The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-05-05


her voice, which is maryelously sweet,
and has an underlying tone of melan.
choly even in its most joyous passages.
Not that it invests her comedy with q |
tinge of the maudlin, or that she plays
gay scene in any but the brightest
manner; but her voice softens the as.
perities of raillery. and seems to assure
you of tender hea1t."
There was good deal more of this,
and Tregarthen read it with strange
feelings. The heart has wounds some-
times which will not close until Death
applies his infallible heal-all. Tre-
garthen's heart was thus wounded.
Scorn is : poor plaster for such a soro
as he carried, but he knew OF no other,
or cared to apply no other. Forgetful-
ness was out OF his reach.
When he read this letter Of Pills his
first impulse was to sit down and warn
the lad of women at large; but Il little
reflection told him what hopeless task
that was-how little likely to be pros.
porous in the case of vivid career and
impctuous lad like Phil, who was born
to'fall in love, as the sparks fly up-
ward. He went back to his books and
his crucibies and his mad experiments,
and left the youngster unanswered al.
together for the time. When i'll a week
or two another letter came he expected
to find something more of Miss Church,
i'll, and he did not know whether relief
or disappointment were the greater
when he found no mention of her.
Pills homeward letters touched Miss
Churchill no more, and there were rca-
sons for this which would have dis.
turbed Trcgarthen had he known them.
When Roland Marsh and his youig
friend talked of Tregarthcn the pott
had occasionally to listen to second
hand diatribes against women, of whom
his young friend knew, perhaps, as lit
tie as could well be known. These,
being inspired by,naturally reflected on
Tregarthen's wife; butfor time Marsh
was contcnted to dispute them on gen-
eral grounds, and to instruct Phil that
no man was ever truly good who could
| so libel one-half of humanity. He told
Phil that chivalrous attitude toward
! women was essential to any male hui
man creature who desired to be a man,
and more to the same effect.
Now the young man was beginning
to discover that he was by no means
misogynist but he would answer:
ssTruth before sentiment. know one
truly good mantle best man in the
world-so far-the kindest-hearted, the
purest- minded, and the most honorable
and he thinks extremely i'll of women.
Perhaps he gcneralizes too much from
one particular case" Qhc young fellow
had wonderfully plilosophic airs 1T
this time, and talked with the gravity
of a grandfather); "but, if he does. the
one case was probably bad enough to
Justify him.
"Perhaps So said the poet. "By
the way, Phil, did you ever meet Miss
Churchillp'
"No," said Phil.
"Should you like to meet hcr?'
":Like to meet her?" said Phil. ''I'd
90 from here to the Mirror on my
hands and knees to meet her
"rhat is not at all necessary" said
Marsh, smiling; eve can take a cab.
Be here at twelve o'clock tomorrow,
and we will drive down to the theate,
together"
Phil went away uplifted at the pros
pect, and sat far into the night shaving
at the sonnet beginning
ITO what dim glade with nrs Voices titcd
sonl"
This production was addressed to
Miss Churchill, as Bertha, in '.Go<sa-
MGR" and the young vcrsilicr knclt 1T
the shrine of Miss Churchill's pcrfee-
tons in such ardor as only young
vcrsitier knows. The quality of the
verse produced has little to do with the
warmth of sentiment experienced.
Young men and young women write
woeful nonsense sometimes over which
they thrill and weep and beam as
though they were so many Apollos
and Sapphos; and the fact that Phil
really was poet made him no warmer
than he would have felt had he been
altogether hollow~hcad The differ
ence is, that the poet gets his thrills
and tears upon the paper, while, with
the other sort, all stops at the finger
tips and will dribble not hair s.
breadth farther.
OF course ne had had thousand
temptations to expose his verses, or
some of them, to a real and approved
poet, when he found himself admitted
to intimacy with one; but he had al
WAYS blushed at them, as the pretty
Jane blusi,es when she hears in her
day-dream the words of courtship
which are not yet spoken. But now ne
so loved and innocently worshippel
his own fancies, as set forth IN this
particular sonnet, that the temptation
assailed him with irresistible fierce; aid
when he called upon Marsh. rs r.
ranged, he produced the nianasc,.pr,
with much confusion. and asked him 10
read it.
"Would you mind reading this, Mr..
Marsh" lie said, blushingly. ''Thcre
are only fourteen lines, and it can't bore
you long. 1t may be dreadful rub
"Let me see" returned the poet. lie
read the verses with a grave face.
'Shall print this for your he asked.
ave pay a guinea a page for verse,
and sonnet can stand by itself"
These are commercial days when
even poets go into business, and Marsh,
as Phil knew, was proprietor of Il mag
azine The author of the sonnet was
overwhelmed.
eff you think it worth printing" he
said. with becoming diGidence.
Eyes" said Marsh, al think it very
well worth printing-very well worth
it, indeed. And now,'' locking the
sonnet in his desk, ''if you are ready,
we will start Smith reads his new
play to-day, and l have promised to be