ention even if he wasn't a
delegate? He could have sat in the gallery; I suppose a lot of those men
down there are not really delegates."

"Oh, that wouldn't be papa's way of doing things. I wish he had come,
just on mama's account; she takes everything so hard. If papa ever did
half the naughty things they say he does he'd be in the penitentiary
good and tight. I should like to marry a public man; if I trusted a man
enough to marry him I shouldn't be jarred a bit by what the newspapers
said of him. I like politics; I don't know what it's all about, but I
think the men are ever so interesting."

"I think so too," said Sylvia; "only I don't understand why they make so
much noise and do so little. That platform they read a little bit ago
seemed splendid. I read a lot of political platforms once in
college--they were part of the course--and that was the best one I ever
heard. It declared for laws against child labor, and I'm interested in
that; and for juvenile courts and a lot of the new enlightened things.
It was all fine."

"Do you think so? It sounded just like a trombone solo to me. Mr.
Harwood was on that committee. Didn't you hear his name read? He's one
of these high brows in politics, and father's going to push him forward
so he can accomplish the noble things that interest him. Father told me
Mr. Harwood would be a delegate to the convention. That's the reason I
wanted to come. I hope he will make a speech; they say he's one of the
best of the younger men. I heard him at the Opera House at Fraserville
in the last campaign and he kept me awake, I can tell you. And funny!
You wouldn't think he could be funny."

"Oh, I can see that he has humor--the lines around his mouth show that."

They had discussed the convention and its possibilities at Mrs. Owen's
breakfast table and with the morning newspapers as their texts. Sylvia
had gained the impression that Bassett had met a serious defeat in the
choice of delegates, and she had been conscious that Mrs. Bassett was
distressed by the newspaper accounts of it. Marian bubbled on
elucidatively, answering all of Sylvia's questions.

"Don't you think that because papa isn't here he won't be heard from; I
think I know papa better than that. He didn't think this convention
would amount to enough for him to trouble with it. I told Aunt Sally not
to talk much before mother about papa and politics; you will notice that
Aunt Sally turned the subject several times this mornin