He was quite clear on questions of finance, and saw to a 't' how
progress should be made towards communism, so that no violence
should disturb that progress, and that in due course of centuries
all desire for personal property should be conquered and
annihilated by a philanthropy so general as hardly be accounted a
virtue. In the meantime he could never contrive to pay his
tailor's bill regularly out of the allowance of 400 pounds a year
which his father made him, and was always dreaming of the
comforts of a handsome income.

He was a popular man certainly,--very popular with women, to
whom he was always courteous, and generally liked by men, to whom
he was genial and good-natured. Though he was not himself aware
of the fact, he was very dear to his father, who in his own
silent way almost admired and certainly liked the openness and
guileless freedom of a character which was very opposite to his
own. The father, though he had never said a word to flatter the
son, did in truth give his offspring credit for greater talent
than he possessed, and, even when appearing to scorn them, would
listen to the young man's diatribes almost with satisfaction.
And Everett was very dear also to a sister, who was the only
other living member of this branch of the Wharton family. Much
will be said of her in these pages, and it is hoped that the
reader may take an interest in her fate. But here, in speaking
of the brother, it may suffice to say, that the sister, who was
endowed with infinitely finer gifts than his, did give credit to
the somewhat pretentious claims of her less noble brother.

Indeed it had been perhaps a misfortune with Everett Wharton that
some people had believed in him,--and a further misfortune that