Show NEW WISDOMS By FANNIE HURST HURSTe O g by McClure McClure Newspaper Se veo Syndicate Service T WAS as If It crash 1 a skyscraper IT had collapsed Or a tornado devastated devastated devastated de de- a II forest or a n segment of heaven henen fallen obliterating everything everything everything every every- thing in chaos That was tho the way Frederick Farmington felt tho the noon noonday ny he emerged from the office of ot the most eminent diagnostician in New NewYork NewYork NewYork York city Crash Crash Crash Of course courso many men before him must have o emerge emerged from that same office with the same torment of ot emo emo- But nonetheless to Fre Ington newly ma made e president of ot his corporation director of ot three others lof of equal Importance vice president of at a bank and treasurer of ot a n railroad railroad rail rail- road It seemed that never had blow smitten a man so In the midst of ot life I In the midst of ot life Farmington had Just been or ordered ered out of It That is to say out of the rushIng rushIng rushing rush- rush Ing turmoil of his day by There was no longer any use trying tryIng tryIng try- try Ing to elude the symptoms The eminent eminent emi emi- nent diagnostician had spared no wor words s. s Farmington's left lung had two growing sore spots with a n threat of ot one on the right It was wasa a matter of ot getting out of town one way ay or another his doctor octor had Informed him with rather purposeful purpose purpose- ful brutality By Bj way of ot the A Adirondack Adirondack Adi Adi- l- l express to the pine forests forests forests for for- ests or by way of mahogany with silver sil handles bandIes In the midst of ot life Farmington had been ordered out of it Standing there on the steps of ot the doctors doctor's office In the gray of ot November it seemed to Farmington Farming- Farming ton with depression champing down upon him that possibly of ot the two ways ways ostracism ostracism to the A dacks or the way of mahogany with silver han handles the handles les the latter was preferable Life Lifo was so Jammed and pulsatIng pulsating pulsating ing an nn affair when you were in the midst of It as Farmington was wasl 1 Life LICe In the pine forests with the soughing of ot wind at night and the creaking of ot trees by day was allright all allright allright right for a two weeks summer vacation vacation va ya- cation of ot It But ostracism to It for what the doctor ha had termed an Indefinite period period- It was a matter of ot weeks before Farmington finally decided upon his alternative The flow of life Ute was too quick In him Life too dear In him Banishment to the pine woods 1 If need be But not death Farmington was not rea ready y for tor death There were worl worlds s to conquer Earthly Earthily fields to dominate At three forty he had tasted too much of ot the elixir of ot success to relinquish the cup easily Life Lite Ll Life e. e The battle of ot Wall Street the con conflict lct of ot master Industrial minds The shrewd connivance with the picked business men of ot the country Life Life Lle Life Farmington was greedy for tor it The life lle of ot the ex ex- ex- ex The leader The captain It was good to live And so Farmington Farmington Farm Farm- ington surrendered to the prospect of temporary exile with the tho bitterest pain he ha had ever known In his life In the midst of at life Ufe to the sIlence si silence silence sI- sI lence of pine forests and the long motionless days In n a log cabin At first there were friends and the days were as clear as steel and the fishing an and hunting helped them pass quickly enough but the camp was on the top of a n mountain and i ithe the motor roads left off orr 02 62 miles before before before be be- beI I fore you ou reached It and train connections connections con con- were bad and the winter season In town set In with a bang and the friends fell away Those were the days when tho the loneliness first began to settle upon Farmington The exile Breathless deathless days with only a moun moun- mountain mountain tain guide hired to live with him for company an and the tasks of ot books and a radio machine and a magnificent mechanical pin piano no Those were the days when the loneliness began to settle An And the beauty of ot the forest to recede nn and the sound of ot waterfall to beat Into his brain with monotony and the yearning for the tramp of mens men's feet and the conflict of ot quick mIn minds s sand and the excitement of ot the fray to eat cat and gnaw at him The Tho clear thin biting col cold days of ot the forest The pellucid nights with stars like silver Christmas Christmas- tree balls waiting to be plucked A waterfall leaping In glory and f suddenly ud- ud denly frozen there a shy and startled startled star star- tIe loveliness All part of a loneliness The devastating eating gnawing loneliness loneliness loneliness lone lone- liness of ot this man of ot affairs Pain In the lungs Pain In the heart Days and days of the kind of at pain that made him Irascible and difficult for tor even the old mountain guide rather scornful and oblivious oblivious oblivious ous of ot the ways of ot men to en endure ure A gnarled old oak tree of a guide Strange Strone secrets he knew v. Out of ot the forest The habits of ot wIl wild things The call of tho the loon The way of the quick-flanked quick trout The footfall of ot the deer His lore was full of ot these delicate lovely cI cies Iles es He lIe knew the look 1001 In the eyes of ot a n trapped fox and was bitter at nt tho the women who wore their pelts He loved lo the prickly little mash of ot pine cones under him and had hada hadn a n pillow of ot them on this crude pallet pal pal- let He spent long days I In the woods and came home more moro silent than they Sometimes it seemed to Farmington Farming- Farming ton he ho must spring at nt tho the throat of ot this man who was so complacent with the mystery of the silence Sometimes watching him sleep through his own sleepless nights it seemed to Farmington he must flyat fly flyat at his heart henrt To tear from It the secret The secret of ot his capacity for silence Tho The silence that was eating Into Farmington Gnawing Into him Making him a little ma mad with terror of it It The radio did its part to help Yanking the outside world Into the heart of ot the forest And the mechanIcal mechanical ical piano and the letters from his friends and the hint of ot the doings of ot men In the outside world worl that came camo with the weekly parcel post But those were only moments out of ot hours Hours of ot torment Hours of ot trying to rel read out of ot the books to tear out of ot the piano something to counteract the lonell- lonell ness Poor Farmington I It is difficult In the haunts of ot men to learn how to be bo alone Farmington frankly had horror of It lt He had all his life lite been the sort of ot man who would call up a n bore of ot a friend sooner than dine alone Or sit through a n vapid musical show sooner than spend an evening at home without guests When Farmington so much muchas as ns traveled from one city to another another another an an- other he took a n secretary along for company An And now up here In the woods not even eyen the secretaries would remain remain remain re re- re- re main for more than a few weeks at a time Only Farmington and his old gul guide e who talked back to the bIr birds s in noises that resembled their own and who knew secrets of or orthe the forests that first had entertained entertained entertained enter enter- but after a while began to pall on Farmington Two years of ot this and then as the saying goes the house settled settle That Is from a nervous plunging kind of resistance Farmington receded receded receded re re- re- re ceded into a morose kind of or acquiescence acqui acqui- Lethargy Torpor Or call it what you yon will Sometimes days of ot silence in their little cabin or the two of them Farmington and his gul guide e tramping the woods hour after hour Silently There wasso was wasso wasso so little to say And strangely enough so much to observe observe- quick fleeting life of or the forest It shimmered with It Indeed It kept the senses alert Just being on the watch The perky head of ot a chipmunk chipmunk chip chip- munk where you ou least e expected it The slant of ot late sunU sunlight ht through trees Clear cold music of water water- fall Ever see a pine tree sway in wind The tailed bob leap of ot a rabbit The wind polished bole of ofa ofa ofa a poplar Farmington was the un nn- unconscious conscious student In the mystery of at this lore Sometimes the old guide use used secretly to smile FarmIngton Farmington Farm Farm- ington coming home of ot a dusk with witha a few tew choppy wor words s of ot what he had seen Mysteries too subtle for many words M Mysteries as ns lovely as the leap of ot a deer Then a great diagnostician for tor a n afee afee fee that would have haye been ransom for a king Journeyed up to the mountain shack The sky and the pines and the silence had done their work well The two sores on one lung and the tho threat of ot a sore on the other had bad entirely disappeared Farmington Farm Farm- Farmington ington had won I Farmington was released release from the forest and given his ticket of leave back to the haunts of or men An And Farmington after weeks of procrastination with himself dI did not take it There was not much explaining to be done about it In fact he be hen n never er even discussed It with his gui guide e. e They Just sat side by side smoking after of ot si si- si lence Th The ol old gul guide e knew of ot course With the sensitiveness that helped him to know the footfall of ofa ofa ofa a deer lIe He knew The peace had bored Its way Into Farmington Far far from the tramp tramp-tramp-tramp of ot the feet of or man Farmington had heard the footfall of the deer And It was worth waiting for tor to hear the footfall of another An AnnU And Andall Andall all nU the strange new wisdoms that went with knowing and loving the delicate sound of ot the footfall of a deer |