Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-08-04

lllIC IJlO ~ lDIl II L ANs
IF a man desires solitude, let him go to
ne coast line of Suffolk, keeping well to
tie south of the great east coast watering
Places, where the common herd herds. At
the edge of the sea there are vast, uncOm
promising plains of shingle. Behind these
there are marshes failing off to heather
clad moors. On each rising promontory
there is fishing village, and some of them
lave escaped the excursion train. At the
feet of some of them the sea sings on unin-
terrupted by the intellectual song of the
negro minstrel Vulgar curiosity has not
penetrated to some of these rural haunts,
and here man may perhaps lead his own
eccentric life-be more or less resigned to
existence in his own eccentric way, without
being questioned over much.
To one of these hamlets Craven Lester
went, keeping in mind the eX-sailor's coun-
sci anent the sea. He wandered on the I'M
compromising single He sat on an old
oak gate and gazed out over the marsh
with n certain patient waiting in his eyes.
One Sunday evening he went to church,
and Miss Marcia Oatville, the rector's
daughter, saw him without once looking
/ III his ulTOCJlOn. HOW SDe ulu UHlS Is DOJ
our business to inquire. 1t is only ours to
note the fact and dumbly admire the ways
of madenhood.
The next day the old rector Mr.. Oatville,
called. He was a tall old man, with "a
face like a benediction," who seemed to
have lived his life in some bygone day and
was patiently performing his daily duties
in anticipation of an approaching holiday.
He welcomed Lester to the parish with
kindly fervor that had no real sincerity in
it and forebOrc from asking questions
He explained that he had seen him in
church, and it was a pleasure to make the
acquaintance of so cultivated n man in a
rural district such as his, where education
was thing unknown, and, he added, with
meaning smile, undesirable" He
glanced at the pile of books, at the open
/ packet of sermon paper and the pen, but
he said nothing and presently took his
leave
| Miss Marcia Oatville was an enterprising
young lady, and in less than a fortnight she
knew all about Craven Lester. She knew,
for instance, that the inken curse was laid
upon him; that he was never quite happy
without a pen and something to write upon.
He found plenty to write about, but he had
not yet found out what the British public
wanted to read. Finally he told her of the
incident in Myra's bar which he vaguely
described as IA sort OF club, and she said
that she liked Sam Crozier
she had way OF leaning forward with
her elbow on her Knee ana her chm within
her hahd She hau rather wlstiul, deep
/ blue eyes, w tn dark lashes, and when she
listened TO Craven Lester she looked IN
dreamy way past him-over his head
through the walls. 1t was evident that she
liked to hear of this world which he had
left behind-this world SO full of men
young men with hopes and aspirations and
dreams and ambitions and no wives.
He could hardly tell her too much about
that world and of the men who formed it.
She got to have likes and dislikes She
liked Sam Crozier-in fact, in a small
subtle way she began to love him. She
liked Tom Valiant. But she did not like
the lrishman, and she hated the poet chiefly
because he had a bushy beard.
And" she said suddenly one day, "'Have
you begun to write the book"
They were sitting on piece of driftwood
the mainmast of some dead and forgotten
ship-on the beach. He turned and looked
at her with something rather like shame in
his deep, reflective eyes
"No-not yet, IL have forgotten about
it lately"
Which meant that she had made him
forget. She understood that and rather
liked it, She knew that he was clever.
The same unfathomed depth behind his
eyes which had caught the attention of the
poet and of the remaining shareholders in
"Craven Testers Brain, Limited" had af-
fected her. This man was not like others.
He was certainly very different from the
coarse young sporting squires of the neigh
borhood Marcia Oatville had an immense
respect for literature She worshiped it
from afar-reading everything that per
colated through to the remote country rec
U'I,o.o 800. ~ ao..,;. A.