The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1893-04-28

swered KeyOrk with considerable
scorn. II do not know what she is,
nor what to call her-a sensitive. an
hysterical subject, a medium, a witch
"a fool. If you like. or a charlatait. if
you prefer the term. Beautiful she is,
at least, whatever else she may not
be-"
Eyes, she is beautiful"
$50 you have seen her, have youp"
The little man again looked sharply
up at his tall companion. ''You have
had a consultation"
"Does she give consultations Is
she a professional seerp" The Wan
derer asked the question in a tone of
surprise. do you NEAR that she
maintains an establishment upon such
a scale out Of the proceeds of fortunes
tellingP"
Il do not mea anything of the
sort. Fortune telling is exec ient!
Very good" Keyork's bright eyes
flashed with amusement. What are
you doing here-I mean in this
church," He put the question sud-
denly.
"Pursuing-an idea. if you please
to call it So"
mot knowing what you mean, 1
must please to call your meaning by
your W name for it. 1t is your ma
ture to be enigmatic. Shall we go out?
I'll stay here much longer | shall be
petriied instead of embalmed. I shall
turn into dirty old red marble, like
Tziho's efigy there, an awful warning
to fortune philosophers, and an exam
pie for the edification of the faithful
who worship here"
They walked toward the door, and
the contrast between the appearance
of the two brought the ghost ola smile
to the thin lips of the pale sacristan,
who was occupied in renewing the
tapers upon one Of the side affairs.
$50 you were pursuing an idea,"
said the little man as they emerged
into the narrow street. Now, ideas
may be divided variously into classes,
as for instance, ideas which are good,
bad or Indifferent. If you have an
idea upon any subject l will utterly
%annihllate it to my own most profound
satisfaction: If you have none con-
corning any special point, I will force
you to accept mine, as mine, or to die
the intellectual death. That is the
general theory of the idea"
"And what does it proven inquired
the Wanderer.
IF you knew anything. answered
Keyork, with twinkling eyes, ''you
would know that a theory is not a
demonstration but an explanation.
But. by the hypothesis, since you are
not /, you a know nothing certainly.
Now, my theory explains many things,
and among others the adamantine, i'm
fperishable, impenetrable nature of
the substance vanity, upon which the
Snowman, nature, projects in fast fad
ing colors the unsubstantial images
of men. Why do you drag me through
this dismal passageP"
Il passed through it this morning
and missed my way"
I'm pursuit of the idea, of course.
That vas to be expected. Prague is
constructed on the same principle as
the human brain, full of winding
ways, dark lanes and gloomy arches,
all of which may lead somewhere. or
may not.
THE self which you propose to
preserve from corruption, since you
think so poorly of the ledger and the
lodging. I wonder that you should be
anxious to prolong the sufferings of
the one and his lease of the other"
''It is all l have" answered eyork
Arabian. did you think of that?"
THAT circumstance may serve as
an excuse, but it does not constitute a
reason"
mot a reason? Is the most abject
poverty a reason for throwing away
the daily crust? Myself is all l have.
Shall I let it perish when an effort
may preserve it from destruction?"
80 soon as you speak of enjoyment,
argument ceases" answered the Wan
derer.
s'You are wrong, as usual" re-
turned the other. cit is the other
way. Enjoyment is the universal
solvent of all arguments. Enjoyment!
Enjoyment is the protest of reality
against the tyranny of fiction"
''Have wisdom and study led you no
farther than that conclusion?"
Keyork's eyes frightened suddenly,
and a peal of laughter, deep and rich,
broke from his sturdy breast and
rolled long echoes through the dismal
lane. But his ivory features were
not discomposed, though his white
beard trembled and waved softly like
a snowy veil blown about by the
wind.
IF wisdom can teach how to pro-
long the lease, what study can be
compared with that Of which the re-
suits may beautify the dwelling?
What more can any man do for him
self than to make himself happy
The very question is absurd. Is it for
the sake of improving the physical
condition or of promoting the moral
ease of mankind at large that you are
dragging me through the slums and
byways and alleys Of the gloomiest
n