“Well,” she sighed, “he might still have remained single had not he met me in my forlorn condition, and I often think pity was the deepest sentiment he felt until we had been married several months. Well, you see, like most Chicago women, I have a story, and mine is a long one, but probably not an unusual one.” “Dare I presume to ask you for it, on the strength of my long friendship for your husband?” She was gazing dreamily into the grate and did not reply for a moment, then she turned her glorious eyes toward me and said slowly, “Yes, I will tell you if you think it will interest you.” I assured her it would and asked her to proceed. “I was married once before, too,” she said, “but was so unhappy that I left my husband and secured a divorce on the grounds of cruelty. I was granted a small alimony, enough to supply my modest wants. “As time went on, I became rather dissatisfied with my quiet life and was filled with a desire to enter the business world. It was just about this time that a friend of mine, being too ill to go down town, asked me to do an errand for her. It took me into an office building, and when I entered the reception room I was told that the party for whom I inquired was not in, but was expected soon, so I sat down and waited. “While I was waiting a man came out of one of the private offices, and as he saw me waiting he stopped and asked me whom I wished to see. When I told him he asked me into his office to wait, saying I would find it more pleasant there than in the reception room. “As I think of it now, I wonder why I did not always adhere to my first impression of him, which presented itself so forcibly. It must have been fate, I guess. He was not at all handsome; he, in fact, was homely, especially his mouth, which was too coarse, yet when he spoke his countenance lighted up and there was an earnestness about him that partially restored my confidence. He had a fine physique, a large, brainy head, and carried himself with dignity. Well, we drifted into the discussion of literature, and I found this was a well chosen subject, for we were both deeply interested in it. “After visiting an hour or more with him, I decided to wait no longer for the man I had called to see, and I left. Not long after this my friend called at the same suite of offices and she met Mr. Ferris. She seemed very favorably impressed with him, so much so that she asked him to call, and I must say that in spite of my prejudice I enjoyed the evening. He called often after that and my friend said that he was in love with me. I did not believe it at the time, probably because I was so utterly indifferent to him at that time. He interested me greatly, however, for many reasons, not least among which was the fact that he was in touch with the business world and I thought I saw possibilities through him.