occupation the same as a boy;
then, when ship-wrecks came, they'd know how to swim. In other words,
when one's money was taken away there would be something to fall back
upon. Your grandmother took music lessons and taught for a while, but
she was pretty and during her first visit to New York, Archie Hollister
fell desperately in love and married her. Tom's mother was a fine
character and my favorite pupil. In so many ways Tom resembles her. She
was clever and bright, and so is Tom. Why, Ethel, he has more than paid
me for what I have done for him and Freddie. Today he's not twenty-five
and he's one of our cleverest lawyers. I shouldn't be surprised if some
day Ohio would send him to Congress. You know some of our cleverest men
come from this state,--presidents and statesmen--and Aunt Susan's
cheeks grew pink with excitement.

"And dear little Fred," she continued--"he was more like a baby. He sort
of clung to me; but, Ethel, they were like my own children, and you've
no idea how happy they made me."

"Aunt Susan," said Ethel, with her cheeks aflame, "don't think me
impertinent but you seem different from an----"

"An old maid," laughed Aunt Susan, "that's what you dared not say."

Ethel nodded and continued: "From the different photographs I have seen
of you, you must have been lovely. Why have you never married?"

Aunt Susan blushed and said in a low voice: "Ethel, I have been
married."

The girl started.

"Haven't you noticed that people call me _Mrs._ Carpenter?"

"Yes," replied the girl, drawing nearer with wonder in her eyes, "but I
know several maiden ladies who are called 'Mrs.' Mamma has a second
cousin--she's dead now, I mean--but I remember her. She speculated in
Wall Street and had an office, and she insisted upon being called Mrs."

"Yes, I've heard of women like her," replied Aunt Susan, "but I married
a man by the same name, although no relation. Has your grandmother never
spoken of him?"

"Never," replied the girl.

"Well, Alice has always hidden the family skeleton, but I will tell you
all about it.

"When I was about thirty-six years of age I married Robert Carpenter. I
was alone and wealthy. I loved him and tried to make his life happy,
but he drank. He had inherited that habit from his father, and drinking
led to gambling. He grew worse and worse. One night under the influence
of drink he came home and seemed determined to pick a quarrel. Seeing
that he was irresponsible I made no rep