Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-01-27
HERR PAULUS,
,+ls RISE, HIS GREATNESS AND HIS
FALL.
BY walter Besant, Author of "An Sorts
and Conditions of Men, etc, etc.
The Right of Translation is Rcserved.)
BOOK THE THIRD.

y
day before. You ran away almost before
had time to give you my address. Why
did you run away And why did you not
tell me what you were doing ? But knew
vow would come to see me. Why did you
run away ~
The place was Bethiah's studio, and the
visitor was none other than Paul, or Herr
Paulus, whom Bethiah addressed as Ziph.
The readers natural intelligence has, no
doubt, loug since identified Paul with
Ziphion Trnder.
sit down. Xiph. Take chair and let
us talk. viii you have anything-a cup
of tea--no This is like old times is it not E?
You foolish old Iiph Why did you run
away from your oldest friend-as if you
could keep away from me Tell me all
you have been dong-stay-let me tell
you first about myself then your mind
will be quite at ease | am working at
Art. This is my studio. My poor dear ia.
Their is dead and have enough to live up.
on. ! don't like living in leading strings,
like the English girls, and so [ 20 about
alone and Independent | have travelled
and lived in Rome and Florence and Paris.
Now am living here, alone, as you sec /;
and | am not engaged, or married, or in
love, or anything. | am quite well and
strong, and | am as happy as | can expect
to be, and have made mauy friends since
we two parted but am more than glad
TO see my dear old /iph once more
"You are looking very we'll, Bethiah, :"
he replied with little cOnstraint, quite
obvious to her
81 am always very well, my dear Zph
and to see you makes me seventeen again.
| think we were sweet seventeen when we
parted, and we are past four and twenty,
which is a great age. Stay, Iph. Let
me look at you before you begin to talk
brcause, you know, when you do begin,
you will not let me think of anything else.
Why, Ziph, declare you have grown very
handsome, my dear boy. Your moustache
becomes you nightly, sir, and you have
let your hair grow picturesquely long.
must take your portrait. | do wish all
young men would pay as much attention
to the style of hair which suits them. You
cannot be au artist No it is impossible.
You could never draw even pig beside
haystack with any real feeling for the
lovely curve OF a pigs neck"
"No, Bethiah," Paul replied with rather
wan smile, 81 am not an artist"
LET me see. Are you great poet
You look like one-and now remember.
When you left home you had quite boil
ster of poems. Oh Ziph, are you really
great poet under another name ? Nobody
would look half so poetic What great
You can't be SWinburne-Ur Browning
no-that is i'm possible.
mo" said Paul, sadly, my ambitions
in the poetic direction were very quickly
dismissed. The bolster has long since gone
into the waste paper basket"
"HaNp Won turnpi actor > Won uSp6 tO
be able to initiate very we'll. Do you re
member one evening in the garden
initiating some sprltuallst cheat and hum
bug who brought along his show ~ Paul
"Reminiscences. con, l am sure you are an
actor. What is your theatrical name
Ziph Let me see. | have been to all the
London theatres. / have seen all the ac-
tors. Could | possibly have seen you
without recognizing you? What young
Brook1ield, for example ?"
"No, Bethiah. | am not an actor"
"Well then. Let me guess again. You
are novelist, Ziph. Yes-you must be a
novelist, and successful novelist No
body but a successful novelist could afford
such beautiful fur-lined coat. What is
your assumed name Are you Frederick
Anstey Did you write Vice versa ? Are
you Rider Haggard? Oh. did you write
She ?n
NO, Belu am HOJ Il novelist,
well then you must have gone out
West and found silver mine. Or you
may have gone partners in government
contractor you may have specialized in
railway shares or you may have formed
a ring and a corner-or you may have mar
ried the daughter of an English Duke, so
that the old man pays the bills-or per
haps you have Invented something which
everybody must have-or you've caught
on with patent medicine, Come, Ziph
tell me quick. am burning to know.
First, though. Your father and mother
are well. Have you written to them late
ly'"
mo" Paul replied, shortly.
You have not written to them since
you LETT home. You will have to explain
veIy wrong of you. My Aunt Martha
you remember my Amt Martha-told me
in her last letter that Deacon Trinder kept
smart. by the way, | don't like being
called Bethiah. So, sir, change my name
to Kitty. Do you like 1t better? Kitty
Kitty. 1t sounds somehow more Chris
tian and cultivated than Bethiah. Doesn't
"it is much better" said Paul. Then he
looked up with the old familiar smile and
said, Il don't like being called XiphiOn,
and have changed my name to Paul
Does that sound better than Hiphon, Kit
tys"
Kitty laughed merrily.
Pau, Oh, much better Paul-Paul,
you look hs If you must certainly have
been christened Paul, and | think you
must be the son Of an Italian nobleman'
Is the Deacon Count in disguise ? Yes. |
shall ea-ly learn to call you Paul. Paul,
now think of 1t, we must have been Paul
and kitty in The Old time DAYS, only some
how we called ourselves I8ethi8h and
Ziphiou for snort. Paul-yes, il is a very
good name for you. And now. Paul. tell
me what il is st. that makes you sCSrich aud
where in London, Hetly told me about
him-you don't know HeNy. This Paul
is a most dreadful humbugNuCg impostor
He pretendsto do the spirituai5tic rubbish
Hetty believes in hun, aud--'W Why, Paul,
what Is the matter -
For Paui's telltale face impenetrable
no longer since the departure OF the pow
ers, famed swiftly And Kitty remember
ed Hetty's description Of the great Magi-
clan. GoAng, dark, handsome beyond
other men, voice soft and musical his