of a great man. He was
not permitted to be the father even of a humble man. Yet being denied
the reality, he has taken sustenance in what might have been, and has
turned "the saddest words of tongue or pen" into something almost sweet.
If his child has missed the glories of what might have been, he has
escaped the shames that might have been, and the bruises and heartaches
and remorses that must have been, that always have been. That is the
increasing consolation a bitter world offers to those who love and have
lost. That was Rudd's solace. And he made the most of it; added to it a
dream. He was a wise man.

After he paid his sorrowful debts his next slow savings went to the
building of a monument for his family. It is one of the handsomest
shafts in the cemetery. If Rudd could brag of anything he would brag of
that. The inscription took a long time to write. You could tell that by
its simplicity. And you might notice the blank space left for his own
name when all three shall be together again.

Rudd is now saving a third fund against the encroaching time when he
shall be too feeble to get up from his knees after he has dropped upon
them to unlace somebody's sandal. Lonely old orphans like Rudd must
provide their own pensions. There is a will, however, which bequeaths
whatever is left of his funds to an orphan home. Being a sonless father,
he thinks of the sons who have no fathers to do for them what he was so
fain to do for his. It is not a large fund for these days when rich men
toss millions as tips to posterity, but it is pretty good for a shoe
clerk. And it will mean everything to some Eric that gets himself really
born.

If you drop in at the Emporium and ask for a pair of shoes or boots, or
slippers or rubbers, or trees or pumps, and wait for old Rudd to get
round to you, you will be served with deference, yet with a pride of
occupation that is almost priestly. And you will probably buy something,
whether you want it or not.

The old man is slightly shuffly in his gaiters. His own elastics are
less resilient than once they were. If you ask for anything on the top
shelf he is a trifle slow getting the ladder and rather ratchety in
clambering up and down, and his eyes are growing so tired that he may
offer you a 6D when you ask for a 3A.

But, above all things, don't hurt his pride by offering to help him to
his feet if he shows some difficulty in rising when he has performed his
genuflexion before you. Just