Politics and Play

It was with joy that Lena stood, on Saturday night, with Mrs. Lenox and
Miss Elton on the veranda, and hailed the advent of a large red
automobile, which disgorged, besides Mr. Lenox, two dress-suit cases and
two young men. Mr. Percival had liked her in her natural state and with
him she would not need to "put on style". He was to her the shadow of a
great rock in a desperately thirsty land. The only kind of pretense that
he demanded was that she should be a dear innocent little girl, and that
rôle came easily. She smiled and blushed and saw that there was a
difference in his eyes when he greeted her from the look he bent on the
other two ladies. It was balm to her spirit to think that this man, who
admired her, was himself admired by the people whom she suspected of
despising her; and that they did admire him was evident. They were
hardly seated at dinner before Mrs. Lenox began: "Dick, I have just been reading your last night's speech at the
Municipal Club and I'm quite effervescing with it. I want to put you up
on a pedestal and call the attention of Mr. Frank Lenox to you. He is
one of the innumerable excellent gentlemen, over the length and breadth
of the land, who are so busy running everything else that they let city
politics go to the place that I'm not allowed to mention. It does my
heart good to see you taking it up in earnest."