Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1897-07-03

had mistaken her hcSltntlon.
mo" he said. There shall be no
selfishness in my love for YOU / will
wait u year from tonight, and then, if
London is no go, you know there will
always be me. You can't expect me to
pray for your success, can you"
Eva, placed on her mettle, looked
him in the face.
"I am bound to succeed" she said,
and turned to go. The waltz had
ceased in the room below, and rustic
of skirts and ripple of tongues had
taken its place.
"Eva-once--th last time, perhaps"
She turned again, laughing.
"Quick!" she said; "somc one will
come"
a woman may forget many things,
but no woman ever forgets the first
time n lovers arm was around her waist
and lovers lips upon her own. And
as Eva sat in the corner of a third-class
carriage in the London train next morn
ing, looking forward to the career be-
fore her, the remembrance of the sup
port of Allan's arm persisted in oh,
truding itself. Having got what she
wanted she had already begun to doubt
if she wanted what she had got. For a
career, after all, is n rather lonesome
sort of a thing.
Such small success as may come to
the inexperienced girl upon her first
incursion into literature came to Eva,
She lived sparingly, worked hard, and
never made the mistake of refusing in
vitations on the ground of work. She
staid up little later or got up little
earlier instead. A weekly column on
Health and Beauty" placed at her dis
posal by the youthful editor of a new
woman's paper, who had met her at the
Writer'S club and thought her pretty,
paid her weekly bill ut the boarding
house. Her stories found frequent ac-
ceptance and occasional welcome in the
minor periodicals, and happy meeting
with an editor at dinner party paved
the way to her appearance in widely
read magazine. BY the end of the ycur
Eva Norrington had got SO far towards
liberalization ofherambition that when
people heard her name mentioned they
wrinllled their brows and tried to re-
member where they had heard it before.
At home, of course, her fame was great.
The papers in which she wrote circu-
lated freely in the town, her stories
were discussed at afternoon teas, and
townfollt were glad to think that they
participated to some extent in the lit
erary work of the century.
All this time Eva was horribly lone
ly. She knew plenty of people and
liked them; they were kind to her,
some of them because they liked her for
herself, others because they saw that
she was marked for ultimate success.
Having advanced a certain distance
along the road she had longed to travel,
she could judge better whittier it would
lead her. 1t would lead her to place
in the newspaper paragraphs, to place
on the book stalls, 10 place in the
photographers windows, and to
place at Baywater or South Kensing-
ton. This, then, must be the end CT the
struggle and the turmoil of the fight,
And how she hated the fight! a fight
wherein victory would bring her no
nearer to the actualities of life; for she
had come TO learn in the years struggle
that our social system by no means
places women on an equality with men,
and that whereas men can buy the COW
cted fruit of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil by the pottle, women
must buy the tree outright, and pay
cash. It was n terrible affair. And
the most unfair thing about the whole
business was that, while success was
oil IN,
not what she wanted. There is no fun
in living your own life when that is
precisely the life you do not want to
lead.
1t was not as though Allan Craig had
never kissed Eva Norrington.
She opened the letter-cutting the
envelope with her nail scissors. For
some distinction must be made be-
tween your first love letter and your
bootmaller's bill. She felt like one
who has held his breath TO feel what
suffocation is like. The letter was
/ long. Eva read quickly at first, then
slowly, knitting her brows as she
turned the pages, and came at last to
| the signature: Ever your friend, AL
Ian Craig"
The letter lay for some minutes in
Eva's lap. while she looked vaguely
round her room.
"He is afraid of spelling my career
| my success has put an insuperable bar
rer between u.s." she murmured. The
phrases of the letter had burned them
| selves into her brain. so, Allan! l
wish could tell you-or do you want
to hear?"
Five years passed before she saw AL
Ian Craig again, and then the meeting
was uneXpected-at the exit OF the the
atcr where Eva had gone to see the
hundredth performance of her play.
Allan was obviously proud of knowing
her, and introduced his wife, 10 whom
she gave graceful recognition. 1t was
raining and Allan offered to see Eva to
cab. They stood for u moment on the
steps to the entrance