Mrs. Shaw will take it the hardest, but it
may stir her up, so she will forget her nerves, and be as busy and
happy as mother is," said Polly to herself, in a hopeful mood, for
poverty was an old friend, and she had learned long ago not to fear
it, but to take its bitter and its sweet, and make the best of both.
When they parted for the night, Polly slipped away first, to leave
them free, yet could n't help lingering outside to see how tenderly
the girls parted from their father. Tom had n't a word to say for
himself, for men don't kiss, caress, or cry when they feel most, and
all he could do to express his sympathy and penitence, was to
wring his father's hand with a face full of respect, regret, and
affection, and then bolt up stairs as if the furies were after him, as
they were, in a mild and modern form.
CHAPTER XVI A DRESS PARADE
THE weeks that followed taught the Shaws, as many other families
have been taught, how rapidly riches take to themselves wings and
fly away, when they once begin to go.
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