The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-10-05


looked. There was man seated in
corner, with his arm lying along the
railing. but / was unable to distinguish
his features.
'sTnat man." continued my friend,
sis so disagreeable to me that / have
more than once thought of changing
my home, If for no other reason than
that / might not see him any more. You
will naturally ask me why. have
never spoken TO him. / have never heard
his voice. / do not know who he is or
what he does. do not know what he
looks like, az my sight does not reach
SO far, not even through telescope.
That man is repulsive to me, because
every evening at this time he invaria-
bly, rises from his meal and seats him
self in that corner, and every evening
no automatically folds one leg over the
other and lays one arm along the rail
ing. 1t never happens that he moves
first the lee, then the arm, but he first
yests his arm and then crosses his legs.
You will allow that he is detestable
enough merely on this account, but this
Is only trifie to the rest.
Every evening woman, who seems
TO be his wife. before he rises. arranges
his chair, brings him his pipe, puts it
in his hands, lights il for him, and ev-
cry evening he suffers himself TO be
waited upon in this glorious and trium-
phant manner without acknowledging in
the slightest manner the services rem
dered. Then every moment he needs
something, and the woman rises and
rushes and gets whatever it maybe, and
he takes il, drinks il, If it happens TO
be something To drink, furnishing his
mustache with an egotistic, sybaritio
sort of satisfaction, without even taking
the trouble to hand the glass back.
Then friends come to see him, and he
does not try to rise, aud yet he can
stand and walk along the balcony as
we'll as anybody else. He does not look
up or down or around him. He never
bows. Altogether he seems to have been
built there, so that the world might
travel around him.
''He is an idol. He Is born to be wait
ed upon. And you laughl These are
things that make me hate man. 1
cannot help it. Another person would
not mind it, but i feel it. imagine 1
know that man as we'll as / know you.
Who is he? / never asked, but ] can
tell you as though knew it all. That
, man"-and so saying he pointed his
finger toward the man, staring at him
fxedly, as though to draw from him his
secret-"that man is an everyday mer-
chant who is beginning 10 get rich and
holds already within him the conceit
that is overcoming him as he prospers
more and more, and he has married
that woman in order TO save the ex-
penses of a clerk in the store and of a
servant in the house
He treats her worse than n servant
and no better than clerk. He is sor-
did, except TO satisfy his own gluttony.
He might live on the third floor. but he
lives on the fourth for economy's sake,
although he has no children and has no
desire for any He despises everything
that is not shop. He calls ministers
thieves, asses all those who study, and
beggars all those who have less than
he has. Oh, you may laugh if you want
tol Do you not know that hatred is a
good guesser? Indeed / should really
feel happy if / had chance TO be rude
TO him. detest him. l may be vision
ary, malignant, whatever you choose to
call me, but when my heart tells me
that that man is a hard case 1 can but
express my opinion frankly"
You ought TO know this young man
of 90, good hearted, restless and pas
sionate, and become accustomed to his
queer TRADES against the phantasms
that his own imagination creates. Then
You could readily understand that he
gave vent TO this long Grafton all in ore
breath and without even smiling
was in the meantime looking at the
supposed merchant and at the woman
seated on the stool in front of him, with
her arms crossed on her knees in an at
titude of dreamy contemplation. Ihave
better sight than my friend, and it
seemed TO mo that the man was about
40 and the woman little older, al
though L could not distinguish the fea-
lures of either one. / asked for tho
telescope and pointed it toward the
woman. First confusedly saw large
face Then l distinguished her express
sion, the expression of woman re-
signed TO her fate-a life of sacrifice.
She had gray hair, forehead deeply
furrowed, large and melancholy eyes, a
certain grave and thoughtful look that
revealed complete resignation to suffer-
ing.
To all appearances my friend has
guessed rightly, l thought, and ] then
directed the telescope toward the man.
AT that moment he turned toward me
and showed his full face. "Who is her"
| asked myself. "Is it possible?"
opened the telescope a little more.
"But il is ho There il no doubt IL il
tho face that have seen hundreds of
times among displays of photographs"
] remembered, whC 1 saw il, some
thing that happen. once, something
long ago forgotten.
"Woll, asked my friend. els it or
Is it not the face of a merchant with