ot
aristocratic. But they judge people less by their dress or money than is
usually supposed. Far less than the people up-town do. They wanted me to
dress better, because it was appropriate. But let a man in the ward try
to dress beyond his station, and he'd be jeered out of it, or the ward,
if nothing worse happened."

"Oh, of course they'd hoot at their own kind," said Watts. "The hardest
thing to forgive in this world is your equal's success. But they
wouldn't say anything to one of us."

"If you, or Pell, or Ogden should go into Blunkers's place in my ward,
this evening, dressed as you are, or better, you probably would be told
to get out. I don't believe you could get a drink. And you would stand a
chance of pretty rough usage. Last week I went right from a dinner to
Blunkers's to say a word to him. I was in evening dress, newcastle, and
crush hat--even a bunch of lilies of the valley--yet every man there
was willing to shake hands and have me sit down and stay. Blunkers
couldn't have been dressed so, because it didn't belong to him. For the
same reason, you would have no business in Blunkers's place, because you
don't belong there. But the men know I dressed for a reason, and came to
the saloon for a reason. I wasn't putting on airs. I wasn't intruding my
wealth on them."

"Look here, chum, will you take me into Blunkers's place some night, and
let me hear you powwow the 'b'ys?' I should like to see how you do it."

"Yes," Peter said deliberately, "if some night you'll let me bring
Blunkers up to watch one of your formal dinners. He would enjoy the
sight, I'm sure."

Leonore cocked her little nose up in the air, and laughed merrily.

"Oh, but that's very different," said Watts.

"It's just as different as the two men with the toothache," said Peter.
"They both met at the dentist's, who it seems had only time to pull one
tooth. The question arose as to which it should be. 'I'm so brave,' said
one, 'that I can wait till to-morrow.' 'I'm such a coward,' said the
other, 'that I don't dare have it done to-day.'"

"Haven't you ever taken people to those places, Peter?" asked Leonore.

"No. I've always refused. It's a society fad now to have what are called
'slumming parties,' and of course I've been asked to help. It makes my
blood tingle when I hear them talk over the 'fun' as they call it. They
get detectives to protect them, and then go through the tenements--the
homes of the poor--and pry into their privac