Omaha daily bee., 1885-01-03

Gctllal, SpTCiuluS hS IdlhS III u way
indicating that he disclaimed all response.
bility."
"Then You actually think / am stupid2'
"No, Think not dat you are stupid"
"What do you think, thonR l have been
told from the time l was so high, (shc
| indicated the height with a gesture of her
handy that | am very clever, and as frank
ness seems to be in order, l will confess
that when l compare myself with those !
meet in daily society, | cannot escape the
conclusion that l am considerably above
the average"
81 haf no doubt"
"Ahl but you are horribly provoking "
She arose with irrepressible nctvoutness
and walked toward the window.
"Perhaps you would have the kindness
to explain what you are limiting at" she
said, struggling to conceal her irritation.
"Vell, madam"-he, too, arose, and, as
if stripping off all conventional restraints,
he lifted his head and proudly faced her.
"Vell, madam he repeated, you shall
hat your wish. But, remember, l spik
now not as Max G~reifenstett, but as the
artist to whom no laws exist except those
of his att. You, madam, ave, as you say,
| clever. But you have not the artistic,
temperament. You will always be clever,
but never anything more. l might itch
you for a hundred years, but you would
still only be de clever amateur. You may
ask, do 1 den only wish to itch geniuses Z
No, not dat geniuses are few and
rare. But / wish to itch only dose
| who hat de power to admire
and to comprehend that degree of Artistic
greatness which may be beyond DER own
rich. Dose who are contented vid der
own mediocrity, and are proud of it-dey
are hopeless, madam, and it is q daily
scourge to de artistic SOU to be forced into
contact vid dem. Dore are realms of
beauty and light to vich / hold de key,
and if itch at all, it is to open dose un-
suspected realms to dose who call dem
selves my pupils. But dere are some
whose souls are too earthclogged to follow
me-whom 1 hat not de strength to lift.
l am extremely sorry, madam, but 1 would
not hat spoken if you had not compelled
me. l know dat you Will not ask me to
stay. l bid you good morning"
Catharipe stood like one dreaming
The overwhelming, incorporating
frankness of his declaration stunned her.
1t was 30 entirely beyond the pale of her
experience that she forgot to be offended
The superb ring of his voice, and his
warm, persuasive eloquence fascinated
her. 1t 10 longer occurred to her that an
q mere diversion, as a novel phenomenon,
Max Greifenstett might be worth cult.
waiting. She felt. on the contrary, a sud
den hearty respect for the man, and she
resolved at all risks to secure his ser
vices. He was just beatigg his second
retreat when again her voice recalled
him.
"Mr. Griefenstett," she said, with a
new humility, 'I do wish you to stay. 1t
may be that L am an earth. clogged soul,
as you intimate, but l have suddenly been
seized with a curiosity to peep into those
realms which you speak of, and l know
you are too kind-hearted a man to refuse
me your guidance. l promise you l will
follow you implicitly"
1t was now monsieur's turn to stare,
and he did it with a vengeance.
GIL hat not comprehended you" he be-
gan tentatively.
"Not at all. l only wish you to promise
to come to-morrw 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 rich
ness.
"You admire that carpet2'aaanquired the
! girl at last, when he seemed to have for
gotten her presence.
"Vhat-vhat vos data" he exclaimed,
lifting his head abruptly.
"Do you find the carpet Interestingly"
"Ah-yes. You wish me to come to-
morrow Veil, / will come"
"Thank you 1 am truly obliged"
She gave him her hand for the first
time, with impulsive cordiality. He took
it cautiously, as he would some frail
precious piece of bric-a brac.
"And Will you not regret your bargain2'
he asked gravely.
"Never," she answered heartily, "unless
you regret yours"
81 will come to morrow" he remarked
evasively, "unt den l will tell you"
"Who was that seedy-lookipg individu
al 1 met on the %stsirs2' asked Mr.. Archi.
bald Romily as he entered the psrlor jus
as Catharine had finished her first lessor
with Max Greifenstett.
"It was my music teacher" answered
Cathsrlne, CURLY.
Mr.. Romily wa one of Catharine'i
sdorers, and as such o privileged person
He made a point of importing the lates'
English novelties In speech and dress
and possessed no standard of criticism
except that of fashion. He was quite
handsome in an u~nobtrusive way, though
6 his forehead was a little too narrow ant
his chin q little too long for absolute sym
metry. He considered himself as q grea
catch, and revealed in the fact that socie
ty seemed to coincide with him In thi
opinion. He had a prospective incom
of some forty to fifty thousand a year
, chiefly invested in real estate. For tw
, years he had been assiduous In his stten
tions to Miss Van farrell, and she had
without rejecting seriously on the sub
. ject, discreetly encouraged him. Sh
! had thought of it as a remote possibilit
that some day she might consent to be
come Mrs. Romiiy, but she ha
had no desire to p~recipitate mai
ters. She had made up he
mind, however, that if she became Mira
i. Romillv, she would break him of som
of his English aztec %:ations, and make hir
!. desist from all reference to his stub
bings." some of his college anecdote,
: too, she thought In bad taste, and onl
to be excused on the ground that a ma