At Home with the Jardines

hey occurred. By that I mean that I intend to take the keen edge from our griefs for kindness' sake and to illuminate our joys a little beyond the

of the Angel, whose deep-seeing understanding not only could comprehend such a grief as that of parting with my dog, but which al

cause, but permitted me to mangle the whole subject until it lay a disorganized, dismembered, wholly unrecognizable

rd predicaments, mentally hand in hand, for the Angel never says "I told you so." That sting being removed and all three in this happy family, Mary, the Angel, and I, all being rather handsom

es washing the hall floor. I asked him if it wasn't a little early to be doing such a thing, as people

sulting the convenience of all the people in the house, he had decided on eight in the morning and ten at night, as everybody was at breakfast at the first hour and that ten was the freest hour fo

pson on the street, and Au

ers about the house I w

Jeps

t me to run that whole apartment-house to

nience is it run?" I broke i

range everything outsi

o entrance, elevator, and ou

e, s

the Ang

er of the concierge is. But if you think for one minute that I am going to submit

he very natural and perfectly excusable interest a m

mly. The Angel never flinched even at that statement. "I am too

when the halls shall b

ght hundred dollars a year in the rent between the first floor and ours

llars' worth firs

o tell the truth, I am getting a little sick of the tyranny of agents and janitors, and I propo

n New York State seems to favour agents and jani

courage to make a fight for liberty. An Englishman wouldn't stand it for one minute, but we Americans are cowards about 'scenes' and 'fusses' and such things,

" said

eeded more calmly. It always puts me i

hance. If he abuses his authority or tramples o

the immediate future. But his peaceful disposition once roused, and my inflammable nat

loppy halls and dismissed our guests with forced jests about bathing suits being furnished by the agent for them to reach the street door in safety, and all such t

we

nd handkerchiefs to our noses. We said we would stand it and burn the new off, but we have lived here two years and the new is still on. So then we said we must have heat. This was before Janitor Harris left, so Aubrey, after ringing in vain for half an hour, went dow

that this was the time for ou

t thermometers

y looked u

, then it got to fifty-one. At seven that night it dropped to f

ow before thawing us out. Then, carefully planning the campaign, Aubrey wrote letters and had interviews with the agent, in which he committed himself in the presence of witnesses and on paper until, on the afternoon of the third day of our cold storage, Aubrey wrote to the agent saying that if we did not have heat within twenty-four hours, we should go to a hotel an

hat Brooks wa

let us do that,

bluffing!" said the Ange

they think we won't go if

, patting the sleeve of my sealskin, for I w

ye,-she had the gas range to keep warm by,-and much to her delight we went down to the Waldorf. But not to our old luxurious qua

test case on the "heat before the 15th," and everybody we knew who lived in apartments called to see if we were really there, and some who didn't know us sent word to us or walked by to look at us, as if we were p

d chap," much to his annoyance (for the Angel hates familiarity from chance acquaintances), and said we

pected either a lawsuit or that we would be obliged to back down and

signed statements as to the degree they registered. We had notified the agent

hat it was sixty-eight, so I stayed while Aubrey went down to the Waldorf for t

y justifiable pride in the little surprise we had for Jepson when on the first of November the

epson did not have time to use a paper-knife on the envelope,-he must have torn it open with feverish fingers,-for the telephone-bell jingled madly before break

y of attenti

st quite confiden

we can't allow any such absurd thin

"What do you prop

bill and cheque with you and coll

u the process,"

e will be no trouble abou

to you that we might k

ts for a large number of the best apartment-houses in N

me in the least what temperature other of your tenants prefe

e ever did such a thing as this before in the w

brey, thinking of the people we k

y surprise this morning

ps

," returned my husband,

ut deligh

ill think better of it and send me a cheque for

ness from my past experi

ry cent you will get fr

Doubtless you would be embarrassed

ents," said Aubrey, cheerfully, for he always expands i

to sue?" asked the

g a bundle of law papers from his pocket. "My partner

ly and unwound his neck-scar

egan and stopped, but

. You didn't think I would resent your paying no attention to our requests about cleaning the halls. You didn't think I intended to live in this apartment to suit my own comfort and convenience and not y

hat on the floor

p with the president of

d Aubrey,

was down-town the president of

d was away to discuss this little difficulty in a friendly way and see if you a

?" I

took a very high-handed way,-in fact, I may say it was the most hig

much as it amazed us to discover that we were t

, but you must understand that that rul

," I said, i

know

certa

bout to pursue to force us to heat your apa

it to him," I

l, of course

e house asked for it. The lady on the third floor has a five-weeks-old

, "I must look into this. I will t

. "I will tell Mr. Jar

is hat, and then taking it off again. "Goo

elf as Mary closed the doo

to meet them, for we were convinced that we never would have had

fore, we finally received a letter stating that our claim had bee

r out exhibiting it. It is worn at the folding places now from muc

t, so that the next October, when we wanted heat, the same patronizing manner greete

lly, we couldn't consider s

dorf last year when the agent refused us heat and took twen

! Yes, Mr. Jardine, you shal

ngel that he got a telephone message from the agent to start a fi

ey to me, "that somebody ought to writ