The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-11
MISS CLEVELAND'S NOVEL.
THE Long Run" Makes It's Appearance and
VIII Make Everybody Happy.

LII would pc an injustice 10 the reauer5 OF bno
Times il not to the readers of Miss Rose Eliza
beth Cleveland's summer novel, ''The Long
Rum not to give the plot of her story as nearly
as possible in her own words
Rufus Grosbeck is writing letter" When
it is finished he throws it, "unsealed and unad-
dressed" upon the table and leaves t he room.
1T is perhaps, four hours before he re-enters,
picks up the letter, still unsealed and unad-
dressed'-aIiss Cleveland is precise-it might
have sealed and addressed itself-"and puts it in
his pocket" Then he throws on his head the
hat that lies near and walks out of the house"
Soon he is lost to the village and the village is
lost to him. His path stretches before him into
wide rural loneliness" In this wide rural lone
illness CLEANS the white and green of little
manse" In the manse dwell the rector and
his wife, one babe. one maid, and, just now, one
visitor"
The visitor at the manse is Miss Longworth,
from the city "She, individually. has done
nothing to make herself notorious, except to be
born and bear her name, which latter Is the
notoriety, it being that of wealthy and aristo-
cratic family time OUT of mind" She is now a
woman in her thirties and somewhat settled in
her ways" Miss Longworths visits were inter
esting to the Browns at the manse, to the Sly
combs-"for had not Miss Longworth already
had Sallie to visit her at her own home in the
city and had not Sallie returned thence with a
certain delightful veneer of savoir faire over all
her rustic fibre, which reflected rosewood lustre
on the whole famiyW-and even to the poor,
miserable Woolwiches.s 1t was only Rufus
Grosbeck whose interest had been circulating
about the zero point until ten days ago. although
it is more than year now since Miss
Longworth has been a periodical visitor
at Stonewa" Singular Rufus! 'Grosbeek
himself is thinking it all over now as. with the
letter in his pocket he is pacing slowly up and
down the leaf-strewn path" Unhappy Rufus!
with that trick which besets every man when
conscience draws all consciousness to the fiery
focus of time, with ito electric light OF
Then and There, he is cropping up and down the
heightened radii, back and forth, inspecting with
a needless, fruiJless nicely trying to divert the
light from that focus and dilute its intensity"
Rufus Is having hard time of it.
It is necessary to go back with Rufus eros
beck zone year and some months. to the summer
of Miss Longworths advent to Stonewall." THE
occasion is no less than that of the annual
church picnic, regular as the summer solstice,
which at this return is graced by the presence
of the guest Of the rector's wife" Miss
Cleveland herself declares that mo occasion
could be contrived on which the graceful and
gracious demeanor of so fine a lady could find
more generous scope among the Brown and
Slycomb constituency, not emitting the mlser-
able Woolwiches.n The supreme moment was
at hand. 1.-THE generous tables present now
but the lacerated remains of a prodigality of
refreshment" Fed to repletion the Sunday
school children, lone and alP'-even the Ipiser
able Northumberland. out of their misery for
the time being, gathered lazily about the church
melodeon, which has been cautiously removed to
the grove for the purpose of accompanying the
rendition of gospel hymns after refreshments
With commendable sense of the fitness OF
things, Miss ClevelaId's publishers print the
word nursery" for misery" in the foregoing
sentence The supreme moment has
Grosbeck," cries Mrs Brown, "as an
elderly lady and younger man are seen to APP
proachn Mrs. Grosbeck lis the widow Of the
last rector but one, and is so different from tho
Stonewal people," Mr.. Grosbeck lis her son,
and so very talented and odd" Miss Longworth
at first was not interested in Mr.. Grosbeck.
His very best clothes never relieved him from
an air of seedy popularity In dress, and his
efforts at small talk were at best but a counter
felt of conversation" His. talk wearied her and,
although ''she seemed to him feeble, and fussy,
and without beauty, although agreeable
enough to the senses of sight and hearing" and
'sthere was nothing about her to hold his atten-
ton, he could not fail to see that he did not
hold hersn AT the instant of discovery that
he was boring her with what he supposed was
the most sayory pabulum that could be offered
her his curiosity was fairly aroused to see what
sort of talk would interest her"
When his mother and Mrs. Brown afforded
him an opportunity TO De alone Win MISS Long
worth, Rufus led the way to little eminence
where ferns waved untrodden, and seated Eme-
line at the base of beech tree, throwing himself
down near herr 1T was not after the Long
worth lady style to 60 off by themselves with
strange men, and she was never seen to sit with
her back against anything"
II am deyoured with curiosity to know how
you get through the days" Rufus said, after
awhile.
.saAh. YOU have touched sore spot there Mr..
n ~ n Eroa ali Wi
sponsive earnestness."
After he had talked a great deal and said moth
ing, Grosbeck added, kindly; But you GER
tainly cannot do any HARM
ut occurred to him that this was very true,
as he studied the aspect of this gentle woman
sitting there so easily and stroking character
lessly and gently the ferns which he had been
laying in her lap as they talked. He, like all
men of his nature and habits. had no conception
of the self-control and self-reserve that goes to
make up this aspect of characteriessness, the
pillow by which the woman of the world softens
all contact with others and smothers herself"
Miss Longworth was dissatisfied with her
world. "She had seen people who were some
bodies in particular, but no one OF them ever
seemed to see her." She was wearied with the
consciousness of being nobody-in particular to
herself or anybody else" She longed to escape.
"The inanitv of Lonworthdom had tortured her
so long" But spite of comparison, her an
tenne are ever cropping for the wild, the unhin-
dered, the free"
Il see, Miss Longworth. But can nothing be
done about it2" Kufus said. He did not wait for
a reply. but fred Goethe at her and then Schil
Ter. 1--WE must forge our liberty from our fet-
tiers themselves-You and l." "Grosbeck was
nothing if not didactic and at home anywhere
except in the common plce"
Miss Emeline was pleased. "She exultingly
felt sense of having at last been recognized as
woman in distinction from Longworth."
That ''you and 1" grew very big to her. And
& n Carfaln
slant impression upon her mind that between
her and this OIympian there was an understand
ing, kind of ethical tutoirnent' She was
transformed Even after Mrs. Grosbeck claimed
to all, never so radiant so gently exuberant to
Brown Sylcomb and miserable Woolwich ilk as
now. "Old and young were captivated by her
affectionate interest. Silent, horny handed
farmers aid brisk, critical farmeresses we're one