The Irish standard., 1891-02-07

He changed his mind when the tim
for disclosure came; resolved to kee
his secret safe; to pursue 4 strictl
guarded course with Alice which shoul
show her what hero he was. OF cours
she couldn't help noticing that he love-
her. She would see that he avoided
food, and grew thin till his eyes took on
hollow look and his coats began TO flap
around his whitening form. He would
lock his love up in the dungeon of his
soul and have fun with the misery OF it.
Then when Brown came back, full OF
misgivings no doubt, he would take the
wanderer by the hand, and say, with a
hollow cough: II have been faithful to
you, old man, but am martyr to my
love"
81 say, young fellow" cried Ray, in
terrupting Russell's meditations at this
point, 'sif you stare at me any longer in
that soulless fashion, without saying
any thing or listening to what I'm talk
ing about, / shall think you've gone
crazy
They had been sitting on the deck Of
the yacht, face to face. and Ray had
been talking in lively and as no sup
posed entert tanning fashion, for about half
an hour, when it had suddenly dawned
upon him that Russell's face had taken
on an expression of deep misery wholly
uncalled for by any thing that had been
said. His question brought Russell back
to q rational frame of mind, and he was
able to conduct himself at the villa as if
nothing unusual had happened.
It was his last visit there during the
season The Rays came back to their
town house in the following week. Rus
sell called within a few days after their
return, and his welcome was the same
as ever. There had been no change in
the household. But not many days
after that he fancied that he noticed a
difference. There was an in0efnable
something in the bearing Of Mrs. Ray
and Alice which puzzled him at first,
but which he soon explained in q man
ner fitting closely to the observed facts.
1t seemed evident that the secret Of his
talk with Gilbert Ray had leaked out;
that it had at last become the general
property Of the family. He could not
believe that Ray had told Alice; she
must have overheard something which
betrayed the truth. At any rate Rus
sell was quite certain that she knew
how matters stood, but that was as far
SIS his perception could get in her direc-
tton. Mrs. Ray, he felt sure, approved.
With all possible respect to her, said he
In his heart she doesn't know any bet
ter, and couldn't be expected to, by any
body acquainted with her plastic mind.
Her husbands approval was quite
enough.
Alice, however, was 4 riddle much
harder 10 read. Sometimes he thought
that she was disappointed at his delay;
and again he imagined that she was ly-
ing in ambush, waiting for a. chance to
tell him what a traitor he was. He
thought Of all tho cruel things she
might say: how she might show him
the difference between himself aud
Brown, with a balance heavily in favor
Of the absent; and she. might say that
she would prefer Brown even if he re-
turned from Central Africa with a. ring
in his nose and d confirmed habit Of
cannibalism. Russell fancied her re-
fusing him in SO many different ways
shat he began to be afraid some slip OF
the tongue would launch one Of them
upon him, even as his acceptance by her
father had come by accident He began
10 resent this refusal which was only a
Pigment Of his imagination, and his res
olution to seek her society no more
melted in the heat Of his i'll temper.
He determined to show her that her
charms had no power to tempt him, and
80 make her understand in some way
that her father had committed piece
Of stupidity. Meanwhile, despite all
this raging In his soul, his bearing to-
ward her was frank, courteous and
friendly, as it had always been.
The Society for General Culture had
survived the summer, and it's members
had come back from the shores Of che
salt sea. with an added thirst for knowl-
edge. One of the girls had also great
idea to propose At the society's first
meeting. It was not original, but it
was the latest fad in societies Of that
kinda revival of an ancient custom.
She suggested that they find some
struggling poet and help to win recog~
milton for him. Russell must know one,
and it would be such fun to encourage
the poor fellow and help him by judi
cious criticism and little money, till
at last he could get his poems into the
magazines.
Russell reflected q moment, while
great and amusing scheme filtered
through his brain.
ST know the man." said he, at last;
''he is deserving fellow, but without
some help his genius will never be
known"
The man whom Russell had in mind
was the janitor of a downtown building,
q young fellow with about as much idea
Of poetry IS a wooden Indian. But ma
ture had given him an ideal exterior
the long hair, the thin, hungry-looking
visage, and the eyes which forever fixed
themselves on vacancy. Russell had
often remarked what a perfect picture
of the traditional poet this man was.
The yearning look in his eyes might
have expressed the craving of genius
for the ideal, but in reality it was the
hardened expression OF covetousness.