It was because of the city people. They brought prosperity to the
country, everyone said, but old Ephraim regretted their coming, none
the less. They broke down the old standards, and put an end to the old
ways of life. What was the use of grubbing up stumps in a pasture lot,
when one could sell minnows for a penny apiece? So all the men became
"guides" and camp servants, and the girls became waitresses. They wore
more stylish clothes and were livelier of speech; but they were also
more greedy and less independent. They had learned to take tips, for
instance; and more than one of the girls went away to the city to
nameless and terrible destinies.

These summer boarders all had money. Young and old, it flowed from
them in a continuous stream. They did not have to plow and reap--they
bought what they wanted; and they spent their time at play--with
sailboats and fishing tackle, bicycles and automobiles, and what not.
How all this money came to be was a thing difficult to imagine; but it
came from the city--from the great Metropolis, to which one's thoughts
turned with ever livelier interest.

Then, one August, came a man who opened the gates of knowledge a
little. Manning was his name--Percival Manning, junior partner in the
firm of Manning & Isaacson, Bankers and Brokers--with an address which
had caused the Prescott family to start and stare with awe. It was
Wall Street!

Mr. Percival Manning was round and stout, and wore striped shirts, and
trousers which were like a knife blade in front; also, he fairly
radiated prosperity. His talk was all of financial wizardry by which
fortunes were made overnight. The firm of Manning & Isaacson was one