The Washington bee., 1895-10-05
ENVIRONMENT.

lllO his eyes, HUSH over.
spread the face of the woman, her eye
lids dropped, then both looked away to |
the speaker.
The speaker was talking of Lincoln,
his early life, its narrow limits of work
and poverty, out Of which this man had
been called into the nations life with its
larger environment
They had listened attentively, but in
that moments interlude for these two.
the great auditorium by the sea, with it's
ten thousand people, the summer school
Of philosophy and its study Of men and
things, suddenly vanished; the present
for them had no existence-the past alone
was before them. So vividly came back
the memory Of that summer night when
they had parted. they felt the breath Of
the flowers that hung over the low porch
where they had stood together in the
long ago
No need to tell what he had been say
ing. but she replied with cruel frankness:
Il am tired Of being poor; long for
fuller life than you can give me, larger
environment"
This word has outgrown the diction-
ary, and is as large as the earth and the
air, the sea and the sky"
Thus the preacher went on, but they
heard him not; for them, the word was
as large as the universe which lay be-
tween their two hearts.
The great organ played the last chord,
and in the throng emerging from the
temple these two stood together for a
moment side by side, then were lost in
the crowd.
When they came again to hear what an
eloquent man should say of Dante, each
gazed longingly across that vast sea Of
faces, seeking, but finding not, the other.
The majority of that great audience
were people whose chief concern was
with bread and butter. crops and COM
merce. Yet they came for a little hour to
be uplifted into larger atmosphere, and
| could sympathize with the poet Dante,
who. exiled from the land he loved, found
no rest in the worlds environment.
This word was In the air. 1t was Illus
trated by the world around them, its
work, its pleasure. its literature. ALI the
voices Of summer were breathing it. If
they looked up, they saw men and maid
ems walking or sitting bare-heaued on
the beach, the sunlit air browning their
skin and blowing the hair about their
brows-society' latest sunshine fad, in
deed, but an environment they cannot
enjoy in the narrow limits of city life.
II they took up magazine they read
how the death-breeding tenement houses
in the great metropolis had been torn
| down, how good men had persisted in
face Of opposition, capital and custom,
| persisted against the resistance Of the
very people they were trying to benefit
as is usually the case-until finally, down
came the old sky-blotting tenements, in
streamed air and sunshine, with patches
| Of green grass under foot, making a. new
environment Of light and health and
consequent morality for the poor, Chame-
leon like, we take the COR of our sur
roundings.
Taking up newspaper they find that
a woman In Chicago is making a purer
environment for the people there The
city fathers had wisely put broom in
the hands where it naturally belongs
making her inspector of garbage-horri-
BILE word to put into story. But like the
Theban general, her illustrious predeces-
sor, Epaminondas, who was appointed
inspector Of sewers she dignifles the Of
flee and does the work well.
And altogether there seems to be dis
position to clean out the worldly rub
bish, to surround 1t with a cleaner,
healthier atmosphere. from the stables
OF politics to the cutters of intemperance
and oblfging woman stands ready with
her broom to lend hand. The dust may
get into her eyes. but when it settles who
shall say that she will not look upon
| cleaner environment?
The man and woman Of our sketch. in
their separate wanderings. came upon
multitude Of people encamped by the
Il &c tvk IL
ners to come from miles away back in
the country, for big sea day, an annual
dip in old ocean. Here one saw nature,
Narsissus like, reflected in humanity.
There was cordial greeting Of old friends
and neighbors. The hearty hand-shake
and jolly laugh, and old fashioned feast
ing 1t was like many Thanksgiving din
aers rolled into one. The harvest had
been gathered; the sea had called them.
They lov it and feared it, frolicked and
H:rted VIII it. caressed and buffeted it,
i played with 1t and plunged into it. L.
was to them bath in lethe; for the time
they forgot their dull, show lives, washed
from souls and bodies the dust of toll, in
that pure environment of the white arm
| ed sea.
mot by appointment do we meet with
4
streets Of life, she on a sudden meets us
| unawares."
Thus the poet voices our experiences.
and thus the two speople of our sketch
came and sat down together in the twi-
| light hour on seat overlooking the sea,
passively obeying an appointment of
| fate
1T is little world, afte- ALL" he said.
casually. I'VE cannot help elbowing each
other in its narrow environment
''It Is a wide and empty world"
The next moment she would have given
much to recall the words; they were
confession Of disappointed ambition.
Why do you come with that word up.
on your lips?" she added. 1T haunts
me-"
Because it haunts me also." he said
quietly. Have you ever noticed that
when you are thinking about a thing and
questioning 1t, the world is full Of an
swers?"
Eyes, have noticed 1t in life, and
also in literature" The last with a slight
touch OF humor.
"Ah, now I remember, you used to say
of my remarks, that they were full OF
plea SAINT "reminiscences no startling sur