ent
prompt extension of her husband's field of usefulness--had been
triumphantly proved, and there was no need that the third--Wilbur's lack
of capacity to battle and discriminate for himself--should be
emphasized. Selma knew what she thought in her own mind, and she
entertained the hope that this lesson might be a lamp to his feet for
future illumination. She was even generous enough to exclaim, placing
her hands on his shoulders and looking into his face with complacent
fervor:

"You might have accomplished it just as well yourself, Wilbur."

Littleton shook his head and smiled. "It was a case of witchery and
fascination. He probably divined how eager you were to help me, and he
was glad to yield to the agreeable spell of your wifely devotion."

"Oh, no," said Selma. "I am sure he never guessed for one moment of what
I was thinking. Of course, I did try to make him like me, but that was
only sensible. To make people like one is the way to get business, I
believe."

Littleton's quarter of an hour of exaltation was rudely checked by a
note from Mrs. Parsons, requesting an interview in regard to the plans.
When he presented himself he found her and her daughter imbued with
definite ideas on the subject of architects and architecture. In the
eyes of Mrs. Parsons the architect of her projected house was nothing
but a young man in the employ of her husband, who was to guide them as
to measurements, carpentry, party-walls and plumbing, but was otherwise
to do her bidding for a pecuniary consideration, on the same general
basis as the waiter at the hotel or the theatre ticket-agent. As to
architecture, she expected him to draw plans just as she expected
dealers in carpets or wall-papers to show her patterns in easy
succession. "I don't care for that; take it away." "That is rather
pretty, but let me see something else." What she said to Littleton was,
"We haven't quite decided yet what we want, but, if you'll bring some
plans the next time you call, we'll let you know which we like best.
There's a house in Vienna I saw once, which I said at the time to
Lucretia I would copy if I ever built. I've mislaid the photograph of
it, but I may be able to tell you when I see your drawings how it
differed from yours. Lucretia has a fancy for something Moorish or
Oriental. I guess Mr. Parsons would prefer brown-stone, plain and
massive, but he has left it all to us, and both daughter and I think
we'd rather have a house which would