The Rising Tide

he intrusion upon its gentility of a thing so noisy and vulgar as a street-car; but now, when the rest of the town was shuttled with trolleys and clamorous with speed, it see

ed to Payton Street's past-and there was a barber shop n

our dear father brought me here, a bri

ly nobody would live on Payton Street now, if t

not leave the old house-a big, brownstone cube, with a belvedere on top of it that looked like a bird-cage. The yard in front of the house

d always, on the half-hour, the two mules went tinkling along, their neat little feet cupping down over the cobblestones, and their trace-chains swinging and sagging about their heels. The conductor on the car had been on the

al dashes of rain he enlightened a lady with a vagu

is car to a standstill; "but her ma's at home. I brought the old lady back o

thering up her skirts, stepped down into[Pg 3] the Payton Street mud. T

lk, said to herself that she almost wished Freddy

other people's troubles; "she's always asking me to sit i

k," she thought; her thoughts were often in her Laura's vernacular. In the dark hall, clutching at the newel-post on which an Egyptian maiden held aloft a gas-burner in a red globe, she extended a foot to a mel

at Mr. Weston was not expected until later, she started up-stairs-then hesitated

ured her; "he don't ever come down 'thou

he and Mr. Arthur Weston, one of the trustees of what was popularly known as "the old Andy Payton estate," were

d furtively beyond it, toward another room at the end of the hall. "I wonder if Ellen ever forgets to

amp? I always tell Freddy there is no surer way to take cold than to get your feet damp. Of course she doesn't believe me, but I'm used to that! Is William's cold better?

he reflected. The room was feminine as well as old-fashioned; the deeply upholstered chairs[Pg 5] and couches were covered with flounced and flowery chintz; on a green wire plant-stand, over-watered ferns grew daily more scraggy and anemic; the windows were smothered in lambrequins and curtains, and beadwork valances draped corner brackets holding Parian marble statuettes; of course there was the usual

t put up the screen. She wouldn't make tea until Mr. Weston came; yes, he had promised to come; she had written him, frankly, that he had simply got to do something about Freddy

then added, in uncertain reminiscence, "Wasn't Mr.

were to be married. Horribly awkward for him; the invitations all[Pg 6] out! He went to Europe

more?" It was a perfunctory question, but its

ew Freddy to-day; he was in the hall when she went out; he can't bear her dog, and he-he scolded a little. I'm sure I

that connected the sitting-room with that room at the end of the ell, she said, hesitatingly: "Nelly dear, don't y

long as I am in it myself!" Mrs. Payton

npleasant fo

ht such a thing of you! Let me tell you, once for all, as I've told you many, many times bef

g

at-at those places; and Mortimore, poo

mother feels-" she had risen and was walking about the room, her fat, worn face sharpening with a sort of animal alertness into power and protection. The claws that hide in every maternal creature s

t about my th

lly vulgar words[Pg 8] about women who never worked for their living; you and me, for instance. 'Vermin'-no, 'parasites.' Disgusting! Yes; if Freddy was like her great-aunt Adelaide-" Mrs. Payton, sinking into a chair bubbly with springs and down, was calmer, but she wiped her eyes once or twice: "Aunt Adelaide gave up her life to poor Uncle Henry. Everybody says she had lots of beaux! I heard she had seven offers. But she never dreamed of getting married. She just lived for her brother. And they say he was dreadful, Bessie; whereas my poor Mortimore is only-not quite like other people." Mrs. Childs gasped. "When Morty was six months old," Mrs. Payton said, in a tense voice, "and we began to be anxious about him, Andrew said t

ed's aunt asked, trying patiently

t performance, because, of course, in spite of what Mama says, everybody who knows Freddy, kn

all talk most

in our day, imagine us calling our fathers by a nickname! No, Bessie, it's Freddy's taste. It's positively low! There is a Mrs. McKenzie, a scrubwoman out at the Inn, and she is

here are too many

till, there's no use harking back to our girlhood. And as for the things she says!... Yesterday I w

eflected, impersonal, but kindly; then murmured that if[Pg 10] she had been unhappy about her children's slang, she'd have been in her grave by this time; "You should hear my boys! And, after all, Ellen, Fred's a good child, in spite of this thing she's done (you haven't told me what it is yet). She's merely like all the rest of them-thin

ughter, so I h

. Childs, patien

u? Mama says everybod

asn't said

the night at the Inn,

ha

r broke

lame Fred for that. But why d

missed th

you wouldn't have had them walk into town,

keep my weight down-so why didn't she walk home? And as for their b

g

hat big house on the hill! Pity he hadn't any relatives-a maiden aunt, or anybody who

marry," sai

satisfied and low-spirited. I wish she'd 'get religion'-that keeps servants contented. Miss Carter says she's in love with one of the men at the livery-stable. But he isn't very devoted. Well, I was in bed with a headache (I've been dreadfully busy this week, and pretty tired, and besides, I had worked all the evening on a puzzle, and I was perfectly worn out); so Flora didn't tel

e a slender shadow; a[Pg 12] tall, rather delicate-looking man in the late forties,

shaking hands with the two ladies

She sat down at her tea-table, and tried, fussily, to light the lamp under the kettle. "It's wicked

morous eyebrow; "I always like to hear Fred talk. Let me fix tha

aternal eyes, and Mrs. Childs reco

my William always says it's perfect nonsense t

ll Freddy that what with pasteurized milk, and all the other improvements upon Nature, her children would be supermen; "they'll say they were evolv

dy, of fifty-seven or thereabouts, who never took any exercise, and credited the condition of her liver to Providence; but she was nearly as far removed from Miss Frederic

erent from our day, isn't it, Bessie? We children were never allowed even to read secular books on Sunday.

am please; a great deal! I hope it's pasteurized?-they were stupid to lose the car. Fred told me all about it yesterday; it appears she was talking to some poor woman about the size of her

errupted, "of course th

aching for another lump of sugar, that Frederica came by her talent for free speech honestly. "With her mother, it is free thought. Fred goes one better, that's all," he reflected, dreamil

sighed. "Why, she said 'Damn,' ri

Tait? I know h

ather. But that is nothing to th

me, p

Mrs. Payton stammered; "why-how

("I'll make her tell me what

respect for it. She spoke quite rudely to her uncle William

hook his hea

sharpening for a moment into personal displeasure, "she

id before Mr. Weston; but she implied they were-merely mothers. And as for her language! I was saying how perfectly shocked my dear old friend, Miss Maria Spenc

drew up for a whis

you suppose she said? Real

t was horrid in Miss Spencer to say such a

to be my school-teacher, Mr. Weston-'What difference does it make what she said about me? Everybody knows Miss Spencer is a silly old ass.' 'A silly old ass.' What do you think

minably dis

n the world," said Mrs. Childs; "my William

y cruel," Mr.

fort her; they denounced Freddy, and wondered at her, and agreed with Mr. Childs that "nobody knew what we were coming to." In fact, they sa

ton said, "respect for my elders wo

hem, you would have been resp

e because it was

ust have been very comfortable," he ruminated, "to be respected when you didn't deserve to be! This new state of things I don't like at all; I find that they s

on, how shocking!" Mr

e said, mildly; "but how outrageous

dear mother said that if women had the ballot, chivalry would die out and men wouldn't take off their hats in elevators when ladies were present,-she said, 'Grandmother belongs to the generation of women who were satisfi

is a nice chap; I wonder if-" he paused; there was a scuffle on the other side of the closed door, a bellowing laugh, then a whine. Mrs. Childs bit her lip and shivered.

sed to use to keep the parlor door open. Do you remember, Bessie? Yes, Mr. Maitland is attentive, but I don't know how serious it is. Of course, I'm the last person to know! Rather different from the time when a young man asked the girl's p

e in, as the tinkle of the mules' bells made itself

ou think about it all," Mrs. Payton sai

ure she'll settle down if she cares about Mr. Maitland. (I'm out of it!" she was thinking.) But even

d make you walk home. Mama has got to walk, she's getting so fat! Aunt Nelly, Howar