The Road to Understanding

and or not. He had wanted to marry Helen, and he had married her. That was all there was

s not giving any more thought to it now than he had given before his marria

ld not run the business successfully without all these years of dirt and torture! Was an engineer, then, made to build an engine before he could be taught to handle the throttle? Was a child made to set the type of a primer before he could be taught his letters? Of course not! But they were making him not only set the type, but go down

as another

t first interview after his return. As the days passed, Burke, in spite of his wish not to see his father, found himself continually seizing every opportunity t

t he knew in his heart that it was because he hoped his father would speak to him in the old way, and that it might lead to

and loiterings except (if it were during working hours) a terse hint from

e is acting a tragedy in all seriousness, one does not like to hear chuckles as at a comedy. But, for that matter, Burke found the comedy element always present, wh

oes it? How doth th

e hated

urse, was a dear-the sweetest little wife in the world. As if any one could help loving

rally, as long as he could not afford to put her in a more expensive pla

ight! Often had such thoughts been in his mind during his honeymoon trip; but never had they been so poignantly promising of joy as they were on that first day at the Works, afte

-Helen, the center of it all. It was this dear vision, therefore, that he treasured all through his honeymoon trip, that he hugged to himself all that wretched first day of work, and that was still his star of hope as he hurried that night toward the Dale Str

janitor struggling with a curtain pole, a confusion of trunks, chairs, a stepladder, and a floor-pail, a disorder of dishes on

something new to Burke Denby.

h sofa-for that matter, the sofa would follow after mighty quick. And the chairs, too. They were a little worse to sit on than to look at-which was unnecessary. As for the rugs-when it came to those, it would be his turn to select next time. At all events, he

fting, in one's mind, of things that are, to thing

Indeed, one of the unsolved riddles of his life these days was as to why there were so many more Mondays (the day he paid his installments) than there were Saturdays

anted. True, he sometimes overdrew his account a trifle; but there was always h

ot have believed that fifteen dollars a week could go so quickly, and buy so little. Very early in the first month of housekeeping all that remained of

, indeed, asked for any for some time-for which he was devoutly thankful. He would not have liked to refuse her; and he certainly was giving her all that he could afford to

was holding forth on his "making good," and her not "dragging" him "down"! Bless her heart! A

a whole lot better than at first. Breakfast had not been late for two weeks, nor dinner, either. And she was almost always at the door t

urse, after she got a little more used to things she wouldn't serve that sort of trash quite so often. He would be getting real things to eat, pretty soon-good, juicy beefsteak