Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-04-28
A PAIR OF SINNERS.

"A 1Ilo VI Ol1NINIlODs
She was the only daughter of a draper
who had once been eminent and was now
retired. He was a young and prosperous
barrister. She was of q morbidly poetical
temperament and looked at life always
| through a prism Of sentiment. He was
unlmaginative and practical. In a word,
each was the complement of the other.
care you sure, Clarence" she asked
him, signing, THAT you really love mo?"
Absolutely, dearest"
"And you have never loved any one but
mep''
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
"And you will love mt always9"
"Forever."
He yawned and looked at his watch.
They were half expecting a visitor.
Something might happen to change
you" she persisted dreamingly.
"What could?"
"Suppose l had a secret in my life which
] had never revealed to your"
"What sort Of ~secret?"
II always used to say, dear, that I had
told you all about myself-everything
that I was keeping nothing back from you.
I am 80 sorry!" Her eyes grew misty with
tears. II did not intend to deceive you.
There is one-only one-event of my life ]
have never mentioned to you. I had for
gotten it until lately. 1t has been my one
secret-the one page of my life I would
rather no one read
"Well, and what Is its" he interrupted,
a little irritably.
She sank down on the rug beside him
in an attitude of supplication and clasped
her arms about his knees.
"Did you know, dear, that I once used
to write poetry?'
"Well, many persons do h 1t may
be foolish, but it is not wicked"
II wrote a great deal of it. My sole am
bition then was to be a poetess. Much OF
what I wrote was love poetry
swell, WE'LL Yes?"
"And about six years ago, dear, / col
lected all my poems into q volume and
published them"
"And the heartless man was the pub.
lisherp"
"No. The publisher was exceedingly
kind. He thought very highly Of my
work.
"Never mind the publisher. I am anx-
ious to get to that heartless man."
"The book was published, and I saw
only one review Of it, and that-it was in
a paper called The Writer-oh, Clarence,
1t was cruel-cruell"
eff that is all"-
"All! 1t humiliates me to think of it
even now. I remember every narrowing
word of it, but I cannot-cannot bring
myself to repeat them"
"Don't try to. My dear girl, why on
earth should you upset yourself like this
over a trivial matter that happened and
was forgotten six years ago by everybody
but YOURSELF"
"But think how I suffered!/ The pub.
licity-the disgrace! These poems,' he
wrote-oh, do not ask me what he said!'
"And yet he may be quite a harmless,
inoffensive sort of ass, If we only knew
him."
II felt as If all the world was laughing
at me-"
"You little silly. I don't suppose even
a millionth part of the world knew any.
b~ooks-except the men who write them"
81 could not regard it SO stoically," she
sighed. II cannot even now. You do not
altogether realize my utter degradation.
'These babblings of incipient imbecility.
That wal one Of his phrases"
She shuddered at the recollection Of it.
"By Jove! OF course the best of critics
are not angels, but yours must have been
a.
"a heartless, heartless manp'
"If it had been q mans book
"He may not have known I was q
woman"
"You are too severe. No reviewer criti
cises a book till he has read the title page. "
"But I did not use my own name. ]
wanted to sec if they would mistake my
work for that of q man. I called it Heart
Longings,' by Harold Ransom, but all
my friends knew, 60 that really made no
difference"
He had grown suddenly thoughtful and
spoke absently.
"You will forgive me, darling, won't
you, for deceiving your"
"Deceiving met" he asked.
"Well, for seeming not to oonfde in you
unreservedly?"
Taking the childish, pretty face between
his hands, he gazed down into her dreamy
blue eyes.
eyes"
well, coming to think of 1t, I remem
Der I have a secret which I have never dis.
closed to you. So, after all, we are each
as bad as the other"
She started and scanned his features
eagerly.
"You9 A secret, C%larencep"
"Only a little one-like yours"
"But mine was no secret. / had forgot.
ten it," she protested. "Besides, mine
was nothing for which you could blame
me-"
"Now, I want you to make me a prom.
Use. If l forgive you, you will forgive mep'
She hesitated.
"Tell me, first, all about It,"
"Do you promises" he insisted.
"Yes, yes, dear. I promised she said
desperately. whatever it is, 1 love you
and I must forgive you"
She pressed her handkerchief to her eyes.
"Iwon't keep you in suspense" said he.
"We have both been sinners, and I was
the worst of the two. I must tell you,