never heard of the woman. Who or what is she?" "She seems to control Miss Aslyn's household. She is a past mistress in all society's codes and laws and pronouncements. Her suite of rooms is elegantly furnished, her dress is not inferior in quality or make to Miss Aslyn's. She takes one end of the table. She goes with Miss Aslyn to the theater and opera and is included in all Miss Aslyn's invitations to other houses. I was told that she is connected with three of the highest American families and she certainly carries herself with a dignity and reserve that might satisfy a dozen of the highest American families. She is a kind of chaperone, I think—a social necessity."

"Very likely. Well?"

"That is all. Can you judge of her wealth by this report of her style of living?"

"The expenditure for such a style of living must be large. She must be wealthy. Does her money frighten you?"

"Not if it is in my care and management. It would not do to have two expenditures in my house. There should only be one purse between husband and wife and the husband should carry it. Very few women can be trusted with money; they do not know how to care for and increase it. These are points about

which I should be very positive. Julia always said she thought my views both kind and practical."

"Julia had nothing to surrender to your care and management. Miss Aslyn seems to be able to care for all that belongs to her."

"That is it, uncle. A woman with money is sure to be more independent than I could approve of. Trouble might come from such a source."

"It would be sure to come. Jan, I do not believe it will do for you to marry a rich woman. Look for some poor, good girl who will drop you a courtesy and say, 'Thank you, sir, for the honor you have

done me!'"

"Why, uncle!"

"You need not worry at my opinion, Jan. Men generally do not marry a woman because she is good or wise or clever or rich, but just because there is something nice about her."

“Oh, uncle, I have not given up Miss Aslyn; no indeed! I like her much. This is only a little setback. She may be my wife yet in spite of all I have said."

And Kelder sighed and answered softly:

"... perchance it may be.

Yet, this perchance is a wide, slippery word;
And in its foldings, there are many doubts."

CHAPTER X

THE GREAT SUCCESS

Acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

up.

...

If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built

Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust. . . yea the Almighty shall be thy defense, and thou shalt have plenty of silver,

For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Job xxii:21-26.

D

URING the following summer months Jan was this and that but he was not happy. He

loved Margaret but he would not permit his heart to tell him this truth too plainly. He wished to understand her thoroughly and he only succeeded in misunderstanding her. What Jan needed most at this time was a friend strong enough to compel him to do the thing he really wished to do and could do if his selfish carefulness would only assure him that he would neither lose personal authority nor be led into tying up money in unprofitable relations to the future.

Jan's mother was the only one who divined the reason of his fretfulness and dissatisfactions. "Jan and you have had enough of each other, Thomas Kelder," she said one evening when Jan had risen suddenly and left the room. "You may see that he is tired to death of all things ordinary. Let him alone till he finds himself."

"He seems restless and unhappy, Mary, and yet he says he is neither sick nor sorry.

"Neither sick nor sorry! Maybe not but he is in love and that both in a general and in a particular way. If the difficulty was about money, he would have found a way out of it, round it, over it or through it, somehow or other. He is in trouble about some woman and he never thinks of wrestling with that obstacle; he just frets like a bairn over it. I'm thinking it is some American woman."

"I believe you are right, Mary. What do you mean by Jan being in love in a general and particular way?"

"Well, Thomas, he goes a great deal to see Cecil and I notice every time he goes he comes back to his own home not fit to be spoken to. He says, 'Well, mother,' lights a fresh cigar, lies down on the sofa and shuts his eyes; or he goes up to his own room and I suppose does the same thing. He has seen

once more the kind of heaven on earth Sheila makes, the joy and peace of her presence, for she knows well when to speak and when to be hushed and quiet; he has watched and played with Cecil's beautiful children once more; little Mary has perhaps fallen asleep in his arms; he sees Sheila moving softly about the house and he cannot but notice that Cecil has a heart at perfect peace and seems more of a man every day just by living with a woman that loves him. He can't help seeing these things and when he does, he says to himself, 'Why am I homeless and childless?' And he is fretted at the thought of itand no wonder! He is heart-sick for his own share in these family joys but if there is no woman he can count on to give them to him he can only long and love in a general way.'

"I think you may be right, Mary; I have felt like that myself. It is a kind of being in love that does make a man a little irritable."

"A little irritable! It makes him very unpleasant to live with. A man that is up and down angry there is always some way to manage, if he be sober, but a man just a little irritable is like a whimpering child. You cannot reason with him and he is o'er old for Solomon's short convincing way, mores the pity! He deserves it."