Show I I ZECw EJLo II I I II I By Kathleen OConnor Well Mr Alllclay anybody ud I think as Loud boon turned into tho streets a beggar Instead of beIn comfortably I com-fortably selllcd in na smart r little shop 1 I as ever I clapped eyes on and free of I I expense too EzeKfi TIalllclay groaned as his eyes I wandered round the blight iruadlly papered j pered room and he bent his white head I i to hid a great tear that was slowly l courting down his check Morllui wan I n fiood soul but why couldnt she leave Jlm l lu Deuce 1 And ow any one could fret thelr 1 fv ps silly over Hint dirty old book I r < clots 1 row Is beyond me It ought to I Ive been done away with years ago R n any ohan anrt sensible person could I f Why never a day passed but I 6 I bumped my poor cod against them t I 1sky doorways and no for that par jnr bolnd the shop It wasnt larger thu a mousetrap and way Just about f as musty t Me an my old girl found It comfort able enough for fifty happy years Martha the old bookseller broke out at length stung by the contempt In the charwomans voice And the mustiness musti-ness didnt prevent our living to a good old age Im ninetythree now and she only died two years ago come Christmas Christ-mas ° Im glad she didnt live to see the old place Was It was It there when you passed this morning Martha ho asked piteously folding his shaking bands over the I worn head of his stick Martha tossed her head ac she laid the cloth for lea It wero standing there right enough then she replied carelessly hut they were at work on the house next to Il Nest to It Martha next to It Zeckol as every ono called him tottered tot-tered to his feet stretching out a hand for his hat that hung on a peg But Martha guessed his Intention Now then she said with well meant firmness you dont leave this parlor till youve ad a fresh cup 6 tea The men ull be leavln oil work now and If the old place Is gone you wont bring It back by goln oK without a sup or bite Zeckel fell back Into his armchair with working ills I I Its true he moaned Nothing can bring tho old things back Marthal Youre a young woman and you dont I see things like we do Young Indeed Martha was on the shady side of forty for-ty so uhe was not III pleased at the soft Impeachment Well she returned slightly mollified molli-fied I suppose we dont All I know Is that Id that Id thank Providence on my bended knees 1C It ud give me a shop In the Charing Cross Road But theres the bell Tho tea nil be ready by the time you come back Zeckel rose and attended to his customer cus-tomer with the accustomed care tad gunlal bonhomie which had made him iulto a personality In Bookuellcrs Row I 1Cl alone the smile died out of his eyes and he drooped wearily over the freshly polished counter Yes It was fine enough he reflected thin shop with Its linoleum covered floor and shining brown shelves its shrill electric elec-tric bell and other modern conveniences conven-iences there was nothing missing nothing but those subtle associations 1 which alone created the real atmosphere atmos-phere of home And no one knew no ° II one understood He took up a broken backed volume lying at his elbow and fingered Its yellow yel-low pages lovingly It was a rare edition edi-tion of Pilgrims Progress much coveted cov-eted by a certain celebrated novelist who had Imagined that the old man could not possibly l understand Its value Understand Zeckcl straightened himself and chuckled at the Idea There wasnt a man In London that could hoodwink him Into buying an Imitation Imita-tion of tho real article Many a limp Mr Charles Dickens had tried to be a wily old beggar Marthas Impatient voice behind the glass door recalled him to the present icallllcs of life Como along now she exclaimed I Drink your tea and eat this nice piece of buttered toast Ive cut nil the crusts oft The rough kindness of her tone as she settled the cushion In his chair comforted the old man somewhat and he obeyed her meekly Youre very good to me Martha he said suddenly Nonstenno Avent I known yc for the lost twenty years and didnt I layout lay-out the poor old missus avowln nil the time In my cart to Bee you comfortable every evenly uband or no usband And now she added with a quick change of voice I cant stay another minute mine must be once by this tlmo and ntarvln Mrs Martha Mug was a typical charwoman char-woman She Invariably alluded to her other half IIB mine and no ono had ever eon her without the bonnet with red roses which always graced her grizzled locks Zeckel sighed as the ample be bawled I llguro passed out Into the warm gray evening She had been a kind friend to him In her clumsy way How would she get on he wondered with his grandson the smart uptodate young man who was coming tomorrow to take charge of tho buulnera Ho had long been too feeblo In health to manage the shop and at length he had taken Mar thas advice and written to his dead daughters eldest son He could never have given In aL the old placebut now what did It matter Six oclock struck from the old dim faced clock How queer and strangu was the sound as It reverberated In the wide highcellInged parlor Zcckcl rose stiffly having finished his tea with a great effort and once more reached out for the broad wideawake he always wore I shant be long he said to the boy whom ho employed to do odd Jobs about the shop A thin drizzle had set In an Zeckel hobbled along the Charing Cross road It had been pouring wet weather for I the last week or so but every evening at about the same time the trembling old figure could have been seen making I Its way to the spot where the best of Its life had been spent Zeckel reached his goal at last his dim eyes bent on the ground for very fear of what he dreaded to see But he had come to know With a Jerk he valued his head Ah dear heaven It had been standing thla morning and now it confused mass of stones bricks and mortar alone marked the place Zeckel stood still for a space a pitiful figure In the falling rain HJn Jaw had dropped and the blue eyes were fixed In a piteous stare upon the ruins oC what was once his kingdom Why Zeckel said a kindly voice at the old mans elbow what are you doing do-Ing standing there In tho rain aa If l youd lost yourself Zeckel recognized one of hiD customers custom-ers I wan saying goodbye to tho old place he replied huskily making a feeble effort to raise his hat but Id best be getting home now Evening airTho The young Journalist hurried on and the qld man crept feebly down the busy thoroughfare A 5trnnge numbness I and weariness was coming over him I and he leaned heavily on the gnarled stick Somewhere near here Moneys should be He would go In and take his modest halfpint of wlout and rent awhile Then he remembered Mooneys had gone too and Its place knew It no more Further on was Shorts transformed trans-formed and magnificent In Its white paint No he would not go there If only he could find a seat There was the Embankment It would be quiet there Slowly and painfully Zeckel made his way down a steep turning until ho reached the wide gray river I How for off seemed the roar of the traffic as Zeckol dropped heavily Into an empty seat Ah ho had no place In thIs now London with its broadened ntrccta and Its Intolerance of old wan and customs Tho river alone had not changed but flowed on grandly majestically Zeckol watched It dreamily conscious of a great Immense silliness that was stealIng steal-Ing over everything lie won In the old shop again talking and bargaining bargain-ing with Mr Dickens Above the short blind of red muslin that screened the parlor door he could catch glimpses of the little wifes bonny face oa she laid his tea She was singing softly to herself her-self the while Mv lovo la lllco a red red rose 1 Thats newly blown In Juno My love IR like a melody s TluatB sweetly played In tune Tho air was J full of the sweet melody and now the river too was taking ta-king It up But gradually oven that sound faded A barge passed band b-and disappeared Into the dream like blue mint that was rising J Zeckel followed It I with dazed tired oyes for a second or so then his head fell back and he drew a deep sigh ao the stillness crept over his broken heart t lulling It to an everlasting sleep Black 1 11 j and White 1 1 |