The Indianapolis journal., 1885-01-03

Geniuses are few and rare. But wish to itch
| only dose who haf de power to admire and to
| comprehend that degree of artistic greatness
which may be beyond deir own rich. Dose who
are contented vid der own mcdiocrity, and are
proud of it, dey are hopeless, madam, and it is a
daily scourge to de artistic soul to be forced into
| contact vid dem. -Dere are realms of beauty
and light to which hold de key, and if l itch at
all. it is to open dose unsuspected realms to dose
who call demselves my pupils. But dere are
some whose sorls are too earth-clogged to follow
me-whom / haf not de strength to lift am
| extremely sorry, madam, but would not haf
4 spoken if you had not compelled me- know
dat you viii now not ask me to stay. bid you
good morning"
Catharine stood like one dreaming The
overwhelming, uncompromising frankness of his
declaration stunned her. 1t was SO entirely be-
! yond the pale of her experience that she forgot
to be offended The superb ring of his voice,
and his warm, persuasive eloquence fascinated
| her. It no longer occurred to her that as mere
diversion, as novel phenomenon, Max Greifen-
| stett might be worth cultvating She felt, on
the contrary, sudden hearty respect for the
man. and she resolved at all risks to secure his
services. He was just beating his second retreat
when'agan her voice recalled him.
| "Mr. Greifenstett,r she said, with new hui
mility, Il do wish you to stay 1t may be
that am an earth-clogged soul, as you intimate,
but have suddenly been seized with curiosity
to peep into those realms which you speak of,
and know you are too kind hearted man to
refuse me your guidance. promise you will
follow you implicitly"
1t was now monsieur's turn to stare, and he
| did it with vengence.
81 haf not comprehended you," he began ten
tatively.
'Then you are not as clever as / took you to
be-" retorted Catharine, smiling
"You are not offended off me-" he essayed
again with his bewildered blush.
mot at ALL I only wish you to promise to
come tomorrow at ten and give me my first
lesson"
He paused before answering and stared hard
at the floor. The carpet was an ancient tapestry
pattern Of singular richness.
You admire that carpets" inquired the girl
at last, when he seemed to have forgotten her
presence
'.Vhat-vhat vos dat" he exclaimed lifting
his head abruptly
do you find the carpet interestingq"
'Oh-ah-yes You wish me to come to-mor-
row. Veil. All, will come"
''Thank you. am truly obliged"
She gave him her hand, for the first time, with
mpulsive cordiality. He took it cautiously, as
he would some frail, precious piece of brica-
| brac.
And you will not regret your bargain9' he
asked, gravely.
'Never," she answered heartily, ''unless you
regret yours"
II will come Tomorrow" he remarked eva
sively, ''unt den viii tell YOU"
/ II.
"Who was that seedy-looking individual l
met on the stairsG" asked Mr. Archibald Rom
/ lily as he entered the parlor just as Catharine
had finished her first lesson with Max Griefen-
| stett.
1T was my music teacher answered Cath
arne, curtly.
Mr., Romiy was one of Catharine's adorers,
and as such privileged person. He made point
of importing the latest English novelties in
| speech and dress, and possessed no standard of
criticism except that of fashion. He was quite
handsome, in an unobtrusive way, though his fore
head was a little too narrow and his chin a little
too long for absolute symmetry. He considered
himself as great catch, and reveled in the fact
that society seemed to coincide with him in this
. opinion. He had prospective income Of some
| forty or fifty thousand year, chiefly invested
in real estate. For two years he had been assid-
uous in his attentions to Miss Van Tasse and she
had, without rejecting seriously on the subject,
discreetly encouraged him. She had thought of
it as remote possibility that some day she
might consent to be Mrs Romilly but she had had
no desire to precipitate matters. She had made
| up her mind, however, that if she became Mrs.
| Romilly, she would break him of some of his
English affectations. and make him desst from
all reference to his 'tubbings.' Some of his col
lege anecdotes, too, she thought in bad taste,
and only to be excused on the ground that a
man with fifty thousand year is apt to lose
the faculty of sef-criticism. 1t was perhaps
with view to stimulating this useful but disa-
greeable exercise that she accepted with such
decided GOODNESS his reference to ner music
teacher. But Romilly, whom long social petting
had made trife obtuse, was far from divining
such an intention; he thought, on the contrary,
that Catharine had been yexed by the tall, shaggy
German, and that little amusement at his ex-
pense would be the best antidote
II should think, Miss Catharine," he contin-
ued complacently, that if you were in search of
a geological curiosity, you might first have
put it in the hands of a trainer This one
seemed yet to be in his natural state of Teutonic
savagery.'
Il was not in search of geological, but of a
musical curiosity" she replied grayely. Il have
found exactly what wanted"
''Chacun a son gout" retorted the young man,
a trile nettled; but if you will permit me to
speak, should suppose a lady of your fastid-
iousness would find it hard to tolerate the pres
ence of such an unkempt boor. who looks as if
he would make a bull whenever he opened his
| mouth