Read the excerpt from “the gift of the magi” below and answer the question. while the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. a furnished flat at $8 per week. it did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad. which word is used in the excerpt above to infer the mood of the setting? mistress home mendicancy furnished

Mendicancy.

Explanation:

The above excerpt from "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry describes the living condition of the main characters Della and her husband Jim's flat. By the use of the word "mendicancy', we can know that the couple are not rich in terms of money or material things. The word "mendicancy" is a Latin word that is representative of a person who lives off begging or charity from others for his / her survival. Though the Dillinghams don't go begging, but their living condition is almost at par with anyone begging or getting charity from others. But they managed to just get through life, with their modest $8 flat residence. This sets the mood of the whole story too, as it will later emerge on further reading of the story that the couple will have to make do with their poor conditions.