Her Husband's Purse

, irritable, and eccentric old Uncle Osmond Berkeley, eminent psychologist, scholar, and author, who at that time owned and occupied the Berkeley homestead. It was the deat

n every hour of her time, making herself useful in every variety of occupation he saw fit to impose, and to do it all with entire cheerfulness and absolutely no complaining. That

ave in a school for young ladies, where you no doubt think I ought to send you for the next two or three years. Schools for young ladies! Ha!" he laughed sardonically. "Ye gods! Thank me for rescuing you from the fate of being 'finished' at one of them! Well named 'finishing schools!' They certainly are a girl's finish so far as common sens

hearth, the firelight playing upon his pallid, intellectual face crowned with thick, white hair, and upon the emaciated hands clasping a volume on his knee. Repellently harsh he seemed to the shrinking maiden standing before him in her

hing ghoulish in his love of cowing those who served him. For the past ten years

ullied deserves no better," was his th

iece as she stood pale and silent before him, "or even lo

more than a child, that she was alon

hasn't, no loss if she's crushed in the grind of serving m

he had heard without a word his uncompromising statements as to what

or in her voice; and the musical, soft drawl of her tone fell with an oddly soothing an

after an instant's stunned silence. "Your condition? Huh! You making a condition, up

rious, capable, untiring, companionable, intelligent chattel," came the musical, lazy dra

you're so damned squeamish, I won't have you

not. I really rather like the way you swear, it's so

have my liberty of

Uncle Osmond, de

ldn't have you in the h

, Uncle Osmond. I'm sure the loss is yo

hink well of yoursel

nd in a store, or go on the stage, or turn evangelist (I've

o you imagine t

means, but I won't be

ctionary. L

lled a wench no ma

? Understand, girl, nobody dictates to

wench, it small

u see, my authority being

she said, turning away a

and behav

"All right-and don't ev

thing. I never

e of my conditi

ondition!" He choked

ering all I'm going to do for you with ch

" he growled, apparently furious, but secretly exul

n somewhere in his browbeating. And the word "wench" had served her purpose. Thereafter, in the eight years that she lived with him, docile and patient as she always

shes, and dark with big trees and a high hedge of hemlocks, as bad as any jail. There were sometimes weeks at a stretch during which she saw no human being save her uncle and the old negro couple who had lived on the place for a quarter of a century; for though Harr

daily association, a stimulus, a variety, and even an excitement that meant much more to her than the usual girl's diversions of frocks, parties, and beaus would have meant. It is true she often longed for a congenial companion of her own age, she hung

ly conclusion as, from day to day, the girl's min

soul that even her life with cynical old Osmond Berkeley could not blight. That philosopher marvelled often at his inability to spoil her, remarkably open as he found her young mind to the ideas and theor

e species do-believe whatever they are told to believe-or, worse, what it suits their personal interests to believe. Be everlastingly thankful to me that I encourage you to think for yourself,

smond," she gratefully responded. "To really care for anything a

of!' You're at the wrong shop! And don't

ring at least about my mind! I'd be gra

so 'good' to any one that you

worse than you are; you're bad e

d bring me Volume Third

l dope to-day? I hoped up to the last you'd choose an exciting novel. D

to be womanly. D

than any individual he had known in many years. He secretly blessed the hour when she had come into his sombre

r response to such overtures (heart-hungry as she was in her loneliness) while gratifying him, had always the effect of making him promptly withdraw into his

single, adored his niece. It seemed that no man could lay eyes on her without promptly loving her (what men called love). Even his physician, happily married and the father of four lusty boys, was, Berkeley could see, quite mad about her, though Margaret never discovered it; she only thought him extremely agreeable and kind and liked him accordingly. Indeed the

l is bound to do sooner or later, it will go hard with her. Let her wait, however, until I'm gone

ind his own cynicism as to the thing named love, his conviction of its gross selfishness, his scorn of sentim

erse is upheld and constantly recreated by the ceaseless action of so-called love. A purely nat

garet once suggested i

as part of herself; all her pride and a

's love selfish, there's no

u to know for your own protection that a man's love f

ch protection; I never see a man. No o

are not men, then,

g wild kind that yo

s well as an angel in his soul, a beast as well as a god, is

est, "a devil and a beast as well as

re wholly selfish; you would not stay with me for one day if it were not that I give you

e I shouldn't.

though privately he never failed

at it was a question of affection be

eered bitterly. "Aff

need me to wait on you thirty-six hours out of the twenty-four with a cheerful,

on it is for you to be with me, to be permitted to read

eed, Uncl

l, t

m, patting his hand. "You're far too much like your old Scotch Thomas Carlyle that you

r impuden

, de

k to me aga

e to be brilliantly conversational. I'd reall

e my e

bound to suffer the bitter-sweet experience of becoming enamoured of something, it doesn't much matter what; a cigar-shop Indian will suffice if nothing more lively comes her way. For circumstances are, after all, nothing but "machinery, just meant to give thy life its bent." Berkeley, priding himself on his knowledge of sex-psychology, kno

article of Osmond Berkeley's in which "the hysterical, unwholesome excitement of evangelistic revivals" was demonstrate

ir before the fire, with Margaret at his side reading to him from a just published work by Josiah Royce, made her uncle decide that i

coming with what he conceived to be his burning message of truth to such a formidable "enemy to truth" as the famous scholar, Dr. Osmond Berkeley. Evidently, the young man's co

r fire, nevertheless, before his visit was concluded, his brow wore for her a halo; his thin little voice was rich music to her

k of him and got rid of him without ceremony. In Margaret's eyes

r seeing the young man into the hall, how bright were her eye

y, "wouldn't you rather go to he

llain in a melodrama

ears except at damned fools. Wh

arriet and me to see

ow to come here and take up my

yourself on not being

pid. Breeding

rteous in your own house? You may call that young

pleasant!" he commanded, bringing his h

all the eight years of her life with him, Marg

at her inc

ing, do you, stamping you

dictionary on a stand in the corner. "'Benefactor,'" she read, '"a doer of kindly

n: is it well-bred for a yo

id it, Uncle Osmond,

nted flash in her eyes made him see that this was one

ning to the braying of that evangelical ass for nearly an

e room, he added in a tone that was almost gentle, "

ou, Uncl

ack looking

erful under all circumstances-and you say you hate Christi

n Scientist and live in

e that a Christian Scientist is the only thin

ation of her final thrust; for the one dread that hung ove

ype="