The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1894-07-19

crossing pastime Of taking care Of ones pl
health, whether real or fanoied, but yet
ON innocent hobby in itself and giving one
absolutely no leisure to do anything worse
"a great recommendation for any pastime.
This was not Bernariine's occupation.
II was difficult to say what she did with
herself for she had not yet followed Rob
ert Allitsen's advice and taken up some
definite work, and the very fact that she
had no such wish pointed probably to
state of health which forbade II.
She, naturally so keen and hardworking,
was content to take what the hour brought,
and the hour brought various things.
Chess with the Swedish professor, or Rus
sian dominoes with the shriveled up little
Polish governess who always tried to cheat
and who clutched her tiny winnings with
precisely the same greediness shown by
the Monte Carlo female gamblers. Or the
hour brought stroll with the French
danseuse and her poodle, and a converse
tion about the mere trivialities of life,
which q year or two, or even a few months
ago, Bernardine wou1 d have condemned as
beneath contempt, but which were now
taking their rightful place in her new
standard of importances, for some ma
lures learn, with greater difficulty and aft
er greater delay than others, that the real
importances of our existence are the moth
ingnesses of everyday life, the nothing
nesses which the philosopher in his study,
reasoning about and analyzing human
character, is apt to overlook, but which
nevertheless make him and every one else
more of human reality and less of an alb
straction. And Bernardine, hitherto occu-
pied with SO called intellectual pursuits,
with problems of the study, of no value to
the great world outside the study, or with
social problems of the great world, great
movements and great questions, was now
just beginning to appreciate the value of
the little incidents of that same great
world. Or the hour brought its own
thoughts, and Bcrnardine found herself
constantly thinking of the Disagreeable
Man, always in sorrow and always with
sympathy and sometimes with tenderness.
When he told her about the one sacrifice,
she could have wished to wrap him round
with love and tenderness. If he could only
have known it, he had never been SO near
love as then. She had suffered SO much
herself, and with increasing weaknesses
had SO wished to put off the burden of the
flesh that her whole heart went out to him.
Would he get his freedom, she won
dered, and would he use 1T? Sometimes
when she was with him she would look up
to see whether she could read the answer
in his face but she never saw any varia-
tion of expression there, nothing to give
her even suggestion. But this she no
ticed-that there was marked variation
in his manner, and that when he had been
rough in bearing or bitter in speech he
made silent amends at the earliest oppor-
tunity by being less rough and less bitter.
She felt this was no small concession on
the part of the Disagreeable Man.
Hewas particularly disagreeable on the
day when the Dutchman was buried, and
so the following day when Bernardine met
him in the little English library she was
not surprised to find him almost kindly.
He had chosen the book which she want
ed, but he gave it up to her at once with
out any grumbling, though Bernardine ex-
pected him to change his mind before they
left the library
"Wcll," he said as they walked along
together, land have you recovered from
the death of the Dutchman?'
'.Have you recovered, rather let me
ask2" she said. You were in horrid
mood last night
81 was feeling wretchedly ill, he said
quietly.
That was the first time he had ever al
luded to his own health
Not that there is any need to make an
excuse, 81" he continued, 'for L do not rec
ognize that there is any necessity to con-
suit ones surroundings and alter the in
clination Of ones mind accordingly. Still,
as a matter of fact, felt very Ill. -
"And today" she asked
To-day l am myself again, 4" he an
swered quickly, THAT usual normal self
of mine, whatever that may mean.
slept well, and dreamed OF you. can't
say that l had been thinking of you, be-
cause had not. But dreamed that we
were children together and playmates.
Now, that was very odd, because was
lonely child and never had any playmates.
And was lonely, too" said Bernar-
dine.
Every one Is lonely" he said, but ev-
cry one does not know it.
But now and again the knowledge
comes like a revelation" she said, land
we realize that we stand practically alone,
out OF any ones reach for help or comfort.
When you come to think of it, too, how
little able we are to eynlain OurSelVeSl