Morris tribune., 1900-12-29

AS the SOUNDS proceeded Dovely sat in
mute amazement. For moment he
suspected that he was going mad. He
was superstitious, but ghosts, accord
Ing to his way Of thinking, always
manifested themselves to the eyes
rather than the ears and with shrouds
rather than dialogues. There was
something uncanny in the sounds, too,
rs II issuing from metal casket.
Dovely would have attempted an in.
vestigation, but very fear held him
rooted to the chair. He could not
escape, and he began to feel that he
had been selected by some restless
spirits as the custodian of their conf
dences. The sound of the voices at
hrst seemed like an echo Of something
he had heard before, and this circum-
stance deepened his perplexity. The
conversation seemed to be between
man and woman. The mans y mes
were imperious, those Of the woman
half dattering, half conciliatory.
you know men are such deceivers,"
the voice was saying. "You play with
woman's heart as child does with
a toy. Then you look for another that
Is newer to you, though perhaps not to
some others. and another fellow, who
perhaps has thrown aside and bruised
the heart that you pick up, comes along
and picks up the very heart that you
have thrown aside"
A soft laugh Of tolerant condescen-
sion followed this speech.
HnI1 -,
en-" replied the man, you are all
wrong; you don't understand man.
Your feminine minds can't grasp the
depth and breadth Of his nature. I
have tried often to make some women
soar with me to loftier realms Of
thought but have never found one
to sympathize with my poetic or ar
tistic moods"
Here a soft little sigh, like zephyr
touching the maple leaves, stole across
the room, and then the imperious tones
resumed:
81 know women. I've seen a good
deal of life. Didn't live more than a
year in New York;"
The Precipitation stood out in beads
on Dovely's forehead as he stared in
the direction of the voices and clutched
the arms Of the chair in which he sat.
1t seemed like a nightmare. The echo
was getting clearer and clearer. He
hated the dreadful sounds, but felt that
he must suffer the ordeal to the end.
And memory told him that the end was
yet long way off and the path there
to full Of thorns of humiliation and
shame for him. He began to feel like
disembodied spirit that stands beside
|aits erstwhile prison and contemplates
with horror the rayages that debauch-
cry has wrought on its once beautiful
form. But through the nightmare he
was sustained by the sweet reflection
that he was not irreclaimable and that
this scourging was at worst only a Sc
we're lesson from which he would
emerge better man. iess 81
The imperious tones of the man and
the conciliatory, even pleading, tones
Of the woman went on. With deep
humiliation he followed the mysterious
dialogue to the browning point of his
own shame. He could hear the soft,
solicitous tones Of the woman leading
the man on to make fool of himself.
And he heard the man following with
braggadocio and bombast right up to
the very pitfall that had been prepared
for him. The grandiloquent and pre-
posterous phrases in which a proposal
was next couched struck him as being
so comically conventional that he
would have laughed aloud had not the
humiliating reflection Of his own con-
duct covered him instead with shame.
Then he heard sweet voice asking
him to think it over and then come
back in week, If he were still Of the
same mind Even then he did not
realize the truth. He wondered II he
were not asleep and this an awful
dream. The volume that he had been
holding fell from his knee and startled
him. He put his hand to his forehead
and brushed the beads of perspiration
away and said: Thank God, it was a
dream"
At that moment Mary entered the
room and smilingly apologized for
keeping him waiting. She drew has
sock over to him, and, seating herself,
upon 1t and looking up in his eyes,
said: :.'I'm awfully sorry kept you
waiting, Arthur; know you must have
been so lonely. But there" she stop
ped suddenly and knitted her brows--
II really believe you have been asleep
and dreaming. You look It, quite"
The poor young man took her hand
In both his own and looked fixedly at
her II don't know whether I've been
asleep or not. but certainly must have
been dreaming-su such q horrid dream"
land he passed his hand quickly over
his eyes as Il to wipe away the last
traces of nightmare. Then he took
her hand again. Mary" he said slow
~, you told me to come back tonight
II / were still of the same mind as
when was here last. have come to
tell you thar am not Of the same
mind"
Mary looked surprised and would
have spoken, but Dovely broke In
quickly: 1T is not that don't love you
as much as ever aye. great deal
more than ever before but feel that
= 4. a L. Il =