ble," was far-reaching in effect. The best available places
were put at his command.

Bertha accepted it all with cold impassivity; it was only a little
higher gloss, a little more glitter than they had suffered in Chicago;
and she was getting used to seeing men in braid and buttons "hustle"
when she came near. The suite of rooms to which they were conducted
looked out on Fifth Avenue, as Lucius proudly explained; and from their
windows he designated some of the houses of the millionaires who receive
the homage of the less rich (and of the very poor) which only nobility
can command in Europe. Bertha betrayed no eager interest in these
notables, but she was very deeply impressed by the far-famed Avenue,
which was already thickening with the daily five-o'clock parade of
carriages, auto-cars, and pedestrians.

Lucius explained this custom, and said: "If you'd like to go out I'll
get a car."

"Let's do it!" she exclaimed to Haney.

"Sure! get one. These smell-wagons must have been invented for cripples
like me."

Bertha took that ride in the spirit of one who never expects to do it
again, and so deeply did the city print itself upon her memory that she
was able to recall years afterwards a hundred of its glittering points,
angles, and facets. She felt herself up-borne by money. Without Haney's
bank-book she would have been merely one of those minute insects who
timidly sought to cross the street, and yet philosophers marvel at the
race men make for gold! So long as silken parasols and automobiles mad
with pride are keenly enjoyed, so long will Americans--and all others
who have them not--struggle for them; for they are not only the signs of
distinction and luxury, they are delights. A private car is not merely
display; it is comfort. To have a suite of rooms at the Park Palace is
not all show; it makes for homely ease, cleanliness, repose. And these
people riding imperiously to and fro in Fifth Avenue buy not merely
diamonds, but well-cooked food, warm and shining raiment, and freedom
from the scramble on the pave.

Some understanding of all this was beating home to Bertha's head and
heart. She had as yet no keen desire for the glitter of wealth, but its
grateful shelter, its power to defend and nurture, were qualities which
had begun to make its lure almost irresistible. Haney liked the
auto-car, not for its red and gold (which delighted Lucius), but for its
handiness in taking him about the city. It saved him from