“Once I owned some of that stock,” said Harry, proudly.

“Did you, father?” Maria responded, admiringly.

“Yes, and only look where it is now!  If I could only have held on to it, I might have been quite a rich man.”

Harry spoke, oddly enough, with no regret.  Such was the childishness of the man that a possession once his never seemed wholly lost to him.  It seemed to him that he had reason to be proud of having made such a wise investment, even if he had never actually reaped any benefit from it.

“I don’t see how you knew what to invest in,” Maria said, fostering his pride.

“Oh, I had to study the stock-lists and ask brokers,” Harry replied.  He looked brighter.  This little reinstatement in his self-esteem acted like a tonic.  In some fashion Ida always kept him alive to his own deficiencies, and that was not good for a man who was naturally humble-minded.  Harry sat up straighter.  He looked at Maria with brighter eyes as she continued reading.  “Now that is a good investment,” said he—­“that bond.  If I had the money to spare I would buy one of those bonds to-morrow morning.”

“Are bonds better than stocks, father?” asked Maria.

“Yes,” replied Harry, importantly.  “Always remember that, if you have any money to invest.  A man can afford to buy stocks, because he has better opportunities of judging of the trend of the market, but bonds are always safer for a woman.”

Maria regarded her father again with that innocent admiration for his wisdom, which seemed to act like a nerve stimulant.  A subtle physician might possibly have reached the conclusion, had he been fully aware of all the circumstances, that Ida, with her radiant superiority, her voiceless but none the less positive self-assertion over her husband, was actually a means of spiritual depression which had reacted upon his physical nature.  Nobody knows exactly to what extent any of us are responsible for the lives of others, and how far our mere existences may be derogatory to our fellow-beings.  Harry was visibly brighter.

“You don’t look half as tired as you did, father,” Maria said.

“I don’t feel so tired,” replied Harry.  “It has rested me to hear you read.  Remember what I have told you, dear, about bonds—­always bonds, and never stocks, for a woman.”

“Yes, father,” said Maria.  Then she added, “I am going to save all I can when I begin to earn.”

“Your aunt Maria will only ask you enough board to make it possible for her to pay the bills?  You know she has only a hundred a year to live on.  Of course your uncle Henry lets her have her rent free, or she couldn’t do it, but she is a fine manager.  She manages very much as your mother did.”  As he spoke, Harry looked around the luxurious apartment and reflected that, had his first wife lived, he himself could have saved, and there might have been no need for this little, delicate girl to earn her own living.  He sighed, and the weary look settled over his face again.