"
"Then you think I have deteriorated," she said, with a superior smile.
"I think of you as the most conscientious woman I ever met. It was only
natural that you should be spurred by our neighbors, the Williamses, to
make a better showing socially before the world. I have been glad to see
you emulous up to a certain point. You must realize though, that we
cannot keep pace with them, even if we so desire. Already they are in
the public eye. He appears to have made considerable money, and his
views on the stock-market are given prominence by the press. He and his
wife are beginning to be recognized by people who were ignorant of their
existence four years ago. You told me last week that Mrs. Williams had
attended one of the fashionable balls, and I saw in yesterday's
newspaper a description of her toilette at another. It begins to look as
if, in a few years more, their ambition might be realized, and the doors
of the Morton Price mansion open wide to admit this clever country
cousin to the earthly paradise. It must be evident to you, Selma, that
very shortly we shall see only the dust of their chariot-wheels in the
dim social distance. Williams told me to-day that he has bought a house
near the park."
"He has bought a new house? They are going to move?" exclaimed Selma,
sitting up straight, and with a fierce light in her eyes.
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