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Show O'fll & " Saucer For .One Is TkQHb "OCfUfl i 0"tl'0t ' Sauce "For the .Other. . The papering on tho parlor wall of the apartment was scarlet. It brought out the two figures, a man and a, woman, with decislvo sharpness. ' They were seated facing oach other, she on. the couch, he In a chair. Both possessed jcharm. Tho man's had been onhanccd by contact with tho world of which he was distinctly a part. The woman's, which Included "beauty, had been slightly marred. Silence Si-lence had fallen between them. Ho was looking beyond her; she at him. IiTinalJy, turning abruptly, the man burst forth passionately: "By all tho gods above, Miriam, how did you como to do It?" "It was tho wine, I suppose," sho answerod foarlly. , "The wine! Why ton thousand .barrels of wine shouldn't cause yo,u to stand up in a public restaurant and attempt to fling a coffe cup In another an-other woman's face!" . Sho lookod thoughtful. "No I know that." "Then what made you?" Sho lifted her eyes to him. "You!" sho burst .forth. "Nonsense!" "Harold " "Nof "listen! Let mo give you a de-tailod de-tailod account of this performance of yours! To all appoaiancos, a dignified digni-fied woman, tho embodiment of everything sweet and lovable, at a dinner in a Bohemian dining place, where she ha.d been taken as ,n onlooker on-looker of the hoydenish performances of a lot of temporarily Irresponsible people, suddenly, with the gesture of a mad woman, hurls a cup at an inoffensive in-offensive woman!" "Sho wasn't Inoffensive!" "Bah' The girl hadn't cone a thing:" "Don't lot's discuss it," sho ox-claimod, ox-claimod, rising, but immediately reseating re-seating hoiseh'. '"I will discuss it! I don't know what to think of you. You aren't oven ashamed of it!" "I am!" "Then offer some explanation! Upon my word, after this, I wouldn't feel safe to go about with you to public pub-lic places. This Insane jealousy of yours " Her eyes flashed. "Stop!" she Im-plorod. Im-plorod. For a wjillo there was silence. Then ho broke it impulsively. "Do you yourself know how you could do such a thing?" "Yes, I do; but it wouldn't bo any I excuse in your eyes. ITaiold!" Her voice was shaip. "I love you so "Which has nothing whatever to do 9 with what wo are discussing!" he In-m In-m terjected, unappeased. Jfl "I know it doesn't seem to. Dear, tlon't reproach -me any more." He sprang up and strode about the loom. "I'd gle ten years of my-llfe J B if you hadn't done It'" She arose and approached him. "You see, dearest, I had been drinking drink-ing that bad -wine I mean that of course, had a great deal to do with It. ' But It wasn't tho real cause! I would, In the circumstances, have felt iho same seen the same vision that caused mo to do "What I did, If there never had been any wine on earth! Suppose," she -went on excitedly, ex-citedly, "that without warning you suddenly seemed to find yourself In a small Inferno, and that In tho fumes Of bad v wine, through the clouds of foul smoke, there leered at you one small Insignificant face In which all the fomlnino vices of the world seemed concentrated; wouldn't you feel Impelled to obliterate It?" "'I shouldn't think of attempting It With nn after-dinner coffee cup," ho BhO rod. ' 1 "Suppose that ono facoj the look of it, hissed at everything you held good and sacred and sweet and pure on oarth; wouldn't you feel justified in attacking it?" "No," ho replied firmly, "I would not." "You don't understand." "I confess I do not." "It wasn't what you thought It wns," sho plonded. "If It had been you would have the right to upbraid me just as you have done; to say even worso things, and I would, have to stand them! But it wasn't that' It was not joalousy, but a surging up of my best feelings that lashed me at the second into Insanity and kindled my contempt contempt that was not oven of her!" "May I ask of what?" he inquired with sarcasm. "Of all tho fomlnino vices." sho burst forth, "that appeared, as I told you, embodied In her small face. And Harold, It seemed to me that If I could strike a fair blow at It, I could rid tho world of them! It was as though I was commanded by some unseen force " "Wine," the man Interrupted quietly. quiet-ly. "I know it was the wine or partly 1 haven't denied that; but there was something not induced by wine a sudden Indignant fury against the , worst part of woman's natuie that seemed uncoiled, as It were, and snake-like darting Its poison. Ah!" sho wrung her hands for a moment, "that worst part of woman you don't know it! A man never sees a bad woman as she is; he is always blinded' blind-ed' Don't sneer that way and look so coldly at me, It makes me forgot (what I wanted to say' An appeal lit up her face. "What attracted you to me was the spiritual the strong and tiue that's what you have always told me haven't you? When I saw all that was best In woman belpg laughed "at and what was worst qf-feied qf-feied you, and saw you assailable, the best In mo was momentarily obllter ated! Can't you understand?" "No!" "You see, I saw how llttlethe good women have to fight the others' With I mean thoso Who have only goodness good-ness for a weapon.; I saw them without with-out boauty, "without charm, and It terrified ter-rified mo. I really believe I wont mad for tho moment. I saw there, spread out boforo mo, in its ghostly agony, all the suffering of the poor", neglected, neglect-ed, heartsick women who rely upon their goodness to hold their husbands, and, involuntarily, I took up the battle bat-tle for them! I flung that cup, not at the girl at all not at all, dear. Sho herself was lost In the vision she had (brought up a vision so full of anguish an-guish and despair that a battlefield of the dead and wounded would palo besra it! -3 sa'w'ntferfheiploss.'iingeiJ H ing agony fdfjLemale"5maTty7rs. of virtue, H ari"drf lungthttUcUp at9thefaceof all M tHe .fcmlnlnewlnfamyof the world!" 4 H ' JSho patis6d breathless nnUhor-hiJ- tM 'band suddenly burst into -"& rathe ! -boisterous laugh. '1 "What -are you "laughing at?" IH "My dear girl, "at' the' wonderful '.workings of 'the feminine "mind! T jH have no- the least doufbtUhat at "this H inoment you "believe overywordyou jH are saying. The femalo -mind is -so used to Solf-deeeption t that -unllor proper conditions andugivon isufflalaht H impetus it can invent 'and turn, out H mnything! It formulates ideas with H such little compunction and with such H Ingenuity that they actually appear Bj sincere to the author of them!" H "What are you talking about?" H "Your own case! Listen to it' In H a public dining place a 'wife becomes H suddenly jealous of another woman , H tendering a husband a- certain sav6ry, H 'highly -seasoned dish, not served to H HH -him in his own home. Ivnpwlng the HH charm of novelty, and relenting the Hj .palpable offect on the husband, she HH sacrifices her social advantages, al- HH -lows tho savage, in her to overmaster H iier, offers to fight li out fist fashion HY and then no, wall, mj dear, I want H to finish this, it's interesting am1 H1 ithen, by way of exonerating herseli, H an hour later, delivers p lecture in do- H fense of good women mcrcllesssly Hj persecuted by bad hut-bands. My girl, H you are exonerated!" HE "Do you mean to tell mo, Harold HI that 1 have been lying?" HV "Certainly." HI "And tinit I planned out what I lulu Hi you?" EH "Certainly, while wo were walking H homo." HY - Her flush changed to pallor and an H angry light began to burn in her HH rather tragic but splendid eyes. HB "I'm going to put a question to HE you!" she burst forth, "and see how HI truthful you can be!" HJ "Fire away!" HV He had been lighting a clgur end HB was in the act of waving the match. H She watched the flame until it ex- H plrod and he had taken his seat. She H then took her own seat. H "This is what I am going to ask H you," she oxclaimed. "Can you dony H that you have boon " sho paused and H her color returned rather hotly,, "well Hi flirting with that girl?" Hb "I do not deny it." HJ "Then I was right V HJ "You wore." HJ "And in my presence!" Sho bent Kfl forward eagerly. Hh "y dear, the masculine senses HJ play as many tricks as the feminine HJ brain. Besides, I cn. t say that I was HJ what you term flirting. I responded H to her advances and, to confess, I was m not exactly in tho position to refuse B to do so otherwise well, she might HJ have flung n coffee cup at me!" H Ho puffed rather vigorously at his HJ cigar after this, and she stared at H him.. Finally he took the cigar from Hj his mouth, closed a pair of deftly HJ carved lips that never failed, In this j plaold oonditlon, to form an irritating H? challenge -to women, and then spoke HI with slow deliberation. V "I mot -that parUcjular j ng wony j in," he said, "in that self-some unfor- H! tunate dining ploco" he was eyeing HT her critically "lost October, during Hjj the time you prolonged your stay in IK the mountains on account, as you H wrote me frequently, of a sudden pas- HF sion for the coloring of fall leaves. HJ Do you remember?" H I "Yes!". The word was not spoken; H. it seemed, steam-like, to escape her Hj tightly pressed lips, their eyes, meun- HJ while, remaining united ns by a taut WL f invlslblo wire. Hj "Considering this fact, and that she H- l , did not, until tonight, know of your Hj existence, I consider, taking Into ac- Hj! " ount, of course, her rather limited Wfl ' bruin and her lack of social oppor tunities, that she carried herself well. fg On the strength of it I am going to reward her; I'm going to send her to- HI morrow a very pietty little jewel as a H mark of my appreciation. I thought she wtis splendid!' "With her daubed and painted face!" "A woman's retort but with her dauoea and painted face, yes' Powder Pow-der and puin' have their parts to perform per-form a? veh as fall leaves. Undet certain condition- cither mav become excusablo excitants. Wil' you hand me a match9 Than you. "ioui friend llolloway is, a good fellow, Miriam, hut I don't like the cigars he leaves for me. However, tho intention inten-tion Is all right. 1 was saying thai powder and paint irrtly, under certain conditions, be regarded as excusable excitants. The whole world Is hungering, hun-gering, my dear won't you put a pillow at your buck you look tired tho whole world Is, as I said, hungering hun-gering for excitement excitants. The barln of man is busy dny and night supplying this leiiulremem of unfathomable un-fathomable humanity, -r .in out do you know why - o. se you don't for mon.--. .rv, jtcnrh les thrills. Con .gland exempli fies, in its crud .nion mv mean ing. Tho seem i lroat., the Inop-tho-loop, the ehui i-chut all such things art contriw cater to the Insatiable demand oi i man nature na-ture for thrills; women, whose occupation occu-pation co'.slsts of arousing excitants, resort tc th use of paint, powder and bizarre decon i n, with the hope of producing optif i srve thrills. It's very often successful." "And tho wives, the poor wives! "We who are not permitted to give optic nerve thrills! What of us?" "Oh! You have your part." She stared at him and laughed an hysterical sneer. "I am glad to hear you suy so," she exclaimed. "Thank you!" "It's a very Important part, too-more too-more Important than that of the devotees devo-tees of temporary excitation. Now let me see If I can't explain to you what I mean. Well nil, nt any rate, the majority of us, drink coffee ''ow coffee, as of course you kno , is a vory powerful stimulant. I have heard that It is administered when other things fall, to patients collapsing collaps-ing from nn operation; It's a vory powerful stimulant! If we, -who are used to Its morning offoct, are, for some reason, deprived of It, we are apt to go to pieces. We noturally rely re-ly upon It to begin and see is through tho day! Now a man's wife may be compared to his regular morning coffee cof-fee a part, a vory important part of his dally life. He must have that cup of coffee at all hazards, and he is very partioular about the quality and as to how It Is served. Flno, spotless llnon and dainty cup and saucer equally .spotless, attractive raiment, and do you follow me?" "No, but I know you! You're furious furi-ous with me nnd you've got something up your sleeve. Out with it and lot's i be done with it! But don't talk in parables!" "Very well, then. Tho kind of woman who offended your highly refined re-fined sensibilities tonight does not appeal ap-peal to men as a dally necessity. That very fact, In the eyes of the dally ne cessity, gives her temporary and also Irritating advantage?. Her opponent knows this,' throws aside all feminine modesty and concentrates boldly and darfhgrly -upon her purpose. 'This,- in the eyes of the woman handicapped by convention, Is mistaken for charm. She fools herself, as In your case tonight, to-night, at a disadvantage and, sometimes some-times I agiln cite your case loses her head. I'm going to smoke my own cigars after this, Miriam. Toll Holloway not to leave any more for me I don't care for them!" "Stop smoking, Harold, and say what you've got to say'" "I will, only don't forgot to toll Holloway. To go back to what I was saying about coffee. In the mutter of stimulants, a woman Is vory much like her acknowledged enemy, man. I know a woman who used to keep a man's silk hat on tho corner of the piano aiyl a string of chumpagne corks somewhere In evidence. She said, whon she looked at those objects, she didn't feel dull. They may, tho silk hats and tho champagne- corks, In that sense, bo likened to paint and powder they suggest, to tho imagination, imagin-ation, excitement exciting situations or moments of elation. Now this losire for oxcltemont takes many forms and may, to a certain oxtont, bo satisfied by any kind of noolty, including in-cluding teh grotesque. In other words, anything that is in direct opposition to prescribed conditions may become a dominating novolty. For instance, last October, you wrote me of the almost al-most hypnotic effect upon you of seeing see-ing autumn leaves color you wrote mo vory wonderful letters, last October, Octo-ber, Miriam, very wonderful letters; that one about the stars burning differently, dif-ferently, with a whiter light than you had over observed before, I have preserved. pre-served. You wrote those letters under un-der tho spell of novolty a new found excitement. The young farmer who ploughed the fields, whose devolopod muscles must have made mine appear feminine, who wore a flannel shirt open nt the brawny throat, knee-boots knee-boots ofen splashed with mud from a breathless ride to reach your side " He paused, his face hardened, and she sprang up oxoitedly. "What do you mean?" she -demanded. She had grown white and her breathing had quickened. "Don't excite yourself, Miriam. I moan just this!" He took out a pockotbook and extracted ex-tracted a letter from it. "This letter was put by mistake in my private letter boy Instead of yours. After duo deliberation I read It." She snaiched the letter and tore it In two. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell mo?" she repeated excitedly. ex-citedly. "Numberless reasons. First, however, how-ever, and foremost, I didn't want to give you needless pain embarrassment. embarrass-ment. Second, I didn't want to muddle mud-dle my coffee. In other words, Miriam, If I possibly could Intent two-thirds selfish I wantod to excuse ex-cuse you. I don't believe In suffering if It can be averted. I could quite un derstand that those aged, fading leaves, having resorted to fhiture's cosmetics, might bo stimulating, and I was perfectly willing to ttdhilt the offect 'uponyou Nw-erUueJgss, X went to see for myself. I went you may condemn it disguised. I flidn't give my name again you may condemn con-demn and i did give as my purpose tho investigation of the real estate upon which the raklshly inclihed old trees that you persistently raved about grew. I mot the novelty and discovered discov-ered in him, even apart from his highly tinted environment, a very powerful stimulant. When I fjlrst observed ob-served him, standing quite stofldly be- I neath tho decorated leaves, which ' were giving, by tho way, a wild dance to the wind's accompaniment in aid i of your cause, I hardly blamed you. 1 I recognized that it was the countenance, counte-nance, painted by nature a russet brown corresponding to some of the leaves, that hod attracted you, and I felt that it was best for me to overlook over-look the artistic indulgence and to do so in silence. I did this, being equally silent about the artificially tinted face that had, In ti similar manner, captured my fancy during your absence. ab-sence. In other words, our direct op-posltes op-posltes had played a trifling, and after aft-er all, I feel convinced, inoffensle part. My sub-conscious self revealed to me that your experience with the young farmer had been merely feasting feast-ing upon rural novelty, with leaves and stars as accessories, while mine had been feasting upon urban novelty with lobster and electric lights as accessories. ac-cessories. Having now squared with you and the farmer I now have to square with the girl and you ought to help mo. Will you do It? Are you big enough?" He got up nnd put his hand on her her shoulder. "Will you help me to select that jewel? Answer me!" "No, I won't!" "And I say you will! If you don't you'ro not tho woman I thought worthy of my forgiveness. I don't want you to make mo out a fool' Will you?" She wus silent. "You and I are civilized beings, Miriam! We love each other. We're man and wife -we ought to bo good friends! What's your answer?" "Yes!" "Good! And let me toll you this, Miriam: While you're a clever woman wom-an and I'm a cool-headed man, we won't repeat this kind of thing It's dangerous!" I He lifted her face in his hands, i lookod into her eyes with a certain L masculine Intensity familiar to her 1 and kissed her. I Quite naturally she broke Into tears and clung to him. I |
