Iknowthatyouaresincereinthinkingso。AndtheringingwelkinisallweshouldhaveheardinMichigan。Butthemoretrulyamanlovesagirl，thelesscanhebeartakingherfromaneasytoahardlife。Iamsurethatallthemenhereagreewithme。\"
Therewasamurmurandanodfromthemen，andalsofromMrs。Davenport。
ButtheotherladiesgavenosignofassentingtoRichard\'sproposition。
\"Inthosedays，\"saidhe，\"Iwaswhatinthecurtparlanceofthestreetistermedasix-hundred-dollarclerk。Andthoughmyearshadgrownaccustomedtothisappellation，Inevercametofeelthatitcompletelydescribedme。InpassingTiffany\'swindowtwiceeachday（formyhabitwastowalktoandfromNassauStreet）Irememberthatseeingathousand-dollarclockexposedforsalecausedmeannoyance。Ofcoursemysalaryasaclerkbroughtmeintonounfavourablecomparisonwiththeclock；andIdoubtifIcouldmakeyouunderstandmysometimesfeelingwhenIpassedTiffany\'swindowthatIshouldliketosmashtheclock。\"
\"ImetEthelfrequentlyinsociety，dancingwithher，andsittingnextheratdinners。AndbythetimeIhaddinedatherownhouse，andwalkedseveralafternoonswithher，mylotasasix-hundred-dollarclerkbegantoseemverysadtome。Iwroteversesaboutit，andaboutothersubjectsalso。FromaneveningpassedwithEthel，Iwouldgonextmorningtotheofficeandlookattheotherclerks。Oneofthemwasfifty-five，andhestillreceivedsixhundreddollarshiswagesforthelastthirtyyears。I