OCR Text |
Show SAID BY A GOSSIP. A sin confessed Is hfclf absolved, so et m own to an essay In eavesdropping. eavesdrop-ping. Eavesdropping, after nil, Is a time-honored vice, nnd one favored of the majority. Besides, tho temptation to hoar what he had to ray to her was unconquerable. Sho let us call her tho Butterfly to avoid porsonnlltlon is 28. Ho it will bo eafor to speak of him as tho Sage Is perilously near tho brink of 60. 8ho declares It Is only his "views" on things In general tnt Interest her; ho pretends thnt It Is merely an old-tlmo friendship for her father thnt makes him tolcrato tho frou-frou of her petticoats nnd tho dainty, tripping prattle of her tongue. Entre nous, I bellovo her thirst for information Is a doublo form of coquetry; co-quetry; furthermore I nm convinced that ho sees through It. enjoys It, encourages en-courages It, I saw thorn through tho crnck of tho folding doors. Sho was enlarging on tho Leeds fcstlvnl, nnd accentuating her sentiments with pretty gesticulations of two knowingly knowing-ly gloved hands. "I love novelty," sho snld, "nnd I had my fill. You should hnvo heard Mr. Elgar's 'Cnractncus' cantata. Ho has emerged legitimately cmergod. Between Wagner nnd BcrloU ho seems to havo shot out on a track of his own n drnmntlc nnd original trnck." Tho Sago grunted. "It Is a law In dynamics that when two foru,s moving In different directions como In collision tho resultant forces strikes out a line of Us own, distinct from either of tho opposing forces. Perhaps Mr. Elgar's In tho resultant force." "I wonder what he'll do In oncrn whether ho'll treat us vocalists with sufllclcnt kindness. In that wny no ono can beat Sir Arthur Sullivan and Mr. Gilbert. They put tho milk and honey of lnngungo Into our mouths." "How about Cowon?" asked tho Sage, reverting to tho festival. "Ho was miignlflcont nt his very best. Delightful Hcrr Humperdlnck stuck us Intellectually on an Arnblnn carpet and wafted us into Moorish dreamland. M. Fnuro, though ho cads his work 'Tho Birth of Venus,' was not ns hrllllngly romantic as ho can bo. Perhaps Venus at her birth wns not so" "So dangerous aa sho might become, say, at tho ago of 28," tho Sage chuckled. "Bo quiet, do, and listen. Clnra Butt sang grandly. Sho can't help singing grandly, she is a heaven built snglno of melody, but I was glad Miss Crosslcy got a chanco In tho 'Elijah.' Sho made the most of It. Isn't it a pity that Edward Lloyd talks of ro-'tiring ro-'tiring and In his prime, too." "Not nt all. Ho will retiro In tho prime of our esteem. A pity moro performers haven't done tho samo thing. Thoy go on liko Romeo and Juliet, thinking parting such sweet BE QUIET AND LISTEN, sorrow very paying sorrow till thoy nd by making themselves ridiculous." Tho Sage got up and stumped about tho room prosaically, while his boots squeaked an unromantlc accompaniment. accompani-ment. The Butterfly evldontly did not think Romeo and Juliet ridiculous. Sho gave a llttlo pout and turned the conversation. "Shall you go and boo 'Tho Throe Muskotccrs?' " sho asked. "Which of themT" "Both. (That sounds rather Irish, doesn't It.) You must seo Mr. Hamilton's Hamil-ton's version, and when you'vo digested digest-ed that, Mr. Grundy's will bo ready at her majesty's." "I shall bo Interested to seo Mrs. Tree and Mrs. Potter togother In tho samo play; but, for fine fcmlnlno char-actor-drawing, no one will over touch Dumas fllsl" -no was very ruue, nearly as uau as you aro," snapped tho Butterfly. "I beard an odd Btory about him. He reproved re-proved Mllo. O for not playing n pnrt with sufllclcnt Intensity. Sho mndo excuses. 'It Is too base, too mean!' she said. 'I can't play a pnrt that Is not In accord with my natural character.' charac-ter.' 'Stuff I ' growled Dumas; 'In tho last ploco you performed tho rolo of ingenue to perfection.'" Tho Sago Inughed. "Ho was the apoitle of truth," ho said. "You wouldn't would-n't have a roan honest In ono particular and not In another! Talking of honesty, I wonder how the French at today would got on with a military dictatorship? Thoy aro beginning to doscrlbe their army as 'tho flow or of tho civilizations watered by tho blood of Jeanno d'Arc'l Such bombast U a sure sign of national fermentation!" "How about Colonol Henry?" tho Butterfly Interrupted. "A worm 1' tho bud, they say; a llttla color-blindness as to tho right tint of duty. We all suffer from It at times." "You're saying that Just for humbug," hum-bug," declared tho Butterfly. "You're intensely fussy about honor and that kind of thing." "unfortunately I'm not color blind. Clear sight adds to one's moral responsibility. re-sponsibility. By tho way, tho antt-vlvUectlonlsts antt-vlvUectlonlsts ought to crow. Cinematography Cine-matography will shortly help us to vltw operations in their various phases ad lib. Tho apparatus will servo as a portablo means of Introducing Introduc-ing experiments from one scientific circle cir-cle to another." "I thought tho thing wns only it curiosity T" "Telephones, X rays and autocars wcro nil curiosities till tholr practical valuo wns established, Tho only thing against cinematography In tho hospital hospi-tal Is a question of speed, but that, I fnncy, will be" "I saw a woman driving a 'touf-teuf 'touf-teuf down Cromwell road today," interrupted in-terrupted tho Butterfly. Steering, you meant" "I mean what I say, Tho engineer took a back scat In every sonso of the word. Why, oven I enn steer; It's qulto simple. You go across country a bit nt first llko a crab In hysterics, )ou know; but It's becauso you don't rcallzo that tho thing Is so absolutely docllo docllo as n man ntter a good dinner." "Humph I" grumbled tho 8nge, standing still to look nt her, nnd holding hold-ing his thumbs In tho nrmholcs of his wnlstcont. "Toll me," "went on tho Butterfly, well plcnscd with her shot Into tho enemy's qunrters, "what do you think of tho knlscr's tour has It any political politi-cal object?" "My dear young lady, I am not a prophet." "Still, you must havo Ideas; you surely" "Well," said tho Sage, "object or no object, tho Mussulman treasury will b found to havo sprung a leak" "Tho sublime poito will run dry, eh? And ntter thnt?" "Ottoman nnncmlal" snld tho Sage, moro blandly thnn usual. S. L. 0. S. M. |