The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1885-04-17
PSYCHE.

"l insist that you are taking a wrong
view Of things. altogether"
Leonard Bruce, dapP,r in his short
velvetcen studio coat and polo cap, in
serted a fresh cigar into his meerChaum
mouthpiece, delicately carven in the
image of a Sphinx and stood caressing
his short, pointed beard with his we'll
kept hand and redectively regar ling his
companion.
The latter's eye Travelled slowly over the
trim figure apostrophizing him. 1t was
below the medium height il had an air Of
polished Ticturesqueness the pose was
easy and happy the voice immensely sym
pathetic; the gestures finished, e'e sant;
and yet there was in the whole nothing
efeminatc. Then Bruce's friend cast a
glance at a mirror opposite in which his
own form was reflected Towering above
Bruce by fully head, with herculean
shoulders, mass OF unruly blonde hair,
thick, fun beard, and clothes that hung
about his powerful limbs with an assur-
ance of being there simply as a tribute
paid to the exigencies of civilization, but
of having a supreme detachment from any
thought of possible adornment in the
wearer's mind The contrast was Ger
tainly great
The clothes were quite shabby, among
! other things. The hat this young man had
pitched upon chair "a he came in was
soft felt with much-indented crown
ard brim to which rough and long usage
had impaired curves and twists multi
tudinous and eccentric.
Thus surveying his friend and then him
self, Roger Aponyi recognized, with a
Q rFnfv, IoTF ,fr,I
difference between their outward sem
blances.
There IS no doubt" he said, with grim
! goodnRture, " that your way of looking at
things brings visible rewards-of kind"
1t does hut it is a truism that what
suppose You would call worshiping NAM
mon pays pretty well in this world, what
! ever it may do in the next l can take
/ higher ground from which to argue this
subject with you. | think You might ac-
knowledge that to raise the standard of
the mass ever so little is better than not
/ to have any influence that way at all,
| since you 20 in for such tremendously
/ high purposes in everything, although I
/ don't begin TO have your power"
\ placidly
! " know that, my dear fellow. I know
/ that the difference between Us is just that
world apart, n difference between talent
1 cleverness and genius But contend that
/ my well-regulated. intelligently employed
y
put il that way, than all your arbitrary
/ lawless genius ever has Goue or will do
| Your flights are too much for the large
number. And after all by conforming a
I little to the popular taste, one can still
make ones pictures so intrinsically good
| that they needn't be q reproach to ones
| artistic conscience. don't see that per-
soual success Is a thing to be deSpised
either, when all's said. II we all applied
| ourselves, with honesty and good faith to
| being successful in this world, con-
NcfrF ,1., g 81
effeCtualness of ii all would be removed -
| ' You are a great philosopher - observed
| Aponyi. DO you often talk in that way
\ to Miss Abercrombie -
He had never seen Miss Abercrom bic:
| that pleasure was in store for lEm that
\ afternoon, and he scarcely knew what
/ prompted him to ask the question Per-
| haps certain things that had casually
| transpired in conversation with Bruce.
| certain hints he had unconsciously let
| drop.
! Bruce colored slightly.
''Oh, Ethel r' he said. a little reckIesslv.
/ " have to keep myself strung up at high
/ enthusiasm pitch all the time when l am
| with her, you know. She's swfully nice
| the dearest little girl in the world. but
| she's exalted as can he. You two viii get
I on admirably together. You will both
| meet on a plane quite inaccessible to us
| more commonplace mortals-indeed, quite
| beyond our limits of apprehension. l
| should feel as though / were going to
| marry the north star, to tell you all the
! truth. II | didn't know that girls drop all
| their transcendentalisms after they're
married. But, as / say, you two will I'M
derstand each other marvellOusly. Ethel
| Is always caring about a mans soul and
that sort of thing, although she doesn't
| say SO. And you go in for all that, I'm
/ ure-stay-speaking of angels"
She was coming in now n pretty, fragile
| young creature, with her uncle a rich, ell
| derly gentleman, who had brought her up
and would leave her all his money. They
had not yet seen Bruce's new picture
which was to be sent to the academy on
the following day. To see it now was the
| object of their visit A few other people
friends of Bruce, came in with the same
object at the same time.
Bruce made an opportunity to present
Aponyi TO Miss AbeTcrOmbie, and then
with a humorously significant glance at
| the former, left them to themselves.
Aponyi had his own ideas about Bruce
taking this lightly jocose attitude with
respect to the girl who had given him her
heart, to whom, he had, supposedly, given
his. and whom he was about to marry. 1t
seemed to him irreverential and in bad
taste He bent a Keen, penetrating glance
on the young girl as he took seat beside
the low lounge whose cushions supported
her.
She, ON her part, looked up at him with
a sort of veiled eagerneSs of interest. She
had heard so much of this eccentric friend
of Leonard's. She knew some of the
things which Bruce phaSed as "Aponyi's
mulish obstinacieS y to himself or some
other ears than hers, but otherwise and
more mildly designated to her his abso-
Lutte refusal to turn out pot boilers"
whether he kept body and soul together
or not; his declension of orders that
made subjects imperative which he
thought so futile, so trivial as to be be-
low the dignity of art his never conde-
scending to sell a picture for one cent less
than he thought its value: his averring
that it was degrading. by so doing to
throw away ones Esaus heritage for