WATCH Sexy Elisha Cuthbert In Action  CLICK HERE for Instant Access Elisha Cuthbert Photos |
Elisha Cuthbert Photos Books: Martin Eden The Pickwick Papers The Sea Wolf |
she was moulding it, and her
intentions were good. Besides, it was pleasant to be with him. He did
not repel her. That first repulsion had been really a fear of her
undiscovered self, and the fear had gone to sleep. Though she did not
know it, she had a feeling in him of proprietary right. Also, he had a
tonic effect upon her. She was studying hard at the university, and it
seemed to strengthen her to emerge from the dusty books and have the
fresh sea-breeze of his personality blow upon her. Strength! Strength
was what she needed, and he gave it to her in generous measure. To come
into the same room with him, or to meet him at the door, was to take
heart of life. And when he had gone, she would return to her books with
a keener zest and fresh store of energy.
She knew her Browning, but it had never sunk into her that it was an
awkward thing to play with souls. As her interest in Martin increased,
the remodelling of his life became a passion with her.
"There is Mr. Butler," she said one afternoon, when grammar and
arithmetic and poetry had been put aside.
"He had comparatively no advantages at first. His father had been a bank
cashier, but he lingered for years, dying of consumption in Arizona, so
that when he was dead, Mr. Butler, Charles Butler he was called, found
himself alone in the world. His father had come from Australia, you
know, and so he had no relatives in California. He went to work in a
printing-office,--I have heard him tell of it many times,--and he got
three dollars a week, at first. His income to-day is at least thirty
thousand a year. How did he do it? He was honest, and faithful, and
industrious, and economical. He denied himself the enjoyments that most
boys indulge in. He made it a point to save so much every week, no
matter what he had to do without in order to save it. Of course, he was
soon earning more than three dollars a week, and as his wages increased
he saved more and more.
"He worked in the daytime, and at night he went to night school. He had
his eyes fixed always on the future. Later on he went to night high
school. When he was only seventeen, he was earning excellent wages at
setting type, but he was ambitious. He wanted a career, not a
livelihood, and he was content to make immediate sacrifices for his
ultimate again. He decided upon the law, and he entered fathers office
as an office boy--think of that!--and got only four dollars a week. But
he had learned how to be economical, and out of that four dollars he went
on saving money."
She paused for breath, and to note how Martin was receiving it. His face
was lighted up with interest in the youthful struggles of Mr. Butler; but
there was a frown upon his face as well.
"Id say they was pretty hard lines for a young fellow," he remarked.
"Four dollars a week! How could he live on it? You can bet he didnt
have any frills. Why, I pay five dollars a week for board now, an
theres nothin excitin about it, you can lay to that. He must have
lived like a dog. The food he ate--"
"He cooked for himself," she interrupted, "on a little kerosene stove."
"The food he ate must have been worse than what a sailor gets on the
worst-feedin deep-water ships, than which there aint much that can be
possibly worse."
"But think of him now!" she cried enthusiastically. "Think of what his
income affords him. His early denials are paid for a thousand-fold."
Martin looked at her sharply.
"Theres one thing Ill bet you," he said, "and it is that Mr. Butler is
nothin gay-hearted now in his fat days. He fed himself like that for
years an years, on a boys stomach, an I bet his stomachs none too
good now for it."
Her eyes dropped before his searching gaze.
"Ill bet hes got dyspepsia right now!" Martin challenged.
"Yes, he has," she confessed; "but--"
"An I bet," Martin dashed on, "that hes solemn an serious as an old
owl, an doesnt care a Martin Eden page 33 Martin Eden page 35 |