The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-03

do wish that you would confide in me-
The two famous students of Roman re-
mains sat together in Kennedy's comfort
able room overlooking the Corso- The
night was cold. and they had both pulled
up their chairs to the unsatisfactory Ital-
ian stove which emitted zone Of stuff
ness rather than of warmth. Outside I'M
der the bright winter stars lay the mod
ern Rome the long, double chain of the
electric lamps, the brilliantly lighted
cafes. the rushing carriages, and the
dense throng upon the footpaths. But
inside. in the sumtuous chamber of the
rich young English archaeologist there
was only old Rome to be seen. Cracked
and time-worn friezes hung upon the
walls. grey old busts of senators and SOL
diers with their fighting heads and their
hard, cruel faces peered out from the cor
ners. On the center table, amidst a lit
ter of inscriptions, fragments and. orna-
ments, there stood the famous reconstruc-
ton by Kennedy of the Baths Of Cara
Gala, which excited such interest and ad-
miration when it was exhibited in Berlin
Amphorae hung from the ceiling. and a
litter of curiosities strewed the rich red
Turkey carpet. And of them all there
was not one which was not of the most
unimpeachable authenticity, and of the ut
most rarity and value; for Kennedy
though little more than 30, had a European
reputation in this particular branch OF re-
search; and was, moreover, provided with
that long purse which either proves TO be
a fatal handicap to the students energies,
e III Ian to, Ttesr
gives him an enormous advantage in the
race for fame. Kennedy had often been
seduced by within and pleasure from his
studies, but his mind was an incisiVe one,
capable of long and concentrated efforts
which ended in sharp reactions of sensu-
Gus langour. His handsome face, with its
high, white forehead, its aggressive nose,
and its somewhat loose and sensual mouth
was a fair index of the compromise be-
tween strength and weakness in his ma
ture.
OF a very different type was his compan-
ion, Julius Burger He came Of a curious
blend, a German father and an Italian
mother with the robust qualities of the
north minging strangely with the softer
graces of the south. Blue Teutonic eyes
lightened his sun-browned face, and above
them rose a square, massive forehead,
with a fringe of close yellow curls lying
round il. His strong, firm jaw was clean
shaven, and his companion had frequent
ly remarked how much 1t suggested those
old Roman busts which peered out from
the shadows in the corners of his cham
Der. Under its bluff German strength
there lay always a suggestion of Italian
subtlety, but the smile was so honest. and
the eyes so frank that one understood
that this was only an indication of his an
cestry, with no actual bearing upon his
character. In age and in reputation he
was on the same level as his English com
panlon, but his life and his work had both
been far more arduous. Twelve years be-
fore he had come as poor student to
Rome, and had lived ever since upon the
small endowment for research which had
been awarded to him by the University of
Bonn. Painfully, slowly and doggedly,
with extraordinary tenacity and single
mindedness, he had climbed from rung to
rung of the ladder of fame until now he
was a member of the Berlin Academy, and
there was every reason to believe that he
would shortly be promoted to the chair of
the greatest of German universities. But
the singleness of purpose which had
brought him to the same high level as the
rich and brilliant Englishman, had caused
him in everything outside their work to
stand infinitely below him. He had never
found a pause in his studies in which to
cultivate the social graces. 1t was only
face was filled with life and soul. At other
times he was silent and embarrassed, too
conscious of his own limitations in larger
subjects, and impatient of that small talk
which is the conventional refuge of those
who have no thoughts to express.
And yet for some years there had been
an acquaintanceship which appeared to be
slowly ripening into friendship between
these two very different rivals. The base
and origin of this lay in the fact that in
their own studies each was the only one of
the younger men who had knowledge and
enthusiasm enough to properly appreciate
the other Their common interests and
pursuits had brought them together, and
each had been attracted by the other S
knowledge. And then gradually some
thing had been added to this. Kennedy
had been amused by the frankness and
simplicity of his rival, while Burger in
turn had been fascinated by the brilliancy
and vlvacity which had made Kennedy
such a favorite in Roman society l say
chad" because just at the moment the
young Englishman was somewhat under
a cloud A love affair, the details of
which had never quite come out. had in
dlcated a heartlessness and callousness
upon his part which shocked many of his
friends. But in the bachelor circles of
students and artists in which he preferred
to move, there is no very rigid code of
honor in such matters, and though a head
might be shaken or a pair of shoulders
shrugged over the fight of two and the re-
eturn Of one, the general sentiment was
probably one Of curiosity and perhaps of
envy rather than of reprobation.
Look here. Burger" said Kennedy
looking hard at the placid face of his com
panion, Il do wish that you would confide
In me-"
AS he spoke he waved his hand in the
direction Of a rug which had lay upon the
floor On the rug stood long, shallow
fruit basket of the light wicker-work
which is used in the Campana. and this
was heaped with litter of objects. in
scribed tiles broken inscriptions. cracked
mosaics torn papyri, rusty metal orna-
ments which to the unnitiated might
have come straight from a dustmans bin,
but which a specialist would have speedily
recognized as unique of their kind. The
pile of odds and ends in the fat wicker
work basket supplied exactly one of those
missing links of social development which
are Of such interest to the student. II
was the German who had brought them In.
and the Englishman's eyes were hungry
as he looked at them.
Il won't interfere with your treasure
trove, but / should very much like to hear
about It, he continued, while Burger
very deliberately lit a cigar. 1T is evil
Il A..