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"Parkenstacker," corrected the young man, modestly. " Mr. Parkenstacker, because I wanted to talk, for once, with a natural man one unspoiled by the despicable gloss of wealth and supposed social superiority. Oh! you do not know how weary I am of it money, money, money! And of the men who surround me, dancing like little marionettes all cut by the same pattern.
Drives, dinners, theatres, balls, suppers, with the gilding of superfluous wealth over it all. Sometimes the very tinkle of the ice in my champagne glass nearly drives me mad." Mr. Parkenstacker looked ingenuously interested. "I have always liked," he said, "to read and hear about the ways of wealthy and fashionable folks. I suppose I am a bit of a snob. But I like to have my information accurate.
But I said 'might. There is the Grand Duke and the Marquis, you know. Yes; no calling could be too humble were the man what I would wish him to be." "I work," declared Mr. Parkenstacker, "in a restaurant." The girl shrank slightly. "Not as a waiter?" she said, a little imploringly. "Labor is noble, but personal attendance, you know valets and " "I am not a waiter.
Just now I am besieged by two. One is a Grand Duke of a German principality. I think he has, or has had, a wife, somewhere, driven mad by his intemperance and cruelty. The other is an English Marquis, so cold and mercenary that I even prefer the diabolism of the Duke. What is it that impels me to tell you these things, Mr. Packenstacker? "Parkenstacker," breathed the young man.
I come here to sit because here, only, can I be near the great, common, throbbing heart of humanity. My part in life is cast where its beats are never felt. Can you surmise why I spoke to you, Mr. ?" "Parkenstacker," supplied the young man. Then he looked eager and hopeful. "No," said the girl, holding up a slender finger, and smiling slightly. "You would recognize it immediately.
"Indeed, you cannot know how much I appreciate your confidences." The girl contemplated him with the calm, impersonal regard that befitted the difference in their stations. "What is your line of business, Mr. Parkenstacker?" she asked. "A very humble one. But I hope to rise in the world. Were you really in earnest when you said that you could love a man of lowly position?" "Indeed I was.
Conceive of the bondage of the life wherein we must deceive even our chauffeurs. Good-night." "But it is dark now," said Mr. Parkenstacker, "and the park is full of rude men. May I not walk " "If you have the slightest regard for my wishes," said the girl, firmly, "you will remain at this bench for ten minutes after I have left.
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