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Show -!-;- n wMfmHm jooe Es Best IS ! J (ijiir s'el, t)T UllT Story Putill .i,,, CVimimnf. T - ! -H- 4- Percy II.idUo.-k ml Idled I"" In a rooliL-c chair, the blue smoke softly pulling and curling from tho half consumed con-sumed edeiirrltu. which he bold In his hand. A look of comfort pe rvaded the room and the fire threw a delicious crimson llKht until the air seemed an ethoreal-Ized ethoreal-Ized wlue and yet he thought ho waa unhappy, desperately and irremediably unhappy. Two rulghly pot-sums, ho aald to hlnuolf. tugncd at hl heart, the love of bla art and, of course, the lore of a wom.in. Ever rlnc-c- h.i could remeinlier he had piitp-w.-d to become a great writer, lie ha I rcml.ril to devote himself entirely en-tirely tu art. and ill In w nothing to Interfere In-terfere with tlila consecration. Ilo Diust observe and know the passions, but not fe -I them. To feel passion would be to be swayed from the attitude atti-tude of I., partiality the artist must feel to denli-t llfo perfectly. Of course, 1 eo conscri u'cd, he must not allow hlm- aelf to be anno entangled In the J .. mesboi of love and matrimony. ' -J if ' Hut things, as they have a provok ing way of doing, were about to turn out dlftciently from what he had proposed. pro-posed. I!o was about to be, or rather he had Icon, swerved from this perfect per-fect calm essential to literary exactitude exacti-tude by Mlis Kate. Miirehison. Ho felt humllluicd at the thought that so alli:ht a thin ns a mere girl could awerve a man like hlnutclf from the plans of a life time. Hail It burn lome noble amii.tlon, some great opportunity opportun-ity like tlmt of becoming a great statesmen, whoso plans could chance the mnp of the world and alter the course of history, the humiliation would r it Imve been so great, nor the Wound to his vnnlty so profound. Hut alas! He was undeniably In love. In love, like any other ordinary mortal who had no dream of literary greatness and no higher conception of llfo then thnt of having a good time. Not only was he, the seeker aftor literary Immortality, In love, but he had to acknowledge that ha aettmlly enjoyed the sensation and at times quest toned whether ho would derive greater delight from winning a kiss from the. girl than he would from achieving nprlnue from a sonnet. Ho knew this was a lapxo from his higher nnttiro, but ho either could not or would not help It. And yet he had been warned. Clint lie Kawlliia, his best friend, had aid to him, "Ixok here, l'crso, you are putting In a lot of time with Knte Murchlson. and tho first thing you know It will be love and a cottage and good-bye to consecrutlon to art and the Ideal. He replied, smiling the superior smile of the fntuoua and complacent, "Orin't concern yourself, 1 am simply studying Mas ewlgo we'blirho,' and i getting material for a masterpiece." "Ah, I mcc." said Charlie. "You have revised Tope's lines: " 'lie woman's ways your study and do-Ught. do-Ught. Sea her by day and dream of hor by nlgl.t. And then the snlo of hooka that you may write , Will (Imply bo, my boy, far out of sight," " Accordingly ho pursued his studies Tory ardently and found them more and ii. ore pleannut as the dnya went by. Ho derived an added if Ignoble Joy from the worry tliia courso of study seemed to glvo one Howard C.rlggsby. Howard was a practical, hard-working young lawyer, who had 1 always scoff, d nt Percy's lllerary pretensions, pre-tensions, and who when they wero boys at school together had genernlly gone ahead and won tho prizes while he was dreaming about them. It was amazing to Percy how much lovelier the world seemed to him when Ml Miirrhlson was with him. There was something, bo thought, hypnotic about her presence. The sunlight wns never quite so golden as when Hashed bank from her hair. Once he had given her a rose, carelessly observing and enjoying Its red crumpled peuila, and mm He picked out a volume of Drowning. the perfume drifting t ,j Its amber heart. Hhe pinned it under her thivjit, and as he looked at It aguln a mlrnclc seemed to have been wrought. It was no longer a rose but soma Mower boiiicj- , how fallen from the walls of paradise. Htill he did not reallio he wu In love, but thought tho feeling she pro- V. ducod in him urose from some occult power that women possess. But once, he wont off on a three wki' visit to friends In llaton Kongo. It seemed to him three yours. Then he mmln the great discovery. This at first did not disconcert him. Ilo at once resolved to cast the passion pas-sion out of his heart. He would see her no more. Though ho had been very attentive to her, he had never expressed anything deeper than friendship, and so could honorably honor-ably retreat. How could ho devote his tl mo to llteratuie with a wife to care for? Wonted are such exacting, egotistic ego-tistic things, no ortl.-t could think of marrying ono of them! It was not yet too lute. Ilo would break off. and she might marry some man innro foolish than he. Then he thought of llowurd (irlggsby. Hhe might, she pcrhnps would marry Howard. How-ard. Ho started iitienmfortahly at this thought. How could ho bear to have her marry Howard? llowurd had al- "But there won't bo any next time." waya gotten the things ho dexlred aud rather looked down on him with contempt. con-tempt. Suppose now ho should beat Howard In the thing Howard most do- Ired, who would have ground for ex-ultnnco ex-ultnnco then? Who could afford to be contemptuous? Cnti wo despise those who win what we most dcielro? Had ho not better marry her after all, If he could. Literary fame la awcet but distant, and lovo la sweet and near. He did not know what to do. He puffed at his cigarette, but In It wns neither solace nor luipliutiou. Ho flung It In tho fire ami strode ovor to tti book case. He picked o 't voir lime of Drowning, and opened it at the poem. "Youth anil Art," where the poet tells of tho two who had achlcvod the fame as sculptor and singer they desired, but at tho price of tholr love and happiness. lie read and reread the stanza. "Knob urea unfulfilled, you see: It hangs still, patchy and scrappy. They have nut sighed deep, laughed free. Starved, feasted, despaired - been happy." Ho threw down tho book, chose another. an-other. 11 was Daudefs "Fommos des Artlls." He read a while, drew a ilgb of relief. Dnudet wus a sensible man, no lovo sick rhymer. He had lived In I'arla, where If any whero tho artist ran bo known and studied. Bach of thCBe artists or whom the book told bad mat i led. K.ie h of them had been unhappy, hindered In their artistic development de-velopment by their marriage. They had sulci their birthright for a mess of pot luge, nay, for the tipples of Sodom which bad turned to ashes on their 111 No, ho would bo true to himself and to his art. liven Howard might marry her. And yet he muat boo her again. Just one sight of the bright hnlr, the dewy rod mouth, tho rounded cheek to light the loveless years of his literary striving. striv-ing. He removed his smoking jacket, slnntmed tho door and hurried towards tho Murchlson residence. Ho was met and stopped by Charlie Kuwllns, who aid, "Hello, old boy, which way are you going?" "To the Murchlsons," ho replied. "Hint's right," drawled Charlie; "niako tho most of your study of the 'eternal fenilnlno' while you can. Howard How-ard Urlgrsby ia going up thore pretty regularly." "What do you mean?" asked Percy. "I ineun," said Charllo, "llowurd is likely to put on end to these at tulles, tor a fellow Isn't likely to want his wife to figure as literary material for another man." Percy did not wait for the closing of tho sentcm-e, but hurried on. It seemed seem-ed to hltn MUg Kale would novcr come down. When sbo did arrive, alio excused ex-cused her delay on tho ground that she had Just returned from a rldo with Mr. Crlggsuy and had to change her cost iime. To her amazement, thy usually usu-ally languid aud proper Percy slrodo across the room, took hor htind, and said almoHt fiercely, "I don't want you to rldo with Howard any more." "What right have you, Mr. lludtlork, to make sch a demand?" the glri aikcil. but not aa Ir.dlgtiuutly as she felt sbo ought. "No right, no right, yet," aald ho. kissing her hand before she could withdraw It. "It Is only a roquost. Don't you know, can't you see. I don't want you to drive with, to bo with anybody but mo forever," "Hut," said tho girl, "Mr. Orlggsby haa asked me to bo his wife." Percy turned pale. Win Howard to again thwart him? Ho caught her hand again, and Bald breathlessly, "And what was your answer?" "1 told blm 1 would give It next time." 1 . ( Terry looked In her ere. Ha-saw there a gienn he hail never seen before. be-fore. It w,n ni. If a window In heaven had been opened. Then he said very longingly snel yet very triunephontly, "Hut there won't he any next Unto, will there?" "No." said the girl, "not If you don't want it." |