Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1898-01-13
ROJnaNCE OF A
READING B00Ul


tween two frequenters of the readin&
room at Cooper Union year or two
ago. Both were in the habit Of spend
ing the better part of every evening
there. and both had developed a pref.
erence for particular table. At frs
1t was the location of that table alone
which attracted them, but in course vi
time they became accustomed to each
others company, and although perfect
strangers, they felt acquainted, and as
though they met by appointment
One was stout old Englishman
with ford. stern face-one of those
surly faces that usually go together
with an honest and kindly heart. lie
was well-read mechanic and bache-
Tor, and having, or pretending to have
an aversion for women and children,
he passed his leisure hours either il.
the seclusion of his little hall bedroom
or at Cooper Institute. The other was
a dry-faced, beardless Dane, of forty,
with blue eyes, of pellucid clearness,
and long waxen locks, which adhered
close to his head and neck. 1t was the
childish and yet penetrating look of
those crystalline eyes of his which
first cast spell over the gruff looking
Englishman. He could not help glanc-
ing at them again and again, and as
he tried to read his book or magazine
he seemed to feel their soft, appealing
gaze upon himself. At one moment he
was on the verge of a quarrel, but no
sooner had he met the Danes eye than
instead of resentment he felt like ask
ing II he could not be of service to him.
AS to the Scandinavian, the crusty
look of his neighbor, far from repell-
ing. had a sort of peculiar glamor for
him. And so the two passed two or
three hours at the same table six
nights in the week until they came TO
greet each other, at first with a slight
nod. then with more demonstrative
one and finally with a bland good
evening""
One night as they sat reading. the
Dane handed the Englishman a note
which read as follows:
Dear Sir: My heart is full tonight.
and wish to speak to some good man.
Will you be my listener? I like you
without knowing who you are; but so
much the better Would you mind
having cup of coffee with me?"
with pleasure" was the English
mans written reply.
Some five minutes later they were
seated at a marble table in one of the
Vienna cafes on Second avenue.
The Dane spoke English with per-
fect fluency, and although his pronur-
citation was labored and often incor-
rect. his grammar was irreproachable.
Il beg of you, don't set me down for
a crank" he began. II am tired of be-
ing called that"
Whether you are one or not, I'm
not goin' to call you names, SIR"
grumbled the Englishman.
"All right, then. This is my day Of
misery. Just year ago Fate dealt me
blow-or, rather, played me a trick
under which l have been squirming
and writing ever since. To-day is the
anniversary of an accident which may.
after all, drive me mad BY the way.
when you know me better you may
find that am no crank-not as yet. at
least. Well, then, it is a love story 7
am going to recount to you-a love
story OF which am the unhappy hero.
Is 1t MT amusing-a hero and yet de-
feated and miserable? Well, some
three years ago fell in love with n
poor but ACCOMPLISHED Swedish girl in
Copenhagen. Have you ever been IN
love, sir?"
That's neither here or there. You
Just go on" snarled the Englishman.
Il beg your pardon, sir. I meant no
offence. AS to myself, 1 had been IN
love dozen times before l met the
Swedish young lady, and when / saw
mat was infatuated with her /
thought 1t was something like my pre-
vious romances-a passion of a week
or month, after which there Is moth
Ing but smoke, smoke as the hero of
one of Turgeneff's novels puts it. Are
you fond of Turgeneff? But excuse
my impertinent questions. Well. had
made up my mind to be a bachelor.
You wish to know why? Because J
was the most forlorn fool in creation.
In the first place, had taken IL into
my head that I had been born to fiji
the universe with a new sort of sun
shine--with the dazzling rays of nv
poetry. Accordingly, for me to marry
and be bothered with a wife and child.
rem and the sordid details of family
life would be a crime against the in.
terests of humanity, don't you know.
In the second place, l should geftire
OF my wife before the honeymoon was
half over. and marriage would be eter-
nal torture. / drew my conclusions
do you know from what? From the
brevity of my former passions. was
an idiot; the greatest on earth"
"No you weren't" the Englishman
interrupted him.
Eyes was. Well, the last girl fell
In love with was a singular sort of
woman. She was not pretty. No. I
wish she had been, for then / should
have forgotten her long ago. But she
was good-a genius of kindliness-ani
IL goes without saying that she was
also called crazy. She loved me des-
perately, and know II and that helped
to spoil 1t all. l made frank explana-
ton to her and told her I liked her,