Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1895-05-31

LIS 66dU anu w h4hOA oOAOA' VAN 81
enade toward the bar.
He passed several women, but he did
not pass her. He had no intention OF
stopping, still less of speaking.
Yet, when he saw her, he stopped,
and when she stopped he spoke.
I do not remember what he said.
They sat down together at a little
table. A waiter brought them cup Of
black coffee and whisky and soda.
He drank the coffee.
They talked, but again cannot re-
member what they said.
A man on the stage sang comic
song. A woman on the promenade faint
ed and was carried away.
Then she said, "Well, are you COM
ing?'
"No,'' he replied. 81 don't know
why stopped or why I spoke to you.
I am not 'one Of the crowd here. l am
not a performer in the Comedy OF
Life I am only an onlooker. -
She stared at him. ''Then Why
81 have told you I do not know.
Perhaps I thought you looked out of
place-here. +"
ST have been here every evening for
10 months. ought not to look out Of
place
"Why did you Gomez"
"Do you expect me to answer that
question i'll this building, surrounded
by these people?'
81 am sorry. Of course not. 1t would
resemble a performance by THE indie
pendent Theater society, SUPPOSED"
ST had better go, then, if you do
mott
''No; stay and talk. Are you happy?"
Hardly"
care you miserable?'
81 am not sure"
'Did you ever love anything?"
"Yes.''
"What?'
''Life-the trees and fields; the wild
moorlands; the sea; the birds that
sing in the hedgerows; the cattle in
the fields; the horses and dogs at the
farms Yes, I loved life. loved to feel
the wind blowing in my face; loved
to smell the scent of the heather; 1 loved
to hear the song of the mountain
streams Ha. ha! I'm almost poetic!
PM
$50 on
"That is all. Did you ever love any
thing?"
eyes,
"Who?''
'No one-I mean only dog"
"Oh!"
''But he is dead"
''Of course"
"Why of course?'"
because you loved him.. -
The man lit cigarette. "Do you be-
lieve in heaven?"
"No; If I did, I should have been
dead long ago. am afraid to die be-
cause don't know what comes after
death. SO long for-for peace-for
something else-something beautiful
something to love. Do not laugh
"You are not bad woman"
"Yes, am.
f'Then you ought not to have been
one
f"True. That is the cruel part of it. -
They watched the men and women
promenading before them. Then the
woman said, 1T is a strange world"
The man did not answer. He was
thinking. She continued: ''You are a
strange person. Where do you live!
What do you do? How do you amuse
yourself?''
t'Oh. live alone, quite alone, now
my dog is dead. Iwatch people. listen
to what they say. and-I think. 2"
''What do you think?''
~ think that when he-whoever 'he'
is-creeted men and women he ought to
have made them altogether gods or al
together animals No one in the world
is happy, because no one is ever certain
whether he-or she-should live for the
real or for the ideal. And therefore
men decided to seek for both, to be
sometimes good and sometimes bad, to
play at being gods once week and
beasts twice a week-in fact, to live for
the real 61s days out of the 7. And
some ct us, y1u know, cannot, as the say
ing goes, ID things by halves. We
snrsst be wholly one thing or the other.
There is only the good or bad. There
-
is ne mediocre for some Of us, So we
leave unse-shoice to fate, and when fate
has chosen for us the world rises an0
either crowns rs with the laurel wreath
or paints us with colors from the devils
palate The world Is so blind it cannot
see that really we had III choice in the
matter. / think sometimes fa5e makeess
a mistake. She grows weary sometimes
and gives the good where she ought *
have given the bad. -
''She made a mistake when she chose
for me- Say she made a mistake
please.
s'She made mistake I knew il thf
noulent saw your face. You were in
tended to show men the path to heaven. >
"And ] have only shown them the
road to-
"Hush Come with me. Come home
with me and rest. I live alone. 1 have
never done any good in the world.
aave never loved any one or helped any
one. l am "a good man. It is not my
fault. was meant for "a bad But al
fate made mistake You can trust NE
I will try to help You. 1 will try tt
make life beautiful for you. will take
yon where the sea murmuxs among thf
rocks, where the wind blows the scent
of heather across the great wild moors
Come with MOI
The woman rose and gazed at tie man
with large. dreamy eyes, "What d.
you mean?"
81 am going to make life beautiful
and peaceful and pure-for you"
''Leave off dreaming she whisper
ed sharply. awake! Do you know
where you are? Do you see the sort O
people who surround US? This is NJ
place for dreamst It is time to go-goot
Aight. See Aere-you have spoke,