The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-05-23

ply" she asked, land the msditAtious Of
learned menu
philosophy he snoered. "what has
IL done for usS II has taught us some
processes Of tho minds working, taught
US few wonderful things which interest
the few, but the centuries hsvs come and
gone, and the only thing which the whole
human race pants TO know remains un-
known. Our bslovsd ones, shall we meet
them and hovpS--the great secret OF the uni
verse. We ask for bread, and these phi
losophers give us a stone. What help could
come from them, or from any oneS Death
Is simply ono of the hard facts of life."
And the greatest evil, " she said
1--WE weave our romances about the next
world, (" he continued, "and any one who
has a fresh romance to relate, or an old
one dressed mp ip now language, will be
listened to and welcomed. That helps
some people for a little while, and when
the charm Of the romance Is oven then
they are ready for another. perhaps more
fantastic than the last. But the plot Is al
ways the same--our beloved ones, shall we
meet them and how' Isn't IL. pitiful'
Why cannot we be more impersonali These
puny. petty minds OF ours! When will
they learn to cxpand!"
why should we learn TO be moro i'm
PERSONAL" she said. "Therc was a time
when 1 felt like that, but now have
learned something better--that we need
not be ashamed OF being human, above
all, OF having the best of human instincts,
love, and the passionate wish for Its con-
tinuancc, and the unccasing grief at its
withdrawal. There il no indignity In this,
nor any trace OF weakmindedness in our
restless craving TO know about the here
after and the possibilities Of meeting again
those whom we have lost here. IL is right
and natural and lovely, that IL should be
the most important question. know
that many will say that there are wcightier
questions--they say %, but do they think
so' Do we want to know first and fore
most whether we shall do our work better
elsewhere; whether we shall be endowed
with moro wisdom; whether, az poor Mr..
Reffold said, we shall he glad to behave
less like ours and more like heroess These
questions come In, but they can be put
aside. The other question can never DO
put on one side. II that were TO become
possible, it would only be 80 because the
human heart had lost the best part Of it,
self--its own humanity We shall 20 on
building our bridge between life and
death, each one for himself. When we see
that 1t is not strong enough, we shall
break it down and build another. We
shall watch other people building their
bridges. We shall initiate or criticise or
condemn. But as time goes on we shall
learn not to interfere; we shall know that
one bridge is probably IA good rs the other,
and that the greatest value Of them all has
been in the building Of them. 1t does not
matter what we build, but build we must,
you and / and every one. T"
Il have long ceased to build my bridge"
the Disagreeable Man said.
1T is IN almost unconscious process"
sho said. Perhaps you are still at work,
or perhaps you are resting"
He shrugged his shoulders, and the two
comrades fell into silence again.
They were within two miles Of Peters
hof when he broke the silence. There
was something wonderfully gentle In his
voice
You little thing" he said, 1--WE are
nearing home, and have something TO
ask you. 1t 10 easter for me to ask here In
the free open country, where the space
seems to give w breathing room for our
crampcd lungs and minds"
Well" she said kindly. She wondered
what he could have to cay.
II am little nervous Of offending you,
he continued, and yet trust you. 1t Is
only this: You said you had come to the
end of your money, and that you must 90
home. 1t seems a pity when you arc get
ting better. haNg 70 much MORO than
need don't offer It to you a. gift, bat
I thought II you wished to stay longer .
loan from me would not be quite impossi-
bic to you. You could repay as quickly or
as slowly as was convenient to you, and
should only be grateful and"-
He stopped suddenly.
The tears had gathered I'm Bcrnartline's
eyes. Her hand rested for one moment
on his arm.
"Mr. Allitsen," she said, "you did we'll
to trust me- But could not borrow mon
ey Of any one uniess was obliged. II 1
could Of any one, II would have been Of
you. 1t Is not month ago since I was .
littlo anxious about money. Ny remit
tanc did not come. thought then that
IL Obliged to ask fov temporary help
should como to you. So you see II you
have trusted me, I, too, have trusted you"
A smile passed over the Disagrceable
Mans face, one Of his rare, beautiful
smiles.
'Supposins you change your mind, t" he
said quietly, You will not and that have
changed mine"
Then few minutes brought them back
to Petersbof.