The sun., 1882-01-29
yHE THREE SECRETARIIsS.

cow, plil suit pl English cat. llt wore his
,lrovu hair rather short "nd u full beard. On
Ahr whole. he was II good-pokNg man. hut he
l1r, unmistakably upon his face the mark If
some isslti~faction with Lis fortunes. the
.N.jlnt Of some bitter di-aupoiu;.ucnt. Thr
scauiH had u peculiarly sV"s' dreamy cxpros-
sion ad he, also by his r,-tl"ss movements
AMI a''ottiin undcnnol !aui,o of hopeless long
is Mt something hc cyid'utly didn't have.
showed signs uf erutl" rrb 'liinn against til"
course Of liic. Tho third sat quietly putting %
Nrry ,od cigar. ca,rlcesl! looling out of til,
window and evidently cuitrut With his sur
roHndings and prospects. He WIS we'll dressed
and looked intelligent enough. but his most
striking characteristic was his general mir OF
being ahlc TO take care Of himself. He had II
pleasant looking, good naturrd face, but while
b. would Impress stranger rs having no in
clination TO mcddle with other peoples bust
ness. an observer would be apt to- conclude that
no one Lad better meddlc unnecessarily with
him. H. sat apparently taking no particular
notice oi his fellow travellers. who. by degrees,
seemed to become Interested in each other.
As it happened both sighed at thc same mo-
mcnt. 1t seemed though sympathetic
chord was struck Immediately. Their weary.
d!straught eyes were lifted and met.
" beg PARDON" said the brown haired man.
Excuse me" said the other.
" Did you speak y said the first.
"Oh! Ali No. But. or-don't you think ii
seems very long to the next station?'
Really, ycs: very long But what matters
1.-THE separation of the dwelling place of one
group Of mortals from the abode of anothcrt
That cannot influence the tenor of n life.
Although. what am thinking of? Has not my
own life boon distorted. warped MS ii We're. from
It's normal, its intended course by just such
trivial considerations ?" As he spoke his com
lion, . ATTIC
evident he was much impressed.
oh! sir" said he. what is this you say?
Do not stop. 1t is evident you have history
How l lona; to hear it. Pray go on. Pardon
me; but who are your Why do YOU thus roam
the West. so absorbed in your reflections that
1t scrnis Of no Importance to you where you go
or when you get there? Speak. pray
MY friend" said the first Il will comply
with your request. 1t is q pleasure to do any
thing u sympathizing soul asks Pardon me
the liberty take in freely declaring my i'm
PRECISION ii your personal character; but who
could look upon you. sir, and fail to be i'm
pressed with tho fact that sympathy fairly
wells up from your heart.
Il confess | am n disappointed man. -Four
years ago what is called the f-thetc Move
ment began in England. l am not vain
man. and pray do not take it amiss when say
assurcdly must have been an as.hctc by ma
ture. Two months after the sunilower
made tho insignia of the disciples. / could
muse on it and Gorm at it with greater steadi
ness and absorption than any one with SINH
2ar aspirations. So too"
Too. did you say 2" asked his companion.
Did say too too? No. sir not at all said
ono too. SO. too. Of the lily Lily or sunfowcr
they were one to me as objects for sclf-conccn-
tration. / could write verses that read with
such facility backward or forward. up down
that compared To them. the vain efforts Of
my rivals seemed prosodical. uneustic even
sensible. I could likewise pose. Not very
well mt first. but before long l could tie
my legs into bow knots. and assume
positions of contorted ease that at once
made me an object for hopeless. huneerinc
aiptatF'n. ~ we'll a. the cause Of envy unspeak-
able. All this time the disciples increased IN
numbers. Here's an opening said l. Now |
will succeed l will become famous among
them | will be n centre Of alteration. will
be courtcd. will bo fashionable / will be in
vitel ont to dine with my admirers. l will
live in luxury. but cheaply 20 my own purse
So btSin 1 let my hair grow. shaved stopped
wriihel, posed. intensified myself us i; werc
and soon SAW myself on thn high road to my
desired listin zion. found my duties as an
a'sthete male ii necessary for me 10 have
SECRETARY. i enga:el ono. Alas. that WA
M lfolons mistake Just as "a career OF un-
drtamed-of prominence and brilancy dawnrd
upon me-. wretched me. engaged a secretary
Ia simple. graceful. innocen. youth He tool:
kindly To his duties. copied my manuscripts
with iiliCrnce. and attended me wherever !
went. In all the Giitterin- thronss of wcalth
AMI nobility no was found always at my side
a. had desired. | i'm Isinrd that the presence
Of a literary assistant would increase my re-
nown among my worshiprerS Fool. had
bH.ter l,f- him at home. y fore n month was
Gonr WAS a ruined man. Ny secretary was
no longer M secretary. | was his. He had
not b 4en three weeks in the business. confess
IL before he beat me- on e,ery point. His hair
wa5 longer, his face smoother, his back crook
eIcr. his legs more sinu"u- his expression
more seraphicaliy, moro rapty inane than I.
his prin ,ipal. could dream Of acquiring. His
p V:ry w..s more vapid. more ramh!insly iicen-
sS than anything could manufacture. and
bln.st his eyes. there was II touch Of genius to
1t. u no use. l was deserted and he to my
mo, Ncaripn. mounted my pedestal. was
hust. Y OUT usiness. ! had nothing to do
and, - " .fed me the place. became his
Secretary. oats what / am here for. lam
on my W. 20 Chicago to make sure that a suit
able auditorium has been secured; one capable
of holding the enormous crowds that flock
to hear the loader of the ;rsthetes Oscar
Wilde" As ne rehearsed the wretched history |
OF his broken career his companion. who to
tins direct though passionate outburst had !
supplied the mute eloluence Of tears had risen |
to his feet. and when the rsthetic SECRETARY
ceased and sank back in his chair. the other in |
voice fun of emotion, spoke:
On. sir. yours is truly sal lot. When | |
think of my own former greatness. now indeed |
somewhat dimmcd. il makes me sympathze |
more deeply than ever. l. too occupy the posi- |
sion Of secretary. l am disappointed man !
also. But mine is disappointment Of the
heart. Alas. loved. She was young an actress.
and beautiful; in fact. quite beautiful and very
young. She came to our city, but, as fate would
have 1t. she stayed only hong enough for me to
see 10 love. and in sligh! but Intellectual man
ncr convey 10 her my sentiment through tie
medium If natures artistic treasures. flowers.
Then she went away and l have never seen
her since.
But now try to be manly and bear up and
attend to NY duties. They are not heavy. hut
- I. l.. ug#.H