "I suppose that people with 
 small, or even crossed eyes, suffer quite as 
 much, but " 
 
 "He wanted work," went on Belinda, un 
 heeding; "he was even hungry, in this, a 
 H5
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 Christian land! And you should have seen 
 how his eyes glistened when they fell upon 
 that pipe rack. He was so respectful and so 
 intelligent that I brought him in and showed 
 him that copy of the 'Madonna of the Chair,' 
 and I even went and got Dolly's drawings 
 from casts, too. You should have seen his 
 pathetic pleasure ! I am a judge of character, 
 and I feel that that boy is destined to great 
 things. Such transparent honesty I have never 
 seen pictured on any human face, and I feel 
 that it will be a privilege to teach him." 
 
 "Oh, that pipe rack; the thought of it 
 makes me ill," said the Matron. "I had a 
 chance " 
 
 "Yes. Well, the end of it was that he went 
 away promising to return to-morrow evening 
 and bring several other lads with him, to learn 
 the rudiments of Art. And now I feel that 
 I have at last found my life work! As for 
 gratitude, Mr. Hardy, if you had seen that 
 child's eyes when I " 
 
 "Gave him his dinner? Yes, no doubt, 
 
 ill
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "I I forgot to give him anything to eat!" 
 cried Belinda. "You see, I was so busy plan 
 ning a great future for him, that I " 
 
 "Of course you did," said the Matron, 
 soothingly. "Well, no doubt Mrs. Rafferty 
 gave him something to eat; she is not at all 
 philanthropical. But, Belinda, you will be 
 sorry to know that such pipe racks are becom 
 ing common. I had a chance to buy one for a 
 dollar to-day. The boy who had carved it, 
 offered it to me at that price; I couldn't find 
 my pocketbook anywhere, however, and he was 
 in such a hurry that he couldn't wait, so I lost 
 it." 
 
 "I know where your pocketbook is, 
 mamma!" cried the Angel Child. "I was 
 playing fisherman at the bathroom window, 
 and I had it tied to the end of my line for a 
 fish, and so " 
 
 "Good gracious, where is it now?" wailed 
 the Matron. "Tell me this minute, what you 
 did with it afterwards!" 
 
 "Oh, it is all right, mamma. I caught my 
 fish and threw it into water to keep fresh, like 
 117
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 papa does, when he comes home from a fish 
 ing trip. You needn't worry about it, mamma ; 
 it is made out of alligator skin, and alligators 
 live in the water, you know. Oh, dear, I 
 think little boys have a dreadful time, when 
 everything that is really nice is naughty! I 
 think I will go down to see Mr. Sweeting 
 awhile now. He seems to sympathize with me 
 a great deal, now that Dolly is such a friend 
 of mine." 
 
 "By the way, what has become of our friend, 
 Mr. Sweeting?" queried the Matron. "I have 
 not seen him to-day, which is remarkable, 
 since I usually have to remove Edward forci 
 bly from his presence, at least twice a day." 
 
 "Mr. Sweeting is at present employed in 
 the laudable occupation of preparing to make 
 a name for himself, evidently with the gener 
 ous intention of bestowing it upon some one 
 else," replied Tracy. "He began this some 
 what herculean task at precisely four minutes 
 to six, yesterday afternoon. I think by this 
 time he must have read and digested the greater 
 portion of the works in his by no means in-
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 considerable library. He informs me that 
 hereafter he will be unable to mingle with the 
 madding crowd, in consequence of this toil. 
 It appears that, with the exception of a walk 
 between the hours of four and six each after 
 noon, he will devote himself unremittingly to 
 a life of honest toil. When I left him a short 
 time ago, he was busily engaged in figuring on 
 a slip of paper the exact amount a man would 
 be obliged to earn each year in order to keep 
 a house in town during the winter, and a 
 cottage by the sea, in summer, with an occa 
 sional trip abroad for two persons. From his 
 facial expression, I gathered that he was not 
 pleased with the result of his calculations." 
 
 "Why, you go for a walk between four and 
 six, each afternoon, don't you, Dolly?" asked 
 Miss Adams, suddenly. 
 
 "I er that is, sometimes," faltered Dolly; 
 "a great many people go out at that time, you 
 know." 
 
 "A great many," said Evelyn, quietly. "It 
 is evident that you and Mr. Sweeting succeeded 
 in finding Edward last evening, Dolly. You 
 M9
 
 The Very Yo\mg Man 
 
 both seemed a good deal agitated about his 
 disappearance, when I passed you in the park 
 so much so, indeed, that I did not even 
 stop to speak to you." 
 
 Dolly flushed scarlet, to the tips of her pretty 
 ears. "Oh, Mrs. Wycoff, he is quite safe!" 
 she cried. "We found him eventually; indeed 
 we did!" 
 
 "I am quite well aware of that fact, my 
 dear," smiled the Matron. "It may after all 
 be merely the candy he ate, and not a forth 
 coming illness, which has made him so thought 
 ful to-day. Did you lose him, or did he lose 
 you?" 
 
 "I well, you see, it was this way: I took 
 him to feed the bears in the park, as you know, 
 and oddly enough, we happened to meet Mr. 
 Sweeting there. He joined us, and we were 
 just talking on some ordinary subject " 
 
 "Such as the duty of a young man to make 
 a name for himself," suggested Tracy, with 
 great gravity. 
 
 "I I don't recollect exactly what it was; 
 but I suddenly remembered that it was time 
 J20
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 to go home, and Edward was nowhere to be 
 found. Mr. Sweeting wanted to bring me 
 home and go back to look for him, but I said 
 that I wouldn't come home to a warm, com 
 fortable room, while that darling child was out 
 in the cold, and hungry too, perhaps. So we 
 hunted everywhere, and the people of whom 
 we made enquiries concerning him, kept us so 
 long, while they dilated on our carelessness, 
 that it took us much longer than necessary. 
 One old gentleman said that we ought to be 
 reported to the Society for the Prevention of 
 Cruelty to Children !" 
 
 "He evidently did not know Edward's power 
 of resource," said the Matron, soothingly. 
 "But where did you find him ?" 
 
 "Quite at the other end of the park. He was 
 talking to the very tallest policeman I ever saw. 
 He was telling him that he did not know why 
 grown people would not let little boys do as 
 they wanted, because they were always good 
 when they were amused. He had been riding 
 in a pony cart, and he had a large paper of 
 buttered popcorn, a package of chocolates and
 
 The Very Yo\mg Ma.n 
 
 an orange. I am afraid that he was not really 
 very glad to see us." 
 
 "Why, Dolly Watterson, to think you never 
 said a word to me about it and I thought 
 you told me everything!" cried Belinda. 
 
 "I I didn't want to worry you, dear," 
 Dolly faltered. "And then, you see, I knew 
 you would feel it your duty to scold me for my 
 carelessness, if I told you. So I merely, as 
 you remember, said I had a headache, for I 
 felt that I really needed a little coddling, after 
 my fright." 
 
 "After all, you seem to have been the victim, 
 rather than the culprit. It is easy to see that it 
 was all the fault of Mr. Sweeting!" Belinda 
 said. 
 
 "The way of the victim is usually a great 
 deal harder than that of the transgressor," re 
 marked the Philosopher. "Take my advice, 
 Miss Watterson, and never, never blame your 
 self publicly for anything, hereafter. You 
 will always find some one else ready and will 
 ing to take that part off your hands and do 
 the job thoroughly, too." 
 J22
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Yes, even the most niggardly person is 
 generous in the matter of criticism," sighed 
 Tracy. "It is a thing which no one, not even 
 a rich relation, hesitates to give freely. Which 
 is singular, since he regards his own opinion 
 as a thing of value," he added, thoughtfully. 
 
 "The power of self-appreciation is a singu 
 lar thing," observed the Philosopher. "I have 
 known men who expected their wives to be 
 grateful for the gift of a new cook-book." 
 
 "Oh, that is nothing ; I have known a pretty 
 girl to expect a homely one to be overwhelmed 
 with gratitude when she gave her her photo 
 graph, unasked," said Evelyn. "And when 
 that photograph was a flattered one, too," she 
 added. 
 
 The Philosopher shrugged his shoulders. 
 "At any rate, your pretty girl had a touching 
 belief in human nature. A belief which is, 
 in this case, no more justified than is that of 
 the amateur author who presents copies of his 
 book, with the leaves uncut, to all his friends." 
 
 "Knowing well that his enemies will buy it 
 for themselves, eh ?" Tracy smiled. "After all, 
 J23
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 why should not your true idealist begin by 
 idealizing himself? Amiable persons are 
 much more agreeable than unamiable ones 
 and to be really amiable, one must be at least 
 fairly well satisfied with himself." 
 
 "Some people are unfairly satisfied with 
 themselves," remarked Evelyn. "Still, I admit 
 that self-satisfied people are much pleasanter 
 to know intimately than candid ones." 
 
 "Since being candid usually means being 
 ill-natured," agreed Tracy. "Well, a little 
 tactful dissimulation is not always a bad thing, 
 in its way. If there was no such thing, there 
 would be fewer good hostesses than there 
 are." 
 
 "I have often wondered just where, in agree 
 able conversation, the compliment leaves off 
 and the lie begins," observed the Matron. "I 
 can't say, however, that I am ever moved to 
 consider this view of the question, when the 
 compliment is paid to myself!" 
 
 "People usually mean unpleasant things 
 when they give speech to them; why not the 
 
 J24
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 pleasant ones, as well?" said the Philosopher, 
 benignly. 
 
 "It is evident that you were never a woman, 
 Mr. Hardy," replied Evelyn. "But, Belinda, 
 do I understand that you and Dolly mean to 
 devote yourselves to dirty little boys, when 
 thre are so many really interesting things in 
 the world, such as " 
 
 "Teas and clubs and millinery, I suppose you 
 mean! Yes, we do; and in their appreciation 
 we shall build ourselves a monument 
 which " 
 
 "It hardly seems to me that you and Dolly 
 will require a monument for some time, dear. 
 At least people seldom turn their thoughts to 
 wards philanthropy until after they have lost 
 their complexions." 
 
 "Philanthropy is not a matter of complexion, 
 but of hearts," said Dolly. "I I don't know 
 that I should have turned towards anything 
 with such a long name, but for Belinda. I 
 fear that I am a very commonplace person." 
 
 "You are anything but commonplace, Dolly 
 Watterson," cried the Matron. "Why, I ac-
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 tually believe that you are quite sure that other 
 people know as much as you do. And I'd like 
 to know what could prove greater originality 
 than that?" 
 
 "Talking of originality, I know a man who 
 actually takes flowers home to his own wife," 
 said Tracy ; "he is quite sane, so I conclude that 
 he is merely original." 
 
 "Perhaps his mother-in-law wants him to 
 save money," suggested Evelyn. "He must 
 have some motive for such recklessness, you 
 know." 
 
 "I notice that the man who is most prodigal 
 of gifts during courtship, is the one who is 
 most unpleasant over his wife's bills after 
 wards," said Miss Adams, cheerfully. 
 
 "There is such a difference between volun 
 tary offering and taxation without representa 
 tion," observed Tracy, modestly. 
 
 "You have had new locks put on the door, 
 haven't you, Miss Manly?" asked the Matron, 
 suddenly turning the conversation. 
 
 "We have," replied Belinda; "and they are 
 so complicated that we might almost as well 
 J26
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 be in jail it is so difficult to unfasten them. 
 Sometimes we are afraid that we may be im 
 mured, like the unhappy ladies who differed 
 with their families in politics or love, during 
 the Middle Ages. I suppose, however, if the 
 worst happened, we could be fed through the 
 keyhole, until they sent for a really experienced 
 burglar to get us out." 
 
 "At any rate, you would not be as badly 
 off as the Hibernian gentleman who, on being 
 locked in his own safe, called for a light that he 
 might see to get out," said Tracy. 
 
 "Nor yet as badly off as the gentleman who 
 expects to be hanged in a few hours," retorted 
 Belinda. "Still, I fancy that we should be 
 sufficiently uncomfortable. However, I think 
 that " 
 
 "Mr. Sweeting would be only too glad to 
 fly to your rescue? I am sure of it." 
 
 "I meant Mr. Rafferty," said Belinda, with 
 great dignity. "He will make the more effort, 
 since we have promised him to tell the agent 
 that he really needs an assistant." 
 
 "Who, since his salary is smaller, will have
 
 The Very Young 
 
 things evened up by being given the greater 
 part of the work to do," remarked the Philoso 
 pher. "Rest easy, Miss Manly; you are in no 
 danger of being obliged to waste your youth 
 immured in a locked flat. Heaven may help 
 those who help themselves ; but Man helps those 
 who help him, in return." 
 
 "I guess it's a good thing you have plenty of 
 locks on your doors, Dolly," said the Angel 
 Child, suddenly. "Yes, I came back a few 
 minutes ago. Mr. Sweeting was too busy to 
 be entertaining, anyhow, and he said he thought 
 I had better go home, so I took the hint and 
 went down to see Mrs. Rafferty. I like Mrs. 
 Rafferty; she makes such good doughnuts that 
 I am sure she is a very good woman. Mr. 
 Rafferty was there, too; I guess he must like 
 doughnuts, for after I had eaten a good many, 
 he said he was afraid you would be uneasy 
 about me, mamma. And he says I must not 
 scare the ladies, but I had better tell them that 
 there are thieves around." 
 
 "Oh, my goodness," wailed Miss Adams ; "I 
 knew that would be the way of it. Just when
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 I have borrowed my sister's silver teapot, too. 
 I am not sure that I can afford one for myself, 
 and I am quite sure that I cannot afford to re 
 place hers, if it is stolen !" 
 
 "And my new hat is not paid for !" moaned 
 the Matron. "I suppose they would expect the 
 money for it, even if the hat was stolen people 
 in trade are so selfish!" 
 
 "How does Mr. Rafferty know that thieves 
 are about?" demanded Belinda. "And why 
 did he let them come about? I shall speak to 
 the agent, if " 
 
 "He says the policeman on the beat told him 
 he saw a young sneak thief come out of the 
 building this morning," observed the Angel 
 Child, with relish. "He was too busy to do 
 anything himself he was watching a dog 
 fight, for fear the dogs might bite somebody; 
 but he thought Mr. Rafferty ought to know. 
 And Mr. Rafferty says that he was hired to be 
 janitor and not policeman, and he doesn't want 
 to be killed, so he won't hunt burglars for any 
 body except Mr. Sweeting and Mr. Tracy, be 
 cause they pay him well. He believes that 
 J29
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 Miss Adams would let him be killed twenty 
 times and then give him a nickel for his trou 
 ble." 
 
 "Well, I must go right upstairs," said the 
 Matron. "I shall pound on the floor, if I need 
 assistance. This seems to be my unlucky day, 
 so I suppose that the thieves have already been 
 through my flat. It will be just my luck if 
 they have taken all of Harold's things and left 
 my own, so that he will be obliged to get a lot 
 of new ones, while I wear my old ones that 
 much longer to make up for the expense. Be 
 fore I go, I wish you would let me see that pipe 
 rack of yours, Miss Manly. I want to be sure 
 that the one I might have bought is just like it, 
 in case the boy comes back with it." 
 
 "Why, certainly ; it is in its usual place over 
 there why, no it isn't! Dolly Watterson, 
 what have you done with my pipe rack?" 
 
 "I haven't touched it, dear. It was there 
 when " 
 
 "You need not look for it, Miss Manly," 
 said the Philosopher, calmly. "And you, Mrs. 
 Wycoff, will never have another chance to buy 
 J30
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 one for a dollar. Miss Manly has evidently 
 implanted such a love for Art in the breast of 
 her young protege, that " 
 
 "Oh, my goodness," cried the Matron; "it 
 was your pipe rack that the little wretch of 
 fered to me, and I " 
 
 "His eyes are evidently his fortune," re 
 marked Tracy. "Well, philanthropy, like 
 virtue, is ever its own reward. I fancy that 
 you need not prepare for your class in art in 
 struction to-morrow evening, Miss Manly." 
 
 But Belinda made no reply. She was look 
 ing helplessly at the bare spot on the wall where 
 her treasure had been wont to hang.
 
 Chapter VII 
 
 "WHAT is your definition of an optimist?" 
 queried the Matron. 
 
 "An optimist is a person who has just eaten 
 a good dinner," replied the Philosopher, stir 
 ring his tea. 
 
 "Or a girl who is wearing for the first time a 
 really successful gown," observed Evelyn. 
 
 "I should say that the widow who marries 
 for the second time, is a much better exponent 
 of optimism than either of the persons you have 
 mentioned," remarked Miss Adams, with the 
 manner of one who casts a bomb into the air. 
 
 "And there is the lady who tints her peachy 
 cheeks in a dim light, and then ventures into 
 a strong one," suggested Tracy. 
 
 "Not to mention the man who expects to es 
 tablish a reputation for wit by telling a mother- 
 in-law joke at an afternoon tea," said Mae, 
 dreamily. 
 
 J33
 
 The Very Young 
 
 "Nonsense; your true optimist is the indi 
 vidual who expects his acquaintances to speak 
 well of him behind his back," cried Belinda, 
 blithely. 
 
 "Are there really such benighted persons?" 
 Tracy asked. "If so, they are living exponents 
 of the triumph of hope over experience. But 
 why this startling question, dear lady?" 
 
 The Matron hesitated. "I I met an old 
 sweetheart of my husband, yesterday. She 
 paid me some very nice compliments, and 
 
 "Oh, you poor thing! And you thought 
 you were ' becoming pessimistic, just because 
 you doubted their sincerity, didn't you?" cried 
 Evelyn. "Well, if you had believed them, you 
 would have been a true optimist, that's all ! 
 I have a married sister who is in danger of 
 accumulating too much flesh. Every time she 
 weighs over a certain amount, she packs her 
 trunks and goes to visit the woman who used 
 to be engaged to her husband, before she knew 
 him. After she comes away, she frets her 
 self quite thin over stories her hostess has told 
 her concerning the devotion expressed for her 
 J34
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 in former years by a broken-hearted lover, 
 whose name is never mentioned. She is afraid 
 it might have been Dick, you know." 
 
 "But why on earth doesn't she ask him, once 
 for all, and so set her mind at rest?" queried 
 the Philosopher, looking mystified. 
 
 "She couldn't be sure whether he told the 
 truth, if he said it was somebody else, or 
 whether he had merely forgotten. In the latter 
 case, she is sure that he would forget all about 
 her, within six months, if she happened to die 
 first. I've known her to lose twenty pounds 
 over that one aspect of the case alone." 
 
 "But she might fret herself into an untimely 
 grave, if she allows a thing like that to take 
 hold of her," said the Philosopher. 
 
 "H'm, so she might if she hadn't other 
 things to console her. You see, she makes re 
 turn confidences, by telling how Dick gave her 
 a peck of locks of hair, of various shades, to 
 make a sofa pillow out of, after they were 
 married, and what a quantity of photographs 
 of girls, taken in the style of ten years ago, she 
 found in his bureau drawer. She adds that 
 J35
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 she fears he was a sad flirt, and must have 
 broken a great many hearts before he found a 
 girl whom he could really love. I think the 
 old sweetheart loses some flesh too, after one 
 of Kathleen's visits." 
 
 Tracy shuddered. "Give me another cup 
 of tea, if you please, Miss Watterson, and pray 
 put plenty of sugar in it, for I feel faint. Be 
 fore long, I shall be asking the exact defini 
 tion of a cynic, in the fear that it correctly 
 diagnoses my own case." 
 
 "Cynicism is the refuge of the morally des 
 titute, who prefer to take their own vices as a 
 standard, rather than the virtues of others," 
 said the Philosopher, gravely. "Whatever 
 you do, my dear fellow, never descend to cheap 
 cynicism." 
 
 "Is cynicism cheap?" queried Tracy. "To 
 me, it always seems dearly bought with the 
 loss of faith, which allows one no longer to be 
 a depositor in the bank of Hope. However, 
 few people have sympathy for either deafness 
 or cynicism, unles they happen to suffer from 
 them personally."
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "I suppose not; but then nothing is more 
 soothing than the contemplation of the weak 
 nesses of others," mused the Philosopher. 
 "The mere thought of them is sufficient to 
 create such a pleasant glow of conscious virtue, 
 that one would be polite even to a bill collec 
 tor." 
 
 "Yes; I know that. I can quite forgive 
 Anne's expensive gowns, when I remember 
 that she buys her complexion at the same shop," 
 remarked Evelyn. "And, then, poor dear, she 
 really needs some excuse for her vanity !" 
 
 "Odd, isn't it ? that vanity only exists in the 
 third person," the Philosopher murmured to 
 the Matron. "In the first person, its place is 
 taken by self-respect; in the second by polite 
 ness. Ah, well, the absent are able to bear 
 all things with fortitude." 
 
 "And we wouldn't be half as nice to unpleas 
 ant people when we meet them, if we were not 
 guiltily conscious of the things we have said be 
 hind their backs," the Matron retorted. 
 
 Dolly's face was very pink, and her hands 
 trembled as she moved them among her tea- 
 J37
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 cups. "Oh, dear, you are very witty," she 
 sighed; "but need one be unkind in order to 
 be clever ?" 
 
 "Console yourself, my dear young lady," 
 said the Philosopher, gayly; "the absent are 
 quite accustomed to being in the wrong. Be 
 sides which, they have their own point of view 
 for consolation. People who expect others to 
 share equally their own opinion of themselves, 
 are no longer optimists they are egotists." 
 
 "And the egotist really needs very little sym 
 pathy," added the Matron. 
 
 "Very little from the common herd; since 
 he is always sure of plenty from the person 
 he loves best," agreed the Philosopher. "The 
 airs of Arcady are still blowing for you, Miss 
 Dolly ; the best wish I can offer you is that they 
 may never cease to blow." 
 
 "I see that you are coming out strong in 
 the role of first-aid-to-the-wounded illusions, 
 Hardy," said Tracy; "a fact which proves that 
 no philosopher took his own medicine without 
 a wry face." 
 
 "Speaking of optimism, I wonder why peo- 
 J38
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 pie will insist upon having big weddings and 
 inviting a lot of people who do not want to 
 go!" remarked Evelyn, suddenly. "I suppose 
 that no one is ever really interested in the 
 wedding of anybody else except, of course, 
 the florist and the caterer; and yet even the 
 most sensible people will ask you " 
 
 "Do the most sensible people marry?" 
 queried Tracy, with lifted brows, "Really, 
 now, I never should have thought it." 
 
 "Ah, well, it is sometimes involuntary," re 
 plied Evelyn, soothingly; "they say that it takes 
 two to make a match, but " 
 
 "I think that is a quarrel, isn't it?" said 
 Dolly, innocently. 
 
 "Or a series of them it is all the same, dear. 
 However, the two in this case may be the bride 
 and her mother." 
 
 "Or the bridegroom and her wealthy grand 
 father," said Mae, dreamily. 
 
 "Oh, yes, of course. Where was I? Oh! 
 
 And yet, even the most sensible girl will ask 
 
 you to her wedding and expect you to be as 
 
 much interested in it as she is besides giving 
 
 J39
 
 The Very Young 
 
 her a handsome present, which is enough to 
 take the interest out of anything. In the case 
 of the bridesmaids, it is all right; they must 
 expect to pay some price for the fun they get 
 out of their new gowns and the anguish of 
 the bridegroom. I was maid of honor at a 
 big wedding in the country last week." She 
 sighed at the recollection. "I rather enjoyed 
 it, because Suzanne asked me instead of Irene, 
 who had fully expected it. Somehow the 
 bloom was taken off it, the day after I got 
 back. I went to see Irene and tell her all about 
 it. I wish now that I had stayed at home." 
 
 "Irene's visitors usually do," remarked Mae. 
 "Did she tell you of how she once went shop 
 ping in Paris ? Or what a rough passage they 
 had in crossing? Or " 
 
 "Their experiences in the Custom House? 
 No, for a wonder, she didn't. She listened 
 to my story, and then she said, 'So you went 
 to dear Suzanne's wedding, did you? I re 
 member hearing that you were to to give her 
 away or something like that.' Oh, you needn't 
 laugh, Mr. Tracy; I didn't, I assure you." 
 J40
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "But you stayed a long time," said Mae, ex 
 pectantly ; "so it stands to reason that you must 
 have said something to her, in return." 
 
 "Not that time, dear. I went to see her 
 maiden aunt that same afternoon. We talked 
 a good deal about Irene." 
 
 "H'm," said the Matron ; "and maiden aunts 
 and undertakers never flatter." 
 
 "Very true. I am going to see the dear girl 
 one day next week, and I shall take Tom Clip 
 per with me, just to show that I bear no 
 malice !" 
 
 "You will not need to when you come 
 away," smiled Mae. 
 
 "Thank you, dear; your faith in me is very 
 pleasant and I will do my best, in this case, to 
 deserve it." 
 
 "Somehow, I can't help pitying Miss Irene," 
 said Tracy; "to know unpleasant facts con 
 cerning one's self is one thing to have one's 
 dear friends refer to them is another." 
 
 "People who live in glass houses should 
 eschew all stones, save the philosopher's one,"
 
 The Very Young 
 
 remarked Evelyn. "Somehow, I am quite 
 looking forward to next week." 
 
 "You are unusually silent to-day, dear lady," 
 observed the Philosopher to the Matron. "I 
 nope that your son and heir is not lost again." 
 
 "He is not. He is at the present moment 
 with Mr. Sweeting, who is far too polite to tell 
 me the half that occurs during the interview. 
 In consequence, I am quite comfortable about 
 the dear child. However, I have griefs of my 
 own ; I got a bundle of proofs from the pho 
 tographer this morning." 
 
 "Ah h. There are some negatives, two of 
 which are not equal to an affirmative of one's 
 own opinion," sighed the Philosopher. "I feel 
 for you ; indeed I do. I, too, have visited the 
 photographer recently. I suppose that the 
 camera might not justly be called an infernal 
 machine, and yet it can blow one's vanity into 
 infinitesimal bits, if it gets the chance." 
 
 "Ah, yes; the truth about one's self is mostly 
 unpleasant. However, it is an ill wind that 
 blows nobody fair. The contents of the pho 
 tographer's envelope make me feel very 
 J42
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 ful to my husband for marrying me so much 
 so indeed, that I have suggested to him that he 
 select his new set of shirts himself." 
 
 "Ah, then, you are surely even with him 
 and none of your friends will see the photo 
 graphs while they are recognizable," said the 
 Philosopher, consolingly. "Things are never 
 quite as bad as they might be, you know." 
 
 "True. I might, for instance, have been a 
 t\yin. Think of having to see in a strong light, 
 the sister who was constantly mistaken for me, 
 when she had eaten rarebit the night before, 
 or was wearing an unbecoming gown." 
 
 "That would, indeed, be tragic; worse than 
 coming suddenly face to face with yourself in 
 a strange mirror," said Evelyn. "Strange, 
 isn't it? how much better one always looks in 
 the mirror of one's own selecting." 
 
 "Oh, well, mirrors, like figures, never lie 
 but they sometimes prevaricate," Mae said. 
 
 "Prevarication is the life of mutual admira 
 tion," remarked Tracy. "It seems to me, that 
 the man who manufactures mirrors which
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 really flatter, must be a philanthropist, at 
 heart." 
 
 "No, merely a good business man," spoke 
 Mae. "Well, our relatives can always be de 
 pended on to tell us the truth, and more, con 
 cerning our personal appearance. Let us insist 
 upon having mirrors which tell less. I once 
 knew a woman who had decided to have a 
 divorce, when some one gave her a Psyche 
 mirror, which flattered like well, like an army 
 officer. When she looked into it for the first 
 time, she felt so sorry for the man who was 
 about to lose her, that she decided to forgive 
 him all. He has now taken her abroad, so I 
 am sure that she, at least, is happy." 
 
 "I suppose that the woman who goes abroad 
 for the first time, is happy even when she is 
 seasick," mused Tracy. "It is her friends who 
 are unhappy when she comes back and tells 
 them all about it." 
 
 "Not when she mentions the seasickness," 
 Evelyn cried. "It does seem sometimes that 
 there are compensations in all things." 
 
 "I am sure that there are no compensations,
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 after a burglary;" it was, of course, Miss 
 Adams who spoke. 
 
 "Well, there is at any rate, the consolation 
 of telling your friends the value, set by your 
 self, of the stolen articles," said the Philoso 
 pher. "Odd, is it not? how differently we 
 value our possessions to our friends and the 
 tax collector!" 
 
 "At any rate, the tax collector is never a 
 friend," said the Matron. "By the way, I once 
 knew a young couple whose friends furnished 
 a flat for them while they were absent on their 
 wedding journey." 
 
 "Which was very agreeable of the friends," 
 commented Tracy. 
 
 "That is a matter of opinion you never saw 
 the furniture. I did. You see, her friends 
 thought his friends a lot of meddlers, who 
 should have sent checks instead of articles of 
 furniture, and his friends thought hers a grasp 
 ing set, so they did not agree very well. In 
 consequence, that flat looked a very pleasant 
 place in which to die, when the bridal pair came 
 into it. You must imagine what the result 
 H5
 
 The Very Yo\mg Ma.n 
 
 would be when twenty-nine different people 
 sent various articles of furniture, and carpets, 
 and hangings of varying colors! My powers 
 of description are not equal to the job of tell 
 ing you all about it. The worst of it all was, 
 that the rich old uncle who was expected to do 
 the most, merely gave a fire insurance policy. 
 I pitied them both, but I pitied the bride most !" 
 
 "Yes, the husband could go out to his work: 
 every day," said Belinda. 
 
 "H'm, and then she had to write all the nice 
 little notes of thanks a job from which 
 Ananias might reasonably have shrunk. Well, 
 she grew pale and thin, and he had a furtive, 
 hurried look, as if he was contemplating suicide 
 or the raising of a beard, you know. It was 
 no use to go to see them, they were never at 
 home ; the furniture preyed on them too much. 
 Finally, there was a fire in their apartment 
 building, and they barely escaped with their 
 lives and the insurance policy. Now they have 
 furnished a flat to their own taste, without even 
 a sofa pillow which was contributed, for their 
 friends each felt that his or her particular gift 
 J46
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 should have been saved from the flames, and 
 was offended, in consequence. And now I 
 don't know a happier or more domestic couple 
 anywhere," she added, breathlessly. 
 
 "But then there are always birthday and 
 Christmas gifts to fear," sighed Mae. 
 
 "Oh, pshaw, you can always tell the givers 
 of them that you have put them away where 
 they will not become soiled and my poor ac 
 quaintance could not put away peacock blue 
 couches and purple easy-chairs to keep clean, 
 you know." 
 
 "I think I shall preserve your remarks in the 
 cedar chest of memory," said the Philosopher, 
 thoughtfully. "I, too, sometimes give wed 
 ding presents." 
 
 "Most people do," sighed Evelyn. "A 
 friend of mine was married, not long ago, and 
 she received six French clocks and ten bronze 
 mantel ornaments, while there is just one 
 mantelpiece in the flat she has taken. She 
 has, however, a lovely disposition, and she says 
 she hopes, in time, to be able to forgive all the 
 givers." 
 
 H7
 
 "Dear me," mused the Philosopher ; "the ex 
 cess of female population in the world is a very 
 good thing, after all. There are fewer men 
 to make mistakes and " 
 
 "More women to criticise them, when they 
 do," finished Tracy, gloomily. "What a bless 
 ing that most of us are content to please our 
 selves !" 
 
 "Papa say it is very well seen that you are 
 not a married man, Mr. Tracy," said the Angel 
 Child, who had just made his appearance with 
 the Very Young Man. "He and I have to try 
 to please mamma, you know. I had to come 
 here now, mamma, because Mr. Sweeting was 
 coming, and he didn't seem very anxious to 
 leave me in his room alone. I wanted him to 
 take me for a nice long walk he told Dolly, 
 the other day, that I didn't get enough exercise 
 that was when he wanted her to help him 
 take me to see the people skating in the park. 
 He wouldn't go to-day, though, because he had 
 a lot of work to do, and hadn't time. I don't 
 see how he had time to come here then, do 
 you ? And he has been writing something that 
 J43
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 looks like poetry, on the margin of the page 
 in that big book he has held so long without 
 turning a leaf. Is writing poetry work, Mr. 
 Tracy?" 
 
 "No, but the reading of it usually is, Master 
 Wycoff. And amateur poetry is generally as 
 bad as " 
 
 "Amateur millinery," finished Mae, with an 
 air of finality. 
 
 "Alas, the poet, like the step-mother, has 
 few friends," sighed the Philosopher. "And 
 most poets must really suffer, or they would not 
 inflict such bad verse upon an unoffending, if 
 unappreciative, public. A man once gravely 
 assured me that a novelist must, of necessity, 
 be a liar perhaps every poet is a dyspeptic." 
 
 "He would be if he had to eat his own 
 words," said Tracy, grimly. 
 
 "Dolly knows a poet; he wanted to marry 
 her, and Miss Belinda had to refuse him for 
 her, in some way that sounded like viciously," 
 said the Angel Child. 
 
 "Perhaps it was merely vicariously," hinted
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 Tracy, with an amused glance at Dolly's blaz 
 ing cheeks and Belinda's look of horror. 
 
 "That does sound more like it. I heard 
 them talking about it one day when they didn't 
 know I was here. Somehow people talk very 
 differently when they don't know that I am in 
 the room. I don't see why grown people have 
 to be careful about what they say before com 
 pany; nobody will punish them or make them 
 go to bed before dark." 
 
 "What a pity that such is the case," sighed 
 Evelyn. "The world would be so much nicer 
 if the bore might be sent to bed at four o'clock, 
 without his dinner !" 
 
 "It wouldn't be nice for the bore I can tell 
 you that much!" wailed the Angel Child. 
 "What is a bore, Mr. Tracy?" 
 
 "A bore, my dear fellow, is a person who 
 persists in telling you about stupid things 
 which have happened to him, just when you 
 want to tell him some of the really interesting 
 things which have happened to you. I have 
 known people who were talked to death by an 
 
 150
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 industrious bore, and who died happy at the 
 thought of escaping further torture." 
 
 "Nevertheless, it is better to be a live bore 
 than a dead wit," remarked the Philosopher, 
 with an air of conviction. 
 
 "You look very tired," said the Very Young 
 Man, to Dolly. "I suppose you have been try 
 ing to follow the conversation. A conscien 
 tious person, like yourself, must suffer a great 
 deal in such society." 
 
 "Oh, dear!" cried Dolly; "I hope you are 
 not becoming witty, too ! I think I should slip 
 away sometimes, when they are discussing 
 other people if only I were quite sure that 
 my own turn would not come in my absence. 
 I suppose that you have been working very 
 hard to-day?" 
 
 "Oh, very. Sometimes, if it were not for 
 Mrs. Rafferty, I should quite envy her husband. 
 Washing windows and tending furnaces can 
 not really be a great strain on the mental 
 powers. But then other people's work usually 
 seems easy. Do you know, I am afraid that 
 it takes some time to make a fortune at the 
 15*
 
 The Very Yo\ing Man 
 
 law, even after you have been admitted to the 
 bar. Do you care much for money, Miss 
 Dolly?" 
 
 "I ? Oh, not at all ; but but then I am not 
 studying law, you know." 
 
 "Why, look at Dolly; she is blushing, just 
 because she is not studying law, like Mr. Sweet 
 ing!" cried the Angel Child. "Ladies are very 
 different, aren't they, mamma? Miss Adams 
 didn't blush when I told her the other day that 
 papa said it was lucky she wasn't a lawyer, 
 with her talent for cross-questioning. I sup 
 pose I've said something very shocking now, 
 because Mr. Tracy is laughing gentlemen al 
 ways laugh when it isn't their own little boys 
 that say shocking things. I wish it was the 
 fathers that laughed; it would make it a great 
 deal pleasanter after the company was gone." 
 
 "Sherlock Holmes in knickerbockers," said 
 Tracy to Evelyn. "I wonder sometimes if 
 that child will live to grow up." 
 
 "Only the good die young," said Evelyn, 
 flippantly ; "the epitaphs in any graveyard will 
 tell you that. But then if all epitaphs are to 
 J52
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 be implicitly believed, all persons not strictly 
 virtuous are cremated here, as well as here 
 after." 
 
 "Perhaps the maker of epitaphs is also an 
 optimist," said Tracy; "he is certainly not a 
 pessimist." 
 
 "Not in the' beginning, at least," spoke the 
 Philosopher. "However, your true pessimist 
 is made, not born. I often wonder how many 
 disillusions go to the making of one." 
 
 "One, if it is complete enough," observed the 
 Matron. "The divorce court often proves to 
 us that hatred is merely love turned wrong side 
 out." 
 
 "Extremes frequently meet at the altar," 
 remarked Tracy. "I have not, however, 
 noticed that either of them are much benefited 
 by the meeting. Don't look so horrified, Miss 
 Watterson; you can't expect a reporter to be 
 an idealist and still keep his job." 
 
 "Nor to remain one, if he loses it," smiled 
 the Philosopher, as he rose to go. 
 
 J53
 
 Chapter VIII 
 
 "Or course, it is really none of my affair," 
 said Miss Adams, shutting her lips very firmly 
 after each word. "I merely mentioned it be 
 cause I felt that it was my duty." 
 
 "Of course," replied the Matron. "What 
 do you intend to do about it, if I may ask?" 
 
 "I well, that is, I thought that perhaps you 
 might like to tell Belinda," faltered Miss 
 Adams ; "you see, she has rather a hot temper, 
 and she does not know you intimately enough 
 to express herself as fully as she might to me, if 
 I mentioned it." 
 
 "Thank you; but I know her quite well 
 enough to decline to meddle with her affairs. 
 Of course, with an old friend like yourself, it 
 is quite different. You will, no doubt, feel it 
 your duty to tell her, and she cannot mistake 
 your motive. You are quite sure that Mr. 
 Sweeting is engaged to that girl, are you?" 
 155
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 "Well, he used to go to church with her on 
 Sunday evenings; I can't think of anything 
 much more definite than that. And as I am 
 old enough to be to be Dolly's elder sister, I 
 cannot let him make love to her in that fashion, 
 without making some effort to open her eyes 
 to the natural perfidy of man." 
 
 "As to making love to her, I fancy he has 
 not much opportunity for that," said the 
 Matron, thoughtfully. "You see, they take 
 Edward whenever they go for a walk, and I 
 doubt if even a widower could succeed in mak 
 ing love in his presence. To be sure, they lose 
 him occasionally, but Dolly is far too con 
 scientious to think of anything else until they 
 find him. No, Edward may be able to enact 
 the part of Cupid up-to-date in bringing them 
 together, but otherwise, Hymen will get little 
 aid from him, or I greatly mistake my son and 
 heir. Besides, you know, Mr. Sweeting may 
 really be in love with Dolly, and not with the 
 other girl at all. The proof of the attachment 
 is in the engagement; but, then, some proofs 
 require a great many alterations." 
 J56
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "I know too much of the perfidious nature 
 of man, to fancy for an instant that he is in 
 earnest. Then you think it my duty to tell 
 Belinda, do you?" 
 
 "I think you know your own duty best," 
 said the Matron, deftly avoiding the pitfall. 
 "But if you do tell her, you must come right 
 up and tell me all about it," she added. 
 
 Belinda succeeded in opening the door, at 
 the third attempt, and after Miss Adams had 
 called a great deal of advice through the key 
 hole. 
 
 "Oh, I am so glad it is you, and not Mrs. 
 Rafferty!" she exclaimed, as her visitor sank 
 into a chair. "She has already told me twice 
 the entire story of her first husband's death, 
 and the courtship of the second, so I rather 
 dread her further eloquence. I always wonder 
 what she talked about during the early ac 
 quaintance of her first husband; she had his 
 death and burial for a topic when Mr. Raf 
 ferty came on the scene, but she was not born 
 a widow, though she was evidently born to be 
 one. But you look worried. Have you seen 
 J57
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 any suspicious-looking characters prowling 
 about to-day ?" 
 
 Miss Adams shook her head. "No ; but you 
 can't tell much about a man by his looks," she 
 sighed. "I suppose that poor dear Dolly has 
 gone for a walk with Mr. Sweeting?" 
 
 "She went with Edward, but Mr. Sweeting 
 has probably met them before this. Well, I 
 shall not move until the lease expires, that is 
 all. Oh, dear, since Dolly and I have decided 
 to remain bachelor girls and spend our lives 
 together, I wish that she had not quite such 
 long eyelashes! But then she can always get 
 more repairs out of the agent than any of the 
 other tenants, so even her eyelashes have their 
 uses." 
 
 "Has she said anything recently about re 
 maining a bachelor girl ?" queried Miss Adams, 
 in sepulchral tones. "I merely ask for in 
 formation, you know." 
 
 "I am sure I don't remember; but that 
 doesn't make any difference. She talks more 
 about Edward than anything else lately. She 
 is perfectly devoted to that child." 
 '58
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "So is Mr. Sweeting, I believe. Ah, by the 
 way, I suppose you are aware that Mr. Sweet 
 ing is engaged to a lovely girl, who used to 
 live opposite the house where a friend of mine 
 boarded?" 
 
 "You don't say so?" cried Belinda, warmly. 
 "I am so glad to hear it. I have been afraid 
 that he might fall in love with Dolly, like the 
 rest of them. And as he lives immediately 
 beneath us, it would be so easy for him to meet 
 her in the hall every time she went in and out 
 and really it is not always convenient for 
 me to see her as far as the street door every 
 time, and then watch my chance to get back 
 unobserved by the young man. I must ask 
 Mr. Sweeting to bring his fiancee to the salon 
 some day soon." 
 
 Miss Adams shook her head mournfully. 
 "I fear you do not watch that poor child very 
 carefully. A disappointment in love is some 
 times a very serious matter." 
 
 "So is an attack of the measles ; and yet the 
 majority of people get over it. Won't you sit 
 longer ?" 
 
 159
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 "No, thank you. And I only hope that when 
 he breaks that poor child's trusting heart, you 
 will not hold me responsible, that's all." 
 
 "Fiddlesticks!" cried Belinda, scornfully. 
 "I am never surprised at the stupidity of men, 
 because that is natural to them; but I didn't 
 think that Dolly's romantic looks would have 
 taken you in, too. She has no more idea of 
 falling in love than than I have, there! She 
 has other and more important things to think 
 of, especially now that in the salon we are be 
 ginning to realize some of our dreams. But 
 then, nobody ever seems to realize the sincerity 
 of a bachelor girl's determination not to marry, 
 until she is old enough to make it unlikely that 
 any one will ask her." 
 
 It was ten minutes to nine by the French 
 clock on the mantel, and twenty minutes to 
 five by Belinda's watch, which proved that it 
 was exactly a quarter past six by the correct 
 time, when Dolly ran lightly up the stairs, and 
 gave the signal at the door which proved that
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 no unauthorized stranger applied for admis 
 sion. 
 
 "Oh, Belinda, I hope you were not uneasy," 
 she cried. "I know that I am a little late, but 
 we could not get Edward away from the nickel- 
 in-the-slot machine until we had given him all 
 the change we happened to have with us. And 
 then we had no carfare left, so we had to walk 
 home, and " 
 
 "I was not at all uneasy," responded Belinda, 
 calmly. "I knew that Edward was with you 
 and that he is never permanently lost. Here 
 are Evelyn and Mae. They have dropped in 
 to dine with us and have a nice long talk." 
 
 "Indeed we have," cried Evelyn. "There 
 are always so many men here when you have 
 the salon, that I get no chance to talk at all ; so 
 I thought I might avenge myself for all that 
 involuntary listening, by talking about them, 
 when they are not present. So you have been 
 out with Mr. Sweeting? How very odd." 
 
 "Why, yes, wasn't it?" said Dolly, calmly. 
 "We happened to meet him at the hall door, 
 
 and Edward is so fond of him, that " 
 
 \6\
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 "And you, too," said Mae, pleasantly. 
 "Dear me, I often wonder at the willingness of 
 girls to take Mr. Sweeting at his own valua 
 tion. Now, I admit that his neckties are al 
 ways tied beautifully; so he must have brains. 
 But then brains are not everything, you know." 
 
 "They are not," said Evelyn, decidedly. 
 "For my part, I think that money not only 
 talks, but it says the wittiest things possible. 
 Now, I wouldn't for the world say a word 
 against Mr. Sweeting, but he hasn't any money, 
 you know." 
 
 "Neither has Mr. Tracy; and yet you both 
 seem to like him very well," said Dolly, smil 
 ing. 
 
 "Oh, but that is very different. Anyhow, 
 it is no use to snub a man who does not care 
 whether you like him or not. The average poor 
 man is very anxious to share his poverty with 
 some. nice girl, but " 
 
 "The wealthy one wants to keep his money 
 for himself? Indeed, he does! And isn't it 
 horrid of him?" cried Mae. 
 
 "Very. That was not what I was about to 
 \ 62
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 say, however. I was going to remark that Mr. 
 Tracy is not the average poor man. I doubt 
 if even a widow could convince him that the 
 half of his salary was equal to the whole of it, 
 or words to that effect." 
 
 "Since no man is ever convinced of anything, 
 unless he is willing to be convinced," agreed 
 Mae, "I er suppose that Mr. Sweeting is 
 what might be called an average man?" 
 
 "At least he never says anything unpleasant 
 concerning the absent," Dolly retorted. 
 
 "Goodness, he is not that stupid, is he? I 
 have often wondered how Gladys Van Style 
 could be so much in love with him that she 
 went walking with him every afternoon last 
 winter. Of course, she must have been in love 
 with him, though; for it stands to reason that 
 a girl who wears her shoes two entire sizes 
 too small for her, must care a great deal for 
 a man, when she is willing to take long walks 
 with him." 
 
 "Oh, well, I don't know," interjected 
 Evelyn ; "you may be too hard upon her. Per 
 haps her family objected to him." 
 163
 
 The Very Young MaLi\ 
 
 "They might if they were quite sure that 
 he was not in earnest not otherwise. You 
 see, I went to school with Glady, and I know 
 her. You ah I suppose you are aware that 
 he is engaged to her, Dolly?" 
 
 "I er that is Mr. Sweeting has men 
 tioned her to me," replied Dolly, quietly. 
 "He " 
 
 "Oh, yes, he is engaged to her. Miss Adams 
 came down to tell me this afternoon," broke 
 in Belinda. "I meant to tell you, as soon as 
 
 you came in, but What on earth is that ? 
 
 Oh, my goodness, somebody is crying 'Fire!' 
 I knew it; I always knew I should be burned 
 to death, and that is why I chose a fireproof 
 building! Dolly, where did I tell you I had 
 put the fire insurance policy, after that last 
 burglar scare?" 
 
 "I I don't know. Indeed, I don't," fal 
 tered Dolly. 
 
 "But you told me you would remember 
 
 you must remember!" cried Belinda. "And 
 
 my jewelry and the silver! Oh, where did I 
 
 hide them after my fright? Was it in the 
 
 164
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 clothes hamper with the soiled linen, or was it 
 in the big vase in the corner of the parlor, 
 
 or Go, Dolly, and leave me to my fate. 
 
 I will not leave my valuables to be destroyed. 
 If you never see me again, remember that I was 
 perfectly cool and collected, and my last words 
 were " 
 
 "How do you open this door?" wailed Mae 
 and Evelyn, in a breath. "We, at least, did 
 not come here to be cremated, and " 
 
 "Turn to the left ; no, to the right, and 
 
 Oh, Belinda, I can't open the door! If Mae 
 and Evelyn are burned to death because of my 
 stupidity, they can never forgive me, and I 
 don't expect it of them. Belinda, come and 
 open the door." 
 
 "I can't ; I don't remember either ! Oh hi, 
 why don't you go, Evelyn, and you too, Mae, 
 and leave us to our fate?" 
 
 "We will be glad enough to go, when we get 
 the door unlocked," retorted Mae. "Quick! 
 ring the bell for the janitor, Evelyn. He " 
 
 "Why, yes, ring the bell for the janitor/* 
 wailed Belinda. "Tell him to come up at once 
 165
 
 The Very Young Ma.rt 
 
 and let us out. If he waits until we are charred 
 corpses, I shall have him discharged at once. 
 Tell him just that; he knows that when I say 
 a thing, I mean it." 
 
 "I have rung six times, and the card over 
 the bell says three times ; so he will know that 
 we want him at once," said Evelyn. "Where 
 did I put my hat when I came in?" 
 
 "Scream ! Why doesn't somebody scream ?" 
 said Mae, in a hoarse whisper. "I can't get 
 my voice out of my boots, to save my own life. 
 Oh h, if a mouse would only run across the 
 floor, I could scream as well as anybody !" 
 
 "Pound on the floor, Dolly; pound hard. 
 Perhaps Mr. Sweeting will come up and save 
 us, if he knows that it is you pounding. Oh, 
 what shall I do?" moaned Evelyn. "I I 
 borrowed Anne's best hatpin yesterday, without 
 saying anything to her, because I knew she'd 
 refuse to loan it, if I did. If I am burned to 
 death, she will think I took it, meaning to keep 
 it. Anne is always so willing to think the 
 worst of a girl whose belt is two inches smaller 
 than her own. And, Mae, I never told you, 
 (66
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 but Jack Rocksley asked for you, too, when 
 he called the other evening, and I I told him 
 that you seemed sort of sad, and I did not like 
 to disturb your meditations, as it was your 
 birthday. I hope you can forgive me before 
 I die." 
 
 "I can, dear ; especially as I happened to meet 
 him on the street, the following day, when I 
 casually mentioned the fact that I am two years 
 your junior. Oh, why doesn't somebody come 
 and let us out?" 
 
 "I smell smoke. Oh, I am stifling!" cried 
 Belinda. "Why doesn't the janitor come; why 
 does nobody come? If I were a man, I would 
 not let helpless women burn to death while I 
 read my evening paper. What is that?" 
 
 Some one was hammering at the door. 
 "Let me in," called the voice of the Very 
 Young Man; "the halls are full of smoke, and 
 you have no time to lose." 
 
 "We can't ; we can't get the door unlocked," 
 
 replied Belinda. "Why did I ever get those 
 
 patent locks? No, it is no use to try to save 
 
 us. Don't attempt to burst the door in it 
 
 J67
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 will just spoil the woodwork and do no good. 
 Escape while you can, and leave us to our fate. 
 We are prepared for it." 
 
 "Wait a moment, and don't give up, Dolly!" 
 called the voice. "I'll save you yet." They 
 heard him dash down the stairs and, after what 
 seemed an age, they heard a tap at the dining- 
 room window. 
 
 "The fire-escape !" shrieked Evelyn. "Why 
 did none of you silly things think of the fire- 
 escape ?" 
 
 "Why didn't you think of it yourself?" re 
 torted Belinda. "I am the only one of you that 
 hasn't lost her head, and Oh, my good 
 ness, Dolly, I can't get this patent catch open, 
 and the window won't raise without it." 
 
 Dolly put her gently aside and opened the 
 window. "Take Belinda first, please, Mr. 
 Sweeting." 
 
 "I shall take you first," said the Very Young 
 Man, calmly. "Come." 
 
 "Yes, you go first, and if you are not killed, 
 the rest of us will follow," said Evelyn. 
 "Hurry up, and don't be so selfish; we are 
 J68
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 stifling now. Well, Belinda Manly, I must 
 say that you are a nice hostess, to invite peo 
 ple to see you and then have a fire in the build- 
 ing!" 
 
 "You you came of your own accord to 
 day," Belinda wailed. 
 
 "Well, you said to come any time at all, and 
 how did we know that the house was going to 
 burn down this very day? There is no use 
 in being illogical, if you are facing a horrible 
 death. Belinda Manly, what are you doing 
 with that old parasol?" 
 
 "I want to save some of my valuables," re 
 plied Belinda, with great dignity. "I am quite 
 cool, as you may see, and I " 
 
 "Well, so is the weather, and I wouldn't 
 begin with an old white parasol and a last 
 month's magazine, if I were you; I doubt if 
 they will do you much good. Why doesn't 
 Mr. Sweeting come back for us? He must 
 have been gone at least an hour. Oh h, there 
 is the fire engine ; we shall all be saved. Mae, 
 dear, that was all a joke about Jack Rocksley, 
 you know." 
 
 169
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 "I am glad that you can look upon it with 
 such serenity, dear. He said he thought your 
 behavior rather funny. Oh, girls, shall I look 
 very dreadful when the firemen come to carry 
 me out?" 
 
 The Very Young Man was guiding Dolly 
 carefully down the escape. "Go very slowly," 
 he said, "and be sure that I will not let you 
 fall." Finally, he swung her safely to the 
 ground, under the eyes of a curious crowd. 
 
 "Oh, you have saved my life; how can I ever 
 thank you ?" she cried. "But don't let Belinda 
 die! And don't get hurt yourself! 
 Don't " 
 
 "Say, where's de fire?" broke in a youthful 
 voice. "I seen de guy bring de lady down de 
 ladder, but I ain't seen no smoke. Maybe dey 
 was elopin', see." 
 
 "A lamp exploded in one of the upper flats," 
 a decided voice was explaining. "They have 
 sent for the fire engines and here they come." 
 
 "Say," demanded the gruff tones of the 
 officer, "whatcher mean by calling out th' 
 whole department, when it was only a lamp 
 J70
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 exploded and they got th' fire out theirselves? 
 Think we ain't got nothin' t' do, but put out 
 th' fire in th' cookstove, when ye want t' cool 
 th' house fer a dance ?" 
 
 "Why, there is Belinda, and Mae, and 
 Evelyn!" Dolly cried. "Oh, I am so glad 
 that you are safe. Don't risk your life by 
 going back into the flames, Mr. Sweeting. 
 How did you get out, girls ?" 
 
 "The door wasn't locked at all," said Mae, 
 crossly. "I opened it and we all walked out. 
 And there seems to be no fire, after all." She 
 spoke as if Dolly was personally responsible for 
 her fright. 
 
 "I I didn't think to try it; I was so sure 
 it was locked," Belinda faltered. "You see, 
 I couldn't think for all of you. If you had all 
 been as cool as I was, we " 
 
 "Why, look at Miss Manly, with her arms 
 full of old magazines !" cried the Angel Child. 
 "And Mr. Sweeting carried Dolly down the 
 fire-escape when there wasn't any fire, didn't 
 he ? You needn't have been scared, you know. 
 I was just playing cave-dweller, under the table
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 in the parlor, and I must have pulled the cover 
 a wee little bit, for the lamp fell off, and there 
 was a lot of smoke, and somebody rang the 
 fire alarm. Mr. Rafferty went up on the roof 
 and cut a hole in it, so they could get the hose 
 in I reckon he forgot the trap door, didn't 
 he? He was as cool as Miss Belinda, wasn't 
 he? Why, I don't see why everybody looks 
 so mad. You are not sorry that you are not 
 burned up, are you?" 
 
 Nobody said a word, and nobody looked at 
 anyone else. With one accord, they stole softly 
 up the stairs, with Belinda in the lead, leaving 
 the janitor still in heated converse with the 
 firemen. The four girls sat silent for a few 
 moments, and then Mae said: "Well, at any 
 rate, Dolly, the rest of us didn't let anybody 
 carry us down the fire-escape. I should think 
 that you would be ashamed to be the only one 
 who was really frightened." 
 
 "I I was awfully frightened; but but he 
 didn't really carry me. He only helped me, 
 you know ;" she hung her pretty head. 
 
 "It was all the same anyhow," observed 
 J72
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 Evelyn. "Well, for rny part, I was not at all 
 frightened ; but the rest of you " 
 
 "I was as cool ,as I ever was in my life!" 
 cried Belinda. "I gave Dolly the fire insurance 
 
 policy, and Dolly, where is that policy 
 
 now? If you have lost it, I shall hold Mr. 
 Sweeting personally responsible, because 
 he " 
 
 "Here is the paper you gave me, dear; but 
 it seems that it is not exactly the policy. It is 
 a recipe for golden buck. But, then " 
 
 "That proves nothing, except that you are 
 very careless not to remember where I put 
 things. I was as calm and collected as possi 
 ble. I call all of you to witness that " 
 
 "Well, really, I must go home," said Evelyn, 
 suddenly. "No, Belinda, I will not stay for 
 dinner. I only hope that I shall not be ill, 
 because you fancied there was a fire, and made 
 me run out into the street without my hat and 
 wrap, that is all." 
 
 "And I doubt, Dolly, if Gladys will be at all 
 pleased when I tell her that her fiance carried 
 you. down the, fire-escape, when there really 
 J73
 
 The Very Young 
 
 wasn't any fire. I have owed her a call for 
 a year, and I really cannot put it off longer than 
 to-morrow. It does look rather queer ; but then 
 one must put the best construction possible on 
 things, and I suppose that he must have thought 
 there was a fire, or he wouldn't have done it. 
 If you had listened a moment to me, I " 
 
 "And phat did yees want whin yees was 
 ringin' th' bell, a whoile ago?" queried the mel 
 low voice of Mr. Rafferty, at the door, as Dolly 
 opened it for the exit of the guests. 
 
 "I we smelled smoke, and my guests rang 
 the bell to find out what was wrong," faltered 
 Belinda. "And I must say," she added, in a 
 firmer tone, "that if you really did your duty 
 in the future, Mr. Rafferty, you would guard 
 against such things. If not, we shall certainly 
 be obliged to move, and I shall be careful to tell 
 the agent why we do it." 
 
 "An' if thot agent can be afther kaping 
 Masther Wycoff out of mischief, it's meself 
 thot would be glad to have him do it. If this 
 thing kapes up another year, Miss Manly, Oi'H 
 
 J74
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 be dead in a month." And he went sorrow 
 fully away. 
 
 A few hours later, Dolly was wakened from 
 a sleep far too deep to be genuine, by a vigor 
 ous shake. Belinda stood by her bed, tall and 
 white. 
 
 "Oh, Belinda, don't tell me that it is another 
 fire," she wailed. "I am so tired. And it is 
 such a very rainy night that I am sure burglars 
 will not be out. Do let us go to sleep and 
 and forget things." 
 
 "No, it isn't a fire, and it isn't burglars," 
 replied Belinda, firmly. "I shall certainly have 
 the janitor discharged, if we have any more 
 such doings." 
 
 "Can't we wait to talk about that in the 
 morning, dear?" 
 
 "I suppose we can. But, Dolly, he is really 
 engaged, you know. You don't mind, do 
 you?" 
 
 "Who is engaged? Mr. Rafferty?" queried 
 Dolly, with unnecessary stupidity. "Of course, 
 he is engaged, or he wouldn't be here, goosie." 
 
 "No, of course not Mr. Sweeting. Miss 
 J75
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 Adams told me about it, this afternoon. I 
 couldn't help being a little worried, though I 
 knew you would never care a straw for any 
 man. But you took it so quietly when the girls 
 told you, that " 
 
 "He is not engaged to her now. He he 
 told me all about it, the other day. He found 
 her out in time, and he is quite sure that he 
 never really cared for her, save as a friend." 
 
 "Oh !" said Belinda, blankly. "Well, I must 
 say that I think it was officious of him to act 
 in the way he did to-day, carrying you down 
 the fire-escape, when the door was not locked, 
 and there was not even a fire ! I think we had 
 better have as little as possible to do with him 
 in future. I I doubt if he really appreciates 
 the lofty aims of the bachelor girl, and her 
 ability to take care of herself, anyhow." 
 
 J76
 
 CKaLpter IX 
 
 Miss ADAMS, Belinda and Dolly stepped 
 from the platform of a street car, just as the 
 clocks pointed to fifteen minutes of twelve. 
 In spite of the cheerfulness of her companions, 
 Miss Adams looked as if she wished herself 
 anywhere else, at the present moment, and 
 kept peering anxiously into the shadows of 
 the quiet street. 
 
 "Yes, it was a good play," Belinda was say 
 ing; "written by a woman, too. Well, women 
 can do anything they want to do, in these days. 
 They are progressing, while men are at a stand 
 still." 
 
 "Of course, women can do anything, and 
 without masculine assistance, too," agreed Miss 
 Adams. "We know what we can do, and we 
 have the bravery to do it. Belinda ah need 
 we choose the dark side of the street? I am 
 
 not afraid, but What was that?" She 
 
 clutched Dolly's arm. 
 
 J77
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 "A cat, I think," said Dolly, gently. "I 
 I don't you think that the heroine was almost 
 too good to be true, Belinda? And need the 
 author have made the hero quite so lady-like? 
 Of course, I may be mistaken, but it seems to 
 me that it takes more than a few expletives and 
 a few cigars to make a man, even on the 
 stage." 
 
 "Possibly; but that is mere detail. The 
 main idea is that the world moves. Why, only 
 think of it! Woman has only arrived at the 
 dignity of a latch-key within the last ten years. 
 The first thing we know, we shall have pockets 
 to keep them in and then the world is ours !" 
 
 "And I don't doubt but that we can get 
 pockets in our gowns, now that we have men to 
 make them," mused Dolly. "Isn't it odd that 
 when a woman goes into a new line of busi 
 ness, everybody says she is out of her sphere! 
 Nobody thinks a man is out of his sphere when 
 he becomes a ladies' tailor." 
 
 "Girls, that man is following us," whispered 
 Miss Adams, hoarsely. "He got off the car 
 when we did, and he has kept just the same 
 J7S
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 distance behind us ever since ! What shall we 
 do? Oh h, I wish we had a man with us." 
 
 "That is quite unnecessary; I shall call the 
 police, if he speaks to us," said Belinda, firmly. 
 "There is no use in " 
 
 "But there isn't a policeman in sight. Oh, 
 he is following us I know it ! What shall we 
 do?" 
 
 "We might run," suggested Dolly, breath 
 lessly. 
 
 "You will do nothing of the kind !" ordered 
 Belinda. She wheeled suddenly: "What do 
 you mean by following us, in this fashion?" 
 
 she demanded. "I shall call ". The mart 
 
 did not hear her. He had run lightly up the 
 steps of the house they were passing and was 
 inserting a latch-key in the door. 
 
 The trio walked on, in silence. Dolly 
 glanced timidly at Belinda every time they 
 passed a street lamp, but Belinda's eyes were 
 fixed on vacancy, and her brow was drawn. 
 
 When at last they turned into their own 
 street, Miss Adams heaved a mighty sigh of 
 relief. 
 
 J79
 
 The Very Young Madi 
 
 "It has been a very pleasant evening," she 
 said. "I am glad that we went. As you say, 
 Belinda, women are quite independent now. 
 Our grandmothers " 
 
 "Hardly knew what a latch-key looked like ! 
 I know it, poor things. Give me yours, Dolly, 
 and we shall be upstairs in a trice. I am 
 hungry, as hungry as if I had been at a big 
 dinner." 
 
 "I haven't my key with me, dear. I knew 
 one was sufficient, and you always have yours. 
 Shall I hold your muff, while you get it out?" 
 
 "You haven't it with you? That is very 
 careless of you, Dolly. How many times have 
 
 I told you Just give me yours, will you, 
 
 Miss Adams?" 
 
 "Oh, dear, I haven't mine with me either. 
 I loaned it to Mrs. Wycoff, and she forgot to 
 return it. She had left hers sticking in the 
 door, and somebody took it, though she went 
 to look for it, the very next day. You purely 
 don't mean to say that you have brought me 
 out, without a latch-key, Belinda?" 
 
 Belinda put down her muff, with the air of 
 J80
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 an indignant martyr; cast her program on the 
 floor of the vestibule and began an extended 
 search. 
 
 "I hope this will be a lesson to you, Dolly," 
 she said, severely. "You must really learn to 
 depend upon yourself occasionally. If I had 
 been as careless as you and Miss Adams, we 
 
 should be in a pretty mess. Why, where is it? 
 j 
 
 She spread the contents of her pocketbook 
 on the step. There were the seat checks, a gas 
 bill, her glove buttoner, the rent receipt, a 
 twenty-dollar bill, a powder rag and the dime 
 with a hole in it, which she was saving for the 
 conductor who had passed it off on her but 
 no latch-key ! She looked about her, in speech 
 less indignation, and Dolly hung her guilty 
 head. 
 
 "You had it, trying to open that patent can 
 with the caviare in it, this afternoon," she fal 
 tered. "I I am afraid that it is on the ledge 
 in the butler's pantry, this minute !" 
 
 "Then, we shall have to go to a hotel ; that's 
 all," said Belinda, gloomily. 
 J8J
 
 The Very Young 
 
 "A party of women go to a hotel at this 
 hour of the night the idea!" cried Miss 
 Adams, scandalized. 
 
 "Well, at any rate, we can't stay here all 
 night." She darted to the janitor's bell and 
 rang it violently. 
 
 "I am afraid it is no use, dear," quavered 
 Dolly. "Mrs. Rafferty told me that she was 
 going to her sister's third wedding to-night, 
 and would not be home until to-morrow morn 
 ing. And she says that Mr. Rafferty sleeps 
 on his left side purposely, so that his deaf ear 
 is uppermost and he can't hear the bell at night. 
 She doesn't know how he would have been able 
 to live since he became a janitor, but for that 
 deaf ear." 
 
 Belinda desisted, but she fixed Dolly with 
 such reproachful eyes, that Dolly wrung her 
 hands, in despair : "Oh, Belinda, I am so sorry 
 that I have given you all this trouble by for 
 getting my latch-key. I shall be more care 
 ful in future, I assure you." 
 
 "Humph; I don't see what good that will do 
 us, in our present plight. We we might go 
 J82
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 to my sister's it is only about fifteen miles to 
 her house." 
 
 "I shall do nothing of the kind," said Miss 
 Adams, promptly. She wore the remote air of 
 the disinterested spectator. "You took me to 
 the theater, and I expect you to return me to 
 my own flat, the same day." 
 
 "But your maid; she is at home!" Dolly 
 cried. "We can ring your bell, and she will 
 let us in. How stupid not to have thought of 
 that before." 
 
 "She will do nothing of the kind. I have in 
 structed her that if the bell rings after half- 
 past ten at night, she is to raise the window and 
 call for the police." 
 
 "Well, at any rate, the policeman would get 
 us in, and that is the main point," said Belinda. 
 
 "He would take us to the station house," 
 said Miss Adams, with equal firmness. "You 
 may not mind going to the station house, but 
 I do. Only the other day I read of a case 
 where a man was arrested for trying to get into 
 his own house. To be sure, he was intoxi 
 cated, and was trying the fastenings of the 
 J83
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 windows in the basement; but that makes no 
 difference in the facts." She planted herself 
 protectingly in front of her bell. 
 
 "Then, we must ring Mr. Hardy's bell ; a 
 philosopher does not expect people to remem 
 ber latch-keys and umbrellas. He will come 
 down and let us in, I am sure, and feel quite 
 rewarded for his trouble by the epigrams he 
 can get out of it," said Dolly. 
 
 "Dolly Watterson, don't you dare!" cried 
 Belinda. She, too, placed herself before the 
 neat row of bells. "I will not have you ring 
 Mr. Hardy's bell. Let me think a moment, 
 and I " 
 
 "Oh, couldn't you go up the fire-escape?" 
 cried Miss Adams, eagerly. "Dolly came 
 down it one day, you know, and it is not really 
 very steep. And Dolly and I could stand at 
 the bottom and see that you didn't fall." 
 
 "No, I couldn't. The fire-escape does not 
 come within twenty feet of the ground, and I 
 am not an an aeronaut. Besides, we locked 
 all the windows carefully before we went away, 
 so we couldn't get in, if I did. Dolly, you had 
 J84
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 better ring Mr. Sweeting's bell. Why did 
 none of us think of that sooner, I wonder?" 
 
 "I did think of it, but I didn't want to do 
 it." sighed Dolly. "I hate to wake him out of 
 his first good sleep, when he has worked so 
 hard at that horrid law all day." 
 
 "His conscience will be at rest after he has 
 performed such a friendly deed, and he will 
 sleep all the better after he goes back. Besides, 
 Mr. Sweeting chatters less about such things 
 afterwards, than any man I know. Ring the 
 bell, Dolly." 
 
 And Dolly obediently rang the bell, sighing, 
 as she did so. After what seemed an age of 
 waiting, and when Belinda's hand was out 
 stretched once more towards the bells, they 
 heard cautious footsteps descending the dark 
 stairs. Presently, the Very Young Man ap 
 peared on the landing. At sight of the group 
 in the outer vestibule, he quickened his steps. 
 
 "Dolly Watterson, is anything wrong?" he 
 enquired, anxiously, as he opened the door. 
 
 "Dolly forgot her latch-key, and we had to 
 trouble you to let us in, that is all;" Belinda's
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 usual aplomb had returned. "It was very 
 stupid of her, but I am sure that she will never 
 do it any more." 
 
 "All three of us forgot our latch-keys," 
 amended Dolly. "I am so much obliged to 
 you, Mr. Sweeting, and " 
 
 "Where is my pocketbook?" cried Belinda. 
 "I had it when I was looking for my latch-key, 
 and now " 
 
 "Wait a moment; I will find it for you," 
 cried the Very Young Man, cheerfully. He 
 lit a match and groveled on the floor of the 
 vestibule, which, thanks to an economical land 
 lord, was but dimly lighted. "Here it is, and 
 now " 
 
 "We are all right," finished Dolly. "Yes, 
 thanks to you, we are, and oh !" She started, 
 as the door clanged heavily shut. 
 
 The Very Young Man glanced down, and 
 was suddenly aware that he was lightly clad 
 in a house coat, a pair of trousers and his bed 
 room slippers. His teeth began to chatter, in 
 spite of him. 
 
 "Well, we won't stay here all night, talking 
 186
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 about it," cried Belinda. "We can thank you 
 much more gracefully, in the morning. Why, 
 the door is locked again !" 
 
 The Very Young Man put his hand mechani 
 cally in his pocket. It was empty. 
 
 "Well, of all the carelessness!" snapped 
 Belinda. "It does seem that a man can never 
 do anything right. Now what are you going 
 to do?" She assumed as disinterested an air 
 as Miss Adams. 
 
 "Are you quite sure that your key is not in 
 your pocket?" faltered Dolly, the fire of hope 
 burning low in her eyes. 
 
 The Very Young Man could only shake his 
 head. He was in the midst of a prolonged fit 
 of sneezing. 
 
 "The idea of coming downstairs, without a 
 key!" Belinda was addressing Miss Adams, 
 who looked unutterable scorn. 
 
 "I I thought it was only a telegram, you 
 know," said the Very Young Man, humbly. 
 "The telegraph boy never wants to talk in the 
 vestibule."
 
 The Very Young 
 
 "And none of us remembered our keys, you 
 know, dear," apologized Dolly. 
 
 "And we all want to get in," groaned Miss 
 Adams. "I shall be ill with neuralgia to- 
 morrow !" 
 
 "Four souls with but a single thought and 
 not a latch-key among us," said the Very 
 Young Man. 
 
 "You might let us in now, and present the 
 humorous aspect of the situation in the morn 
 ing," answered Belinda. "I fancy we should 
 enjoy it more then." 
 
 "I'll try the Wycoff's bell," suggested the 
 Very Young Man. "I haven't very much hope 
 that they will answer, though. Mrs. Wycoff 
 says she rouses, if a cat runs across the roof 
 and you know what that means." 
 
 "That she would merely dream of Fourth of 
 July, if a gatling was fired in the hall," sighed 
 Belinda; "still, you might try." 
 
 He did try. For ten minutes he and Dolly 
 rang the bell by turns. At intervals, he 
 sneezed dismally. 
 
 J88
 
 "I I wouldn't so much mind it, if I wasn't 
 four flights from a handkerchief," he sighed. 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Sweeting, take mine. It is not 
 very big, and it has a lot of lace on it ; but you 
 won't mind that, will you?" Dolly cried. "I 
 am so sorry that you are so so uncomfortable 
 and to think that it is all my fault !" 
 
 "Well, that is no use," broke in Belinda, 
 mournfully. "Try Mr. Hardy's bell, Mr. 
 Sweeting. I had rather have a sermon than 
 pneumonia, anyway." 
 
 "It's no use, Miss Manly. He says that 
 when the bell rings at night, it is either some 
 body that wants to borrow money, or else bad 
 news. He wouldn't loan money, anyhow, to a 
 man that waked him up to ask for it, and bad 
 news will keep, until he has had his good night's 
 rest so he never answers it." 
 
 "Then, since you disdain all my suggestions, 
 what do you propose to do?" 
 
 "I know the people who live in the second 
 flat next door; they will take you in while I 
 go and telephone to the police station for some 
 
 JS?
 
 The Very Young 
 
 skeleton keys. I know the fellow at the desk, 
 luckily." 
 
 "Well, I suppose you might," agreed 
 Belinda. "Having gotten us into this scrape, 
 you naturally feel it your duty to get us out 
 of it, and I ought not to put any obstacles in 
 your way, though I must say that I should have 
 preferred to make acquaintance with my neigh 
 bors at some more convenient hour." 
 
 "That is the very thing; we will go at once !" 
 cried Miss Adams, who had been leaning de 
 jectedly against the door-frame, ever since, 
 their last avenue of escape had been closed. 
 "Oh, goodness gracious me ! What shall I do 
 now ?" 
 
 "What's the matter now?" demanded 
 Belinda, crossly. 
 
 "My dress is caught fast in the door, and 
 I can't move!" wailed Miss Adams. "Don't 
 go away and leave me alone; I shall die, if you 
 do, and my blood will be on your head. No, 
 Dolly, you can't get me loose without pulling 
 the house down, and I don't want to do that." 
 She looked tragically at Dolly; Dolly gazed
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 sorrowfully at Belinda, and Belinda turned re 
 proachful eyes on the Very Young Man. 
 
 "Then, I suppose I had better go and tele 
 phone for the keys." He tried to speak cheer 
 fully, as his eyes fell on his bedroom slippers. 
 "You are not afraid to be left alone, are 
 you?" 
 
 "Not at all," replied Belinda, cheerfully. 
 "It is the best thing that you can do." 
 
 "But he will have a dreadful cold, Belinda, 
 dear. I am afraid he is going to have pneu 
 monia, anyhow ; just listen how he sneezes !" 
 
 "Pneumonia does not begin with sneezing. 
 Besides, he can take some medicine, when he 
 gets in." She sat down on the upper step to 
 await the return of the lightly-clad messenger. 
 
 At the corner, the Very Young Man was 
 hailed by a familiar voice. 
 
 "Hello, Sweeting! What's up? From 
 your attire, I gather that it is either a case of 
 paresis or, at the least, a temporary aberra 
 tion of the mind. Are you too far gone to 
 recognize your friends ? Because " 
 
 "Tracy, thank goodness! Now, why did 
 
 m
 
 The Very Young 
 
 I never think of you? Have you your latch 
 key about you?" 
 
 "I wish I was as sure that you had your wits. 
 What's the matter? Is it burglars, this time, 
 or fire, or " 
 
 "The ladies Miss Watterson, Miss Manly 
 and Miss Adams went to the theater, without 
 their latch-keys. They rang our bell and I 
 came down, thinking it was a messenger. I 
 stepped out to look for Miss Manly's pocket- 
 book, which she had dropped, and the door 
 blew shut, with a fold of Miss Adams' dress 
 
 fast in it. They For Heaven's sake, 
 
 Tracy, don't laugh in that fashion ! Come and 
 open the door, so that the ladies can get in, 
 and I can go where I can obtain more clothes, 
 even if I need them less !" 
 
 "Oh, dear, he is gone a long time, isn't he? 
 Do you think anything has happened to him, 
 Miss Adams?" cried Dolly. "I shall never 
 
 forgive myself if Gracious, Belinda, 
 
 what is the matter now?" 
 
 "My key, my key !" She waved it excitedly
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 in the air. "It was in my glove all the time. 
 That is, it isn't my key; it is yours, Dolly. I 
 remember now that I picked it up from the 
 dressing table, as we were starting, and put 
 it in my glove that it might be all ready when 
 we reached home. Well, now, I can let you 
 both in, and I only hope that it may prove a 
 lesson to " 
 
 "Then, what do you mean by keeping us out 
 here half the night, if you had the key in your 
 glove all the time?" demanded Miss Adams, 
 fiercely. 
 
 But Belinda made no reply. With fingers 
 which trembled, she was fitting the key into the 
 lock. 
 
 "Here I am, and here is Tracy with his key !" 
 cried the Very Young Man, cheerfully; "I 
 met him at the corner, and it is all right." 
 
 "I am sorry that you troubled yourself un 
 necessarily," said Belinda, with distant polite 
 ness. "I am just opening the door myself. 
 You see, I was er a little upset at the 
 thought that Dolly and Miss Adams had been so 
 
 careless, and so " 
 
 J93
 
 The Very Young 
 
 "You forgot you had your key?" said Tracy, 
 affably. "I see. Well, Miss Manly, you 
 know it takes three generations to make a 
 gentleman. The use and care of the latch-key 
 is an hereditary instinct, as you are doubt 
 less aware." 
 
 Belinda made no reply; she was vanishing 
 up the stairs, with Miss Adams in her wake. 
 Dolly lingered a moment. 
 
 "I am very, very much obliged to you, Mr. 
 Sweeting. You must not think Belinda is un 
 grateful, either; you see, she is very tired to 
 night. I hope you have not caught a bad cold. 
 Good-night." 
 
 The Very Young Man took the extended 
 hand, but what arfswer he was about to make, 
 will never be known, for it was smothered in 
 a gigantic sneeze. 
 
 "What is the matter? Oh, tell me what is 
 the matter ! Don't try to conceal it from me." 
 It was the voice of the Matron, on the upper 
 landing. "I know that it is bad news for me, 
 and you need not try to prepare me for it. I 
 am aroused by the merest whisper, and as soon 
 J94
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 as I heard you talking in the hall, I knew that 
 you were making ready to break it gently." 
 
 "There is nothing wrong, Mrs. Wycoff; 
 indeed, there is not," called Dolly. "I am 
 so sorry that we have disturbed you. We have 
 just come from the theater at least we came 
 some time ago. We had forgotten our latch 
 keys, all of us that is, except Belinda and 
 we couldn't get in, so " 
 
 "An' phwat is it now?" It was the mellow 
 tones of the janitor, at the basement door. "Is 
 it a foight, or is it only me woife comin' home? 
 If it's a foight, you needn't say annything, an' 
 if it's me woife, she'll say something annyhow. 
 Oh, it's yourself, is it, Mr. Tracy? Then it's 
 all right, even if it's wrong." 
 
 "Hello, good people; are you getting up a 
 continuous performance in the hall? If so, 
 it is evident that you are trying it, in theatrical 
 parlance, on the dog." It was the voice of 
 the Philosopher. There was a smothered ex 
 clamation, and the Matron's door shut sud 
 denly. "Ah, well, every dog has his day, but 
 it is seldom prolonged until one A.M., unless 
 J95
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 he is a very sad dog indeed; therefore, 
 I " 
 
 There was a series of sounds, as if several 
 doors closed simultaneously, and presently 
 that of the Philosopher closed also. 
 
 "Oh, Belinda, I am so sorry !" wailed Dolly, 
 as she entered the room, and found Belinda in 
 a dejected heap on the couch. 
 
 "W what did he say?" came a muffled 
 voice. 
 
 "He didn't say anything; but if you could 
 only have heard him sneeze!" 
 
 "Who? Mr. Hardy?" 
 
 "Goosie! no! Mr. Sweeting! You were 
 asking " 
 
 "Dolly Watterson, I asked you a plain ques 
 tion, and your reply is as ambiguous as it would 
 be if you were a policeman, and I had asked 
 my way of you!" 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Hardy! He wanted to know if 
 we were giving a continuous performance in 
 the hall. I think Mr. Tracy went up to tell 
 him all about it. But it doesn't make any dif- 
 
 J96
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 ference, now that we are in the house once 
 more." 
 
 "It doesn't make any difference! It makes 
 no difference that the only sensible man in the 
 house thinks me an idiot and when it is all 
 my own fault, too!" 
 
 "Your own fault!" Dolly stood aghast. 
 "Oh, Belinda, darling, what is the matter? 
 You must be very ill to say that, even if you 
 don't mean it. Blame me, blame anybody, 
 and then I shall know it is all right; but don't 
 talk in that fashion, or I shall think you are 
 delirious !" 
 
 But Belinda made no reply; she wept. 
 
 J97
 
 Chapter X 
 
 "WE not only know where our own shoes 
 pinch, but we are likewise aware of the fact 
 that they pinch worse than the shoes of anyone 
 else can possibly pinch," mused the Philoso 
 pher, gazing thoughtfully at the assembled 
 company. 
 
 "And your own particular pinch is ?" 
 
 queried the Matron, with an interested air. 
 
 "The fact that the Reaper, whose name is 
 Matrimony, has taken away my handmaid," 
 sighed the Philosopher. "Now, all bad cooks 
 and most pretty women marry, but Katrine 
 seemed, by the conspiracy of art and nature, 
 especially fitted for the position she occupied 
 in my small household. Nature had made 
 her so homely that no iceman lingered about 
 my door, and the groceries were delivered with 
 out unnecessary speech; as for art, it had 
 made her a good cook, and I felt, therefore, 
 J99
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 reasonably certain of having her soups and 
 salads smooth my modest pathway to the 
 grave." 
 
 "And now she has promptly married a man 
 who does not know good sala'd from bad, and 
 rather prefers the latter, I suppose," said 
 Tracy. "Ah, well, Hardy, there is nothing cer 
 tain in this life save matrimony and gas bills." 
 
 "Too true," admitted the Philosopher. "In 
 this case, I was mine own undoing. I hired 
 a carpenter to put up some bookshelves in the 
 doorway between the sitting-room and my 
 own apartment. From the length of time re 
 quired by the operation, I feared that involun 
 tary bankruptcy must inevitably follow the 
 presentation of his bill. I was agreeably dis 
 appointed in its size. How could I know, I 
 ask you, that the carpenter was a recent 
 widower with seven small children, and that 
 Katrine was possessed of a sympathetic na 
 ture?" 
 
 "Of course, you couldn't know it," returned 
 the Matron; "and by the time the bill came 
 in, it was too late. To think that you singled 
 200
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 out that especial carpenter from the hundreds 
 of married men and woman haters, who could 
 have done the job equally well? Well, after 
 this, when you have a good cook and want any 
 improvements or repairs made, be sure to select 
 a man whose buttons show that he has not 
 sewed them on himself. Nothing predisposes 
 a man to marry even a homely woman, so 
 surely, as the threading of a few needles." 
 
 "I shall remember your good advice if I 
 ever have the luck to need it again. The most 
 distressing phase of the whole affair is the fact 
 that Katrine looks upon me as her benefactor 
 and, in consequence, I shall be expected to look 
 after the family, if he is out of work. She ex 
 pects to be married in a week, and in the in 
 terval she evidently feels that I will not expect 
 clear coffee or well-cooked beefsteak, with 
 Cupid at the door. She boiled the dishcloth, 
 instead of the potatoes yesterday, and then 
 wondered how it could have happened !" 
 
 "Perhaps it was merely her womanly way 
 of softening the blow of her departure," sug 
 gested Tracy, "I sympathize with you, my 
 '20*
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 dear fellow ; I, too, have known the sad words, 
 'What is Home without a Cook/ to come crash 
 ing through my brain." 
 
 "Mrs. Rafferty says the best thing you can 
 do is to get married, Mr. Hardy," said the 
 Angel Child, suddenly. "She thinks you 
 would be a happier and a better man if you had 
 somebody to see that you didn't smoke so much 
 and get your own way all the time. I heard 
 her tell Miss Belinda so this morning, and Miss 
 Belinda said " 
 
 "Edward Faversham Wycoff!" cried the 
 Matron, severely. 
 
 "No, mamma, she didn't say that, at all. 
 She said " 
 
 "Come here, darling, and get some of these 
 nice chocolates," said Dolly, coaxingly. 
 
 "I will in a minute, Dolly. She said " 
 
 "It looks very much like rain, does it not?" 
 remarked Miss Adams. "However, it has 
 been so bright for the last few days that we 
 must expect rain soon." 
 
 "Indeed, we must," stammered Belinda. 
 "I I don't really mind rain, do you?" 
 202
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Not unless I am wearing a new gown," 
 returned Evelyn. "Oh, Belinda, Anne wore 
 that adorable red cloth of hers to a tea the other 
 day, and some one upset a whole glass of punch 
 over it right down the front breadth." 
 
 "Yes, and Mr. Silley's mother was there, 
 and she couldn't do anything but smile, and 
 say that it really didn't matter !" cried Mae. 
 
 "Ah, well, necessity is the mother of inven 
 tion, in polite conversation, at any rate," ob 
 served Tracy, airily. 
 
 "It was in this case," smiled Evelyn. "I 
 wonder why girls do everything to please a 
 potential mother-in-law, and nothing to please 
 a certain one ? Poor Anne, she is so dull ; why, 
 she couldn't see anything funny in the affair, 
 even when I stopped laughing and explained 
 it to her. I often fear that she is, indeed, 
 hardly fitted for matrimony; since she has no 
 sense of humor." 
 
 "Speaking of teas, I wonder who invented 
 them ?" said Dolly, who was feeding the Angel 
 Child with cake, bon-bons and other indigesti- 
 bles, 
 
 203
 
 The Very Young 
 
 "The enemy of man, I suppose," smiled 
 Tracy. "At least, I have heard him credited 
 with the invention." 
 
 "No one, save the society editor, ever speaks 
 well of them and yet we accept, when we are 
 bidden to them, and then wonder why we 
 haven't enjoyed them," mused Belinda. 
 
 "Perhaps the lions enjoy them," suggested 
 the Very Young Man. "As for the rest of 
 us, we merely go to see the lions fed; so we 
 might at least come away content." 
 
 "In counting up our mercies, let us be thank 
 ful that we are not social lions," quoth the Phi 
 losopher. "We may be growing a bit scanty 
 in the hair, yet the public prints take no notice 
 of that fact, so distressing to every man of a 
 sensitive nature. We may go to a tea occa 
 sionally, but it is for pleasure, not business, and 
 our autographs are chiefly valuable when ap 
 pended to checks. Strangers seldom ask us 
 questions of so intimate a character that our 
 nearest and dearest might hesitate before giv 
 ing them voice ; and we need never eat but one 
 dinner a day. Decidedly, when the wind is in 
 204
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 the east and our highest collars have developed 
 in the hands of the laundryman, an edge 
 sharper than the serpent's tooth, let us be thank 
 ful that we are not social lions." 
 
 "Oh, but I always thought it must be delight 
 ful to be a lion," said Dolly, timidly. "People 
 always remember when they have met them be 
 fore, and " 
 
 "There are even some who have such ab 
 normally good memories that they can remem 
 ber previous meetings which have never taken 
 place," broke in the Matron. "Well, I ad 
 mit that I should like to be a lion, but I should 
 hate to be the wife of one. Think of having 
 to sit opposite to him at breakfast, when the 
 morning paper said unpleasant things about 
 him, and he had found one of your bills in his 
 morning mail ! And then, suppose, if he were 
 a writer, he made 'copy' of the scene which 
 followed, and all your dearest friends were thus 
 made aware of things you would much rather 
 have kept in the family !" 
 
 "There is something in that," said Evelyn, 
 thoughtfully; "and even the best of people ex- 
 205
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 pect a lion to be unhappy in his domestic life. 
 His admirers somehow seem to take it as a 
 personal compliment, when he is. And I must 
 say that pleasure is seldom denied them," she 
 added. 
 
 "No lion is a hero to his wife, I suppose," 
 observed Tracy, smiling. "Don't look so 
 shocked, Miss Watterson; I know something 
 about lions myself. I have interviewed them, 
 in dress clothes, at three A.M., and in pajamas, 
 at noon, and I usually find myself obliged to 
 put most of their clever speeches into my copy 
 after I get back to the office. I have had them 
 declare that the press was vulgarly inquisitive, 
 and that they never even looked at the things 
 which had been written about them. But the 
 necessary half bushel of clippings was never 
 very far away," he added. 
 
 "Perhaps that is the hitherto inexplicable 
 reason for which your lion marries he needs 
 some one to attend to his clippings," said the 
 Philosopher, thoughtfully. "Well, every 
 woman thinks for at least three weeks that 
 he has married a genius, so no lion wins his 
 206
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 wife under false pretenses. I doubt, though, 
 whether the latter fact is much comfort to her 
 when he mentally vivisects her for 'copy/ if he 
 is a writer, or has her out of bed at four A.M., 
 to attend to his throat, if he is a singer." 
 
 "I had rather marry a lion than an unap 
 preciated genius, anyhow," remarked Mae. "I 
 have often observed that such geniuses take out 
 the indifference of the rest of the world, upon 
 the only person who really admires their work." 
 
 The Philosopher smiled. "The genius who 
 writes for posterity is the only really happy 
 genius, after all," he said. "You see, when 
 posterity gets a chance to express its opinion, 
 of his works, he will not be in a position to take 
 active interest in the matter. By all means, 
 if we must write plays or symphonies, let us 
 write them for posterity !" 
 
 "I've often wondered what becomes of lions, 
 when they are not at afternoon teas," said 
 Mae ; "or of tenors, when it is too early to wear 
 a dress coat! And, by the way, Mr. Tracy, 
 why does the average man always looks so un 
 happy in a dress coat?" 
 207
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 "Perhaps he is regretting that he is not the 
 waiter, Miss Blossom; the man who gives the 
 tips, should not be expected to look as joy 
 ous as the one who receives them." 
 
 "True," said Evelyn. "And have you ever 
 noticed how unhappy the most generous woman 
 always looks, when her husband tips anyone 
 in her presence? You haven't? Well, I sup 
 pose that is because you are neither a woman, 
 nor a married man. But I must tell you of an 
 awful thing that happened to me, the other 
 day. I went to a tea, and I didn't know an 
 earthly thing about the lion in whose honor it 
 was given. After I got there, I asked several 
 people what he had done, but they all seemed 
 so shocked at my ignorance that I knew they 
 were no wiser than myself." 
 
 "Unless in the fact that they did not ask 
 any questions, dear," returned Mae; "there 
 are so many other ways of finding out things 
 you want to know, without descending to the 
 brutality of questions." 
 
 "The person who is wise enough not to ask 
 questions, is usually wise enough not to need 
 208
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 the answers, dear. Where was I ? Oh ! I was 
 duly introduced to the lion and a lot of people 
 who seemed to be of his party, but the hostess 
 spoke his name so confidentially that, if I had 
 not seen it already on the card of invitation, 
 I should never have guessed it. I picked him 
 out easily enough, however, by the fact that 
 he was the only man present who did not look 
 bored. He was awfully stupid, too, just said, 
 'Delighted to meet, I'm sure,' and went on talk 
 ing to Louise, as if he actually enjoyed her 
 conversation." 
 
 "Perhaps it was only his own," suggested 
 Tracy. 
 
 "Possibly ; I hadn't thought of that. At any 
 rate, I found myself standing beside the ugliest 
 little man I ever saw. He had such a flurried 
 air that I saw at once I had impressed him as 
 one of the clever people who were so carefully 
 avoiding each other in the crowded rooms. 
 After we had talked a few minutes, I saw my 
 chance, and said : 'Won't you please tell me 
 what on earth the lion has done ; I never heard 
 of him until I was asked to meet him here.' 
 20?
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 And, oh, Mae, promise, never, never to tell 
 this at the boarding-house, as long as you live !" 
 
 "I won't, dear, unless you forget and tell it 
 differently at the table; forgetfulness is con 
 tagious, you know. But what was the matter ? 
 Was he so distinguished that " 
 
 " 'I I don't know,' he replied ; 'really, you 
 know, I can't do that without laying myself 
 open to the charge of vanity.' ' 
 
 "Mercy, was he the lion? I thought the 
 other " 
 
 "So did I, dear ; but it seems that I was mis 
 taken. You don't know of any one who wants 
 to sell an encyclopedia cheap, do you ? I shall 
 need one, if I go to many more lion teas this 
 winter." 
 
 "At any rate, Miss Whiting, your misfortune 
 goes to prove what I have always suspected : 
 that all lions publicly exhibited should be 
 labeled," remarked the Philosopher. 
 
 "In order that they may not be libeled," said 
 Belinda. "Yes, it would be a good idea pro 
 vided that each lion be allowed to write his own 
 label!" 
 
 210
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Excellent, but with one more amendment; 
 he should be restricted in the size of his label. 
 Otherwise, the other guests might go away 
 without really seeing him, thus rendering the 
 hostess liable for obtaining guests under false 
 pretenses," said Tracy. 
 
 "Mr. Sweeting says that Dolly would never 
 need lions to make people come to her teas," 
 announced the Angel Child. "I suppose that 
 is because she has so many nice things to eat." 
 
 "Doubtless, my dear fellow," replied Tracy, 
 with much gravity. "It is at once evident, 
 even to the dullest intellect, that Miss Wat- 
 terson has discovered a short cut in the path 
 which leads to the masculine heart." 
 
 "Ah er is that the explanation of the 
 phenomenon?" murmured Evelyn. "How nice 
 of you to explain it to us ; I never could under 
 stand why the men rather liked her. Still, I 
 suppose there are people who might ah call 
 her rather good looking?" 
 
 "I have no doubt of it," responded Tracy, 
 quietly. 
 
 "Ah, well, gray matter is unevenly divided, 
 211
 
 The Very Young 
 
 you know," said Mae. "You need not apolo 
 gize for them, Mr. Tracy. But what has hap 
 pened, Evelyn, that you are raving over Dolly 
 in that fashion ? Has she developed a wealthy 
 and handsome cousin? Or, is it " 
 
 "Merely my affection for her, dear. Who 
 could help being fond of a girl who is about 
 to marry as badly as Dolly is?" 
 
 "True, dear. You are always so clever, that 
 I had rather have you for a friend any day, 
 than an enemy especially as you would know 
 all my secrets in either case." 
 
 "But I don't understand," said Tracy, look 
 ing mystified. "I thought that Miss Watter- 
 son had decided to remain a bachelor maid, 
 with a latch-key in her possession, if not in 
 her pocket, and sofa pillows enough to soften 
 all the buffetings of fate !" 
 
 Mae and Evelyn looked smilingly at each 
 other, and then pityingly at Tracy. 
 
 "She says so," replied Evelyn, in a peculiar 
 tone. 
 
 "I suppose you have never noticed that she 
 is careful never to glance towards the door 
 212
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 when Mr. Sweeting comes in, and yet she 
 greets him by name when he comes over to the 
 table?" observed Mae. 
 
 "Or that she is additionally affectionate to 
 the Angel Child when he happens to be in the 
 room?" added Evelyn. 
 
 "Or that she has taken to inviting her friends 
 to share their walks and talks?" 
 
 "Or that she starts, and turns pink every 
 time the door-bell rings ?" 
 
 "I have never noticed one of these things; 
 but then I am only a man," replied Tracy, with 
 humility. "What can you expect of me, I 
 ask?" 
 
 "Very little," cruelly answered Evelyn. 
 "Still, you are Mr. Sweeting's friend." 
 
 "I shall soon be his enemy, unless he learns 
 to put more variety into his conversation, 
 One day, he talks of making a name and a 
 fortune while you wait; the next, he speaks 
 warmly of suicide." 
 
 "And still you doubt that she cares for him !" 
 cried Mae. "Don't you know that he would 
 be certain of winning her, if she did not care 
 2*3
 
 a penny for him? In that case, she would 
 have no moods of her own; and would always 
 be nice to him." 
 
 "So that he would have no mental ups and 
 downs? I see. Ladies, I am a worm in the 
 dust ; a mere " 
 
 "Man," finished Mae. "After all, it is just 
 as well that all of you are mentally near 
 sighted. If you were not, courtship would 
 be robbed of many of its joys to the courted 
 one, and of all its interest to the intelligent 
 observer." 
 
 "Goot efening," said the voice of Mrs. Raf- 
 ferty, from the doorway. "I vants nod to 
 disturp you, Mr. Hardy; but I dinks you hat 
 petter keep an eyes on dot Katrine a liddle. 
 I smells a gread smells in de halls a whiles ago, 
 und I goes oop to see vat de matters vas. I 
 find dot soup had burned to a crisps, vile she 
 cries because she fears dat man she marries 
 loafed his first vife some. I dells her dot it 
 makes not how much a man has loafed one 
 vifes, he can always loaf another yoost so veil, 
 
 2J4
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 und another, too, if he vas vidowered some 
 more." 
 
 "That was very kind of you, Mrs. Rafferty," 
 said the Philosopher. "My effects are all in 
 sured, but my dinner, alas, was not. Well, 
 I shall e'en wend my melancholy way to a res 
 taurant and muse " 
 
 "Indeed, you shall do nothing of the kind, 
 Mr. Hardy," broke in the Matron; "you will 
 dine with me to-day and forget your sorrows, 
 for the time. My cook is but recently 
 divorced, and I can guarantee that she is not 
 at all in love, so come and take pot luck." 
 
 "Why, mamma!" cried the Angel Child, 
 "you told papa that he was never to ask a man 
 to come and take pot luck, unless he gave you 
 at least twenty-four hours' notice. And Mr. 
 Hardy never refuses a second helping, even if 
 there is only a little in the dish. I heard you 
 say so to Aunt Alice, just the other day. Why, 
 mamma, what have I done now? I only " 
 
 "Dot Katrine vill cook you no more goot 
 dinners, Mr. Hardy, unless you tells her to in 
 vite dot man she marries nexdt veek, to come 
 2J5
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 und eats them too. I dinks id vill pe all right 
 in dot gase." Mrs. Rafferty gave a scrutiniz 
 ing look at the tea table, then with a compre 
 hensive smile at the assembled company, she 
 vanished. 
 
 "I am evidently needed above stairs," sighed 
 the Philosopher. "Alas, Man is ' usually the 
 victim of circumstance, when he least deserves 
 defeat." 
 
 "And a victor, when he does not particularly 
 care for success," sighed Tracy. 
 
 "I we are awfully sorry for you, Mr. 
 Hardy," said Belinda. 
 
 "Especially as we shall also be burned out, 
 if Katrine, in an absent-minded moment, starts 
 a fire in the building instead of her cook- 
 stove," added Miss Adams. 
 
 "Or suffocated, if she sends many more such 
 ambitious odors through the building," finished 
 the Very Young Man. 
 
 "Your sympathy is entirely inadequate to the 
 
 situation, my friends. Amateur sympathy 
 
 usually is, however. You would feel for me 
 
 much more, if you, too, did not know where 
 
 216
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 your next meal was coming from. Farewell ; I 
 go to my lonely hearth I mean steam heater, to 
 muse upon the total depravity of widowed car 
 penters and the mutability of things terrestrial, 
 especially in an apartment building." 
 
 "I won't say good-bye; I'll go up with you, 
 Mr. Hardy," said the Angel Child, pleasantly. 
 "I want to see Katrine, anyhow. And I don't 
 see why you don't get a wife to keep things 
 comfortable, and scold the cook for you. 
 Mamma says that papa would be awfully un 
 comfortable if she didn't keep his things in 
 order. I guess she must be mistaken about 
 him, though; for when we went to stay at 
 Aunt Clair's, in the country last summer, he 
 got everything he wanted in the parlor, where 
 he could reach it, and he said he had had a 
 lovely time. But we're never, never going 
 away without him again mamma says so. 
 And I think you do need a wife, though Miss 
 Belinda says " 
 
 "You must come down soon and tell us how 
 you are getting along, and if we can be of 
 any assistance to you," broke in Dolly. 
 2J7
 
 The Very Yoxmg Man 
 
 "I don't see why nobody listens to me, when 
 I talk," wailed the Angel Child. "I always 
 listen to what grown people are saying. Miss 
 Belinda says " 
 
 "It is really raining; I told you that it 
 would," said Miss Adams. "A spell of good 
 weather never lasts long in this climate." 
 
 When the Philosopher had unlocked his 
 door, he found the Angel Child beside him. 
 
 "I really want to see Katrine, to find out if 
 she looks different," he said, pleasantly. 
 
 "You want to see her, do you?" queried the 
 Philosopher. "I don't. By the way, Ned, 
 what did Miss Manly say, anyhow ?" 
 
 "She said: 'I am sure that is no affair of 
 mine, Mrs. Rafferty.' " 
 
 "Oh !" replied the Philosopher. 
 
 2*8
 
 Chapter XI 
 
 "MAE and I thought you might be lonesome, 
 so we came to spend the afternoon with you," 
 said Evelyn, as Dolly opened the door. "If 
 you are busy, we will entertain you, and if you 
 are not, you can amuse us. Mercy, what a 
 huge bunch of roses ! They must be a present, 
 because no sensible girl would buy roses, when 
 she needs flowers; carnations are so much 
 cheaper and last twice as long." 
 
 "Besides, you can always say that you pre 
 fer their perfume," added Mae. "But you 
 surely haven't had a birthday without letting us 
 know, have you, Dolly ?" 
 
 "Indeed I have not; I have had one birth 
 day already this year, and I am not greedy. 
 They were sent me by by a friend. .Wasn't 
 it kind?" 
 
 "Very," said Evelyn, dryly; "and the kind 
 ness which expresses itself in American Beau- 
 219
 
 The Very Young Ma.i\ 
 
 ties, at their present price, is as rare as a hot 
 dinner in a boarding-house." 
 
 ."Who did you say sent them to you, Dolly?" 
 asked Mae. "I was talking to Belinda, and did 
 not quite catch the name. Don't look that way 
 at me, Evelyn ; I really didn't. I only " 
 
 "Let me give each of you one," said Dolly, 
 hastily; "there are so many that it really seems 
 selfish to keep them." With fingers which 
 trembled slightly, she selected two of the largest 
 blossoms and presented them to her guests. 
 
 "Is it really true that Mr. Sweeting has come 
 into a fortune?" queried Evelyn. "I heard 
 that he had, but one can only believe half that 
 one hears." 
 
 "And it does no harm to add a grain of salt 
 to that," said Mae, flippantly. 
 
 "I understand that a long pending lawsuit 
 concerning some English property, has been 
 settled in favor of his brother and himself," 
 said Dolly, quietly. "Girls, I will make you a 
 cup of tea, if you will wait a few moments. 
 Belinda is cutting out aprons on the tea table, 
 so I will make it on the window-seat instead." 
 220
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "Do ; it will be more sociable that way, any 
 how," said Belinda. "I hate to stop my work, 
 because it is for the poor, you know. We who 
 have so much to be thankful for, should al 
 ways remember the poor." 
 
 "I think I have heard that sentiment before," 
 said Mae. "Well, dear, for your sake, I hope 
 that the very poor are anatomically different 
 from the moderately well-to-do. I was won 
 dering if you were making a new kind of a 
 sofa pillow or a sunbonnet ; I did not like to ask 
 you what it was, because I was not sure that 
 you knew yourself." 
 
 "I am sorry that you are so ignorant in such 
 matters," rejoined Belinda, with much severity. 
 "There may be er a little something wrong 
 with these aprons, but my motives are of the 
 best." 
 
 "I am sure of it ; and I only hope the wearers 
 will think of your motives, instead of the re 
 sult. I think you are putting sugar into the 
 pot instead of tea, Dolly." 
 
 "Ah er your conversation was so inter 
 esting, that I did not think of what I was doing. 
 22J
 
 The Very Young 
 
 THat is a lovely hat you are wearing to-day, 
 Mae." 
 
 "Do you think so, dear? You never said 
 so last year, when it was new." 
 
 "I ah suppose that one gets sort of ac 
 customed to things, and and likes them bet 
 ter." 
 
 "Possibly. I can't say that I feel that way 
 in regard to my old clothes. But, speaking of 
 getting accustomed to things, you will quite 
 miss Mr. Sweeting, will you not? I hear that he 
 is going to England to settle up the estate which 
 has fallen to his brother and himself. Well, 
 I hope that he will remember his friends here, 
 once in a while. However, as he will be ab 
 sent some months, I suppose that he will even 
 have time to forget Gladys, poor girl." 
 
 "Look out, Dolly!' cried Evelyn; "you are 
 pouring the teapot so full that it will run over. 
 Gracious! you two girls are acting oddly to 
 day Were you quarreling when we came in? 
 Because if you were, we will go away, as soon 
 as we have had our tea, and let you have it out. 
 I had rather be interrupted in the nicest love 
 222
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 scene in a new novel, than in the midst of a 
 quarrel with my dearest friend." 
 
 "An interruption is not really so bad, when 
 one is getting the worst of it," observed Mae, 
 thoughtfully; "it gives one time to bring up 
 fresh ammunition and sometimes turns the tide 
 of battle." 
 
 "Dolly and I never quarrel," said Belinda, 
 with great dignity; "we sometimes have little 
 differences of opinion, but that is all." 
 
 "Just as married people do," smiled Evelyn ; 
 "of course. One would as soon confess one's 
 exact age as the fact that one had been quarrel 
 ing desperately." 
 
 "Belinda has a great deal of patience with 
 me, I am sure," sighed Dolly. "We we look 
 forward to a very peaceful and happy old age 
 together, don't we, dear? Mercy, what was 
 that?" she started violently, as did Belinda. 
 
 "Merely a knock at the door, goosie. Are 
 you expecting any bills to-day? Because if 
 you are, I " 
 
 "Oh, it is you, is it, Mr. Sweeting!" said 
 Belinda, in a relieved tone of voice. "And 
 223
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 here is Edward, too. Come in, both of you. 
 We did not expect to see you again, Mr. Sweet 
 ing, since you were here this morning. You 
 must have a great deal to do, if you sail to 
 morrow. It is very good of you, I am sure." 
 
 "I was busy, very busy, indeed, Miss Manly ; 
 but " 
 
 "Nonsense," broke in Mae ; "a man can start 
 for the antipodes with a clean collar and a tooth 
 brush. It is the one thing I envy him that, 
 and the ability to say what he really feels, when 
 things go wrong. It must almost make up for 
 having always to pay other people's car fare, 
 as well as your own." 
 
 "Possibly," murmured the Very Young 
 Man, with the air of a person who has not 
 quite heard the last remark. "Yes, I was very 
 busy, but our young friend entreated me to 
 come with him, and I " 
 
 "Why, Mr. Sweeting, you are as xorgetful 
 as grandma ! I said I had rather stay and help 
 you pack, as I did that day you sent all the 
 photographs and embroidered things back, you 
 know. Don't you remember ? . .You said that 
 224'
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 you thought Miss Belinda had another one of 
 those fruit cakes, and I said I'd come, then. 
 I don't see any of it now, do you? Perhaps 
 you were mistaken, as you were when you said 
 that " 
 
 "Never mind, Edward; we are glad to see 
 you, anyhow; we're not offended," said Dolly, 
 in a queer, shaky voice. "Truthfulness is a 
 virtue not to be despised by people having deal 
 ings with the race of dressmakers and jani 
 tors." She turned to the Very Young Man; 
 her eyes fastened on the pin in his necktie. "It 
 was awfully kind of you to send me all those 
 lovely roses," she said, in lower tones. 
 
 "The roses which you appreciated so much, 
 that you are giving them away !" 
 
 "I was not to be outdone in generosity by 
 you," she retorted. "Gracious! is that the 
 kettle boiling over?" 
 
 "Never mind," spoke Belinda, serenely; 
 "you frequently do let it boil over when you 
 make the tea, so I put the kettle on the new 
 square of green velveteen. It is beautifully 
 faded already, Evelyn." 
 225
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 "I sail at eight o'clock to-morrow morning, 
 and the business may take a year to settle, Miss 
 Dolly," said the Very Young Man. "A year 
 is a long time." 
 
 "Nonsense, Mr. Sweeting; it is not long, 
 when one is over ten," said Dolly, cheerfully; 
 "and besides, you will be so busy that you " 
 
 "Why, Dolly Waterson! You are filling 
 both the cup and the saucer !" called the watch 
 ful Evelyn. 
 
 "I it is for Mae, and she is so fond of 
 tea." 
 
 "Not on her best gown, dear," retorted Mae. 
 "So you are really going abroad, Mr. Sweet 
 ing? How lovely!" 
 
 "Lovely," echoed Dolly. "You take two 
 lumps, don't you, Mae?" 
 
 "When I can get them. Evelyn usually 
 forgets to buy any for ours; then she says 
 sugar is unwholesome. Oh, Dolly, I want a 
 word with you presently." 
 
 "So do I Dolly," whispered the masculine 
 guest. "I sail at eight o'clock to-morrow 
 
 morning, and I " 
 
 226
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 "That is three times you have told Dolly 
 that, Mr. Sweeting," remarked the Angel 
 Child. "She knew it quite well already, too, 
 because Mr. Rafferty told her; I heard him. 
 She did not seem to feel as bad as he did, but 
 she thinks you deserve your good fortune, and 
 that you will be a great man some day." 
 
 Belinda rose to the occasion. "Come with 
 me into the next room, Edward," she said. 
 "I want to show you what a nice cake cup 
 board I have made out of an old packing- 
 trunk." 
 
 "Oh, how I envy you London, Mr. Sweet 
 ing!" gushed Mae. "I know it thoroughly. 
 I was there two whole days once. And per 
 haps you will run over to Paris, too. Oh, dear, 
 it makes me ill to think of Paris, and the lovely 
 copper milk cans you can get there, and those 
 exquisite draperies, too. When I was there, 
 and could have picked them up, I had only 
 enough money to pay for my lessons and my 
 board, and now what is it, Evelyn?" 
 
 "I was thinking that perhaps Mr. Sweeting 
 would get you one of those cans, while he is 
 227
 
 The Very Young 
 
 in Paris. It is always better to ask -for what 
 you want in this world, dear. People are al 
 ways selfishly thinking of their own affairs, you 
 know." 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Sweeting, would you?" 
 "Delighted, I am sure, Miss Blossom." 
 "How well you dissemble your joy; still, 
 I do so want it. Will you wait here while I 
 
 go for the money? All right, then, I 
 
 Why, here is Miss Adams!" 
 
 "With pleasure. Oh, by the way, Miss 
 Adams, I saw a lady ringing your bell when 
 I came up, a while ago." 
 
 "She has gone away by this time, anyhow. 
 Please give me a cup of tea, Dolly ; I have been 
 shopping, and that makes one so thirsty. Oh, 
 is that Belinda's new lion over by the door? 
 I must have a look at it; have you seen it, 
 Evelyn?" 
 
 "I sail at eight o'clock to-morrow morning, 
 and I must see you alone, if only for a moment. 
 I have been trying to speak to you for a week, 
 ever since my news came; but I could never 
 
 228
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 get a chance," whispered the Very Young 
 Man. 
 
 "You might have written what you had to 
 say," said Dolly, suavely. 
 
 "So I might; especially since you and Miss 
 Manly open each other's letters! As for see 
 ing you alone when I asked you to go to the 
 exhibition, you brought three of them along. 
 If it had been two or four, I shouldn't have 
 minded, because they could have paired off, 
 but " 
 
 "I am sure it is very unkind of you to say 
 such things, and grudge Evelyn and Mae and 
 Belinda that little pleasure when they said 
 such nice things about your generosity, too!" 
 
 "And when I asked you to walk with me 
 in the park and see the purple shadows on the 
 snow, that day that Edward had sore throat, 
 you brought " 
 
 "Only Evelyn, that day, and she is so fond 
 of purple shadows, too ! As long as I live, I 
 mean to to share my pleasures with other 
 bachelor girls, and " 
 
 "Here is the money, Mr. Sweeting. I met 
 229
 
 The Very Young Ma.i\ 
 
 Anne in the street and borrowed it from Her* 
 And, oh, if you could find me a real good piece 
 of drapery a faded brown, you know, or, 
 something like that I would be your debtor 
 for life," said Mae, entering hastily. "Come 
 and sit by me, and tell me all about your plans ; 
 I am so much interested in them. And how 
 poor Mr. Tracy will miss you, to be sure!" 
 
 "Oh, no, he won't, Miss Blossom," said the 
 Angel Child. "Mr. Tracy says that a man in 
 love is poor company, even forliimself. For 
 his part, he thinks he will go live with Mr. 
 
 Hardy, who is too sensible to Gracious, 
 
 Miss Belinda! did you know that you knocked 
 over a teacup when you jumped ? You must be 
 as nervous as Dolly." 
 
 "Oh, speaking of Mr. Hardy, Mr. Rafferty 
 was here this morning," said Dolly. "He says 
 that Katrine has gone, and he is going to 
 morrow to his cousin's and find Mr. Hardy 
 another handmaiden. He says that the misery 
 in his side is very bad, however, and if it rains 
 to-morrow, he will go to-day instead." 
 
 "The cake is all gone now ; there was only a 
 230
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 little of it left, anyhow," sighed the Angel 
 Child, after the laughter had subsided. "I 
 think we had better go now, Mr. Sweeting; 
 I don't believe the ladies are very glad to see 
 us anyhow, and I have a very uncomfortable 
 feeling. I don't know whether it is the cake 
 or because you are going away, but " 
 
 "Don't be in a hurry, Mr. Sweeting," said 
 Belinda, kindly. "We are going to the theater, 
 as you know, this evening, and this will be our 
 last chance to see you. Edward can go up 
 stairs by himself, and " 
 
 "I know I can, but mamma isn't there. She 
 was going to see Aunt Alice, and I was going 
 with her, when we met Mr. Sweeting at the 
 door. He said he would bring me to her when 
 we came away from here. I want to see 
 mamma dreadfully, and Mrs. Rafferty says it 
 is no use for Mr. Sweeting to dangle after 
 
 Dolly, anyway; because Ow, that is not 
 
 the way to put on my coat, Mr. Sweeting !" 
 
 "I am sorry that you must go," said Dolly, 
 as she helped the Angel Child into his outer 
 garments. 
 
 23J
 
 The Very Young 
 
 "It seems that I must;" there was ice in the 
 voice of the Very Young Man. "You are so 
 busy, however, that I cannot dare hope that you 
 will miss me. Good-bye, Miss Watterson ; we 
 may never meet again." 
 
 When the door had closed behind the mas 
 culine guests, Dolly turned an expressionless 
 face to the others. "Excuse me a moment, 
 girls, and don't talk about anything really in 
 teresting, until I come back, will you ? A hair 
 pin is boring a hole into my skull, and I have 
 no brains to spare." 
 
 "Men are queer creatures," said Miss 
 Adams, impartially. "Now, Mr. Sweeting 
 seems quite upset about something, and yet 
 he has just come into a fortune, and is going 
 abroad as well." 
 
 "Either one of which facts would make me 
 perfectly happy," sighed Evelyn. 
 
 "Or me but then, I ask so little in this 
 world," murmured Mae. "Dear me, Belinda, 
 I often feel that I could shake you and Dolly; 
 you are so contented to be bachelor girls and 
 
 232
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 buy your own theater tickets for life. Mercy, 
 what was that ?" 
 
 There was an exclamation, and Dolly bounced 
 into the room, shutting and locking the door 
 after her. 
 
 "There's a mouse in there I saw it!" she 
 wailed. 
 
 "Humph," said Evelyn. "It wouldn't hurt 
 you, goosie. I'd be ashamed " 
 
 "I I was afraid it might get away!" fal 
 tered Dolly. Then she sank into the Morris 
 chair and began to laugh and cry at once. 
 
 "Ring for the janitor, Evelyn," commanded 
 Belinda. "Open the window, Mae; fetch her 
 a cup of tea, Miss Adams, and hand me that 
 rug off the couch, somebody. Yes, we did 
 ring, Mr. Rafferty! There is a mouse in the 
 other room. It seems to me Dolly, stop, this 
 minute! that an apartment house ought at 
 least to be free from mice. I shall complain 
 
 to the agent at once, if Oh, is that you, 
 
 Mr. Sweeting? Walk in." 
 
 "I er believe it is, Miss Manly. I met 
 Mrs. Wycoff at the door, and she took the 
 233
 
 The Very Young Man 
 
 Angel Child. I only returned for a moment 
 I think I left my cane. But what " 
 
 Dolly suddenly sat up very straight, knock 
 ing over the cup of tea Miss Adams was just 
 presenting, as she did so. She put up both 
 hands to her disordered hair. 
 
 "I I forgot to eat my luncheon to-day, and 
 I am tired, too. My work didn't go very well, 
 
 either, and then that mouse Oh, won't 
 
 you sit down?" 
 
 Mr. Sweeting did not sit down. He stood 
 up, very straight, and tall, and rather pale, in 
 the exact spot, as Belinda noted, at which the 
 moth-holes in the drapery above the cabinet 
 were most visible, and where you could easily 
 see that the leg of the mahogany table had been 
 mended. Mr. Sweeting, however, noted none 
 of these distressing things. He seemed sud 
 denly to have grown older. He said, in firm, 
 clear tones : 
 
 "Thank you, I will not sit down. Miss 
 Belinda, Miss Evelyn, Miss Adams, Miss Mae, 
 I sail at eight o'clock to-morrow morning 1 , and 
 
 234
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 I want a chance to ask Dolly to marry me, be 
 fore I go. Will you give it to me?" 
 
 Dolly cast one frightened look at Belinda. 
 "Girls, I I don't want to hear him." She 
 wrung her hands helplessly. 
 
 Belinda grasped the hand of the Very Young 
 Man a moment. Then she deliberately walked 
 over to Dolly and shook her. 
 
 "You do want to hear him, Dolly Watter- 
 son, and you know it," she said, sternly. 
 "You are no more fitted to be a bachelor girl, 
 than I am to be a a juggler," she concluded, 
 lamely. "Girls, come with me." 
 
 "Well, I I never did!" quavered Miss 
 Adams. "Belinda, this is most extraordinary. 
 I feel quite quite weak!" 
 
 "Belinda Manly, I never thought you would 
 throw Dolly at any man's head, in that fashion. 
 I am astonished at you !" gasped Mae. 
 1 "And so am I!" cried Evelyn. "But, oh, 
 Mae, wasn't it lovely? Quite like a play!" 
 
 "I didn't throw her at his head!" sobbed 
 Belinda. "He is dreadfully in love with her. 
 I like him; he always wears such nice clean 
 235
 
 The Very Young 
 
 collars, and he never forgets to be polite, no 
 matter how you snub him." 
 
 "I believe I am going to cry, too," said Mae. 
 "It makes you feel sort of odd when a man acts 
 like that, even because of another girl !" 
 
 "I think it is odd very odd!" exclaimed 
 Miss Adams. "I shall be ill to-morrow from 
 all this excitement, see if I am not ! I wish I 
 had not come this afternoon. Oh, Belinda, 
 I wonder what they are saying now ?" 
 
 But Belinda said nothing; with her head in 
 Evelyn's lap, she wept like an ordinary girl. 
 
 The Very Young Man's courage suddenly 
 left him, when the door closed after the aston 
 ished quartette. He stood quite still, with his 
 hat in his hand, and looked timidly at Dolly. 
 But Dolly's face was hidden in her handker 
 chief, and she, too, said nothing. 
 
 "I I suppose I had better go, if you have 
 nothing to say to me," he ventured, finally. 
 "Shall I go, Dolly? If I do go, this time, I 
 shall not come back, you know." 
 
 There was no reply; Dolly had not changed 
 her position. The Very Young Man turned 
 236
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 and walked slowly to the door. He opened 
 it, slowly, too. "Good-by," he said, mourn 
 fully. The door clanged shut 
 
 Dolly started to her feet. "He is gone!" 
 she cried, wildly. "What shall I do?" . 
 
 "No, I haven't. I came back for for some 
 thing that belongs to me, and " 
 
 "And I suppose it is me," whispered Dolly, 
 meekly. 
 
 'Half an hour later, the Very Young Man 
 started suddenly to his feet. "Is that clock 
 right?" he cried. 
 
 "Of course it isn't right," smiled Dolly; "it's 
 a French clock. But what is the matter?" 
 
 He was consulting his watch. "I have just 
 time to catch him at his office, if I take a cab !" 
 
 "To catch whom?" Dolly was smoothing her 
 rumpled hair; her eyes were very bright and 
 blue. 
 
 "The man who wanted to sail by this boat, 
 
 and couldn't get a berth ; he can have mine, and 
 
 I shall sail next week with my wife." He 
 
 came back from the endi of the hall. "I 
 
 237
 
 The Very Young Ma.n 
 
 suppose it is really true; I haven't dreamed it, 
 have I?" 
 
 "It is, it is!" wailed Dolly. "Belinda was 
 right. I am not fitted to be a bachelor girl; 
 I am dreadfully afraid on the street, after dark, 
 and I hate to scold the janitor !" 
 
 When his footsteps had quite died away, 
 Dolly went softly to the door leading into the 
 next room. The girls were gone, but she could 
 hear Belinda pacing up and down. She hesi 
 tated a moment ; then she opened the door. 
 
 "Oh, Belinda, to think that I have broken 
 our compact !" she wailed ; and fell into the out 
 stretched arms. 
 
 When they had both cried until they felt 
 better, Belinda rose and went to the window, 
 through which only a faint light now entered. 
 She stood with her back to the room. 
 
 "Dolly, I I have something to tell you ; no, 
 don't come! I I can tell it where you are." 
 
 There was a long silence. Dolly was hu 
 man. 
 
 "You had something to tell me?" she asked. 
 
 *'I have. Dolly, Mr. Hardy was here this 
 238
 
 And the Angel Child 
 
 morning, while you were out. He Don't 
 
 look at me; I feel your eyes through the back 
 of my head; I won't tell you, if you look at 
 me! Have you turned your back?" 
 
 "Yes," said Dolly, breathlessly; "go on." 
 "He asked me to to marry him!" 
 "Oh, you poor, poor dear! And you want 
 me to break it to him gently to refuse him for 
 you. I see." 
 
 "I want nothing of the kind, Dolly Wat- 
 terson. I accepted him !" 
 
 "Well, I never!" cried Dolly. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 239
 
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