Santa Claus's Partner

icularly snowy evening in December, he looked it every inch. It spoke in every line of his clean-cut, self-contained face, with its straight, thin nose, closely drawn mouth, strong c

he always looked as if

of parts;" now he was spoken of

It was now simply a matter of time. He could no more help going on to further heights of success than hi

ing with a deep serenity that brought a trans

istence. He knew it by the numbers of invitations to the most fashionable houses which crowded his library table; by the familiar and jovial air with which presidents and magnates of big corporations, who could on a moment's notice change from warmth-temperate warmth-to ice,

d had filled his stable with high-stepping, high-priced horses-much talked of in the public prints-and his wife wore jewels as handsome as Mrs. Parke-Rhode's who owned the house and twenty more like it. Colonel Keightly was one of the largest dealers on 'Change th

us devotion to business; were now invited to the same big houses that Livingstone visited, and were greeted by almost as flattering speeches as Livingstone received, Livingstone knew of discussions

gainst this form of vulgarity, could at any time, on five minutes' notice, establish the solidity

to the binding of that particular kind of work which a summer-hearted Writer of books years ago inscribed as "a book of gre

ime making memoranda in the smaller book, whilst his clerks had sat on their high stools in the large office outside looking impatiently at the white-faced clock on the wall as

mper of the oldest man in the office, a quiet-faced, middle-aged man, who, in a low,

er, was only par

th, a tentative dandy, with a sharp nose and blunt chin, who had been diligently a

replied the older man, looking up

hat for three hours!"

this time," said the older clerk,

eem to appeal very strongly to

ristled a yet younger clerk, stepping down from his high stool i

on appeared to be the outle

n, turning his eyes on his junior deris

ut his hand so quickly that the other's eyes opened wide; then turned so suddenly as to catch his derider

h kindly intonation. "Don't make a noise, there's a good fellow;" and once mor

, and help him out. You're an adept at that," hazarded the

en quieted down, and once more applied themselves to looking moodily out of the windows, whilst the older clerk gave a secret

nt towards which he had been straining for the last eight-ten-fifteen years-he did not try to remember just how long-it had been a good while. He had at length accumulated, "on the most conservative estimate" (he framed the phrase in his mind, following the habit of his Boards)-he had no need to look now at the pag

um. He had attai

y-a sum expressed in six figures, even when he put his securities at their full valu

reet now and look any man in the face, or turn his b

it him and meet his children and see the peach trees bloom. He had pleaded business, and his friend had asked h

orth half a million? and you are a sing

an to be worth

hy

said half jestingly, being rather put to it by his friend's earnes

said; "the real satisfaction is in helping him the other way;

nt of his aspiration-he could tell a

omentary recollection that Henry Trelane was since dead.

not known this at first, and when he began to grow he could not bring himself to it. He could not afford to burden himself with a family that might interfere with his success. Then later, when he had succeeded and was well off and had asked Catherine Trelane to be his wife

ch had spurred him on to greater success. It was to revenge himself that he had plunged deeper into business than ever, and he had bought his fine

her in a long time; she had married, he knew, a man named-She

ly flashed in before his eyes like a magic-lantern slide. Yes, he