Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1895-11-15

distinctly offended. "You don't sup
pose I have come here for nothing?
81 thought fattered myself that
the pleasure of my society had some
thing to do with it. ="
"Nonsense!" She flushed up to the
roots of her pretty hair. Don't be
foolish, Roderick. 1 came here with
purpose; do be serious.
81 am," he assured her. perfectly;
now to the purpose.
"Oh. WE'LL" biting into another
sweet biscuit, ''let us discuss things
first"
"Wbat things?"
"How provoking you are! Why,
progress and poverty if nothing bet
ter suggests itself; we'll get the point
somehow"
"The first point you spoke OFF,"
questioned Roderick.
eyes"
"Well, then, fire away"
"Ihanks; your elegant invitation
puts me quite at my ease. L Will hre
away. You see, Roderick, poverty Is
relative, as most things are, OF course
the absence of money means the ao-
sence of so much more, not only the
material necessities of existence, but
the finer fbres of the soul and mind.
which crave-not luxury-but careful
and iudicious nourishment. Gan yon
follow my fight?" ..
"You soar high; it is hard work. -
"Keep up as best yoa can-l am
coming to-
"The point?"
presently; have patience. The
handful of very rich do vast deal for
the great army of the very poor, al
though they don't get half enough
credit for it, but that kind of univer'
sal beggary is not the sort l mean. 1t
is the genteel poverty that is the bit
ter foe to progress. Too proud to beg
too honest to- steal-its votarles stand
apart in dumb suffering and fail to
grasp the remedy"
He smiled at her eagerness; 1t was a
bitter, rather hopeless smile.
"Are you the discoverer OF the
promised land for such hapless NOR
tlals?.
"Tnere is no promised land unless
we 90 in u body and seek it. Ii our
class of poor were only kinder to one
another. more confding and less sus-
picious in their intercourse, If they
would only stand shoulder to shoulder
why. what On army OF workers we
should be!'
"Chimerno, Miss Polly, we can't set
the world revolving the other way
else the delinquent clients would step
backward into my anxious clutches.
Polly opened her eyes.
"Why, 1 thought your creed was op'
timism y
"Well, it is, with reservations.
don't believe in fairy tales, however
even though told by the most oewltch-
ing of fairies.
scRoderick. wish you wouldn't talk
that way; it hurts.
"I beg your pardon. -"
"And snakes my resolution to say
what 1 have come to say. Yoy
wouldn't have me go away with 'ut
that, would you?"
"Not for worlds"
But Miss Polly seemed suddenly to
bova lost her tongue. She sat staring
at Roderick's "masterpiece"-s
GORGEOUS bit of turquoise bay dotted
With whitewinged sailboats.
"Pride is very selfish thing, sh'
remarked at length, apropos of moth
ing.
'Tt has done great deal OF mis-
CHIEF" insisted Polly.
"Only in the sense that one cal
have too much of good thing some
times"
"Yet proud people are not ofte
happy" .r
the inside track of the ar8umen
there"
"Roderick. I am afraid you ar
proud"
"Perhaps."
"And unhappy.
"Not now."
Miss Polly changed her tack.
''Don't you think if people wan
something very much they should as
for tiff it is so within the bound
of reserve"
"Asking and getting are two yer
different things. It's we'll worth risk
ing, should say"
neutrality-suspicious. the sake
argument-that there were two pee
plea man and woman-of the ger
, teel poor class who want something
cav, for instance, each other NOR
than anything else in the world" sh
stopped little scared look in he
wistful eyes but he was silent, so sh
, went on.
"Suppose the mans pride stood u
: like gaunt, grim ghost and said
"No, you cannot marry this woman
: You must let your youth drag on
unloved loneliness because you al
struggling and poor. You must hay
no one to help you-it would be III
manly Suppose this were really sc
would it be right for the woman I
| suffer and be silent?'
? He was forced to answer her.
; "That would be her only course,
! ha said SLOWLY